Robotics;Notes - Episode 2

Although Aki has provisionally secured the funding she needs for her Robotics Club, the provision is comes with is a decidedly hefty one - winning the prestigious Robo-One tournament, which is a big ask at the best of times, but even more so for a club which doesn't even have a suitable robot to compete with.

Or does it?  Aki has a plan, and it involves pulling out and dusting down the previously victorious robot used by the club (and her sister) eight years previously.  Needless to say, the years haven't been kind to Tanegashimachine-3 (the robot in question), in terms of both its technology and more practical problems, like the fact that it has a flat battery and no charger.  Repairing the robot is going to take money, but Aki is determined to get it up and running again no matter what.

Although her friend Kai's place in helping with all of this goes beyond the apathetic, behind the scenes he searches out information that will at least allow them to get a discount from "Doc", the seller of the parts that the robot requires, and even when this fails it is he that promises to pay for some of the parts offered to them with the winnings from the tournament - a brave move which gives him some kudos with Doc if nothing else.  From here, Aki works herself into the ground rebuilding the robot and getting it ready to fight in the tournament to the point where it brings on a bout of her rather unique illness.  But whose going to operate it?  Kai's disinterest leaves it in Aki's seemingly incapable hands until she persuades him otherwise.

Following a solid first episode, this second instalment of Robotics;Notes could be described in similar terms - Aki continues to be a character that you can't help but cheer on and get behind, and even if Kai is a bit of an asshole with his attitude much of the time at least we get to see an occasional softer side to him here.  In terms of story, things are still progressing at a decent clip, and there are clearly some very different directions for this show to go in once we reach and move on from the Robo-One tournament.  It's also worth remembering that Steins;Gate was a slow burner initially, so I'm willing to be patient with it for now.