In the distant future, the nature of war has changed. "Objects"—massive, spherical tanks impermeable to standard weaponry and armed with destructive firepower—rule the battlefield; their very deployment ensures victory, rendering traditional armies useless. However, this new method of warfare is about to be turned on its head.
Qwenthur Barbotage, a student studying Object Design, and Havia Winchell, a radar analyst of noble birth, serve in the Legitimate Kingdom's 37th Mobile Maintenance Battalion, tasked with supporting the Baby Magnum, one of the nation's Objects. Unfortunately, a battle gone awry places the duo in a precarious situation: mere infantry stand face-to-face against the unfathomable might of an enemy Object. As they scramble to save themselves and their fellow soldiers, a glimmer of hope shines through, and the world's perception of Objects is changed forever.
Heavy Object follows these two soldiers alongside Milinda Brantini, the Baby Magnum's pilot, and their commanding officer Frolaytia Capistrano as the unit treks all over the globe to fight battle after battle. Facing one impossible situation after another, they must summon all their wit and courage to overcome the insurmountable foes that are Objects.
[Written by MAL Rewrite]
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Comentários
kittycats468
I completely got the wrong idea when I read the synopsis probably because I read it wrong so I'll write a mini one of my own. Basically there are giant balls that can kick ass and have a bunch of cannons and can withstand atomic bombs. Then there's Qwenther and Havia who outsmart them and become famous and the whole story is just them figuring out the weaknesses and beating everyone else. Of course you have to have the teenagers be the ones beating everyone up though because that's the law of mecha. Even the commander is only 18 -_- not saying there's anything wrongit's just so cliche...
Art- It was pretty average
Sound- I liked some of the sound tracks and the voice actors were nice too
Character- They do a good job with the characters and it's entertaining watching Qwenther always awakening his inner genius at the last moment and saving the princess. It's always funny when they throw in the pervert element of the 2 mc's too. The producers made good antagonists that made you want to smack them and it brings out the mc's good points even more. There isn't much character development though since they were basically at the peak from the start.
Story- Loved it. It was basically repeating but it kept be hooked the whole time just watching them fight Objects. They waste a lot of time explaining the plans and stuff though even though if you're a normal human being it's hard to keep up with sometimes.
Basically if you like action and a little bit of humor it will probably fit your fancy. You don't have to like mecha to like this. Personally I'm not a huge mecha fan but I really liked this anime.
That's all thanks for reading. ^~^
Stark700
It’s a bird, it’s a plane, no it’s an Object! When you throw an armored machine with unimaginable technology into war, these bad boys are supposed to be the ultimate ace in the hole. They can apparently turn tides in modern warfare. Objects are supposed to revered and feared on the battlefield. Then, we are introduced to two boys - Qwenthur and Havia. These two are able to actually defeat a heavy object with their reckless strategies and thus their daily military misadventure begins in this unorthodox sci-fi show. Adapted from the light novel of the same name, some viewers may be familiar with the originsof this series already. It’s created by Kazuma Kamchi, the brainchild of Toaru Majutsu no Index. With 10 volumes released, the anime adaptation covers a 2-cour of 24 episodes. As as sci-fi modern warfare story, Heavy Objects hits on a variety of ideas. But is it really satisfying with its execution?
There’s a bunch of agendas the series tries to achieve when judging on the surface. One of these is establishing the main players, or otherwise nations that clashes in warfare. These include the Legitimacy Kingdom, Capitalist Corporations, Information Alliance, and the Faith Organization. Each of these favors different values and has their own goals. Second, there are the main characters. Qwenthur and Havia are the two main guys on the frontlines and are literally daredevils. With a wacky sense of humor, both of them really has ways to escape death. Time and time again, the show puts them into situations where they are likely to die yet somehow escapes with their hearts still beating. Some might call this “plot armor” but the show marks it more as a gimmick. Both of these guys are also very crafty and is shown by the way they defeated their first Object. Joining them are two female characters - Frolaytia and Milinda, the elite princess. Frolaytia is their commanding officer and often puts them in dangerous missions. Her quite temper and slight sadistic personality makes her someone to be feared. The show also makes her more of the fan service character as often times, there are suggestive camera shots at her body. This is furthered by the fact that she tempts the boys with her pseudo-sadism. On the other hand, Milinda is more of a quiet girl who relies on using her pilot skills to get the job done. As the pilot of the Baby Magnum, she displays impressive skills that makes her a threat to her enemies. Throughout the series, I think it’s pretty obvious that she has a crush on Qwenthur judging on her reactions.
By the third or fourth episode, it’ll be obvious at how the show is structured with its storytelling. It’s chronicled in a series of arcs that has an overall connection to the main story. The Objects are the main attraction that gets featured in warfare. As thus, a good deal of the show concentrates on exploiting the strengths and weaknesses of the Objects. Each of them has a different configuration, design, armaments, model, and other features that makes it stand out on the battlefield. Now, I admit. I’m kind of a sci-fi nerd when it comes to shows like this. And by the context of this show, it’s quite fascinating when examining the features of these Objects. Essentially, they are armored fighting machines with almost all of them having a spherical main body. The design of each Object is covered by body armor that makes their defensive capabilities pretty stiff. Their propulsion system allows the Objects to maneuver on almost any time of environment. As a show that transits battle environments from the frosty lands of Alaska to dense jungles of the Amazons, it’s pretty important to show how Objects can function in different circumstances. Then, there’s also the reactor that fuels the energy of the Objects. Think of it like as a battery. The pilot controls the cockpit and each Object has its own unique control system. The show mostly features this for Milinida as we see the detailed structure of Baby Magnum’s cockpit. Finally, each Object has a heavy arsenal of weapons that ranges from impressive railguns, laser beam cannons, plasma weapons, and technology that far surpasses our own in the real world. In retrospect, the show does a neat job to cover the mechanics of the Objects and why they have such reputations. And in a story of sci-fi warfare, that needs to be.
On a more personal or relationship level, the show is a bit of a hit or miss. In particular, Qwenthur is a character that is hard to get attached to. He is a daredevil but also very dense when it comes to the feelings of some characters, in particular Milinida. At various points during this show, he gets unintentionally caught in misunderstandings that comically puts himself and others in danger. He invokes the wrath of the girls without knowing with his poor choice of words. And to top it all, he doesn’t realize it even with his good buddy Havia screaming at him. On the other hand, Qwenthur and Havia has a pretty amusing relationship. Their on screen moments shows that they act more like brothers than comrades. Their reckless tactics often requires teamwork and strategic timings so the show emphasizes on their trusting connection. This easily shows that they respect each other while also getting the job done and is one of the key reasons that they are able to survive so many times. Furthermore, the boys often help out Milinida when she is in danger while putting their own lives at risk. It earns Frolaytia’s criticism but there is also genuine among of trust that she places onto the boys. It’s a bit of an unorthodox relationship when these four are shown on screen each time but there’s definitely a good amount of connection between them.
On some of the more negative note, Heavy Object relies far too much on its comedy at times. The sex jokes are pretty evident that quickly gets repetitive. From tight pilot suits to pole dancing, the show tries to pull out every trick from the book. There’s also not enough concrete characterization for the majority of the cast. Although Havia gets some decent characterization in one of the arcs, it’s not really enough to salvage the show. And speaking of main characters, Milinida is a girl that I think people will find hard to relate or like. That stoic face and lack of character development doesn’t make her stand out much in the show. At times, she is even used in story as a fan service object. While the show invests a good amount of time about the Objects, there’s little investment on some of the main antagonists. And even when it does, it’s pretty stereotypical. Finally, some of the supporting characters like Havia’s fiancé, Ho Ho Ho(Yes, that’s not really her real name), Sladder Honeysuckle, etc will be easily forgettable except for their names.
After the promotional videos, it became fairly obvious that J.C Staff would also participate with animating the main series. And because the nature of the original character designs, except to see some similarities. On the positive side, the studio put a good amount of effort to make Objects look like a legitimate threat. I already mentioned their combat features and the show does a well job in crafting them in physical form. This is also demonstrated in the sheer force of fighting power they show on the battlefield. Indeed, the action is solid and fairly well coordinated with its stylized choreography. Character designs are also inspired with military outfits depending on the battle environment. The pilot outfits are also noticeable especially in the case of Milinda. Now, do be aware that there’s also a fair amount of fan service. The awkward timings that usually focus on the girls can sometimes feel humorously uncomforting. Despite that, artwork is decent in general ranging from the impressive Object designs and battlefield landscapes.
Depending on your perspective, the music and soundtrack of the show may or may not stand out. There are two OP theme songs although the first one has a more lyrical beat than the second. The OST of the show is what you may expect if you’ve seen other sci-fi related features. Only of course, it’s somewhat more lighthearted at times while also tense during battle scenarios. The character voice mannerisms are what I depict as fair. The guys’ voices blends between casual to stressful depending on what the type of situations they are caught up in. Sometimes though, it makes them look like fools in the face of danger. Milinda’s voice sounds like a robot at times so it’ll be hard to adapt with from early on. And of course, there’s Frolaytia. Any fan who is familiar with Shizuka Itou will recognize her voice right away and she seems to carry on her role when stepping in the shoes of the commander. Remember Akeno from High School DxD or Hildegard from Beelzebub? Yeah, you get the idea.
Heavy Object is a trick pony. It’s a show with sci-fi elements that also tosses in comedy in the face of danger. With the way the story is structured, it’s to be expected that there will be a variety to offer. This is true when applying to the Objects but the characterization in the show is rather unimpressive. Relationship dynamics is not something I think people will appreciate unless they are part of a target audience. As such, the show is designed to not be taken so seriously like some realistic war story. In fact, you’ll have to watch based on what it’s shown rather than what you’d expect.
YizelTro
Heavy Object. Almost looked like an Apocalypse show to me, but not really. The concept of the action is "Object". Now, what is Object. Object is an Amazing weapon which people use in War. So let me fix it again, The concept of the action is War, Strategy and Object. Why is Object considered as Amazing Weapon even Nuclear bomb can't even destroyed it ? Object looks like a Ball. A big ball with a high quality of Steel as it's Skin. and it's not only 1 layer of steel. 10 or more layers if i'm not wrong. Because of Object, Now people made adifferent way to War. Basically it's just an Object VS Object without any flesh soldier on the field, and if one of the Object can't move anymore, That will be the end of the War. Pretty Simple, but that's what people imagine it would be. In reality, or more like in this anime, Things went different after Object appeared in the middle of the War. War is still the same as usual but with Object right now. People will keep killing each other. Conflict between Country never stop. Fighting for money. for desire. The war still the same as the usual, and this where Qwenthur and Havia came in.
Like i said up there about the story, in my opinion, it was a really complicated story especially when it comes into an Object. they really went deep into the Obejct that sometimes i can't even understand what the MC is talking about. well i guess it's obvious because it's Sci-fi Anime. Overall from the story, it was great despite having a complicated story. Not! all the story are complicated. it's just when it comes into an Object, i got confused. I like the way they executed the arcs. i don't read the LN but i like it. There were no plot BIG! plot twist but overall i like it.
The animation...they used 3D/CGI for the action. i think they used CGI so that it looks real. for me, it looks great. the action looks great in my opinion. Fit perfectly to how the action goes. 3D/CGI really match perfectly with the action in my opinion. And sometimes it's not all abou Object, fighting each other like a monster. there were some soldier figthing each other (including Qwenthur and Havia) and i like it. Not only that! the MC always bring a humorous content while in the action. There were some comedy too while there were not in the action (Fanservice XD) but i like the way they put a comedy in the action XD It was a really fun ride with the two bastard MC XD.
The character, like i said, the MC's are so funny. Really good choice of personality to put in the battlefield, the action always filled with a comey. i like that.
The soundtrack was great in my opinion. Made a really fit atmosphere to this anime. That for the OP and ED song. for the actual soundtrack, it was good i guess. i don't have any problem with it
Overall, it was a really fun ride to me. i wish there is a second season tho...
i really enjoy it. Thanks whoever make this show....( J.C.Staff and SANZIGEN) for making this show 9/10
I recommend it if you like Military and Sci-fi and...Mecha. and it's really unique too with having that kind of character for the Main character. never seen this kind of show before tbh
i'm gonna miss this show
Sorry for bad english.
Hope my review can be helpful to you all.
Thanks. Have a nice day
KaoruMatsuoka
Quiz time! What's the most important element of a good war story? a) The gripping character drama as relatable characters are forced into dangerous situations b) The moral ambiguity of the conflict (good people having to do bad things) c) The themes of loss, both of life and of innocence, on the battlefield d) The tits and ass of the 14 year-old mecha pilot If you answered D, congratulations! You might be a future light novel writer. Every season of anime has one show that is so awful it can't even be enjoyed for its failings anymore. This season, one of the candidates for that prestigious wooden spoonfalls to Heavy Object, a series based off a light novel (alarm bells ringing yet?) by the notoriously anal-retentive Kazuma Kamachi. While it isn't the absolute worst the season has produced so far, it's right near the bottom.
STORY- 1/10
The world of Heavy Object is one where the titular Objects, giant, round mecha, fight in a series of never-ending conflicts with laser guns and all sorts of other advanced technology. Just from reading the blurb on MAL and seeing the picture, I bet you'd expect a hilarious Michael Bay meets G Gundam-style train wreck with mecha beating the piss out of each other, deliciously hammy screaming, the power of nakama, and everything that possibly can blow up blowing up.
It's not.
While some shows might be terrible in both production values and story, they are just so delightfully over-the-top that you can derive all sorts of enjoyment from them. This show is not that at all. If Code Geass is the equivalent of two 747s colliding in midair, and Mirai Nikki is the equivalent of a fully-loaded freight train plowing a poor 16-wheeler who had the misfortune to stall right on the railroad tracks, Heavy Object is the equivalent of backing into a light pole in the neighborhood going 15 miles an hour.
"But surely," you say, "when two incredibly powerful and destructive mechs go at it, there's got to be something to enjoy, right?"
First off, a lot of the time it's not even two mecha fighting at all. The story is mainly about our two bland protagonists goofing off, being perverts, and...blowing up Objects with barely applicable "reasoning".
Yes, the most advanced technological weapon in the history of man, one that "was single-handedly able to change war forever", is defeated by two ordinary foot soldiers. And again, and again, and again, and again. You now have a good idea of the plot. It devalues the threat of the Objects so much because the countries that use them seem downright idiotic for letting two regular joes being able to blow them up on a regular basis. Hasn't anyone actually thought of preparing for sabotage, or trying to stop it?
As well as being utterly boring, it doesn't help that the show shoehorns in what seems like every light novel trope, in dead seriousness. There's constant gazes and glimpses of the schoolgirl mecha pilot's, well, ejection hatch, and most of the fanservice of both her and the attractive female commander (case in point: the infamous pole-dancing scene) comes off as completely out of place due to the fact that there's just so much of it despite it being completely superfluous and unnecessary. The commander wears kimonos that show off her shoulders and breasts. There's an idol singer who shows up for a few episodes. A private military contractor in the final few episodes dresses like maids, and they say "goshujinsama". I am not making this up. This is despite the ethnic makeup of every character that has appeared in the story being 0% Japanese.
At some point, you wonder if the writer has any idea what a war story, or mecha story, actually is. But that doesn't stop Kamachi.
One of the good parts of To Aru Majutsu no Index, as much as I had gripes with it, was how detailed its setting was. Almost every character and artifact that appeared had pages on who they were and why they were important, and it added a lot of depth to what would be a forgettable harem light novel. Heavy Object doesn't even have the worldbuilding aspect going for it. The world is fractured into all sorts of small countries fighting each other because...they are. That's it. This is compounded by the fact that the author seems to have no idea how an actual military works. Let's just say that anyone who's actually served overseas would be less than pleased at this anime's portrayal of war.
There's even times where the story tries to get serious, and bring questions of morality into the equation. The key word here is "tries", because it sure doesn't succeed. Characters will discuss the immoral side of war (while the enemies they're fighting are obviously and hilariously evil, mind you), and then the next scene will be another steamy fanservice scene in a change so quick it will give you whiplash. All the light novel tropes mentioned above makes it impossible to take any serious aspects of the story at face value, and the sheer cliche status of the characters makes it downright idiotic to try to introduce these "mature" elements. Morality is a key issue of war stories, but Heavy Object is too much of a joke to really even be considered one, and as such should never have attempted to get serious in the first place. I hear fans all over say that "you shouldn't take it seriously". However, why shouldn't I when it attempts to pose questions such as this? It clearly wants to take itself seriously. Why should it be judged as a parody?
CHARACTERS-1/10
Main characters Qwenthur and Havia are completely and totally depthless and generic, except for their perversity which seems to increase exponentially every arc. It's like the author decided to drop two harem MCs into a setting without even making it a harem, because both of them could be interchanged with any other light novel protag without missing a beat in the story.
But my major issue with them is that they're one of the biggest Gary Stu duos of the season. Remember the fact that Objects are supposed to be so powerful they make foot soldiers obsolete? Well, these two never lose against them. They do what is the equivalent of defeating a nuclear missile with a baseball bat, and they do it every single arc. You thought Touma and his "nullify everything" was bad? The amount of plot armor these two have could send an elevator into freefall just by getting on it. Because who needs narrative tension when you have plot armor? It's not helped by the fact that they're incredibly unsympathetic; they get away with almost everything questionable they do, and the show just laughs it off.
In contrast, Milinda, the female mecha pilot, exists only to lose. The ability of the protagonists to pull bullshit logic out of their asses allowing them to win is matched only by her ability to job in fights she clearly has the edge in. The only reason why she's there is to provide fanservice, which, as she is a major character, clearly signals something's wrong with that portrayal. "Depth" does not mean "bra size", "depth" means "backstory and motivations".
The female commanding officer is largely the same as Milinda, although she at least has a few lines explaining her situation and is reasonably competent at her job. Nonetheless, the characters are all so one-dimensional that it's nearly impossible to like them.
ART- 7/10
JC Staff, known for their adaptation of mediocre light novels like Shakugan no Shana, DanMachi, and the aforementioned Index, takes the helm on this production. The art is pretty good. I'll admit it's done quite well, and while some of the CGI might be a little shaky, it melds well most of the time. It's quite possibly the only thing saving this show in the first place.
SOUND-3/10
Both the music and the voice acting are completely bland and unforgettable. Despite there being some names in the cast that are recognizable, all the characters' voices are as generic as their personalities. The music is even more so; if anyone managed to get a track from this anime stuck in their head, I'd be impressed. It goes hand in hand with the low production values of the art, and adds the final cherry on top of this atrocity of an animated television series.
OVERALL-2/10
Heavy Object had the potential to be an at least sort-of enjoyable trainwreck, but as noted above, it couldn't even manage that. Instead what we got is a weird mishmash of all the wrong parts about serious war stories, hot-blooded mecha shows, and trashy LNs. When the art is the only thing saving you from a 1/10, you know something's wrong. Hope I could at least convince someone not to watch it, or to go into it with heavy apprehensions, and it leaves me with the final thoughts that Kazuma Kamachi really needs to step his game up.
LegendAqua
LA at first was excited at this anime, being a light novel adaptation by Kazuma Kamachi (the creator of the To Aru Index franchise), however from the first impressions of this anime, it gave off a huge amount of exposition about the world of Objects and that was about it for about 3 episodes or so, it wasn't until it got to it's episodic arcs where it really got interesting. The episodic arcs from episode 4 onwards changed as the arcs showed us not only world building of the world of Objects but through how the Objects are used by differing nations either wanting materials tostraight up want a dog fight with the main cast's Object and with Qwenthur and Havia helping just that one step and heck even they (obviously) move the plot forward to ensuring Milinda wins the battle with their lives intact.
Qwenthur does have the entire "he knows how to beat them" schtick about him and yes he does, but even then he doesn't ALWAYS win and the anime knows that, however he has the typical "dense main protagonist" when it comes to romance -sigh- it's even here. As for Havia, well LA likes the character enough although he has "perverted best friend" status all over him. LA's favourite character is actually Frolaytia Capistrano because ''Shizuka Ito''.
If this anime had any flaws, it would be it's huge amount of exposition and less amount of the characters and more on world building, the characters by the most part are cogs for the plot and nothing more as the "world" they are in dictates what they need to do, twofold when it comes to Qwenthur and Havia as they are usually ordered by the higher ups to do whatever to further the plot.
The animation by JC Staff were decent enough for the character designs and backgrounding, although the background limits itself to "ocean", "desert", "artic" and "inside a mech", on speaking of which SANGIZEN handles the mech and by all means they did good when it concerns the Object battles, like even with it's 3D CGI on the mech's, it works. LA will say this about CGI, if they can be fluidly animated to the scene or fight instead of blatantly obvious that it is CGI, then LA can praise the CGI and guess what the Object's battle set pieces using the CGI were done well.
There are many plot twists concerning the plot especially about the Object to the inner conflicts of the multiple battles and as to WHY they are happening. The plot twists helps immensely to get immersed into this world and LA praise Heavy Object for that.
The ending is like another episodic arc but with the stakes risen to a volatile degree and by all means it felt big due to the amount of minor characters helping Qwenthur and Havia and helped immensely, due to how Heavy Object is formatted, there could be more to come from this anime series but nonetheless this final arc was a great watch.
Heavy Object looks at first a huge expositionary anime about it's world, but once it really gets started it really starts focusing on it's Object wars, the Object themselves and really how the main cast moves the world of Objects. The characters although typical and cliched, they are more golden cogs for the bigger view of the episodic plot arcs for a bigger world and war of Object.
LA will say to look at this anime up to it's 4th episode, if your curious about Heavy Object's world, then carry on, if not then pass on this one. It's an anime where it loves it's world with it's characters being the cogs moving the plot and sure the exposition comes out A LOT but if you can slog through that and get into the more focused episodic arcs, you WILL be satisfied with it with a bigger and better world building and A LOT more risks.
Flawfinder
I know we’ve all made fun of light novel names over the years, but I don’t think anyone could have figured that one of the very few short ones would end up being the most reliable goldmine in terms of naming humor in quite a while. Within an hour of its airing, most people I pay attention to kept making hilari-dumb tweets such as “dropping Heavy Object because I don’t even lift” and “not even bothering to pick Heavy Object up because it looks too big for me”, and it never ceased to be funny. One wonders why we didn’t come up with this jokebefore airing considering how obvious it is in retrospect. Guess we were too busy looking at the girls’ massive bosoms and connecting the unfortunate name to them.
Now I’m a guy who’ll watch anything as long as it looks interesting, regardless of quality. And in Heavy Object’s case, I picked it up solely for the opportunity to exploit its name because I’m not mature enough to let such a childish goldmine slide past me. Unfortunately, it’s been more than six months since the show’s initial airing and by now, every other person who was also stupid enough to stick with this show has dug up every fleck of yellow sparkle in the thing, leaving me with little fresh material. As such, the only way I can proceed forward with my intended goal in regards to this awful anime is to put on a straight face and use these name-jokes ironically by pointing out its overuse and then using them anyways. Already did the first part and I’m going to proceed with the second, so let’s start right now by saying Heavy Object is truth in advertising because it’s a pretty heavy anime alright. Heavy in bullshit that is!
Heavy Object comes to us from the creators of Index/Railgun, which I don't remember a thing about aside from Touma punching nuns, so I couldn't tell you how it compares to them other than the fact that the production values are toilet-tier with or without comparison. It's full of horrible production choices, from the cheap-ass CG explosions to the character designs being plainer than a rocking chair in a nursery home. The main characters are pretty bland as well. Qwenthur Barbotage and Havia Winchell are two male soldiers who received recognition for doing the impossible and destroying an elite war machine called an Object with their own ingenuity aka dumb luck and plot convenience. This causes people to realize that Objects are less effective than Metal Gears in terms of invincibility and as such, the duo are sent on a string of dangerous missions by their commanding officers hoping that lightning can strike twice. Because this is a two-cour show based on an ongoing light novel series with no end in sight, the lightning strikes about five times throughout Heavy Object's run, each time more contrived than the last. But considering the situations are in of themselves contrived, it all balances out I guess.
The problem with our leads is that they have as much charisma as Pauly Shore and Steven Baldwin from Biodome. Everything that happens to them is completely situational, and when they're not doing their soldier duty, they're either reading porno mags or groping their superior officers. Not that it helps that said superior dresses like a stripper trying to pose as an officer, and the camera takes every opportunity to pan all over her own "heavy objects" even when she's on the battlefield. But I feel something has gone horribly wrong when the only thing you can remember about each arc after it's finished is what fetish the writer crowbarred in this time. There's also this little girl named Milinda who is pretty much the opposite in terms of fetish design, but if you think this show is above what looks to be a little girl taking every opportunity to strip down, then you don't know JC Staff. And no, none of the females are any better than our male leads in terms of likability. They're just not stupid enough to the point that you'd want to punch them, then drill holes in their heads before turning it on yourself.
As is usual for what passes for writing in light novel world, Heavy Object is a load of heavy plot without any actual story to support viewers when they pick it up. There are several episodes - usually at the start of a new arc - that consist of nothing but exposition and the male leads trying to import some foreign porn. Not exactly something that I want to carry around, is it? And the missions themselves are completely throwaway, not amounting to anything but visual junk food that never changes that status quo and isn't even exciting to watch due to the horrible direction and the obviously pandering fetish fuel. None of the military stuff even remotely resembles real life, and if this is supposed to be a satire regarding the future of government weapons, whatever it's trying to say about them is completely lost on me. At one point, the characters run into a military unit consisting of nothing but female soldiers dressed in maid uniforms for a reason that I honestly can't remember and refuse to look up because the outfits are never relevant to the plot and neither are those soldiers for that matter. We all know the only reason it exists was just so that we could have maid fanservice in this anime, so really who cares? And it's the fact that no one does that exemplifies just how completely pointless anything that happens in Heavy Object is.
Speaking of female soldiers, there sure are a lot of them holding important positions in a primarily male-dominated profession, aren't there? Every single arc seems to have at least one new girl for the characters to interact with, and I can't remember a single important supporting cast member with a Y chromosome that didn't look like he belonged right at home in an NTR hentai. You could say it's a progressive choice, but given how most of the females have to be supported by men who aren't exactly General Patton in terms of intimidating in order to do anything, along with the fact that I don't exactly see the males wearing uniforms with their chests hanging out, you'd have a hard time convincing me or 99% of the human population that that is true. It's just bland, light novel, reverse feminism bullshit of giving the females powerful positions and removing what made them so powerful in the first place to the point that you might as well have not bothered.
And that's what Heavy Bullshit is at the end of the day. Bland. Invisible. Toothless. Castrated. Completely fucking stupid. So full of nothing but heavy crap that made my thinking muscles sore after holding onto it for so long. There's no story, there's no character development, there's no overall progression, and the production is so lazy it makes a Snorlax look energetic. My advice to you? Don't even bother picking it up. There are much better ways to work out that don't involve the risk of dropping a heavy object right on your foot and causing permanent damage.
jc9622
I have a deep hatred towards mechas. They're as generic as a light novel anime adaptations out there with a protagonist who's OP as hell and gets all the girls he wants with ease. When J.C Staff announced this anime, I avoided this at first but I decided to just go and give it a try. Surprisingly, Heavy Object is one of my guilty pleasures. One of the reasons why I enjoyed it is because Heavy Object isn't your usual flying robots mecha anime. [Story]: (3/10) In the distant future, a massive, spherical tanks called "Objects"; armed with a very powerful cannon and equipped withan armour that renders tanks, jets, warships and even nuclear weapons obsolete, has changed the nature of warfare and how it's played out.
Even though I said that I enjoyed Heavy Object, I can't deny that the storyline was absolute shit and I realized this after watching about 3-4 arcs. The same stuff basically happens for every single arc. Hell, I could summarize a whole arc for you right now. The main character goes in and/or is forced into the battlefield by their superior, they figure out the issue and they destroy the so-called "invisible" Object. They then move on to a new country and the process repeats itself. That's it. I just summarized the whole show for you because that's what happened in every single arc up to the final episode. Depending on the person watching this series, by the time you get into the 4th arc, it's going to feel repetitive as hell. The plot structure is literally the same for each arc. After watching about..Hmm, let's say 4-5 arcs, you've pretty much seen everything Heavy Object has to offer.
Now let me explain why I enjoyed the series. Heavy Object features a different kind of mechas and it isn't your usual ridiculous flying robots that I came to hate and is instead, a giant tank-like machines that absolutely cannot fly and it literally looks like a giant ball on threads outfitted with giant-ass cannons. I thought the Object vs Object battle scenes were amazing even though it was just a battle of attrition (kind of similar to WW1's Trench Warfare) which is the most boring kind of battle to watch but the show somehow made it thrilling to watch.
However, an Object vs Object battle scenes are not the only action that you'll see in Heavy Object. We also see the main characters strategizing on how to take down an Object and executing said strategies to destroy an Object, even though half of the strategies that they come up with are so obvious and it makes you wonder how a military with more extensive training than a mechanic and his partner couldn't come up with those strategies. Hell, I'm just a military nerd/enthusiast and I somehow figured out how to destroy a giant-ass Object with obvious weak spots because history has thought us that every giant war machine that mankind has ever made can be easily destroyed. It also makes you wonder if the author knows slightly anything about the military because it's obvious that he doesn't. There was another military show that ran on the same season as Heavy Object called "Gate: And so the Self Defence Force Fought There: Season 2" and you can tell that the author actually once served on the JSDF because the military tactics that they use on that show are fairly realistic and makes Heavy Object's military tactics look like a childish joke.
There are about 10 arcs in the series and all of them lasted about 2-3 episodes. Except there was one arc in the series that only lasted for about an episode and its main purpose was to develop Havia's character which I though was a pretty good episode. Hmm, 2-3 episodes per arc. That should tell you that HO's pacing is rushed right? Right but since I stopped paying attention (not completely) to the story after watching about 3 or so arcs, I felt like the pacing suddenly went from fast to average.
For a show that talks about the "horrors of war" every time, all I see is a bunch of fanservice scenes in almost every single episode. Almost every single female characters in the show that gets screentime are subjected to ass shots, big bouncing boobs scenes, camera focusing on boobs while the characters are talking about politics and war, female characters in sexual poses, and etc. I'm honestly tired of anime shows sexualizing its female characters. Like do we still live in the 20th Century where women are just sexual toys to be played around by men or something?
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[Art/Animation]: (9/10)
Ever since "Railgun S", J.C Staff's animation has been really improving and Heavy Object is no exception. For the most part, the animation is smooth and consistent and there were barely any still shots which made the Object vs Object battles exciting to watch. The character designs are pretty average and if you've seen any J.C Staff anime from 2013 and onwards then it should look very familiar to you. As for the Object's designs, I thought they were ugly at first but I got used to their design and I suddenly thought they were amazing. If I have to guess, studio SANZIGEN did the Object's designs.
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[Sound]: (8/10)
The soundtrack is your generic "Action Movie" soundtrack. Some of them were great and some of them were average. Now the OP and ED theme song(s)
The OP theme songs are "One More Chance" by ALL OFF and "Never Gave Up" by ALL OFF. The ED theme songs are "Dear Brave" by Kano and "Kawaranai Tsuyosa" by Yuka Iguchi. The 1st OP theme song is absolute trash and I ended up skipping it by the 2nd episode. When the Opening changed, I was relieved because the 2nd OP theme song is 100 times better than the first OP theme song. As for the ED theme songs, both of them were amazing, 1st being the best.
I watched the English Dub version of the show so I'll be reviewing the English VA's. For a Broadcast Dub anime, the voice actors surprisingly did a great job not f*cking up the character's voices. They didn't sound monotonic at all and you can tell they put some emotions in a cardboard cut characters. Watching the show in English Dub is one of the reasons why I enjoyed this show. I didn't have to read any subtitles and I just turned off my brain while watching this show. When I heard that Alexis Tipton was going to cast Mellinda, Heavy Object was suddenly an automatic watch for me because I love her voice and she completely met my expectations when I heard her voice as Mellinda in the first episode.
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[Characters]: (6/10)
I like the main characters..There, I said it.
"Oh please, do explain why you love the main characters".
Very well then. The two main characters Qwenthur and Havia are a couple of walking Gary Stu characters who've experienced not 1, not 2, not 3, not 4 but 10 death defying experiences with the Objects who are supposedly used as a deterrent against another countries to make them shit their pants and to make them think twice about waging war against a country who has a powerful Object. Objects are supposed to nullify "Boots on the ground" but alas, that doesn't stop these 2 main characters, equipped with one of the most protective plot armours that you could ever find in the medium, from blowing up 10 Objects in a row. Hell, if a Rapture ever comes, these 2 main characters will easily defeat our Lord and Almighty Savior "Kirito-kun" who is known to mankind as the most powerful character to ever exist. They're also a couple of one-dimensional cardboard cut-out characters that received little to no character development at all. So why?! Why the hell do I like these 2 main characters?!
Ready for the answer? Here we go...They're hilarious and I meant that in a good way. Both Qwenthur and Havia have a great chemistry when they're paired up together. They're a great comedy duo. Everytime they're paired up, it just leads to hilarious moments and perverted moments that also somehow made me laugh. Well, the comedy is not as funny as KonoSuba but the show still made me laugh from start to end. Millinda is also hilarious when she gets jealous or when she and that red-haired girl are arguing. That's about it.
So the protagonists of the show received little to no character development. How about Millinda and that 18-year old girl whose breasts is the size of a bowling ball Froylatia? They should have at least received some character development right?. Wrong! They didn't. The only good side they have is they're hilarious and that's it.
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[Enjoyment]: (8.5/10)
At first, Heavy Object pissed me off because I was expecting a great war story but instead got a literal "Two-Man Army" taking down an Object. Then I did one simple action that no one expected. I switched my brain off and turned my brain into hibernation mode. It worked! Next thing I know, I enjoyed the series and watching Heavy Object every Friday night became one of the best 25 weeks of my life.
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[VERDICT]
The premise and concept of Heavy Object had potential but instead went into the otaku-pandering route. The concept of war in Heavy Object is a joke and it shouldn't be taken seriously. The story went absolutely nowhere and the plot structure is literally the same for each and every arc. The characters may be hilarious and quite enjoyable to watch but they are still a bunch of one-dimensional characters that received little to no character development. Heavy Object's fanservice is also insane and I'm wondering why there's no Ecchi tag in the show's genre because the show is full of big boobs, ass and pantie shots.
With all the ranting aside though, I still enjoyed the series and you may enjoy it too if you turn your brain off because Heavy Object is one of those "turn your brain off" series. By the way, I'm expecting a new series from the author to be released next year called "Light Stuff". It better be good.
[OVERALL]: (6.8/10)
Pros:
+Enjoyable series if you shut your brain down and you don't overthink what the show is trying to tell and do.
+Amazing "Object vs Object" action scenes
+Great 2nd OP theme song and all of ED theme songs
+Great chemistry between Qwenthur and Havia
+Characters are hilarious
Cons:
-Heavy Object's concept of war is a joke
-Heavy Objects's military tactics are also a joke
-Story went absolutely nowhere and the plot structure are literally the same for each and every arc
-Excessive fanservice
-Main character's excessive death-defying experiences. In other words, they have unlimited "Deus-Ex Machinas"
-All of the main characters are one-dimensional
-You've pretty much seen everything Heavy Object has to offer after the 4th or 5th arc
-Pacing issues
easilypleased23
Heavy Object takes place in a distant future where the world has stopped using typical ways to fight wars. The weapons of choice in all combat are called Objects. Objects are machines of destruction that cannot be destroyed by military weaponry. Humans who go up against objects are seen as suicide missions. That's exactly what Havia and Qwenthur are forced to do. Qwentur a student who wishes to be a designer of Objects and Havia a rich noble who just happens to be in the service. They are put to the test. The story itself is just one major battle after another to fight fortheir country. The four main characters we see the most are Qwenthur, Havia, Milianda Britani (aka Princess) and Froletya.
For those who love to see giant robot fights. This is a bit of a curve ball. Objects are not suit that are shaped as humanoid things that fight (like Gundams). The major rule everyone plays by is once your object is destroyed then the fight is over.
That pretty much sums up what goes on in there. Besides spoiler things that I won't go into much detail on. The show itself has seriousness and some very ecchi(fanservice) things thrown in for those looking for it. Their favorite target of course is Froletya (for two very large obvious reasons). All in all I had a great time watching it. I'm a sucker for things mecha and seeing underdogs who are forced into combat are things that bring a smile to my face.
Maimark5
I started watching this and finished it in one day! I founded this on a Top Anime list and so, I decided to watch it since it keeps on showing up. The Anime world seems to be fading for me, I watched too much good anime that there was no more to be find for me. When my Anime feelings was being killed from the inside, I found this Anime and almost recovered fully! For me, an Anime like this is a rare counter. And so, I will be doing my first review for my life on this Anime, since it gave me my the joy I needed. Most people willconsidered an Mech Anime bad, but however this one sets out something different.
I think its 9/10 because!
The story sets out on when the real world was more in the future with an War Mech called Objects, Objects are unbeatable War Mech that decides who wins the war, the wars are now up to Specs and Elites (Pilots) of the Objects. Just when the army were doing nothing but sits around and wait for their Objects to return from war, we have the main Characters, Qwenthur and Havia, Qwenthur was a guy who seeks to be a Object Designer or richness because of what he had realized in the past, but he is still an Student in the Army Program. Havia was form a noble family, he joined the army to prove himself worthy to take the responsibility of what his family is about, he is a Soldier of the Army Program. As the story begins them cleaning the Way for the armies road and air field.
The base was under attack. They did nothing and send out the Object and the Elite to do her job, their Elite is a called Princess. And their Object is an 1st Gen, they are up in battle with a 2nd Gen.
Princess could deal with any Mech that are even better than her, but that was when they found out that the war with Mech is not that peaceful for Army Members that are not Elites.
Usually, when an Mech is defeated, an White flag would be putted up, So now one will get in harms way. But the enemy Object did not care, it rushed to the base and destroyed everything, and the story picks off with Qwenthur and Havia saving the princess and broke the balance between men and objects, they took down an object with just some useless equipment.
They did the incredibly, they also saved the princess.
That was when they went on worldwide mission to save the world with useless equipment and make it work, they also caused problems of their own, like how enemies are rising to take out the Object without another objects since they think if someone can do it, its possible for them too!
While the story goes from there, the story was filed with Enjoyable content.
I personally gave it a 1+ Rating because of how it was real hard for me to find a good anime until this came.
You would find Contents for you to smile and laugh in this anime, the Art is also cool along with the sounds, they both got great effects and even stays great when its normal time in the anime.
You might drop out on first few episode, I did not since I saw something others could not see and kept me going until the end, and it was totally worth it!
I went to sleep that day with a smile on my face.
Go get your smile, check it out till the end! :-D
Lord_Rutsah
You know, in my country we have a word, "stratokavlos", roughly translating to "army-d!cked". Boy does it fit here. In the future, giant robots handle warfare in place of human soldiers. They're incredible exterior armors make them immune to nearly every conventional weapon, so basically the only way to kill these "objects" is with an object of your own. Qwenthur and Havia, a military engineer and a soldier respectively (whose royalty background you'd swear they swapped by mistake), don't have that luxury. While the "Princess", the female lead, handles riding their nation's Object, they are pretty much errant boys, assisting in maintainance and being looked downon by their superiors. Eventually an enemy Object attacks and the 2 fail to evacuate. As a result they are left on-foot against a giant metal monstrosity.
Since their chances of escaping are slim, they decide to go sabbotage the thing, which is surprisingly easier than one would expect. They go inside it, break a few things and then get out while the cavalry arrives in the form of the princess to finish the enemy off. After that they are congratulated by their overly sexualised superiors, because NOONE ELSE HAD EVER THOUGHT OF SABOTAGING THESE THINGS. Dead. F@cking. Serious. They get sent to one mission after another, sabotaging various weird types of enemy Objects and impressing their fellow military chicks.
This is the anime pretty much. There are one or two minor subplots here and there, like their general having to marry a typical royal douchebag or something similar, but honestly that's not what you will be remembering the anime for. What you will be remembering it for are: 1)Ladies overly open with their sexuality (to a frankly uncomfortable decree at times). 2)Giant robot-y things crawling around.
Despite the show being all about action though, you'll somehow feel completely unexcited. The anime is way too focused on military douchbaggery and "super duper gun" terms for the average viewer to keep up, the action is pretty generic for the most part, the soldier-on-soldier fights are pretty much inconsequencial since a giant mecha can wipe out half the continent with the press of a button and the "anime" parts just feel forced.
Pros:
-Original Concept.
-Nice graphics.
-Good art direction.
Cons:
-Too much military terminology for its own good.
-Poorly written characters.
-Seriously, NOONE thought of sabotaging these things before?
-Complete lack of excitement.
-See two episodes and you've seen them all.
-Lack of any sort of story progress.
BanjoTheBear
(This review has been adapted from my blog/reddit thread. Spoilers ahead!) The heaviest item I have ever picked up was a giant television in my parents’ basement. Though, at the time, it felt like I was carrying a medium-sized engine rather than a piece of technology that I once played all of my video games on. I distinctly remember picking it up, but, I had so much trouble, my father had to help out. Even then, when it finally got stashed away, the muscles in my arms convulsed from the strain. That either says a lot about the TV or a lot about me. Probably both. Regardless, it weighsnothing compared to the monstrosities created within Heavy Object. I’m talking pounds versus tons. Hundreds of thousands of tons. But more than weight, it also has tons of problems, too.
STORY
Heavy Object places Qwenthur and Havia, a student abroad and a radar analyst, in the battlefield of war. However, in this day and age, wars are not fought between foot soldiers but rather huge, hulking, and heavy machines codenamed Objects.
To see these Objects in action, the anime partitions itself into many mini arcs. Each arc, not lasting longer than three episodes and adopting crazy-long titles, follows the same pattern. The Legitimate Kingdom’s (the good guys) Object shows up and cannot succeed on its own. Qwenthur and Havia do the majority of the grunt work. And everybody lives happily ever after.
For twenty-four episodes.
Without fail.
It makes one wonder how this country survived without Qwenthur and Havia since they pretty much win every single battle by themselves. It also causes some frustration with the action. Milinda, the pilot for Baby Magnum (the Object owned by the Legitimate Kingdom), almost never destroys an enemy Object and vice versa. In essence, this leads to a lot of repetition and frustration when the battles involve little more than two giant balls rotating about each other while their artillery, gunfire, and lasers continually miss.
To be fair, each encounter manages to differentiate itself from the others even if they are more or less the same set of events. For example, “The Graveyard of Junk is a Mountain of Rare Metals” sees Qwenthur infiltrating the inside of the Object to stop the Elite that pilots it. And “Tom Thumb Races Through the Oil Field” sees Qwenthur trekking underwater to blow up mines being dragged along by the enemy Object.
Plus, the anime diversifies its setting. Yes, it has a few extra snowy locales, but the anime makes an effort to have the war take place within a dense jungle, rough mountains, and an abandoned city. With the change in locale comes different types of Objects and, hence, new solutions that Qwenthur and Havia must concoct.
To be even more fair, the point of Heavy Object’s pattern, the reason why the bro-buddy duo always arrives to save the day, is to support its biggest theme. That theme? To show that man still has purpose despite the overwhelming reliance on Objects.
Qwenthur and Havia represent a “dying breed” of war: troops. With the advent of war doctrines and these technological behemoths, ground support is rarely needed nowadays. On top of this, they can barely do anything against such monstrosities. But these two demonstrate time and again that what man has created, he can destroy.
Admittedly, this theme undergoes a lot of heavy-handedness in the form of swathing exposition. I.e., hearing Havia cry about man being unable to beat machine (when they have literally been proving otherwise) gets tiresome.
The anime attempts to tackle other themes, such as the darker side of war (notably rape) and the loss of comrades. But these ideas either undergo the same overt explanation or are only briefly thought about without exploration.
Stepping back from the themes and looking solely at the plot developments, the anime sees trouble here as well. Frankly, a lot of the plot points come out of nowhere. The “Mirror of Truth” in the final arc. The spy planted by the Legitimate Kingdom during “The Coal Mine Littered with Stacks of Money.” The so-called “Blind Net” that terrorists were aiming to destroy to attack a resort on the moon. These are just a few examples of the anime coming up with material on the spot.
Simultaneously, the anime can demonstrate a bit of writing know-how. From those same examples, the anime takes advantage of characters or ideas introduced beforehand, making the outcomes feel logical. Like when Qwenthur uses diamonds he stole from that mine or when the villain in the final arc is the same guy they let live earlier in the season. In other words, the plot points start off awkwardly but end up nicely.
Lastly, the anime loves to include sexual moments. More specifically, the anime centers a lot of its comedy and downtime on shenanigans involving a naked Frolaytia or a “mission” to out the boys’ smut stash. Not ecchi but rather provocative. And that makes sense – two boys cooped up in the military gives the sex much-needed context. To put it differently, having this material around does not detract from the experience but instead improves it.
All in all, the anime may not be much more than comedy, action, and sex. But when it does try to be more than that, it cannot carry itself.
ANIMATION
The art and animation for Heavy Object teeters on the edge between passable and not quite so.
The Objects themselves are rather dull. They are hunks of metal with giant cannons attached to them. Cool, but, when each one more or less has the same look, with minor variations in dull colors, they aren’t the most pleasant entities in the anime. Although, to be fair, the CGI used to create the objects looks acceptable, maybe even nice, a majority of the time.
Locations are likewise lackluster. Mountainous regions and dense forests are arguably atmospheric, but they do not lend themselves to minute details, inducing the same sense of repetition as the Objects. Plus, more often than not, the areas are vast and open, leaving even less room for artistic flexibility.
Actual animation tends to stray somewhere around average. Explosions explode in a fiery mass of smoke and debris. The Objects strafe, jump, and cruise appropriately. And Frolaytia gets a few extra frames for her breasts and poses to up her sexuality.
The rest of the anime, however, does not stand out. Qwenthur and Havia run around a lot, they do a lot of speaking. But nothing impressive. Nothing awful either (at least, no notable dips). Just an average amount of body movements and facial expressions.
The character designs are the same way with a few exceptions. To be fair, Qwenthur and Havia are somewhat meant to be the all-around Joes. Meaning their short-cropped hair and regular physiques go along with their every-man personas. But their change in gear, depending on the area, comes only with barest of details. “Ohoho” gets her fake design and her actual design, a switch the anime uses for nice comedic effect.
Frolaytia, though, deserves the biggest mention. Her silver hair, tight officer’s uniform, sharp, purple eyes, personal pipe, and bountiful assets turn her into a commander worth leading others and lusting after.
Every other design, however, does not reach the same level. Milinda’s bob-cut blonde hair and purple-and-blue attire, while cute, does not catch the eye. And the rest of the cast are just too plain to mention. Admittedly, that may be the point – despite the Objects, the setting is a realistic one – but they still do not make for enticing designs.
CHARACTERS
The cast of Heavy Object have a major problem: little is known about them.
The characters who receive the most time are Frolaytia and Havia. Frolaytia decided to join the military to escape the hungry eyes of hormonal men. In essence, her genetics (specifically her ability to create heirs) has made her much sought after. Not as a person or a woman but as an object to continue the family heritage of her “potential” suitors.
Her backstory makes her tough personality and harsh leadership easier to understand; she simply hates being looked down upon. Sadly, that’s the extent of her character. Every other time she’s on screen is used to showcase her sexuality: bending over while playing pool, groaning in the gym, and so on. Even when her backstory turns into a plot point, the anime makes fondling her breasts and calling her a slut the answer to her problem.
Havia is not that much better. As the lesser half to the best-friend pair, he is actually in line to take over as head of his family. Meaning he did not have to join the military. But he chose to anyway as a way to learn and grow and become stronger.
He, more so than Qwenthur, is the funny man, cracking jokes whenever possible. He also acts as the voice of reason. Where Qwenthur is always gung-ho about diving into yet another Object quarrel, Havia argues against the decision, citing the scale, the difficulty, or any other relevant factor that will surely lead to his and his best friend’s demise.
And despite his perverted tendencies and love of women, he betrothed himself to the daughter of a rival family, indicating a sense of maturity that one does not often associate with him.
Similar to Frolaytia, however, Havia does not get much more than this. Indeed, he’s the “lesser half” because Qwenthur usually gets most of the glory. Granted, this imbalanced praise is a joke that the anime uses – Havia getting mistreated does make for some nice comedy – but he rarely gets the commendations he deserves.
Speaking of Qwenthur, even less is known about him. He is a student training and learning in order to become an Object designer. Suffice it to say that his time destroying said Objects has certainly given him a lot of knowledge. Most of the time, though, he spends joking with Havia, staring at Frolaytia, or helping Milinda. Other details are given, such as a father who works for a living or his knack for quick thinking, but his character does not extend beyond these details.
Believe it or not, Milinda has it even worse. Perhaps the worst. She is an Elite, a specialized soldier who controls Objects. Technically a princess, her unemotional personality and unique lifestyle has kept her separated from others. In short, she’s lonely.
Qwenthur turns into her romantic love interest, but that goes nowhere. In fact, her loneliness hardly changes. She is always in the Baby Magnum (and being useless), so she rarely interacts with him. Doubly so for Frolaytia, Havia, and the other characters. She gets next to no backstory, her relationships do not change, and she does not develop as a person. The most the anime gives about her character has to be gleaned from (both of) the ED visuals. Her only role is to pilot the Legitimate Kingdom’s object and occasionally provide a different brand of sexuality.
Still, it’s difficult to call the cast awful when the anime focused on exactly what it wanted to be: a high-action anime featuring two bros, some sexy girls, and a ton of tech. But it still would have been beneficial to see them affected more by their situation, by the outcomes, and by each other.
SOUND
The music for Heavy Object is arguably its weakest category.
At the minimum, the first opening track and the voice acting performances are worthy of some props. What the first OP does well is combining coolness with a twinge of comedy (in the first half) and a triumphant tone (in the second half). The hard rock, catchy beat, and mixture of both Japanese and English lyrics also contribute to the overall strength of the piece.
As for the voice acting performances, while not top-of-the-line or stand-out, they make the cast fun to listen to throughout. Natsuki Hanae as Qwenthur and Kaito Ishikawa as Havia work well in tandem, providing fast-paced dialogue segments, lots of yelling, and occasional swearing. Shizuka Itou as Frolaytia does not speak fast or yell or swear all that much, but she brings the sex appeal with a sultry voice nonetheless. And while Eri Suzuki as Milinda has a nice monotone way of speaking, she is not around enough to make much of an impact.
The rest of the music finds trouble. The second OP tries to replicate what the first OP did, but it fails. It’s still hard rock, triumphant, and filled with both Japanese and English lyrics. But, this time, the beat is not as catchy, the triumph is not as thrilling, and the singing sounds clunky, out-of-place.
Listening to the ending tracks makes it obvious how different in tone they are from their OP counterparts. Focusing on happiness, the first ED still uses guitar and drums, but the piece backs itself with quieter vocals and a pleasant piano. Unfortunately, the first half is too tame and the second half somewhat comes out of nowhere with emotion – i.e., the two halves do not mesh well together. At the minimum, the last few notes – with just the piano and the singer – make for a sweet little ending.
The second ED, similar to the second OP, follows its former self. Happiness is still the main feeling, but this track has better flow, using background singers, violins, and a tighter transition between the first and second halves. It ends with not as sentimental a note, the vocalist is not a powerhouse, and the track as a whole is pretty boring. But it at least stands taller than the first ED and the second OP.
Last but (maybe) not least, the original soundtrack consists of many a track comprised of lots of techno beats and effects and compositions. A decision made mainly to coincide with the cool-tubular-awesome vibe of the anime – two bros hanging out on a battlefield filled with guns and hot girls. Overall, though, the OST does not leave any lasting impressions despite how fitting it may be.
ENJOYMENT
I had one constant positive that I always looked forward to with this one: Frolaytia. She was a goddess. I loved every scene she was in; I couldn’t get enough of her. She was sexy and tough and amazing.
I also quite liked Qwenthur and Havia’s relationship. Their bickering about what to do or where to go was a lot of fun. It managed to feel as though they really were best bros forced to take part in a bunch of high-stakes missions. Havia making a snide comment, Qwenthur responding back with a witty line. One of my favorite moments with them has Havia tackling Qwenthur to the ground once Havia learns that Qwenthur fondled Frolaytia’s bosom (to help her out of a bind). They made for a silly duo whose exploits had me laughing from time to time.
Action-wise, I was not too enthralled. In the beginning, when the prospect of Qwenthur and crew going up against these massive Objects was fresh, it was a bit interesting to watch. But as the season progressed, it started to drag as the action became more of the same.
However, I will give praise to the “The Graveyard of Junk is a Mountain of Rare Metals” arc. The anime used Qwenthur’s safety word and the semi-love-triangle between him, Milinda, and Ohoho (actual name apparently unknown, which is funny in itself) to make for some really solid episodes.
Speaking of romance, it would have been nice for romance to have more of a foothold in the show. Especially since it is hinted at with both Qwenthur (with Milinda) and Havia (with Lady Vanderbilt, the rival family’s daughter). That route was technically one the anime had no interest in pursuing, but since the feelings were there, I wanted more.
Heavy Object does have positives. Frolaytia and the consistent bro-buddy presentation chief among them. But the negatives overshadow whatever strengths it may have. A misshapen plot, boring art, unexplored characters, lame music, and boring action. In other words, the anime suffers under its own weight.
SUMMARY
Story: Bad, lots of action and sex, but the semi-repetitive material, overt handling of its themes, and the shaky plot points cloud those aspects
Animation: Bad, boring art style, about average actual animation, okay character designs
Characters: Bad, Qwenthur, Havia, Frolaytia, and especially Milinda are either lacking in characterization or receive too little of attention, but, considering the focus of the anime, these problems are not a complete deal-breaker
Sound: Bad, good first OP, bad second OP, bad first ED, bad second ED, bad OST, okay VA performances
Enjoyment: Fine, Frolaytia was a goddess, Qwenthur and Havia’s relationship was fun, but the action itself was boring
Final Score: 3/10
Rickcir
The plot is original, and although many characters are cookie-cutter, they were still engaging. Super-mega-gigantic-BDO's fight battles instead of armies. But who's behind the scenes? What's the real reason? There's political intrigue, the usual light sexual humor, plenty of explosions and lots of fun to be had. When our daring duo of Object killers dialogue, it reminds me of Spice and Wolf. The technology is futuristic, but not too much - it's all very believable. The world is made up of four super powers, all with objects. There are also fractures among the powers that be, so civil war and even corporate infighting using objects occurs.On land, sea and underwater, objects seem to master everywhere - although there are no true flying objects. But I suppose a few million tons won't fly well....
The bottom line is that it's fun to watch and is NOT a scant 12 or 13 episodes!
PyraXadon
War. When it comes to war, the general idea that comes to mind is two opposing sides battling each other for domination in some way shape or form. Many forms of media and real life have bounced off this idea with things like psychological war, cold war, and just straight up war. And so, with JC staff's 2-cour adaptation of Heavy Object, we have war between gigantic balls with guns attached to them. Oh boy... Side Note: If I misspell the names, don't flame me. Kamachi has weird names, and there're different spellings everywhere. Funimation spells it one way,wikis and other sources spell it another, you get the gist of it.
Story: As the world has gone through drastic changes in the world of Heavy Object. Due to the introduction of a new war machine called 'Objects', gigantic nuclear powered spheres with all kinds of weapons attached to them, the world has now been split into four world powers, each representing a different aspect of humanity that is considered important, the Legitimacy Kingdom, the Information Alliance, the Capitalist Corporations, and the Faith Organization. It is here where we follow the story of Qwenther Barbotage, an aspiring Object engineer who learns the true meaning of war as he fights against objects.
Side Note: Can I just say how hilarious the idea of fighting an object actually is? I just imagine someone screaming "RUN! IT'S AN OBJECT!" Cause quite honestly, that is the most non-descriptive thing you can say about a rampaging war machine. It's fabulous. Now back to the actual review.
Heavy Object in its simplest explanation is destroying objects. That's basically it. The entire show revolves around Qwenther and his buddy Havia, a radar analyst, essentially just derping around on the battlefield, figuring out on the top of their heads how to rout an object to the point that they win the battle with the enemy object destroyed. It's a very repetitive story that's only interesting because every new object is different and our bumbling idiots have to work out a different strategy every time, usually involving something to do with the main object of the series, the 'Baby Magnum.' (Don't ask why it's named that, just roll with it.) With such a simplistic story, there are bound to be flaws, and Heavy Object has that in spades.
One of the most glaring issues about Heavy Object is its sheer lack of anything else. While yes the show focuses more on the in-battle aspect of war, there're also moments in the show that tackle the underground politics or negotiation side of war, which we really don't get to see. Because of that, anything motive as to why they are fighting the specific object at the time goes largely unexplained or with so little information that they might as well not be saying anything at all. As a result of this, character, particularly villain motivation, is rather absent, and we're just sort of left with a 'boom, boom, pow' anime without really all that much substance behind it.
Overall, Heavy Object's story isn't really much to talk about. It has a lot of missing details to convey a proper story, and all of the screentime is devoted solely to the battles that are going on without much aftermath or any background information to go with it. It's all just mindless battles between giant ball things that shoot and destroy literally everything that they come in contact with. (I think they leveled a mountain one time...)
Overview:
+ Boom, Pow, ACTION!
- Not really much else
Characters: Similarly, characters in this show are really only heavily focused if they're on the frontlines due to the way that the show is structured. As such, characters who are more or less always in the action like our main characters get more attention, while those who work in the sidelines or behind the scenes don't.
First, there's Qwenther Barbatoge and Havia Winchell, the main characters of Heavy Object. Smart when it comes to engineering and war tactics and idiot when it comes to practically everything else, Qwenther and Havia act as carbon copied clones of one another, with their only differences coming from where each of them come from and what each of them expertise in, these two bumbling idiots really don't have much in terms of defining one from another, further solidified from the fact that neither of them really get much character development.
Then we have Milinda Brantini, the pilot of the main object of the series, the 'Baby Magnum'. As an Object Elite, someone who controls and mans the gigantic ball of death, and a princess of the Legitimate Kingdom, Milinda's role as a character is quite...limited. While yes, she is the pilot of the Object, the amount of time that we dedicate to her and her purpose in this war is staggeringly low when you compare it to how often we see Havia and Qwenther talk about their personal porn collections. The show doesn't put much attention to her (much like pretty much everything else in this series) and as such, makes it really hard to define her as a character. And that is not a good thing.
Froyletia Capistrano is the last character of major importance in this series. As leading commander over the Battalion that Qwenther and Havia are a part of, Froyletia takes on the role as more or less the ringleader of this group of characters, making sure that every plan goes to order and that they accomplish whatever the plot wants them to accomplish. Out of all of the characters, Froyletia is the one that gets the most development. Mostly due to the fact that she's the only character to get any time devoted to her backstory, but it's still development nonetheless.
And everyone else is basically spare blood or just relevant to the plot. For the most part, they're just relevant to the plot and don't get any time invested in them whatsoever, but there are like...1 or 2 rare cases (Baa-chan and the Ohoho in this case) that have more to them than just enemy or friendly characters.
Overview:
+ Character development on Froyletia
- Main characters are static and underdeveloped
- Side characters are basically spare blood
Art: The art for Heavy Object is...mediocre at best. The animation isn't really all that stellar and dips in quality depending on what exactly is being shown in the picture. In terms of character designs, they're decent. In terms of background, they're also, just decent. In terms of the objects, well, they're CGI monstrosities that aren't actually as bad as I thought. And when it comes to water, well, it's terrible. Terrible water is terrible.
And because the show has ecchi, I'm gonna have to talk about that aspect. (Oh boy.) Heavy Object has quite a bit of ecchi for a show that's not really about sexual aspects. Due to our two main bumbling idiots being complete pervs and holding hoards upon hoards of porn, and Froyletia having a model body, well, you can kind of see where I'm going with this. They poke fun at it every now and then, and it kind of flows with the story. Sort of. It's not as heavy as it could've been, but they do take advantage of it as much as they can.
Overview:
+/- Wavering quality art
+/- Ecchi is present, but not TOO present
Sound: Being a 2-cour series, Heavy Object has two OPs and EDs in order to accompany the respective parts. The OPs for both sides have rock songs to elevate the feeling of action, when really, they're just sort of generic and fade away in a slew of other generic songs.
The EDs on the other hand have a completely opposite feeling to them, as they're more or less these cheerful and happy songs that really...don't match with the feeling of WAR AND DESTRUCTION that this show so often shows us. Personally, I don't find any of these tracks special and are completely skippable since they really have no true merit to them or any real way of standing out.
Overview:
+/- Kinda meh OST
Personal Enjoyment: Going into this series, I was skeptical. Mechas aren't usually my cup of tea when it comes to anime, and seeing gigantic balls tread around a field firing bullets at literally everything...yeah, I wasn't exactly the most keen about it. (I was kinda pressured into watching it. Kind of.) And at the end, well, I can safely say that it was terrible, but not as bad as I thought it would be. Would I watch it again? Hell no. Would I say it should burn in the pits of hell? Well...no...but kinda.
Did I enjoy this anime?
This one is a bit half and half, seeing as how the two bumbling idiots were honestly quite entertaining at times. The sheer amount of antics those two get into on a per hourly basis is sometimes so bullshit you can't help but laugh at them.
What didn't I like about this anime?
An entire section of the story was missing. Because you don't get a feel for the politics that go around with the story, the central reason why these gigantic balls of death even fight each other really isn't there and it just breaks continuity in a way that it doesn't feel enjoyable to watch since the show only plans for what is happening right now, rather than what is happening beforehand and after that.
Would I recommend this anime?
Like guns? Like explosions? Like random fanservice moments every now and then without having to think too too hard as to what is happening now? Watch Heavy Object. That's about all it's worth for. If not, well, skip it. That's my personal recommendation, see you in the next one.
BlueBlur00
A couple of weeks ago I started watching all of the 2016 anime that I either missed or put on hold directly after I watched the first episode. So I decided to watch some of the Fall 2015 leftovers that finished in 2016 and Heavy Object was the only one that I haven’t already seen or was a sequel (apart from Brave Beats). I finished it recently so I decided I should review it. So, let’s get to it. Story: Story wise Heavy Object is pretty bare bones. The main premise is somewhat unique since instead of focusing on Object battles it instead focuses on themain characters Qwenther and Havia defeating a variety of different Objects without using an object and instead using careful planning, tactics and some split-second decisions. Because this premise is filled with infinite possibilities the whole anime is split into different arcs about 2-3 episodes long each focusing on Qwenther and Havia dealing with a different Object. Because of that it could have been a show that got boring after the first half but thanks to the light-hearted tone and funny characters nothing in this show ever drags at all and the episodes fly by pretty fast. I’m glad they do since there are a few episodes were almost nothing happens. There is also a bit of an overarching plot dealing with another group of Object users but it isn’t really that interesting and major stuff doesn’t happen a lot with it. Overall Heavy Object does a decent job in the story department and you get what you would expect from an arc based light novel adaption.
Characters:
The words run of the mill might come up a lot in this review and never is this more apparent than with the characters. The two main characters Qwenther and Havia not only have very silly names but are also very, here it is again, run of the mill. They are your average action show duo: ones got the brains and the other got the brawn (or to be more specific, the ability to fire a gun). While they may be generic they are never boring to watch. They both have good chemistry with each other and have some pretty funny moments. It’s never a dull moment with Qwenther and Havia which is a good thing since they made a potentially boring anime into an enjoyable one. Other than Qwenther and Havia the only other characters (apart from a couple reoccurring villains) that appear throughout the show are the Object Pilot Melinda and Qwenther and Havia’s strict commanding officer, the crazily named Frolaytia Capistrano.
Sound:
Contrary to the previous sections of this review, Heavy Object achieves something other than run of the mill in its sound. It achieves above average. This is mainly due to the forgettable soundtrack and first Ending but the main reason is for its dub and the two openings. The openings One More Chance and Never Gave Up by the band ALL OUT were not only a great choice for this anime but they also fit Heavy Object surprisingly well. They are two very good openings and One More Chance is good enough to have a spot in my Top 50 Anime Openings. The second Ending is also nice to listen to as well. Now let’s talk about the best part of this anime in my opinion: the dub. Before I watched this anime I knew immediately that I would watch this in dub not only because it is dubbed by the best dubbing company around, Funimation but it also has a really good voice cast. Justin Briner who is one of Funimation’s newcomers voices Qwenther and does a really good job and he really fits the character. Micah Solusod voices Havia and also does a really great job. It’s also nice to hear Alexis Tipton and Morgan Garret’s voices as Melinda and Hot Fan Service Girl (Frolaytia) respectively. No voice actor does a bad performance in this dub, but that’s to be expected with any Funimation dub and it’s always great to see Funimation using their newcomers so much which makes me excited for any of their further roles.
Animation:
This is where it goes a bit downhill. Even though this anime is animated by J.C. Staff who are one of my favorite studios the animation in this show isn’t that great. The action scenes are pretty good and the CG isn’t terrible but the show has one of the ugliest and bland color schemes I’ve seen in a recent anime. Bright colors are used but they all feel washed out and are not very pleasant to look at. The character designs are also uninteresting and very bland and simple. Granted the show isn’t unwatchable by any means but it’s just not the best to look at most of the time. So instead of average the animation is slightly below average which is unfortunate since if the animation was nice it would have been another positive to the show.
Final Thoughts:
Average is the best word I can come up with when talking about Heavy Object. But it’s not average in a bad way since this is a really fun anime to watch. Despite its flaws I had a good time when watching it and while it’s no contender for Best Anime of 2016 it deserves at least an honorable mention since while it does have many minuses, the pluses outweigh it enough you to give this show a watch. It’s a 24 episode thrill-ride with a crazy premise and decent execution.
Score: 7
Rating: Good
Harizak
Watch it 10/10 my favorite anime since its launch. Watched it many times over. The only thing is I like the music but I wish it was a lot mor intense like Aldnoah.Zero's music. However it suits it well. If you like a main character that outwits his opposite in cleaver ways and never actual stupid decisions you will like this anime. I know, everyone acts like certain anime's like Death note or Code Geass have super smart main characters but I do not think so. They think to much in the box for having those kinds of powerbut in Heavy Object he does not have powers all he has his in knowledge on the Heavy Objects. Due to this I am never like what are you doing, your a genius just do this it is within the rules of your magic powers. Beyond that the only other thing is and it is not a complain but it does have a weird shift in some of the arcs later where they get a bit darker. Do not want to spoil anything but normally shows tend to keep a standard of we show everyone die like in attack on titan, or we only show enemies death, to the no one dies. Still would rate this a 10 because I just love it that much that I have watched it a couple times now. I just wanted to mention these couple issues in case others are very dependent on movies or are okay with the start of the violence but would not be okay with it furthering beyond that. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did. The main audience though is people that would enjoy watching smart people solve problems while watching that person also panic in distressful situations he should not really be in.
3Rton
To put it bluntly Heavy object is scattered. The story in itself, character design, mood, art etc all isn't that bad alone but overall it just doesn't feel whole. This is strongly emphasized by the setting of military states battling each other with massive "object" war machines that require crews of hundred people to maintain, large home bases to set up and billions of units of cash to create then being contrasted with a duo being assigned time and time again to work together (this should never happen), single pilot being assigned to this war machine (common mecha trope, but makes even less sense inHeavy objects setting), just plain makes so many odd simplifications about warfare while trying to have grim serious world it is weird (Seriously, the objects main guns can easily destroy other objects but satellites/long range missile systems with the ability haven't been developed what??)
All this boils down to a world that feels very unreal and like it is a mosaic of pieces that don't really fit together.
Things I liked:
- Milinda Brantini, she was cute, I liked the pilot suit designs overall, very lovable girl.
- The The sexy secretary girls aka every high ranking female officer in the series. More or less just fan service, though. There could be something said for Froylatia and some others but in the end I don't really think that any female character is really well done as a character in the series. They are all more or less male fantasy tropes, in the end. (Not to say they don't have good moments.)
- The objects themselves were quite cool.
- The fire fights were cool time to time.
As you can see good points pretty much come down to fan service and flashy animation. Considering my favorite parts about the show were Milinda's and Qwenthurs baby love it tells a lot. (But there sadly wasn't a lot of it.) It pretty much isn't worth the watch unless you are coming from the manga or novel and liked those a lot, or you just have the free time to watch endless number or B-grade anime.
F4nz
heavy object is a tactical action war between a smart lucky normal human being vs a highly modern advance giant tank that keep you entertain with the way the main mc(a normal enginere student) fight (most of the time is being forced) a giant advance tank(that can easily wipe entire army) with his partners( a same normal human being soldier and an old gen heavy object with cute girl as the pilot) each episode delivered with a nice story progress and good character progress, each protagonist character has it's own purpose and not being a hinder to other protagonist progress and each developed in good way,and of course the reason i like this anime is how acceptable the way the mc figh the heavy object it self ,he is not a superhuman, and only use his smartness and luck.
the sound effect is practically the most thing that i need to give credit for, since it's making this anime more lively and better then any other anime(the explosive sound, the way the heavy object fight it feels real)
overall if you enjoyed a good tactical action battle with good story phasing,good action, good sound effect, and character development, this one good for you i highly recommend it
-ludic_
Fun and underrated If you watch expecting a big war anime you're gonna be disapointed, its good but not something that will change your life or make you fall in love with it Overall, its good, animation are very well made and consistent, these big ass machines really look scary and mix well fantasy with something that could happen in real life The characters are fun too, so thats good Overall, its good as long as you're able to relax and enjoy some fun, trying to get a full on serious war anime out of this one will just make you mad and unable to enjoy the show
CaptureRide
The anime follows the story up to the third LN volume. The ending is original because they decided to give the show closure instead of leaving it on a cliffhanger. Basically, the entire show is about Heavy Objects waging war on the battlefield. Havia and Gwenthur are made to fight against large meccha objects. There is a mention of human-like objects in production (gundam?) but I don't know if the story is going in that direction. The anime wasn't able to adapt the source material at the time and I have not read the LN yet so I cannot confirm or deny this and thus can'tbe a spoiler.
Essentially, Havia is a radio analyst and Gwenthur is a designer student. They aren't even real troops but are expected to destroy Objects somehow even though nobody has ever done it before. The idea is to either exploit some type of weakness or just get really really lucky. Gwenthur isn't even authorized to have a gun because he's a "student" yet is authorized to carry tons of plastic explosives and fight against massive war machines that can withstand nukes. Army sends him to fight wars and expects him to do great things but he can't even be allowed to hold a gun despite risking his life and authorizing use of things 1000x more dangerous than guns. Yeah makes sense.
Enough with that gripe. The anime was actually pretty good. I don't like meccha or war anime much at all but this one felt a bit unique and I liked it overall. The story became redundant and every time Havia or Gwenthur said they didn't want something to happen it's like raising flags that it will. Overall the plot is increasingly predictable but still pretty satisfying somehow nonetheless.
Music is good, artwork is colorful and vibrant and characters are good. There is a bit of comedy as well. Overall worth watching and would recommend.
