Heavy Object

Episode 14

I'll admit it: Heavy Object got one over on me this week. I was all set to write off Burning Alpha, Qwenthur and Havia's friendly neighborhood air support, as a dead man walking seven days ago. As soon as Qwenthur mentioned anti-aircraft weapons in this episode, I was certain that we were about to receive a plate of crispy fried airplane. But no, despite rattling off several lines of dialogue that would put a death flag on even the most resilient expendable, the guy appears to still be alive and kicking. Score one for recurring minor characters.

The urban confines of Amazon City cause a world of trouble for the Baby Magnum crew in this episode. Milinda gets her Object stuck in a pile of rubble while trying to outflank the Break Carrier's salvaged rail gun, and Qwenthur and Havia end up separated after the ground collapses beneath them. A couple of well-placed bombs are enough to get the Baby Magnum moving again, but Milinda's target proves to be nothing more than the bait for an explosive trap. Qwenthur rushes in to help Milinda escape from her disabled Object, a decision that brings him face to face with Sladder Honeysuckle, the scientist their unit has been pursuing. After a brief exchange of ideas (not to mention a few bullets), Qwenthur and Havia manage to capture Honeysuckle in time to prevent an all-out battle with the other nations that are after his research.

Despite his almost romantic relationship with Milinda, I'm increasingly convinced that Qwenthur's true soul mate is the pouch of explosives that he brings along on every mission. Is something blocking the Baby Magnum's escape hatch? Use explosives. Does a mad scientist with a handgun have you pinned down? Use explosives. It may be an increasingly common solution to the characters' problems in this series, but at least it provides some entertainment along the way. For once, the enemy's tactics are more interesting than the protagonist's, with the exploding reactor trap coming as a bit of a surprise after all the suggestions that a second Object was waiting in the wings. While there isn't any big engineering puzzle for Qwenthur to think his way out of this time, there are enough simple but clever tricks to meet the show's “smart action” quota.

The conversation between Qwenthur and Honeysuckle feels true to both their characters, even if it does drag on a bit. The genius Object designer only cares about being able to continue his research, while the front-line engineer is more concerned about the lives of the soldiers who take those advanced weapons into battle. Not necessarily the most nuanced or enlightening exchange of ideas, but it does at least show that Heavy Object is capable of questioning the morality of the technology that it pours so much effort into depicting. If the series has to occasionally fill a gunfight with lengthy monologues in order to add some thematic depth, then perhaps that's a fair trade to make. Next time though, it'd be nice if the bad guy could have a name that wasn't quite as ridiculous as “Sladder Honeysuckle.”

The decision to put the Baby Magnum out of commission for an extended period of time opens up a curious set of possibilities for the next few episodes. Without the option of having Milinda unleash the big guns to finish off the enemy, we may be in for the kind of “puny humans versus giant robot” storyline that characterized Heavy Object's early episodes. With the idea of destroying an Object without using an Object starting to spread through the world's military units, we're finally getting a sense of how the main characters fit into the big picture. The next step is getting the script to follow up on the questions it's raised about what happens when someone finds a way to upset the balance of power on a battlefield.

I'm hoping that this episode is a small first step towards Heavy Object adding some human-sized insight to its grand mechanical designs. Apart from that simmering potential, however, this episode is mostly just par for the course. Stuff blows up, there's a bad guy with a cunning plan, and the heroes manage to improvise their way to victory. At least we can add a not-dead-yet fighter pilot to the team.

Rating: B-

Heavy Object is currently streaming on Funimation.

Paul Jensen is a freelance writer and editor. You can follow more of his anime-related ramblings on Twitter.