It would be easy to be confused as to just where exactly Blue Drop sits in terms of genre if one went by the first three episodes: perhaps the all-girl school histrionics would give some indication, but juxtaposed with operatic science fiction it would seem that maybe the series is trying to tell a different, as yet, hidden story touching on old Gundam favourites such as the horrors of war or its effect on children. Blue Drop actually occupies the secret third option and the hint lies in the source manga's genre: yuri.
This divulgence is able to put a lot of the introductory material into context, and while it certainly doesn't contain anything near the raunchy material of the manga, Blue Drop still seems uncertain as to who the series is aimed at. The character design is less than stellar, it seems that clichés are born and bred in the school the central characters attend and the animation does nothing to compensate for this, instead the aesthetics feel washed out and less than enticing. Development is restricted to the protagonist only, and the revelation that her nemesis is captain of a futuristic underwater craft comes across as more underwhelming than it was perhaps meant to. So with the interpersonal relationships and sexual content that series should have inherited from its parent missing, and the other typical trappings of the yuri genre absent, the question of what exactly the series offers becomes difficult to answer.
The science fiction aspect, apparently centring around an all-female alien invasion of earth, is only prevalent in the third episode and even then is tertiary at best. The quiet, fringe-afflicted girl shows up in an entirely out-of-place outfit consisting of a leotard crossed with navy regalia and a selection of indecipherable text is thrown about, but in terms of rewarding sci-fi, the series fails to impress. The only aspect driving the show is the enigma surrounding the bellicose, delinquent protagonist, Mari Wakatake: her past shrouded by amnesia and her adverse effect on the already mentioned blue-eyed ship commander. Unfortunately by the close of the third episode, slogging through a further ten is a grim prospect for such a flimsy secret; the aftermath of each confrontation Mari enters into is either ignored entirely or avoided until it can be passed off without incident, it would be infuriating were it not so tediously predictable.
One of the most pleasing features of the series is the superlative audio: the lilting ending and the gentle harmonics of the opening are a pleasure to hear, it's unfortunate they bookend such a lacklustre show. Perhaps the merit of the series will be in the development of the relationship between Mari and Hagino, the latter of whom is more or less destined to betray her alien race in some way, shape or form; the ability to portray that growth is wholly suspect though given how ham-handedly the first episodes were. Or perhaps the niche yuri audience the series is aiming for is able to see past surface flaws and appreciate the series in context of other similar ones (Maria-sama ga Miteru springs immediately to mind).
This postulation is meaningless however when the introduction to the characters, the setting they inhabit and the series in general is so shoddy. It has no hook to draw one in, no development to keep one interested and no visuals to gloss over the gaping void of quality. In all, there is little to recommend to anyone outside of perhaps fans of the original manga, but even then it is doubtful the series could do it justice. Blue Drop's failure to engage or excite is only covered up by a vague mystery that isn't worth the price of admission.