There’s a story I forgot to add, so strap in this is gonna be a long comment.

ALSO this is a first but I accidentally exported this video in 720p I am SO sorry 😭😭😭

ANYWAY, I want to preface that I don’t genuinely believe machines have feelings or anything like that, real life aint a mecha anime lol, when I talk about the soul in machines, it’s more metaphorical and relative to the human experience.

HOWEVER, something I find ironic I suppose, is the story of my first car, a 2007, base model Subaru Impreza (Hawkeye).

It was nothing impressive by any stretch, but I loved and took care of that thing over 8 years from the age of 16-24 as if it was an STI.

I wish I could say it took care of me just as much, but weirdly enough, I guess it matched my energy.

It was great in the good times, always planted to the road for some spirited driving and took me everywhere I wanted to go. Visa versa, when I just finished school and didn’t know what to do with my life, my clutch fork snapped, when I was down and in a rut, stuck in a dead-end job, my radiator blew on the highway on the drive home.

There are many more examples in the years with that car, but it almost felt like any time I was getting way into my own head, it brought me back to reality, even if that brought me a little more stress needing to fix it.

In the last 2 years I had it, when things were going really well, I got a new job, bought a home with my now wife, and got married to her, the car was pretty perfect. Some small hiccups sure, it was an old Subaru, but nothing noteworthy.

Then after I got married, it was time to let it go, and move on to something new. It almost felt symbolic you know?

I always told myself I’d get a new car at 20 (In Australia your license is restricted until you get your full license and 20 is the earliest you can do that, so you can’t drive any ‘high powered’ cars until then, which is why I chose a base model Impreza as my first car), but 20 came and went and more important things were on the horizon, so I needed to wait a few more years, but the time finally arrived.

It sucked to let that car go, I did want to fully STi swap it one day, but it just wasn’t practical to keep it. I did sell it for more than I bought it for 8 years prior though, but part of that probably comes from the work wheels I had on it that would’ve been worth half the price of the car 😭

What really sucked though, and just felt like a punch to the gut, was within 5 days of selling it, the new owner crashed and wrote it off. I found out when the new owner, without context, messaged me a photo of the car crashed.

This 32 year old man who bought it, somehow, within 5 days, lost control of a base model Impreza from 2007, easily one of the slowest cars I’ve ever driven, and crashed it beyond repair, after I put nearly 200,000kms over it over 8 years.

It just seems so nuts, it almost felt like the car rejected him and didn’t want another driver after all that time.

Obviously that isn’t true and the guy was probably just on his phone or something stupid like that, but it’s a fun story none the less.

Thanks for watching my video and reading my ramblings.

Love the topic but I'm really tired of writing love letters to things that are so rare that they only exist as concepts for us. A McLaren locked away in a millionaire's collection may as well just not exist for me. LFA was an incredible exercise in engineering, but I wouldn’t put it on the pedestal over more simple, more mundane creations of Toyota which were created and filled with souls of workers and engineers whose goal was to make a dependable and accessible everyday hero. My old, beat up t22 Avensis wasn't modified, had a simple 1,6 litre engine (an  economical sibling of 4age), it was just used to carry me from point a to point b. But every time the engine started, even though it had every right to not do it, as if the car itself refused die - this is for me a true soul of inanimate objects. It’s a reason why supercars even though being certainly fun, exciting and incredible showcases of passion and engineering - will never achieve the true greatness. We have to appreciate the small things we experience every day much more - there lies the true soul and essence of life.

Don't forget about Initial D. Initial D represents The Soul in Machines

Let me put it this way: a car, be it a Toyota Prius, be it a McLaren F1, can be our favorite sculpture, our favorite symphony and the driving force behind our favorite movies, all at the same time. Driving one is conducting art yourself

A very underated mecha series im being addicted to right now is Patlabor, its possibly one of the most realistic down to earth mecha series to ever exist (except maybe metal skin panic 80s version) it incorporated how giant mecha could be used in daily life, for both justice and horrors, and the attention to detail is insane

fun fact, when BMW was making the engine for the mcalren f1, they needed a base to test it irl, so they put it in a e34 m5 touring, making possible the greatest family wagon to ever exist.

If you want a series about connecting through machines, I strongly suggest checking out Super Cub. Such a wholesome series

For me is my beat up Toyota Tacoma, it was my older brother's project mini truck, then my dad's work truck and now it's in a bad shape. But the engine and everything mechanic works as intended, she's gotten us to our destinations over and over again no matter the rain or the horrible roads. I even get mad on her behalf if someone says that she's old and beat up. It didn't feel fair leaving her in the state that she is, now I'm the one giving her some TLC putting her back together as a thanks for everything she does

I love bros videos on cars and the media celebrating them. He genuinely gets why I love these machines

Ah yes the adeptus mechanicus priest chanting the litany of appreciation to the machine gods of the imperium

While there are many machines that do have souls, in my opinion the machine that is the best at DISPLAYING its soul is a steam locomotive. A massive, iron beast that requires you to feed it raw coal or oil to keep it alive, its pistons move with a rhythmic chuffing sound like its grunting and groaning and straining to move, its whistle cries out like a elephant. Everything about a steam engine is just visceral motion of the old world.

Cars replaced horses. So it was common for first car owners to compare the temperaments of horses to the quirks and oddities of first cars.

The final chapter really struck a chord with me because it is a sentiment I hold close to my heart.
I'm chronically depressed and have many other health struggles. The one thing that keeps me going is creating my final vision with my 180SX. Sure it's a budget Nissan sports car from the 90s but it is my canvas.
When I'm gone I want my car to stay as a reminder that I lived and so that when people look at it they can ask "Who was that person?". It can be a time capsule of sorts because I am putting in meticulous effort into making it exactly how I envision it in my head. Financial struggles have made me cut down on a lot of expensive parts and have forced me to be creative and to work on absolutely everything to complete this car. From building the engine in my shed to wiring up the entire car to bodywork and suspension. Even the tuning will eventually be done by me.
I'd really like it to be my final work of art. The one piece that I actually see to completion. Hopefully when I'm long gone someone can find my car, maybe sitting in a bush rotting away, and take a photo or maybe even take it for their own. Maybe a little bit like the Devil Z which is a small piece of inspiration in the melting pot of my mind.
Thanks for the essay it was a thought provoking watch!

Another example with anime, the Cowboy Bebop episode "Wild Horses" which was loosely centered around Spike's Swordfish ll when he took it to Dohan's shop always stuck me in the same way.

another banger upload, just got a speeding ticket in my mail aswell

Woah, the way Moon Over the Castle soared over the background audio is spectacular timing.

Bro has better quality of production than many multi million subscriber channels. Much love to you bro

There’s so much media alone that does the ‘Akira Slide’ it’s insane! I can’t wait for the next video

Enjoyed this .. watched it's entirely while sitting in my car.
Named Cecile..
1968 Dodge Dart..
I'm the 2nd owner, her Soul is alive, I've swapped the original Slant6 with a option for that year V8, looks stock in appearance, runs and drives every single day.. 11 years on the road since swap...
My legacy is in this car that I have rebuilt myself..
Cheers from Southern California 🇺🇸..

I’m extremely late to the video but how on earth did speed racer not make it into this video.

Ever since i was 2 years old i can remember hearing my dad vrooming through the woods on his dirt bike and at 3 walking among Americas biggest iron horses and at 4 my dad telling me that he will keep our 95 gmc for me and him to rebuild and now at 19 having just buying a pontiac g6 convertible to tide me over till the 95 is done every machine ive used and operated has a soul of its own each one going through thousands to millions of cycles of repetitive hell but out doing your own expectations while being dizziningly complex and beautiful in their own way from the craftsmen and craftwomen who put their soul into them