Heartwarming / Metal Walker

• Emil's Character Development. Though she starts with a notable chip on her shoulder and a massive sense of entitlement, she progressively grows closer to the protagonist, bonding with him when possible as they go Core hunting. Following her rescue in Air Front, she takes it upon herself to help the protagonist track down their father, and matures such that she'll go into dirty mining facilities and dusty old islands filled with spiders to help out.
  • Following her rescue, Professor Hawk tries to get the protagonist to comfort Emil over the situation and what a negligent father she has. Though she's too proud to accept the effort to comfort her, she makes an effort to do the same thing when it turns out Tetsuo, the hero's father, is opposing the heroes, making an attempt to deny the possibility and pep the hero back up.
  • Regardless of her treatment of others, it's made clear that Emil's butler is much more of a father to her than her actual father, and Emil returns the kindness in her own subdued way. Much of the butler's purpose in the story is to coax the protagonist into befriending Emil just so she won't end up lonely, and Emil's second scene has her ask the protagonist to deliver a package to him given the danger of the building he's in and the awkwardness of addressing the situation regarding her father with him. For his part, the butler goes through hell and back to look after Emil while they're stuck in the Rusted Land, even persevering in the face of Emil's father cutting them off and effectively leaving them to die there.
• The people of the Rusted Land stand out among other townsfolk in RPGs for their outgoing friendliness. Despite the difficulty associated with living in an area as inhospitable as the Rusted Land, most of the citizenry have adapted to their difficult environment and do what they can to direct the protagonist towards where he should go next. When a young woman is kidnapped on the island, many of the citizens are besides themselves with worry, and will actively help get the hero over to Air Front to address the issue. Returning to talk to them after the situation is resolved will have them shower the protagonist with gratitude for the selfish act. Even in the most hostile locales, humanity still finds a way to demonstrate its capacity for kindness.
• Professor Hawk gets personally invested in the quest to find the protagonist's father, implied to be as a result of the fact he sent the father and son over to the Rusted Land in the first place and having a desire to address the consequences of the action.