Broken Blade (Break Blade)

[Illrenmazou]

Rygart Arrow is the only one in his world who lacks the inherent ability to power up quartz, the energy source that makes all of the machines run. Nevertheless, he's pretty well connected. The King and Queen of his country of Krisna happen to be old college friends. But so is Zess, the guy who is leading the army of a neighboring kingdom in an attack on Krisna.

How did it comes to this? There's little time to ponder the implications as an army in giant, mechanized battle suits attacks. Arrow just feels like he's in the way - until he comes across a powerful, ancient mech that no one has yet to be able to figure out how to run. But his natural affinity for the suit's operating mechanism may just turn Arrow into the most important player of all.

(From ANN)

[gg]_Break_Blade_-_1_(720p)_[A9337483].mkv

I'm still downloading it. The fight scenes in the manga were kinda hard to follow so I hope it'll be impressive in the movie.

[shinta|hikari]

Time to see the girl in Ryll's sig animated. This is gonna be awesome.

[Buffalobiian]

[gg]_Break_Blade_-_1_(1080p)_[A406CFAD].mkv

[Nipponsei] Break Blade OP Single - Fate [KOKIA].zip
[Nipponsei] Break Blade ED Single - SERIOUS-AGE [Faylan].zip

[Penner]

i will download and watch this if only for the fact it's in 1080p, w00t!!

[Inazuma]

Wait it's like Escaflowne in less freaky and HD.
Dont mind me, watch it.

[Penner]

This was pretty awesome, i want more :P

[NeoCybercoin]

Looked pretty awesome but....12 year old...with those tits?!

[Penner]

Yeah she being 12 took me by surprise aswell, she has jailbait written all over her :P

[Buffalobiian]

I have one issue with this show.

SIGYN IS FUCKING MARRIED!!!!!!!!!!!

(all signs point towards it being a ceremonial marriage only though, from the shelved rings and separate sleeping quaters to the lack of intimacy towards Hodr vs Rygart. Apparently Sigyn smiles even more around Rygart than Hodr. Maybe Hodr needed to be married to become King, and other heir-to-the-throne candidates were either subpar, or there simply weren't any.)

1hr episodes are good. I feel that they can pace things right without trying to such to some sort of conclusion by the half-hr mark.

OP/EDs - I held off from hearing them until this episode was out, but I was really looking forward to them due to the artists performing them [KOKIA does the OP, faylan did the ED]. KOKIA's songs have a vastness that really suits this series' landscape, and I liked this song just as much as their previous ones. faylan's ED.... not as much. It's around the average mark, but hasn't got much going for it.

According to ANN, this series will consist of 6 chapters. Is the manga finished, or scheduled to be finished when this is all over?

[Ryllharu]

According to ANN, this series will consist of 6 chapters. Is the manga finished, or scheduled to be finished when this is all over?

Not remotely. There are a few good places to stop though.

I have one issue with this show.

SIGYM IS FUCKING MARRIED!!!!!!!!!!!

Reasons to love Sigyn:
1) She's very dignified, except around Rygart
2) She's also really smart, she spends most of her time doing research or getting interested in technology.
3) She's hot.
4) She's married.

Stick with me here on that last one. It's rather clear that there is a lot going on we haven't seen yet. The separated King/Queen, the real reason Rygart skipped on their wedding (Sigyn wasn't fooled), and the fact that it makes her a Queen. Note that they also pointed out that he doesn't wear his ring either.

Which is rather important, considering the condition that Athens placed on the surrender of Krishna. Rygart is generally a pacifist, as is Hodr, and even supposedly Zess. Yet Hodr implied that he wouldn't hesitate an instant to surrender, even with that condition, if not for Sigyn being his wife.

So that puts her square in the middle of this mess. Hodr would sacrifice himself, but not if she has to be killed with him. Rygart could leave since this isn't really his problem, but he was completely shocked when Hodr told him that. Rygart kept her at a distance since he left the school, and Hodr keeps her at a distance now. Sigyn being married keeps Hodr from sacrificing himself, but it also puts Rygart in the position of serving for her and thereby sacrificing himself (since he unsurprisingly sucks at piloting).

It changes the dynamic completely. It isn't a hero saving the heroine and getting a relationship out of it. As things stand, Rygart has no chance with her. She's the beloved Queen, and he's a nobody. She can't just leave Hodr to be with Rygart. Not without him dying, but that most likely means her death as well.

There is a very complicated dynamic going on between all four of them (Rygart, Hodr, Sigyn and Zess). Rygart, Hodr, and Sigyn all quite clearly care for each other. Zess...it is too soon to say where he really stands, but he'd rather have Hodr surrender than kill him. That in and of itself strikes as odd, since either way would mean Hodr's (and Sigyn's) death.

[fireheart]

There is a very complicated dynamic going on between all four of them (Rygart, Hodr, Sigyn and Zess). Rygart, Hodr, and Sigyn all quite clearly care for each other. Zess...it is too soon to say where he really stands, but he'd rather have Hodr surrender than kill him. That in and of itself strikes as odd, since either way would mean Hodr's (and Sigyn's) death.

Not really since the flashbacks indicate Zess at least cares about Rygart and Hodr obviously thought that Zess wouldn't shot if he knew that Rygart was in the golem. So I'd say they all care for each other and since Hodr said the condition that the royal family has to die wasn't on the paper only conveyed by the messenger chances are that most people no matter which side they belong to don't know about that condition. So if Zess doesn't know about it then it's not really odd as if Hodr surrenders a lot less blood is spillt and no one really dies, only thing that's odd is that he seems rather high in rank from the way they talk about him so he should know about it. It's harder to say what Sigyn thinks and feels since she mostly interact with Rygart in this episode and don't really say anything about Zess but most likely she cares about all three of them.

[Buffalobiian]

Not really since the flashbacks indicate Zess at least cares about Rygart and Hodr obviously thought that Zess wouldn't shot if he knew that Rygart was in the golem. So I'd say they all care for each other and since Hodr said the condition that the royal family has to die wasn't on the paper only conveyed by the messenger chances are that most people no matter which side they belong to don't know about that condition. So if Zess doesn't know about it then it's not really odd as if Hodr surrenders a lot less blood is spillt and no one really dies, only thing that's odd is that he seems rather high in rank from the way they talk about him so he should know about it. It's harder to say what Sigyn thinks and feels since she mostly interact with Rygart in this episode and don't really say anything about Zess but most likely she cares about all three of them.

I find it really interesting that in all the flashbacks Sigyn hangs back a bit while the other three are always bunched together (regardless of whether they're fighting).

[Ryllharu]

Not really since the flashbacks indicate Zess at least cares about Rygart and Hodr obviously thought that Zess wouldn't shot if he knew that Rygart was in the golem.

So I'd say they all care for each other and since Hodr said the condition that the royal family has to die wasn't on the paper only conveyed by the messenger chances are that most people no matter which side they belong to don't know about that condition.

So if Zess doesn't know about it then it's not really odd as if Hodr surrenders a lot less blood is spillt and no one really dies, only thing that's odd is that he seems rather high in rank from the way they talk about him so he should know about it.

While Zess cared about them then (he came off in the way the other three described him as a sort of male tsundere), we don't know if circumstances have changed. It's been four years since Rygart left the Academy. A lot of things may have happened since then.

The only two we know for sure that do know about it are the Athens leadership, Hodr, Rygart, and maybe a few of Hodr's generals. Shigyn doesn't.

So I say it is pretty complicated, and like both you and I said, it is odd that Zess doesn't appear to know about it. You just said it more explicitly and took it to the next logical conclusion. If he did know about it, he wouldn't wonder why Hodr hadn't already surrendered. He would know that either choice means their deaths.

[Illrenmazou]

The 1ist episode was really short. I thought they'll cover chapters 1 to 8. Nevertheless, it was a great adaptation.

[Ryllharu]

I would also like to point out that I the skies and landscapes in Break Blade, despite being deserts, are excellently well done. The country doesn't come off as a bleak post-apocalyptia, it comes off as a very serene mountainous country. Until all the killing starts anyway.

The cirrus clouds are particularly nicely done.

I like how the quartz pieces have cracks running through them, or an iridescent sheen like the Atlas Golem viewscreens. It is a nice touch.

[Kraco]

An interesting setting, both the word and character wise. Hodr and Rygart's level of patriotism seems surprisingly low considering they were promoted military academy students. Sigyn in fact seemed to be the most patriotic of those three, if only due to her dedication to the development of tools of defense. Of course Hodr's willingess to lay down his own life for the country is a form of it, but willingness to surrender the whole country without a fight to a foreign power isn't. In my opinion Zess looked like the kind of person who would be willing to see Hodr and Sigyn dead if he considered it to serve a much great good. A bit zealous sort of a guy.

I hope we will learn something of the history of the ancients before the end. And what manner of a power plant the buried mecha has to remain functional for so long...

[Archangel]

Looked pretty awesome but....12 year old...with those tits?!

It felt wrong...

Other than that and the awful CGI crystal that was encasing the broken blade i felt the series was pretty visually stunning, i loved how fluid the mechas were in close combat and in fast movement

As for the character i can't say i fell in love with any particular one, though i'm quite interested in their circumstances along with the the rest of the plot regarding the ancients

And... yeah, i guess that's it. Looking forward to the next episode.

[Buffalobiian]

Other than that and the awful CGI crystal that was encasing the broken blade i felt the series was pretty visually stunning, i loved how fluid the mechas were in close combat and in fast movement

That CGI was alright I thought.






PS: Buffalobiian has watched Letter Bee.

[Kraco]

No CGI looks bad in anime after defining the bottom with FSN. I certainly had no problems with Break Blade. CGI in a mecha (or other machine themed) anime is given and won't bother me at all unless it's unusually ungraceful or is applied also to the characters (not counting distant shots of armies).

[Archangel]

Lol, do you have nightmares with the dragon Kraco?

Every time CGI comes up you find some way to mention it :P