Heavy Object

Episode 6

I doubt the military in Heavy Object has a frequent flyer program, but if it does, then the main characters must be banking some serious bonus miles. Over the first six episodes, they've gone from Alaska to Australia by way of the Mediterranean. That's a recipe for some truly wicked jet lag, which could explain why nobody manages to get much done in this episode. If I'd just flown almost all the way around the world, I'd follow their lead and waste half an hour talking about the mission instead of actually fighting bad guys too.

Heavy Object's globetrotting heroes trade their blue camouflage for tan this week, as the story moves on to another new location. As part of an international operation, Qwenthur and friends are tasked with toppling a military dictator and hunting down an obsolete Object in the middle of the desert. The temporary alliance means that Milinda must team up with a pilot from a rival nation, and the two of them get off to a less than friendly start. As the two Objects roll around and blow up everything that moves, Qwenthur and Havia are sent to scout ahead and make sure that no civilians get caught in the crossfire. Since nothing can ever be simple for the poor guys, they find themselves forced to choose between completing their mission and saving a village from the dictator's troops.

At its core, this episode features two good ideas with the potential to bring some variety to Heavy Object's usual format. Adding a second Object pilot to the mix opens up some new opportunities for Milinda to grow as a character. The real enemy may not have appeared yet, but giving the heroine a rival to argue with adds an extra human element to a series that has struggled with bland, anonymous villains in the past. I also like the decision to shake things up by giving the protagonists the advantage of overwhelming firepower for once. After two consecutive David and Goliath scenarios, the need to track down a weaker opponent presents a new challenge for the characters. On paper, this new story arc looks like it should be a positive step for Heavy Object.

The problem here is that neither of the show's good ideas are implemented very well. Instead of bringing out a new side of Milinda's personality, the new pilot is used mainly for fanservice and uninspired comedy. The episode as a whole features more fanservice than usual, from incredibly skimpy flight suits to a surplus of boob jokes. This stuff wouldn't be entirely out of place in a more humorous show, but it ends up undermining Heavy Object's efforts to paint itself as a smart action series. We're here to drool over the giant mechs, not their pilots. The search-and-destroy mission also fails to impress, with the lack of a genuine battle making this episode feel much slower than many of its predecessors.

This storyline's underwhelming start is largely due to the script allowing Heavy Object's bad habits to upstage its strengths. Qwenthur and Havia chat endlessly as usual, but the absence of a major crisis makes their banter just idle conversation. While the physical challenges associated with piloting an Object are potentially interesting, it's hard to take any of the new trivia seriously when it all appears to be an excuse to get the female pilots out of their clothes. For all the expository dialogue it requires, the international task force ultimately does very little to enrich our knowledge of the show's world. Simply put, Heavy Object is starting to do more things wrong than right.

This is probably the weakest start to a story arc that the series has delivered thus far. I like what it's trying to do, but I'm not impressed with how it goes about doing it. The good news is that there's enough potential in this premise for it to be worth salvaging next week. If Heavy Object can get its head back in the game quickly enough, it should be able to overcome this misstep with relative ease. If not, there's a real danger that the show could lose track of what makes it interesting.

Rating: C+

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.