The war doesn't wait for you to understand the rules, and this film moves like it knows that. The animation carries weight when it needs to, especially in the opening combat sequence where mecha actually feel like they occupy space. Lee fractures under the pressure of command while Rygart keeps moving forward without the luxury of hesitation, and watching them splinter in opposite directions under the same impossible circumstances is what keeps you watching past the spectacle. Robot animation stutters in places where it shouldn't, but the character work in the chaos makes up for it. This is a sequel that earns its continuation by making the cost of the first film's victories visible on everyone's face.

Broken Blade 2 is the second film in the Break Blade series, released in 2010 as a follow-up to the first movie. That earlier entry introduced Cruzon, a continent where war looms between Krisna and Athens and where people can bend quartz to any purpose. Rygart Arrow is the exception, an un-sorcerer who cannot use quartz at all, and that same trait let him pilot an ancient Golem against the invading Athenian army. The film offers fantasy action built around giant machines.