Valvrave the Liberator - Character Discussion - Sashinami Shouko

[monir]

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[Arabesque]

I can certainly believe she is the daughter of a president/prime minster or whatever her father does for a living. Even if the show decided in presenting it in a somewhat absurd manner, she does have a lot of charisma and natural leadership qualities that makes her able to take hold of any situation despite how bad it might get. She really is the one who managed to create a sense of solidarity among the student body and from the looks of it the one that keeps everyone (in particular Haruto and going by last episode Saki now) in check.

The way I see it, Shouko ended up becoming the de facto driving force behind the series and the main motivational source for the cast, and her presence to the VVV pilots seems to be the thing that gives them the strength to succeed in front of unfavourable odds. After Haruto and Saki's turn around when they thought that it was over it's hard to argue otherwise.

I imagine that in the possibility she does die or is separated from the rest of the cast there will be a huge hole left in their lives. Not only do I imagine things falling apart with everyone turning against each other, but also the end of Haruto's willingness to fight and be able to remain stable.

Mind you, she is still something of a weirdo. I get what she did with trying to strip in order to prove her story to the SC (since she had no hard facts to back her statement, she was willing to do what it took to show she was telling the truth, even if it was insane) though there could have been other ways to prove what she was saying without resorting to such an extreme. Then again, maybe the point was because it was extreme that she need to do it ...

[Destined_Fate]

Eh... I'm betting that she lives but something will happen that will cause her to be out of picture again for awhile as far as Haruto knows. That way Haruto can learn to grow on his own without having to rely on Shoko for a period of time since as we've seen that he was quite suicidal when he didn't have Shoko in his life at the start of the anime.

Her going to such extremes such as stripping makes sense as she didn't have time to explain herself and she needed them to believe her right that second. It ended up working though so no harm no foul.

A reoccurring theme of her character is that when she wants to do something big/crazy/important she has a tell where she tugs at her skirt until she's resolved to do it.

[Nvis]

Why does Shouko gets the biggest picture?

[Destined_Fate]

I doubt they're playing favoritism, it just ended up this way.

Besides, Shoko is adorable in that picture.

[MisaoFan]

My favorite character of the series. She's very full of justice, is righteous, has gorgeous designs (even with her futuristically performed hairclips), is actually very smart (unlike some people said), everything are good for her. I really hope she's wouldn't die again, and want her to end up with her beloved Haruto!

[Entravity]

Originally Posted by Nvis

Why does Shouko gets the biggest picture?

Best girl.

[MisaoFan]

Originally Posted by Entravity

Best girl.

This guy knows, so I'll give some props, although I consider the females characters of this anime to be drop dead gorgeous.

[bigdeath]

Originally Posted by Nvis

Why does Shouko gets the biggest picture?

Because Queen Shouko is the best :P

I actually wish the anime clarified if her father is the president or prime minister. I do wonder if her parentage will end up playing a more important role in the anime.

Since Shouko doesn't seem to be a pilot I wonder what her role will be? I thought she would be taking a leadership role but a teacher seem to have been appointed leader.

[Xion Valkyrie]

What if Shouko was just acting stupid but in reality she's part of the Facility and is masterminding everything behind the current events.

[Nayrael]

Originally Posted by Xion Valkyrie

What if Shouko was just acting stupid but in reality she's part of the Facility and is masterminding everything behind the current events.

Still not Conspiratorial enough...
Shouko and Valvrave-tan are actually one the same person

[Xion Valkyrie]

Originally Posted by Nayrael

Still not Conspiratorial enough...
Shouko and Valvrave-tan are actually one the same person

Valverave-tan is Shouko's dead twin sister whose soul has been transported into the Valverave 01.

[Destined_Fate]

Originally Posted by bigdeath

Because Queen Shouko is the best :P

I actually wish the anime clarified if her father is the president or prime minister. I do wonder if her parentage will end up playing a more important role in the anime.

Since Shouko doesn't seem to be a pilot I wonder what her role will be? I thought she would be taking a leadership role but a teacher seem to have been appointed leader.

I'm sure that it will be touched on later as it seems strange to just mention something big like that. They may even force her father to try and negotiate with her as a way to tug at her heart strings.

[GundamZZ]

Originally Posted by Arabesque

I can certainly believe she is the daughter of a president/prime minster or whatever her father does for a living. Even if the show decided in presenting it in a somewhat absurd manner, she does have a lot of charisma and natural leadership qualities that makes her able to take hold of any situation despite how bad it might get.

From what I understand, the anime staff may not be certain about Shoko's father... At first, his title was prime minister(総理 大臣). The first word is head-of-cabinet, chief-of-staff or whatever. It is also used in republics. The second word is minister. The word minister indicates that he works besides the monarchy. The position is elected by senate and "appointed" by the monarchy. However, the narrator calls him as president(大統領) in episode six. In some republics, president co-exists with the "prime minister". This case is different. As the chief of the state, the president is an honorary position and "prime minister" has the actual executive power.

My impression about Shoko is she has the big goal. She is less likely to be bothered by personal conflict. Maybe she has the leadership. She still has difficulty to deal with the head of girls' gang. Even it didn't turn out well, Saki shouldered the pressure from the rich-girls(?) To be a leader, Shoko still needs someone's support.

[Xander]

Originally Posted by GundamZZ

From what I understand, the anime staff may not be certain about Shoko's father... At first, his title was prime minister(総理 大臣). [...] However, the narrator calls him as president(大統領) in episode six. In some republics, president co-exists with the "prime minister". This case is different. As the chief of the state, the president is an honorary position and "prime miniort.

Keep in mind it's more like a conflict between the Teacher's (Rion's) word and the Narrator's word.

Rion hasn't been portrayed as being very smart at all, so she might have been confused.

Either that or Shoko's father holds both titles or it was an actual mistake, but this isn't clear yet.

[Triple_R]

I love her character design, particularly the penetrating green eyes and the hairclips. I like the nervous skirt-tug thing she has going on; that's a neat distinctive character quirk.

She's a genki girl with good leadership abilities and plenty of moxie. Her flaws are that she's a touch too idealistic, can come off as a bit overly pushy at times, and she has a touch of child-like silliness to her. Her flaws aren't severe, though, so they simply serve to humanize her and keep her out of Mary Sue territory.

Her relationship with Haruto is genuinely cute.

[Ledgem]

Originally Posted by Triple_R

I love her character design, particularly the penetrating green eyes and the hairclips.

Her eye coloration was also one of the first things that really struck me about this series. I couldn't think of another series that used that shade of green or that level of brightness on the iris. Then I started watching Suisei no Gargantia which uses an even more unique and brighter color palette...

All right, she's no Lacus Klein and she's had a few moments so far where she was a bit foolish, but she's a good character. Thus far there isn't anything terribly unique about her as far as anime character attributes go (aside from the skirt rubbing), but there's still room for the series to change its course of direction and have Shouko's character development go in a different direction.

[Destined_Fate]

I also like how she was quickly able to deduce that Saki!Haruto in the vid wasn't the real Haruto.

[Triple_R]

Originally Posted by Ledgem

Her eye coloration was also one of the first things that really struck me about this series. I couldn't think of another series that used that shade of green or that level of brightness on the iris. Then I started watching Suisei no Gargantia which uses an even more unique and brighter color palette...

One thing I love about anime, especially in contrast to a lot of North American-made entertainment, is how it embraces bright, vivid colors. A lot of modern Hollywood movies and American dramas have this muted look to it, and personally, I prefer the more vibrant and strikingly bright visuals of anime.

All right, she's no Lacus Klein and she's had a few moments so far where she was a bit foolish, but she's a good character. Thus far there isn't anything terribly unique about her as far as anime character attributes go (aside from the skirt rubbing), but there's still room for the series to change its course of direction and have Shouko's character development go in a different direction.

Don't worry, you're not the only one who sees some similarities between Shouko and Lacus Klein. I almost made the comparison myself in my last post on this thread. They have some obvious similarities - Daughter of a major faction political leader, good leadership ability, good "EQ" (Emotional Quotient), strong resolve.

But Shouko is not a pop idol, and Lacus is not a genki girl. While I do like Lacus, there are times when I think Lacus ventured into Mary Sue territory, and that's not something I'd say about Shouko yet. So I don't necessarily think that Shouko is a worst character than Lacus. I think that Shouko is a very good character in her own right.

[Destined_Fate]

Eh. I feel that Shoko shows far more emotions than Lacus ever did as well.