Anime has a lot of cliches, and mecha anime has even more than its fair share. Especially if you include, you know, metaphysical stuff along with the giant killer robots. “Aquarion” seems to have all those cliches and more, but Shoji Kawamori’s series starts hitting its stride after five or six episodes — pomposity is replaced with a sly sense of humor, peppered with some decent characters and a bittersweet edge.

12,000 years ago, the Earth was invaded by the arrogant Shadow Angels, and were defeated by the Shadow Angel Apollonius (also called Solar Wing) and his human lover Celiane, in the enormous three-part mecha Aquarion. Now the Shadow Angels have returned. Then two element users — including Celiane’s reincarnation, spoiled princess Silvia — come across a strange, feral street boy named Apollo. Not only is Apollo shockingly powerful, but he pilots the Aquarion as he always knew how.

Silvia is appalled by the idea that her long-lost soulmate is this rough, dirty boy, and Apollo is only coming along to rescue his abducted friend. And as they battle the Shadow Angels, this motley little team of element users learns some extremely weird lessons — the benefits of fighting barefoot, cosplaying, addiction, diets, dreams, vampires, jealousy, their “first times,” finding Apollo in a booby-trapped labyrinth.

But then a familiar face returns — Apollonius’ ex-lover Touma, who still feels betrayed by Solar Wing jilting him for Celiane 12,000 years ago (sheesh, get OVER it). And as the climactic battle against the Shadow Angels approaches and the Tree of Life gains power, one of their own will turn against them… but what does fate have in store?

The first several episodes of “Aquarion” are not very engaging — they speed by too fast, don’t really make you care about the characters, and basically consist of the same pattern: Apollo does something feral and/or stupid during training, Silvia and/or Sirius are disgusted, the Cherubim attack, but Our Heroes (including Apollo) save the day and learn a valuable lesson in the process. Also typical anime cliches (accidental kiss, Benedict-and-Beatrice soulmates, and big strompy robots).

But after the first five or six episodes, something happens — the series gains a sense of humor that infuses its rather cheesy overarcing storyline. Kawamori lets the story unfold gradually, and with a sly sense of spoofery and occasional bittersweet moments. Silly attack names (“Unlucky Bottom Attack!”), comical deus ex machinae (Our Heroes are saved by a cry of “DINNER!”), piroetting mecha, pseudomystical stuff, cosplay, and a Yoda-like commander who exists solely to teach the heroes Important Life Lessons at the worst times. And I must admit, those orgasmic mecha merges are pretty funny.

The biggest problem: the last four or five episodes are… well, while it’s a fairly impressive ending with interesting twists, it doesn’t make much sense. There are just too many holes left open, apparently for the sake of Big Tragic Uplifting Finale.

The characters are something of a mixed bag, though. Kawamori spends too much time emphasizing that Apollo is a feral wild-card, so we don’t get to see enough of his loyalty and kindness, while Silvia is pretty much a brat to everyone, except the brother she has a bizarre incestuous crush on. The supporting characters end up being much more interesting, partly because they seem so much more real — loyal, flirty athlete Pierre, the painfully unlucky Reika, and a handful of newbies who are still learning the ropes. And there’s Silvia’s brother Sirius, whose confidence and self-image are being slowly destroyed by Apollo’s presence.

“Aquarion” takes a long, long time to get off the ground. But once the satire kicks in, this mecha series becomes a gorgeously animated, fluffy brand of brain-candy. Too bad about the ending.