Valvrave The Liberator - 03

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It was only a matter of time before we got the politics; Valvrave the Liberator is in fact a mecha series.

One thing I've learnt as an anime fan, is that politics and giant robots go hand in hand.  You don't have to be a fan of mecha anime to know this, because most (Sunrise) mecha anime adopt this type of story.  Not all that surprising, given the unavoidable politics of two or three nations battling each other and because Valvrave is another Sunrise production with a set formula.

Plenty happens in this episode, with L-Elf as the headliner.  Of course it wasn't enough to give him a regular military background, hence his moniker "One-Man Army" and his insane exploits in this episode.  Single-handedly  he wreaks havoc in JIOR before making his way to Haruto.  Over-the-top to say the least, yet amusing to watch.

While L-Elf carries out his mission like a robot, Haruto is relegated to the ambassador role.  He still remains the character who wishes to avoid fighting, so his portion of the episode doesn't do all that much.  I'm not counting the vampire attack he came close to committing, simply because it doesn't add anything besides confirmation that he's not able to fully control his powers.

Yet another episode of Valvrave with so much going on.  The series continues to be the least serious mecha of the season, although it seems to be taking itself more seriously than I am.  One too many plot twists are showing up at the beginning, and that too worries me.  How are they planning to keep the plot interesting in the long-run when all the plot twists seem to happening in just the first few episodes? Perhaps the characters we're being introduced to will have more to do.  We're already seeing the focus spreading to other characters, so it's not a wild assumption that they'll have to play a bigger role in upcoming episodes.

That remains to be seen, but 3 episodes later and it's clear Valvrave is the silly demented uncle of the mecha anime this season.  Whilst Majestic Prince and Valvrave have settled into their respective strides, Valvrave lacks the clarity in direction to be a stable, good quality series.  Nevertheless, it remains entertaining which on its own holds a lot of merit.

Valvrave the Liberator Episode 04 Preview

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