Whereas Alicia overpowered Selvaria with relative ease the last time they met, this time it's Selvaria who has everything to fight for, while Alicia's perceived loneliness only serves to weaken her, making her seemingly easy prey. Meanwhile, Welkin finally makes a decision about what he needs to do (with the eventual support of Squa 7 of course), just in time for a change of heart from Alicia herself, who finds what she requires to survive, live on and emerge victorious just in the nick of time.
However, in a sense this isn't even the major story of this episode, as Maximilian pays a visit to Princess Cordelia to table a surprising offer - A truce, on the condition that the two of them marry. This moment also allows Maximilian to indulge in a full-on Lelouch vi Brittania-esque monologue, complete with over-the-top hand gesticulations... Oh, how we miss Code Geasseven now. Anyway, Maximilian's suggestion is not so much rebutted as ruined entirely by Cordelia's own revelations, which leaves Maximilian to resort to plan B. I'm not sure exactly what plan B actually is just yet, but it seems to involve forgetting to put the handbrake on on his nifty mega-tank-thing.
Joking aside, this was a reasonably good episode all things considered - The animation quality seemed to swing from top-notch to looking decidedly cheap throughout, but the important plot points were told well enough, an bonus points have to be given for that aforementioned Lelouch-esque monologue. Somehow Valkyria Chronicles still doesn't seem to be as accomplished at depicted these more action-oriented affairs that the more emotional stuff we saw earlier in the series, but it does well enough to remain watchable if nothing else.
Remain watchable? I think you're being very kind. This episode was a new low point for this series, first with fight scenes that could have come out of DBZ, then with Alicia finding the power to beat Selvaria from a book of the oldest cliches, then with a couple of plot twists which just seem to be there for the sake of having plot twists, rather than adding anything substantial to the story.
ReplyDeleteThis anime has awful ideas about character development, IMO. Rosie and Isara are just about the only two characters that have become more interesting since the beginning of the series. Everyone else seems to have become more boring.
I have to confess, I did laugh out loud when the Alicia-Selvaria battle got a little *too* DBZ-esque, but that aside I suppose it just delivered what I expected - Not great stuff, but vaguely entertaining in its own way.
ReplyDeleteMy expectations are admittedly perhaps lower than they might be for other series on account of it being a video game inspired series though.
"I'm not sure exactly what plan B actually is just yet, but it seems to involve forgetting to put the handbrake on on his nifty mega-tank-thing."
ReplyDeleteBest quote from Hanners XD