Messenger

I liked the Hindu mysticism and the cultural aspects, but for me, story-wise, this never got past the "throw in a big bunch of different SFFnal concepts and see if some of them stick" sense. It just seemed like kind of a mess.

Perhaps the problem is that I haven't and don't read or watch anime, mecha, kaiju, or Pacific Rim, and the reader needs to be familiar with those tropes for the story to make sense. If so, then I would say that it's a problem that the story doesn't stand well on its own.

It's clearly intended that the reader should feel moved by the main character's sacrifice. But "character sacrifices themselves to hold back the [enemy of your choice]" is such a standard trope of the SFF genre that it's appeared in hundreds of novels and stories. Which is why, on its own, I didn't find it terribly moving or innovative -- it was pretty predictable. I think that if I had actually felt engaged with the main character, I might have reacted differently.