Jeanne is a lieutenant in the Southern Cross army of the planet Glorie, but she cares more about having fun, fashion magazines and a good night out than discipline – not to mention her fascination with a good hot shower! But when a mysterious alien force called the Zor arrive, Jeanne's recklessness and blatant disregard of orders prove very successful on the battlefield; and in no time she finds herself as commander of the 15th Squad. The fighting soon turns grimmer as humanity is heavily outnumbered and cut off from the home world, and its technology is dwarfed by the Zor. Jeanne and her squad now must defend their new home in any way they can and find out whom these mysterious aliens are, and what secrets they may be hiding...
In the year 1996, the space race between the US and the Soviet Union has spread to Mars. The Cold War still continues and there is an ever-increasing chance of full scale war between the two super powers. Meanwhile, on Mars, the student-run "Cosmic Culture Club" arrives at a UN base; but before the kids get a chance to settle in they find themselves under attack from an unknown force using giant mecha! The UN base is quickly laid to ashes and only a handful of survivors remain, but the attack is repelled thanks to the efforts of a renegade mech pilot, Eiji. He is a defector from a race called the Grados and he comes with a warning: the Grados are coming to destroy humanity! He has stolen their most powerful mecha, the SPT-LZ-00X Layzner, and offers to help Earth – that is, if he can convince the people he just saved that he is telling the truth!
Animation-wise both Southern Cross and Blue Comet SPT Layzner look quite similar, especially in character design. They also have the same slow old feel that older anime have. In terms of look and feel these shows come quite close to one another.