Pumpkin Scissors: I Can't Believe...

Watching Pumpkin Scissors again to try and get moving on my fan fiction. I paused this particular moment, because it got me thinking. It was probably right here that Cpl. Oland fell for Lt. Malvin, without even realizing it. For the both of them, love is such an impossible, foreign concept. Alice is convinced that if she were ever to fall in love, it would be a selfish act, making her unworthy of the mantle of nobility she insists upon wearing. She feels she must treat everyone the same, therefore she cannot truly love anyone.
Randel, on the other hand, suffers tremendously from PTSD. His lantern assists in turning him into a ruthless soldier, a mass murderer, and quite possibly a serial killer if he isn't careful. He abhors that part of himself, and because he got that way thanks to very unethical human experimentations, I'm unsure if he is compelled to kill against his will or not. My best guess is he is partly compelled, and partly conditioned. In any case, he's a humongous freak of nature trying to acclimate into a new world that no longer needs his particular skill set...well, almost.
"I...can't believe you took on that tank. A rational person wouldn't try that."
I love this part in the beginning, especially the English version because the voice actor manages to mix a sense of shy awe and a mild rebuke at the same time. Here he sees someone who just might be as crazy as he is, and without a lantern.

Media: HB pencil. Slightly enhanced for contrast, uploaded by cell.