M3 the dark metal - Episode 2

While those involved recover their senses from dealing with the Admonition and Corpse they spotted in their first mission, this week's episode of M3 sees us introduced to Heito Isaku, a you man who is a little disturbed.  How do we know this?  Because the first we see of him is his merciless beating and torturing of a security guard, which makes perfectly clear that he is a bad person.

With that squared away in our heads, we return to Kukunochi Academy, where Emiru is still trying her best to attach herself to Akashi (even though he repeatedly tells her that she stinks), and all and sundry are despairing at their trainer's constant threats and sexual harassment.  When said teacher suddenly goes missing however something seems amiss, and lo and behold it doesn't take long for him to be found in a bloody (and decidedly dead) heap.

Concerning though this is, perhaps the real question here surrounds Mahmu Yuzuki, who predicted this whole chain of events in her writings which are discovered by Emiru.  What's more, she also refers to the "Reaper", which leaves Emiru demanding to know more... it's a reference which also proves to be closer to the truth than perhaps any of the students has realised, as the two girls are confronted first by Isaku, and then another previously unseen Vess which goes berserk once he tries to pilot it.  No prizes for guessing who has to step in and save the day, and it seems as if this new machine - known as the Argent - has "accepted" its new master.

Having given the first episode of M3 the benefit of the doubt, I'm starting to wonder if that was wise - this second instalment was pretty terrible for the most part, with bland animation supplementing a bland lead character who would be the worst protagonist of the season were it not for his being saved by The Irregular at Magic High School.  At present, none of the elements the series offers are being handled well - its violence feel gratuitous, its action plodding, and its story and world-building off-kilter.  Perhaps it can turn things around with a big reveal or two, but I could well be tempted to jettison the series sooner rather than later unless it has something suitably impressive up its sleeve.