Heavy Object

Episode 16

It's official: I'll be referring to the enemy Object pilot by her nickname of Ohoho for the remainder of the series. I no longer care what her real name is, because “Ohoho” is simply too much fun to say and to type. Of course, considering the ridiculous names that Heavy Object has inflicted on some of its characters (never forget Sladder Honeysuckle), going by Ohoho might not be such a terrible fate after all.

Qwenthur may have boarded Rush and cornered Ohoho, but that doesn't make his life any easier as he tries to turn the tide of the battle in Milinda's favor. Instead of surrendering to her would-be captor, the Intelligence Union pilot fires up an automated piloting program called Juliet and lets the Object take off on its own. As the heavy G-forces toss Qwenthur around the cockpit, Rush and Baby Magnum have a second shootout. When he's not busy getting slammed into a wall, Qwenthur manages to send a coded message to Havia while making everyone else think he's trying to talk to Milinda. Once the dynamic duo's secret plan causes the Juliet AI to drive itself insane with errors, Qwenthur talks Ohoho into ejecting and abandoning her Object.

Sending Qwenthur into Rush's cockpit turns out to be a good move, as it gives him a chance to talk directly to his enemy. Ohoho delivers on her potential as both an entertaining character and a worthwhile opponent, and her adversarial chemistry with Qwenthur is surprisingly strong. I was worried that Heavy Object would overplay its hand with the reveal that her actual appearance differs from the video feed she sends out to her enemies, but the joke is delivered pretty well. The target of the show's mockery is Qwenthur's mental image rather than Ohoho's figure, and the script resists the temptation to dilute the joke by dragging it out too long. As the battle becomes more serious, the two of them make for reasonably well-matched opponents, and it's fun to watch the momentum of the fight swing from one side to the other. Her resolution to capture Qwenthur in their next battle is pretty stale as far as plot points go, but I'm all for bringing the show's best antagonist back for a rematch.

Speaking of the fight, Heavy Object sees fit to deliver another strong action scene with the latest shootout between Rush and Baby Magnum. The visuals do a good job of presenting the battle as the two Objects circle one another in search of a clean shot. The series appears to have found a sweet spot between looking good and keeping the action easy to follow, and that makes a big difference in this genre. Ohoho's musical performance in the middle of the fight keeps things from getting too serious and illustrates how useful the Juliet AI is without requiring a surplus of expository dialogue. It's a solid scene across the board.

Qwenthur's coded message to Havia makes for an interesting strategy, but it does run afoul of a problem that has cropped a few times in this series. I have no trouble believing that Qwenthur could alert his allies to the presence of the enemy's AI system, but their strategy for crashing the computer relies on Havia inferring a lot of details from Qwenthur's message in a short amount of time. It's a similar problem to Qwenthur's use of a handgun as a signaling device during the battle with the Break Carrier: the show is asking the audience for too much leeway when it comes to the characters' ability to exchange complex information in an unconventional manner. The idea is a cool one, but the execution stretches the upper limits of suspension of disbelief. Still, I'd much rather see Heavy Object run into these kinds of problems than have issues with fundamental areas like pacing and character development.

The team's return to Alaska has proven to be one of Heavy Object's stronger story arcs thus far, which is an encouraging sign for the remainder of the season. I've seen plenty of mecha shows run out of ideas or go flying off the rails after the first dozen episodes, but this series is running counter to that trend at the moment. Heavy Object is trying new things and finding ways to improve instead of simply coasting along, and that makes me eager to see what it will do in its next story arc.

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.