Heavy Object Vol. 1
In light of the recent anime announcement, I decided to put Horizon Vol. 2 on hold for a bit to check this out. I did enjoy Index/Railgun to some extent, so was wondering how this would end up.
Basically, in the near future, wars revolve around non-humanoid mechs called Objects, to the point where most militaries consider anything else a waste of time and money. As with Index and Railgun, there's a gratuitous amount of pseudoscience and technology that is best not to think too deeply about. The characters are as usual, student-aged soldiers/combat engineers, a student-aged pilot, and their slightly older commander. Harem/dense protagonist elements are present, although seemingly not relevant. A lot more focus is on the actual battles and how Quenser and Heivia, the two combat engineers, overcome odds and defeat advanced and superior technology with just their luck and wits.
In a way, and I'm hesitant to make this comparison, it's sort of comparable to Aldnoah.Zero. Of course, this leads to the same failings of having to almost everyone else being idiots, on both their side and the enemy side, but it's a bit easier to take as both Quenser and Heivia are likable and fun characters, and their dynamic as bros is great. And the fact that since there are two of them, coming up and acting out plans together, it is just a bit more bearable than having only a "chosen one" who solves everything alone. There are serious scenes interspersed with lighthearted ones, so its a bit jarring sometimes when it switches from one character experiencing their first kill to joking around with their bro.
Overall, I enjoyed it, but I do enjoy a stuff that could be deemed as trash, so who knows. Tentatively looking forward to the anime.
