YMMV / Vandread

• Awesome Music:
  • Trust, sung by Salia, is very catchy and wonderfully fits the themes of the show.
  • Himegoto, sung by SiLC, is very sultry and memorable.
• Don't Shoot the Message: The anime's message, that societies segregated by gender are ultimately undesirable, is an ultimately good one that most people would be able to get behind. However, its portrayal of the societies of Tarak and Mejere are rather stereotypical of said genders, leading critics to argue that the series is reinforcing stereotypes around said genders and on the subject of Dita, Meia and Jura: three women who grew up in a society where lesbians were the only known form of sexual and romantic attraction have their affections for Hibiki referred to as "forgotten biological instincts", accidentally coming across to some as a Cure Your Gays message.^note That said, none of the three women actually change their sexuality. Dita had always held fantasies of a mysterious "alien" different from all her friends sweeping her off her feet, suggesting that her sexuality already aimed at men or at least something other than the women around her; Meia never showed much interest in Hibiki beyond friendship and mentorship; and Jura remains committed to her girlfriend throughout, attempting to seduce men to further emphasize her own beauty and gain fame for herself, such as by being the first Mejeran woman to bear a child through their ancestors' methods.
• Fair for Its Day:
  • Despite the aforementioned "forgotten biological instincts" phrasing that typically appears in promotional material, the show itself never presents same-sex relationships as unnatural or unhealthy. On the contrary, several different lesbian couples are explored, and this comes without being fetishized.
  • BC's portrayal as a trans woman is inconsistent— the reveal that she is born male is entangled with the reveal that she is a spy, and the scenario plays as both a literal betrayal and an Unsettling Gender-Reveal. The other characters subsequently refer to her as he/him until she returns and affirms both her identity as a woman and her allegiance to her shipmates. Despite this, BC is a competent commander that cares for others, and the anime ultimately reaffirms her identity and her choice to transition, down to her male Love Interest still proclaiming his love for her.
• Les Yay: It's mainly between Barnette and Jura, though it's justified in that they were both from a lesbian-based world setting. In Second Stage, it happens briefly between Misty and Meia.
• Moral Event Horizon: The humans still on Earth crossed it by creating the aliens that the Nirvana's crew regularly fight against in order to harvest the organs of their spacefaring brothers and sisters for the sake of self preservation. It is infact the reason these colonies were made.
• Rescued from the Scrappy Heap: Bart, after he Took a Level in Badass, complete with the Nirvana gaining a Beam Spam and Macross Missile Massacre due to his character development.
• The Scrappy:
  • Misty, a late arrival to the plot, contributes little to the crew or story other than being a clue to secrets about humanity. It does not help that she spends most of her time whining, complaining or targeting Hibiki despite his disinterest and Dita's chagrin.
  • An interesting note about Pyoro. Before he became a Scrappy, he was an emotionless automaton with hardly any emotion whatsoever. He became a candidate for Scrappydom by being an intensely irritating Plucky Comic Relief mascot character.
• Shocking Moments: Bart unlocking the Nirvana's Beam Spam and later, Super Vandread's debut.

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