Kakumeiki Valvrave – 02
Commander-“The enemy has purple laser beams?! HOLY CRAP LETS GET OUT OF HERE!
Welcome back mecha fans to the second episode of Valvrave on Metanorn! So last week left off on something shocking with our main hero Haruto lost his childhood crush, got stabbed and shot by L-elf and then he turned into some odd space vampire at the end? Damn Haruto went through a lot of crap in the first episode, but I think it just left everyone shocked and confused for the most part! I hope we find the answers to all our questions today.
And we’re back with more Valvrave! No doubt about it, this show is just absolutely awesome. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.
Space vampire or space ghost?
OM NOM NOM NOM
Alright so it is official Haruto is NOT a space vampire but in fact he has the odd ability to jump bodies after sinking his teeth into you! I guess you could technically consider him a ghost like being? I mean taking over someone else’s body is nothing new to the world of anime with the likes of Kokoro Connect, Natsuiro Kiseki and various seasons of PreCure. I only have one question to ask, what is the purpose of this unique power and what does it offer Haruto? Because I originally thought by biting someone he would obtain their knowledge and combat experiences pushing him to become a better mecha pilot, but in order to activate that power you have to be in close physical contact for Haruto to bite you and jump bodies. So what do you think about this discovery? I guess if you are trying to sneak into an enemy base you could use that power to trick people, but why do that when you can just use your GIANT FREAKING ROBOT? Also is Haruto an immortal now or do the Dorssians have advanced medical treatments for their soldiers? Another thing to point out Shoko survived somehow? WHAT? WHY! I wanted this to have some drama or we could have gone with the dead-girlfriend-returns-as-a-evil-clone idea instead.
Mecha battles IN SPACE!
Scientist-“Dude, these pictures are so going on my instagram!”
Worst enemy mechs of all time…seriously…
Ah sunrise and their love of random space combat filled with giant pink explosions! Seriously why do they love cotton candy like explosions? I guess that is one mystery we will have to look at later on, but just like the first episode we get to see some great mecha on mecha fighting. So what did you think of the space battle? Personally I do not like the “robots” that the Dorssian use, because they look so dumb to me, but of course they have never seen a machine like the Valvrave before so I guess I can’t make fun of them too much now can I? Now there was a point in the episode that blew my mind and that was the reveal of the 666 overheat mode followed by a random mecha Harakiri scene? Wait a minute what the hell is going on with the Valvrave? I swear that scene made me instantly think of Aquarion and how that series always had such over the top power ups and fighting moves, but still it was kind of amazing and hilarious at the same time.
Moar giant freakin robots
The Valvrave’s ultimate power up is the power to catch on fire…
Fun with Valvrave
Just don’t lose your arm kid because you are voiced by Yuji Kaji.
Even giant robots have bad gas
Best screenshot
Shoko lives on forever and ever!
End thoughts
Oh my god this episode answered all my questions related to Haruto’s power and what really happened with Shoko? Now that we know she is alive what happens now? I did laugh that Haruto failed once again to confess his feelings for Shoko, but I assume we will revisit that storyline in the future? Also since L-elf kind of shot his friend in the face will he ever rejoins his team? That whole scene made me think of Yzak Joule from freaking Gundam SEED who also got a nasty face injury early on in that series, oh and they both have white hair?! I wonder if they are long lost brothers. Besides all of that what did you enjoy about the episode? Personally I liked the super body swapping powers and epic space combat; however the fact that Shoko survived her death flag left me feeling disappointed! They could have used that for motivation for Haruto or would he just turn into another angsty anime character? I suppose the flipside of that outcome means our main hero won’t mope around for twenty something episodes. Now we can explore the world of oh no! I KILLED PEOPLE TO SAVE MY FRIENDS, but seriously I hope the creators of Kakumeiki Valvrave do not turn Haruto into another Jesus Kira Yamato clone.
If you’re confused about whether I’m being serious, don’t be. I am being completely serious here. Valvrave is way too much fun. It’s got just the perfect balance of incredulous and serious elements. It knows it’s being ridiculous, and it’s not shy about it. You really have to appreciate it when a show dares to pull off such a stunt and actually does it properly. So don’t sweat the small details, and just enjoy the ride. I know I’m looking forward to how Haruto copes with his new-found inhumanity in the midst of all the other nonsense.
Preview
-Linkin park music playing in the background-
Haruto joins the army?!
About Tag Team
We live, laugh, enjoy and strictly believe on "more the merrier". When together, we usually come up with very chatty, conversation-based episodics and interesting posts.
POWUH: and Athenaeum Châtelaine with 2212 comments
Well, I am enjoying Valvrave very much and it is one of my favorite shows of the season. Although I think I can understand where some of those who were put off by this episode are coming from.
Honestly, I think that Haruto’s power is an interesting one and came out of nowhere for me. I still call him a space vamp, but just one that does body-swapping using its bite. And no matter how small the bite, he would have to get through the skin in order to keep transferring his consciousness through the bloodstream as he does. It’s a very useful power for when he wants information, an ability, or just to use an important person’s skin to turn the tide of the war, all he has to do is…CHOMP! It’s a useful ability when less bombastic fighting and more subtlety is needed.
However Haruto’s exchange with L-11 had both positive and negative effects. First off, Haruto in L-11’s body was just a recipe for MC awesomeness. I’m not sure on this, but I think that when Haruto shares the body of another, his and the original owner’s personas mix, which is why Haruto went from normal schoolboy to grizzled, cynical war vet in a split-second (and also why he became more like a schoolboy again after he left L-11’s body). However, his “this is war” personality and with him able to use L-11’s skills were just awesome. And I thought that we were going to have a great MC this time around. However, Haruto floundered a bit toward the end, but I will place that under the “emotional stress” category and hope that Haruto doesn’t turn into another Kira (or even worse, a Shinn!) as the show progresses.
And then we have L-11, with whom Haruto’s ability only brings misery to our young space nazi agent. I actually felt the most for L-11 through this whole thing as he’s had his entire life turned upside down by Haruto’s actions. L-11 and A-3 are now at odds through no reason of his own. And from what we see in the space fight and from X-1’s reaction, L-11’s team (with the exception of crazy kid Q-4)are all shocked and hurt by their leader’s seeming betrayal. A-3 doesn’t want to kill L-11 and seems to more so just want to know why. This show that the team does have some feelings for each other, but whether or not it’s actual “friendship” has yet to be seen. I look forward to seeing how L-11 is able to deal with his new situation. He’s very smart, very dangerous, and he knows how to survive. Also, he knows the secrets of Valvrave and it’s immortal pilot, so that could become an issue later on, especially since he can rightfully blame Haruto for his troubles. I’m all for him deserting his Space Nazi homeland, but I want it to be his choice and not something that he was pulled into because some guy stole his body.
Speaking of Dorssia, they took over JIOR pretty quick, and the way that JIOR gave up without a fight and then Dorssia annexed them and began to deport the citizens reminded me of Austria in WW2. If it was ever in doubt, Dorssia has solidified themselves as the bad guys and this entire set-up has WW2 undertones. What with the ARUS (Allies), who have yet to truly introduce themselves, the German Dorssia army (Axis), who will take over weaker countries at will to prove their superior might. And of course, Japan seems to want to take the neutral side this time around as JIOR and end up as “freedom fighters”. (Sure, Japan…whatever.)
Well at least this answers the question as to why Valvrave is called “The Liberator”.
It seems that the ARUS has driven the Dorssia fleet back and Haruto was able to land the Valvrave safely with L-11 arrested, but I beginning to have my doubts that ARUS has driven Dorssia out of JIOR completely. We see ARUS soldiers having a firefight in some of the preview scenes, so it might be that ARUS now controls only some parts of JIOR while Dorssia is defending their territory.
As to the mecha designs, its obvious from Dorssia’s question of why Valvrave is humanoid shaped, that none of their mechs are humanoid looking. The Ideal model mechs all remind me of weird bugs without legs, but it’s okay. The mech fights were good, but Valvrave’s power up move of doing harakiri was hilarious to me. I literally laughed out loud at that, especially when A-3 pointed it out. I get what Valvrave was doing, but the visual of a mech committing suicide was just so funny.
Lastly, Shoko being alive bothered me at first, but on second viewing it wasn’t so bad. I’d rather have her turn up now, than later on in the show for added drama. As to Haruto’s failed confession, I really disliked it at first and made him out to be back to being pathetic, but realized that after watching it again, and finding out that his last line had been mistranslated, that I could understand what he was coming from.
The actual translation of what he said at the end was: “I have turned into this monster…. I don’t have any right to confess my feeling to her anymore.”
Which is much better than the previous “I’m a monster and monsters don’t have feelings” line, which made him sound like he was whining. What he actually said makes a little more sense. He was all for telling Shoko the truth, until L-11 effectively pointed out that for all extensive purposes, Haruto SHOULD be dead. L-11 killed him and now somehow he has not only survived, but his wounds are healed and he has these strange abilities that no one understands.
I don’t think it was until that moment, when he wasn’t in battle, that everything compounded down upon him and he realized that he was no longer the same person as he was before, and that somehow through his agreement with Valvrave that he’s become something not altogether human.
I doubt that right then and there would be the best time to start a relationship with the girl you love. He needs time to figure things out and see what’s going on with him and to what degree he’s signed his life away.
I am really excited for this series and can’t wait for the next episode. I love the twists they throw in at every turn and if this keeps up it will be my favorite mecha of the season. (Watch out, Gargantia! I luv ya, but your next episode had better be amazing.)
9/10 for this episode.
POWUH: Meta Team and PreCure Mastah with 9203 comments
Excellent! I am glad more people are loving Valvrave instead of hating on it! Trust me there are a lot out there…
True that I think the power to swap bodies is interesting, but I am confused as to HOW he plans on using it later on? I suppose if he can bite someone and gain their skills it would come in handy right? I would love to see that happen or will he use it to stop wars? I imagine he could sneak into an enemy base and bite some random commander type and give orders to stop? That could work…
I wondered about that as well! Like did he become L-ELF for the entire episode meaning that he shared that person’s view on war and fighting? It would be interesting and oh my god I really hope that Haruto stays away from becoming the Kira of Valvrave universe aka “we should not be fighting!” I do not want that for this series.
Interesting thoughts on the Dorssia, they do give off those kinds of vibes haha
The suicidal robot move was kind of hilarious I agree! I did not expect something so random to be so epic and CRAZY! I wonder what else it can do and what about the different colored Valvraves? When will we see those come into play or are they just different transformation modes? I guess we need more episodes to find out.
The monster line made me laugh more than feel sorry for Haruto, like seriously dude why did you get all worked up to confess to her only to drop the ball? I guess there will be time for romance later on, but whatever I don’t turn to Valvrave for romance I will leave that to the slice of life shows of this season.
9/10 works well~
POWUH: and Athenaeum Châtelaine with 2212 comments
BTW, Gargantia! I told you to watch out! I warned you, fair and square. After episode 3, you have be officially shuttled to 2nd place. My mecha anime ranking is now 1) Valvrave 2)Gargantia 3)MJP (it’s not so very horrible if you think of it as a power ranger spin-off mixed with a Gundam parody)
POWUH: Meta Team and PreCure Mastah with 9203 comments
Ooooh nice! I heard good things about Gargantia 03
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10997 comments
Haruto went through a lot of crap in the first episode Yeah, but he got, on loan, a much hotter silver hair bishie body in the bargain. Would you give up the power to transfer bodies if you could just stay with the hotness?
Yeah, I agree that the tone of the show is too much to take serious. Just enjoy the ride. Yeah, the girl was never dead, deal with it. Yeah, I need to make this call during combat; VividRed asked us “Do you remember tomatoes” during it’s second episode, and as the trope goes Talking is a Free Action.
I think it’s much better than MJP (which is so bloody awful, I cannot help but watch and laugh), and on a lesser plane than Gargantia.
Cheers, Team. Good review.
POWUH: Meta Team and PreCure Mastah with 9203 comments
Haruto can become all the main characters so it works and I can see him jumping into Shoko’s body by the end of the series.
Ahahaha yes those tomatoes!
My mecha line up is now Valvrave > Gargantia > MJP
Thanks!
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1557 comments
Swap bodies ability and not swapping with with some hawt (willing) females (why would you want a plain shot up body back)?!? Blasphemy!
I’m sure you can find a female who’s willing to be a bishie for a day (or two).
POWUH: Meta Team and PreCure Mastah with 9203 comments
hahah true I am sure they would xD
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
I think I’m the guy Sumairii was talking about. I’m just not a huge fan of this show after this episode. I know Jrow gave me some grief for being knocked out of Gargantia because of the bendy light beams, but this was orders of magnitude worse. I think the talking wasn’t as much of a problem as L-Elf being a complete dumbass. Hey, take a hostage, but then you get ignored? What kind of loser badass are you? “Oh, hey, sorry, my girlfriend’s on the phone, can you hold on a minute?” I’m also tired of Haruto not paying attention to Valvrave. He annoys me like my wife does in button masher fighting games (where she beats me by just doing lowkick-lowkick-lowkick-punch-punch-punch while I try to do combos and get interrupted).
I do agree that the ‘mechs’ for Dorssia are complete ass. They look like someone strapped some cheesy arms onto the Starship Enterprise. Total weaksauce.
I’ll see if I can get more into the show with later episodes, but I dunno, this one seemed so dumb.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10997 comments
I think the mechs for Dorssia are meant to be more “workmanlike” than flashy. But, even if that is the case, they tried hard wrong.
POWUH: and Athenaeum Châtelaine with 2212 comments
I too though that the mechs for Dorssia gave me Star Trek vibes, but everyone I talked to thought I was imagining it! I’m glad someone else saw it too.
POWUH: 800-899 and Mad Scientist with 814 comments
If I may direct your advice to me for GuP back at you; just go with it. You really have to let go and enjoy the show for its ridiculousness. Yes, the characters in Valvrave aren’t all too bright. But if they were, the show wouldn’t have half of its more entertaining moments.
Personally, I’m not too surprised at how the Dorssia mechas look. Did you hear those Dorssian scientists discussing Valvrave? They don’t exactly exude an aura of intelligence.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10997 comments
Yeah, the Dorssians seem to lack that intuitive, imagination…that spark. So the mech they use are very boxy and utilitarian.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
I can go with ridiculous physical things in a universe. I can go with ridiculous people for comedy. It’s just a lot tougher for me to go with just out and out dumbness. For me, the first episode was fine. This second one crossed the line from ridiculously awesome to just plain stupid. I’ll give it some more chances tho.
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1557 comments
Ahhhh, haha @ your wife and arcade games. I used to do that all the time, I would spam weak kicks to interrupt combos and spam fireballs until they died… mwahahaha. Those hardcore players would get pissed off and beat me with some other characters, then intentionally die and switch back to their preferred characters. Challenger appears! =P
(No, I really wasn’t thaaaaaat evil. No really, I wasn’t. Maybe just once. Or twice.)
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1692 comments
I thought this episode was better than the first, but it’s still not winning me over. You know Majestic Prince means to be stupid when it’s stupid since it’s as much comedy as action. But I’ve got a feeling that the team behind Valvrave doesn’t realize how stupid some of it is. They think they’re being cool and clever.
And yes, the Dorssia mechas are awful looking. Maybe the idea is that they’re supposed to show that the Dorssia are souless, cerebrial military types who value function over form. But damnit, a mecha show needs cool looking mechas. While the hero needs to have the coolest one, even the enemy should have cool ones.
Whatever, I’ll give it another episode. After that I don’t know. It’ll be one episode at a time, unlike others that have me hooked until the end.
POWUH: 600-699 and LN Enthusiast with 623 comments
Well, the Dorssian scientists were surprised with Valvrave being a humanoid type mecha so maybe they haven’t developed mechas in that line yet. Hence the stupid looking enemies.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Haruto’s condition is new to me and it’s interesting. While body swapping is a common anime plot, Valvrave brings a twist by using it as an end result. I’d still call him a sort of vampire because he bit L-Elf on the neck. It’s the way he attacked him that presents the idea. Here, it’s not entirely vampirism but it is real close because you still victimize the person by biting and in the process, the target is unable to move, being robbed of something personal, something vital.
The Dorssia mechs suck and the fight left much to be desired. Here I thought the La Garite fleet was bad. I’m sure if Rinne no Lagrange’s Voxs or Muv-Luv Alternative’s TSF mechs were there, they’d own them in two minutes.
Are you guys honestly that surprised Shoko survived? That had to be seen coming a mile away. Given the kind of story this seems to be, a shounen and not a tragedy, it had to be expected. And she got lucky in the most clichéd way. However, Haruto somehow gained some respect from me dumping everything just to talk to his girl. Besides, everything he was doing was mostly for her sake.
It may be taking itself too seriously but I’m liking that they’ve added a dilemma like L-Elf. He’s an enemy of JIOR and thanks to Haruto, he’s seen as a traitor to his friends and home planet. He’s lost on both sides. It’s going to be interesting seeing how things go from here with him.
POWUH: and Athenaeum Châtelaine with 2212 comments
I still consider him a type of vampire since he does need blood in order for his possession powers to work. And whatever state he was in when he was “killed” and then arose again was pretty bestial. And technically he is the immortal undead.
POWUH: Metanorn Regular with 131 comments
I’m enjoying Valvrave a lot! I’m not much for mecha anime, really, so I don’t notice the physics (or the wrongness of it) much, and I love the character design and the balanced M:F ratio. Also, the first episode stinger was just too much – my sister and I burst out laughing so hard and vowed to put it on our weekly watch list. As if the robo-vampire mechanism wasn’t enough.
I do agree that the Dorssian mecha look odd. The Waffes literally look like wafer sandwiches (though the shields seem to do a good job) and the weird… I-don’t-even-know-what, well. I’m at a loss for words, they’re just so bad.
Is it bad that I’m also disappointed with Shoko not being dead? I honestly thought killing the girl off in the first ep was a brilliant move plotwise. Too bad they didn’t go through with it. Now we’ll have to endure another 2-girls-and-the-MC love triangle. Revolutionary.
Anyway, I love Valvrave because it’s over-the-top and ridiculous, among other things. At first I thought that it reminded me somewhat of Code Geass (at least the over-the-topness of it) – I didn’t know that it was written by the same guy who wrote CG, so the familiar feeling makes sense. Definitely one of my favorites this season so far. Looking forward to more posts about this from you guys!
POWUH: Meta Team and PreCure Mastah with 9203 comments
Ooooh awesome! I am glad you are having fun watching Valvrave! For a mecha series I love the combat moments and yes this series seems perfect for shipping, long live the mecha vampire~
Yeah the designs for the enemy suits look terrible T___T
Not really there are plenty of fans that feel Shoko’s fake death was poor! I am one of those people as well, but I guess they had to bring her back just to have Haruto question what he did? I dunno I feel it was better that she “died” thus giving the MC a purpose in his life for REVENGE! Then again, it would have gotten really old…
Thanks! I am having fun with this series and I really love the over the top crazy stuff xD
POWUH: 500-599 with 519 comments
And thus Shoko is not dead!
And Haruto is a body switcher. Although on that note, I wonder if his body switching is a real body switching, like the other person is in his body or Haruto is just jumping bodies and his real body is just hanging around and doing nothing?
I think one of the most potent parts of the episode(in the midst of all of the crazy fighting and other things that are going on) was when Haruto lied to Shoko and then broke down out of her sight. Poor guy…his love life is screwed. Well, unless Shoko decides to fight back for love or something…
POWUH: Meta Team and PreCure Mastah with 9203 comments
Hooray! Shoko is immune to death flags~
It seems like jumping into various bodies Haruto gains their skills and strengths? I mean when he jumped into L-ELF’s body he was a total badass with a gun, but I have no idea what purpose body swapping has in this mecha series…
Haruto fails I have no idea why he choked up and decided to not confess? Yeah sure he went through some emotional issues after he was called a monster, but SERIOUSLY why!? I still think Shoko knew what he was going to say to her xD
POWUH: and Yaoi Fangirl~ with 2320 comments
Fuck, I’m starting to hate Haruto now. He has such bad mood swing that he reminds me of girls during their PMS. Confessing on one scene then cries for being called a monster? The fact that you ate a lot in the first episode is pretty monstrous already.
Ok, I sound mean here, but I’m serious. I feel as if the transition on Haruto’s emotion is so badly displayed that I feel nothing at all.
Also, I want to shove Shoko back inside the ground. Can’t we have dead girls who actually die?
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Consider it one of anime’s strictest laws. The love interest must always live, even if she “dies”.
POWUH: Meta Team and PreCure Mastah with 9203 comments
Yep! Haruto is falling into the “annoying” role and his whole crying because he was called a monster? Yeah what the hell…bro…you just kicked ass and SAVED everyone, but I guess he has a case of the “feels”
Yep I agree with you~
LOLOL poor Shoko xD
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
I’m still overwhelmed at the number of mech animes we have this season: Gargantia, Valvrave and Majestic Prince. It’s Mecha Spring (Forgive me if that sounded really lame. I tried that on a whim). If I had to put them in order for which ones I like better, they’d probably go like this:
1. Suisei no Gargantia
2. Kakumeiki Valvrave
3. Ginga Kikoutai Majestic Prince
I’m pretty sure others have the same line-up as well.
Side note: Since I’m talking about mechs, there’s some new info that showed up on ANN. Apparently Infinite Stratos is getting another season and it was confirmed recently with the entire cast returning to their respective roles.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
The world’s most oblivious and annoying harem lead is coming back? At least we’ll get more Houki Shinononononono-nononono.
POWUH: Meta Team and PreCure Mastah with 9203 comments
Excellent line up of mecha and my list is currently
1. Valvrave
2. Gargantia
3. MJP
Yeppers! There is another season of Infinite Stratos coming in the future, but I never really consider that to be Mecha because it feels just like Date A Live in a few ways and yeah of course they fight more in IS.
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1557 comments
Gundam Seed plot lead-in x Code Geass trainwreck. Where do I sign up?
POWUH: Meta Team and PreCure Mastah with 9203 comments
Right here of course! 😀
POWUH: Occasional (51-75) with 63 comments
and then I was like “SHE LIVES!”.
POWUH: Meta Team and PreCure Mastah with 9203 comments
lololol yeah….
POWUH: Meta Resident and Werewolf Chaser with 1270 comments
http://subcultureblog.fc2rs.com/img/vvv17/1.gif
Just my two cents on it.
POWUH: Meta Resident and Werewolf Chaser with 1270 comments
OK, sign me up. I’m boarding this train no matter how it will ends up.