Valvrave the Beast High |OT| The Beast within you will awaken!

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What I really dislike about the newest episode, is that it makes all Shoko antics in previous episode seem even more stupid. So, she just lucked out in stopping L-Elf's plans and becoming president, and actually wasn't qualified for the job at all. The first time that she needs to stand up and act alone as a leader, without relying on others, she completely failed.

ARUS attacked and killed students that were clearly normal humans without hesitation, while claiming that they weren't humans. And yet Shoko still expected them to stop?

Not only that, but her entire action towards the ending was completely irrational. ARUS wanted the Valvrave pilots, the only defenses that she had, and she told them to stop fighting and gave Haruto to them because she couldn't "trust" them anymore. And, yet, the only reason she could even give those orders was because she expected them to hear and obey her. If they truly had betrayed her and didn't believe in her as their leader, her words would have been pointless. So, she was basically handling to ARUS people that were still following her just because she felt personally betrayed.

It's not unrealistic or that out there, but it makes her completely vapid. She's just a random emotional teenager in the end as soon as she's hit personally, no better than many random background students.

Andrew J. said:
Episode 21

I've said this before, but I believe it now more strongly than ever: The only thing keeping this show from being a full-fledged successor to Code Geass is the lack of fanservice.
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I'd say that the protagonist is the biggest problem. Haruto is utterly generic. I'm not asking for L-Elf as the main character, since that'd retread Lelouch too closely, but I'd like someone who could stand out compared to the other cast members. Any of the other Valvrave pilots would be more interesting as mc than Haruto.
 
One thing I will say is that, in general, when characters
sacrifice themselves they do it pretty damn heorically. There's been a surprisingly high number of heroic sacrifices in this half of Valvrave and they've all been surprisingly effective for reasons I can't entirely fathom. It shouldn't work and yet, some how, it does.
 
Jexhius said:
One thing I will say is that, in general, when characters
sacrifice themselves they do it pretty damn heorically. There's been a surprisingly high number of heroic sacrifices in this half of Valvrave and they've all been surprisingly effective for reasons I can't entirely fathom. It shouldn't work and yet, some how, it does.
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I haven't found them particularly effective. To be honest,
I couldn't even remember the name of the guy who sacrificed himself in the latest episode. He was a pointless character with no development or motivation. He accomplished nothing of note other than becoming a Valvrave pilot, you could have erased him from the show without any noticeable impact. Why should I care about his sudden sacrifice? It's tough to feel more than apathy for side characters like him, Valvrave has handled them really poorly.
 
Basileus777 said:
I haven't found them particularly effective. To be honest,
I couldn't even remember the name of the guy who sacrificed himself in the latest episode. He was a pointless character with no development or motivation. He accomplished nothing of note other than becoming a Valvrave pilot, you could have erased him from the show without any noticeable impact. Why should I care about his sudden sacrifice? It's tough to feel more than apathy for side characters like him, Valvrave has handled them really poorly.
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Inuzuka was the one always attempting to make money back in season 1 and one of Haruto's closer friends. There was also his connection with Aina, and her death too. I think the main issue with him is that he got basically no focus in season 2. He basically did nothing relevant at all during the episodes on Earth.

It wouldn't be a problem without the break, considering the amount of focus that he had before, but, thanks to the break and him getting nothing to do in season 2, I guess it's easy to forget him.
 
Jexhius said:
One thing I will say is that, in general, when characters
sacrifice themselves they do it pretty damn heorically. There's been a surprisingly high number of heroic sacrifices in this half of Valvrave and they've all been surprisingly effective for reasons I can't entirely fathom. It shouldn't work and yet, some how, it does.
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I suppose it depends on each viewer's degree of cynicism, thus the more aloof observers probably won't feel the same, but I tend to agree with you. I think those scenes usually work better than expected because they're well directed and that helps to get in the mood. On the other hand, the characters involved get to show off their determination in admirable ways, which does provide some insight into them, even if they had lacked focus before. Evidently if there was more development they'd have a much stronger impact, but I think the scenes still work as much as they possibly could in the time allocated to them.

NeonZ said:
I'd say that the protagonist is the biggest problem. Haruto is utterly generic. I'm not asking for L-Elf as the main character, since that'd retread Lelouch too closely, but I'd like someone who could stand out compared to the other cast members. Any of the other Valvrave pilots would be more interesting as mc than Haruto.
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Yes, the protagonist himself being almost completely uninteresting compared to Lelouch is one of the biggest differences between this and Code Geass in my opinion, though I'd also add that his whole dynamic with L-Elf remains entertaining but often takes more of a backseat compared to the Suzaku stuff too. I guess that will be addressed a bit next week
with the hilarious spacesuits on the moon and all.
 
Basileus777 said:
I haven't found them particularly effective. To be honest,
I couldn't even remember the name of the guy who sacrificed himself in the latest episode. He was a pointless character with no development or motivation. He accomplished nothing of note other than becoming a Valvrave pilot, you could have erased him from the show without any noticeable impact. Why should I care about his sudden sacrifice? It's tough to feel more than apathy for side characters like him, Valvrave has handled them really poorly.
Click to expand...

I don't know if Valvrave is the kind of show to pull it off but
Inuzuka's death might be symbolic because he was their "shield". His Valrave was almost entirely defensive. By him dying and the given circumstances, the Valvraves are completely exposed (without a homeland, a shield and even people to back them).

This is what I got from his death (I think Haruto also leaned on him as a friend so losing both his love and his support in such a quick time span might have a severe impact on his character arc. That might be too much to ask though).

That aside, I enjoyed Inzuka's mini-arc in S1 with Aina. Like someone else mentioned, he got no real focus this season but I still take away what I can. If you were to kill off Yamada, I would literally give no fucks unless he finally did something completely against his character (but only leading up to his final moments).

edit: The overall theme I'm getting from Valrave is that of "loss". Loss of
homeland, humanity, friends, lovers, memories, support and I guess in the case of this show...logic?
 
The dumbest thing Shoko did wasn't
selling out Haruto, it was letting ARUS soldiers on the module (and thus letting Ronald Reagan the Third pull off the grand flush). L-Elf wouldn't have let this happen!!!
 
Dresden said:
The dumbest thing Shoko did wasn't
selling out Haruto, it was letting ARUS soldiers on the module (and thus letting Ronald Reagan the Third pull off the grand flush). L-Elf wouldn't have let this happen!!!
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The thing is, that seems entirely in line with her character. Dumb, yes, but she's always been naively optimistic about the political system and their chance to engage in actual dialogues with the major powers. Hence it doesn't really bother me.
Dresden said:
So disappointed that
Shoko didn't die. Again.
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I think you're missing the endgame here.
Shoko doesn't get to die untill Haurto has forgotten who Shoko is, leaving her completely crushed. Then she can die.

I must say, the whole memory-loss aspect of using Runes and piloting a Valvrave is surprisingly brutal and bleak. Not only can it kill you stone dead, but it will first erase everything that you are as a person. Despite the insanity of the events that unfold in the series has become pretty cynical and dark.
 
Jexhius said:
The thing is, that seems entirely in line with her character. Dumb, yes, but she's always been naively optimistic about the political system and their chance to engage in actual dialogues with the major powers. Hence it doesn't really bother me.
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I know, hence the remark about L-Elf.

I think you're missing the endgame here.
Shoko doesn't get to die untill Haurto has forgotten who Shoko is, leaving her completely crushed. Then she can die.
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But that just prolongs the interminable Haruto x Shoko misery! I wish she was just wiped out with that laser beam.

I must say, the whole memory-loss aspect of using Runes and piloting a Valvrave is surprisingly brutal and bleak. Not only can it kill you stone dead, but it will first erase everything that you are as a person. Despite the insanity of the events that unfold in the series has become pretty cynical and dark.
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It worked for
Marie, but the sheer coincidence of that particular memory disappearing for Haruto kinda ruined it this episode.
 
So does anyone here feel that Shoko is justified for the actions she took in this episode in response to the many factors that affected her mentally?
 
I mean the whole situation was made worse by the fact that Haruto couldn't seem to be able to complete one freaking sentence. I mean obviously shit was going down around them, but still.
 
Heysoos said:
I mean the whole situation was made worse by the fact that Haruto couldn't seem to be able to complete one freaking sentence. I mean obviously shit was going down around them, but still.
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2770790752_1.gif
 
Dresden said:
It worked for
Marie, but the sheer coincidence of that particular memory disappearing for Haruto kinda ruined it this episode.
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Yeah that was pretty weak, especially as they only just established it last episode.

Anyway, I can certainly concede that people are correct to point their fingers at the characterisation when discussing the shows weaknesses. The show acts like it has an ensemble cast and occasionally they'll spend time developing a specific character for a specific episode but then they don't really have any further role in the story as a whole. Of course, ensemble storytelling is a little difficult so generally you just boil the characters down to standard cliches and then get onto the story. The only character who is approaching being fleshed out is L-Elf.

But still, I don't find this to be as much of an issue as some people. I'm perfectly happy to have a fairly flat cast because I'm simply watching to be entertained by what the show will though at me next. I don't judge the show by how far it approaches competency in a traditional sense because I've long ago accepted that this show is just going to be bonkers and stupid. The only real question has been how long they can keep it going and how many more twists and turns can they throw at the audience to keep them off-balance.
 
I think the first season did have one short exchange about Shoko and Haruto running away together in the past, but they didn't really come back to that until recently. Still a rather sloppy way to address the subject. I wonder if that sort of stuff shows up elsewhere in the "media mix" though, since I almost always forget that Valvrave has a bunch of manga spin-offs in print.

Then again, Valvrave has thrived on cheesy B-movie subject matter, soap opera relationships, absurd coincidences, stupid teenagers, evil adults and generally unrealistic events right from the very start. It's not particularly shy about doing all of that either, and instead highlights this with crazy twists and some self-aware moments.

The fact that the show does occasionally do things the right and proper way, albeit often in compressed chunks, doesn't change the main goal isn't to enlighten us about human nature with a poignant war drama but simply to entertain the audience at a relatively low cost (and with only 24 episodes in total, since I would honestly tend to doubt there will be another season).

That aside, I just hope ERUERUF pulls off one last ridiculously awesome (or awesomely ridiculous) plan to conclude this whole thing.

Heysoos said:
I mean the whole situation was made worse by the fact that Haruto couldn't seem to be able to complete one freaking sentence. I mean obviously shit was going down around them, but still.
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Which is why I've said that if there's any significant issue involved, beyond things being quite a bit rushed, it's mostly on Haruto's side.
 
JCG said:
That aside, I just hope ERUERUF pulls off one last ridiculously awesome (or awesomely ridiculous) plan to conclude this whole thing.
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Well that pretty much has to happen or else the show is pretty much over!
 
That was pretty nuts. Good old Code Geass style
plot twist massacre.

So I guess someone was kidnapping more people and putting them into the Phantom after they captured it? That is a pretty devious set up by the Silly Hat Council.
 
Saprol said:
I have no idea how this is supposed to be concluded in 3 episodes.
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There will be only 24 episodes? If so, there must be another unknown secret left at module 77, which will be undiscovered by Haruto next episode.

Also looking at next episode's name (Fist of the Moon), I bet we will see a new upgraded Valvrave.
 
Damnnnn, that episode was brutal. With only 3 episodes left, I don't know if i'll be able to handle the craziness that I think/hope will happen.
 
Averon said:
I don't know how they can close this out in a satisfactory manner with only two episodes left.
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Depends on what you want to see, but a degree of rushing is inevitable.

All I'm expecting is a crazy entertaining final battle and a "where are they now?" epilogue, possibly 200 years into the future.

At least on paper, that should be satisfying enough. But the details will certainly make a difference, one way or another.
 
The Shoko stuff is really bad this week, but I enjoyed the L-Elf x Haruto stuff. It also contextualizes the reason behind the foundation of the Galactic Empire, as well as the catchphrase the show has been using since the start - "Valvrave is the system which will reveal the truth of the world."

With only 2 episodes to go though, I can't really see it concluding neatly. Maybe there really is a movie coming after all?
 
Oh god, my eyes. Was that CGI?

Fuck yes, best girl is back in action! Shoko can go rot in space now. The next logical step would be to have A-drei and X-eins join up with L-elf and crew for a revolution, both of them seem driven enough. But this is Valvrave so who knows.

The finale is getting closer and closer. Hopefully it'll be a total train-wreck satisfying enough.
 
VVV.. 22?
Train's back, baby.
Shoko's on a horrible path to an horrible death. I just know it.
I'm hoping the grand finale will top Call Me Moses, but it's probably impossible.
Saint god, it's been five months and i'm STILL laughing about it.

Kill La Kill 11
There's no words to describe this show.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4AwIWi6r0p4
this gets it, roughly.

Log Horizon still aots. No questions about it at this point.
 
I don't know who I hate more: Shoko or the red haired brat. Probably Shoko since she's the female main character so the show wants us to care about her, but I just can't.
 
kewlmyc said:
I don't know who I hate more: Shoko or the red haired brat. Probably Shoko since she's the female main character so the show wants us to care about her, but I just can't.
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I'm with you. Q-Vier just sucks
(Can't fight THAT with a knife was a fantastic line though)
and if I didn't mind Shoko before then last episode sure cemented her as terrible. I usually sympathize with characters in these situations, but screw that here.

If Valvrave wants me to hate someone then I will gladly submit to its will. Just give me the ride of a lifetime.

I really enjoyed episode 22. Not sure why.
 
Why the hell did Shoko need a visual affirmation in video form that Haruto was out in the battlefield busting his fucking balls for her. Like... what the hell? Did the writers just suddenly lose all intelligence and gave up writing Shoko to be a somewhat decent and consistent character? The fuck?
 
kayos90 said:
Why the hell did Shoko need a visual affirmation in video form that Haruto was out in the battlefield busting his fucking balls for her. Like... what the hell? Did the writers just suddenly lose all intelligence and gave up writing Shoko to be a somewhat decent and consistent character? The fuck?
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But when was Shoko a decent character?! :)
 
I'm totally fine with that video, because its existence is inherently amusing and also goes straight to the point rather than having Shoko go back and forth over it.

Valvrave isn't a very subtle show and it's not going to start being one so close to the end.
 
fuck shoko

and A-dreiii!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! nooooooo!!!!!!!!!

please don't die. if only to hear your sweet voice mutter the name "L-Elf" once more :(
 
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