Summary:

Outside the castle, Karl witnesses Alicia and Cordelia being tied up and taken away on a cart. He rushes to tell Jaeger, and around the same time, Selvaria finds the ragnite crystal that Alicia dropped. Welkin meanwhile returns to Faldio with his sister and Lamar in tow, and when Faldio sees that Alicia isn’t with them, he realizes that something is up. He thus run to where Jaeger and Selvaria are and, after seeing the ragnite, accuses them of doing something to Alicia. Jaeger, however, explains what Karl saw and claims that the Empire wouldn’t have done this because it wouldn’t want the Federation stepping in to protect Gallia. Jaeger instead suspects that there’s someone who wants power so much that he would sell Gallia to the Federation, and Alicia got kidnapped with Cordelia because something unexpected happened. Given all this, Welkin decides to propose that they help each other, much to Faldio’s dismay. If they work together in a mutualistic relationship, Welkin and company would get Cordelia and Alicia back, and Jaeger and the Empire would prevent Gallia from becoming part of the Federation.

Jaeger agrees to help, and so he, Karl, and Selvaria set out in their car. He explains to Selvaria that part of the reason he’s doing this is because he wants to see what kind of man Welkin is and if he’s worth fighting. By now, Alicia and Cordelia have been transferred to the back of a truck, and both of them have regained consciousness. Alicia had earlier overheard their captors talking about taking them to a Federation border town, and she knows that they have to escape. She’s confident that her friends will come save them, but to Alicia’s surprise, Cordelia doesn’t care what happens to herself. Shortly thereafter, Faldio and Lamar catch up with the truck on their motorcycle, and Alicia helps them out by kicking a blanket into the face of the kidnapper who was going to fire at them with his gun. Faldio uses this chance to jump onto the side of the truck and throws one of the kidnappers out, but he’s barely able to dodge a bullet fired by the driver of the truck. Fortunately, Welkin and Isara then catch up on the Edelweiss, and Welkin tries to get Alicia and Cordelia to jump onto the tank.

Cordelia, however, refuses to go because she feels that nothing will change if she’s gone since von Borg can handle things. This causes Alicia to try to talk some sense into her, and she points out that not everyone is able to be born and live however they like. She questions if Cordelia has ever actually seriously tried to do something, and these words have a visible effect on Cordelia. However, before they can jump, the kidnapper that Faldio threw out of the truck’s front cab climbs onto the back and takes Alicia hostage. Welkin responds by drawing his own gun, and despite Faldio yelling that he might hit Alicia, Welkin fires and hits the kidnapper. This gives Cordelia the chance to jump onto the tank, and she lands in Welkin’s arms. Faldio meanwhile takes control of the truck, and he’s barely able to stop it before it drives over a cliff. In the aftermath, everyone is reunited, and they return to the castle. Along the way, Welkin calls up Jaeger and Selvaria who had managed to take care of some of the kidnapper’s accomplices, and they part on good terms.

Cordelia is back on her throne by morning, with von Borg at her side, and she’s decided not to make what happened public so as not to raise the anxiety of the people. She still needs von Borg, but she tells Welkin to tell Alicia that she might not be here now without Alicia’s words. On the way out of the castle, Faldio asks Welkin why he fired his gun after Alicia had been taken hostage. Welkin admits that he didn’t think that anything would happen to her and had assumed that she’d be okay. He then gives Faldio back the piece of ragnite crystal that Selvaria had returned earlier, and he’s grateful because it was what helped them realize that Alicia was gone. This causes Faldio to comment on how Welkin’s words sometimes sound arrogant, and he asks what Welkin would do if he said that he liked Alicia. This surprises Welkin, and he has no immediate answer for Faldio.

Preview

Well that was a pretty good conclusion to the two-parter, and they even managed to end on something of a cliffhanger on the relationship side of things (more on that in a moment). The Cordelia stuff was a little too angsty for me, but at least she’s changing. Now if only von Borg can get his just deserts. It was also nice seeing Jaeger and Selvaria working together with Welkin, though I don’t really think that they actually did all that much in the end (despite this shot, we didn’t even get to see Selvaria in action). Welkin could have probably gotten by without their help – he and Faldio were doing all the work anyway. Still, the fact that they did successfully work together here opens up the possibility of them joining the same side in the future, though that’s probably my wishful thinking again because I like Jaeger’s character so much.

As for what happened a the end of the episode, I’m happy because it bodes well for moving Welkin and Alicia’s relationship forward. I still don’t really consider Faldio to be a threat, and whatever he does will most likely lead to Welkin and Alicia getting closer. In fact, if anything, Faldio’s the perfect candidate to die because he fits the role of the mentor or big brother character, though I have no idea if that’ll actually happen. In any case, I hope Welkin is able to take the initiative to go after Alicia, or vice-versa like she did a couple of episodes ago.

Next week appears to start a new mini-arc with that Darcsens character who’s in the OP. I thought he was supposed to be a good guy, but in the preview he’s pulling up Rosie’s skirt and looks like he’s about to rape her.

35 Comments

  1. I don’t want Faldio to die. I haven’t played the game, so I don’t know his fate, but he is too good of a character to die, unless of course his death is really heroic.

    I hope this isn’t a case of “Die for our ship!” since so far his playful bantering isn’t really a serious threat to Alicia and Welkin’s relationship.

    Darklord
  2. kind of wondering how faithful they are going to be towards the original game.

    if they are going to be, there is no way the two parties would join side. On the other hand, Jaeger doesn’t even exist in the game.

    horace
  3. “On the other hand, Jaeger doesn’t even exist in the game.”

    is that some sort of weird joke that doesn’t translate on the internet?
    Its not even a spoiler to say yes he does, you fight him twice.

    as for your first comment, they’ve already changed a bit, but one assumes the eventual end will be the same.

    Anon
  4. i think faldio likes alicia. judging by the preview, i think he’s starting to woo alicia..

    also from the preview, i thought that guy who’s gonna rape rosie is largo. who’s that guy anyway?

    Layla-san
  5. Luckily for me, yesterday I got the game at the very reasonable price of 30€ (I’m european, portuguese in fact, LOL), so now I can check by myself the alikes and asides between the game and the series…

    The guy in the preview is a guy who (if I’m not wrong) may join Welkin’s side later. Check Wikipedia, for Christ’s sake!! There’s alot of data there…

    X-Rick
  6. I can hardly compare anime and the game cause I never played it, but I really enjoy watching last 5 episodes! Hope that Faldio will survive and stay with Alicia instead of that tiresome Welkin.

    Elvenass
  7. In terms of the preview, they better not mess with Zaka. Him “raping” Rosie, is totally out of his character. Its probably just a misconception to trick us, otherwise i am totally going to stop watch this show. On a side note, i thought it was kinda cute some of the minor changes they had done with the story, but honestly too many more changes, you might as well not call this Valkyria Chronicles anymore.

    Warren
  8. whatever as long as they keep what happens to faldio in the game and finish it similar to it then it doesn’t matter how much liberty they take with this whole wannabe love triangle.

    shadowty
  9. I’ve played the game and considering their making lots of little differences I would love if they handled Faldio’s part in the ending better because it still strikes me as stupid whenever I replay that part.

    Show Spoiler ▼

    Acerbus
  10. Slight animation inconsistency:
    Alica with earrings: https://randomc.net/image/Valkyria%20Chronicles/Valkyria%20Chronicles%20-%2012%20-%20Large%2012.jpg
    Then she hasn’t: https://randomc.net/image/Valkyria%20Chronicles/Valkyria%20Chronicles%20-%2012%20-%20Large%2015.jpg
    Ah, they’re back:
    https://randomc.net/image/Valkyria%20Chronicles/Valkyria%20Chronicles%20-%2012%20-%20Large%2022.jpg

    On another note: when do people finally begin to understand that is NOT REPEAT NOT based on the game but on the manga….

    Luke
  11. @Luke
    Is there more than one manga based on this? I just got a volume of one of its mangas (if there are more)and its Bruhl chapter is nothing like what we saw on the first two episodes… Some major differences:
    Show Spoiler ▼

    Also, since the original source material is the game (and it’s what most people are familiar with), the anime will always be the compared to it. Moreso the hype about the show since before it started was “an anime based on the PS3 game” not “an anime based on a manga based on the PS3 game”.

    Cookielicious
  12. I really hate playboys. I support Alicia x Welkin reasons being : Alicia is just as naive and innocent as Welkin and Alicia is already like Welkin’s wife nagging him all the time. For these reasons Alicia isnt quite suited for Faldio. Also only reason Alicia x Welkin relationship didn’t move forward yet is because Welkin is too shy which you see in ep 10.

    roger
  13. @Cookielicious
    Yes, there are actually 2 manga series, but one of them seems to have different characters. I haven’t played the game, but I can imagine that since it is a game there is more than one outcome, depending on the skills of the player.

    Luke
  14. Also, since the anime is based on either the game or manga, the characters, equipment and surroundings are similar. It is never said to be an accurate recreation, therefore I do not regard it as such. I look at it as an anime series without any preconception (more people should do so; just forget about game and manga) and I find it quite entertaining.

    Luke
  15. Unfortunately it’s hard not to compare them to their former counterparts since they look exactly the same and pretty much have the same voice actors. My biggest problem isn’t so much with the story but with the characterization changes.

    Faldio is a completely unnecessary catalyst since they did quite well without him. Also, I believe the game had only one ending.

    Nellie
  16. Well now, if the anime was exactly like the game, there wouldn’t be much point to making the anime yea?
    You should judge the quality of an anime on its own merits.
    Comparing it based on “original” source is just like saying all paintings of real life objects suck because you already know what a tree looks like.

    squirrel
  17. @Luke
    Well I guess I got the “other” manga then… the characters aren’t different, their personalities are the same; unless you’re talking about using totally different persons and settings. It’s the way the plot unfolds that is different.

    @squirrel
    That’s quite a touchy subject actually. Many were expecting an “adaptation” and as such were expecting scenes from the game to be animated, what do you suppose happens when such scenes are not adapted and the fans are “somewhat discontent” with the anime original material that replaced them? Also I don’t get your analogy, I don’t believe once you’ve seen a tree, you’ve seen them all :p

    Finally to answer your question Well now, if the anime was exactly like the game, there wouldn’t be much point to making the anime yea?

    some of Kyoto Animation’s best works: FMP! TSR, Haruhi, Kanon, Clannad; all extremely faithful to the source material, all quite successful. In most cases many already knew what was going to happen next and were still excited to see it. pointless?
    Right now the reboot of FMA, many fans love it practically because it it is faithful to the manga almost by the panel.

    If it ain’t broken, why fix it?

    Cookielicious
  18. My opinion as well. They should try fixing the sources that are not as popular or could be more popular. But if they are doing some series that already have big fandom they should avoid doing too much changes.

    Best examples how big changes screw up originally very popular series – Kimikiss. Kimikiss game is extremely popular in Japan, figurine sales are high and all merchandise connected to Kimikiss sells well, but anime changed the storyline completely, created love triangles, anime original male leads etc – in other words changed a LOT about Kimikiss and a result – Kimikiss one of the most unsuccessful animes of the season with really poor ratings (despite being so popular in Japan).

    Some anime series are successful BECAUSE they do not make much changes from the original source… Surprised?

    Darknemo2000
  19. I did say exactly and I was being sarcastic, as if people were complaining that all of kyoani’s adaptations of visual novels were flawed because characters actually moved at 24 fps and text didn’t scroll by.

    Now if changes did indeed make no sense and cause continuity issues, I’m all for breaking out the torches and pitchforks, but really, ask yourself if you had no idea this was based on anything, would it be good by itself? For a twist, consider the successes you mentioned and ask yourself, what if the original novels for FMP, Haruhi, etc were changed, would the existing anime suddenly be crap for not following them?

    squirrel
  20. finaaly watched this episode. Looks like Faldio is trying to make a move on Alicia but failed. Eventhough Faldio scolded Welkin why he shot when Alicia was a hostage you can see Alicia lightly nodding that she is ready to Welkin and she was the one who told to him to shoot which shows how much trust they have in eachother. I can see some jealously in Faldio.

    roger
  21. I loved the game, and I love the anime as well. Comparing a story based visual novel to a stragagy game is silly, in my opinion Valkyira Chronicles needed at least some changes to make it a viable series. Hell, I’ll even admit it… game Faldio was dull as wallpaper. (Isara isn’t getting enough to do in the anime though. They’ve cut out all her stand out scenes so far!)

    Philweasel
  22. If you ask me they can change as much as they want as long as Welkin and Alicia end up together in the end and as long as something screwed up doesnt happen to either of them and Isara.

    roger

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