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This sci-fi story, which focuses on some philosophical considerations of artificial intelligence and humanity, set amidst a plot with action and romance elements, began as a serial novel written by Satoshi Hase and illustrated by Redjuice, which was serialized in the anime magazine ''Newtype'' from 2011 to 2012 and compiled into a single volume. Later, related manga works were published, including ''Beatless: Dystopia'' and ''Ptolemy's Singularity'', and most recently, a two-cour anime series was released in 2018. (The release of the anime series was a little messed up, resulting in including four recap episodes and then a delayed four-episode finale, but at least now you can watch it without waiting.) An official translation of the novel series is currently underway; the portion that has been translated is [[https://otakumode.com/premium/reader/beatless available online at Tokyo Otaku Mode]], though you need a subscription to read past the first chapter.
to:
This sci-fi story, which focuses on some philosophical considerations of artificial intelligence and humanity, set amidst a plot with action and romance elements, began as a serial novel written by Satoshi Hase and illustrated by Redjuice, which was serialized in the anime magazine ''Newtype'' from 2011 to 2012 and compiled into a single volume. Later, related manga works were published, including ''Beatless: Dystopia'' and ''Ptolemy's Singularity'', and most recently, a two-cour anime series was released in 2018. (The release of the anime series was a little messed up, resulting in including four recap episodes and then a delayed four-episode finale, but at least now you can watch it without waiting.) An official translation of the novel series is currently underway; the portion that has been translated is [[https://otakumode.com/premium/reader/beatless available online at Tokyo Otaku Mode]], though you need a subscription to read past the first chapter. It has also been licensed in English by Creator/JNovelClub.
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Changed line(s) 4 (click to see context) from:
This sci-fi story, which focuses on some philosophical considerations of artificial intelligence and humanity, set amidst a plot with action and romance elements, began as a serial novel published in 2012. Later, related manga works were published, including ''Beatless: Dystopia'' and ''Ptolemy's Singularity'', and most recently, a two-cour anime series was released in 2018. (The release of the anime series was a little messed up, resulting in including four recap episodes and then a delayed four-episode finale, but at least now you can watch it without waiting.) An official translation of the novel series is currently underway; the portion that has been translated is [[https://otakumode.com/premium/reader/beatless available online at Tokyo Otaku Mode]], though you need a subscription to read past the first chapter.
to:
This sci-fi story, which focuses on some philosophical considerations of artificial intelligence and humanity, set amidst a plot with action and romance elements, began as a serial novel published written by Satoshi Hase and illustrated by Redjuice, which was serialized in 2012.the anime magazine ''Newtype'' from 2011 to 2012 and compiled into a single volume. Later, related manga works were published, including ''Beatless: Dystopia'' and ''Ptolemy's Singularity'', and most recently, a two-cour anime series was released in 2018. (The release of the anime series was a little messed up, resulting in including four recap episodes and then a delayed four-episode finale, but at least now you can watch it without waiting.) An official translation of the novel series is currently underway; the portion that has been translated is [[https://otakumode.com/premium/reader/beatless available online at Tokyo Otaku Mode]], though you need a subscription to read past the first chapter.
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[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/a20316_25048605621514145603.jpg]]
TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture, humanity has developed artificial intelligence to make their lives easier. Housekeeping, management of small businesses and caretaking are handled by androids known as Human Interface Elements, or hIE. Arato Endo's life takes a sudden change turn to the unexpected when he meets Lacia, a female combat-oriented hIE who escaped from a research facility alongside her sisters. After Lacia saves his life, Arato is forced to become her owner.
This sci-fi story, which focuses on some philosophical considerations of artificial intelligence and humanity, set amidst a plot with action and romance elements, began as a serial novel published in 2012. Later, related manga works were published, including ''Beatless: Dystopia'' and ''Ptolemy's Singularity'', and most recently, a two-cour anime series was released in 2018. (The release of the anime series was a little messed up, resulting in including four recap episodes and then a delayed four-episode finale, but at least now you can watch it without waiting.) An official translation of the novel series is currently underway; the portion that has been translated is [[https://otakumode.com/premium/reader/beatless available online at Tokyo Otaku Mode]], though you need a subscription to read past the first chapter.
----
!!''Beatless'' provides examples of:
* AIIsACrapshoot: It has been mentioned the most advanced AI's have surpassed human intellect for ''over 50 years''.
* AlmostKiss: Between Arato and Lacia in episode 7, interrupted by Yuka entering the room.
* TheAssimilator: Snowdrop has been seen consuming other robots ''through her dress!''
* BewareTheNiceOnes:
** As kind as Arato normally is, he's capable of beating the tar out of a kidnapper who took Lacia.
** Lacia, because she's perfectly capable of trying to execute someone that threatens her or her owners.
* {{BFG}}: Lacia wields a cannon shaped like a coffin that's much bigger than she is.
* {{BFS}}: Kouka wields a sword that is much bigger than she is.
* BigEater: Yuka has got quite the appetite, and warms up immediately to Lacia once the hIE confirms she can cook.
* BoyMeetsGirl: Arato and Lacia's meeting in a nutshell. This trope name is explicitly invoked in-universe, too, in the form of a fashion company's marketing idea. Curiously, though, the novel's chapter names and anime's episode names play with this trope -- one of the episodes involving the fashion marketing campaign is "Boy Meets Pornography", while "Boy Meets Girl" is actually the name of the very last episode; both titles are meaningful with regards to the context and the narrative structure of the story.
* BrokenAce: According to Shiori, after an incident, Ryo stopped caring about life.
* CastingGag: [[Film/GhostbustersII Peter [=MacNicol=] knows his way around a painting.]] ''(Comment: can someone please explain why this trope citation is relevant?)''
* ChekhovsGunman: Two of them in Episode 13: The first being Marina Saffron, the hIE that Lacia helped to secure during the airport battle, and the second being a hIE boy that Arato meets in a shopping mall early in the episode. Both of them return to help Arato and Lacia later in the episode.
* ChildhoodFriendRomance: Shiori is secretly in love with Arato.
* CombatStilettos: Applies to all of the Lacia-class hIEs with the exception of Snowdrop who is barefoot.
* ConflictingLoyalties: Methode actually wants to invoke this by offering Shiori to become her second owner after Watarai. In case Watarai gives an order she doesn't like, she can make Shiori give another order to avoid having to answer to him.
* TheCracker: Snowdrop is capable of creating rains of petals that mess with other robots.
* DisappearedDad: Arato and Yuka's father is a scientist who rarely comes home.
* DrivenToSuicide: hIEs can't commit this action unless directly ordered to by their central computer, [[spoiler:so when several of them start doing this for no apparent reason, is quite clear they're being hacked]].
* DumbassHasAPoint: Yuka may be rather dimwitted, but even she can notice her brother is showing signs of attraction towards Lacia.
* EarnYourHappyEnding: At the end of the story, [[spoiler:Arato finally reunites with Lacia who is able to get a new body so that she could live with her lover for all time.]]
* EnemyMine: In Episode 9, Lacia teams up with Kouka to fight Methode.
* FantasticRacism: Many people hate hIEs for various reasons, like taking jobs or looking too human.
* FarEastAsianTerrorists: The Antibody network, a domestic terrorist group that intends to destroy hIEs. [[spoiler:Arato's friend Kengo is part of this group.]]
* FieryRedhead: Kouka, also known as 'Crimson Fog', has red hair and is the most eager robot to fight.
* GambitPileup: After going rogue, Lacia and her sisters each start acting on their own accord. Sometimes their actions coincide with each others' interests, but it's unclear how much of this was planned beforehand or even if they are really working together. And of course, the scientists that created them want to bring them back. Gets even more complicated when Methode goes back to them out of her own will only to start plotting behind their backs.
* HypocriticalHumor: Yuka continuously persists in mocking her brother for being "stupid" and a "moron", despite the fact that ''she'' is the only one who's dumber than a pile of bricks in the family.
* {{Irony}}: [[spoiler:Kengo muses it's ironic a terrorist group that hates hIEs is being led by one (Kouka).]] The irony in this plot thread doesn't stop there -- [[spoiler:Kouka eventually martyrs herself for the group's cause, becoming a political symbol, as an AI who fought AI, to the public.]] But even beyond death, the irony continues...[[spoiler:"clones" of Kouka are constructed and then deployed by the various super-intelligent artificial intelligences, to fight for them, thereby hijacking the previous instance of irony. It is interesting to note, however, that all of these events are consistent with Kouka's intention of being used as a tool to fight for dominance.]]
* JobStealingRobot: Some robots have replaced humans in managing street businesses. Some humans are upset at this.
* JustAMachine: Even the hIEs themselves point out that they are in fact just machines with personality-imitating programming. A human character ([[spoiler:Erika Burroughs]]) makes a comparison with a cup with a Hello Kitty face on the side; people treat the cup differently because of the face of a character that imitates life, when it's still just a cup.
* KnowWhenToFoldEm: After the rogue hIEs effortlessly eliminate their drones and nearly down their helicopter, the military team sent to contain the rogues' escape wisely retreats.
* LockedOutOfTheLoop: Yuka isn't aware of Lacia and Arato's activities, and that frustrates her.
* LoopholeAbuse: hIE's are specifically programmed to not harm their owners directly. Indirect methods are another matter entirely.
* {{Meido}}: You can hardly have a RobotMaid without dressing her like this.
* NightOfTheLivingMooks: It happens during the day, but [[spoiler:when Snowdrop hacks a bunch of hIEs, they start attacking each other and acting like zombies]].
* NotSoDifferentRemark: Shiori muses she's treated like a tool by those in the Memeframe Corporation, just like hIEs.
* OneWomanArmy: The escaped robots pack enough power to destroy a small army of drones.
* ParentsAsPeople: While Arato's and Yuka's father truly cares about them, his work means they basically have raised themselves.
* RecapEpisode: For a 2-cour anime, Beatless has a staggering ''four'' recap episodes -- 5.5, 9.5, 14.5, and 16.5. This was probably related to scheduling difficulties that also caused the final four episodes to be separately released later.
* ReiAyanamiExpy: Lacia fits this, with her pale complexion, pale bluish hair, and, since she's a robot, not having a soul (a thing pointed out in the show's tagline), though she has a more expressive face (not to mention longer hair), and occupies a different role in the story.
* RidiculouslyHumanRobots: While most hIEs have very simple personalities, Lacia and her sisters have an AI that makes them act almost completely human.
* {{Robosexual}}: The story teases with the romantic part of this trope.
* RobotGirl: All the hIEs who we see interact with humans are female and cute; the male androids are security guards.
* RobotMaid: An obvious use for hIEs; one of the escaped ones even craves it.
* ShockAndAwe: Saturnus seems capable of controlling lightning.
* SignatureHeadgear: hIEs have a pair of hair decks on their head. [[spoiler:It later turns out that these are the control units that link them with the cloud AI.]]
* SpellMyNameWithAnS: Erika Burroughs (according to the official Japanese site, and the light novel translation, which uses the official site's spelling) vs. Erika Burrows (according to the official subtitles). Some sources even spell her first name "Erica". Also, while there's more official agreement on "Mariage", one can find some databases that call that character "Marriage".
* SuperStrength: Needed to lift those gigantic weapons and jump between buildings.
* TheSwarm: The petals Snowdrop creates can also take the form of tiny insect-shaped drones that swarm her foes.
* ThereCanBeOnlyOne: Probably an unintentional instance of this (hence this trope being listed as trivia), but [[spoiler:by the end of the story, the only Red Box hIE who is still alive in her original body is Saturnus, now renamed Mariage. Kouka dies first, then Methode, then Lacia, then Snowdrop. However, the trope is subverted by Lacia, whose super-intelligent AI unit ends up becoming the new cloud AI (replacing Higgins), and so she just makes a new custom body for herself.]]
* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: [[spoiler:Yuka signing Lacia to modelling without approval from her brother caused the hIE to be kidnapped by a stalker and later, her gossiping about Arato and Lacia's relationship pushed Shiori to accept the contract with Methode.]]
* UpgradeVsPrototypeFight: Lacia is the prototype of her series while Methode is the only truly completed model of her series. Their clash is even more serious than the former's against Kouka.
* WhatMeasureIsANonHuman: Most robots only do tasks, but Arato treats them like real people, above the objections of his friends. This is a particularly salient premise element in the story.
----
TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture, humanity has developed artificial intelligence to make their lives easier. Housekeeping, management of small businesses and caretaking are handled by androids known as Human Interface Elements, or hIE. Arato Endo's life takes a sudden change turn to the unexpected when he meets Lacia, a female combat-oriented hIE who escaped from a research facility alongside her sisters. After Lacia saves his life, Arato is forced to become her owner.
This sci-fi story, which focuses on some philosophical considerations of artificial intelligence and humanity, set amidst a plot with action and romance elements, began as a serial novel published in 2012. Later, related manga works were published, including ''Beatless: Dystopia'' and ''Ptolemy's Singularity'', and most recently, a two-cour anime series was released in 2018. (The release of the anime series was a little messed up, resulting in including four recap episodes and then a delayed four-episode finale, but at least now you can watch it without waiting.) An official translation of the novel series is currently underway; the portion that has been translated is [[https://otakumode.com/premium/reader/beatless available online at Tokyo Otaku Mode]], though you need a subscription to read past the first chapter.
----
!!''Beatless'' provides examples of:
* AIIsACrapshoot: It has been mentioned the most advanced AI's have surpassed human intellect for ''over 50 years''.
* AlmostKiss: Between Arato and Lacia in episode 7, interrupted by Yuka entering the room.
* TheAssimilator: Snowdrop has been seen consuming other robots ''through her dress!''
* BewareTheNiceOnes:
** As kind as Arato normally is, he's capable of beating the tar out of a kidnapper who took Lacia.
** Lacia, because she's perfectly capable of trying to execute someone that threatens her or her owners.
* {{BFG}}: Lacia wields a cannon shaped like a coffin that's much bigger than she is.
* {{BFS}}: Kouka wields a sword that is much bigger than she is.
* BigEater: Yuka has got quite the appetite, and warms up immediately to Lacia once the hIE confirms she can cook.
* BoyMeetsGirl: Arato and Lacia's meeting in a nutshell. This trope name is explicitly invoked in-universe, too, in the form of a fashion company's marketing idea. Curiously, though, the novel's chapter names and anime's episode names play with this trope -- one of the episodes involving the fashion marketing campaign is "Boy Meets Pornography", while "Boy Meets Girl" is actually the name of the very last episode; both titles are meaningful with regards to the context and the narrative structure of the story.
* BrokenAce: According to Shiori, after an incident, Ryo stopped caring about life.
* CastingGag: [[Film/GhostbustersII Peter [=MacNicol=] knows his way around a painting.]] ''(Comment: can someone please explain why this trope citation is relevant?)''
* ChekhovsGunman: Two of them in Episode 13: The first being Marina Saffron, the hIE that Lacia helped to secure during the airport battle, and the second being a hIE boy that Arato meets in a shopping mall early in the episode. Both of them return to help Arato and Lacia later in the episode.
* ChildhoodFriendRomance: Shiori is secretly in love with Arato.
* CombatStilettos: Applies to all of the Lacia-class hIEs with the exception of Snowdrop who is barefoot.
* ConflictingLoyalties: Methode actually wants to invoke this by offering Shiori to become her second owner after Watarai. In case Watarai gives an order she doesn't like, she can make Shiori give another order to avoid having to answer to him.
* TheCracker: Snowdrop is capable of creating rains of petals that mess with other robots.
* DisappearedDad: Arato and Yuka's father is a scientist who rarely comes home.
* DrivenToSuicide: hIEs can't commit this action unless directly ordered to by their central computer, [[spoiler:so when several of them start doing this for no apparent reason, is quite clear they're being hacked]].
* DumbassHasAPoint: Yuka may be rather dimwitted, but even she can notice her brother is showing signs of attraction towards Lacia.
* EarnYourHappyEnding: At the end of the story, [[spoiler:Arato finally reunites with Lacia who is able to get a new body so that she could live with her lover for all time.]]
* EnemyMine: In Episode 9, Lacia teams up with Kouka to fight Methode.
* FantasticRacism: Many people hate hIEs for various reasons, like taking jobs or looking too human.
* FarEastAsianTerrorists: The Antibody network, a domestic terrorist group that intends to destroy hIEs. [[spoiler:Arato's friend Kengo is part of this group.]]
* FieryRedhead: Kouka, also known as 'Crimson Fog', has red hair and is the most eager robot to fight.
* GambitPileup: After going rogue, Lacia and her sisters each start acting on their own accord. Sometimes their actions coincide with each others' interests, but it's unclear how much of this was planned beforehand or even if they are really working together. And of course, the scientists that created them want to bring them back. Gets even more complicated when Methode goes back to them out of her own will only to start plotting behind their backs.
* HypocriticalHumor: Yuka continuously persists in mocking her brother for being "stupid" and a "moron", despite the fact that ''she'' is the only one who's dumber than a pile of bricks in the family.
* {{Irony}}: [[spoiler:Kengo muses it's ironic a terrorist group that hates hIEs is being led by one (Kouka).]] The irony in this plot thread doesn't stop there -- [[spoiler:Kouka eventually martyrs herself for the group's cause, becoming a political symbol, as an AI who fought AI, to the public.]] But even beyond death, the irony continues...[[spoiler:"clones" of Kouka are constructed and then deployed by the various super-intelligent artificial intelligences, to fight for them, thereby hijacking the previous instance of irony. It is interesting to note, however, that all of these events are consistent with Kouka's intention of being used as a tool to fight for dominance.]]
* JobStealingRobot: Some robots have replaced humans in managing street businesses. Some humans are upset at this.
* JustAMachine: Even the hIEs themselves point out that they are in fact just machines with personality-imitating programming. A human character ([[spoiler:Erika Burroughs]]) makes a comparison with a cup with a Hello Kitty face on the side; people treat the cup differently because of the face of a character that imitates life, when it's still just a cup.
* KnowWhenToFoldEm: After the rogue hIEs effortlessly eliminate their drones and nearly down their helicopter, the military team sent to contain the rogues' escape wisely retreats.
* LockedOutOfTheLoop: Yuka isn't aware of Lacia and Arato's activities, and that frustrates her.
* LoopholeAbuse: hIE's are specifically programmed to not harm their owners directly. Indirect methods are another matter entirely.
* {{Meido}}: You can hardly have a RobotMaid without dressing her like this.
* NightOfTheLivingMooks: It happens during the day, but [[spoiler:when Snowdrop hacks a bunch of hIEs, they start attacking each other and acting like zombies]].
* NotSoDifferentRemark: Shiori muses she's treated like a tool by those in the Memeframe Corporation, just like hIEs.
* OneWomanArmy: The escaped robots pack enough power to destroy a small army of drones.
* ParentsAsPeople: While Arato's and Yuka's father truly cares about them, his work means they basically have raised themselves.
* RecapEpisode: For a 2-cour anime, Beatless has a staggering ''four'' recap episodes -- 5.5, 9.5, 14.5, and 16.5. This was probably related to scheduling difficulties that also caused the final four episodes to be separately released later.
* ReiAyanamiExpy: Lacia fits this, with her pale complexion, pale bluish hair, and, since she's a robot, not having a soul (a thing pointed out in the show's tagline), though she has a more expressive face (not to mention longer hair), and occupies a different role in the story.
* RidiculouslyHumanRobots: While most hIEs have very simple personalities, Lacia and her sisters have an AI that makes them act almost completely human.
* {{Robosexual}}: The story teases with the romantic part of this trope.
* RobotGirl: All the hIEs who we see interact with humans are female and cute; the male androids are security guards.
* RobotMaid: An obvious use for hIEs; one of the escaped ones even craves it.
* ShockAndAwe: Saturnus seems capable of controlling lightning.
* SignatureHeadgear: hIEs have a pair of hair decks on their head. [[spoiler:It later turns out that these are the control units that link them with the cloud AI.]]
* SpellMyNameWithAnS: Erika Burroughs (according to the official Japanese site, and the light novel translation, which uses the official site's spelling) vs. Erika Burrows (according to the official subtitles). Some sources even spell her first name "Erica". Also, while there's more official agreement on "Mariage", one can find some databases that call that character "Marriage".
* SuperStrength: Needed to lift those gigantic weapons and jump between buildings.
* TheSwarm: The petals Snowdrop creates can also take the form of tiny insect-shaped drones that swarm her foes.
* ThereCanBeOnlyOne: Probably an unintentional instance of this (hence this trope being listed as trivia), but [[spoiler:by the end of the story, the only Red Box hIE who is still alive in her original body is Saturnus, now renamed Mariage. Kouka dies first, then Methode, then Lacia, then Snowdrop. However, the trope is subverted by Lacia, whose super-intelligent AI unit ends up becoming the new cloud AI (replacing Higgins), and so she just makes a new custom body for herself.]]
* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: [[spoiler:Yuka signing Lacia to modelling without approval from her brother caused the hIE to be kidnapped by a stalker and later, her gossiping about Arato and Lacia's relationship pushed Shiori to accept the contract with Methode.]]
* UpgradeVsPrototypeFight: Lacia is the prototype of her series while Methode is the only truly completed model of her series. Their clash is even more serious than the former's against Kouka.
* WhatMeasureIsANonHuman: Most robots only do tasks, but Arato treats them like real people, above the objections of his friends. This is a particularly salient premise element in the story.
----
