History Manga / KuroganeNoLinebarrel

[[quoteright:229:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/IronLine_9729.JPG]]

->''"It's not 'what I should do,' it's 'What I want to do.'"''

The Linebarrels of Iron story takes place in a fictional alternate future, centering around a junior-high school student named Kouichi Hayase, who escaped his daily life of being bullied as a child by constantly daydreaming about being a hero. His life was forever changed during a class trip in the year 2016 when an artificial satellite fell from orbit. Due to this "accident", Kouichi was left in a coma for half a year, and upon awakening, found himself with strange powers, including superhuman strength. Then, in 2019, a mysterious robot called "Linebarrel" appears before him. It is revealed that the accident from three years ago was not caused by a satellite, but rather by the Machina robot Linebarrel, and that this turned him into a "Factor", which is the name given to Machina pilots. This leads him to encounter Emi Kizaki, a mysterious amnesiac girl whose unknown past seems to be related to Linebarrel. He joins her in fighting for JUDA, the world's largest medical equipment maker, which happens to secretly own several other Machina robots.

So sayeth TheOtherWiki.

Linebarrel looks to play the charmingly cliched MechaShow straight to the hilt. In the opening chapters a HotBlooded [[TheHero emotionally underdeveloped brat]] finds himself piloting a giant robot into all kinds of shiny looking awesome while shouting trite oneliners about being an ''Ally Of Justice'' and HilarityEnsues. [[RealityEnsues Then you start to notice the veneer is chipping away.]] Shimizu and Shimoguchi make it painfully clear [[{{Deconstruction}} how much of a prick the protagonist really is and just how hollow those words about justice ring in his mouth.]] Then - and this is the kicker - [[{{Reconstruction}} they make him mean]] [[CharacterDevelopment every damn word.]]

Has a [[Characters/KuroganeNoLinebarrel character sheet]] now.

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!!Provides Examples Of:

* AbuseIsOkayWhenItsFemaleOnMale: Poor Kouichi at times, especially if it's because of a prank being played by Ishigami.
* ACupAngst: Rachel in episode 25, after she gets teased a little about not having a big bust.
* ADayInTheLimelight: Rachel gets an entire [=OVA=] devoted to her; part one deals with how she arrived in Japan for the first time, while part two acts as a semi-{{Interquel}} set between episodes 12 and 13 of the anime.
* AccidentalPervert: Brilliantly masterminded though.
* AceCustom: The Team leaders in the Katou group, most notable are Sawatari's Idaten, which seems more or less standard barring some cosmetic changes (and rocket engines for a speed boost), and Demitri's Kagutsuchi which is geared towards MoreDakka whilst its armour gives it a Templar like appearance.
* AcePilot: Sawatari (Steam roller) Yuriannu (Bushwhacker) Demitri (Plugger) their respective mecha's are [[AceCustom ]]customised to reflect this.
** On the Machina side we have Moritsugu, whose insane skill + Verdant's power makes him almost unstoppable.
* AfterTheEnd: [[spoiler: Think it's 2010? In the manga it's revealed that it's actually 2712. 650 years after the first humans died.]]
* AFatherToHisMen: Katou, to varying degrees.
* AntiHero: [[spoiler: Reiji and Katou. Both have a sense of justice and freedom, but they go about it much differently than Ishigami, and aren't afraid to inflict casualties to achieve their goal. And it seems Ishigami knew about this, hence why Katou seemed to be allowed to enter JUDA's headquarters, and why they don't outright kill each other when they meet on the beach.]]
** [[spoiler: Later in the manga its revealed that Katou used to be his commanding officer back in WWII.]]
* ArcWords: ''Seigi no mikata''/"Ally of Justice".
* ArmorPiercingSlap: Risako usually gives one to Kouichi anytime the topic of Emi is brought up.
* ArtificialLimbs: [[spoiler:Yajima in the manga, due to his blown-off arm being the only thing buried in his grave and therefore not able to be regenerated by Apparition, gets a cybernetic right arm. Subverted in the anime, where Yajima's right arm is able to be grown back.]]
* AttackDrone: Painkiller's specialty. Coupled with the fact Painkiller is somehow supposed to invoke Izanami, it gives it a passing resemblance to the [[VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsAlpha Gan Eden and its Custos]].
* AMechByAnyOtherName: Arma's and Machina's, the distinctive difference between the two being Armas are mass produced, can't regenerate, and require cables to be inserted into the pilot's spine to pilot it to its fullest potential.
* BackFromTheDead: [[spoiler: Yajima in both the anime and manga.]] Technically Kouichi too, since he died in the very first episode, but was saved by Emi.
** Same applies to [[spoiler:Reiji in both adaptations]].
* BadAss: [[WorldOfBadass Anyone that pilots Machina/Arma]].
** BadassAdorable: Emi, Miu & Shizuna.
** BadassBiker: Subverted; Domyouji appears to be one, but is actually rather cheerful, light hearted, and easygoing, then it's revealed[[spoiler: that the bike actually belongs to his dad and that he borrows it regularly.]]
** BadassNormal: Sawatari & Yurianne, who both have fought both Linebarrel AND Verdant to a standstill with only their standard Armas, and looks damn good in the process. Also Domyouji, who despite being a normal human, can fight artificially-enhanced Hayase toe-to-toe.
** EmpoweredBadassNormal: All the Machina pilots. Special mention goes to [[AcePilot Moritsugu]], [[TheHero Hayase]], [[BadassAdorable Emi]] & [[DeceptivelyHumanRobots Jack Smith]].
* BashBrothers: Sawatari and Demitri
* BeamSpam: The Helios satellite's secondary mirrors.
* BeachEpisode In the anime only, complete with attack from a [[NaughtyTentacles mutated giant squid]] accidentally created by [[spoiler:Jack Smith]].
** BizarroEpisode: Subverted. The BeachEpisode meets most of the qualifications, but it gets a CallBack later and contains a plot-relevant conversation, so technically it doesn't count.
* BecomeARealBoy: [[spoiler: The Machina in the manga. They waged a ruinous war upon themselves and all for what? To be able to feel death. Those who did succeeded gaining the ability to imagine, and those who failed were left behind on the Earth.]]
** MechanicalEvolution: [[spoiler: The Human-Machina]]
** MechanicalLifeforms
** MechanicalMonster
** SapientShip: Shangri-la
* BerserkButton: Never call Ousei ugly, or weird for that matter, it won't end well
* BewareTheNiceOnes: Izuna uses some of the abuse he suffers against his enemies via the Nerve-crack, resulting in some nasty horror-filled [[{{Squick}} Squickyness]] from the visions sent to anyone affected by it, judging from the resulting screams its probably a good thing the audience can't see what they see most of the time.
** Also Miu, especially in the manga since [[BloodKnight she enjoys combat]] much more than her anime counterpart.
** Ogawa doesn't take Ishigami's pranks on Kouichi too lightly. She also doesn't like it when Rachel tries to sneak into her room in episode 25.
* BewareTheSuperman: Similar to ''DarkerThanBlack'', sociopathic tendencies seem to be a pretty common side-effect of getting superpowers here.
* {{BFG}}: Apparition's sniper rifle, Painkiller's arm mounted beam cannons, the twin howitzer used by Hind-Kind, Vardant's railgun in the manga & Linebarrel's 'The Executor', which doubles as {{BFS}}.
* {{BFS}}: The blade 'Eliminator' carried by Naked, Talisman's spear/lance 'Tail of the Kingdom', that large knife Pretender has, Painkiller's Chainsword, the large sword seen with Juda, the katanas wielded by both Linebarrel & Verdant and arguably, 'The Executor' used by Linebarrel, and it's not just the mechs who use them.
* BishonenLine: The Naked, hidden inside the almost impregnable Glen-Neidr. and Painkiller, which is actually very slender underneath the bulky armour.
* BladeOnAStick: The Katou groups Arma's carry Spears as a standard armarment, and Sawatari in particular is very good with one (well in his mecha at least).
** Yurianne's Arma 'Tsubaki-Hime' carries a rather stylised version.
*** Talisman's weapon, 'Tail of the Kingdom' combines this with a BFS.
* BoomHeadshot: Jinrai does 4 or 5 of these in a row when it's introduced in the Anime.
* BreakingTheFourthWall: Episode 25, which doubles as ADayInTheLimeLight for Rachel as she first comes to Japan and gets lost trying to find her way to JUDA. At the end of the first half, she's awoken by one of the other characters who tells her they still have ten minutes left to fill.
* BreatherEpisode: Episodes 6, 12, 17. 12 in particular is interesting because it seems both groups are on the same island, but they don't attack each other, and in fact Jack ends up pulling a VillainousRescue moment when he saves them from a giant squid which he inadvertently created.
* BunnyEarsLawyer: Ishigami has a fondness for pranks and weird inventions, which would be weird enough for the CEO of a medical technology manufacturer, much less the commander of a world-protecting paramilitary organization.
* CannotSpitItOut: This causes some tension between the girls interested in Kouichi, and causes him some problems in episode 26.
** Averted with Yajima, but she immediately turns him down.
* CanonImmigrant: Several of the anime-exclusive characters and[=/=]or events have been slowly folded into the original manga, most notably Rachel Calvin and Miu Kujou as well as [[spoiler:Yajima becoming Apparition's factor and coming BackFromTheDead]].
** Subverted: These were not anime exclusive in the traditional sense, but pulled from the manga before they were introduced starting so early in the manga's run. The anime used the notes the author had written a long time in advance.
* CensorSteam: Usually seen if the women are taking a shower.
* ChainsawGood: In addition to its halberd, Yurianne's Arma 'Tsubaki-Hime' has a pair of chainsaws in hip holsters, and the manga version of the Machina 'Painkiller' wields a giant Chainsword.
** Emi also uses one with unexpected enthusiasm during her magic act. Later Miu is seen with a matching model too.
* CharacterDevelopment: The main reason, other than THE BIG BADASS MACHINA/ARMA BATTLES we are watching the show or reading the manga anyways.
* ChekhovsGun: The machina Apparition.
* CleanCut: Verdant is in particular is good at these weather they be [[DiagonalCut diagonal]], horizontal or vertical.
* ClingyJealousGirl: Risako isn't too fond of how close Emi seems to Kouichi.
** Conversely, the other girls who have a crush on Kouichi at JUDA, especially Emi, aren't fond of him spending too much time with Risako either.
** Shizuna isn't too fond of Yurianne trying to "steal" her brother Izuna away.
* CombatTentacles: Deceive uses them for [[MindRape Psychological Warfare against ARMA and Machina pilots]] and to access computer systems.
* ConspicuousCG: In the anime, mainly for mecha's, explosions and smoke.
* CrashIntoHello: How Kouichi meets Emi. Unfortunately her mech squishes him. [[UnexplainedRecovery He gets better though.]]
* CurbStompBattle: Several in both adaptations, espcially when [[spoiler:Kouichi and/or Linebarrel goes berserk.]] The most recent one in the manga resulted in [[spoiler:all of JUDA's Machina (except Miu) facing a berserk Linebarrel (actually the angry soul of Amagatsu Kizaki) and the Machina need the Jinrais to actually ''stop'' Linebarrel because Kouichi is locked out of Linebarrel's control.]]
* CyberneticsEatYourSoul: Subverted with Jack Smith, though his body is an Arma. he is, honour issues aside, a rather normal and somewhat well adjusted individual.
** Played painfully straight [[spoiler:with the alternate Earth's human population, who have more or less turned into Borg.]]
* DeathIsCheap: [[spoiler:Played straight with everyone except Katou. Subverted with Ishigami, who comes back as an AI, then he sacrifices himself with Katou.]]
* DeconReconSwitch: This work wastes no time in showing what a terrible idea entrusting a powerful and destructive giant robot to an immature and impulsive teenager is. And then proceeds to show how the same teenager can actually mature and grow to be a real hero.
* {{Dojikko}}: Emi, for the first few episodes of the anime.
* DualWield: Linebarrel manages with twin {{BFS}}. Verdant one ups this with the quad wield. Tsubaki-Hime ties with verdant by dual wielding ''[[ChainsawGood Chainsaws]]''
* DudeLooksLikeALady: Izuna Endo, twin brother of Shizuna. Kouichi seems to [[LightNovel/BakaToTestToShoukanjuu summon Yoshi Akihisa]] when he jokingly says that Shizuna should act more girlish, then faces Izuna Endo, which ticks her off.
* DyingAsYourself: Soumi.
* DyingDeclarationOfLove: [[spoiler:Averted. Miu tries to invoke this in episode 20 in an attempt to protect Kouichi, but that causes him to activate Mode B, which allows him to heal her and her machina.]]
* EarnYourHappyEnding: They really have to earn it here in the anime. Expect a lot of TearJerker moments and {{GutPunch}}es before you get to it though.
* EliteMooks: The Thunderclap, developed by Kiriyama heavy industries.
* EnemyMine: [[spoiler:Combined with a GambitPileup, Katou was actually planning to stop the invasion from the other Earth in the anime, since the humans there have given up and more or less [[YouWillBeAssimilated become robotic without any free will]]. Hence why he constantly mentions stirring up the imagination of the people on the current Earth so as to prepare them to fight the oncoming invasion force. It doesn't help that he had to kill lots of innocent people to achieve his goal, which was why Ishigami decided to break off and look for an alternative method that didn't require any human deaths if possible.]]
** [[spoiler:In the manga this happened after all the gate to the Human-Machina's world was opened, before the members of the JUDA Special Task Force were assimilated into the Katou Organization.]]
* {{Expy}}: [[SengokuBasara Verdant is blue, wields more than 2 swords in each hand, has one eye, and a crescent moon emblem on its forehead]], [[SarcasmMode I wonder who matches that description]].
* EyepatchOfPower: Verdant, interestingly the blind spot is actually noted by Kouichi and he tries to exploit this during his second duel with Verdant. [[IAmNotLeftHanded it doesn't work.]]
* FaceHeelTurn: [[spoiler:Reiji. But it turns out he was GoodAllAlong, and was merely playing his part in Katou's grand scheme. See EnemyMine]]
* FacingTheBulletsOneLiner: The first time you hear the page quote.
* FallingIntoTheCockpit: To be fair, [[spoiler:it did fall on top of him first...]]
* FirstEpisodeResurrection: [[spoiler:Hayase in the anime only, since the story actually begins a few years after incident in the manga.]]
* FirstKiss: Risako, in an apparent AnguishedDeclarationOfLove, gives one to Kouichi at the end of episode 12.
** Which then gets blown out of proportion both at school and at JUDA. Emi is not happy about that.
** [[spoiler:Miu]] shares hers with Koiuchi in episode 20. Which kind of ticks off Shizuna, of all people.
* FishOutOfWater: Kouichi, who was an OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent until he [[CrashIntoHello met Emi.]]
** Rachel in episode 25, who gets completely lost in Japan and is very unfamiliar with the culture and landscape.
* FiveManBand
** Kunio Ishigami [[spoiler:in Juda (in the manga)]], the BigGood, [[spoiler:succeeded in the manga by Hisataka Katou in Shangri-La]]
** Koichi Hayase in Linebarrel, TheHero
** Reiji Moritsugu in Verdant, TheLancer [[spoiler:replaced with Hideaki Yajima in Apparition (in the anime), following Reiji's FaceHeelTurn]]
** Satoru Yamashita in Hind-Kind, TheBigGuy
** The twins, Shizuna and Izuna Endou, in Deceive, TheSmartGuy
** Emi Kizaki [[spoiler:in Linebarrel]], TheChick
*** In the anime this role is taken (or shared depending on your viewpoint) by Miu in Painkiller
** [[spoiler: Soubi Nakajima in Talisman]], TheSixthRanger
*** In the anime this role is taken by [[spoiler: Makoto Domyouji in his Jinrai]]. In the manga, the role is later shared between [[spoiler:Soubi, Domyouji, Miu and Yajima,]] and possilbly later by [[spoiler:the Katou Organization squad leaders]].
* FlashStep: Tsubaki-Hime is so agile it seems to disappear.
** also used by 'Naked', and Linebarrel when in 'Mode-B'
* FormFittingWardrobe: Pretty much all the women's outfits stick right onto their skin. Including their school uniforms.
* FunWithAcronyms: Line doesn't appear to stand for anything, but [[spoiler:in the final episode, we see BARRELS stands for "Biogenous Armament Revivify Ravager Energized Lifeform Sustainer"]]... which doesn't really mean much of anything.
* {{Gainaxing}}: Almost very female in the anime. Especially during the beach episode. Hayase's arm seems to find it's way into their cleavage a lot as well...
* GenkiGirl: Shizuna, especially in {{Tsundere}} mode.
* {{Gonk}}: Riku Ousei
* GottaCatchEmAll: In the manga, [[spoiler:the Human-Machina won't attack unless all the Machina get a Factor. Katou tries to prevent it by hiding the Lostbarrel in his own Machina, but Sawatari eventually bonds with it.]]
* GratuitousEnglish: Rachel Calvin, take a bow.
** The [[http://www.crunchyroll.com/linebarrels-of-iron/-linebarrels-of-iron-linebarrels-of-iron-trailer-460982 trailer]] seems to be chock full of it as well.
* GrievousHarmWithABody: In episode 5 [[spoiler: when Kouichi saves the Endou twins the first thing he does is grab one of the opposing ARMA's by the head and throws it at the group attacking Deceive]]
* GroinAttack: Shizuna's way of introducing herself to Kouichi when they first meet, while [[PunctuatedPounding yelling about what a douche he is]].
* GunsAkimbo: Verdant when its carrying the optional submachine guns.
* HalfIdenticalTwins: The Endou siblings
* HeelFaceTurn: [[spoiler:Jack in the anime, who has a rivalry with Reiji, and felt he couldn't do it properly if Reiji was on the same team as him. So he joins JUDA in order to fight against him "properly". Thankfully he's still just as BadAss when fighting for JUDA as he was when fighting for Katou.]]
** [[spoiler:Possibly in the manga with the entire Katou Organization, given that they had the same ultimate goal as JUDA and were just going about in a different way, and with Ishigami's death, Katou decides to try things the way his former subordinate did, which ends in our heroes being dissolved into Katou's squads.]]
* HeelRealization[=/=]VillainousBreakdown:
-->'''[[spoiler:Eiji Kiriyama]]''': ''You'' a "hero of justice"? Don't make me laugh! You can't be a hero of justice! Because if you were, it would mean '''I'm the bad guy'''!
* HeroicBSOD: Yamashita suffers one in episode 13. In the manga, [[spoiler:Kouichi goes through a massive after the pile-up of: Miu becoming a Factor, Linebarrel being revealed to be the vessel for Amagatsu Kizaki who has gone insane and JUDA has to seal Linebarrel away, and Yajima coming BackFromTheDead and being the Factor of the Machina that killed him]].
* HeroicSacrifice: Judy in episode 15. [[spoiler: Ishigami in Chapter 83.]]
* HopelessSuitor: Although it teases you a bit, its pretty obvious who Kouichi's going to end up with [[spoiler: hint, they do a CrashIntoHello in the beginning]]. Not that it doesn't stop the other girls from at least trying to hook up with him, or at least go into {{Tsundere}} mode in Shizuna's case.
** Played straight with Yajima towards Risako.
* HotBlooded: Koichi, Yamashita, Sawatari
* HotbloodedSideburns: Sawatari, a rare villain example
* HumongousMecha: The Arma and the Machina.
* IAmNotLeftHanded: Koichi was quite shocked when [[spoiler: Verdant's right eye spontaneously healed itself.]].
* ICallItVera: Pretender is not the real name of [[spoiler:Eiji Kiriyama's Machina. It's real name is actually Deceive IV.]]
* IllBoy: Yamashita prior to becomming Hind Kind's factor
* ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice: [[spoiler: Reiji fell on one of Verdant's swords when the sink-hole containing the mecha opened up underneath Reiji unexpectedly, he gets better, due to it being how he became Verdant's factor]].
** Also [[spoiler: Yajima, seconds before getting obliterated by mecha sized bullets]]
* InstantExpert: Subverted by Kouichi. His ass-kicking is totally contributed to the Linebarrels immense speed and power, but against experienced pilots he nearly always gets shamed. Moritsugu makes this a plot point, fending off his SuperMode and insulting his "Hero of Justice" rap, then threatening all his friends [[spoiler:in order to cause an emotional response that can unlock Linebarrel's Machina-Killer True Form.]]
* InstantWinCondition: [[spoiler:When Kouichi destroys the core at the end of the anime, all the invading machinas shut down and start breaking apart.]]
* InsufferableGenius: Rachel occasionally in the main series, but especially in episode 25, which covers her first trip to Japan.
* InvoluntarySuicideMechanism / DrivenToSuicide: The suicide switch inside all humans.
* InvisibilityCloak: Apparition's special ability.
* IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy: Yajima likes Risako, but knows she likes Kouichi, so holds back. So when Emi shows up, he sees her as a threat to Risako's happiness, as evidenced by how unhappy Risako is around Emi and the other girls working with Kouichi in JUDA.
** Both [[spoiler:Risako and Miu seem to feel this way as well towards the end.]]
* {{Jerkass}}[=/=]JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Koichi Hayase. Just Koichi Hayase.
** Shizuna is a JerkWithAHeartOfGold too. And so is Domyouji.
* JumpedAtTheCall: Deconstructed; when Koichi becomes Linebarrel's Factor he behaves like you would realistically expect a bullied teenager would when given godlike power, and immediately causes huge levels of property damage, loss of human life, and generally behaving like a douchebag while trying to weakly justify this by shouting hollow one liners about being an ally of justice, upon which he is immediately called out on it by Reiji [[spoiler:who then proceeds to hand his ass to him.]] it is only when [[spoiler:his best friend dies as a result of his actions]] that he realizes the seriousness of what he's gotten himself into.
* KansaiRegionalAccent: Shizuna.
* KarmaHoudini: [[spoiler:Sawatari, Yuriannu and Jack]] all escape from the authorities at the end of the anime, while [[spoiler:Reiji gets thrown in jail for his involvement in Kiriyama's coup]]. Subverted in VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsL, [[spoiler:where all three are arrested by the authorities alongside Reiji.]]
* KilledOffForReal: [[spoiler: Ishigami, the president of JUDA in the anime. However, he did it in order to activate FLAG, a CoolShip which was part of JUDA's headquarters, and which plays a pivotal role at the end of the series. He says that someone had to be sacrificed in order to use it. Hence why his physical body dies, but his mind/spirit lives on in the ship.]]
** Played straight [[spoiler: for Katou and Ishigami in his AI form in the last battle.]]
* KillSat: The Helios satellite.
* LargeHam: Domyouji. Ishigami falls into this trope occasionally as well.
* LaserBlade: Kinda justified, the Executioner was supposed to be a gun, the output setting just gets overclocked.
* LastStand: Seems to be one around episode 18 when Katou's forces attack Misaki city, and JUDA's forces gradually have to keep pulling back as Katou's forces continually destroy the shields.
* LightningBruiser: Glen-Neidr, and Ousei's Arma 'Yaoyorozu'
* LightningGlare: Done between Risako and Miu in episode 17.
* LikesOlderWomen: Yurianne tries to ravish Izuna in the cave in episode 12. He seems able to be on par with her before getting exhausted. Then some NaughtyTentacles intervenes...
* LoverTugOfWar: Slight one occurs in episode 21, although subverted in that both Emi and Miu want to strip Kouichi down in order to get a physical done on him. They seem rather eager about it as well...
* MacrossMissileMassacre: One of Eiji's Pretender attacks
* MadBomber: Ousei
* MarshmallowHell: Kouichi is subjected to this a couple of times.
* TheMasquerade: [[spoiler: It is now 2712. Humans history ended 650 years ago. The reason why humans exist now is because the Human-Machina recreated them.]]
* MayflyDecemberRomance: [[spoiler:Soubi and his wife in the manga, as a result of him being Talisman's Factor and therefore not aging]]. There's also a case of Mayfly December ''Ship Teasing'' in the anime between [[spoiler:Jack and Risako]], but that gets torpedoed by the end of the anime.
** [[spoiler: Also Ishigami and his wife.]]
* MeaningfulName: JUDA [[spoiler: Ishigami used to work as Katou's right hand man (during WorldWarII) before becoming the factor for the Machina JUDA, afterwards he betrayed the Katou Organization. The Machina JUDA itself is one; it had no default name or serial number, and instead called itself 'J-U-D-A' when prompted. It is the Judas of the Machina.]]
* MechaMooks: Any Arma not being piloted by a named character is screwed.
* MegaCorp: JUDA, a more benevolent example than most.
* MegaTonPunch: Kouichi is on the receiving end of these at times.
** Furuya gets one from [[spoiler: Yajima.]] Like Kouichi he survives the hit, but the next time we see him he's in a hospital bed bandaged up.
* MissionControl: Emi and Ishigami usually perform this role.
* ModestyBedsheet: Averted in the manga, where you can see Yuriannu's side boob, as she is laying on her stomach with the bed sheet around her lower waist.
* MoodWhiplash: Episode 13. Starts out really light-hearted, [[spoiler: then you hear a gunshot, and Reiji just shot Ishigami.]]
* MotorMouth: Risako has one in episode 12, it actually sounds like the dialogue has been sped up rather than just her talking quickly.
* MurderTheHypotenuse: [[spoiler: Kiriyama Eiji had Reiji's sister killed so that Reiji would be dependent on him. Worse still Reiji knows Eiji was responsible and plans to take revenge for it.]]
* MysteriousWoman: Yuriannu Faithful
* NaughtyTentacles: Episode 12.
* NoseBleed: Hayase and Domyouji suffer them from time to time.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Kouichi's antics when he first receives Linebarrel [[spoiler: results in a bridge being destroyed, civilian casulties, and his best friend getting blown into little gibby bits by the Machina Apparition]], Nice job breaking it Kouichi.
** The Machina-humans in the anime.
* NoHoldsBarredBeatdown Verdant hands out one to Linebarrel, twice [[spoiler: the second time in the manga Verdant slices Linebarrel in half at the waist.]]
* NoNameGiven: A mecha example in the case for the Arma's themselves, save the squad captains, which are named 'Idaten'(Sawatari's),'Tsubaki-hime'(Yuriannu's),'Kagutsuchi' (Demitri's), and 'Yaoyorozu' (Ousei's)
* NormallyIWouldBeDeadNow Variation, one way of becoming a factor for a machina is for it to ''kill you by accident'' when it does not have a factor, to which it will revive you via NanoMachines) if it does have a factor, then you stay dead [[DeathIsCheap until that factor dies]]
* OhCrap: The nameless Japanese couple has one right before getting hit with the Helios KillSat in episode 11.
* OneOfUs: The authors are big fan of ''Franchise/KamenRider'' and ''Series/{{Ultraman}}''. Just look at their [[http://www.h7.dion.ne.jp/~n_circus/ website]] which has a self-made picture of [[Series/KamenRiderOOO Mezool]] and recently, they are going to make a new ''Ultraman'' manga in a {{Seinen}} magazine.
* OvertookTheManga: The anime adaptation follows the manga more or less the same until around the Helios operation, where some details change (both minor and major), then by the time the [[spoiler:Kiriyama coup]] is finished (which does play similar to the manga version with some changes), the anime goes all out on an original ending that.
* ThePlan: [[spoiler: Except for Riku's death, everything about the hijacking of the [[KillSat Helios]] and the subsequent operation to destroy it was planned by Katou]].
* PlayingAgainstType: JojiNakata as Ishigami. He's more... mischievous than his usual roles.
* RammingAlwaysWorks: What the Shangri-La tries to do towards the alternate Earth's invasion ship.
* RocketPunch: Hind-Kind's Bullet Fist
* ReallySevenHundredYearsOld: Though Soubi looks seventeen it's revealed that he is actually over 70, this is due to being born as Talisman's factor. [[spoiler:Eventually, each and every Factor will suffer his fate, as Machina don't allow them to grow old, unless they find out how to counter the effect.]]
** In the manga: [[spoiler: Katou, Emi & Ishigami. Katou and Emi are older by 650 years, while Ishigami is the father of ''the prime minister''.]]
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: While Ishigami is a bit [[BunnyEarsLawyer eccentric]] at times, and seems to enjoy playing pranks (usually on Kouichi), he doesn't just start taking it out on his subordinates if things go wrong, and helps pay for the damages that Kouichi first causes without making much of a fuss. He also seems to see the potential in Kouichi, while most of the other members of JUDA initially feel he's a hotheaded nutcase.
* RedHeadedHero
* RedShirtArmy: Pretty much anyone not part of JUDA.
* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: Kouichi after [[spoiler:seeing Yajima get killed in front of him.]]
** Happens again in episode 24, [[spoiler:this time when Emi is killed by Masaki.]]
* RunningGag: In episode 6, Kouichi keeps getting rushed to an emergency room after a prank Ishigami plays on him. After the third one, Ishigami himself joins alongside him, after Yui punishes him for his latest prank of giving Kouichi a video of Emi undressing.
** Emi telling Kouichi that he makes her sick. Its meaning gradually changes however.
* SeriousBusiness: Kouichi initially doesn't get the point of the acts and party in episode 6, until Ishigami tells him that they don't get chances to screw up on their real job, so he should take it easy and relax with them whenever they can.
* SexySecretary: Yuriannu's disguise while she's around Eiji Kiriyama, in reality shes a member of the Katou group.
* ShipSinking: Risako looks extremely sad when she sees how fast Kouichi moves to save Emi in episode 12.
** Emi seems to feel this way too in the very next episode...
* ShockAndAwe: Soubi's Machina 'Talisman' carries a lance/spear named 'tail of the kingdom' that can electrocute enemies from a distance.
* SmashingWatermelons: Happens during the BeachEpisode in episode 12.
* SmugSnake: Kiriyama Eiji.
* StuffedIntoTheFridge: Yajima [[spoiler: he gets better in both versions)]] Ousei, and Demitri.
* SupernaturalGoldEyes: The precursor to somebody going SuperMode.
* SuperMode
* SuperPrototype: All The Machina, though the Ace pilots in the Katou group use {{Ace Custom}}s
** More like just flat out [[SuperRobot Super robots]]
* VideoGame/SuperRobotWars: In ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsL'' (based on the anime) and ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsUX'' (based on the manga).
* TakingYouWithMe: In the anime, Judy manages to kill [[spoiler:Demitri]] during her HeroicSacrifice.
* TagTeamTwins: Endou siblings on Deceive
* TeamMom: Yui Ogawa.
* TemptingFate: When Ishigami mentions that there are now enough Armas for the SSDF to takeover the country in episode 13...
* ThanksForTheMammary: Kouichi initially summons Linebarrel by touching Emi's breast. Which gets [[ClingyJealousGirl Risako a little ticked off...]]
* ThemeNaming: Verdant, Linebarrel, Hind-Kind, Deceive, Painkiller, Apparition, Glen-Neidr, Naked, Shangri-La, Pretender, Talisman, Juda, it goes on, though we've yet to figure out what the theme actually is...
** For some of the machina it's blatantly obvious, usually describing its ability Deceive, specializes in psychological warfare, confusing and deceiving them with images planted in their heads and Apparition true to its name is a stealth based unit, shangri-la usually refers to a garden of eden-esqe paradise and can coordinate a planetary shield or appearance, Talisman looks like a medieval knight/royal guard of sorts [according to background fluff] while Pretender can transform into a jet however for some of the others it gets confusing Verdant is a descriptive term for a green meadow, odd considering the the mecha in question is a dark blue close combat robot that seems to be inkoving [[SengokuBasara Date Masamune]].
* ThreeLawsCompliant: The Machina can't kill unless they have a factor on board.
* [[spoiler:TimeSkip: A whooping three years at the end of volume 20.]]
* TokenMiniMoe: Rachel.
* TransformingMecha: Pretender
* {{Tsundere}}: Shizuna and Emi.
* UnluckyChildhoodFriend: [[spoiler: Risako.]]
* WeHardlyKnewYe: Demitri, for whom, literaly no information is given regarding his background.
** Demitri gets it worse in the original manga, as he receives little to no character development and [[spoiler:gets unceremoniously killed off by Kiriyama's Jinrais]]. At least the anime [[spoiler:gives him an semi-decent death for a villain]] and tries to give him some character development.
* WhamEpisode: Episode 13, [[spoiler: during Reiji's FaceHeelTurn.]]
** Happens again in episode 23, [[spoiler: when Katou reveals his {{plan}} and joins forces with JUDA and the remaining Earth forces.]]
* WhatTheHellHero: Kouichi is a real JerkAss in the first few episodes, but it turns out that he's acting that way because he always felt weak compared to his friend Yajima. Unfortunately he lets that power go to his head. [[spoiler: Which then ends up getting Yajima killed.]]
* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: Ousei, who's sociopathic tendencies lead to him becoming a liability for the Katou organisation.
* YouWillBeAssimilated: [[spoiler: Katou explains that in his world, humanity more or less gave up their freedoms and free will in order to gain power, hence why he worked with them in order to "invade" the current Earth and put a stop to them before they could do the same thing to humans in the new world.]]
* ZettaiRyouiki: Both the female school uniforms and the the costumes that all the female MACHINA pilots wear.
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