Quick Summary • Best Moment • Setup • Delivery • Other Posts
Unbreakable Machine Doll Episode 9 Review – Quick Summary
In Unbreakable Machine Doll episode 9, “Facing Elf Speeder I,” it appears that Charlotte Belew and her automaton, Sigmund, tried to murder Edward Rutherford, in broad daylight, in front of many, many witnesses. What is Charlotte trying to accomplish? Is it even Charlotte? What does her sister Henri, newly arrived at the school, have to do with all of this? Can Raishin find out before anyone dies? And will Yaya stop harassing him long enough to try?
Note: This post may include spoilers, so be cautious.
Favorite Quote from Unbreakable Machine Doll Episode 9
Yaya caught the social cues that Raishin completely missed. Dude, you need to work on that! Capture from the Blu Ray.
Raishin tried to convince Doctor Cruel (really – that’s his name) to discharge him so he and Yaya could find out what was going on with Charlotte. The doctor, whose bed-side manner suggests the student body might be better off if he were incarcerated, gruffly agreed to let him go.
His first objective was to find Henri, Charlotte’s sister, who inexplicably has been trying to kill herself. Frey, who’s obviously smitten with Raishin, offered to help by having her pack of dog automatons search for her. They found her quickly.
It’s important to note that Henri is terrified of dogs. She was even more terrified of men. So when she found herself cornered by a pack of canine automatons, she became frantic. Then Raishin arrived and began peppering her with questions. That made her feel even worse.
He asked her where Charlotte was and why she had not returned to her dorm room last night. He asked if it had anything to do with the attempt on the headmaster’s life. But this time, she had grabbed her hat in attempt to quell her rising panic. But Raishin went on and asked her things like why she wanted to die.
Yaya, herself not known for being socially astute, turned to Raishin and said (07:14), “That’s too many questions at once!”
For once, Yaya and I were thinking along the same lines!
Best in Show Moment for Unbreakable Machine Doll Episode 9
The conversation ended just how she had intended – and how Raishin expected. Capture from the Blu Ray.
Setup: Politics are Underrated
With all of Yaya’s antics, with characters like Henri randomly accusing Raishin of bestiality (where the heck did that come from?), it’s no wonder this show is known more as an ecchi comedy. I think that’s a shame, because the show also has something else it gets right more often than not: The world’s politics.
I’m trying to write science fiction/political thriller novels, so this is something that I pay a lot of attention to. Not only macro politics, but micro politics between two people, both of whom know what’s going on and still play the game. They convey their meanings as much by what they don’t say as what they say, and I love those kinds of interchanges.
The background details in this scene were pretty cool. I love how Yaya had to figure out how to use a western tea set. Capture from the Blu Ray.
That’s exactly what Unbreakable Machine Doll gave us in this episode.
Raishin had interviewed both Charlotte and Henri. But he still didn’t have all the pieces, so he went to someone in the know – his teacher, Kimberly. He began their dance by reminding her he knew of her secret identity as a part of the secret group called Nectar. She suggested that he might not want to make that bit of knowledge public, with the implication being he might not survive the attempt.
Now that they both knew the other knew how to play the game, Raishin point-blank asked who was forcing Charlotte to attack the headmaster. Raishin knew full well Charolette wouldn’t do that on her own. I liked Kimberly’s description of how the Kingsfort family was behind everything.
Delivery: Raishin and Kimberly, Two Experts in the GameDelivery
I particularly liked details like (16:52), “The Kingsforts are famous for their philanthropy.” The implication was, of course, that power-hungry families and corporations throughout the ages have hidden behind charities to convince the public that no, they aren’t power-hungry. They’re just nice people.
Their conversation got to the point where Raishin had heard everything he needed. He was ready to go off and attack the Kingsfort family. Kimberly warned him that everything they had discussed was conjecture. She had no proof, so if he acted rashly, it could go badly for him.
“Then we just need proof, right?” he asked (17:51).
Raishin knew it was up to him to find the proof. After all, Kimberly couldn’t put herself or her position at risk by conducting an active investigation! Capture from the Blu Ray.
“If I have proof,” she answered (17:56) “then there’s no problem.”
Did you see her smile? And did you notice the lack of surprise in Raishin’s voice? They both knew this had been where the conversation was heading. But they both played the game, because that’s how things are done in this realm.
It’s a little thing, but I thought it was great.
What did you think of the Kingsfort plan to discredit Charlotte and Raishin? What were your favorite moments? Feel free to let me know in the comments!
Unbreakable Machine Doll Episode 9: Other Posts
Other Anime Sites
- AngryAnimeBitches Anime Blog: Unbreakable Machine-Doll Episode 9: Facing “Elf Speeder” I
- Brave New Moe: Unbreakable Machine-Doll ep 9-10 impressions
This Site (Crow’s World of Anime!)
- Unbreakable Machine Doll Episode 1: Facing Cannibal Candy I
- Unbreakable Machine Doll Episode 2: Facing Cannibal Candy II
- Unbreakable Machine Doll Episode 3: Facing Cannibal Candy III
- Unbreakable Machine Doll Episode 4: Facing Cannibal Candy IV
- Unbreakable Machine Doll Episode 5: Facing Sword Angel I
- Unbreakable Machine Doll Episode 6: Facing Sword Angel II
- Unbreakable Machine Doll Episode 7: Facing Sword Angel III
- Unbreakable Machine Doll Episode 8: Facing Sword Angel IV
- Unbreakable Machine Doll Episode 9: Facing Elf Speeder I
- Unbreakable Machine Doll Episode 10: Facing Elf Speeder II
- Unbreakable Machine Doll Episode 11: Facing Elf Speeder III
- Unbreakable Machine Doll Episode 12: Facing Elf Speeder IV
I’ve been looking for new anime to get into, this post convinced me to check this out. Thanks! Well put! I enjoy keeping track of different politics and the games characters play with each other.
I hope you like it! If you think about it, please drop by after you’ve watched a few episodes. I’d love to know if you liked it!
I watched it. I thought it was okay. There are really interesting parts but I wish there was less of the Herem/ecchi stuff. I’ll get through the specifics as I go through your other posts.
I was a little concerned about that. The harem/ecchi stuff doesn’t bother me in the least, but I’m aware it’s bothersome for some folks. That’s one of the reasons I hate to make recommendations — I don’t want to disappoint anyone!
Thanks for sharing your thoughts!