The story focuses and revolves around the 108th Guard Squad, stationed in Aomori. A poorly equipped unit with very little military standing, it is often viewed as a 'reject camp' for pilots not making the grade for the elite units based in Hokkaido. The apparent helpless nature of this force is hardly a deterrent for the encroaching enemy armies, ever closing in on both the 108th and the rest of the empire. The young pilots of the 108th, who had dreamed on returning home, are plunged forcefully and unwillingly into a war.

When a young boy called Hiro finds what appears to be a broken lighter in an empty field, it changes his life forever. This lighter is actually the Gold Lightan, a robot that fell to Earth from the Robot Dimension. When called upon to defend the Earth from Ivalda the Great's evil robots, Gold Lightan transforms into a giant super robot, known as the Golden Warrior. Gold Lightan joins forces with Hiro's and his gang, the One Pack Rangers to protect the Earth from the evil schemes of Ivalda the Great and his armored forces.

In the distant future, a majority of humans have left the Earth, and the Galactic Alliance of Humanity is founded to guide exploration and ensure the prosperity of mankind. However, a significant threat arises in the form of strange creatures called Hideauze, resulting in an interstellar war to prevent humanity's extinction. Armed with Chamber, an autonomous robot, 16-year-old lieutenant Ledo of the Galactic Alliance joins the battle against the monsters. In an unfortunate turn of events, Ledo loses control during the battle and is cast out to the far reaches of space, crash-landing on a waterlogged Earth. On the blue planet, Gargantia—a large fleet of scavenger ships—comes across Chamber and retrieves it from the ocean, thinking they have salvaged something of value. Mistaking their actions for hostility, Ledo sneaks aboard and takes a young messenger girl named Amy hostage, only to realize that the residents of Gargantia are not as dangerous as he had believed. Faced with uncertainty, and unable to communicate with his comrades in space, Ledo attempts to get his bearings and acclimate to a new lifestyle. But his peaceful days are about to be short-lived, as there is more to this ocean-covered planet than meets the eye.

Thanks to Professor Yuuko Kouzuki's technology and Kasumi Yashiro's psychic powers, Cadet Takeru Shirogane travels back to his original world. With no time to lose, Takeru aims to enlist Yuuko's help in his world to complete the Alternative IV project—the last hope humanity has against the BETA, an alien species invading the planet. As the anti-BETA project nears completion, Takeru and other cadets graduate from the Yokohama pilot training academy. However, during a test of the new operating system for the Tactical Surface Fighters—the giant combat suits used by humanity against their adversary—the BETA ambush Takeru and his team. Barely escaping with his life, Takeru is left traumatized after witnessing the cruel death of one of his close friends. Losing his will to fight, Takeru flees back to the other world, where he experiences a similar tragedy. According to Yuuko's theory, people from parallel universes are bound to suffer the same fate. As a result, Takeru must overcome his trauma if he wants to protect the ones he holds dear.