5/5 classic yet new at the same time!
  by R. Duquiatan
Once I watched the first episode I got hooked. The series tends to avoid some of the conventions of the real robot genre by making the protaganist a girl, no accidental pilots, whiney teenagers, or enemy of the week. The story is dark and the characters are well rounded. Highly recommended!

4/5 A Good Sci-Fi Anime But Don't Expect Any Deep Story-Line To Go With It
  by Rich (CA)
If you're a fan of series like Kiddy Grade or Simoun here's another decent but somewhat bland series to go with those, the series follows personal story-arcs like what most anime fans would expect. You have a young female pilot who idolizes her older brother another experienced mech pilot who she hopes to join up and fight with one day, but through a personal calamity her brother turns his back on the people and government he pledged his loyalty to and now intends to destroy that which he once protected going so far as killing his own friends and family. Now the younger sister ventures out into space to find out the reason for her brother's betrayal as well as having to keep her true identity a secret since her brother is of course known throughout the galaxy as being a traitor to his people. The series will have the usual main female character being stoic to her fellow crew members for fear of them finding out her true identity as well as the fear of gaining friends only to loose them again, The series luckily while having some fan-service but not to much and a touch of romance(Both with a male and a stalker female crew member) but again nothing to r-rated for anyone to truly worry about. The series is a little short and the story somewhat confusing as you'll seem more interested in what happens to the brother/sister story-line of the series than anything else, though the series gives a somewhat decent ending it still leaves a lot unanswered as well so it's a little mixed bag of acceptance and annoyance at the end of the series. The animation is very well done and the voice cast as expected from Funimation is great as both the Japanese/English cast did their roles extremely well, the extras are a little so so as you'll get the standard textless intro/ending songs, some commentaries, and of course trailers. So if you like sci-fi mecha anime series here's one to check out but don't expect it to be anything like Gundam Wing or Gundam Seed...

2/5 Not worth the time
  by Jason Connelly (Hartly DE)
I read the reviews on this site and based off of those reviews I bought the series. The series itself has mahor flaws in ir. these include a boring and extremely cold main character, for which you never really warm up to, a lack luster and out right boring plot and less than steller combat scenes as well patheric enemies. The one good part was that the voiceacting was spot on and the other characters were thankfully far more interesting.

4/5 Underrated Mecha Series
  by ONENEO (Buffalo, NY)
Str.A.In., which is an acronym for Strategic Armored Infantry, is one of those rare titles that manages to grab a firm hold of the viewer's attention by indulging in an action-loaded, rip roaring pace from the first episode right on through the thirteenth (and final) episode. It is marketed to appeal to mecha fans and indeed; it will deliver in spades to those looking for a self-contained saga on par with some of the Gundam franchise entries. For everyone else, there is enough of a story within the lightening-fast pace to warrant serious consideration.

Released across 4 discs, Funimation brings the Studio Fantasia property to North American viewers via a pair of thin packs within a lovely cardboard slipcase. The show's total runtime comes in at 300 minutes even with episodes 1-7 contained on the first disc and 8-13 on the second. There are extras in the form of textless songs, English voice commentary over the sixth episode, and a crop of Funimation trailers.

The show wears an appropriate TV Ma (17+) rating due to some violent themes, occasional topless female nudity, and a bit of gore and rough language. Speaking of language, Strain comes in typical sub and dub options: Original Japanese dialog and/or English dub in 5.1 Surround with English subtitles available in either.

The story centers on a young woman by the name of Sara Werec (who happens to be quite reminiscent of Dana Sterling from Robotech Masters fame). Our friend Sara, like her older brother Ralph, is a Reasoner; basically an elite pilot who patrols in one of the military's most advanced weapons: the insect-like robotic units called Strains.

Strains require a very unique interface to operate that is based on the merging of amniotic fluid and computer technology called a Mimic. It is explained early on that should a pilot's Mimic be destroyed, their ability to operate a Strain is eliminated as well.

The beginning portion of the show sets up Sara's almost incestual obsession with her older brother Ralph and how this obsession has ultimately led to her decision to follow in his footsteps by joining the Union military.

It turns out that there is a massive interstellar war being raged between human factions. Our protagonists fight on the side of the Union against a slightly more mysterious group known as the Deague (pronounced "Deeg").

The story really heats up once older brother Ralph begins leading a series of assaults against the Union by targeting training facilities. What ensues is sibling rivalry on the grandest scale.

What the show's entire structure boils down to is balance- Balance between hard-core science fiction (the likes of which would fit right in with a Star Trek motion picture or Gundam series for that matter) with bouncing breasts and panty flashes. Balance between hardened warring factions and juvenile lesbian encounters. Balance between richly drawn character models and computer generated space battles. For the most part, the formula works. About the biggest flaw in the whole structure comes in the form of a lead character who takes entirely too long to warm up to. Granted she does endure a succession of heartbreaks, heartaches, and just general misery but the viewer more than pays the price. Things do eventually improve on this front so long as you're willing to endure several episodes of drone-like behavior with supporting cast bending over backward to express their love or hatred of the lead character.

I should note that Studio Fantasia deserves credit for bringing a pretty cool visual style to the mecha element (a genre that must surely feel as if it's all been done before when developing). The Strains not only look like giant mechanized insects (something between a bee and a lady bug in flight), they also move like them as well. Much of the combat sequences take place at the speed in which the units actually move (meaning close-ups with blurred backgrounds), we are treated to occasional angles of the Strains duking it out from a distance. They zip, zing, and zoom around each other like a pair of hungry hummingbirds. Suddenly the importance of an interface like the Mimic becomes clear.

Without a doubt the show's greatest strength lies within its pacing. I can go as far as to say that Strain contains the most explosive first episode that this author has yet to encounter. By the time the credits fade to black, you'll be left catching your breath while thinking, was all that really just the first episode? The pacing slows a bit in subsequent episodes but considering that it has only 13 episodes with which to tell its tale, there are few, if any, dragged out moments. The action-laden pace is quite consistent as well with the only exception coming in the form of the seventh episode where a contrived attempt at humor puts the focus on an obsessed lesbian's attempt to win Sara's affection.

Otherwise the show maintains a nice scientific approach to space travel, galactic distances, alien cultures, and so on. Politics are always in the foreground, which makes the battle scenes feel much more provoked and quintessential to survival.

Both language options are quite solid and in fact the dub really goes the distance to retain the original script. The English cast reads like a who's who in terms of Funimation's vocal talent and the actress commentary over the sixth episode will convince even lottery winners that they're missing out on the best job in the world.

In all Strain is an entertaining mecha entry that will satisfy fans of the genre with a solid mixture of classical elements coupled to the animation benefits of computer technology. Kudos to Funimation for snagging this underrated property and brining it to the American masses that, like yours truly, can never have too much mecha.

5/5 couldnt stop watching
  by D. Meade (little ol town)
I dowloaded the first episode of xbox live to cheak it out and ended up doladed all 13 and watching them all in 1 day. now i wish i had brought the dvd instead since ive already deleted them to open up my hard drive.

The charatures and story are very good. The animation top notch. It starts out looking like its gonna be an fun animia like kiddy grade but then turns more dark and serious by the end of the first episode. The second episode starts and everyitng has changed for the main char. She has had every thing stolen from her from somone close to her. friends, status, admiration, love, faith, and her dream of being a elite pilot all lost, only the drive to catch up and find out why pushing her on as a lowly infantry mech grunt.

dont want to say to much but i stayed up to 8am to watch the last episode so defintly can recomend this to anyone who injoyes good scifi animia