vision of...nope; main character wasn't a girl
ronin warriors; that show isn't serious enough and looks COMPLETELY different
the pilot feeling pain was a VERY important story element. Now that I think back, i think the protagonist had a special 'ancient' suit and ONLY his suit would make a link between it and a pilot (meaning that all the other fellow soldiers/enemies mechs were just a hunk of armor they could eject from).
the enemies with cloaking mechs is a BIG element as well. one of the end scenes has the protagonist in his mech kneeled in pain after losing the battle when a whole bunch of enemy mechs decloak around him; not sure what happens after this scene.
the animation quality/style was very similiar to gundam wing.
at this point, I'm starting to worry that it got cancelled immediately after showing that first episode :/
EDIT:
wait a minute....i just saw a youtube clip of visions escaflowne. the mech looks identical to what i remember. i was like 10 and much more interested in the action than the plot, so i could have just totally forgotten about the girl protagonist... *facepalm*
EDIT2:
WE HAVE A WINNER!!!!
ya, I just totally forgot about the infantry having giant swords and the girl. but seeing the enemy mech attack confirmed it; it was VERY unique from anything else that I knew about.
thanks alot! I knew betting on all the anime avatars here was a good idea