Although Sky Girls is a Mecha series, the mecha doesn't take over the story line and make it over the top, which I found pleasant, and it lets the story go into more in-depth emotional stuff. The main characters, Otoha, Karen, Eika and Elize, are all typical characters found in most every shoujo show at the beginning, but as the story is able to develop more their characters fill out and don't become standard anymore - especially Eika. Also, the three older girls get some kind of love interest, however incredibly subtle it may be, which is rare in anime as usually only the main leadingcharacter has a love interest.