Valvrave the Liberator - Character Discussion - Sashinami Shouko

[Destined_Fate]

Looking back at the episode.

L-Elf smiled when he heard they were being hailed and he immediatly isolated Shoko so she was alone with him while letting everyone know where they were going. L-Elf was testing Shoko to see if she had the right to rule and she passed, however he was not going to kill her even if she failed as she still had her uses. Though her passing and suffering such loss has made her an infinitely more useful pawn for him and I wouldn't be surprised if he also factored in Haruto and Saki as well in his plans to break Shoko into someone he can control as she will literally have no one else to turn to but L-Elf after all this.

Anyway, notice how L-Elf never once points the gun at Shoko and him changing his position makes it far easier to point at the monitor than Shoko. He was going to end negotiations if she cracked, however she didn't crack thus his intervention wasn't needed and he now fully believes he can use Shoko now as she has lost everything and has suffered loss on a major scale.

Another thing to note is that Shoko said she couldn't do a thing thus proving that she never intended to give in to the demands at all anyway as if she did than should could have saved her father but since she refused she couldn't save him and could only watch to her horror.

Originally Posted by Cosmic Eagle

I would say her death flags actually dropped with this ep...



What....

You mean she was simply lucky that Harakiri Blade finished charging on time counts as "passing a test?"

This is what I meant when I said last ep that the role of political leader is a disposable puppet in module 77.

The thing Shoko can do to upset the balance now is purely at key decision points like this. This first one, she was very lucky, that's it....

Also why I say she won't die now. Looks like she'll return to deliver payback in future

Shoko's death is far more unlikely now after this major character development that has harmed her a great deal. Technically you could say Shoko is "dead" after all this as I don't see her being the same person anymore. Especially when she learns that Saki and Haruto are wedding it up. L-Elf is getting what he wants though, Shoko is now vulnerable and isolated while in a position of power and now relies totally on him after all this is said and done. Thus she's the perfect pawn for him now.

Rewatch the episode, Shoko denies them multiple times and never once agrees to their terms up to her father's death. Shoko passed with flying colors even though she's just a teenager and a citizen who hasn't had her hands bloodied yet. By doing nothing to stop Haruto it means that the blood of her father is on her hands. This will make her stronger but it also could mean that the Shoko we all know and love is effectively "dead" due to all these bad things happening to her.

[Cloudedmind]

Actually L-Elf's change of position makes it easier for him to shoot Shouko. He's now lined up diagonally to her, instead of behind to the side and facing forward.

[Destined_Fate]

Not really. His position change still makes it easier to shoot the monitor than Shoko. His earlier position was neutral where he could have gone either way, this position wasn't.

His shoulder was pointed more towards the monitor, he only needed to point straight to shoot the monitor while he would have to put more effort to shoot Shoko instead. Which, again, would be counter productive to all of his plans anyway as Shoko is still useful. The difference now is that she's not only far more useful but now she will only rely upon him in the future as he knows the truth of what happened(Shoko most likely wont tell Haruto or anyone else that Haruto killed her father) and the whole Haruto chose Saki thing.

[Triple_R]

Originally Posted by Cosmic Eagle

I would say her death flags actually dropped with this ep...



What....

You mean she was simply lucky that Harakiri Blade finished charging on time counts as "passing a test?"

This is the first real emotional test she's ever faced, at least while in a leadership position.

She had plenty of time to do something stupid. She wasn't exactly the picture of a strong leader, but at least she didn't do something monumentally stupid. That's enough, at least for now.

This is what I meant when I said last ep that the role of political leader is a disposable puppet in module 77.

Not at all, as the naming of a cabinet including multiple positions should make quite clear. She's just as much Prime Minister of Neo-JIOR as Stephen Harper is Prime Minister of Canada. Contrary to what some suspected, this is not just some PR/Foreign diplomat position.

[Cosmic Eagle]

Originally Posted by Destined_Fate

Shoko's death is far more unlikely now after this major character development that has harmed her a great deal. Technically you could say Shoko is "dead" after all this as I don't see her being the same person anymore. Especially when she learns that Saki and Haruto are wedding it up. L-Elf is getting what he wants though, Shoko is now vulnerable and isolated while in a position of power and now relies totally on him after all this is said and done. Thus she's the perfect pawn for him now.

Rewatch the episode, Shoko denies them multiple times and never once agrees to their terms up to her father's death. Shoko passed with flying colors even though she's just a teenager and a citizen who hasn't had her hands bloodied yet. By doing nothing to stop Haruto it means that the blood of her father is on her hands. This will make her stronger but it also could mean that the Shoko we all know and love is effectively "dead" due to all these bad things happening to her.

To me, it seemed like had the Harakiri Blade taken longer to charge, she would have wavered.

Instinctively saying no to sacrificing all of JIOR is actually perfectly natural for someone as kind as Shoko. However it did seem she was at the point of wavering at the very end.

Originally Posted by Triple_R

Not at all, as the naming of a cabinet including multiple positions should make quite clear. She's just as much Prime Minister of Neo-JIOR as Stephen Harper is Prime Minister of Canada. Contrary to what some suspected, this is not just some PR/Foreign dignitary position.

You can't hold much real power if there's going to be a round through your skull at any moment...

She had plenty of time to do something stupid. She wasn't exactly the picture of a strong leader, but at least she didn't do something monumentally stupid. That's enough, at least for now.

It is rather clear that if she gets a second attempt it would be something fittingly epic I am sure....it's Shoko after all.

[Triple_R]

Originally Posted by Cosmic Eagle

You can't hold much real power if there's going to be a round through your skull at any moment...

I think that L-Elf is willing to let her do whatever she wants as long as it doesn't severely jeopardize his plans. But only time will tell, of course.

[Destined_Fate]

It took a great while to Charge up, she didn't waver even as they beat her father in front of her eyes. She was trying to think of another way to save her father but she couldn't as she wasn't going to sacrifice the students and the Valvrave's thus the count down hurt even more as she had no time and couldn't do what the Dorssian's wanted.

If anything L-Elf needed this just as much as Shoko. L-Elf wanted to know her limits, as her plans so far have worked rather well and she was a wild card, and Shoko needed to learn that sometimes you can literally do nothing but watch things unfold.

This in turn gave Shoko a ton of character development by teaching her failure rather harshly while allowing L-Elf to fully assess her abilities and to show her the cruel reality of the world as she will have to get used to it as thing get worse.

That and the smile is not only there for the test when he heard the hailing but because he finally got one up on Shoko though I don't believe he expected her to actually resist til the end and to cry out as she did over her failure to do anything about the situation. Perhaps he even pitied her even though she needed an event like this to grow as a leader.

[ScudFace]

I don't see why he would need to do something as stupid as shooting the monitor with a gun when he could just kill the video chat. Its prety obvious he took the gun out and positioned himself to execute shoko if she decided to take the deal. Quit being in denial.

[Winterson]

Originally Posted by Triple_R

This is the first real emotional test she's ever faced, at least while in a leadership position.

She had plenty of time to do something stupid. She wasn't exactly the picture of a strong leader, but at least she didn't do something monumentally stupid. That's enough, at least for now.

What do you mean by first? First can be like forever if you get traumatized. Seeing your father being atomized before your very eyes, knowin' that you couldn't do anything even with your position being filled with loads of power as a leader yet is actually suppressed by such circumstances with little things to do... no nothing at all is the worst. Everyone is fragile and no one is an exception, even if it means you belong to the higher ups.

Every leader is flawed. They, most of the time, cover it up so that it may not affect their reputation or rather holiness. She's a heroine of course, that's why we get to see her flaws as a leader and her three-dimensional-point-of-view. As far as I am concern, she's totally meant to become a leader. A leader is a servant who leads with servant leadership. You are ought to be listened. Aside from being charismatic as well, you must have the power of persuasion. If such voids cannot be filled then, that will be the time you can have advisers like L Elf.

Spoiler for hokage position related:

You cannot simply become a hokage just because you wanted it to happen and you wanted to be recognized by many. You must first be acknowledged.

You can be recognized if you gain their trusts. She's proved her worthiness to everyone.

*I've got lots to say... but I'll continue it in the future.

[Triple_R]

Look, I'm not saying she's a bad leader. Yes, she has considerable leadership talent in certain areas. In a more lighthearted anime, she'd probably be an excellent leader even without having to go through any major emotional test.

But she's leading a nation at war. That calls for harsher emotional tests than, say, feeling depressed because your childhood friend never confessed to you. So it's probably good that the cold, hard realities of this war is starting to hit home for her. It's tragic, yes, and I feel sorry for her, but she really needed a wake-up call.

Hopefully it'll make her stronger in the long-run.

[Winterson]

Originally Posted by Triple_R

Look, I'm not saying she's a bad leader. Yes, she has considerable leadership talent in certain areas. In a more lighthearted anime, she'd probably be an excellent leader even without having to go through any major emotional test.

But she's leading a nation at war. That calls for harsher emotional tests than, say, feeling depressed because your childhood friend never confessed to you. So it's probably good that the cold, hard realities of this war is starting to hit home for her. It's tragic, yes, and I feel sorry for her, but she really needed a wake-up call.

Hopefully it'll make her stronger in the long-run.

Well, you're totally right about this, and I've nothing against your opinion. She's just oblivion about the war. Now, the same as L Elf I am wondering what Shouko meant about 'this time it's her turn'. This time? Maybe she's going to make them taste the wrath of her fury or it's her turn to do her plans. Eventually, L Elf cannot read through these words.

[Nayrael]

It just hit me...

Spoiler for Shouko's Shirt:

Spoiler for Shouko's WIRED avatar:

Cow Head = Shouko's symbol
Well guess what else looks like a cow's head:

Spoiler:

The mecha's design ain't that strange anymore... lets face it: if she became Empress, nobody would be able to say no to her crazy stylish decisions.

[Destined_Fate]

Basically it may be that Shoko is effectively "dead" after this and she's more willing to make hard choices after having reality hit her that not everything will work out in the end no matter what.

And it may imply that maybe they do succeed after all but along the line the Valvrave pilots defect/betray them for whatever reason.

[~BC~]

@nayrael- I noticed that too. I remember seeing that and thinking what nut would design a cow with carnivorous teeth. It'd make so much sense if it was Shoko.

[Destined_Fate]

Or a descendant as Shoko doesn't seem likely to be alive 200 years later as if she's fighting the Golden 7 than I doubt she is actually a member of the Golden 7....

Though it would be interesting if Shoko and L-Elf find a way to survive 200 years without being a Valvrave pilot.

[Nayrael]

Golden 7 might as well be 7 Valvrave pilots opposing another group of Valvrave pilots... or Valvrave technology could have been used to make something that just makes you into a Vampire.

[Triple_R]

Maybe Shoko becomes a female Darth Vader... now wouldn't that be something?

[Nayrael]

Originally Posted by Triple_R

Maybe Shoko becomes a female Darth Vader... now wouldn't that be something?

Seeing how last two ep's went, Shouko falling to the dark side has become my favorite theory. Her character has been avoiding death but everything is set for a Face Heel Turn.

[MisaoFan]

Originally Posted by Nayrael

It just hit me...

Spoiler for Shouko's Shirt:

Spoiler for Shouko's Shirt:

Cow Head = Shouko's symbol
Well guess what else looks like a cow's head:

Spoiler:

The mecha's design ain't that strange anymore... lets face it: if she became Empress, nobody would be able to say no to her crazy stylish decisions.

I don't know why I'm just asking this but Shouko always has a penchant for cows and comedy duos (she's even doing one with her best friend Marie so they can mess everything with fun). It's weird that for a genki girl, she's wearing pantyhoses rather than short socks, not that I'm against pantyhoses but to me, the image of pantyhoses usually works very well with elegant beauties or shy and frail girls rather than excentric and cheerful girls like Shouko.
Other than that, I like how Shouko brings a sense of happiness and tenderness to the show and is capable of healing the depressed spirits of the students during the attack, and being a overly emotional girl who always cries since my childhood (and I still do now albeit occasionally) with strong idealism wishing for the world to be happy, I can easily relate to her. Without Shouko, the show will easily descend into darkness and will be criticized for its "edgyness", but with the inclusion of her, she's here to prevent it from happening, and it worked for me!

[Cosmic Eagle]

Originally Posted by Nayrael

It just hit me...

Spoiler for Shouko's Shirt:

Spoiler for Shouko's Shirt:

Cow Head = Shouko's symbol
Well guess what else looks like a cow's head:

Spoiler:

The mecha's design ain't that strange anymore... lets face it: if she became Empress, nobody would be able to say no to her crazy stylish decisions.

...........................


.........................

.......*Speechless*


This is like...Squidward's house going to war levels of......