What They Say:
The students devise a plan to rescue the JIORans held captive in Dorssiana, and Haruto finds that he will reunite with his somewhat estranged father. As the fateful meeting draws nearer, L-elf receives intel that prompts him to stage a reunion of his own.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Compared to the past few, I’d say this is a fairly straightforward episode of Valvrave. The gang heads on their merry way, with a split occurring as the two leads each have someone to see for the first time in three years, and save. For Haruto it’s his father, while for L-elf— well come on, who else would L-elf possibly care about? That’s right, it’s Liselotte, and L-elf is as determined to save her as ever.
On Haruto’s side, the big appeal is another heaping helping of information. We’ve learned quite a bit about the genesis of the Valvrave system and the pilot candidates, but there’s still plenty left untouched. Haruto’s father realizes that the series is in its home stretch, at least compared to how much left there is to reveal, so he gets right down to business. It’s all very interesting and good to learn, much like other similar developments in recent episodes, but the character of Haruto’s father is so ridiculous that it causes Valvrave to again slip into trying to be serious but being way too over-the-top and silly for it to really deliver on that front. Still, what was important was taken away from it, so assuming there won’t be much more time spent dwelling on the mad doctor, that shouldn’t pose too great an issue in the future.
There’s less time spent with L-elf and Liselotte so far, but there are some new glimpses of their pasts and connections, between the thoughts, memories, and dialogues of the two and those around them. As it makes up most of L-elf’s humanity, the Liselotte material is always very interesting to watch, and with that looking to make up a great deal of the next episode or at least an episode not far off, I’m looking forward to it.
In Summary:
This episode of Valvrave isn’t the most remarkable, but it serves its purpose. The characters have all been moved to their new locations to set up for the next plot progressions, and we learn a great deal more about the story that’s been unrevealed thus far. Haruto’s dad is a little too silly for his villainous tone to make a real impact, but on the other side of things, L-elf’s story is becoming much more interesting. It’s definitely worth looking at Liselotte and what will be developing with her in the future.
Grade: B-
Streamed By: Crunchyroll
Review Equipment:
Toshiba Satellite L655-S5191 PSK2CU-1C301U Notebook PC.
