What They Say:
The explosive season finale of Valvrave the Liberator.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
We’ve finally come to that fateful day when Valvrave wraps up once and for all. There’s still a lot to be done, and with the way the previous episode ended, there was no chance of a breather before getting right into it all. There are again a few different scenes playing out simultaneously which to be expected since, although a good number of major characters have died (and will continue to do so), this is the last chance for anyone to get some time in the spotlight, and so quite a few characters do. For the finale, it’s appropriate that the main duo finally work together more cohesively than ever to defeat the final boss, but there are important things going on elsewhere as well.
Dorssia tries to handle things the way political matters are usually handled, by denying and attempting to cover up. With that the Magiuses seem pretty content, but it’s the only defense they have, and it’s not enough against a bunch of school kids who have managed to one-up them in pretty much every way at this point. Cain ends up being the only one of them to actually fight, and from how easily others are dealt with, it seems he was really the only competent one among them for combat. Although the way the episode ultimately ends up is very predictable, some of what Cain is able to accomplish on the way may not be, and with an ending that paints a rather laughable picture of the Magiuses, it’s good that he have these moments to prove his worth.
The one major fight not involving Cain pits the newly side-swapped A-drei against the one Karlstein kid who wouldn’t join the protagonists, Q-vier. He has always been the creepiest of the bunch, primarily due to his apparent lack of humanity relative to the rest combined with him appearing to be the youngest, and with this final episode giving him more focus than any other (as he’s always just been in the background compared to the others), it seems pretty clear that these are indeed the factors that lead him to stay an antagonist until the end. I’m unexpectedly happy with the development of the Karlstein group, and this episode provides good closure for each member of it, with A-drei being possibly the most impressive this time.
But all anyone really cares about is the main event, and the strategy Haruto and L-elf use against Cain is very fitting to close up this story. Cain takes the opportunity to defend the actions of the Magiuses and preach about how they were the victims all along. It’s a shame Cain and the Council had to be used by the story as they were, because there could be some real, valid gray area worth exploring in Cain’s argument if he weren’t such a textbook villain. What the less-bad guys end up doing to take out the rest of the Magiuses is essentially genocide, though, which isn’t okay no matter how you look at it, and I feel like the show wanted to give a little more attention to that fact but didn’t have time. The results feel a little contrived, probably due to rushing, and the fate of all the main characters has been heavily foreshadowed throughout the series, especially recently, so there’s no surprise there, but there it does still carry some weight.
The ending credits roll and we finally see the future, with one more reveal to close it out. There’s a similar level of predictability, but the closing sequences all work pretty well given the brief time.
In Summary:
Valvrave has been a roller coaster, and while I’ve started to get comfortable near the end, I’m not sad that it’s finally letting us off. The next Code Geass this wasn’t, and it reminds us that Sunrise being pretty and Okouchi being wacky are not enough to make lightning strike twice. The series fell on its face more than once, but in the end managed to pick itself up and deliver some semblance of a satisfying conclusion, although that does end up a bit lacking as well. This was probably the best episode of Valvrave, and the series has been relatively good lately, but I was hoping that, just this once, I could give it a solid B. So close, but at least it’s consistent.
Grade: B-
Streamed By: Crunchyroll
Review Equipment:
Custom-Built PC, 27” 1080p HDTV.
