First Impressions / Robotics;Notes

「少しだけこのままで…」 (Sukoshi dake Kono Mama de…)
“Just Stay a Little Longer Like This…”

I present to you, a Frau/Kona centric episode… with a full collection of her many different facial expressions. Including the perverted one.

Before I dive into my thoughts on Kona and her tragic past, I feel obligated to mention all the other “stuff” that was going on in the episode. Yes, there was a lot happening elsewhere. This includes the massive gang of robots attacking the government (which was officially titled Project Mars as mentioned in previous episodes) as well as our little dialogue between Misa and her boss. While their motive is still unknown, I used to think that they were the masterminds behind the solar flares and the Committee of 300. This episode revealed that although they do have a strong grasp of the history (Kimijima Kou’s murder and Project Mars), they also don’t understand the full message behind the last episode Gunvarrel or Kona’s mother’s intentions. It makes me curious as to who the target audience was for Gunvarrel – was it the general public? To make them more aware of the Committee of 300? Obviously that would make sense why the Committee would want it hidden, but why Kona’s mother? Probably to keep it away from the wrong hands.

A new element of “brainwashing” was introduced this episode which was new to me. I already accepted the fact that Kai and Aki suffer from “elephant-mouse-syndrome“, but brainwashing is something entirely different. Maguyan (Ueda Yuji) was a prime example of this and although he was short-lived character, perhaps it’ll lead to another generation of brainwashed people.

For all those that have been waiting, the main focus of this episode is finally on our dear Frau. Her mother went missing (wanted for murder); she lives alone and is framed for programming robots in Tokyo to attack the government. That would make me suicidal, if not – severely depressed. That’s where Kai comes in and saves the day! Well partially… the other part was having a kind heart to listen to Frau. I’m not someone that can relate to all the issues she’s dealing with, but I can empathize that she’s looking for company, and she misses her mother. She’s gone through all this trouble just to stay connected to her mother and what abandoned child wouldn’t do that? Even adults these days cling onto items or ideas that remind them of someone they miss and that’s something that I can say from personal experiences. What’s worse is not knowing when or if you’ll ever see that person again and to Frau, I think this is a way of calling her mother back to her. Whether or not her mother is alive, is a different matter.

If Robotics;Notes were to have an alternative ending, I would want Frau and Kai to end up together. I don’t see her as a third wheel (to Aki), since I see her as an alternative route that can be explored. I see a solid story between her and Kai and it’s an interesting chemistry mix that doesn’t usually work for me, but in this case, I was pleasantly surprised at how it turned out. I still think that the best friend will win, but it’s nice to see other options hinted at and I totally support that. Frau’s story is not completely finished so I expect great things from her going forward (and especially her mother’s whereabouts).

Full-length images: 01, 10, 13, 22, 27, 35.

57 Comments

    2. Indeed.

      It pretty much solidified Kona as my favourite character of the show as well, and I love the chemistry she and Kai had. Watching them interact is just fun, really. Hoping they end up together, as I don’t care much for him hooking up with his genki childhood friend.

      Dvalinn
      Reply

  11. Yeah Misa-nee and her boss apparently aren’t part of the committee of 300. I’m still clinging on my hope that they aren’t such cold persons as they seem. Especially Misa-nee.
    I don’t know if I already said it in my previous comments, but I always found Kona and Junna to be kind of useless. They were there just to make males watch the show. Until episodes 12 and 13 happened, which finally made them more relevant. But now, with this episode, Kona was developed so nicely that in comparison, I think Junna just became useless again. I hope she gets even more screen time too and doesn’t fall behind. Aki-chan too.
    I’m 100% rooting for Kai x Kona.

    Rockmanshii
    Reply

    1. I wouldn’t say useless, but they definitely didn’t add much value to the show either… until recently. I would say that Frau has a strong tie to Gunvarrel at the very least (and her mother missing and all…). Junna is kind of random to me still… her grandfather is a great addition but as a character herself, she’s not doing much for me >_< Sorry Junna! You're still cute!

      Cherrie
      Reply

  12. So Mars Project was basically hacking some website to make service robots attack a governmental building in Tokyo? Very nostalgic! But for a global conspiracy somewhat underwhelming. And of course they diverted the site authentication to no other game but Kill-Ballad. Grave mistake. This Committee doesn’t seem too serious about their world domination business…

    j4c06
    Reply

      1. Murdered !!? the robots couldn’t probably murder anyone (we never saw them do that either), their advance was in fact more symbolic than it is dangerous.. and the cops didn’t fire becasue they knew that and knew if they fired the property damage they will cause will be in millions if not more (all the destroyed robots) .. that’s why they were just trying to slow the robots down until someone can fix their hacked system.

        HunterWulf
        Reply

  14. I agree with you Cherrie about Kai and Frau. They definitely had some nice chemistry in this episode. I knew there was more to Kona then just a crazy girl who fantasized about boys with glasses. I think its pretty♡heart-warming♥that she made kill ballad for her mom and gunvarrel.

    infinite
    Reply

  15. “I still think that the best friend will win,”

    It’s about time I think. I don’t remember the last time the best friend / childhood friend won. (unless it’s a girl pairing).

    paulrenzo
    Reply

      1. I still can’t decide which pairing is best actually, as I like all the female characters so far. I wish they pull of an Amagami on this romance-wise (another anime where I liked all the female characters).

        paulrenzo
        Reply

    3. Count me in as third here. I’m hoping that we get to revisit some KaixAki moments sometime soon. We’ve only gotten a few before so maybe we’ll be heading down a different route XD

      Kay
      Reply

  20. I actually find the overarching plot downright silly, but I still loved this episode. Another example of how anime really is about emotional connections and character interactions, which can surmount weird and implausible storylines. I personally am still rooting for Aki, especially after her priceless reaction at the end to deredere Frau, BUT boy did Kai and Frau have tremendous chemistry this episode. Heck, they’ve had it for the last two episodes. Kai was able to both avoid the traditional embarrassment of the awkwardly shy anime male lead AND not appear like an over-confident player. Kai is so awesome that it’s nothing but natural for Frau to fall for him, and no one can blame him for leading her on. And Frau is clearly a lot more mature than Aki, who is still like an overgrown kid in so many ways–hence Frau stealing that kiss. But I think Frau in the end a bit *too* mature for Kai.

    Aquifina
    Reply

  21. C’mon people, Kai is man enough for the Ken Sugisaki True Harem End(tm), I can’t be the only one rooting for this.

    I haven’t played the game though, so I can’t comprehend an ending that could possibly be that awesome*

    *For varying definitions of awesomeness; the concept of True Harem End is what counts, the reality of that harem having Akiho and Kona in it is uh… whatever floats your boat there, Kai.

    anise_punter
    Reply

  22. Wow. I really do not get how Kai could choose Aki over Kona. Aki is just an overenthusiastic kid…let’s see what they do for her development. Otherwise i am hoping for KaiXKona.

    Bernd
    Reply

  24. – How should we protect the website from any attempts of regaining control over the robots?
    – Why, by setting up a cheating game AI, of course!
    – GENIUS!

    Well if that wasn’t an obvious gameplay cue, I don’t know what is. I’ve heard that R;N had more gameplay than C;H or S;G, but not to such extents.

    And that brainwashing technology must be amazingly powerful to make a virgin otaku believe he has children.

    SingerOfW
    Reply

    1. The only way I can enjoy this show is to more or less NOT think about the plot. In addition to what you’ve pointed out, the scene of robots about to storm government buildings was just silly. Never mind the JSDF, but I’m sure the Japanese police forces have enough small arms to deal with domestic service robots. Sometimes people don’t realize how hard it is to make something bulletproof–you need real high grade steel, or something like a high-strength ceramic plate. Weight and cost issues would mean that domestic service robots would never use those materials. This is why civilian passenger cars have zero protection from small arms. Heck, I wouldn’t be surprised if those cops in riot control gear could disable a lot of those robots with strong blows from truncheons. There’s a reason why the Terminator movies centered around a *military* AI going bad, as opposed to our Roombas rising up against humanity. But hey, it was a fun episode, so it’s all good in my view.

      Aquifina
      Reply

      1. They didn’t fire against the robots for two reasons:-
        1-The robots aren’t really capable of harming people or the building they are trying to break into .. their advance towards that governmental building is mostly symbolic and meant to illustrate that the government lost control of things (i.e like demonstration and riots in real life) .. the riot cops knew that very well.

        2-Shooting the robots will only cause millions in property damage .. that’s why the government was trying to slow them down with barricades and riot troops with shields .. until someone fixes their hacked system .. shooting them wasn’t an economically viable choice.

        When will people learn the robot uprising was only a very small part of the committee’s of 300 plan .. it was never meant to take control of governments nor as a real robot uprising (like in Terminator).. it was just meant to seed chaos and fear in the society .. nothing more.

        HunterWulf
        Reply

  26. Mmmm. I think this was the first episode of this show that I’ve truly liked in a while. There was actual character development (Junna’s… really didn’t count), a focus on the one character that I don’t feel like I’ve seen done and done better a dozen times before, and absolutely no meandering with pointless busywork for Kimijima Reports.

    This episode also actually helps solidify Kai’s character a bit, because heretofore he’s been more of a plot device than a character. Let’s hope they keep this up.

    Corin
    Reply

  28. Lagging behind in anime…

    Pretty nice episode.
    Theres that brainwashing from Chaos;Head.

    As I watch and read around, I see the big picture of the Science Adventure Series.

    Hopefully I’ll clear off Robotics;Notes by this week.

    iron2000
    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *