Magnificent episode. Simply magnificent.
Wonderfully gripping and intense, almost from start to finish. The first scene's overabundance of happiness and joy being such ominous foreshadowing of what was to come.
Several notes, in chronological order:
1. Loved the outfits for Shoko and her cabinet. Those outfits really showed off each character's style and personality. Shoko's was hilarious.
Takahi's was hot!
2. The Shoko/Akira/Satomi dynamic was played very nicely. I'm pretty amazed that Takahi didn't even know that Akira existed. Wow, Satomi is certainly quite protective of his sister if he never even bothered to tell Takahi about her.
3. The early scenes with Haruto and Saki were a bit awkward and goofy. I found the two characters a bit hard to read there. However, I did like the touch of Saki and Haruto watching a movie together, one in which Saki had a major role. It was neat how Saki spoke one of her old lines from that movie, as it sounded like something she could very believably be feeling in real life today. I liked how Haruto pushed forward on that.
4. L-Elf was totally stonecold throughout the episode, making him a great contrast to how heavily emotional most of the other characters were.
5. The big battle itself was a joy to watch. I really liked L-Elf's key tactic there. I liked how he handled both Shoko and Satomi there. Very smooth, smart, and efficient.
6. The highlight of the episode was the scene between Shoko and her father. That was just
fantastic! I'm not sure who Shoko's seiyu is, but she deserves high kudos for this performance. Just perfectly handled! Superb drama. And...
7. Shoko's dad was so powerfully awesome with such few lines to work with. Part of me thought he should have been more sentimental here, but I was very impressed with how he never kept his eye off the bigger picture for a second. He went fearlessly to his death, and he did all he could to motivate his daughter to stay strong and lead their country into a better future. The man went out in a blaze of glory, with his strength and dignity intact to the bitter end. I hope that his final words to Shoko weren't in vain. I hope it gives her strength to overcome what's now happening, presuming she survives much longer. I hope this leads into a more serious and practical Shoko. This is relatively minor, but I really liked the character design for Shoko's father. The family resemblance was subtle, but clear.
8. I think L-Elf was prepared to shoot Shoko, but only if she completely cracked and said something like "I'll give you everything! I'll give you all the Valvraves! Just let my father go!" Shoko's a wild card to L-Elf, so he couldn't completely discount the possibility of her cracking like that (I myself was on the edge of my seat thinking she could make an offer like that at any second). So he pulled the gun just in case. Barring Shoko completely cracking like that, though, I don't think L-Elf would have shot her. I think he's very relieved he didn't have to.
9. As awesome as the scene between Shoko and her father was, Cain's surprise success came very close to topping it for the highlight of the episode. Just when you think L-Elf's won another one for the student-state -
BAM!!! Finally, L-Elf has a worthy opponent in the area of military strategy. Finally, he may have met his match. Cain's successful infiltration of Module 77 was great to behold. Everybody completely freaking out over it (especially since Satomi couldn't find any contingency plans for this in the notes L-Elf gave him) made it that much more dramatic.
10. The marriage proposal. Well...
that certainly came out of left field.
But given everything else going on, I guess it was only way to top it all, eh? For a cliffhanger moment anyway. Something I think we should all keep in mind - Saki hasn't given her answer yet. It's not inconceivable she might say
no. Saki can be a hard character to read, so I'm not sure if she wants outright marriage yet. I don't particularly care who ends up with who in this anime, but if I was a Haruto-Shoko shipper, the possibility of Saki answering "No" is something I'd take comfort in.
Well... that was the ultimate penultimate episode. Absolutely glorious!
10/10
This is total
crunch time for Shoko, L-Elf, and Saki, albeit for very different reasons. This will either completely destroy Shoko (likely leading to her death), or her father's final words to her will give her the strength she needs to bounce back stronger and more resolute than before. L-Elf is now in a battle of wits with Cain. Saki has a very important decision to make.
With this episode, Valvrave has shot itself solidly into my favorite anime show of Spring 2013. As long as the finale is not an anti-climatic letdown (and I doubt it will be), it will be staying there.
Author
