Impression
Once again, Unbreakable Machine-Doll does not fail to disappoint! Raishin vs Felix delivered the action it promised, and brought a load of feels along with it. Oh, and there was a decent amount of closure too, which helped to wrap up the Cannibal Candy arc as a whole. Felix seems to be pretty innovative in getting me to dislike him even more – clearly, making Charlotte cry wasn’t enough. I was already wincing throughout Yaya’s ordeal with the wrecking ball (you monster!), but it was the corrosive mist that did it for me. Somehow, I feel that a single punch to the face wasn’t enough retribution on Raishin’s part. He should have, like… kicked him in the nuts a couple dozen times.
Felix’s defeat means a promotion for Raishin, who now has a better shot at becoming Wiseman now that he’s been given a Gauntlet. Whatever it was they measured in the admissions test definitely wasn’t combat ability. That lavish ceremony also featured an impossibly cute Charlotte giving Raishin a thank-you gift 😀 In all honesty, that ship would probably become a lot more feasible if Yaya wasn’t so… emotionally invested in Raishin. Maybe his lack of interest was only ever a product of Yaya’s sexual aggression.
Felix’s motive was pragmatic; at least he wasn’t keeping those magic circuits for decoration or something. After all, Lisette (or Eliza) would never have unlocked her full potential if she’d only used her standard sword in battle. Even so, that doesn’t justify becoming an automaton serial killer at all – especially as each set of magic circuits is only good for a one-time use. Sticking to that liquefying ability would have probably been more useful to Eliza, especially as water is a noted weakness of Yaya’s. But hey, it’s her loss. Eliza actually looked a lot less human after her mask was cracked – even though Raishin gave her the option to denounce her sins, she decided to stand by Felix to the very end. And despite being the replacement of a murdered girl, this loyalty never wavered at all. If I had to nitpick, this would be the one area I felt they could have developed more – the background behind Lisette’s death and the circumstances behind Eliza’s eventual creation. It’s not that necessary, but it’d be a nice bit of world-building.
The fight itself was pretty cool – I found myself not really minding the CG all that much amidst all the tension. While we don’t actually know any specifics behind how Raishin’s magic works, I think I was happy enough watching Yaya beating Eliza up after being infused with all sorts of different colours. Surprisingly enough, it attracted both Magnus and that lady teacher, who ended up being spectators more than anything else. While it was interesting to know that Magnus holds Raishin in high regard (perhaps after the threat gift he gave him) it was that comment about his Ban Dolls that really got me thinking. If all six of his automatons are Ban Dolls, then the “ingredients” must have been taken from dead people, right? Presumably they have to be young girls. And back in Episode 2, Raishin had a flashback of his dead sister, Nadeshiko after seeing the face of one of Magnus’ dolls. It seems like a morbid thought, but if he killed his own family, I don’t think I’d put it past him to have made a doll out of his little sister’s remains.