Episode 1: "To Go Like A Man"
It's the year 2195, and Earth has started to colonize the solar system - but disaster strikes when Jovian forces attack the colonies on Mars and the moon. Next stop: a nearly defenseless Earth.
Nergal Heavy Industries Corporation, a civilian company that has designed the most advanced battleship ever constructed, hires a bizarre cast of unstable characters including 20-year-old tactical genius Yurika Misumaru, as captain.
Meanwhile, a young ex-pilot named Akito Tenkawa, deeply affected by the Jovians' attack on Mars, tries to start a new life as a fry cook. Akito's destiny changes when he literally runs into childhood playmate Yurika on the way to her new assignment. He chases after her desperately to Nergal, where it turns out the aforementioned new battleship, Nadesico, needs a cook.
Akito soon meets Gai Daigouji, the flamboyant pilot for the giant robot Aestivalis. Sent into the cockpit to retrieve Gai's toy, Akito just happens to be in the Aestivalis when Jovian forces arrive. He manages to keep the aliens at bay until the battleship arrives, using the robot's great cannon to obliterate the enemy. All this just so Akito can ask love-struck Yurika a question - but it's not the one she wants to hear.
Episode 2: "Leave the Blue Earth To Me"
Nergal officials reveal that the Nadesico's top-secret mission is to travel to the moon and Mars to look for survivors rather than help defend Earth - a mission of which Mars native Akito wholeheartedly approves. But the United Earth Forces doesn't think such a powerful ship should be in the hands of a civilian company, especially with the Earth's military so weak and useless. Desperate for heavy artillery, UEF attacks, boarding the Nadesico in an act of piracy. Meanwhile, the UEF's Admiral Misumara pleads with his daughter Yurika to turn the Nadesico over to the people who can really use it.
The ploy seems to work when Yurika takes the keys and goes to meet her father, although the Admiral doesn't realize she has ulterior motives for being so compliant - she wants information. Uncertain of their fate and guarded by UEF soldiers, the crew members of the Nadesico wait in the mess hall - where Gai re-introduces them all (mostly to their chagrin) to the campy wonders of hundred-year-old anime classic "Gekiganger 3."
When a Jovian chulip ship, until now dormant underwater, suddenly attacks, Yurika slips away from her father to command the Nadesico in battle. There, her ship once again shows its formidable powers while Gai and Akito merge their ships into a bigger, more powerful giant robot. And once the chulip is defeated, the Nadesico finally starts its mission to Mars - leaving a fuming UEF behind.
Episode 3: "A Goodbye That Came Too Soon"
Realizing that Yurika and Nergal Industries will not turn over the Nadesico, the UEF decides to destroy the ship instead.
Jun Aoi, Yurika's best friend, yet also a loyal member of UEF, finds himself in turmoil as he leads the mission against the Nadesico. As Earth launches four missiles toward the Nadesico, Jun despairs - his choices have run out. The UEF has proven itself the enemy of the woman he loves, and Yurika refuses to see reason. At least Jun thinks he can save her life and plans a stunning self-sacrifice. But fate has different plans about who lives and who dies.
Episode 4: "Charmed by Sky Blue Space"
The Nadesico travels to the Satsuki Midori 2 colony to pick up three new pilots, but the colony mysteriously explodes as the battleship approaches. The pilots - Ikaru Manu, Ryoko Subaru and Izumi Maki - however, have survived the disaster and soon introduce themselves to the crew.
As Akito and Megumi talk, a romance starts to blossom. With Megumi's support, Akito finds strength to help him overcome his fear of piloting. To prove his newfound mettle, and to conquer his panic once and for all, he follows the three pilots back to the colony where they hope to salvage the last valuable Zero-G Frame robot. When they do find it, however, it is under the Jovian's control and attacks them.
Bursting with newfound energy and determination, Akito takes the robot head-on. He returns to the Nadesico in heady triumph - not only has he beaten the Jovian-controlled robot, he has also defeated his own demons.