What They Say:
Module 77 is headed to the Moon and the students have begun military drills. Thunder has sworn revenge but he is put in solitary confinement. Thunder and Inuzuka decide to pilot their own Valvraves and help Haruto and Saki battle against the Dorssians.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Aina’s death a few episodes ago is still a major driving force for the atmosphere and progression of the series at this point. Inuzuka is clearly more torn up about it than anyone, both being the one person who not only really acknowledged her as someone important but also had obvious feelings for her, and the one who saw her destroyed body floating by, not expecting any break from the ironically peaceful life most of these students have generally been enjoying in the direct line of war. As was clear from the previous episode, especially the preview, someone would be getting another Valvrave, and based on the episode title, it seemed inevitable that it would either be Inuzuka or Thunder. As predictable as much of the series is, especially in this episode, it did a decent job at keeping us guessing which one would finally jump in and make the deal.
The answer then, of course, is both of them.
Thunder has often been a focus of the more class-encompassing scenes, but I find myself mainly caring about Inuzuka. Aina, as a character or a person in the eyes of the audience, was hardly even noticeable until her death, but as a symbol, as a catalyst for those around her, especially Inuzuka, her influence proved especially powerful in this episode. I think the moments leading up to the Valvrave activations were the most impressive; Inuzuka has some following thoughts and sees an image of Aina that gives him closure in the daily Dorssian battle routine, but it never really matches the same emotional level, and Aina’s ghost of sorts offers a nice catharsis but seems less meaningful than Inuzuka having simply reached a resolution on his own. Thunder, on the other hand, follows their dramatic conflict over who will pilot the Valvrave by popping up in one of his own, very characteristic of this show’s anticlimactic nonchalance, but not fitting with the mood Inuzuka’s situation had brought things to.
As with the past few episodes, there’s only one tidbit that seems particularly interesting and different from the show’s norm, and this one comes at the end as an intended cliffhanger. I can hardly call it a twist because this show goes all over the place so regularly that this isn’t exactly an unexpected reveal, but dropping it at the end is still a nice touch. Even if it doesn’t leave me awestruck with all the possibilities, it gives some hope that the next episode might mix things up a bit from the general formula it’s been settled in. Of course, there’s a definite possibility that that means a whole lot of info-dumping, and that’s probably a likely scenario, but with the way this was presented, it could at least be done in a fairly fun way.
In Summary:
There’s some real emotional weight packed in this episode, and even some relative unpredictability with exactly how things will turn out. Ultimately, it ends up being a situation that feels very expected for both this series and its genre, even with the “twist” they drop at the end, but the path to get there had some nicer moments. The end isn’t as much of an incredible blow as it might be in a series that took itself a bit more seriously, but it does still present some interesting possibilities for the immediate future. Otherwise, it’s another day in Valvrave routine land.
Grade: C+
Streamed By: Crunchyroll
Review Equipment:
Custom-Built PC, 27” 1080p HDTV.
