First Impressions / Heavy Object

「騎馬戦は足元を崩すべし アマゾンシティ総力戦 II」 (Gibasen wa Ashimoto o Kuzusubeshi Amazon Shiti Souryoku-sen II)
“In a Cavalry Battle, Knock Down the Foothold The All-Out War in Amazon City II”

Listen to the words that are coming out of my mouth, Heavy Object: Destroying Objects without using an Object is not some big revelation. You’ve shown it multiple times yourself.

Destroying an Object Without Using an Object

While I appreciate some elements of Sladder Honeysuckle’s (Hosoya Yoshimasa) plan, most specifically how he admitted that his whole “overturning of conventional doctrines/proving Objects can be destroyed without using an Object” was a Plan B he set up just in case, that doesn’t forgive this episode for its central sin: Acting like the idea that you can sabotage Objects is a surprise. That wasn’t a surprise during the first arc, since of course people are going to try to sabotage Objects, they’re humans, we’re bastard coated bastards with bastard fillings. Ruining things for others is what we do. But then to act like it’s a surprise now, after the series has shown it being done several times? Get outta here.

Which is a shame, ’cause I liked Sladder Honeysuckle’s (what a dumb name) plan otherwise. Using the gun as a decoy to drop the Baby Magnum’s feet with the reactor explosion and shred its pilot with the net is a good plan, even if it relies on a lot of stupid decisions the Baby Magnum’s designers made, most specifically not trusting the Elite enough for them to be able to quickly and easily turn off the eject/self-destruct. But shifty worldbuilding is a Heavy Object hallmark, so no surprise there. I like that it was a plan with layers, and even when Qwenthur figured out about the reactor, he couldn’t stop it from happening in time. The action beats are still better in these more recent arcs compared to the earlier ones, even if the foundation they sit on is still shaky as fuck.

Suicide Bomber Qwenthur

Only one complaint with this scene: When Sladder wondered if the detonator was to the bombs around Qwenthur’s chest, Qwenthur should have detonated it right then. Sladder talked too much, which gave us the time to think, instead of having him bring it up and then WHAM, it happens before we know what’s going on. That would have maintained the shock. Which is endemic of a common Heavy Object (and light novel in general) problem—they talk too much. Other than that though, hellz yeah Qwenthur! You the man, and Havia helped.

They Get No Respect

Gotta love judgmental Milinda. It’s a little harsh that they’re getting sent off to blow up another Object when they set up all the wins and saved lives, even if it mostly feels like Frolaytia is trying to motivate them for their next mission, and Ohime-sama is pissed that Qwenthur groped someone’s boobs other than hers. Still, this was the best part of the episode, as usual, since it was goofy and silly and full of banter.

Looking Ahead

So, bad news: I’m probably going to drop Heavy Object. I really don’t like to drop shows—which is why I’ve only done it one other time in four years—but there are at least three other series I’m thinking of blogging this season, shows which more people seem to be interested in than this, and I haven’t had much new to say on this in a while. Plus most of my posts for Heavy Object tend to be fairly negative by necessity, which isn’t the kind of blogging I like to do.

It’s not that Heavy Object is bad exactly, it just is what it’s always been: A B-movie. And B-movies don’t much need explaining. It’s not good, and much of it doesn’t make sense, but it is enjoyable when it keeps its banter levels at Bruce Campbell level. (Side note: I’m halfway through Ash vs Evil Dead, and it’s a lot of fun so far.) I’ll almost certainly do a finale post to touch on the last few arcs, but it probably doesn’t need a few hundred words each week.

It’s possible that I could change my mind, or that someone else could pick it up, but I probably wouldn’t expect a Heavy Object post next week. My apologies if this disappoints you. (And for those wondering, no, I’m not dropping Utawarerumono).

tl;dr: @StiltsOutLoud – Qwenthur gets shot & pretends to be a suicide bomber to capture the enemy leader. They still get no respect #heavyobject 14

Random thoughts:

  • Turns out Objects are useless in urban environments after all. Whoda thunk it.
  • I feel like Burning Alpha doesn’t survive fying through a building’s windows. Those are pretty strong on tall buildings, you know.
  • It’s adorable how the Intelligence Union thinks that, if they have enough data, they’ll be ready for any problem. Sorry, but it doesn’t work like that. It’s the unknown unknowns thata always get you, and data doesn’t mean jack shit if you’re not wise in how you read and interpret it. Also, Perfect Browsing is a dumb name.

My first novel, Wage Slave Rebellion, is available now. (More info—now in paperback!) Sign up for my email list for a FREE sequel novella. Over at stephenwgee.com, the last four posts: $%&@* cuss words, Stephen, what is best in life?, It depends, and Momentum & mental space.

 

Preview

35 Comments

  1. Heavy Object has turned into one of those “Thou Shalt Not Advance the Plot” repeated weekly shows or paperback book novels like The Destroyer or Mack Bolan or The A-Team. Ok, Objects can be taken down by our daring duo, we got it – now what? The intro keeps giving hints of new characters, maybe Qwenthur and H teaching others how to take down Objects, but somebody (Frolaytia) always hits the reset button so our poor infantrymen soldiers (one with demolition training) have to keep “proving” their anti-Object theory. And pray that their luck holds out. Unless those intro characters come in quick, this series is becoming Groundhog Day.

    (Japanese pronunciation always gets me – “QwenTH-UR” sounding like “QUAS-ar”.)

    jhpace1
    Reply

    1. to advance Heavy Object behind this “you should not advance the story” wall, they need to catch the shadow plays behind this Objects Wars, and that would be called them as “traitors” to their own Army Country and beyond. So they just Win fights, but not the War. If they would end the War, what should they show us after Objects became useless? From today “War Heros” till tomorrow “Old Violent forces”?

      Hime sama would then really be the same Person like we see in the ED? An normal Girl? Dream on, this “Fight the War, not the Enemys” would be cannibalism for this entire Anime, so it “should” not be happen

      Worldwidedepp
      Reply

  2. Wouldn’t the “overturning of doctrines” be referring to human nature as well? We always look for weaknesses in things we find powerful and technology advances as a result. I would interpret the first episode to be the actual first successful attempt by humans to sabotage Objects (though it sounds ridiculous) After reading so many HO volumes, the author’s intention does not seem to be grounding the premise hard in reality. He chooses a theme for each volume to write about, like the “overturning of doctrines for these 3 arcs. If the past episodes were of any indication, we shouldn’t expect a final boss type character to appear anytime soon.

    Anon
    Reply

  3. Sad to see that this will get dropped. But well, heavy object’s main plot of destroying objects are no longer that appealing and is nothing new (heck we all know they can fck up any objects through careful planning so it is like “New enemy object? Boring…”). Well unless the anime have an ace card to use as series ending plot. So dropping it is fine and not to mention the number of anime this season that looks like worthy to get blogged so giveway heavy object.

    The only thing that keeps me from dropping this is the funny relationship between Havia, Qwenthur, Millinda and Frolaytia. And Ohimesama facial expressions are so cute

    Jeffers
    Reply

    1. I pretty much feel the same. Even though I won’t be blogging it, I will be watching it … but almost entirely for the relationship between Havia, Qwenthur, Millinda, and Frolaytia. The rest is as shifty as always.

      Stilts
      Reply

  4. Personally, I interpreted the scenario differently. Whereas Qwenthur and Havia destroy Objects through sabotage, a lot of luck, and occasionally relying on Millinda for the finishing blow, Sladder wanted to prove that one didn’t need fully-built Objects to destroy another Object. Instead, Sladder wanted to prove that strategically positioning the different parts of an object is equally effective as the real deal.

    I’ll repeat: with our duo, they need to infiltrate. With Sladder, he uses existing parts and re-tools them. Where our duo relies on luck and the Baby Magnum, Sladder’s method relies on tactics. The way I interpreted it, had Sladder succeeded, he’s proof (in-universe) that Havia and Qwenthur are not special with their “no-Object Object-killing”.

    Granted, it is convenient use of the setting– that militaries would rather build expensive objects rather than, well, Sladder’s method– but that’s the setting for you.

    Beedle
    Reply

    1. You may be right. That’s a good interpretation. Once can be a fluke—or if one group keeps doing it, they could be geniuses—but twice is a pattern. If he was going to a more repeatable method, that could work.

      Granted, it still feels so dumb to me because obviously you don’t need an Object to kill an Object, but that’s my fault for using normal earth logic, lol

      Stilts
      Reply

    2. I agree with Beedle. Sabotage may work as assassination may work: in the shadows and depending on the ability of the people involved. However, once the Object is out there, it’s (in theory) purely a matter of guns and technical features. It’s like dreadnoughts in WW1; for decades, everyone thought that naval battles would be decided by the number of dreadnoughts in each side. Then WW2 came and air carries could win a naval battle in which the fleets didn’t see one another. Dreadnoughts became useless.

      That’s what Honeysuckle was going for, I think. A commando can sink a ship by sabotaging it, but it’s different to defeat them in the very field they are supposed to control.

      All in all, I have a lot of sympathy for Honeysuckle. In a world of moronic doctrines and stupid world powers who still believe in military fairy tales and are overreliant on very expensive overgrown tanks, he and his corporation managed to play with three different world powers. They’ve been the most enjoyable villains so far because at least they showed more sense and creativity.

      Mistic
      Reply

      1. Yeah, but I still don’t believe that. It’s never been about specs. It’s always been about power at a point—it’s not what you have, but how you use them that matters. And what your goals are.

        So using parts of an Object, or even conventional weaponry, to take down Objects, should have always been on the table. But at this point I’m repeating myself, ’cause that fallacy is baked right into the narrative.

        Stilts
        Reply

      2. I agree, Stilts, but that’s precisely why I like Honeysuckle. At last there’s someone with power and influence to say: “hey, guys, couldn’t we do things differently?”.

        Everything we’ve seen so far implies that every military leader is a moron with no knowledge of history, so Honeysuckle does have good reasons to think that using creativity, knowledge of the terrain and tactics while at the same time cutting costs will amaze them. That a child playing Total War would have reached that same conclusion ages ago it’s not a problem of the character, but of the setting.

        Mistic
        Reply

      3. Battleships did not become useless, especially the built for WWII not WWI left overs. They still provided huge anti aircraft platforms to protect the carriers and the big guns were a lot more effective blowing enemies out of heavily fortified locations and supporting beach landings. But yes they were no longer the decisive arm of the navy.

        Battleships, heavy cruisers and heaver lighter units were discontinued actually because of rigged tests that supposedly showed that in a Nuclear exchange they were useless and carriers almost were abandoned as well, the Soviets stayed out of carriers for the most part. The fun is the test ships were actually not sunk by the first bomb until they cheated by using a underwater second bomb that no one had a way to fire a nuclear warhead long range and have it detonate significantly underwater, way closer than the test called for and even then with good damage control teams on the ships with the water tight bulkheads closed like they would be in combat not open like in the test, they probably would not have sank even then. This was the nuclear war only, no conventional wars in the future, side rigging the game to get all the funding, the army was also neglected resulting in major problems in Korea when we did not use the nuclear bombs as planed.

        I wish you at Random used a short form comment format so you could list a reaction without having to do the screen captures on shows you staff do want to comment on but not fully blog.

        RedRocket
        Reply

  5. Can a multirole fighter plane really break through a large enough pane of glass at that speed? Wouldn’t that damage the airframe? Maybe they’re trying to one-up the “airstrike impossible” (trope!) scenarios in the Ace Combat games, but I’m not sure my willing suspension of disbelief can be stretched any more than it already has. *ding*

    And jeez, you two should’ve just shot Honeysuckle already. (Of course, you can’t, because plot.) *ding* Also, one could say that Orga Itsuka had a face-heel turn and jumped ship from Tekkadan to the Mass Driver Conglomerate. *ding*

    Incognito
    Reply

    2. The nose cone is very lightly materials which is stores the radar dome. Its design to withstand hypersonic traveling not for crashing.

      Types of aircraft using at the Airshow only traveling 400kmh.

      Private
      Reply

      3. or (for our Sci-Fi Fans) they invented an new Propulsion Engine

        The Propeller and Jet Engine until today, are an “Aggressive” art of forcing the Air to move around their plane. The Propeller push the Air, the Jet Engine are nearly the same, just the concentration of the Air flow is much more compact.

        But, if someone invent an “passive” way of Jet Engine?
        An Way where Nature Laws (like in Nature the creating of Wind) will propelling the Jet. An Engine that generate and strong low pressure inside the Engine, that Air from outside get sucked in in a speed that the Plane can fly. The Problem here is the startup low pressure, and the force the fresh Air to move inside the Engine. But this would perhaps save more of Engine Fuel and give them a longer Range

        As i said, let Blueprints being born of these Low pressure Turbines that use natural Physics laws to force the Air into the Engine, strong enough to carry the Plane with its cargo. with this trick you save Fuel and can perhaps travel in lower speed, like an Helicopter

        Well, i know this is Sci-Fi, but are Gundam or Macross or other Anime “inventions” more real?

        Worldwidedepp
        Reply

    3. @Incognito

      They don’t design planes to be able to ram and come out the other side all right. Not only is it never used (kamikaze pilots and the 9-11 attackers didn’t expect to survive), the act of crashing into something would likely whip the plane’s nose around in unpredictable ways, meaning they’d crash almost immediately.

      I’ve seen 777’s with huge dents in their nose cones because they struck a bird in flight. The plane was fine since the nose cone was mostly empty, but a duck did that much damage. What would high-tensile glass do to a military aircraft going many times as fast?

      Boom.

      Stilts
      Reply

    4. The plane can certainly break through glass, but it would not remain undamaged. Air resistance is a completely different beast to rigid body solids (well, viscous fluid in this case if you want to get pedantic). At bare minimum the nose would be dented as Stilts mentioned, along with some serious battering of the internal sensory equipment–weapons guiding would be screwed to say the least. Don’t even get me started on what would happen to the wings.

      The bigger problem is even doing that stunt in the first place. Is it possible? Yes. Does it look cool? Certainly. Would it happen like that? Hell no. Glass is one thing, but there is no way in hell the plane wouldn’t contact one (or several) steel support beams inside the building–most military jets are longer in width than the separation distance between them. Going boom understates the result.

      Pancakes
      Reply

  6. welp, even more injuries for our dynamic duo this time around. So when can they both stay injury free for the entire arc?

    But then, I for one welcome the new members of the “spec. op.” squad that HO may introduce next episode…

    info600
    Reply

  9. “A bastard who sells his own country’s intel? There’s no way some other country would trust him!”. Again, the author whows again a complete lack of knowledge about hirstory and sociology.

    Qwenthur, countries have loved this kind of traitors since ancient times. If it’s money what they want, then give them money. Add that the scientist pretty much confirms he would be content with developing mass driver technology and that the Intelligence Union does like the idea, and it’s a match made in heaven.

    Also, I don’t udnerstand why Qwenthur was so angry at Honeysuckle (what a dumb name). Sure, he didn’t seem particularly heartbroken about losing the Break Carrier, but it’s not as if he isn’t putting his line on the line. And heck, it was you, Qwenthur, who devised a way to destroy it. If anything, it’s Honeysuckle who should be angry at you!

    Stils, don’t worry about dropping it. Your reviews are amazing and entertaining, even the negative ones (in fact, I’d dare to say that they might be better than the positive ones), but it’s not as if the world will lose a lot if Heavy Object doesn’t get reviews.

    Mistic
    Reply

    1. “A bastard who sells his own country’s intel? There’s no way some other country would trust him!”. Again, the author whows again a complete lack of knowledge about hirstory and sociology.

      Yes, i agree

      just one example “operation Paperclip”

      Rocktes to the Moon? Atom Bomb? Super Sonic Planes? and more…

      Well, technically their Home country was defeated and they did not sell them out, but their Wisdom benefited some Country to raise up in Power, and so then began Cold War

      But i hope we all learned from this

      Worldwidedepp
      Reply

    2. @Mistic

      On traitors: Amen. It depends on the reason for their betrayal and whether they in particular seem trustworthy, but history is full of traitors of the sort. They might get talked about behind their backs (think Kharlan in Arslan Senki), but in time even that becomes business as usual, and they become as excepted as they’re gonna be (think Xandes in the same).

      Stilts
      Reply

  11. @Stilts: In retrospect, do you think Kamachi Kazuma’s experiment with writing Heavy Object as an adventure of the week series was successful or not?

    To reiterate his afterwords:

    “I thought the first volume could be…a starter pack that explained the basic setting and actions of the characters (and) the makeup and values of the different parts of the world. Then the subsequent volumes could be something like expansion packs.My intention was to have a timeline that continues with each volume, but where you can pick up and enjoy any volume (provided) you have the basic information from the first volume. I hope you readers can check to see if I was successful or not.”

    PS. Kamachi’s going to write ANOTHER new LN about a swordswoman, on top of his ongoing projects. The fellow’s a beast!!
    http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2016-01-11/heavy-object-a-certain-magical-index-creator-to-launch-new-novel/.97378

    zztop
    Reply

    1. Not especially, no. Not that the idea doesn’t have merit, he just didn’t execute it well.

      I’ll point once again to a comic that did exactly this: Atomic Robo. Because of the nature of a long-lived sentient robot/action scientist, the creators can flit in and out of stories in different time periods (here the Cold War, here WWII, here the modern aughts, here the 1930’s…), and while the entire experience is certainly enriched by having read them all, the order in no way matters, and you can pick up any volume and start from there.

      The reason that works is that each volume is an interesting, complete, self-contained story in its own right, and when it ends, that threat is GONE … probably. There are still recurring villains, but you don’t need to know much about them other than “Robo has fought _______ before” to understand the bad blood between them in a particular story.

      Where Heavy Object screws the pooch is in two areas. First, the conflicts are samey. It’s just Object of the week, and after a while, that’s boring. (As opposed to Atomic Robo, who fights in wars, explores the multiverse, hangs out with Carl Sagan, and more.) Secondly, one of the biggest draws of Heavy Object is the relationship with the main characters, but this style of storytelling damn near demands that their relationships never develop, or there would be continuity and thus a reason to read them in order. Once again, Atomic Robo does better here, because it’s centered entirely around the titular Robo, and while some of his relationships are important—especially to his father, Nikola Tesla—it’s 100% his show. As long as you want to follow the adventures of Atomic Robo, the rest is all gravy.

      As much as I respect Kamachi-sensei for amping out material, if Heavy Object is any indication, maybe he should slow the hell down and think about his stories a little bit more. Though maybe that’s not his strength, in which case, carry on.

      Stilts
      Reply

  15. ep 15:

    Show Spoiler ▼

    Worldwidedepp
    Reply

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