M3 the dark metal - Episode 9

Akashi and Heito's venture into the Lightless Realm didn't exactly go swimmingly, and as two entered only one returns, with Akashi just about making it out before collapsing, with his colleague nowhere to be seen.

What's more Akashi now point-blank refuses to pilot the Argent again having learned at least some of its secrets as they pertain to his brother - the trouble is, the powers that be are having none of it while Heito, and more importantly his Sable, are still lost within the Lightless Realm. But can he be persuaded?

Perhaps the contents of the data recorder recovered by Akashi is the key, holding as it does video footage of what seems to be the final moments of his older brother as he succumbs to the effects of the Lightless Realm. This, however, is not the end of the story - Akashi's brother did return from the Lightless Realm, only to ultimately become the LIM that now resides within the Argent. It's a revelation that, coupled with further data of his time in the Lightless Realm, leads to Akashi changing his tune about about piloting the Reaper again.

As we move closer to its half-way stage, M3 the dark metal continues to be a series with a decent story that is increasingly let-down by its execution - whether its dialogue or the presentation of its characters, there's nothing that manages to make events within the series feel compelling. No series is going to come well out of Evangelion comparisons, and that certainly applies here, but even beyond that there's nothing satisfying about this show; a real shame as there remains clear potential within its core ideas.

M3 the dark metal - Episode 8

The sudden and unexpected discovery of a signal belonging to a recording device assumed lost within the Lightless Realm means that its time for the Gargouille crew to swing into action once again in spite of - and in fact because of - recent events.

As the two Reaper pilots, it's left to Akashi and Heito to take up the job of entering the Lightless Realm using Argent and Sable to retrieve this recorder before its data is corrupted forever - a mission which relies on them sticking close together and ensuring that the mental link between them prevents their psyches from being corrupted; rather a tall order given the recent history between the two of them. The mission at hand also proves to be one of particular importance for Akashi, as the recorded in question was lost due to the death of his brother when trying to retrieve it previously, leaving him treading in said brother's footsteps - a topic about which others seemingly have important, but ultimately unspoken, things to tell him about.

Unsurprisingly, things don't go all that swimmingly once the mission begins - Heito and Akashi's relationship could still be best described as frosty, as the pair soon find themselves split up within the Lightless Realm. Without one another's protection, both individuals find themselves assailed by an assault on their psyche, with Heito remembering some uncomfortable childhood memories while Akashi comes to realise the truth behind what drives his Argent and why he's the only one who can pilot it.

Once again, this week's M3 had some fairly interesting (if predictable at this point) content on offer, but its delivery remains as flat and dull as ever in terms of both story and animation. It remains nigh-on impossible to care about the show's characters given that they act like bland cardboard cut-outs or over-the-top cliches, and that robs those more interesting elements of the show of any real drama or passion - for a series that is trying to be dark, the harshest thing about it is the thought that it's going to go on for another four months.

M3 the dark metal - Episode 7

The appearance of a Corpse outside of the Lightless Realm has caused panic amongst those whose job it is to protect humanity, leading to their demanding that the Argent be deployed within said realm forthwith to prevent any further such incidents.

Quite reasonably, those in direct charge of the project point out that this would be extremely dangerous, and thus insist upon waiting until they find a suitable pilot for a second prototype "Reaper".  The director of the project seems keen to test Heito in the cockpit, but he remains elusive after Emiru's death, leading to Raika hopping into the cockpit first, only to last less than a minute under the intense mental strains caused by this machine.

It seems that nothing is taboo when it comes to finding the right pilot for this unit, and thus a scheme is concocted to bring Heito and Akashi together, letting the sparks fly between them, in direct contrast to the odd relationship between Akashi and Sasame, and in turn her own relation to Minashi, which seems to suggest links in the past between those in Gargouille.  Once Heito's hatred boils over, his anger soon turns into an attempt to do bodily harm to Akashi... how fortuitous that someone has left this new protoype mech in his vicinity, only to find that he has the ability to pilot the machine with ease while also giving us some clues as to the origins of these monstrous devices.

For everything that M3 the dark metal gets right (which isn't all that much, admittedly), it gets a whole lot more wrong. Its over-the-top "bad guys" are still incredibly irritating rather than the dark faces of humanity that they purport to be, and while I'm grateful that the series is piecing together its elements in ways that are obvious to the viewer without being overly forced down our throat at this point that doesn't really do enough to make the actual narrative compelling beyond some vague feelings of "ooh, it's trying to be a bit like Evangelion" - something that you could be said about so many shows it doesn't exactly make it unique either.

M3 the dark metal - Episode 6

Emiru's mission to venture into the Lightless Realm really couldn't have gone much worse, resulting in her inadvertently calling upon an Admonition which proceeded to wreak havoc with everything in its vicinity.

Ultimately, this state of affairs seems to have proven fatal for her, leaving her fellow pilots in shock and Akashi trying to fathom the meaning behind her last words to him, urging that he "destroy the Corpse". Needless to say, those higher-up in the organisation are alarmed by these recent developments as well, wasting no time in exclaiming that something must be done even if nobody really knows what - if nothing else, this series has an expert eye for depicting management.

Back to those on the ground as part of Gargouille however, and everyone is still trying to make sense of what has happened - Akashi finds himself growing a little closer to Sasame as she in turn tries to understand his feelings and motivations, while Heito and Minashi sneak away to search other areas of the establishment in a belief that Emiru may not actually be dead as has been claimed.  Certainly, there seems to be some truth to this possibility as first these two individuals and then their colleagues hear Emiru's disembodied voice - an occurrence that coincides with the attack of a Corpse, which once again puts Akashi in the front line against these unfathomable opponents.

It's increasingly feeling like there's a good show with some interesting ideas struggling to clamber out of the midst of M3 - its dark story and the direction in which its headed is the kind of thing that should be catnip to me, but it still isn't being delivered in a compelling fashion, under-utilising Emiru's death and never really managing to evoke any real emotion from its spiral of ever-more distressing situations.  If it can find some solid ground from which to move its narrative forward - perhaps with an intriguing twist or two - then it might began to shape up, but for now M3 continues to frustrate me as something that feels like it's wasting a lot of its potential.

M3 the dark metal - Episode 5

Now that their island jaunt has revealed the psychic link which bonds the members of the Gargouille team - a link which is thought to be important to their ability in infiltrating the Lightless Realm - partnerships can be put in place for those with the strongest links.

While Akashi is left with a non-human partner in the form of the Argent, it's Emiru who really despairs as she's paired with the murderous and decidedly dysfunctional Heito - of course, to make things worse he also knows the secret of the Admonition which appears to be spreading throughout her body, which she continues to hide from all and sundry.

With negative emotions that surpass even Akashi's surging through her, all of this comes to a head as Gargouille are sent out on their first proper training foray into the Lightless Realm itself, with the Argent leading the way and both Heito and Emiru backing him up.  As soon as they come close, however, Emiru's body begins to react most strangely, while Heito's egging on of her primal fears leads to her producing an Admonition which attacks the others as things continue to spiral out of control.

While I remain interested in aspects of the story that M3 appears to be wanting to tell, its continuation to do so in such a ham-fisted way is frustrating my attempts to glean any real enjoyment out of it - Heito's over-the-top lunacy is comical more than it is disturbing, Emiru's place in proceedings feels equally forced and overblown, and the rest of the cast feel like cardboard cut-outs.  Throw in some of the least imaginative animation I've seen in quite some time, and you have yourself a recipe for mediocrity - for a series with so many dark or otherwise sinister elements, there's no real tension or feeling of impending dread; instead things just happen (often in ways which feel ill-fitting against the backdrop of the show's broader narrative), and it's really rather hard to care when they do.

M3 the dark metal - Episode 4

Recent events are understandably of great concern to the powers that be as the situation surrounding the Corpses appears to be spiraling out of control - a situation that has left them conceding to governmental wishes in how these higher-ups run their project.

Meanwhile, Gargouille's training continues apace, with the group dropped at disparate locations around a deserted island without any real means of navigation, and tasked with meeting up and working together on a mock investigation as a team - a team which includes Heito, which is understandably an uncomfortable prospect for all concerned.

While all and sundry try to figure out their state of play, battle on despite feeling ill (in Emiru's case) or simply panic and flail around doing nothing, as time passes all of the group find themselves enveloped by strange memories, recollections and an almost magnetic bond to one another that gives them an understanding of exactly where they should meet.  Could it be that they've met before?  It seems that even Heito shares these feelings, although it's hard to tell when he seems to be so mired in insanity... it also seems that he's looking for something; something which Emiru appears to possess.

I will give M3 some kudos for building up some interesting story elements this week (even if the prior relationship between the members of the cast was foreshadowed so heavily that it had zero surprise value at this point) - I just wish it could be a little less boring and more dynamic about delivering it.  At present, none of the characters have any redeeming features, and even Heito's insanity is overplayed in a manner which is neither fun nor interesting - perhaps these issues will be assuaged as M3 builds further upon its narrative, but at this exact moment it isn't doing itself any favours.

M3 the dark metal - Episode 3

Now that the Reaper - or Argent if you prefer - has been revealed and proven capable of being piloted by Akashi, the game has changed for our protagonist and his fellow trainees.

As a result, the group have now been renamed as Gargouille, with a mission to infiltrate the Lightless Realm using the Argent's abilities - this is originally sold to the students as a reconnaissance mission, but those involved are no idiots and quickly catch on to the true purpose of the mission, that being to fight against Corpses.  Of course, Akashi is the young man expected to lead that charge, but as testing of his abilities with and tolerance towards the Argent continue it increasingly seems as if he may be in no fit shape to lead any kind of assault against anything.

To further confuse matters, there's a new arrival to the crew too - Sasame Izuriha, a quiet and seemingly sickly girl who looks worryingly familiar to Akashi, even though she seems to have no direct knowledge of or contact with any Corpses.  Whether she's involved with them or not, bad tidings certainly seemed to have followed her, as an Admonition decides that it would be better if there were two of the group's tutor before causing general chaos as Garguoille try to fight back against the strangely childish behaviour of their enemy... behaviour which is entirely explained once the Admonition is defeated.

There are some interesting facets to its core conceit that make me really want to like M3, but somehow the process of actually watching the series is incredibly laborious at this point.  The show's cast really don't help here, as they all feel flat in terms of personality (further hampered by the dull visuals and poor animation quality), and any emotion which is wrung out of them feels forced as a result.  This week's episode also meanders from place to place without any punch and impact, and when you couple all of that to some moments that feel ripped straight out of the "I want to be like Evangelion" playbook - not necessarily a negative in and of itself, if played properly - M3 is really struggling to make an impact.

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.

M3 the dark metal - Episode 1

Humanity, it seems, is in a tight spot (although when it isn't it in anime?), with those that remaining living on the outskirts of a darkness known as the Lightless Realm which has swallowed up everything and everyone in its path, and continues to expand.  From these dark depths come strange creatures known as Admonitions, and guardians of the realm known as Corpses.

It isn't all bad news though, as a company named IX seeks to reconstruct what they can in a place known as Kawadahara City as a refuge from the Admonitions, an area which includes a school named Kukunochi Academy.  It's here that IX seems set to train up and look to somehow take back the Lightless Realm using trained pilots and machines known as Vess, capable of travelling into that realm where humans have previously been unable to tread without certain death.

Heading up the trainees selected to be part of this scheme is the talented but dour Akashi Saginuma, who is selected alongside an existing active pilot and a bunch of other kids who are also signed up for reasons which seem inexplicable even to them.  After an initial period of training, Akashi and fellow trainee Emiru are sent out for what should be a safe, initial exploratory run in their Vess units... of course, things prove to be anything but safe as an Admonition attacks Emiru, with subsequent events providing some important pointers as to the origins and driving forces behind these strange creatures.

As with most anime series, it's hard to really gauge M3 from its opening episode.  Its animation doesn't exactly look great, which is a bit of a worry for a first episode, and its exposition is frequently delivered in a less than satisfying fashion, but the world that it's built seems as though it could be interesting especially if it manages to flesh out its characters from the boring slate of cardboard cut-outs that seem to be from this first instalment.  There's arguably more going against the show than for it at this very early stage, but that could mean nothing if it settles down into a good rhythm - something I hope that M3 does as the only mecha show that even vaguely interests me this spring.