wisozk.odell - 2013-12-31 11:25:01

Story/Plot: 8/10

Throughout the show, the actual plot was difficult to pin-point since the only thing we knew was that it was going to revolve around the Valvraves. However it wasn’t until the end when it really kicked things off- by setting the stage for season 2 where things will be a whole lot more serious. In this season, Kakumeiki Valvrave was admittedly quite light-hearted and fluffy at times but it didn’t last for long as the dark aspect of the show eventually swallowed it whole. The story’s set up is awfully similar to how we’d see things set up for Gundam series and such, but the flow reminded most of people about the infamous Guilty Crown streak.

Now here’s the thing about Kakumeiki Valvrave. It’s a lot like Guilty Crown, reputation-wise and how things unfolded for some people, such as the first half being good and then bombing the second half while others either loved it as whole or not at all. However bare in mind Kakumeiki Valvrave is not over yet. This is only he first season, the second part of the series comes out in the fall. This season was merely a kick-starter to what’s yet to come, so naturally it’s going to be a bit rocky and at times feeling slow. On the other hand I know there’s a handful of people who just watch this show for the laughs because it’s so ridiculous. For me, I didn’t find it ridiculous, but it is definitely a tad different than what we’re used to seeing for mecha series (despite all the Gundam and Guilty Crown vibes), which is for most part why I enjoyed watching it thus rating this an 8/10.

Before the finale, it was honestly hard for me to understand how I truly felt about the majority of the main cast, but it was thanks to that episode that I was able to confirm how I felt about certain characters.

The entire main cast though do undergo a brutal development spree as their innocence are stripped from them and were suddenly dragged into a war. However it’s thanks to this element that makes their development so strong. In order to survive, they can’t be naive and whether they like it or not- must learn to fend themselves from the enemy’s attacks. When you look at our main cast, they are all pretty darn strong characters- especially with how they cope and adapt to the circumstances. However it is ultimately up to your preference whether their ‘characters’ appeal to you or not, which is why the cast in general can either be a hit or a miss. The fandom is quite divided about their opinions on the characters such as many either hate Shouko or Saki- usually it’s one or the other. For me, I love both girls and admittedly at times they did annoy me, but I didn’t let that character flaw (since every character needs a flaw!) bother me too much. As for Haruto the main, I have mixed opinions about him. On the other hand, you are guaranteed to love L-Elf and Akira.

I gotta hand it to SUNRISE. Typically I really dislike CG-Mobile Suits, but you know what- you can just tell that they learned a lot from Tiger & Bunny, because I really feel that you can see some of the finishing touches that we all saw in back then. First of all, all of the Valvraves have EPIC designs, I absolutely love them- the purple one being my favorite. The animation quality was extremely consistent and for most part- flawless. In fact, I don’t recall seeing any noticeable blunders. I hope they will continue this streak into the second season.

The OP and two ED themes were addictive to listen to so naturally I always watched the Opening and Ending. It’s unfortunate though to say I was quite disappointed with the first ED theme’s full version, that I actually enjoy the TV-Size Version better- probably because the song itself is incredibly repetitive. Both ED themes on the other hand I have been listening to on repeat forever ever since they’ve come out.
As for the Orignal Soundtrack, I found that it wasn’t as noticeable as some of the other series I watched this season so I’ll be rating this a seven. (However I might boost it higher after I get the chance to hear the OST from the CD itself once it comes out).

You know there’s a lot of mixed opinions about this, and that was before episode 10 happened which had triggered people to decide to stop watching this show altogether. Honestly speaking I was on the fence about how I truly felt about Kakumeiki Valvrave, but the finale really did it’s job of reminding me why I came to love it in the first place. In the beginning it was awesome because it had that Gundam vibe and it made it it’s own rather than turn out as a “Gundam-Wanna-be”. In fact, a lot of people describe the show’s case of popularity turned out like Guilty Crown that too also had mixed opinions- such as one side of the fandom enjoyed the show as whole, others only liked the first half and felt it had crashed and burned during the second half- and then there are those who thought it sucked altogether. However this story is far from over as it will be continuing in the FALL 2013 Season, so hang on tight to see what on earth will happen!

Kakumeiki Valvrave can definitely appear (believe it or not) light-hearted and fluffy and times, but make no mistake that this series is in fact quite dark. The first episode is something that most Gundam fans are used to seeing (frankly it’s almost like a routine each series), but then there’s a much darker aspect that had made some people extremely uncomfortable/upset to the extent they dropped the series altogether. There was quite an uproar about it too, but for your sake- if you would prefer to skip it rest assure it only happens once in this series which is in Episode 10.

nolan.constantin - 2013-11-29 04:17:04

Kakumeiki Valvrave

A Gundam for the Twilight generation. Warning: This is just the review of the first season.

Despite the tagline, I must admit that comparing Valvrave to Twilight is insulting to Valvrave. But, I do think that it is the new Gundam for this generation. I know a lot of older otaku and Gundam fans will have my head or this, but this is an interesting take on the mecha genre, and has as much intrigue as Gundam Wing and showcase battles as fun as Eureka Seven. However, how do I come to this conclusion?

Story 5/10
-pacing (This show has derpy pacing, because we don't get a plot until way later)

-world building (Best part of the story, and it is always going to something in the future)

-consistency (At least it is consistant with its story, characters, and plot)

-flow (The flow like the pacing is a mess, but doesn't destroy its story completely)

Set in the far future where most of humanity lives in space, the class of Module 77 is living in peace. But, everything changes when DORSIA invades. There are three powers in this world that you need to know about. The Dorssia Military Pact Federation (the main antagonists of this show), Atlantic Ring United States (ARUS) and JIOR which is a neutral nation who focus in economic prosperity. The classmates of Module 77 are a part of JIOR.

Now back to that A:LAB quote, the Dorsia army invades Module 77. Wherin Haruto the main protagonist sees his crush get killed and ends up piloting a mecha called a Valvrave. He uses the mecha to fight off the Dorsian invasion. Haruto meets with a Dorsian spy L-Elf and the two plan a revolution with Haruto’s classmates. Oh, remember that crush well she isn’t dead and we get to see a burgeoning love triangle develop between Shoko, Haruto, and the school idol Saki Rukino.

The class starts to live without adults, the only two adults living on Module 77 is a scientist and a substitute teacher. The class and two tag-alongs attempt to create new JIOR after their home country of JIOR is invaded by Dorsia. Meanwhile there are various unsuccessful invasions of Module 77 done by the very incompetent Dorsian invaders. Eventually our idol Rukino also becomes a Valvrave and we start to see the drawbacks to becoming a pilot of the Valvraves.

I forgot to mention earlier that when you pilot a Valvrave you must leave your humanity behind. Despite this isn’t really explained in the first season. I hope it is expanded in the second a lot more, but they become vampires, monsters or as the series calls them Kamitsuki. These Kamitsuki have a variety of other abilties including body jacking, and quick regeneration. The drawback is that they have to feed on something called runes. Oh, and it overshadows a rape that happens, which I wasn't too thrilled about. What makes it worse is that it never really goes back to it and ignores it.

The series ends with more political intrigue and showing more of what the Kamitsuki are, and showing a dark secret society of what might be Kamitsuki or something more. This defiantly shows potential for world building and challenges ahead for the second season. The story is drawn out and doesn’t have the best of pacing, but is still interesting.

We then in the second half see that they try to become proactive, but end up failing ultimatly. This results in some drama, but it isn't that good.

Animation 8/10
- character design (At least it is diverse and not a lot of cookie cutter, sand box fill ins)
-background scenes (Space scenery porn, and the other parts are pretty well done as well)
-animation ( Great animation quality done by a studio that makes things look pretty.

The animation quality is decent showcasing this is a joint Aniplex and Sunrise production. It is very flashy and has interesting battle scenes. The action is well animated, and visual stunning. All the character designs are interesting, and unique. The Valvraves themselves are the most impressive in both art style and when they are actually fighting. The abilities of each of the Valvraves and the fact they are color coated is both refreshing and an interesting take.

Sound/Music 9/10
-music (I liked the music, especially the Nana Mizuki x T.M Revolution team up)

-sound effects (It is a battle mecha show it must have its weapon sound effects)

-voice acting ( Rather enjoyed it, so I wonder if it will ever get dubbed?)

I must say the opening is fantastic. A joint collaboration of T.M. Revolution and Nana Mizuki is both catchy and amazing. It really gets me ready for the show, and was the main draw to me first watching. The sound is well placed, and adds a sense of tension. I will say that it is probably the best thing in the show is both its use of music and sound.

Character 5/10
-relatability (Nope, not relate-able, because they are space vampires)

- development (Ha, it isn't the best, but there is some fleshing and most attempts to progress character evolution ends in regression)

-personality (All great personality except Haruto who is vanilla with some drama llama thrown in.)

Haruto is a generic wimpy and kind-hearted protagonist. He is cookie cutter from other shonen shows of this generation. Haruto however is constantly challenged by both his morals and his decisions which have major rampifications. He defiantly is a cookie-cuter to allow viewers to place themselves in his shoes, but he also has an interesting depth to him. He is defintly an interesting character, but by the end of the show the shift focuses to other characters. The second half shows him doing much of the same, but trying to become a leader in L-Elf's stead, first failing and then reddeming himself with his death.

L-Elf is a Dorsian spy with a past. As soon as he sees that Module 77 presents him with a chance of redemption he attempts to befriend his would be defenders and gains their trust slowly but surely. He is clever but lacks charisma. He has force and power to his words by his actions, but he himself is broken in terms of his emotions. This is shown to be because of his Dorsian training under Cain. L-Elf shares Haruto’s secret and becomes Module 77’s main hope in the darkness.He gets some development in the second half and ends up being a better character.

Shoko who starts out as the damsel in distress becomes an unlikely leader and becomes the prime minister of New JIOR. Her father is the actual prime minister and is missing for most of the series until the end. She is strong willed, but does not know about the kamitsuki and the trials that each of the Valvraves are going through. She gets raped and it is like nothing happened. On the second half she isn't much there, which makes me said because she is my favorite character.

Saki Rukino is the school’s idol and is known throughout JIOR. She has romantic feelings towards Haruto and ends up becoming a rival with Shoko over his affection. She is by far the most interesting character in the show. She is clichéd as a typical school idol, but she has a deep past and actually embraces the kamitsuki as a way to become an idol on the battlefield.

There are other characters, but if you watch the show many of them have their own story arcs, and are well written for the most part.

Enjoyment 8/10
-engagement (I wasn't engaged at first, but eventually I wanted to see what would happen next)

-rewatchability (I would rewatch it if it got a dub cast, but would not if it doesn't)

-general enjoyment (It took awhile, but I did eventually enjoy it)

Overall 8/10

I would defiantly recommended this to anyone who likes mecha shows, but at the same time the old school Gundam fan might shy away from this premise. I mean they will see the vampire thing and stop at its start. It is visually stunning as a show, and has pretty well written if clichéd characters. I personally love clichés when they are done right and this show is right up my alley.

reichel.mustafa - 2013-11-10 21:05:53

Say what you want about this show, but I never expected to enjoy such a crazy show this much. The more over the top it becomes, the more I enjoy it. Love it!

damon12 - 2013-10-08 01:05:29

You know I’m kind of new to the anime scene. I used to watch anime now and then when it was on television, but I never really went out of my way to watch anything. I simply picked up a show here and there and enjoyed myself but never went anywhere with it. Around the end of the spring season, though, my interest in anime really started to peak and I started picking up all sorts of shows. While poking around to see what would be worth watching I saw the poster for this anime and got a rather excited. The art was rather nice looking and it was a mecha and given that I’ve got a bit of a soft spot for the Mecha genre, I wanted to pick this up.

Recently I’ve had the opportunity to sit down and watch this tremendous and epic undertaking. So, what did I think of Kakumeiki Valvrave?

Well my biggest question has got to be:

WHO THE HELL GREEN-LIGHTED THIS?!

Valvrave is an absolute mess in every sense of the word. I have never seen writing that simply did not give a shit on a level such as Valvrave. I’d almost think that Sunrise just shat out the series as a cash grab and then gave it out to the public saying, “Here, have this while we make more Gundam,” and the community stupidly watched it and either left laughing their asses off or rolling their eyes in disgust. But stringbean, it couldn’t have been that bad could it? Believe me friend, you have no idea....

Plot:

In True Calendar Year 71, 70% of the population has left earth and gone to live in space due to the development of the Dyson Sphere. The story centers around Renton Thursto-- I mean Haruto Tokishima, an average high school student in the neutral country of JIOR. Everything seems fine and dandy until one day when a bunch of angry space Germans say, “I want that big glass ball” and invade their country. Eventually, Haruto stumbles across a strange machine known as “Valvrave” and defends the school from the angry German invaders. But soon the Angry Germans and some douchey Americans really want their hands on this new fighting robot and so the school joins forces with a not so angry German and declare themselves an independent country.

The main issue with the plot is not so much the premise but the way it was executed. It felt like the characters were being dragged along for the ride simply bending over backward to the whims of the plot or one of many pointless subplots. Many a time, it seemed like the writers just purposely throw in needless drama to stir up a pot of shit that no one gave a fuck about to begin with. Characters we never even knew where given sudden important plot points or where suddenly killed off and made to be something we were supposed to mourn when we only got a seconds worth of screentime for them, and let's not forget the pointless romance subplots which are forced so hard you would think this show was the love child of Angel Beats! and Sword Art Online.

The writing for Valvrave is absolutely atrocious. It’s not uncommon for ideas to be thrown in for momentary drama just to be thrown out the next moment. What you raped me? Oh that’s fucking okay because you blacked out for a moment. Nothing wrong there at all. In a normal situation, the horribly put together writing might be funny, but the fact that Valvrave likes to push the envelope and poorly execute some rather traumatic experiences is something that really boils my blood. It is not under any circumstance okay to brush something as traumatizing as a rape scene under the rug for the sake of keeping the plot going and if you are going to force something like that in show you need to carefully approach it research it and move on from there. NOT throw it in as a pointless plot point to add extra drama for the sake of a shitty cliffhanger.

The rest of Valvraves’s plot is riddled with holes. The way the Dyson Sphere works is never explained. I still don’t understand how any sort of colony can survive on a fucking orb in space orbiting as close to the sun as a Dyson Sphere does without the inhabitants turning into nothing but piles of charred ash. Not to mention even if the inhabitants left the dyson sphere, how do they survive without the energy of the sun to keep the unit from going cold? Even more importantly if the fucking broadcast updates the colony sends can make it all the way to earth in seconds why does it take so long for Dorssia to attack them? They know where they are, why waste time pissing about and take care of the problem? Were they having some angry German tea party or something, and if that's the case why the hell wasn't I invited you German bastards? Valvrave answers none of these questions and more, simply expecting you to brush them aside every time they jingle a mech battle in front of your face.

Characters:

The characters of Valvrave can be described by using the words “done before and better”. No one in the cast is particularly stand out and most of them fit into common stereotypes you see in shows like this. You’ve got the tough guy with a heart of gold, the “avenging someone’s death” guy, two bland tsunderes, a main character with the personality of a brick, and a tactics master with the foresight of Sosuke Aizen if he could travel through time.

Even the villains of the show fall into typical stereotypes. I swear to god when I was watching them, I thought I was looking at Star Wolf gjinkas that were far less entertaining and far more stupid. Not to mention with all the hair-brain shcemes and crazy gadgets theyc ame up with they looked like they graduated from the Wile E. Coyote college of protaganist capture. Bitches should have known better than to buy from Acme.

All the characters in the show seemed to be victim of being pulled along by the whims of the plot to suit whatever need the writers wished. It hardly felt like the characters were in control of themselves at all and it seemed like the writers made no effort to try to give the characters life outside of a simple coverall trope.

Art/ Animation:

The only thing I thought was well done about this show was the artwork. The art is really eye catching and well done. The character designs aren’t particularly complicated but are still colorful, creative, and fairly eye catching.

Perhaps the most interesting part of this show though is the Mech battles. As is typical with Sunrise the mechs are very interesting in design and the fight sequences are quite a spectacle, even if they all do take place on the same fucking backdrop. The animation did not disppoint me.

Sound:

Much like the characters of the show, the soundtrack wasn’t particularly memorable. Everything seemed to fit rather well to whatever scene it was in with no standout tracks. It was a rather average score doing what it needed.

The same can really be said for the voices, I honestly don’t remember one that really stuck out to me all that well at all. However I will say that if you’re looking for some entertaining Engrish, I’m sure you could just listen to people say “L-Elf” over and over again until you’re satisfied.

The opening theme for me was really a rather typical and generic piece but my goodness was it addicting. I still find myself listening to it and having a hard time getting it out of my head. The first ending theme was rather good as well but I can’t say I was particularly fond of the last ending theme. It just didn’t have the same impact that the first one had.

Overall:

A common thing I hear from people who have watched Valvrave is that this is something that you should watch for the for the laughs and that you shouldn't take it seriously, and to an extent they’re right. The show for the first 9 episodes is really just a laughably bad series that should be watched with your brain off. However, come episode 10 things go from hilariously bad to offensively bad. I still cannot forgive the fact that a group of writers put so little thought into a product and crafted such a steaming log of offensive shit that I simply cannot forgive this show or its writers for thinking that what they were putting forth was a good idea.

But the most disgusting thing about Valvrave is how goddamn addicting it is. You grow to hate how careless and offensive the writers can be but at the same time they hook you in to watching with the stupidest fucking cliffhangers. It pissed me off so much because this series is awful and vile but you just can’t look away from it and when Season 2 finally comes out it, pains me to say this but I will watch it, and I will still hate it and it’ll make me scream and rant and bitch at my computer screen for all the bullshit these assholes pull, but i won't be able to look away because this fucking series just won't let me rest easy.

Valvrave is a pile of steaming shit but it’s just so damn addictive that it’s impossible to look away, and that is why it pisses me off so much.

demetrius50 - 2013-09-15 12:29:40

Kakumeiki Valvrave is one of the three Mecha's that came out during the Spring season of 2013 (if you don't count the SEED Destiny HD remaster as one of them). Valvrave is an original show that came out of Sunrise studios, a studio that is extremely familiar with the Mecha genre, creating big titles such as the Gundam franchise and Code Geass. Speaking of Code Geass, Valvrave was written by the same writer of CG. Does Valvrave have what it takes to not only live in Code Geass' name, but to also be a top show in its genre?

Kakumeiki Valvrave starts us off with Haruto Tokishima, a high school student currently living in the minor nation of JIOR in division Module 77. As expected, he lives a normal high school life, dealing with the "normal high school problems", if you will. Suddenly, an attack from one of the two major nations, known as Dorssian, attacks JIOR in what looks to be a declaration of war. As Haruto and his friends evacuate, he comes across a large robot seemingly out of the blue. With the question "Do you resign as a human being?" being his only way to save his friends, and the only way to even pilot the robot, he accepts, with the cost of him turning into a vampire.

If I needed to describe Valvrave by using other anime, I can easily tell you that its Gundam and Code Geass combined, which is not surprising, seeing as the writer of this show has worked on both before. You can easily tell that there is more influence with Code Geass in Valvrave, with the entire aspects of there being Super Powers, a high school protagonist wanting to change their state of living, a love interest that can easily get in the way of the protagonist, nations at war with each other, etc.

Unfortunately, Valvrave doesn't do the greatest job when it comes to capitalizing on all those similar traits of CG. The first big issue I have is the lack of impact that being a vampire had on the pilots. The show starts to explore the pros and cons of having that power, but it is hardly used as a deciding factor in battles. Haruto is also seen going berserk at times, getting an impulse to bite someone in certain situations, but the show doesn't explain as to why this occurs, which could easily be answered without using a second season to attempt to explain those actions.

Valvrave also likes to not take itself seriously when some certain scenes need to have that serious aspect to them. A big factor of this is the dialogue choices the writers took, with a prime example of this being around the end of episode 10, where one particular scene lost any form of impact due to some of the laughable dialogue in a scene simultaneously occurring with it. Fanservice is also an issue with the show, but it isn't done as often in the latter half of it.

To go along with the last point, some of the larger scale battles that take place aren't as exhilarating not only due to the show not taking itself seriously, but with the kind of character we have in L-Elf, the other main male lead in Valvrave. L-Elf's character is easily a spitting image of Lelouch in terms of being the guy who will know everything that will happen in battle when it occurs. The big difference between these two is that there were times when Lelouch didn't know what to do in certain situations, which doesn't make him an omniscient character, unlike L-Elf.

There is an extremely brief explanation as to why L-Elf knows what he knows, but it doesn't suffice enough. You can be a smart character, but being omniscient is where it gets bad.. Due to all this, battles lack the amount of tension needed in order to make them worthwhile, since you never believe that an army with L-Elf on their side will lose.

Haruto is a prime example of where the Gundam influence comes from, as he has the same mindset as a great portion of the protagonists, which is to live for something or someone. His ideal world consists of living in peace and where everyone is equal no matter what. I don't necessarily disagree with his ideals, but a protagonist can easily get annoying over time if his ideals are held at a higher priority than when it comes to actually surviving.

I already touched upon L-Elf's character in the story portion, but it needs more explaining. Apart from being omniscient, L-Elf is the "model soldier" in the Dorssian army, before a certain event occurs that pretty much ruins that title for him. L-Elf is given a small touch of backstory, which isn't a bad thing, but its something that needed to be expanded on. Hopefully the second season can provide that, but I seriously didn't believe that it needed another season to explain L-Elf.

The other minor characters, such as Shoko and Rukino, are really only there to, once again, get in the way of the protagonist at certain times or to create pointless drama throughout. To speak upon pointless drama, Valvrave enjoyed being very melodramatic before the latter half of the show by only telling you that certain characters were close to each other without showing any relations for it.

As for development, there surprisingly is some for some of the characters, but mostly not for anyone who will majorly impact the show, excluding two of them. It isn't a new issue with the genre, seeing as there have been multiple Mecha that don't entirely understand the concept of development. Even with some of the events that occur that should change the emotion and mindset of some of the characters, it just doesn't seem to phase them, making them seem so bland in the end.

If I needed to explain the most flawed character, it would easily be Rukino, even with factoring in L-Elf's bad points. Rukino had certain events happen in her life, such as being an idol and then having her contract terminated, that really make her a neat character to see at the start, being someone who was quite and extremely serious most of the time. She takes a huge 180 at one point in the show and starts acting as if she could be God. Developing as a character is one thing, but acting Out-of-character with no contextual evidence of her developing is something that I couldn't take seriously.

I'll start off with the seiyuu performances, because at the start of the show, I really couldn't take much of it seriously. I understand that English is not their main language, but hearing the genuine "ERUERUFU" in the pronunciation of L-Elf's name is just hilarious, so I will give points for the mostly unintentional comedy in the acting. Otherwise, the voices fit the characters and their performances throughout are nicely done.

The OP is sung by T.M. Revolution with the help of Nana Mizuki. Seeing as how Valvrave is a show that contains a lot of battles, the opening song really helps the viewer get hyped for the coming episode. I've personally had a similar experience when I was watching Gundam SEED at a younger age, where T.M. Revolution did the first opening song. The ED changes twice (if you don't count episode one), with angela starting off and ELISA taking it home afterwards. Their voices nicely complement the show. No problems here.

If there is one thing that I can praise Valvrave for all day is the animation during the fights and the beautiful, beautiful (yes, that's intentional) looks of the Valvraves. The amount of detail put into each unit is amazing and looks great on the eye. As for the battles, the movements are extremely fluid and every move can be followed without the screen being clustered with an abundance of explosions.

I went into Valvrave expecting a pretty awful show due to word of mouth from people who watched it when it was airing. I came out just having a bunch of fun watching the show for mainly the action scenes. Not only is the animation nice about it, but just watching a large scale battle as presented in the show is something that can really get my blood boiling. While, once again, the build-up to the battles weren't the best, actually watching the battles unfold was something that I can do all day if need be.

In order to get the best experience in Valvrave, you really need to watch it just for the fights, which are damn beautiful to see. Coming in and expecting a deep and intricate story with a mature and serious cast of characters is something that you shouldn't do. It's pretty easy to tell that not much effort was put into Valvrave, but for what it's worth, its probably one of the most fun you'll have watching a Mecha anime, especially if they aren't your cup of tea. Valvrave is not as bad of a show as people like to make it out to be, but it honestly isn't anything extremely impressive, as the multiple issues in the show's writing really weigh down the experience of it all.

adolfo.oconner - 2013-09-10 18:51:57

How will Kakumeiki Valvrave be remembered? That remains to be seen, but the show is at least on the way to achieving its intended outcome of providing entertainment at any cost.

As the first collaboration between Aniplex and the Sunrise animation studio, Valvrave is a series that relies on spectacle as the main source of its inherent value. This is a show where going beyond the limits of reasonable storytelling is the entire point, not accidental or unintentional. While the series may not stand up to highly critical scrutiny, it is self-aware of its own preposterous nature and feeds on incredulous reactions.

Of course, this sort of shameless approach can easily backfire on the creators. The precarious artificiality of its construction carries the risk of making the preponderance of absurd or funny elements too much for the average viewer to bear, but for the time being I feel Valvrave seems to be worth at least one watch, as long as the spectator is willing to both completely relax and dismiss any expectations of common sense or virtue being the guiding principles of the viewing experience.

Story:

It is difficult to avoid noticing that past Sunrise projects such as Gundam SEED, the original Mobile Suit Gundam, Code Geass or Infinite Ryvius, among other shows, are all being used as partial sources of real or perceived inspiration and imitation here. Within that general context, the basic premise of Valvrave seems fairly predictable at first glance and surely won't earn a lot of points for originality. However, even the most obvious comparisons can be misleading.

Many of those similarities fulfill the role of giving the audience a false sense of security. In this case, the Valvrave equation also includes a few surprises which were conspicuously missing from the initial pre-airing promotional videos and advertisements. For instance, the first episode felt like a slightly reworked interpretation of the typical Gundam premiere, when a boy named Haruto from Module 77 accidentally finds the Valvrave mecha and defeats an invading Dorssian force, but then the creators pull out the rug below our feet with a last minute plot twist which nobody in their right mind could possibly see coming. The ultimate ramifications of this supernatural turn haven't been fully explored so far, but it does make for several entertaining and amusing scenarios.

Is this as juvenile as it sounds? Definitely, considering that a more serious show would try to slow down or retroactively justify itself for a considerable amount of time after taking such a sudden left turn. Instead, Valvrave prefers to keep going. This production usually only pays little or no lip service to such concerns before quickly preparing and dropping the next crazy twist. By design, excess and exaggeration are the norm. The character of L-elf, whose over-the-top plans are rarely explained and whose ridiculously impossible predictions are openly called "prophecies" by both himself and those around him, actually serves to highlight this fact. Even the mecha action, while also competent in the traditional sense, has a rather whimsical edge and includes several goofy elements.

To the writer's credit, somehow the series does occasionally get to have it both ways. Certain scenes manage to break away from sheer ridiculousness by engaging in perfunctory foreshadowing for intriguing future events or at least adequately lining up a few of the pins before taking them down again. Nevertheless, all too often the show is just as willing to make fun of its own attempts at drama or seriousness, even at the expense of the poor characters themselves. Where other series would try to desperately hide their silliness at the first opportunity and concentrate on making the dramatics always feel genuine, generally Valvrave can't play itself straight for too long without otherwise shifting the tone and even winking at the audience from time to time, especially given the bizarre behavior of a certain AI entity that seems eager to slightly break the fourth wall.

Unfortunately, in light of a controversial event that happens towards the end of the broadcast, I imagine that good taste must have been in short supply in the staff room. Which isn't the only problem: the basic structure of the season isn't particularly innovative as a whole, in spite of all these entertaining maneuvers. After an extended introductory arc, the second half treats us to several episodes where the main focus fleetingly goes from one new Valvrave pilot to the next and most of the enemy forces prove to be at best creatively incompetent during their weekly attacks on the students. The formula seemed to be gradually getting close to exhaustion, before the season finale spiced things up again with a technically interesting yet not entirely satisfactory spin on the current course of events. Where we go from there is anyone's guess.

Art and Animation:

By the usual standards of modern Japanese animation for non-theatrical productions, the series regularly manages to look decent with only a modest amount of obvious budget shortcuts. The color palette tends to find a happy medium between darkness and light that works well with the material. The character designs of the various students and Dorssians aren't particularly original on paper yet still manage to come across as very distinct in practice, and the 3D computer graphics used for the various mecha and space action scenes are generally above average.

Sound:

The music composed by Akira Senju is surprisingly effective, managing to properly set the varying moods of this story and successfully accompany the major battle sequences without any glaring issues. In addition, the opening by Nana Mizuki and T.M.Revolution as well as the two ending themes by angela and ELISA are good performances by popular industry artists. There's no accounting for musical preferences, but I feel this particular technical aspect of the show's production is perhaps its single strongest point.

Character:

The protagonist, Haruto, is currently the weakest link among an admittedly typical cast of characters. He is another peace-loving boy whose life changes after jumping into a giant robot and who often finds himself being the center of attention against his wishes. That said, one notable element which saves Haruto from being as annoying as other similar or worse protagonists is his considerable willingness to fight, in spite of his personal worries. Curiously, after the first episode he rarely ever hesitates and is quite prepared to kill in battle when necessary. There's really only one scene where he experienced actual angst and, while it seems hard to truly sympathize with him, at the very least I didn't find Haruto unbearable. Just mostly boring and in need of development.

Frankly, the external circumstances surrounding Haruto sound more interesting than the guy himself. Surprisingly enough, the series benefits from unexpectedly making a couple of the other regulars who interact with him either mildly compelling or simply entertaining enough to pick up the slack.

L-elf may lack the usual charisma of other mastermind-type characters and his personal background has only been partially addressed, but he still provides a clear contrast to Haruto's inherently kind nature and even has an oddly socially handicapped yet still amusing personality despite his cold exterior. Perhaps more importantly for a series of this nature, he is a frequent source of unrealistic actions that can be appreciated for their audacity if you do not demand any sort of credible explanations for them.

Two characters which are especially divisive are Shoko and Saki. They're both very flawed individuals who can attract or repel due to their childish attitudes and impulsiveness. In fact, that's part of why I'd dare to argue they also displayed a slightly more nuanced form of characterization than what was obvious at first, in addition to the various exaggerated shenanigans they directly carried out.

Shoko isn't too smart and comes up with ridiculous ideas that somehow work even if other characters explicitly point out their silliness, which is good for more than a few laughs and a couple of face-palms, but in truth she's more of an idealistic leader than merely a buffoon. Saki combines a cynical edge, a selfish attention-seeking attitude and a manipulative yet honest loneliness, while also seemingly destined to play a larger role in the future. Of course, you could simply call them a "good girl" and a "bad girl" at heart, period, which is undeniably true. Still, even if neither of them may fully escape from their constituent archetypes, since the show isn't aiming high enough to accomplish anything truly new, the fact is they contributed to making Valvrave more enjoyable than its own protagonist did. Well, at least for those who didn't react negatively to either of them.

The rest of the cast has its ups and downs, since the other Valvrave pilots received some fleeting time in the spotlight yet the main villains usually lacked even that much until the last episode, but as a whole they can be considered underdeveloped and thus not worth discussing in further detail for now. Frankly, Valvrave could be rightfully accused of having several unnecessary secondary or tertiary characters who competed for screen time with the main cast and with each other. They couldn't all be properly portrayed -or, for that matter, even used as effective sources of superficial entertainment- within twelve episodes. Will another set be enough to address this? Probably not.

Enjoyment:

When you go past the previous considerations, it all comes down to the fact that Valvrave is often just a lot of dumb fun.

You might not always care for the isolated moments of drama and melodrama, or you might even find how the series deals with certain issues to be morally or intellectually questionable, but I'd be lying if I said it wasn't entertaining to see what crazy twist or unexpectedly interesting event happens from week to week, or what new mecha action scene will come next, or how the creators will explicitly or implicitly highlight the absurdity of a major or minor development.

In the end, for me it's clear this show knows it is an artificial, messy construct made with the intention of entertaining its audience through bold spectacle and twisted humor that borders on the farcical. I can't consider it particularly "good" in a general sense, but I also won't call it truly "bad" at this point in time. Even at the expense of the entire edifice potentially crashing down once and for all next season, I enjoyed watching the first season of Valvrave.

vmayert - 2013-07-26 06:46:34

Valvrave the Liberator is an excellent mecha anime. Just the mechas in general will keep you watching more! It has and interesting, and sometimes confusing story that is similar to Code Geass. The animations are all done really well and the OP's and ED's are also really good. An instant favorite for any mecha fan!

xander.bogan - 2013-07-06 01:37:59

1. Surprisingly inconspicous CGI
2. Fairly interesting plot/characters
3. Fairly Generic plot/characters
4. Random surprisingly interesting moments.
5. Incredibly soft Sci-Fi (that Dyson sphere was utterly ridiculous, and that was the first fucking shot)
6. Lacks real attention to detail

Was okay. Let's see if the second season can change these views.

colton.bergstrom - 2013-07-05 02:02:08

The first half of Kakumeiki Valvrave (Revolutionary Machine Valvrave), subtitled Valvrave the Liberator, functions primarily as a setup arc to introduce its large cast of characters, plus several giant robots. Rather than being "the system that exposes the world", this first season instead seems to demonstrate what happens when teenage fantasies go horribly wrong. Set in a high school -- yes, it's one of these shows -- on a space colony in Earth orbit, the mostly adolescent characters find their world turned upside down when the love child of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, Dorssia, invades their country JIOR, which being based on perceptions of today's Japan, is run by pusillanimous wimps who are determined not to fight back. However, they have a secret ultimate weapon underneath the school, the Valvrave, which the otherwise passive Haruto Tokishima is the first of several students to take over and fight back against the Dorssian onslaught. As you might guess, the story has a rather camp feel to it, and sometimes goes into weird slice of life territory, reminiscent of screenwriter Ichiro Okouchi's previous work Code Geass. And similarly, it does take some rather dark turns later on, and has its unexpected moments. It's not brilliant, but it's captivating, to say the least. A warning for some people: there is a mostly off-screen rape, as well as some gore in this series.Characters are, well -- if you've seen other anime series, you probably know these characters, since they mostly follow established archetypes. And with so many of them vying for screen time, their backgrounds aren't explored much during this first season, though some complexity is hinted at. I found myself developing favourites, and loving to hate some of the others. The art is fantastic, with character designs by D.Gray-man creator Katsura Hoshino, and cool mechanical designs for each of the robots. The attention to little details in many scenes, the crisp and clear animation, and exciting action sequences make this show a pleasure to watch. Sound is excellent as well, with great voice acting performances from Yuichi Nakamura (Yamada "Thunder" Raizou), giving the character a sense of badassery; Aoi Yuuki (Akira), giving a true sense of her character's crippling anxiety; and Daisuke Ono (Cain), capturing the evil menace of this character. The music is great, too, with the first ending theme, "Boku ja nai" by Angela, as a ear worm that left me feeling especially emotional after the show, along with the exciting opening theme "Preserved Roses", the haunting second ending theme "Soba ni Iruyo", and great background music during some of the darker sequences. Overall, while the story feels a bit like a slow start of something potentially great, the first half of Kakumeiki Valvrave has still been for me the most enjoyable anime of the Spring 2013 season. Even though some of the lines are often silly or melodramatic, making this show a bit of a guilty pleasure to talk about, it drew me in and became the one anime I was certain not to miss each and every week.

jacobson.madonna - 2013-05-24 04:41:16

Kakumeiki Valvrave is an astonishing action anime that is focused on the rebellion theme, there can be no peace without fighting.

First off Valvrave is similar to anime such as Code Geass and Gundam Seed, and that is not a bad thing.

Story : Valvrave is a serious anime and is a trainwreck at the same time which is what makes it so unique and enjoyable to watch.  The show itself knows at times it's being terrible; it's not a anime like Guilty Crown where it's actually trying to outdo Code Geass and failing miserably.  

Character : Characters in Valvrave may be it's weakest point, I'm not blown away by crazy characters we never seen before, but I believe the story will make up for it. 

Many of the characters are clique but it's to early to judge on that since there hasn't been a lot of character development yet aside from current main characters.

Animation : The animation in Valvrave is fairly great, character's faces are real sharp most of the times and scenes with robots/mechs, whatever you call them are downright good.  I did notice a drop of animation quality in fast pace battles, but that is to be expected, also some of the better lighting effects seems to have poorer quality than the rest of the show but it's nothing noticeable.  

In terms of comparison to other show this season, I believe Attack on Titan is still on top in terms of animation.

Sound : I must say the sound in Valvrave is one of the best this season.  The opening for Valvrave by T.M. Revolution and Nana Mizuki is pure awesomeness, the song is great and it's very nostalgic from Gundam Seed as they are similar anime.  

Having badass soundtrack during some crazy action scene is pretty normal nowadays; Valvrave just does it so well, as soon as you hear it, you know amazing things are going to happen. 

Overall : Valvrave is a must watch anime for those who enjoys action, rebellion theme, and robots.  It's to early to judge this anime as a whole, but 7 episodes in, Valvrave topple Attack on Titan on my list.