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Unbreakable Machine-Doll (TV).


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Stark700



Joined: 30 Jan 2012
Posts: 11762
Location: Earth
PostPosted: Mon Oct 07, 2013 8:01 am Reply with quote

Unbreakable Machine-Doll
Genres: action, comedy, fantasy, romance
Themes: harem, machine-doll, school

Plot Summary: It is the early 20th century, and Raishin Akabane is a student puppeteer from Japan, who has come to the Walpurgis Royal Academy of Machine Arts in England to study the emerging field of Machinart: a combination of magic and technology with military applications. He is accompanied by a girl named Yaya, who is actually his Automaton: a living machine doll powered by magical circuits specialized in hand-to-hand combat. In the Academy, there is a combat tournament exclusive to the Top 100 students and their automata, to decide who shall be bestowed with the title of "Wiseman", the greatest puppeteer.

Episode 1
I'm not too used to the artwork yet but I thought the first episode was alright. Yaya is adorable imo but of course, she can move quick on her feet especially during the spoiler[beginning on that train].

There were some parts of fan service but I also like the battles as well. Yup and there they go, a duel already~, not bad! I'm curious to see how this will go but off to an alright start so far.
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MadMan400096



Joined: 30 Jan 2013
Posts: 266
Location: Chicopee, MA
PostPosted: Mon Oct 07, 2013 5:38 pm Reply with quote
This was a pleasant surprise. I actually found the dynamic between the guy and Yuya pretty cute, in a perverted sort of way, and I did like the dragon puppet. If there's one nitpick I have, it's the tsundere love rival they put up. But it's still a lot of fun.

Anyway, looks like this is the season's token Mons anime. Last season had Fantasista Doll, which had promise, but ultimately fell apart, winding up unmotivated and, while not terrible, rather disappointing, with a sappy, anally extracted ending that did very little outside of making me wanna puke. Still, this looks like it'll be better. We'll just have to wait and see.
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FenixFiesta



Joined: 22 Apr 2013
Posts: 2581
PostPosted: Mon Oct 07, 2013 7:23 pm Reply with quote
I wasn't completely sure what to expect from the previews other than that "there would be some action", but this is probably going to be my "sane" action series for this batch of releases where say Kill La Kill is my "in utter madness" action series spoiler[(which is ironic because both leads were molested by there "combat partners" as a comedic gag).]
Great over the top opening showing our lead protagonist as a guy who will choose to do a heroic, or at the very least honorable, action but his final goal seems to be cold vengeance.
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WhiteHairGirls



Joined: 27 Apr 2011
Posts: 4713
Location: New York City
PostPosted: Mon Oct 07, 2013 8:12 pm Reply with quote
That was a good first episode. Mr. 2nd to last has a lot of catching up to do. The only bad thing I have to say is that their faces are way too bright. It hurt my eyes and and I can barely see their mouth and blushies.
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Vaisaga



Joined: 07 Oct 2011
Posts: 13224
PostPosted: Mon Oct 07, 2013 9:00 pm Reply with quote
The sticking point for me was always going to be the art. Even if I wasn't already spoiled by how nice the manga's art is, I think I'd still find this pretty bleh. Still, it's not offensive enough to turn me away. I'm sure I'll get used to it.
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Heinzendegger



Joined: 22 Jun 2012
Posts: 321
PostPosted: Mon Oct 07, 2013 11:14 pm Reply with quote
I think the CG is offensive, and Yaya looks like crap too, which is a problem because it tries doing fanservice with her.
So chances are this is gonna get dropped, unless second episode improves.
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DuskyPredator



Joined: 10 Mar 2009
Posts: 15433
Location: Brisbane, Australia
PostPosted: Tue Oct 08, 2013 2:30 am Reply with quote
Episode 1

Kind of feels steam punk but with magic. I like the action, and I find the general designs to either be cute or cool. There were a few awkward moments like the 2D character models against CG backgrounds, or them switching models for action, but on the whole it was not bad.

I can see myself watching this show. Also, did the flashback near the end imply that there spoiler[used to be a living person that looked like and was killed by the villain]? So could Yaya be in the spoiler[form of the one that he is trying to get revenge for]? Could be wrong.

I wonder if how low his score is may have something to do with being from Japan while the school seems to be an English institute.
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Knoepfchen



Joined: 13 Dec 2012
Posts: 698
PostPosted: Tue Oct 08, 2013 4:29 am Reply with quote
The first episode left me with a feeling of disinterest. I wouldn't go as far as to call it boredom, but there was never a moment when I felt fully engaged or even slightly hooked in any way. It doesn't help that I find the character designs to be rather forgettable and it is hard to follow their expressions, as was pointed out, because everything's so bright and flat. The CGI didn't work very well for me either, which is kind of sad, because a "steam punk with magic" setting is totally for me. That's why I will still check out ep. 2 and hope things will improve for me with the introduction of spoiler[the rival/bad guy].

DuskyPredator, that's how I interpreted the flashback scene as well.
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ZorgonXtreme



Joined: 23 Feb 2004
Posts: 251
Location: Anchorage, AK
PostPosted: Tue Oct 08, 2013 8:38 am Reply with quote
I find the pacing kind of hurried and I feel like they didn't do enough to establish the rules of the world, though that's probably either an episode 2 thing or one of those 'you figure it out' things throughout the show.

The music is fine and I like the European aesthetics. The art seems clean enough, though perhaps a little less bloom and lens flare would help things a little more.

The big fight in this episode was...okay. Raishin's special move of 'attack and then repeat the footage' was weird, but...whatever.

There's a lot of shows that I'm interested in this season and I think this hasn't done enough to really earn devotion, though I'll watch the next episode or two.

My biggest gripe is Yaya's shoes. Those just scream 'turned ankle' and Mr. Bad's mask cracks me up. That thing has to be custom-made, right? "Oh yeah, I need a mask that has a little L shaped slit for my right eye, please. And put an ominous kanji over the left side. This will go great with the opaque veils my ho-hos wear."
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Bango



Joined: 06 Jul 2013
Posts: 1122
PostPosted: Tue Oct 08, 2013 12:06 pm Reply with quote
I had this crazy triple mix-up at the start of last season between this, Hitsugime no Chaika and FantaSisTA Doll~~~~~~. In the end this show makes me really want a Deus x Machina anime.

Yaya... so that's where Akiko from OniAi went when that show was over. I'm glad the character is still finding work in other shows. I can already tell she'll get on my nerves really quick though.

This show is kind of... It's hard for me to explain... awkward? Half-hearted? It feel like they had a premise but didn't know what to do with it. I managed to call almost the entire show from the moment they mentioned a tournament.

And that's some really awkward exposition. Not the most awkward I've seen lately (not actually a spoiler) http://i.imgur.com/IAea9Ap.jpg but when most of your info dumps begin with "as you already know" or similar it might be time to rethink how you're telling the viewer (or player) information.

On the up the backgrounds and doll designs are quite good (that weeping willow near the end) and the fanservice elements are varied. I like the setting and the hints of a racism conflict for the main character are interesting, if they decide to deal with it. I also like Raishin and he has an interesting power if I'm interpreting it correctly. I won't be shocked if this doesn't make my cut in a couple of weeks though just because it has numerous features I dislike.

ZorgonXtreme wrote:
Mr. Bad's mask cracks me up.

I freakin lost it laughing when I saw that guy. The sad thing is I bet the creator thought he looked really cool and badass but I just couldn't stop laughing.
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ZorgonXtreme



Joined: 23 Feb 2004
Posts: 251
Location: Anchorage, AK
PostPosted: Tue Oct 08, 2013 12:44 pm Reply with quote
I was wrong--it's not a kanji on his mask, just a little symbol of something or other.

His entourage's veils have Kanji on them though, I think.
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Bango



Joined: 06 Jul 2013
Posts: 1122
PostPosted: Tue Oct 08, 2013 1:25 pm Reply with quote
Yeah, they get kanji. He's too cool for kanji so he gets a... crap I forget what it's called. It's supposed to be a plant or something and it symbolizes rebirth.
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ookamigirl



Joined: 15 Jul 2012
Posts: 2274
Location: Croatia
PostPosted: Tue Oct 08, 2013 1:57 pm Reply with quote
At first I thought this could be good, but automatons are not my thing.
So far it basically a future harem with some battles.
Just doesn't interest me which is weird since I like the unusual setting.
This is not for me, skipping it.
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Vaisaga



Joined: 07 Oct 2011
Posts: 13224
PostPosted: Tue Oct 08, 2013 4:41 pm Reply with quote
ZorgonXtreme wrote:
Raishin's special move of 'attack and then repeat the footage' was weird, but...whatever.


It's your typical Holmesian "visualize your moves before you make them" thing.
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Blood-
Bargain Hunter



Joined: 07 Mar 2009
Posts: 23669
PostPosted: Tue Oct 08, 2013 7:51 pm Reply with quote
Hmm. I like the setting and general premise, but I agree the visuals are underwhelming. Plus that battle scene was one of the most awkwardly blocked and staged fights I've ever seen. Not really digging the typical, "a beautiful girl (okay, doll, whatever) is throwing herself at you but of course you want no part of that." I suppose you could argue this is one of the times that set-up makes sense since she is a doll, but it still bugs me.

I'll continue watching but this is definitely on my "may drop" list.
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