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Unbreakable Machine Doll Episode 2 Review – Best In Show

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Unbreakable Machine Doll Episode 2 Review – Quick Summary

In Unbreakable Machine Doll episode 2, “Facing Cannibal Candy II,” Raishin Akabane confronted his nemesis Magnus, but he only proved what all of us expected. That is, Raishin has a long, long way to go before he can effectively confront Magnus, who can control many dolls simultaneously. Meanwhile, someone has been killing automated dolls by ripping out their magical circuit hearts. Felix Kingsfort, head of student security, asks Raishin for help because he’s a new student and could possibly have been responsible for the previous attacks. Why else did Felix ask him? Can Raishin really help? And will Yaya let Raishin work if he has to interview any of the female students?

Note: This post may include spoilers, so be cautious.

Favorite Quote from Unbreakable Machine Doll Episode 2

Unbreakable Machine Doll Episode 2: Lisette was not a fan of Raishin's sense of humor

I’m pretty sure that Lisette is not a fan of Raishin’s sense of humor. Capture from the Funimation stream.

Felix had asked Raishin to investigate the Carnival Candy murders. Well, we assume there are murders involved. Puppeteers had gone missing with only their destroyed puppets left behind. Felix’s investigation has gone nowhere, so he asked Raishin to help. Raishin had proven in the first episode that he could handle himself in a fight, and that influenced Felix. More importantly, Raishin had not been anywhere near the school at the time of the first disappearances. 

As he and Yaya got ready to start, the second in command of student security, Lisette Norden, pulled Raishin aside and asked if she could have a word in private. Jokingly, most likely to get under Yaya’s skin, Raishin asked if Lisette wanted to discuss anything romantic.

“Please. In your dying fantasies,” she said (12:13). “No, I spoke in error. Please start dying.”

That was the sub. The dub, which I also enjoyed, was a little less biting. But it seems that Lisette has little patience for Raishin’s sense of humor!

Best in Show Moment for Unbreakable Machine Doll Episode 2

Unbreakable Machine Doll Episode 2: Sigmund understood what Raishin was trying to do

Charlotte didn’t object to Raishin treating Sigmund as a person. But it didn’t seem to occur to her that it was an issue. Capture from the Funimation stream.

Setup: Anthropomorphism Can Be Cool

It’s been a long time since I watched this show. I vaguely remember liking it quite a lot, but I’d forgotten exactly why. Do you ever do that? Do you have shows you feel good about, but can’t remember why?

I had a few reminders in the previous episode. This episode, though, brought the memory back in full force – and with the “subtlety” I’ve come to identify as this show’s hallmark! Which is to say, with the subtlety of a ball-peen hammer!

But you know what? I still liked it.

Anthropomorphism fascinates me. Anime, of all the media I consume, has the best examples of it. Take CubexCursedxCurious, for example. Fear is a curse. In fact, Fear is a brutal, murderous curse. Yet, that series portrays Fear as a Cute Anime Girl. This has the effect of making her plight more accessible. I mean, based on instinct alone, when faced with the choice of supporting a murderous curse or a Cute Anime Girl, which would you support?

It’s a false dilemma, of course. But it plays on a human instinct to support what we find attractive (which can be problematic, but that’s another topic). In this series, the first example we meet is Yaya. She’s cute, she’s hot for Raishin, and she’s also a fabricated automation. Because of how she presents herself, it’s easy to see how Raishin can treat her as a human. But what about the other automations?

Unbreakable Machine Doll Episode 2: Yaya's form makes it easy to see her as a Person.

Sure, Yaya’s a pain. It’s easy to think of her as a yandere. But given her form, it’s also easy to think of her as human. Capture from the Funimation stream.

I don’t know if I’m an outlier or not, and maybe the question isn’t even important. Let’s see what you think. For years, as a young science fiction reader, it never dawned on me that we would treat Artificial Intelligences as anything but sentient. Or that we would treat human-form robots as sentient. I mean, even if we’re not sure, would it not be better to err on the side of respect? 

Or even from the perspective of the universe. What if we’re graded on how well we treat our technological children? I can imagine a universe in which Omnipotence takes into account how well we treat the children we create with technology. I cannot imagine the opposite.

Delivery: Sigmund Noticed

Or, more precisely, I can imagine it. As a target of personal rebellion. I would consider evil a divine being who condemns us for treating our artificial children well. Facing off against an evil god is a stirring idea, isn’t it? But that’s off-topic, too.

I naturally gravitate to stories that present two schools of thought. The first treats our creations with respect, the other dismisses that idea as ridiculous. Then, the story establishes the protagonist as a member of the former camp, and the antagonist of the latter.

You can probably guess my favorite moment by now! It was when Sigmund pointed out how Raisin had treated him to Charlotte

“Do you remember?” Sigmund said to her in between classes, as Charlotte watched Raishin talk to Felix from a distance (08:20). “In the dining hall, he asked how I was feeling… He treated me as an individual. In those circumstances one would normally ask you, not me: ‘How is your puppet.’”

Image if you were a self-aware artificial creation. Imagine you had to live day in and day out with people thinking you were simply property. Now, imagine how you’d feel if someone like Raishin came along and treated you as a person. Not because he was virtual signaling or wanted to get into your “owner’s” pants. But simply because to him, you really were a person. 

Unbreakable Machine Doll Episode 2: Yaya clearly makes decisions that prove she's her own person

There are moments like this, when Yaya got into the shower at first to boost Raishin’s spirits after his nearly disastrous confrontation with Magnus, that you can see she has her own volition. In other words, she’s a person. Capture from the Funimation stream.

I fear that there are too many people even now, in 2022, who can answer that question from personal experience. I find that tragic. And it’s why this theme resonates so strongly with me. Yeah, Unbreakable Machine Doll struggles at time. But its heart is in the right place. That’s good enough for me!

What did you think of Raishin’s date with Charlotte? What were your favorite moments? Feel free to share in the comments!

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3 thoughts on “Unbreakable Machine Doll Episode 2 Review – Best In Show

  1. I didn’t even think about his confrontation with Magnus, but you are right! It is a cool moment where the anime shows he isn’t strong enough yet. I do like that in this anime that they are setting up people’s attitudes towards the puppets. Some of them see them as tools to fight, but then you have Raishin who genuenly cares for them. I like those moments when he sees the dead puppets and how it affects him. It suggests that maybe the puppets aren’t just code and the ones we’ve seen have their own thoughts and personalities. I think the date was cool. Charlotte had already closed herself off because that’s how she protects herself, but Raishin won’t let her and forces her to be social and do things she wants to do but doesn’t get the chance to.

    1. Wouldn’t that be great? It’d be nice to have that in place before an external source comes in and thinks less of us for not having it!

      Just trying to think about what it would take to start gathering political support for that kind of thing just makes me tired.

      Heck, we can’t even agree that all humans should have rights!

      But this will likely become a theme in my novels. Wouldn’t it be cool if those novels had an impact?

      Oh, and my now adult daughter still sometimes asks about a pony…

Please let me know what you think!

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