Thank you NetGalley and Viz Media for this arc!

5/5 stars!

This volume brings our two main characters into such peril! The way this ends on SUCH A CLIFFHANGER I really really can't wait for the next volume to see how everyone ends up :S

The art is really well done, even if some things are cringey or more than a little ick lol

My thanks to NetGalley and VIZ Media LLC for an eARC of this book to read and review.

Unpopular opinion time, but I HATED this one with the passion of a thousand fiery suns.

This went beyond "fan-service" and straight into lewd, pedo-perv territory. It did not pass go, it did not collect $200, it just WENT for it.

My first rearing back in disgust and epic eye-rolling was when the female warrior bot, who was completely covered in body armor from head to toe with only her eyes showing, realized she needed to get faster to have a chance at defeating the MC H, so she said something along the lines of "Armor Eject" and ALL of her coverings practically EXPLODED off of her, to reveal how much like a Scotsman in his kilt, or Brooke Shields and her Calvins, NOTHING got between this bot with Gravity-Defying Boobs (tm) and her armor. Sadly, as soon as she said her line, I knew what was coming and I was disappointed the mangaka went there. So obvious.

We even got treated to a shot of the MC H in the background through the foreground of her legs spread, with the apex 100% visible. Classy.

And we ALSO got the gratuitous "Boob Punch", where the MC H, missed the punch he was making and got her square in the boob. Of COURSE we get the panel of her gently clutching her GDB (tm) with her black gloved hand for a LOVELY color contrast.

Spare me.

That's not what made me decide to DNF and write a scathing review. I decided to roll my eyes and get over it and continued on.

The 11-12 year old female MC ends up getting captured. In-between chapters, we get one-page artwork that somewhat ties in to what is happening with the storyline.

The one after the pre-pubescent female was as follows and made me see red.

She is depicted, tied up in a suggestive pose with what appear to be electrical wires, rubber hoses and rope. She is dressed provocatively with a look of dazed helplessness on her face.

Excuse me, whut? Did the mangaka just OVERLY SEXUALIZE an 11-12 year old girl as if it was perfectly natural??

No. No no no no no NO NO!! That is NOT ok!! That will NEVER be ok!!

I don't care if the storyline is the best there ever was (spoiler, it isn't, not even close), if the artwork is so beautiful it makes you cry (it made me tear up, but not from beauty...) and if all of the proceeds go to saving cute, furry animals (somehow, I severely doubt it), I will NEVER read another page of it and highly recommend that you don't waste your time or money on this misogynistic, pedo-condoning steaming pile of garbage.

1, I wish I could give negative stars because this deserves about ten of them, stars.

Volume 3 of Heart Gear allows us to travel closer to Roue and Chrome's goal of reaching Heaven Land. They enter a battle compound where Chrome needs to defeat all the other gears in his way to win but to do this he is separated from Roue. Leaving Roue alone for the first time possibly ever. I am excited to see how the story progresses.

Heart Gear continues to be a really solid robot story. Most of this volume is taken up by an arena fight, which shows off how fluid the action is, but there is some heart too, as well as some potential plot developments. I've said it before and I'll say it again, if you like robot fiction, read this!

I've never come across a book that is so fascinating and so irritating at the same time. The story delves into really interesting topics such as the morality of artificial intelligence and the internal struggle these machines experience between free will and their underlying programming. It's so easy to get sucked in by the excellent fight scenes and really likable characters...aaaand then the plot comes to a screeching halt so readers can ogle a gynoid's comically oversized breasts. Why does this series keep doing this? It would be one thing if the story had a consistent steamy/sexy tone. There is definitely an audience out there for steamy or sexy books. But nope! The writing is like, "Oh, let's have a deep and philosophical discussion. NEVERMIND! LOOK AT THE BOOBIES!" The whole thing feels out of place and immediately throws off my suspension of disbelief. Heart Gear would definitely be one of my favorite manga series if the artist didn't feel the need to do this once every volume.