Well, this is marvelous timing, I just recently finished this myself. I didn't know any part of this was loosely inspired by a book.
My feelings on Strain are pretty mixed. Well, first of all, I agree with the central idea behind the review's praise: that the characterization works where it counts most. Sara is a good protagonist, and the first episode does an all-too-good job of portraying her good life and then mercilessly destroying it to make sure that we sympathize with her. Lattie is a good foil to her stoic demeanor at first and is actually likable, so it becomes satisfying to see Sara eventually come out of her shell. There's also the tense drama of this ship full of cadets struggling just to survive, which works pretty well.
For the supporting cast I actually prefer the acting captain and his XO, Melchi, and Carmichael to most of the secondary pilots. Lattie is pretty much a perfect secondary, acting as the leader but not being above having emotion either. I suppose Carrisford was likable. The rest I was basically indifferent to, though. Here's basically what they are in a nutshell:
Jessie: I follow Lattie around and I have no presence!
Lavinia: I'm a lesbian and I'm here for pointless fanservice in episode seven! (this is why STRAIN is TV-MA on FUNimation's video player, folks)
Ermengarde: I have pink hair and have a stereotypical fixation on my weight and looks!
Martha: I'm a toraboy!
Dickon: I'm an aspiring ladies man!
My chief complaint is with Lavinia though, who seemed to be a one-note character played for amusement. It leaves a bad taste in my mouth, especially considering that at one point her hijinks are basically indirectly responsible for something very bad that happens.
The mecha action is also fast-paced, if a bit bland--Tumors don't exactly make for very interesting foes. For CG robots though, not bad. I grew to really like that shot in the opening of the Strain falling toward that planet in the background.
If you watch Strain and your one great concern is how well Sara makes out, it's a pretty good ride for 13 episodes.
However, for me, there's a catch that holRAB it back from real greatness. Basically, it's too narrow and too short. Maybe I've been spoiled, but I was unable to do the above due to some unrealized potential and a small handful of (arguably) questionable writing decisions. Clearly by the end I'm supposed to feel fairly happy, and I suppose I was, but I was also left asking questions and wanting more than what I got.
Let's start with the heart of the story, the fight against Ralph. The series made his turn to evil understandable and he was unrepentant until the end, which is praiseworthy although not uncommon for anime. Sara takes him on to save the lives of her comrades, but I think the show tried too hard to keep him portrayed as a twisted, evil guy. Sara enRAB up telling him that he's really just fighting for himself in order to appease his guilt. But the thing is, he had every reason to feel guilty! Yet toward the end Ralph is reduced to "humanity must be eliminated!" rhetoric, which basically insures that this is a dead issue. It would have been far better if Ralph's idea of "punishment" amounted to something far less grandiose. He's a villain with motivations as deep as his goals are shallow, which is quite a shame. Strain doesn't go far enough with Ralph.
This ties into another huge issue, namely the entire backstory involving Emily. I'll avoid details for the sake of not having a spoiler box in my review, but the issue is mostly overlooked even though it's this massive elephant in the room. We learn that a grave injustice was committed in the past, but there is no time left to give this fact the attention it deserves. The drama of Sara and Ralph overpowers what could have been one hell of a complementing Sci-Fi plot, if only there had been more time. As-is, the outcome feels a bit disturbing. Sara cares about Emily and Emily wants to stay with Sara, but while that's great this doesn't begin to address the underlying problem. Will this ever be resolved? Can any sort of justice be served? Is there any guarantee that this travesty from the past will not repeat itself in the name of science? All of this is left to our imagination.
If only there had been more time.
For what it is, Strain is not too bad. But if it had been able to go longer, we very well could have had a real gem on our hanRAB. As it is I can say that it's okay, but I can't shake the idea that it's missing a lot also.
