Forum - View topicREVIEW: Valvrave the Liberator episodes 1-6
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Zac
ANN Executive Editor
 Posts: 7912 Location: Anime News Network Technodrome |
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Come on man, don't make me ban you. |
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dtm42
Posts: 14084 Location: currently stalking my waifu |
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^
I trust your comment was actually meant for Fencedude5609 and that you simply quoted the wrong person. |
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Kaioshin_Sama
Posts: 1215 |
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If it helps I'm honestly sorry if I played any part in that. The last thing I would want to do is ruin a show for others. As for some people, honestly can't help but wonder if that was the intention or not or if they even care since they seem perfectly satisfied just ranting about the staff members and just blurting out everything they hate about it regardless of what episode it took place during. 
I see know use pointing fingers when we're all kind of at fault here. I kind of wish I hadn't gotten drawn into this in retrospect. |
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superdeformed
 Posts: 88 Location: New Orleans, LA |
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Wait a minute, a Japanese cartoon is horrendously sexist and utterly clueless about sexuality?! *gasp*
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Kaioshin_Sama
Posts: 1215 |
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You don't understand though, this is Valvrave....it's different man....it's different..... |
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jymmy
 Posts: 1244 |
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I didn't see that that was the case. Was it? If so, how? |
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Maidenoftheredhand
 Posts: 2633 |
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You were the main person talking about the staff. It wasn't my intention of spoiling anyone and while my reply was the first one about the last two episodes I was purposely vague, it was only when other people started talking about the event specifically that I found it hard not to say anything. And again I am sorry if Key or anyone was spoiled that wasn't my intention to ruin the show for anyone. (although a show that's best thing about it is its plot twists doesn't say much for the series itself in my opinion). The bottom line is this review just happened to go up right when the controversial event happened and it was hard not to discuss it in light of a review going up (even if it was the for the 1st 6 episodes). It was just bad timing. |
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Raneth
Posts: 271 |
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I'm bummed out that the later episodes were spoiled for me. I've only seen the first five. I can see a problem in the first five episodes that probably make what happened later more distasteful, though.
This show has mood whiplash. Maybe it's because its unfocused, or maybe I'm just not invested enough in what's going on, but we go from spoiler[happy school days to the main protagonist killing people in cold blood after he thinks his love interest dies. I at first thought that when he did a body swap, he took elements of the personality of the person he swapped into, hence why he was so effective as a soldier in L-elf's body. But then that drama gets dropped, save for the lip service he pays to it in saying "I'm a monster." But other than that, nothing else really changes, and that threw me off a bit. There's no long lasting change in tone, or atmosphere, the way I expected, and very little that happens seems to have any consequence. We're told it has consequence with Haruto crying and such, but we're not really shown it save for that one scene. It feels cheap.] Episode 5 sums up this problem in one episode. spoiler[We go from everyone nearly dying and freezing to death, after which I thought they would realize how much trouble they're in because of their isolation, to having a huge party/song and dance number. I mean, I guess it could be explained away in that they needed to raise money to survive, but the change in tone and atmosphere from "we're going to die" to "party!" was very jarring. It's like the cast has selective amnesia and forgets everything bad that happened.] So, I'm guessing the later stuff has this problem too. A major big event occurs that people expect to have lasting consequences, and then it kind of fizzles. Judging from what little of the show I've seen, this pattern is pervasive, but when it comes to an event like spoiler[rape], the problem with this pattern becomes really obvious. |
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Sorrior
Posts: 79 |
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So am I REALLY the only one who has seen this show doing great things and being more then it seemed from the start?
Think about how many series have these fun comedic starts...But then go batshit crazy with ALOT of potential drama and issues later on. To me Valvrave is a fun stupid giant robot show but right from the surrender humanity part I have felt something more is at play. also people are forgetting the future Saki moment.... As for the thing itself...It was a HOLY fudge iS THIS REALLY HAPPENING thing. and while it happens the girl he loves is giving a speech of hope of possibility and about freedom....And how she is going to confess... the entire scene to me is basically driving home how bad it is in multiple ways but also creating this juxtaposition. Overall I can see Valvrave starting dumb and crazy but finishing on a much more mature and well storied note. I guess to finish I would say this. To my friends I describe Valvrsve as such "What Gundam 00 would have been had they just admitted it was a super robot series". I also feel that as 00 started serious ended silly Valvrave will likely do the reverse...I unno I have just felt from the start there was a MUCH darker set of things going on... TBH while I have yet to read/play it I get a Demonbane vibe from the Valvrave.... So yeah be careful about judging something until it is complete...I have struggled through series been ready to drop em only to be amazed at the quality and wonderful stories IN THE VERY LAST EPISODE. A good ending can make everything that came before not only bearable but actually make sense and all the greater... Also I swear the mmo site I'm normally on is alot better community wise it seems. This debate ensued a bit but we are alot more open to where it could go(in fact most of us are loving it). |
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dtm42
Posts: 14084 Location: currently stalking my waifu |
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^
Gundam 00 was a straight-up Super Robot show right from the start. There was never a time when it wasn't a Super Robot Anime. It's not like just because it was a Gundam that makes it a Real Robot; most Gundam series have been more Super than Real. |
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Ultimatum
 Posts: 162 |
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I dropped the show just before episode 9, after spoiler[crunchyroll blocked non-users from the episode, presumably because of the rape scene.
I could have watched it on hulu,] but I realized that I barely cared about any of the characters, the plot, or anything the series could throw at me. The characters were incredibly flat. There was Haruto, whose main schtick is spoiler[whining about his lack of humanity and then killing millions of unnamed soldiers in space battles without blinking an eye.] Shoko was zany for the sake of being zany because zany. Saki spoiler[had to be saved even in the battles where she seemed to have the lead and seemingly was there only to warn Haruto of her slip-ups so he could save the day with pink explosions,] and was otherwise just the "flirty" character. Maybe I missed something, but it felt like they were trying to run a show on ridiculousness alone, and it didn't work. |
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jymmy
Posts: 1244 |
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I think I kind of get that. Blood-C, for example, was absolute garbage until the last few episodes, at which point an insane plot twist made the first part of the series being so utterly appalling make a bit more sense. It was like pissing into a bucket of crap: the result was very, very slightly less crap. Even if the twist had genuinely been excellent, though, I still don't think it would have made the show itself much better. I might have bumped it up a grade or possibly two, but I can't think of a single ending that genuinely made a less than average show good. It seems more to me like someone would simply change their opinion because they understand more what the show was like all along but they didn't get it. Can you give an example of a show that's done this? |
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nightjuan
 Posts: 1473 |
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You were expecting him to feel bad about killing enemy soldiers and personnel during his revenge spree? I didn't see things that way, and that's not why the guy thought he was a "monster" either. I mean, they pretty much blatantly tell you it's because of all the vampire stuff, which obviously isn't something a normal person would be able to do. He does try to go back to his regular lifestyle but the underlying issue never really goes away. And to address the larger point: yes, there are several mood swings. I think they're mostly a part of the story though, as crazy and dumb as it is. The protagonist and the students in general should be more concerned about a lot of what's happening, but they always find ways to go back to a state of relative normalcy, especially during the first half of the show. There are some consequences that can be easily handwaved yet others remain in the background. That gives them a false sense of security, which later events start to threaten more directly.
I think you might be underestimating the simple fact they're high school students without any real supervision. Teenagers, not adults. They were all fooling around before that small crisis, which did in fact raise tensions while it lasted, but then things were resolved. Afterwards, they just decided to do something to cheer everyone up. I wouldn't describe that as "amnesia" when mere "immaturity" would suffice. It's not like they'll automatically grow up after their first set of mistakes.
Generally speaking, I'd have to say the second half does gradually start to be different from the first. Despite the continued presence of all the goofy or lighthearted moments, the tone has in fact gotten a little darker during the build-up to the season finale. I'd say there are more consequences at work too, even if they're clearly not as realistic as they would be in a different kind of show.
Choosing what you want to keep watching or not is your basic prerogative as a viewer, but I happen to disagree with your assessment of the above characters. Even for all their limited or missing development, they're slightly more complicated than that. This isn't a subtle show or anything, but I think you're still missing the details. For example: Shoko's not just zany. The point of her silly actions and ridiculous ideas is that she's way too naive and idealistic but still pretty good at inspiring people. She thinks everything can be resolved with her outbursts and that's not necessarily true. |
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Sorrior
Posts: 79 |
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True but sunrise played it straight not as a super robot show. I guess I phrased it wrong but what I meant was that sunrise played 00 straight almost like a real robot show while Vavrave reveles in the super robot aspect. |
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Kaioshin_Sama
Posts: 1215 |
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A lot of people kind of miss the point of what the show is aiming for and/or just plain don't like that style to begin with. I think people were extremely quick to label the show a "trainwreck you cannot take seriously" and proclaim to shut off your brain and enjoy it for it's ridiculous that was apparently just to far beyond the line of what is okay. This would not be my recommendation as a long time viewer of similar shows to Valvrave in style. My recommendation would instead by not to expect a super serious life changing show, but to take it in stride if it all piques your interest. Keep your usually tally on the ongoing plot threads and character developments cause those things are ultimately important in the end game of this season, but don't expect any earth shattering revelations to come out of them. This is an anime primarily aimed at entertainment and keeping you on the edge of your seat like a blockbuster thriller. Treat it like that and you'll be okay. Valvrave includes lots of unexpected twists and turns to it's story, but a lot of events are starting to tie back to things that happened earlier in the show that at first appeared kind of ridiculous or irrelevant but are now starting to come to fruition as the first season reaches it's climax. I think it mostly depends on how deathly serious you think your anime should be and whether you have certain dos or do nots when it comes to TV anime. Many people seem to hate it (again very early on into it's run), personally it's my favorite weekly watch of the season next to Attack on Titan. I've slowly come to accept that as the norm over the years that everything I loved about anime growing up people now general hate and balk at. It sucks, but it's part of growing up and seeing the next generation move into the core fandom with the tastes and interests of their experiences, most of which were no doubt formed online. I don't know, just sometimes I get bored of all the light novel adaptations and the sorts of things people love nowadays (though I've grown more accepting of them and developed some interests in that department in recent years) like the next Bakemonogatari season or the next hyped up show from Kyoto Animation (I should mention I typically loathe whatever results from both of these immensely and have stopped following either almost entirely so that's of no help for the coming summer season) and like to sink myself back into the kinds of shows that got me into anime in the first place, namely Sunrise style mecha shows. Valvrave fits the bill perfectly, I'm not going to let people ruin that for me, I'll leave that to the show and so far it hasn't crossed any major lines or flubbed any sort of plotline or gone totally off the rails like others are claiming. TL;DR I think I'm most like nightjuan when it comes to how I view the show, it's ongoing developments and characters. Personally I don't really see any other way to view the show other than what he is describing in the post above that isn't a forced and narrow viewpoint. |
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