What They Say:
L-elf tells Haruto to make a pact with him. ARUS kidnap Haruto and attempt to escape without saving the students of Sakimori. Shoko imparts the plans of ARUS to the student council. Not willing to depend on others, Sakimori students declare independence.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
We’ve established that Valvrave is a dumb show that can be a lot of fun if you let it be, right? Okay good, because you better not expect anything else from this episode. And as long as you are in the right mindset, it should deliver everything you could hope for.
Let’s rewind. We were left with L-elf approaching Haruto, suggesting the two join forces to end the war that has disrupted the lives so many have been leading. What’s more, L-elf seems to be able to predict everything that will happen, and uses this ability to get Haruto right where he wants him, and even points this out as a means to convince Haruto that it only makes sense for him to join up and let the professional work things out. L-elf lets him go, absolutely certain that everything will fall into place just as he had planned. After all, he’s the Lelouch of this show, right? Sure, they switched it up by having the secondary lead fill that role, but of course it has to be a little different, right? Right, so everything will continue playing out nice and perfectly.
Except that’s not what happens. This show has Shoko Sashinami. And that means brilliant and precognitive pretty boy soldier here doesn’t know what he’s gotten himself into.
More than that, though, our kind senator Figaro, who is unsurprisingly extremely corrupt and only interested in self-preservation, really doesn’t know what he’s gotten himself into, and Shoko shows up to save the day with some master plans of her own. The method by which all of this is accomplished is so ridiculous that it becomes truly hilarious, serious matters turned into absolute jokes because of the overwhelming silliness of the writing. If you’re expecting the wrong thing, this will really kill your chances of enjoying the series. But it’s pretty damn clear at this point that the staff behind this is having a jolly old time, and not thinking much for realistically written characters or scenarios.
Although much of the episode’s focus is on Figaro, it doesn’t stop there, and from this point it only continues to confirm that Shoko is our lord and savior and needs to be running the show from now on. In a single breath, she has the master plan to ensure that neither side of the war can touch the students or their families, and that’s nothing compared to her immediate declaration that the students of this high school will now form their own country. It’s insane, but hey, she’s pretty much Zero at this point. With this much magnificent charisma, of course she has everyone’s vote! Yeah, that’s the kind of show we’re dealing with. There’s no backing down now.
In Summary:
Valvrave has been doing a pretty good job of making sure you’re not taking it too seriously, but this episode was on a whole other level. Shoko is the greatest character by far, and not for any of the same reasons as most great characters. Well, except for Lelouch, of course. This is fun and all, but it would be nice to have something else to go on. With the insanely stupid writing this episode has given us, it’s silly to expect much else at this point, but I’m not sure the quick laugh this provides is quite enough to sustain it in the long run.
Grade: B-
Streamed By: Crunchyroll
Review Equipment:
Custom-Built PC, 27” 1080p HDTV.
