Heavy Object

Episode 18

I knew it. I was just starting to like some of the new characters that Heavy Object introduced last week, so of course this episode went and killed off my early favorites. It's possible that drawing my interest is the kiss of death for an anime character, but there's also a more mundane explanation. When you've got a group of expendables, it makes sense to put extra effort into making the early casualties interesting and likable in the hopes that the audience will get attached to them before they bite the bullet. You've got more time to develop the personalities of the survivors, so they don't need to be as immediately appealing. End result: the redshirts that make the best first impression die the soonest. Then again, maybe I'm just trying to rationalize my supernatural ability to kill minor characters simply by looking at them.

Despite surviving Nutsley's attack and the end of the previous episode, Qwenthur and Charlotte find themselves in deep trouble this week. With their equipment sabotaged and their radio damaged, they can't hack into the enemy's UAV network or warn the other teams of the traitor in their midst. Havia's group has a close encounter with the enemy Object, and the collateral damage caused by the hovering machine leaves Havia and Myongli as the only surviving members of the team. Both groups seek shelter in the mine, where they discover that the situation doesn't match the intelligence they were given. In order to stop Milinda from accidentally killing a large group of civilians, they'll have to find a way to complete their original objective of destroying the radar station. Unfortunately, there's a suit of powered armor standing in their way with a familiar face at the controls.

Between Charles, Cookman, and Westie, Heavy Object kills off quite a few of its new faces before the audience gets to know them. On one hand, this is less than ideal since the death of a relatively unknown character doesn't pack much of an emotional punch. These three are redshirts in the classic sense: their deaths aren't meant to elicit a big response from the audience, just to emphasize the danger that the surviving characters are in. Sadly, that trick has been used so many times in so many genres that it's not nearly as effective as it once was. On the other hand, having someone to avenge does offer a credible motivation for Qwenthur and Havia to press forward instead of hightailing it back to base. It also boosts the viewer's desire to see Nutsley get taken down, even if he was only directly responsible for killing one of the three characters. As a narrative device, the early casualties are crude but effective.

That same description can be applied to a lot of the dialogue in this episode, which packs in some unnecessary drama and a few too many monologues about duty and morality. Qwenthur argues with Charlotte over whether or not to shoot an unarmed girl carrying a first aid kit, Havia points a gun at Qwenthur's head when they reunite, Charlotte talks endlessly about her duty to police the actions of her fellow soldiers, and on it goes throughout the episode. Heavy Object seems really keen on bringing moral dilemmas to the fore in this story arc, but there's just too much going on, making it feel rushed and rough. Characters take actions and go through emotions that, while intense, come across as being manufactured for the sake of the story. You need to do more than just turn up the volume if you're trying to produce convincing drama.

At least the narrative that's taking the characters' personalities to their extremes is intriguing. Heavy Object has taken advantage of the wealth of possibilities provided by this complex mission to present Qwenthur and Havia with an unusual task. Instead of just defeating another Object, they have to find a way to alter the plan in a way that keeps their unit from becoming an unwitting pawn for the enemy. The danger here is not so much that Milinda will lose her battle against Wing Balancer, but more that she will fall into the Faith Organization's trap and do their dirty work for them. It makes for a deeper and more meaningful conflict than the “beat the bad guy and survive” missions that we've typically seen in this series. Even if the script is a bit awkward in its attempts to explain what's at stake, it's nice to see Heavy Object showing some fresh narrative ambition this far into its run.

It may have taken some clunky conversations to get us here, but at least this story has crafted an interesting web of obstacles for the characters to work their way through. The team has more good reasons than ever to keep fighting, and we've got enough minor characters left to maintain the constant threat of someone getting killed along the way. Now that the dream team of Qwenthur and Havia has been reunited, I imagine we'll start seeing some creative ideas for turning the tide of the battle next week.

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.