Unbreakable Machine-Doll – 07
Yaya is upset about this episode as well.
Raishin must be one hardy fellow, because he keeps running around and rescuing damsels in distress even when he has suffered grave injuries and supposedly near death.
Meh Again
Just a flesh wound.
Raishin’s battle with Loki comes across as almost pointless thanks to this episode. Last we left off, our hero was getting slashed in the back by Cherubim because he’s weak-kneed at the thought of getting Yaya damaged. It’s one thing to be protective of her, but his shielding her was really quite silly. I’m pretty sure they could have dodged the attack together in the time it took for him to get in front of her. But that’s not even the worst of it. After getting wounded thanks to his “heroic” antics, Raishin comes back in full force to save Frey as if he didn’t just get a sword plunged deep into his back, nearly piercing both his lungs and heart. The show makes an effort to demonstrate that he really is gravely wounded with some blood soaking through his clothes, but with the way he moved about so naturally, you wouldn’t even suspect he was unconscious and near death just a few moments ago. Especially considering the big deal that was made about his body’s weakened state thanks to Yaya being a ban-doll. Seriously, what gives?
OK, that’s probably not a good sign.
Not to be outdone, after preventing Rabbi from sucking out all of Frey’s blood, Raishin goes full righteous mode and storms the Divine Works head quarters once more. This, even after receiving warning from Shouko that he wouldn’t stand a chance against Bronson, who had acquired the title of Wiseman twenty years ago. And let’s not forget Charlotte reminding him that he’s in no state to fight anyway. Again, not that we could tell since Raishin seems capable of shrugging off deep gashes to the back. Normally I’m not too put off by the ‘ol righteous main character thing; Touma from Index is a good example. But I really can’t stand Raishin’s attitude here. This guy seems to be on a mission to make every problem his own. What Divine Works is doing is undoubtedly dastardly and horrific, but seeing him go all commando two man army (technically one man and one doll) on them almost makes me wish he would fail miserably. This isn’t a situation where the main character comes across as badass. He’s just being conceited, as Shouko observed.
Promised Children
Nadeshiko is clingy.
The bad stuff aside, let’s talk about some plot instead. So we learn that Frey and Loki have had their hearts modified to forcibly draw out their mana. The procedure has a low chance of success, and those tubes we saw last time were filled with failed subjects. But when you think about it, wasn’t the sonic circuit supposed to be developed for the military? Wouldn’t that mean the military would require their soldiers to go through the same heart-mechanization procedure (again, with low chance of success) in order to utilize the Rabbi and Cherubim models? Sounds like a really bad and stupid investment to me. Moving on we also have yet more revelation of Raishin’s past. Apparently the guy got kicked out by his own father, presumably because he was too weak and useless compared to his brother. Oh, and his sister is a brocon. But we could have seen that coming.
I’m really not impressed by Machine-Doll’s inconsistent quality. The show can be good at times, but too often it relapses to poor writing. I’m not sure if it’s on the source material or if it’s the adaptation that’s ruining things, but whatever the case the battles are being handled quite poorly. The mechanics are silly, the actions of the characters are sillier, and worst of all the outcomes can apparently have no real consequence. At this rate, the best things about the show might just end up being Charlotte being gratuitously tsundere and Yaya being comically jealous.
About Sumairii
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
I have to agree with you, Sum, as this is just become a shallow joke of a show. There is nothing that is matching up here, from writing to animation, to series composition. I’ve not read the source material yet, it’s on a big old backlog, but I would hope it would be better; as you say, this just may be a studio fumbling along.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Raishin needs to chill out and let some common sense sink in a bit. He’s too gung-ho and lets himself get swayed by his emotions without thinking. You’d think he’d consider things with being at death’s door multiple times. There’s no point in putting up a front if it gets you killed in the end.