First Impressions / Heavy Object

「二人三脚登山は命懸けて, イグアズ山岳砲撃戦 III」 (Ninin Sankyakutozan wa Inochikaete, Iguazusan Gaku Hougekisen III)
“Three-Legged Mountain-Climbing Is Life-And-Death, The Artillery Battle In The Iguazu Mountains III”

This has probably been Heavy Object’s best arc yet.

Don’t Guess, Plan

Given a choice between three different routes, the usual (and less exciting) method a storyteller takes would be for Qwenthur to guess one of the three, and then for it to either be right (protag-kun is smarter than everyone else) or wrong (fuck, scramble for a solution!!). Here, Qwenthur did neither. Instead he formulated a plan to have each of them cover one route, and then react to whichever one the enemy Object came down. I like that better. He formed a plan that gave them a chance to win no matter what, and exposed their forces to minimal risk—two times out of three, they’d only be risking one soldier, either Qwenthur or Frolaytia. That’s a good plan, and good odds. I like it when my protagonists act intelligently, something Heavy Object hasn’t always been good at.

Backs To The Wall

The key element that allows for one’s protagonists to act intelligently is hardship, usually springing from either A) a highly competent, dangerous, and/or superior enemy, B) bad luck, or C) both. The reason this arc is probably the best Heavy Object arc so far is that it employs both. I went over A in previous posts, so let’s focus on the latter.

Nearly everything that happened in this episode put the protagonist’s backs against the wall. Havia faced multiple enemies, all willing to kill him, which gives them a time limit. Qwenthur’s leg was hurt, and he hurt the other rolling down the hill. Then his radio busted. Sure, it was a bit convenient that he picked up a pistol last episode rather than always having it on him, but as I’ve said before, I’ll let a few things slide if everything else is being done well. And for once, everything was being done well. Everything backed them against the wall, so that they had to scramble to build a path to victory—so when Qwenthur shot out the intel via code and Milinda blew the mountain apart to strike the enemy Object, it was worthy of a cheer.

Groping Oppai for Freedom

I think, if the Milinda x Qwenthur OTP turns into a love triangle between Frolayita, Qwenthur, and Milinda, I’ll be fine with that. That’s because Heavy Object has done something that so many magical-fantasy-action-harem anime forget to do—give the haremettes a reason to like the harem lead. Not that reason is needed in love, but when you know you’re wading into a love triangle or worse (much less okay with the harem end, as a haremette), reason is needed. It could be something as simple as clear chemistry, but that’s harder to depict between multiple people, so having the harem lead do something that draws the haremette’s eye to him is a good path to use. (Note: All of this can apply for female-led harems as well.)

And now we have that from Qwenthur to Frolaytia. Groping for freedom is a new tactic, but it makes sense, along with being amusing and sexy as hell. And if Frolyatia does take a serious interest in Qwenthur—which is by no means a sure thing; she has thus far acted only as a concerned superior, her blushing can be explained by the groping itself, and just because she respects and appreciates Qwenthur for sticking up for her doesn’t mean she will want him to be her boyfriend—it will work better because there’s some kind of identifiable reason for her to wade into the morass. Plus, more jealous Milinda is always a good thing. I hope more of that happens even if Frolaytia never takes an interest in Qwenthur, which would be fine with me.

Looking Forward

Quick announcement: I’ll be evaluating whether I want to continue blogging Heavy Object over the first few weeks of the winter season. Though this arc has been great, I’ve been spending too much time blogging lately, and I don’t want to miss out on covering a good show because I’m already full up. I’ll be blogging the next episode or two while I decide/intro others, and I’ll keep you posted.

tl;dr: @StiltsOutLoud – A stirring end to the most compelling conflict yet. Also, Qwenthur gropes Frolaytia FOR FREEDOM! #heavyobject 12

Random thoughts:

  • I’m okay with Havia joining Bilany Saronna while she drowns her sorrows. Er, in alcohol. Not unleashed flood water.
  • Dat eyecatch.
  • I’m not surprised that Halreed Copacabana (what a ridiculous name) survived. Why waste the character when Heavy Object hasn’t shown itself to be that kind of show? Plus, we never saw the body.

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

29 Comments

  1. This episode was pretty decent; however, I agree that ‘The main character acting intelligently’ is a rarity in this show. Though, I suspect this is intended to be watched while switching your brain off and just having fun with it.

    Alexander Morou
    Reply

  2. I’d have to ask one thing about our main duo here, are they lucky or just lucky to survive that tough luck of this series of turn-of-events?

    OTOH, Frolaytia’s characterization just got a lot more complicated, which I kind of like (aka. that complicated feeling towards Qwenthur). Though what does that mean for ohime-sama Milinda? Time to re-evaluate her crush target?

    info600
    Reply

  3. The only gripe I have is Qwenthur seemingly having “infinite bullets”, as that morse code he sent was pretty long, and he only had two magazines. I’m also surprised those Legitimate Army guys didn’t shoot Havia, out of being a sore loser.

    paulrenzo
    Reply

  5. Okay, time for a somewhat serious question as an aspiring writer: where is this show getting these crazy names that actually work? Milinda is the most normal one, yet I can believe that they’re all someone’s name. They don’t feel like someone just smashed a keyboard then add a few appropriate vowels. Are they using every name in a tiny nationality or what? I like it, just curious.

    Aex
    Reply

    2. From what I remember from other forums is that a lot of the characters are named after alcoholic drinks.

      Off the top of my head:

      Qwenthur’s last name Barbotage is cognac, Grand Marnier, and champagne.

      rh75
      Reply

    3. @Aex

      Different authors do it in different ways. Some use existing names, some tweak existing names in certain ethnicities. Personally, I actually do flail on the keyboard to get some names. Works better than you’d expect.

      Stilts
      Reply

  9. In terms of the douche surviving, they did say his Object was only heavily damaged and knocked out of the fight from the barrage, not that it was destroyed.

    And Frolaytia continues to prove to be best girl <3 Hands off, Qwenthur! She's mine! T_T XD

    HalfDemonInuyasha
    Reply

  15. Dropped this show after the concealed Object arc in the North Pole that tried to jack a satellite and kill Havia’s gf in the moon… should I pick this up again?

    It’s the only J.C. Staff entry in winter too.

    Raiu
    Reply

    1. And not sexual harassment as she says she now has the right to shoot him she has the power. Still not good officer to subordinate relationship although militaries tend to ignore the rules when it comes to those with great talents. Example of military ignoring what they would never tolerate with normal soldiers the Black Sheep Squadron a fighter unit made up of pilots that have had disciplinary problems, most pilots are just targets the pilots who can actually win are rare. (not always sometimes military stupidity to enforce rules wins)

      RedRocket
      Reply

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