Valkyria Chronicles - Episode 7

You'd have thought that the regular military in Valkyria Chronicles would have learned their lesson by now, but it seems that they're up to their same old tricks when it comes to handling the Militia. Thus, when it comes to attacking an important point, they bring in the "real soldiers" to handle the job, dumping Squads 1 and 7 on a scouting mission in the middle of nowhere in the process.

Of course, typically for both Welkin and Faldio, they really don't mind at all, and amidst the baking of break and card games the two squad leaders are involved in a heated discussion about Darcsen history, and the so-called "Darcsen Calamity" which occurred in the area they're patrolling around two thousand years ago. Equally typically for these two, this debate turns to action, as they head off (along with Alicia, Isara and Ramal) to take a look at what is left after this incident for themselves, a rather impressive monument built by the Valkyrur of that time.


However, the bad news for our heroes is that they aren't the only ones on a "sightseeing tour" of this ancient building - It seems that Lelouch vi Brittania is there as well. Oops, sorry, I mean it seems that Maximilian, no less than the Commander-in-Chief of the Empire is there too (it's so easy to get the two confused once Jun Fukuyama's booming voice enters the equation). It seems that the Empire have their own business with this monument, and inevitably the two groups end up meeting, with cliffhanger-tastic results. Lucky for Welkin and company that Isara and Ramal chose to stay behind to repair the vehicle that they were using...

I have to admit that, although I can't really call this a confusing episode at all, it does veer so far away from what we've become accustomed to with this series that it took a little getting used to, as we seem to be entering something of a realm of swords and magic rather than tanks and guns if this instalment is anything to go by. I'm not sure how I feel about that to be quite honest, so I'll reserve judgement until we see how it all pans out next episode. Still, I'm noticing more and more of Alicia's infectiously enthusiastic charm filtering through in this series, which is actually doing a lot to keep things going during those otherwise slower moments. I'm not too sure where the series is headed next (aside from beginning to explain the show's title), but I'm happy to sit patiently until next week to find out.