Summary:

At Isara’s funeral, Welkin surprises everyone by asking them to forget about her and just do their best as members of the Gallia militia. Lamar ends up lashing out at Welkin because he blames Welkin for her death, and Faldio has to restrain him. Welkin, however, doesn’t react emotionally, and even after two of his men try to raise his spirits by finding what they think is a rare bug, he responds to them coolly. Rosie meanwhile remains haunted by Isara’s death, and she can still remember how Isara died in her arms. Isara’s last words were about how she was happy to have been able to hear Rosie’s singing once, and she had died before Rosie could sing to her again. Wracked by guilt, Rosie tries to give the doll to Welkin, but he feels that it’s hers and coldly tells her not to blame herself. A little later, Damon visits Squad 7 because he had heard about the smokescreen shells they used, and he’s not happy to find out that the only person who knew how to make them is dead. What really pisses him off is seeing the Darcsen cloth draped over the Edelweiss in Isara’s memorial, and when he tries to remove it and stomp on it, Rosie stops him. Before this can escalate too far, Welkin apologies and takes responsibility for everything, so Damon gives him two days to figure out the process for making the smokescreen shells or else face punishment.

Later that night, Alicia finds some of the other squad members digging a hole to exact some revenge on Damon. Since she isn’t able to stop them, Alicia goes to Welkin, but he refuses to do anything and is instead just prepared to take responsibility for whatever happens. Alicia tries to plead with him because she knows that he’s still hurting from Isara’s death, but he responds coldly again and asks her to leave him alone. She surprises him by refusing and by confessing that she likes him, and she then runs out in tears. Along the way, she bumps into Faldio and drops the piece of ragnite that he gave her. Faldio notices that the ragnite is glowing, but it stops after he picks it up, and Alicia fills him in on what’s going on. Since she doesn’t want him bothering Welkin, Faldio goes and talks to the members of Squad 7 who are digging the hole. Instead of trying to stop them though, he points out that they’re being inefficient. They have a good way of embarrassing Damon, but it’s not the best because the regular army is full of people like him. Therefore, Faldio believes that what they should do is to keep winning until peace is achieved – that’s the only way to repay Isara’s death.

Around this same time, Rosie pays a visit to Isara’s grave and finds Lamar there. After placing the doll on the grave, she decides to sing for Isara. Faldio meanwhile goes to talk with Welkin, and when Welkin admits to feeling that he’s not qualified to call himself a commander because he couldn’t protect Isara, Faldio turns serious. His own squad has suffered its share of casualties, but Faldio points out that he’s not lamenting that he wasn’t able to protect them. He calls Welkin out for being an idiot immersed in self-pity and then punches Welkin after Welkin points out that Faldio is still there for everyone.

Preview

Why is it that at every turn, Faldio is portrayed to be a better protagonist than Welkin? This isn’t really a complaint about Faldio though as it is frustration over Welkin. I hated Welkin’s passive attitude and coldness towards everyone this episode, and I cheered when Faldio finally punched him. The problem is that, unless Welkin does a complete about-face next episode and starts to improve, he runs the risk of having built up too much ill-will in the audience (or at least in me) to overcome in the number of episodes there are left. Right now, I feel like Alicia should just dump him and hook up with Faldio instead. Speaking of which though, I was surprised to see her actually admit her feelings for Welkin this episode. I didn’t think there’d be more progress in their relationship until after Welkin got out of this rut.

The thing I did like about this episode was how they went back and showed Isara’s last moments. That was appropriately touching, though I do think the effect was diminished somewhat by putting it in this episode instead of in last episode. Rosie’s singing made for a nice scene too later on, and that particular song makes her voice seem hauntingly beautiful. It’s good enough to be used as a special ED or something. In any case, looking forward, the story seems to want to linger on Isara a bit more next episode (probably to allow Welkin to come to terms with her death) and then move on with maybe Zaka as the new mechanic.

72 Comments

  1. You are right. They have piled on way too much self pity and stupidity on Welkin and its gonna take a miracle to turn this around. I liked his character in the early episodes but now I can’t stand him and wanna see him take a lead pill so Alicia can move on.

    Splash
  2. The fact is that Welkin is way too hurt by Isara’s death, but unable to come to terms with the fact that she’s not there anymore. The efect felt real, and is way better than turn Welkin into a complete emo (we have Lamar for that)

    Zaka is going to be the new driver/mechanic of the Edelweiss, that’s way too obvious from the prev for next week. Also, to avoid the rest of the 7th’s to weep too much, it’s back to Bruhl (thanks to Varrot) and that, fortunately is back into the game’s flow.

    SeedStriker
  3. While I ceed that it really shows Welkin’s broken somewhere is his attitude this ep, I just don’t trust the writers to follow up on it well with all the crapping on Welkin they’ve done so far :/.

    Blah. At least I have memories of the game!Welkin actually being someone I like. Same with Faldio too. Game!Faldio I liked. Anime!Faldio makes me…grah.

    Acerbus
  4. The love triangle itself is rather retarded, esp if you have played the game and know what’s going to happen later.

    The breaking down of things into more black and white settings really has done the show no favours. We’ve had the plot being way too Alicia-centric, Gregor being turned into a stereotypical evil villain, Welkin going way waaaay down in the “pretty damn useless leader” role when he’s supposed to be incredibly capable, just really airheaded, and then there’s Faldio… God, I wonder how people will react to him by the end…

    Zakka should be coming in with his own tank. I suspect Lamar will transfer over to Squad 7 as tank driver, since Chris, the character who was originally supposed to do it, hasn’t even been introduced.

  5. I haven’t commented on this show for some time but enjoy the weekly discussions. I finally have to say that Welkin is one of the worst protagonist I have seen the last couple of years. I haven’t played the game nor care how faithful the anime is at depicting the characters. I like how Welkin was protrayed early. He was socially uncomfortable and lived life under his own terms. That’s fine with me. Unfortunately, the writers have spent much of the story degrading him for the sake of building up Faldio and some romantic drama.

    Like Omni said, I reached a point were I couldn’t care if Welkin gets killed off. Put him out of his misery and give the viewers some relief. The writers just don’t understand their audience and seem to have no concept on how to balance relationships. In my opinion, no matter what happens, this show reached a point that it’s no longer marketable. Sorry for the long rant.

    Irie
  6. @silver: Making the focus on Alicia the main part of the plot and the pointless love triangle for extra drama didn’t help matters.
    I prefer Game Faldio, just always supportive of welkin, but able to make tough decisions based on cold hard logic and not afraid of a few sacrifices or how others would see him. But he only worked because welkin was a capable leader who could come up with ideas out of nowhere, just with a few screws loose.

  7. @Irie: Pretty much that. When I heard of the love triangle aspect I thought “Well, that might work out, because it might be cool for when *INSERT SPOILERS* happens. Plus, Faldio’s not a bad character….”. Unfortunately, it feels like the anime creators looked at the game’s script and went “Wow, Faldio doesn’t really get to do much. Welkin will overshadow him too much in the love triangle so why don’t we…”, thus making anime!Welkin a trainwreck.

    Even though I’ve played the game and know what’s supposed to happen with Welkin/Faldio/Alicia, I just don’t think the writers will pull it off well.

    Acerbus
  8. I believe most people who played the game expected the anime to not completely go the game route but at least adapt the characters’ personalities. Instead they got a cliche “love triangle” and “nonchalant character after someone important dies” that have been played out many times before. Well we’re getting closer to some battles that suppose to be afterward so we see if the anime creators can makes us like Welkin again. (Doubt it after this)
    Show Spoiler ▼

    ssj4jw
  9. @Irie
    Sorry to disappoint you, but in case of worst protagonists seen in a few years back, I recommend you to check School Days, there you’ll find a new meaning for hatred (especially for the writers)…

    I speak for myself…

    X-Rick
  10. Haa, what happened to my dorky-socially-awkward Welkin? While I wanted to see more of a reaction out of him from Isara’s death (I thought there wasn’t much of it in the game) this is… taking it a bit far, I think. Maybe I’m just picky.

    In any case, I’m more curious as to how they’re going to get through the rest of the story. Are there enough episodes for everything else?

    aether
  11. Anyone else notice that when Alicia bumps into him, he notices the ragnite first then Alicia crying? He’s still trying to put on the cupid act. Hurry up with retake of Bruhl then Naggier plains. Then everything should be on track

    winters
  12. @oh lawdy:

    Welkin is conceptual a very good character that has been written poorly. His current reaction is understandable but the cumulative amount of indecision, self-deprecation and lack of personality really makes him unlikable. The writers should have found a balance and given him more emotional strength. Even his later military successes seemed to have been overshadowed by Faldio. Welkin & Alicia are the lead characters. They shouldn’t be written this unfavorably to perpetuate an anime specific plot device. I included Alicia because she too has been turned into a school girl. What happened to the confident Alicia we saw in the first couple of episodes?

    With so few episodes left, it’s nearly impossible to realitically reverse this even after the next major event (I read the spoilers). The series lost it’s organic feeling, becoming very forced to acheive an ill conceived concept. Again, just my opinion and reaction after quietly watching 18 episodes.

    Irie
  13. I am really getting fed up of watching Welkin getting his spotlight stolen by Faldio because he was lowered by the writers; the minimum required was to change NOT the characters’ personalities. To be honest, I think Faldio should have been given at most a role similar to the jealous friend (and keen on betrayal at some point) like Joseph Fiennes was in Enemy at the Gates, never to steal the spotlight from the main protagonist… that’s how Faldio should have been portrayed if they really wanted to add drama and put his character forward.

    I don’t know who is writing this nor whether the game’s scriptwriter works here, but so many things changed for the worst in the characters’ personalities… the worst crime for an adaptation of existing material.

    KiraYamatoFan
  14. Anyone think that Welkin is comparable to Narumi from the first season of Kimi ga Nozomu Eien yet? I think he was by far the worst male protagonist ever. I can at least understand Makoto from school days… he was just horny.

    Lenneth
  15. Man, I knew the anime’s storyline was much different than the game’s, but I didn’t think they’d butcher it this much. I doubt anyone that’s watched the anime will bother to buy the game now, and it’s a damn shame considering it’s one of the best RPGs ever made (without doubt the best of this generation of consoles).

    asdfffdsa
  16. I kinda wish the old crew is in the new vc game but I’m glad they’re not because that would probably spoil the excellent conclusion of the original vc game. I hope the anime ends similiar to game because that was a sweet and heartwarming ending.

    Lenneth
  17. @Lenneth

    Their behaviour seems a bit similar; they both experienced somekind of trauma which in their case resulted in a form of post traumatic stress syndrome (hence the emotional detachment). Some people just react that way an while it may not be understandable to others, it is well portrayed.
    I still like this series very much (no, don’t tell me to play that freaking game because I won’t; besides, I don’t even have the equipment for that); I just wished that someone would punch the living daylights out of Damon. If there is one despicable character then that would be him…

    Luke
  18. The one thing that stood out in the game, in a war story was that all the characters were sympathetic and well rounded. The dialogue and plot was well written.

    Some how, they’ve decided to get some hacks who can’t even appreciate the original to write the anime. The villains are decidedly one dimensional and boring, even Damon, who doesn’t seem to care about Gallia at all. Welkin is turned from a careful but lost in his own world guy into a complete tosser.

    There was real sympathy for the Darcsens in the game, but here, it’s overdone and comical

    If you guys have a chance, play the game or at least watch it on youtube

    Ed
  19. @ Ed

    Your Mileage May Vary on the quality of the villains in the actual game.

    Finished the game and none of the villains except two stood out even a little to me. Maximilian was a good enough antagonist (had a good english VA, though his motivations for his actions were kinda weak imo) and Selvaria I found interesting. (her breasts were too big though…she wouldn’t need the shield to deflect tank-rounds..) The tank-commander was also mildly interesting.

    Damon however was the typical me-too beauraucratic incompetent whose demise one could see coming a mile away. Gregor was a meh character whose actual appearance in the canyon-map was as an ineffective invincible train that couldn’t hit the broad-side of a cruise-ship. Show Spoiler ▼

    I can’t say anything about comparing how Darcsens are portrayed in the game vs. the anime as I’m not watching it, but the conclusion of the Darcsen/Fouzen(?)/map with mist arc with the death of Isara was one of the only highlights in the game imo. The other being the map with the huge-ass tank in the desert, forgot its name…

    Despite its flaws and weak-points, I do agree that VC should be picked-up if you have the opportunity and the system to do so.

    Kincaid
  20. Fucking sucks to see the anime take a fun, interesting character like Welkin, who is indeed a very capable leader in the game, and drag him down with their shitastic direction.

    It’s really, really annoying.

    Heiae
  21. Faldio is definitely cooler, but I don’t think Welkin was portrayed especially unlikeable.

    In fact, his drastic change to how he was in this episode (which was VERY different from before – after all before he’d be easily crazy about any kind of bug or insect, now, he just doesn’t care) was pretty powerful to portray how he is actually the one who’s hurt the most.

    Nevertheless, Faldio is right when he tells Welkin to get out of it. I see both side’s points.

    tokugawa
  22. @Irie

    ‘finally have to say that Welkin is one of the worst protagonist I have seen the last couple of years.’

    You see, this is why I hate the Anime adaptation. Welkin in the game is one of the most capable and flat out inspiring protagonists in a very, very long time. To see them take such a strong character and run him through the ground like this is just terrible. Seriously, play the game. I implore EVERYONE to play the game. It’s so much better.

    Amuro1X
  23. I don’t mind at all Welkin. Yeah I admit in the anime he shouldn’t be the protagonist unless he gets better and stop being useless. Right now from the anime I prefer Alicia and Faldio. Gonna see perhaps this weekend how is game Welkin when I buy the game

    Linkark
  24. Its nice to know that anime adaptations can still try to ruin games with shitty male leads. Welkin was never shitty in the game but the anime would be boring as hell if we didn’t have hgis shittiness to raise our fists to. But he will have to completely lose that shittiness if this mess gonna ever end.

    As far as characters go, I equate Welkin to Alto (without the angst) from Macross F & Faldio to Michael (without the charm). Sure Faldio is “cooler” but he’s NOT a lead & he’s also someone whos’s depensable. Comparing those two in the anime is just retarded. Lets face it, the Japanese viewers of this stuff seem to love weak-ass male characters that get all the glory in anime (mirror gratification :P). But I can’t stand that viewpoint. It’s the very watchers of a show that dictate the characters in it…even if those characters are a complete 180 from their sources. Name me a show w/o a weak-ass male lead out of shows that actually had a male lead, & I’ll point it out of how it got horrible reviews &/or ended with the train-wreck insignia.

    But weak-ass male leads are a double-edged sword. If they don’t ever stop being weak-ass at some point, the show will ALWAYS end in a train-wreck. Muahahahahahaha 😛

    Megas
  25. I find It kind of Ironic how a few episodes back, you were wishing that Faldio will die lol. Anyway, I completely agree that Welkin is getting annoying. Although I wouldn’t wish Faldio for Alicia. I don’t really know where to categorize Faldio’s character but if he is in a category, I wouldn’t like whichever category he was in. Another person who would belong to that group would be Koizumi, although they don’t do anything wrong, their attitude somehow gets to me dunno y lol

  26. I dont think welkin is too passive or cold, he just lost his sister, cant blame him. If i lost my sister (touchwood),then some next girl come up and confess i wud tell her to go away rather than say nothing. Just dont think its a good idea to compare welkin to faldio, altho inevitable.

    brianleung8912
  27. you know, this shity male lead thing pisses me off too, but really its just become a staple of 90% of the anime out there, to have some de-mascularized male lead who gets bossed around by the women and is just a big pussy, it seems that writers of anime do this to relate to their viewers…japanese males of the same personality… a LOT of japanese guys act like little pussies, all passive aggressive and shit, there are some regular men out there that dont act like this for sure but about 80 percent of guys act like this, and their shows reflect this, thats why we get writters making crappy male leads, its reflecting the society they live in.

    Excalibaa1!
  28. his sister just died.
    could you all cut him some slack and let him grieve in his own way!!

    it’s not the best way to do it, but he’s obviously trying to not to think about it. bear in mind that Isara is the only family he has left, so he must be grieving badly inside.

    that doesn’t mean he’s not a good leader.

    i still think the anime is doing quite well. at least, to a non-game player like me.

  29. I personally hate guys like Faldio. All idiots like him are good for is pointing out the obvious & dying glorious OR stupid deaths. He’s a one-dimentional character. You have to be crazy if you think he’ll make a good lead. On the other hand, Welkin has a brain & he acts like most of the Japanese otaku community. He may be a wuss, but he’s a complete 3D character. There’s no way you can compare them. But I tell you one thing, after receiving Faldio’s punch, I would have got up & decked him clear across the room. That’s the difference between me & Welkin. Fools that act like they know everything only die a fool’s death.

    You folks who are dumping on Welkin, obviously have no idea how Japanese men are. I had to suffer through years of listening to my father’s old war stories (WWII). For most of them, they don’t develop anything close to a backbone until they go through something horrific or reach an age where they start to be respected by others. The same is true today. Gladly, I spent the majority of my years in the States where you would be eaten alive w/o a backbone so it was forced on me at a very early age.

    Excalibaa1! more than hit the nail on the head. I hate all the weak-ass male lead BS too. But even I would tire of seeing super-men like Dante, Kazuma, Lelouch, Naoki, Age, & Kei if they were commonplace. I wish the MEN:wimps ratio was 50/50 but sadly it is 10/90. However, that’s what make the super-men special & the wimps just a drop in the bucket.

    Megas
  30. How many episodes is Valkyria planning on having?

    Anime vs. Gameplay

    What’s the deal with a love triangle between Alicia/Welkin/Faldio when in the game Faldio just ends up shooting Alicia to get her to show her powers?

    If they’re going to change so much… they could’ve at least kept Isara alive!

  31. I wasn’t down on Welkin in this episode. Sympathetic but not down. I thought Faldio could have used a little more sympathy and compassion as well. Welkin needs to shake out of it but give the guy a little time. Alicia’s confession was not the best timing but her heart was in the right place. I felt Welkin’s reaction was normal and human.

    chicken feathers
  32. I may not like how Welkin behaved this episode but I know he’s human. Saying things like:

    ‘finally have to say that Welkin is one of the worst protagonist I have seen the last couple of years.’

    is just too much. Are you saying someone who is currently feeling down that he could not protect those he cares is worse than someone that is just weak overall? I don’t agree at all. It’s like those who complains about Arthur and such. Guess what? He’s backup and running strong! That is what I call a strong character. A character who fell down and then got backup. That type of character is stronger than a character who never fell down as they never have the full experience that is needed. I rather have someone who fell down and stood up as I can be sure that the next time he fell down, he is likely to stand up again.

    Silver
  33. Oh man, you gotta be kidding me. This is looking like it’s going to split way off from the games plot at this point. We’re already at ep18 out of 26 total iirc and Welkin goes from bad to worse. Sure he’s broken up over Isara, but that’s just another excuse at this point, the writers have been crapping on his character for a good 10+ eps already ffs.

    If they decide to change Faldios part even more after this point and break away from the game, then forget it. Screw Alicia and the spoilerrific 2nd OP that they decided to use like they’re idiots or something. Nice going there guys, take the fun out of it with some half-assed OP that spoils things. Who the hell is paying these people? Seriously!?!?

    If this goes anymore south and they decide to have Welkin man up at like ep 24 or some shit, then screw it, it’s been a waste of HDD space on my system imo. I’ll fall back to the manga which sounds like a better all around adaptation of the original story. At this point screw it, let Alicia pair up with Faldio and lets get back to the war already.

    GP
  34. You, uh, do realize, Silver, that Welkin’s been constantly down about everything in this series alongside his startling incompetence in relationships and on the field?

    On the field because we barely see him fight, he has a lot more trouble than his game self, and Faldio overshadows him.

    Nyx
  35. I thought Welkin was a jerk this episode too, and I’m glad that Faldio punched him. Maybe that’ll knock him out of his funk.

    And why was Alicia’s piece of ragnite glowing? Was it because she was crying, or because her tears got on it?

    julygirl17
  36. @cutemi2: hehe.. you’re filipino? yeah. goodbye tita cory.

    anyway, i just want alicia to end up with welkin. thats it. its okay if she has a relationship with faldio but maybe just for a really short time until welkin confesses to her.

    Layla-san
  37. I don’t know, I liked Welkin’s character more because of this episode. If someone had happened to my sister I’m not sure I’d be able to do anything.

    Plus I’ve never liked guys who resort to violence to communicate. It definitely lowers them in my eyes.

    ^^
  38. @naixil = i think you (and all the people saying “give the guy a break!”) are the ones missing the point. No one iss criticizing the writing for Welkin because of THIS ONE EPISODE. They’re criticizing the character because throughout THE ENTIRE SERIES Welkin has progressively gone from being a FAR more real character in the game (he hasn’t an ultra macho superman, yet at the same time, he wasn’t a complete wimpy pushover. he was the expected middle ground that most people fall in) to a completely predictable anime male lead cliche. People are criticizing it because the basic notion that your male lead show feel like…a lead, hasn’t been coming through here. the only reason Faldio doesn’t look like the clear and obvious lead male is because Welkin gets more airtime. but in terms of everything else, Faldio’s been a stronger character, has shown more personal development, and has done everything to be the hero of the series. Welkin’s been Faldio’s sidekick more than the other way around.

    @Megas = that doesn’t explain anything
    a) Welkin wasn’t like this in the game, so this was clearly a rewriting done by teh anime writers only.
    b) Welkin’s Europan! (yes, i’m being facetious)

    ANon
  39. Come on! WTF are they doing to Welkin? In the game he was like a genius, yet humble, kind, and nerdy (when about bugs). This is why I regret even watching animes sometimes.

    kayne001
  40. A good drama has always come from intertwining mental mind games, deep n dark conspiracies, and superior wit, not some cut and paste love triangle we have seen for the 16,142th time.

    I always cringe my teeth when the main cast is consisted of too many females, not because im sexist but because disasters like this happen waaaaaaaaaay too often. What the hell happened to shows like kaledio star? Where the female cast was actually awesome.

    This plot may turn out amusing its been awhile since i’ve seen a anime where the you feel like murdering the main character.

    Meomix
  41. Well, I actually liked Welkin’s character. He might be ‘shitty’ as many call him, but he isn’t like the simple-minded, single-celled brainless kids in many other anime series, nor is he an all-capable, super-godly intel+power protagonist. Sometimes a moderate one like this is fun to watch. And I absolutely loved how Welkin suddenly turned serious and all-shitty as soon as he met the worst tragedy he could ever imagine. Mind, I did say all-shitty. It was a nice development, especially considering how he overcame it in the next episode. Because he’s one of the most human main characters I’ve seen. This anime, especially this part, focuses on the depressing and cruel nature of wars and Welkin does a good job of portraying the human side of it. I was in fact impressed by how he tried to calm Mikhail in episode 10. Of course, I do acknowledge that he’s become shitty to watch for those who have known him from the game, but I don’t think this change has ‘ruined’ him, or the anime series either. It was a nice development. (A comparison I could make is Optimus Prime. He’s turned into a brutal killer on the good side. He’s much more human in the film, you see.) I understand how it feels to see a character portrayed too different in a negative way, but sometimes this kind of ‘patch down’ is a good development. I don’t expect everyone to agree with me though. I know I’m risking thousands of replies. But according to my personality, Welkin’s portrayal is really excellent.

    Starshade

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