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「軍事法廷第54号」 (Gunji hōtei dai 54-gō)
“The 54th Military Tribunal”
I’m not going to lie – when Haruto muttered the words “Marry me”, I nearly fell off my chair and the final two seconds of this episode left me completely flabbergasted! Not a single one of the eleven episodes has gone precisely as I’ve expected, and the sheer thrills introduced by the most recent curveball is definitely off the charts – especially if you’re as big a fan of Saki as I am. I’m not at all taken aback by the fact that Saki has, indeed, recovered from the traumatic experience last week – after all, she has been the subject of abuse all her life, and the recent ill-fated incident is supposedly just another obstacle in this cruel world, one that she is most capable of withstanding! It was, not surprisingly, Haruto’s fortitude that somewhat amazed me and there was barely any whiff of angst and despair coming from him this week – much to the dismay of those who have been calling him the next Ikari Shinji! But in retrospect, even I have to admit that such a reaction was pretty much consistent with Haruto’s characterization thus far – back at the premiere, he didn’t even think twice about taking the aggressor’s role and his quest to protect Module 77 has certainly been marked with countless bloodshed! Haruto has always been free of the wishy-washiness that is typically associated with a mecha pilot archetype, and his solution to the dilemma facing him this time is no different from before – that is, to tackle it head-on like a man!
No question, the sudden marriage proposal is most likely driven by a sense of guilt and responsibility, and I have no doubt Shouko is the one person who Haruto truly loves. That said, the latest revelation has presented a whole new predicament for the current “love triangle”, and I don’t think anyone would question the growing affection that Haruto has for Saki. The brief moment that they shared at the theater this week was somewhat quaint, yet enthralling at the same time, and it shows there’s a genuine connection between those two that is quite different from what he feels for Shouko – who, at this juncture, remained absolutely clueless about his many secrets! This, of course, brings me to the point at issue and the biggest question posed by such a development is how will Saki respond – make no mistake about it, she is most definitely aware of the elephant in the room, and the fact that her role in this blooming relationship is nothing more than a second fiddle. We know for certain Saki is determined to rid herself of the solitude she feels, but even then, I’m still not sure if such a half-hearted resolution is what she truly desires – and it goes without saying I’ll be on pins and needles all week waiting for her answer in the coming episode!
Speaking of the elephant in the room, Shouko had her fair share of drama and commotion this week, and she was certainly boxed into an extremely adverse position – a lose-lose situation that made her choose between saving her father or those at Sakimori Academy. Seeing her parent killed right before their eyes – by the man she loves at that – was simply brutal, and the sight of Shouko breaking down in tears, completely helpless, was exceptionally heart-wrenching! It’s fair to say Kakumeiki Valvrave has a penchant to explore some very dark themes and the unfortunate fate that befell Shouko this week was no less atrocious than what happened to Saki or Aina in the previous episodes. But that’s hardly the end of the pandemonium and just when everyone thought they’ve won the current battle, it appears that Colonel Cain has one-upped L-elf this time and a large Dorssian squadron has successfully infiltrated Module 77 from below. Suffice to say, all that has happened so far is merely a set-up for the forthcoming ultimate showdown, and with so many moving parts and competing agendas set in motion, it looks like we’re in for a bumpy ride as the first cour of the series comes to a conclusion – one that, I suspect, will involve more mayhem, anguish and perhaps revelations!
Random tidbits:
- This is the first time we’ve seen all four Valvraves working together and it was quite a visual feat – Saki’s Carmilla, in particular, stood out, and while her unit is not especially useful in long-range combat, its formidability at melee attacks is beyond doubt!
- It seems like Shouko’s father was one of the key masterminds behind the Valvrave project and we know for a fact that all the students on Module 77 are lab rats – does that mean he’s experimenting on his own daughter?
- Shouko keeps triggering all these death flags – she would have been killed by L-elf this week if she had made the wrong choice. I’m hoping she makes it out of the first cour alive!
- We weren’t privy to the details of their tea party last week, but Kriemhild and H-neun are definitely up to something – I’m keeping my fingers crossed for a May-December marriage, just like Gundam 00’s Kati and Patrick!
- We got a glimpse of Akira’s nervous breakdown this week and it sure as hell wasn’t pretty – she is most likely the pilot of “Hiasobi” (Valvrave VI), and I suspect Shouko or Satomi will be the trigger for that!
- I would love to have some of that Sunrise water, those delicious Sunrise water!
- “Nobu Lightning, now returning!” – looks like Thunder’s not a fan of calling his Valvrave “Hikaminari” (Valvrave-III). I wonder if Kyuuma has a nickname for “Hiuchiba” (Valvrave-V) as well?
- “Foreign negotiations demands a certain dress code” – distract them with a cleavage and they’ll say yes to anything. It’s politics 101!
tl;dr: @SeishunRC – #Valvrave 11: When Haruto muttered the words “Marry me”, I nearly fell off my chair and the final two seconds of this episode left me completely flabbergasted! #Anime
Full-length images: 02, 04, 05, 07, 13, 23, 29, 35.
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BE A MAN, DO THE RIGHT THING!
The rapist marrying the raped? Sounds like stockholm syndrom.
TQ
Also sounds like something that law in Middle Eastern countries.
The fuck, Valvrave. The fuck.
Haruto wasn’t a rapist, his body wasn’t under his control. They were both raped.
For the record, punishment for rape under Islamic law is death – I know, I checked. But since the rape was clearly unwilling by both of them so the rules do not apply to them.
TQ
Apparently it’s also law in Algeria, Iraq, Syria, Tunisia, Lebanon, Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan, and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, amongst others all over the world. Damn, our world’s fucked up.
BUT we’re getting off topic.
^ Hey, way to prove that the up/down votes thing is a flawed system, guys. This statement is from a Women Under Seige article.
http://www.womenundersiegeproject.org/blog/entry/from-morocco-to-denmark-rape-survivors-around-the-world-are-forced-to-marry
Admittedly, that is pretty screwed up.
I can see one of these guys walking around. He sees a hot chick and thinks “I’m gon’ get me some of that” and his punishment is marrying said hot chick?
W
T
F
The fact that Sunshine’s comments about the fucked-upness of this whole situation are so downvoted only showcases the prevalence of rape culture in anime community.
@UnknownVoice
There’s no such thing as rape culture, or were you being sarcastic.
That’s real funny, anon.
The situation here is a bit more complicated than that. As far as we’ve been told, Haruto REALLY can’t control himself when he’s having an ‘attack.’ And honestly they’d better keep it that way because if they say it’s his ‘dark side’ or whatever that means the hero of the story really is a rapist.
Anyway, as it is, for all intents and purposes there is a separate character who is the rapist; ‘monster Haruto.’ Beyond that, the other pilots, such as saki, are well aware that he is, bare minimum, violent and potentially dangerous. There’s no good real-world parallel for what happened here, because in real life there’s nothing that ACTUALLY constitutes a completely separate personality in you. We can’t actually brainwash people.
As such, this form of ‘taking responsibility’ is perhaps not the worst thing he could do. I mean, what could anyone do if something hijacked your body and used it to commit a horrific felony?
The lack of control does not mean it should be completely swept under the rug as some sort of whacky misunderstanding.
Okay, then what would you do? Haruto, as a thinking entity, did not do it. It wasn’t him. He isn’t guilty of the crime.
Haruto is aware of that, but nonetheless he feels bad. Saki is also aware that it wasn’t really him, and she’s left with a choice: punish a man she knows is innocent and lose one of her only friends and apparently a man she’s interested in, or forgive him and live with the general horror of their collective situation where stuff like this can happen to them.
Notice that neither of her choices include actually punishing the entity responsible for the crime, since that isn’t an option here. That is why this is fiction and not comparable to reality. Haruto wasn’t drunk, his brain was taken over. There’s no moral basis for what to do here.
I’m not saying I approve of what happened here. I’m actually not sure I’m comfortable with this plot for this exact reason. They’ve taken one of the most horrible things that exists on earth and created a situation where the viewer can’t really figure out right and wrong due to the insanity. I’m not sure that’s a good thing.
I’m saying if you’re going to use rape (AKA a very real issue that likely effects far more people watching anime than, say, vampiric seizures and civil war) as a plot device, you either handle it maturely and give it actual consequences, or you don’t use it at all. Saying “well it wasn’t your fault” and moving on just makes people wonder why the hell they used it in the first place, other than pointless shock value. There are other ways they could’ve shown that Haruto’s seizures were leading up to dangerous, like murder or some sort of transformation, so this whole thing could’ve been avoided in the writing easily. In the end, we have people praising the show for being dark and edgy when really it’s just desperate for attention.
What century are you from? Usually that logic only works out when the sex was consensual…even so people these days would (should) talk about it first before jumping into marriage. The only way this worked out is that both parties knew each other and were friends. Cause in the real world rape victims don’t accept marriage proposals from their rapists (like I said, exception because Saki and Haruto actually know each other).
I see there are many who still think that Haruto is a rapist and not realize that he is an equal victim of what happened.
Regardless of whether or not he was in control, the next logical step after having that occur to two people is definitely not to rush into marriage.
“Don’t worry, Saki! I’ll be around all the time now so you can be constantly reminded of what happened last night! And there’s always a chance that I’ll get cravings again, so you should just be prepared for me to start ‘ravishing’ you at any given point in time! Even if it’s in broad daylight!”
And lord knows what Haruto’s going to be going through. What’s going to happen if he has an attack when she’s not around and ends up attacking a random person?
I just want them to be happy. Seems like a long shot with everything that’s going on XD
It struck me that that is the same sentiment Haruto has, he wants Saki to be happy. His proposal is likely as much an attempt to give her something to not be alone as it is taking responsibility.
I like to think he has a certain affection for Saki too, maybe in the form of a confidante. The way he looks back at Saki while they were at the theater tells a whole lot :3
Although they’re not that similar,I can’t help but be reminded of Zessica from Aquarion EVOL when it comes to Saki’s love affairs.The anime kept torturing that awesome girl to no end,Amata never even looked at her.So seeing Saki here getting her love interest’s attention puts a smile on my face,even if it’s not exactly the way she wanted it – she seems content with it.
Wait whats all of these Rape comments for?
Wasn’t she willing to appease the beast within him?
Rape victims resist until the bitter end, they don’t cover themselves with the raper’s blazer after the crime has been committed, even less do they agree to meet up and go on a date with their tormentor…
She didnt plan on it to happened, but she willingly allowed the savage berserker to have her, this was her way of loving him and coming to a different mutuality with him.
Shouko has his human heart, Saki has his dark nature…
Leave it be man…I think the whole “was it rape or not?” issue has seen enough debate last episode alone,not to mention that it still seems to be ongoing.The discussions don’t seem to be really going anywhere so it would be nice if people gave it a rest already.
Just my 2 cents 😛
I’m not even going to start on the topic as it applies to Valvrave, but it is absolutely not true that rape victims will always fight tooth and claw to the bitter end. Most people who are raped are raped by people they know, and those may be people they love or care about and don’t want to injure. And that’s even if they believe they could fight the attacker off successfully: if you don’t think you can win and escape, you may think that fighting is pointless, especially if it will mean the rapist chooses to injure you more as a result. They may feel shocked, frightened, and confused, and that often does not lend itself to fighting back. And there are situations where people are threatened and pressured, or emotionally abused, and may have such low self esteem that they believe they deserve what happened to them and be resigned to it. It is not impossible by any means for someone to be raped by, say, their girlfriend or boyfriend and yet stay with them. It happens a lot more often than you might think, sadly.
The perception many people have that someone is only a rape victim if they fit into narrow criteria of fighting back 100% of the time and running away screaming afterwards is very damaging, and it doesn’t match up to reality. That sort of culture can lead to rape survivors feeling that if they speak up nobody will believe them and that they are to blame for what happened to them.
Saki is total boss , she love Haruto and don’t claim or ask for his responsibility, she prepare to lost to Shouko , “please do you best to save ,shouko”
honestly, Saki suffer a lot now , Shouko suffering just get stared
Normally, in the old school way, the man would ask for marriage if he got the woman pregnant. Saki may get pregnant, who knows, but Haruto is an old school type of guy, and asked for marriage.
Saki.
Got the proposal while Shoko’s dad got the disposal
^LOL,Saki seems to be getting everything 😀
+10 Seishun Points. That’s… very apt XD
Shoko won the elections..
Saki won the erections..
XD
I can see a love square with L-elf/Shoko joining the mix, I mean anything can happen at this rate…especially more ‘sunrise water’ pls
+50 Seishun Points! Those Sunrise Water looks delicious :3
I wouldn’t bet on that. The Dorssian Princess is the only one that L-elf cares about and he was ready to kill Shouko this week if she had made the wrong choice.
Oh good I am glad someone else noticed L-elf pulled his gun when Shouko was talking to her father.
Shoko lost? Dad killed? INB4THEBIRTHOFTHENEWCLYNE
Honestly I really don’t care who Haruto ends up with at this point, married or whatever. I just want to see how they will wrap up this series for now. Totally hyped at this point.
Also, reports coming in of Gen praising Sunrise for the rape. Looks like old Gen will be working with Sunrise on his next work eh?
Gen and Sunrise, can you guys imagine? It’s like Berserker and Dark Sakura forming a contract. OP as fuck.
Episode score 10/10.
Gen’s now probably thinking something on the lines of: “Damn it,I knew I should’ve been with the Valvrare crew instead of the Gargantian one.”
+100 Seishun Points!
LOL just LOL
I think you’re talking about this:
http://4chandata.org/m/Gen-UrobuchiMr-Anno-said-that-even-for-Eva-it-was-unreasonable-to-have-an-ordinary-civilian-main-character-ride-and-robot-and-dest-a489211
It was when the show started, way before we knew there was going to be a rape.
No, there was another one. It came AFTER last week’s episode. Still trying to find it.
If you expect Shouko to turn into Lacus in Okouchi-written series, you must be new here.
Shoko is the same character archetype as Shirley, Suzaku, Shoe and Euphemia. Guess how Okouchi handled those people?
Shouko is either the yandere Darth Vader ruler of Third Galactic Empire OR a dead corpse in the next episode.
But Suzaku isn’t dead or was in anyway evil in CG.
Also Shouko has plot armour.
No, Suzaku just ended up abandoning every single of his ideals, almost drugged a girl with narcotics, ended up working for someone he hated and the end ended up taking the role of his own main enemy and doing the kind of morally gray/black decision he thought he would never ever do.
Also right now the ONLY one with 100% plot armor is Saki. ~65% plot armor belongs to VVV pilots. Everyone else is fair game at getting the Okouchi treatment.
You brought up a good point, but I really dont want Shouko to turn out to be like Shirley seeing as the similarity is getting closer:
Similarities to Shirley:
– Have known Haruto far longer than other girls
– Shouko has been in love with Haruto from a long time ago
– Haruto killed off Shouko’s dad without knowing about it (the exact same thing as Lelouch did!)
I really hope that Shouko doesnt become a tragic love heroine, cuz she definitely deserves more than that.
I’m all for the Shouko in a Darth Vader/Galactic Empire ruler role. That would be pretty awesome, since her sexiness rises exponentially when she gets serious.
Unfortunately, she’s only made about 2 or 3 serious faces in the entire series so far, but I guess they needed to highlight her genkiness in the first season to make her role as supreme dictator of humanity all the more jarring.
What if UroGen works on the next Gundam franchise. That would be pretty awesome :3
I haven’t thought of anything so horrifyingly exciting since I saw that dude who was a guy.
I don’t understand why did Shoko’s dad have to die? Couldn’t they have just threatened to kill their entire fleet? Big plot hole or not really? And why did L-Elf have his gun out? I found that kind of pointless.
Don’t be silly dude.The Dorssian fleet was already starting to scatter,threatening to take out their entire fleet would be like a “HEY GUYS!Stay still like that for a few more moments,we need you sticking together so that one of our Valvrares can take you all out in 1 shot.Don’t move now okay?”JIOIR only had one chance to take the out the Dorssian fleet or they would’ve been overwhelmed & eventually killed or captured.L-Elf was probably about to shoot Shouko if she attempted to give an order to the Valvrares(Haruto in particular) to stop the attack on the fleet as that would’ve been game over for him(and everyone else but he prolly’ doesn’t care about that :P).
This is what I find very very stupid. After attacking JIOR, the Dorssians have the fucking balls to hold a tribunal against the ex-JIOR Prime Minister?
Can someone explain how “international law” works?
It’s pretty clear that the Dorssians moved the mock trial ahead in order to use him as a blackmail tool against Shoko.
It’s similar to USA invading Iraq under the assumption they had weapon of mass destruction and their later hunt for Saddam Hussein.
The only major difference is, there were no Valvraves in Iraq.
Topical! Take that, 2003 Bush Administration!
Saddam was tried and executed in an Iraqi court, not an American one.
pretty sure Saddam was tried not by his peers but by ALL the fanatics of his opposing religious faction, thought his religious faction and himself said he will be remembered as a martyr for generations to come.
Also did anyone notice how funny the entire scene was with L-Elf deciding first to shoot then not to shoot Shouko While she was having her crisis?
SAKI DID NOT WIN, THIS IS JUST GUILT TRIP!
Well dun, its a shotgun wedding. Of course it’s guilt tripping on Haruto.
Tragic heroines always win, even when they die. Accept it. 😉
haters gonna hate
Show Spoiler ▼
BTW if you guys are curious on what happened last episode during THAT SCENE,
CLICK HERE
WARNING!NSFW & Hentai
WTF?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Is this canon??????
TQ
its fan made
What sorcery is that and where you got the clip from?
Its proportions are kinda off.
DOUJIN! DOUJIN! DOUJI- HHHHNNNNGGG!!
Now selling the next Summer Comiket near you…
So Thunder’s valvrave is called Lightning. Lol.
Okay, okay, okay.
I agree with Enzo’s post about this. Haruto’s proposal only trivializes the whole issue this show brought up by having that scene, added with the fact that Haruto has no goddamn idea what the hell he’s talking about, and Saki’s just carrying on without any sort of feeling about the matter. But I guess we shouldn’t be expecting Japan to be the most progressive distributor of media.
And poor Shouko! I may not like her all that much for getting everyone into this mess, but to not only have her dad killed on her very first day of being a head of state, but it was her love interest that killed him! And now that this whole other thing with Haruto and Saki has happened, I’ll be surprised if this whole situation did not just completely break her. I mean…what the hell, man?! This isn’t Game of Thrones!
I just…gawd. Why?
Game of Thrones – Valvrave Edition!
shouko will come to wedding and singing The Rain of Castamere 🙂
I would say that thinking soul crushing angst is the only acceptable emotional response from that scene also really trivializes it.
You’re right, which is why we don’t need to pick between two extremes.
Just some emotional acknowledgement from either party would’ve fit the bill. Like an “I know it wasn’t your fault” from Saki or a “If you want me to leave you alone for awhile, I understand” from Haruto. Something like that. Believe it or not, binding yourself to someone who you’ve been forced to assault (yes, I know it wasn’t his fault) is not going to solve matters.
“Like an “I know it wasn’t your fault” from Saki”
Well she did not want him to apologize, then the attack happened before they could talk about it further.
Which is why the episode should’ve given it the time it needed. The writers are just digging themselves deeper by not letting such a hot-button issue have some actual focus. If you’re going to talk about rape, leave the mechs alone for a second and talk about rape. Do not leave it up in the air and end up saying “well, she didn’t resist, and she likes him, so it’s okay.”
There was one scene where Saki internally said she’s not going to let Haruto bring it up.
They really should have.
This topic has a little bit of controversy, but what do you guys think? Would this be a much better show if they actually dealt with the problem they brought up straight on, or do you guys prefer what they did here? I expected them to have emotionally intense dialogue of what happened, but I was disappointed Some say that its better this way for the show, while I think that they should’ve dealt with it more intensely and in a better way . This show could’ve gone from good to great if they did stuff like this better. My only hope right now for the show is that they truly do something well with the storyline, or they make this an emotion filled journey by breaking Shouko and give her amazing character development no matter how she turns out in the end. I think I’m enjoying this show somewhat, but I was little disappointed by this episode. This show had way more potential, and they didn’t seize that. One of the reasons that series like Fate/Zero was so great is that they actually had dialogue of conflicting emotions, problems, and ideals. One example is the talk of kings between Archer, Saber and Rider. (It was one of my favorite scenes of the entire series.) Another is that the conflicting ideas between Kirei and Kiritsugu. If this show did that, it would have been much better off.
I’m just being a derp today in the comment section. When I meant to reply to someone, I posted it as an individua comment, and when I post an individual comment it’s a reply to someone elses. Sorry guys v.v
I think they should have dealt with the problem the way they were suppose to deal with something such as this. People assume those who were upset with how the aftermath was handled expected some melodramatic outburst from the cast members, but you know, melodrama is not the only way to depict that an event such as the one in the last episode had an emotionally destructive aftereffect. There are plenty of ways to portray the affects of the last episode with the serious attention it deserves without being a clusterfuck of forced melodrama.
Haruto was forced to do something horrible to Saki due to his curse. You’d think that after he did something like that he’d…I dont know…be afraid that he might do that to someone else (and even if he feels that way, the episode needed to show this fear). This situation isnt just about Saki; Haruto’s condition makes him a threat to everyone else but nooooooo the show glosses over that important fact….it just goes to show that that scene from the previous ep was done just for shock value and as a cheap way to get Haruto closer to Saki. Haruto should not only have been remorseful for what he did to Saki and in turn, what had happened to him, but he should also have been worried about losing himself around others. He should have been concerned as to how what he had done would affect his relationship with Shouko, he should have started to become more curious about what is going on with him and try to figure out what it all means; maybe try to investigate the secret of the valvares and his specific unit so he can learn more about the curse, even if he doesnt know where to start; even if his search leads to no results; just anything to show that what he happened to him affected him in a serious manner. I know damn well if i was in his position id be doing everything i could to figure out how to further control my curse so that i dont have to ever hurt anyone becuase guess what? that is the believable thing to do. And i love how there are plenty of people who are like “well haruto did try to bring it up but Saki wouldnt let him”. When something serious is truly bugging you, you dont care about how many times someone changes the subject; if the situation is really serious, you will force a conversation to confront the issue which is what Haruto should have done instead of pander to Saki’s date scenario. And as for Saki, in my opinion, i find her loneliness and apathy much too poorly portrayed throughout the series to really buy the way she acted about the situation; and even if i did buy it, Haruto should have made up for her lack of a reaction due to the severity of the situation.
I see comments where people are like “Yea rape was brought up, but not everything has to be approached in a profound and complex away”, and to a certain extent that’s true; but that is more dependent on the context in which the dilemma is brought up in. Take for example cop dramas that deal with rape: in a context such as this, rape is usually just a part of the premise in that you have a group of cops or investigators who, in a particular episode, are assigned to capture a serial rapist. In this case, there is no need for the show to delve into a deep, philosophical consequences of rape or have the victims affected go through some character arc (though that’s debatable) because rape isnt being used as some plot twist or some emotionally-shattering conflict being used to change the tone of the series or lead it down a dark path; its just an established premise used to drive the episode forward and so there is really no need to fundamentally explore it. The viewers are clearly shown that this serial rapist should be seen as a scumbag that needs to be stopped at all cost and that no one should rape anybody…period; and even then, some cop dramas go the extra mile to explore the psych of these rape victims and have someone from the main cast receive character development by interacting with them.
But when a show or movie or whatever story-telling medium introduces rape as this major turning event or some brutal scenario presented in a dramatically disturbing fashion, then the story has a responsibility to handle the aftermath of the seriousness to which it presented it’s shocking scene with an equal amount of tact, seriousness, and intelligent writing. And if the writer to said story-telling medium feels like they cant do that, then they should not put that scene in their story at all. I see some people say “oh, perhaps valvare didnt know how to properly handle the aftermath” or “the writers didnt mean for that scene to be so serious”, in which my response is “then they should not have played that scene so dramatically and even put it in their story in the first place if they did not the chops to deliver a compelling aftermath”.
Stick to fun, dumb, and illogical happenings, and if you want to tell a dark story valvare, do what you did this ep with shouko because at least you can handle stuff like that properly and i very much enjoyed that part of the ep along with the other stuff that was going on. Dont get me wrong, I love this show and i have no problem with it being dumb, but i feel like it strove too hard to go somewhere dark and it just ended up brutally falling on its face. Over-looking that though, Im looking forward to were this series is going to take the story. Whew…didnt really want to divulge my full thoughts on this but after seeing so many comments i figured i might as well so i apologize for the long comment.
Hehe… ;3 Luving this show more and more…
I would like to make a defence! Sure the rape was significant and it should be discuss but my take is that even matters pertaining to the matter of the violation will have to be put on hold because of Dorssia’s attack. I have a feeling that the whole rape talk will come to us again in the form of flashback in later episode. I think that Sunrise felt it necessary to go with Dorssia’s attack, break Shouko then have tragedy in the next episode then go back with the rape talk then break Shouko yet again when she found out. I think part of the purpose of the rape was it to be yet another instrument of tearing Shouko apart and if it is, it should be well done.
TQ
But what significance is there in breaking her? It just seems like it’s being forced out to cause drama for the sake of drama, not move the story along.
Being Shoko is suffering.
Nice little thing they’ve got going on. Haruto’s in love with Shoko but marrying Saki out of guilt, Shoko’s in love with the boy who killed her father and Saki…Saki’s just empty. She doesn’t feel anything.
OS-tan is finally going to have parents!
I would not say its JUST out of responsibility/guilt. He also clearly does not want her to be alone and “gets her” and cares for her. Its not yet love, but it certainly could grow to that.
As for Saki – I would not say she’s “empty”. She’s the most complex character in this entire show. She clearly cares for Haruto and likes him and most likely loves him, but at the same time she carries a huge baggage of horrible life she lived, which is fascinating.
Saki’s definitely not empty. To me she seems like the kind of person who tries to either hide any of her weaknesses or get passed them. She’s just trying to be stronger and not completely dwell on things like some do.
This show is excellent. It’s managed to surprise, delight, infuriate and amuse the audience week after week but it still has an amazing integrity. Saki and Haruto were both totally violated, and Saki, built up as a cynical person, was going to back off and not let Haruto pity her, because she doesn’t want that treatment. So then Haruto, manly, crazy bastard he is, gives her his companionship for the rest of their lives. Saki, who wants bonds, is receiving something of real value and meaning to her, something much more important than hollow apologies. Haruto’s proposal is the best way he could have responded to the situation.
As to Shoko, sure, he has feelings for her too, but since around ep 4 onwards he and Saki have been getting close together, and even Haruto is aware of it and their relationship.
This ep was pretty incredible, Sunrise have outdone themselves by not only dealing with a horrifying taboo but intelligently handling it and the character’s rational behavior towards it. Bravo, guys, bravo.
Nevermind the fact that Haruto is clearly thinking more with his hormones than his brain. Or that relationships, let alone marriages, based on guilt are basically time bombs. Or that teenagers, immortal or not, have no grasp of these concepts.
You know what really WOULD have been the best and most intelligent response to this situation? ACTUALLY TALKING ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED AND HOW THEY’RE FEELING ABOUT IT BEFORE MAKING HUGE DECISIONS LIKE THIS.
Out of curiosity, what led you to think that Haruto is thinking with his crotch instead of his brain?
Mainly that first scene when he sees that billboard of the bikini-clad women and is instantly reminded of Saki. That is clearly not a guy who is simply thinking about romance and responsibility. It may be in there somewhere, but…it’s down there deep underneath a lot of guilt and craving.
Why would it require thinking with hormones if seeing an image of a scantily clad woman reminded him of that night?
I would agree that romance is not part of the equation.
It’s a shy teenage boy in an issue regarding sex. There is no doubt hormones are going to be a factor in some way.
This is by no means an intelligent take at rape and its consequences.
Intelligent is one of the last words that could be used to describe Valvrave.
i think the exact opposite. Saki wanted actual bonds and relationship, so Haruto should’ve acted on it in a different way. Marriage wasn’t the right answer. It could’ve been a month or maybe years down the line, but it was much too soon. He could’ve spent time with her, comforted her, and acted like confidant/friend. He needed to be there for her, but marriage will bring more good than bad I think. This link is my comment on what I truly think about this marriage proposal. It may be a bit long for some. https://randomc.net/2013/06/22/kakumeiki-valvrave-11/comment-page-1/#comment-986514
*bad than good, I think you mean.
I do mean more bad than good. Sorry, I’m just making a whole bunch of mistakes right now. This show is putting me on an emotional high. I have so much to say about everything that’s happening that I just want to talk about it and get it out there like now.
Great points.
Saki’s comments have been very sharp and to the point, especially with Shouko nearby. She may child Haruto for being brash and lacking sense or she may welcome it completely. I could see it going either way. The writers have really given a lot of substance to her.
At the very least I would say that there is a good chance that she will eventually fall for Haruto. Remember the beginning of episode 7 that had the timeskip? She said ” A Promise is a Promise right? “ when looking at a locket with an incredibly fond look that I do not believe I have seen anywhere else. She was referring to the promise of fame, at the time the enemy had mentioned that she was “One of the Golden 7”.
She used that same line when talking to Haruto after borrowing his identity for a bit. Hopefully Haruto is still with her by that time.
I disagree that Shouko is his true love. I would call her, his boyhood love. I see her as that ideal that people want to strive for but never actually reach for Haruto.
I mostly agree with you,however I don’t think that Shouko wouldn’t try to reach Haruto.It’s just that she’s pretty damn slow about it,taking her sweet time because her life seemed to be pretty fun the way it was in general.Add the fact that Haruto wasn’t exactly the most popular guy and it didn’t look like there was any other girl interested in him so she was content with them being just friends for the time being(of course,this doesn’t mean she had any qualms about moving their relationship beyond that).Her life’s been pretty fortunate so far but it looks like that’s changing fast.
Between the two girls,Saki’s been vastly more interesting so far but the way they’re attempting to break Shouko probably means they have something interesting planned for her character as well.
I can’t wait to find out 😛
May you explain to me why you would say that? Why do you guys think that Shouko isn’t her true love? Why would Haruto so rashly go on a rampage to avenge her if he didn’t truly love her? It makes sense if you have love and revenge in the had, but take that out, it doesn’t make sense. I don’t see where you guys are coming from.
*isn’t his true love… sorry about that
The concept of true love is like the concept of santa claus – something a child dreams up in a way to romanticize the possibilities of life.
Haruto loves the idea of Shoko, because Shouko represents the dream life for him, but its something that comes from their childhood interactions and dreams(the same way childhood friends usually joke they are going to marry each other, when they are what? 10? 12?).
Its not relationship he GREW INTO, which is exactly what relationship is. Its a dream he wants to reach. And any sort of good narrative in most of cases is focused on trampling a dream in order to develop a character.
Saki/Haruto is relationship that is consistently growing and changing. Its complicated, its not pre-set-true-love-destiny-stuff, its something that changes as each of them learns more about each other. That’s the main difference between them and Shouko, who is a constant. And constants usually die to make variables grow and change.
You sound as if Shouko being Haruto’s supposed “true love” was some kind of a prerequisite to him going on a rampage. You’ll have to excuse me, but that’s just silly.
Now that’s not to say that it wasn’t a motivating factor at the time, but it could’ve just as easily been the death of any of his other friends that prompted him to get into the Valvrave.
@RyanAshlight The very reason he entered the valvrave was because of Shouko. He kept saying that he would avenge her in the first episode. It was made perfectly clear that the reason he entered the Valvrave was for her. If his friends could’ve triggered it, why didn’t it? I honestly don’t believe it would have.
@UnknownVoice Right now, I’m on the fence about this. I don’t know what to think if true love. is it just a dream, or could it be true? The hopeful in me wants to believe it, but I’m still skeptical. I think I’ll judge that for myself when I find someone I would like to marry in the future. Though, I know people to say that they have married their true loves, and some of them are my closest friends. These people include my own parents.
Firstly, when I said true love I don’t mean that that’s the girl meant for him by destiny and fate. I was referring that right now that’s the girl he loves. I was saying that the girl he loved at this point was Shouko not Saki.
The problem with what you’re saying is, is that it is an assumption. How do you know that he doesn’t love her? How do you know that he simply loves the idea of being with her? They were childhood friends and he may have actually have fallen in love with her. If he truly fell in love with her or not we don’t know. He may as well have just have been in love with the dreams and possibilities of Shouko since we don’t really know where his heart truly lies. But I think the show has tried to show that he truly loves Shouko and it isn’t just the mere idea of her, so I assume and come up with ideas and opinions around this.
I would like to thank you Ryan for replying to lots of my comments. Your different views have me looking at things that I haven’t thought about it. I would just like to tell you that I’m doing this out of pure curiosity and discussion. It would be terrible if things got out of hand and one-side was feeling like I was arguing or being emotional about our topic. I just wanted to assure you that I have nothing against you, and I’m doing this for the sake of discussion and curiosity.
Because none of his other friends died at the time, that’s why? o__O
One need only look at Haruto’s continued resolution to fight – after realizing that Shouko was still alive – to realize that she isn’t his sole motivation. He’s fighting to protect all of his friends, and the fact that so many keep dying all around him weighs heavily on his conscience. Think back to the recent incident with Aina as a prime example.
One’s initial motivation does not equate to one’s continued motivation, and Haruto’s exposition as a character proves that it didn’t necessarily have to be Shouko that prompted him to fight.
@dytianquin
Don’t give it a second thought. There’s no point to any of this if it isn’t fun, right? ;D
To that I don’t have much to say because you’re right and I don’t have a counter argument towards that. Though, I still think that the reason he started was for Shouko, but his continuation of fighting is much more. It’s for his friends, other students, and the remaining teachers. Saying that, I still think Haruto still harbors feelings of love towards Shouko 😛 Still, I think I may cry at the end if Haruto and Saki aren’t in love with each other :/ it’d just be sad.
UnknownVoice nailed my point right on the head it a much more eloquent fashion.
To put it in my real life situation. I still remember my boyhood love. As I got older, I realized I wouldn’t actually want to be with her because there is no way that she could hold up to the perfect image that I had of her. But even to this day, if she came and asked me with a need, I would attempt to satisfy her without question.
Haruto does feel a need to protect Shouko from pain. That is clear. But a need to protect does not equate to the love we expect from a relationship. The further this series goes, the more platonic their relationship is getting. And if Haruto continues to grow more comfortable with Saki, vs. Shouko who he has to hide his true self from and doesn’t feel comfortable at all with, then the scenario of Haruto and Shouko is slipping further and further away.
But as we can see with this show, this could all change in the course of 24 minutes. And I’m sure they will have something big(ger) waiting for us at the half way point.
VVV-11 abridged.
http://i.imgur.com/2EedhJt.gif
http://i.imgur.com/FGsn0iB.gif
http://i.imgur.com/VWsrzTm.gif
Oh my…
The series definitely has been throwing one curveball after another. As I have previously speculated, it was the Valvrave project that stirred Dorssia into invading JIOR. They even set up a “war criminals tribunal” accusing leaders of developing “Weapons of Mass Destruction”… Using Shouko’s father as hostage was, to say the least, very mean – and, considering the real leader of “New JIOR” is L-11, someone quite ruthless, it was utterly stupid.
Then, we get L-11 out-planned for the first time. I guess considering Col.Cain was his mentor, he knows every trick in the book. It remains to be seen if L-11 has learned any new tricks since he left Dorssia… Still the impact of our resident magnificent bastard and tactical genius getting out-maneuvred is big, to say the least.
And finally, themarriage proposal. I can’t even speculate about what has driven Haruto to this decision, is it guilt? responsibility? or even budding love for Saki? The main love triangle definitely has been reaching new levels of drama with each episode!
Which is why I think, L-Elf will need Shouko’s unpredictability to thwart Cain this time. Shouko/L-Elf team up versus his old mentor? 😛
I actually don’t know if L-Elf has been out planned.
Yeah we had Mr. Pirate explaining that he has out planned L-Elf, but realistically, he wants a pilot in each of the Valvraves. Nothing says that the events at the end of the episode aren’t him trying to push someone to jump into the last cockpit.
I guess in next ep we shall see who has out-keikaku’d whom… Xanatos speed chess (T) at its finest!
What’s up with ARUS? For all their talk of claiming the Valvrave several eps ago, they haven’t even done anything to prevent or upset the Dorssian forces from getting to close to them!!
They did send a navy squadron, it got curbstomped by Dorssian navy… (RIP Moses-san)
True that. I’m just surprised on ARUS’s relative inactivity/lack of presence after their loss of the 1 squadron and Figaro.
I thought they’d try other methods to ensure Module 77’s safety from Dorssia, if only so they could steal the Valvraves and its pilots from New JIOR at a later date. I’m sure ARUS strategists have the brains to cook up such methods.
It seems they are outmatched militarily by Dorssia and went into total defence mode… Their intial plan was to defend until Valvraves mass production starts (they are obviously not aware of the … peculiarities of that weapon system), now their initially deployed squadron was annihilated, they probably didn’t have the courage to risk their remaining forces in attack on Module 77. Of course now the main Dorssian fleet got annihilated by Harakiri blade, they might try intervening themselves – or be scared even more into inaction “If Valvraves annihilated Dorssian armada, we dont stand a chance!”. Anyway they are less of a threat if any at all, compared to Col.Cain’s invasion right now…
This is the first time I give Haruto credit for being a man. When you take the girl’s virginity, be sure to take responsibility for that.
Marriage solves everything!
If they’re going to live forever, they might as well start learning how to live together now!
But…there are other ways to live with someone other than marrying them.
Not always…
TQ
The majority of them are…
On a quick note I want to bring up something I recently heard on public radio (NPR’s “Radio Times” if anyone cares). Until relatively recently it was common for people barely in their 20s to get married first and grow up later. Cohabitation was a rare thing. By that I mean the couples may or may not have known each other too well but they plunged head first into a promise to be together “forever.”
Haruto asking for Saki’s hand kind of reminds me of that old school style of thinking. Basically, “we’re young, we don’t a whole lot about each other but we’re going to figure this out together.” Immortality is a very long forever. If Saki accepts Haruto’s proposal, that is.
As I said it’s a way of thinking that has fallen out of favor, so the idea of them getting married (maybe) so soon depends on your own viewpoint. Personally, I’m intrigued, though I wish last week’s topic was expanded on a little bit more.
But this is the future…
He was being controlled though!
“Saki will marry, while Shouko loses daddy”. – Kakumeiki Valvrave, the system that unveils the world.
But really, why does Shouko have a dysfunctional fashion sense? Her upper clothes looked like she’s working as a shift manager in a McDonalds-like fastfood joint (nothing wrong with that per se, but she’s now the Prime Minister). And what was with the top hat? Is she trying to imitate Abraham Lincoln and the American founding fathers? XD
Saki, marry Haruto! You’ll be New JIOR’s first couple! Marriage! Marriage! Marriage!
Am I the only one who totally against this marriage proposal? Honestly, I think this is a big mistake. I commend Haruto on trying to take responsibility for something that wasn’t even his fault, but this is just wrong. Why on earth would you promise to marry someone when you also love someone else? Think about this for a second, Haruto loved Shouko to the extent that he sold his soul to avenge her death. He loved her so much that he gave up his humanity. Haruto may be developing feelings for Saki, but Shouko is the one who truly loves at this point in time. That will hurt any marriage especially since it is no secret to Saki that Haruto has feelings for Shouko. I find it very irresponsible of him to do that. He should have been there for her and marriage is a good idea, but not so soon. Haruto has emotional and mental problems to deal with. Marriage is a huge commitment, and a decision like that takes a tremendous amount of time. It’s not just a decision you make in days, but over the course of time and developing relationships. Haruto hasn’t dealt with the relationship he has with Shouko, but instead is doing this fuck up by proposing.
Before I get on my next point, let me say this. I agree that Haruto has to take responsibility for the mess that happen since he is the man here even though it wasn’t his fault. I just want to bring this up for the sake of discussion.
Do you guys think that he is taking this much more heavily than he needs to considering the fact that he was also a victim in this whole mess? Since Saki was truly the one who was truly violated in the act, I don’t think we can force any of that responsibility on her. On the other hand, Haruto is the only one who can take responsibility, but he is also a victim. They may actually have needed to work this out together. instead of Haruto bearing it all by asking to marry Saki. Sure he is saying that he wants to help her live on by giving her his life, but right noww, I think that is a huge mistake. How can you give someone yourself if your lies elsewhere? He still loves Shouko, and feelings for someone don’t just fade. Especially when Haruto loved Shouko to the extent of giving up his humanity for her. Think about how much that would hurt Saki. If she agreed to the proposal and married Haruto, she would be marrying a man who had feelings for another woman other than her. Many things could happen because of that. She may feel more alone, she may get jealous, angry, or even lash out at Haruto. Loving someone else while being with another hurts people. Don’t give me that Saki can just take that since she’s been abused all her life. No, she has serious feelings for Haruto and she is way in too deep not to be heavily affected emotionally by it.
What do you guys think?
I think the marriage thing is stupid for all the reasons you stated and more and honestly i think the way the aftermath was handled was also stupid but this is kind of a dumb show so I guess it works out. Valvare’s “stupid” is the type of stupid that is super enjoyable but this week’s was more of a “head-scratching” stupid than the enjoyable stupid i watch this show for…oh well let’s see how next week pans out before I cast any final judgments.
I agree with you. Valverave does pretty absurd things and it’s enjoyable because of it, but the proposal. It was a great episode and I enjoyed it, but some of the things just make you think and say, “What the ?”
While not being a fan of Shouko myself, I understand what you mean with respect to her and Haruto. Really though? C’mon, if they weren’t on a downwards spiral already, they sure as HELL are now.
Haruto’s ravaging of Saki reaffirmed beyond any doubt the danger he poses to people, and he’s way too much of a nice guy to seriously consider being together with Shouko as long as he can’t control himself.
Also, there’s… y’know, the whole him blowing her beloved father into space dust thing. Kinda hard to see how that doesn’t put a serious dent in their relationship.
Now, with all that being said, I argue that Haruto’s not just in this to take responsibility. Might seem a bit weird at first, but hear me out.
Haruto just keeps drifting further and further away from his former ‘world,’ one where he could conceivably have a happy life with Shouko and all his friends. Isolated. Sad. Lonely.
I believe Saki’s apparent desire not to be alone resonates strongly within Haruto and THAT’S what prompted him to do what he did.
Taking responsibility sounds nice and all – and while I’d be adverse to say that it didn’t play some part in Haruto’s decision – but I think that, underneath the surface, you’ll find our tragic hero near just as desperate to have someone to share in his suffering as much as Saki is.
I see where your coming from and those are valid points and ideas. Though, you might have misunderstood me. I love Shouko as a character, but I wanted Saki to end up and marry Haruto at the end because she was my favorite heroine of the series. Why am I upset by his proposal you might ask is because it was simply just not the right time to do so in my opinion.
Another thing I would like to mention is that I never expected Haruto and Shouko to ever be with each other, or ever hoped to be since I’m a bigger fan of Saki. Haruto and Shouko’s relationship was a train wreck from the start. Haruto had turned into a vampire and didn’t tell her. He was pushing himself from her, and that was practically screaming, “End every hope I have with Shouko now.” His going on a rampage also made the idea of being with her even less of a possibility since he himself called himself a monster. Remember he said that he can’t be with her because of what he had become? Haruto was also leaving her in the dark regarding his own problems while confronting others about it. It would be nice to have Shouko and Haruto together, but I simply don’t see it happening. I may be wrong though since this series just does the craziest things.
I didn’t think of all the ideas you had brought up, and they have given me a new perspective to look into. Haruto may be as desperate as Saki, but he has other friends to rely on. Though, it makes perfect a little more sense to why he had proposed if you put the idea that he wanted someone to be with him in his own loneliness.
With all due respect; in a chaotic world where just about anything could happen, the idea of a “right time to do so” seems to imply a sense of hesitance more than anything else.
We’re talking about the same guy who jumped into a Valvrave and went out to fight out a war all on his own. Personally, I think his sudden marriage proposal fits right into his character.
It does seem like something he would do, but still, I don’t think it was the right thing to do at that time. It’s my opinion not Haruto’s. He proposed thinking it was the right time and right to do, and that’s him not me.
Though, just for the sake of argument 😛 in a chaotic world waiting for the right time to do something is key. In a chaotic world, doing something too early or too late may spell even more gloom and doom for it’s people. In all cases, people should find the right time to do something. Like the word kairos, do the opportune thing at the right time.
“Haruto may be as desperate as Saki, but he has other friends to rely on.”
But Saki, who does Saki have?
I’m more inclined to think her last line before Haruto went inside the module is the reason Haruto proposed.
“Be sure to save Shouko”
You really think Saki has no one to rely on? Because the last few episodes say otherwise.
Yeah, she has….. emhm….
Haruto?
Shouko, Kyuuma, the teachers and pretty much everyone else on the module when it comes right down to it. It’s not like she’s never taled to anyone other than Haruto before. She’s nowhere near as asocial as Akira.
Akira fears others and the “outside” in general, and therefore it’s “easier” for her to bond with those who show her kindness inside her world/room/cabinet.
Saki on the other hand is a inner recluse, she may be “normal” on the outside but until someone shows she/he can understand her she wont open. She opened to Aina, and she died, she was opening to Shouko, but, well that isn’t going well.
Fact being she has no “friends”, talking to people doesn’t make you friends, and speaking of teachers, if it was you who would you seek help from Nanami or the other-guy-whose-name-i-don’t-even-bother-to remember?
And her final line “be sure to save Shouko” has a finality in it, like “go save her and leave to my loneliness”.
That was the last drop that made Haruto propose.
Because Haruto understands fully well how one feels being alone while surrounded by people/friends.
Understand her? She latched onto Haruto so she could get attention, not because they shared a bond in any way. That’s also the same reason she stole her Valvrave in the first place, actually. And even if she is refusing to make friends, there is no reason other than story-enforced drama that she doesn’t have any.
I guess Nanami, since she seems to be more on the level of the students. At the very least, she’d be able to show genuine concern and caring about the situation. She really does not get enough credit.
God, how many times have we seen this type of protagonist in a Sci-Fi anime? “My friends are great and all, and one of them clearly likes me and is willing to accept me for everything I am no matter what, but they aren’t nice enough to me for me to actually trust them.”
As for the proposal, I maintain that it is a rash and guilt-driven action. He could have said “I’ll always be here for you” and it would have meant just as much but not sound as self-destructing as it did and likely will be.
And for the record, I do not think she deserved any of the awful things that happened to her prior to the series or during. Just that her behavior is not exactly winning my sympathies.
Freakin’. Awesome. Episode.
And we’ve only one more ’till we have to wait ’till damned October? Curse you to heck, Sunrise. May the fiery wrath of a thousand suns be cast upon you and all your houses! >__
Haruto is slowly but surely becoming the epitome of a tragic hero, and I’m loving every moment of it. Watching him unwittingly sever the ties between him and his osananajimi – in ever increasing intensity, mind you – has just been a pleasure to watch. It almost makes me feel as if I’m watching Lelouch all over again and it brings a smile to my face.
Poor Shouko though. For a guy who never cared much for her to begin with, even I’m starting to feel sorry for her. She’s got a first-class wave of despair heading her way and I’m honestly intrigued to see just how much she can take before her heart breaks into pieces.
And L-Elf? Just one word. Badass.
Also, DAT MARRIAGE PROPOSAL. Talk about the proverbial cherry on a what is surely a fudged up relationship sundae, topped off with a coating of shamelessness and just a hint of affection. Wow.
Bring on the next episode in this emotional roller coaster of a series. I await it eagerly. ;D
Marriage: The All-Purpose solution to any problem you have in life! Requires no understanding of the concept whatsoever!
‘Cept this one’s gonna need more than just a good divorce lawyer to handle the fallout. ;>
So, will Shouko be the Darth Vader or will she be next Princess Euphemia? Only next episode will tell folks~
As for Saki/haruto, I doubt its just because the whole “responsibility” stuff – He does seem to start to care for her and their dialogue in the theater made him understand her and connect with her – because the way haruto felt since becoming Valvrave pilot – Saki has been living that kind of lonely existence since the start of her life. I really can’t wait to see how those two grow as people as the show goes on.
Saki’s lonely character trait is soooooooo forced, which is a shame cuz i wish i could feel sympathy for her but it hasnt been presented in a coherent and fleshed out manner for a viewer to be like “damn…she did have a shitty life and this is who she is because of it”. I dont know, it’s just really hard to care about her feelings of loneliness and despair and at this point, the way they are making her character out to be, its almost as if she is hanging her loneliness over Haruto’s head like “ohhhh ive been so lonely all my life…please stay with me”. On a side note, I want this series to try to break Shouko, but not because i want to see her spiral into some emo psychopath, but because i want to see her come out stronger for all her trials and tribulations and truly be the shining light the rest of the cast needs…..that is unless they kill her off and as i have been previously saying…it doesn’t look like she’ll be making it to the 200 year time-skip whether she gets killed or not…..unless she becomes a valvare pilot which is…. hmmm i dont know…hints have been pointing towards Akira being the final pilot…but after seeing her father die, maybe this is the final push that takes her towards becoming a pilot though i have mixed feelings about that: one the one hand (which is the hand I strongly lean towards), I would like her to be the human anchor to the main cast, on the other hand it would be nice to see her kick some ass; guess we’ll have our answers next week.
Yeah, except her EVERY SINGLE APPEARANCE showcased that her life WAS shitty and that she IS lonely. We have seen short flashbacks of her being abused, the idea of idol life is also all about keeping up appearance and not having anyone close, the only major scenes with her ended up with her being bullied and she was so fascinated at being different and belonging to a “group”(valvrave pilots) when it was just haruto and her. Not to mention how once the pilot group grew you could already see others singling her out of the group.
As for Shouko. Sorry, this is Okouchi. Shouko WILL either turn into an evil yandere forfeiting all of her previous ideals OR she will get a tragic and depressing death that tramples her ideals. Okouchi hates happy dumb idealists. Okouchi hates childhood friends even more than he hates happy dumb idealists. And she is both.
Seeing flashbacks does not mean proper development. Yes, we have seen flashbacks…very short ones at that and honestly those werent enough to properly portray her as a damaged character one can sympathize with. Im not saying we havent seen evidence of her “damaged past”…its just that it hasnt been done well enough to truly elicit an emotional response from its audience…at least that’s my opinion on the subject matter. It seems many people truly sympathize with Saki as a damaged character, but I just cant find myself to do that. I’ve seen plenty of series portray a damaged character a thousand times better than what the writers of valvare have done with Saki; but then again this show doesnt have superb writing to begin with; it’s just suppose to be good-solid fun with some serious plot points splashed in to drive the narrative and im perfectly fine with that….hell ive been enjoying the show very much regardless of its mediocre writing and even though i disagree with the way the writers handled the aftermath of last week’s ep (it really had me scratching my head), i still enjoyed everything else that happened in this ep (What happened with Shouko and her dad in my opinion was the highlight of this series so far as the scene that played out was actually well-done.
I agree that the marriage proposal seems like Haruto trying to take away Saki’s loneliness and that feels a sense of understanding between them. I hope that this marriage goes through and that it will make things better for both of them.
Also about how Saki acted about the whole rape thing, I do not feel that she is ignoring it but that she is being strong for Haruto. She knows that it was not his fault yet he blames himself for it so she is being strong so that the guilt will not destroy him. Its like how if you get hurt playing with a friend and they feel like it is their fault you try to show them that you are fine so that guilt does not eat them alive. I feel that Saki is doing the same thing for Haruto. If Saki had acted like how most other rape victims act, then Haruto would fall apart because of guilt. I think that this is also why she won’t let Haruto ask for forgiveness because by letting him do so that would be like Saki saying that part of it was Haruto’s fault since he has to ask for forgiveness for it. Even last episode when she was telling him that a relationship with Shouko would not work out was Saki looking out for Haruto’s best interest. Because of this, I truly feel that Saki is the one who is best for Haruto and deserves to be with him and I truly hope that she can have a happy life with him.
Cain: ‘Lure the enemy in and annihilate them…I’m glad you(L-11) have been listening to my lectures, but thats exactly why I can read you now.’
I’m unsure on this part if it means:
a) L-11 didn’t predict Cain’s surprise attack.
b) L-11 intentionally allowed Cain to attack so Cain could be disposed of within Module 77, but Cain had also anticipated L-11’s move to eliminate him, being his tutor in strategic prediction.
Yeah, they… didn’t do very well at expressing that…
I think L-Elf allowed for Cain to infiltrate so that he could kill him. Reason being was that he moved Shoko to the Headmaster’s Office away from the command center.
Cain’s action wasn’t scripted by L-11 in that stack of papers Satomi (?) was holding.
b)
L-Elf isn’t some sort of lunatic who would go against his former teacher without a master plan.
I’m taking back my words. He would and he actually does. You were too chuuni, L-Elf. Grade E. You have to redo the assignment.
I find it hard to believe that Haruto would take the time to propose to her when everyone is in danger of being killed in the module……..i mean you got to pick your moments better bro. Wait till everyone is safe first.
Haruto is a weird dude bro. We can’t expect him to think like normal people at this point.
That sounds like a cop-out.
And risk treading down the slippery slope of a wishy-washy character? I don’t think so.
Haruto knew what he wanted, went after it and gave the proverbial one-fingered salute to circumstance and hesitation. That’s what I’m talking about. ;D
+1 Dude showed some balls here,even if he was to be rejected.”Let’s leave that for latter” would’ve been the easy way out(that’s sadly frequently used in action romances…).
I am only intersted in the fight scenes and the future of Module 77 at this stage, and only if Haruto goes back to his senses and confesses to Shoko. I didn’t want to watch this episode -_- but damm Seishun used the most attracting line he could that made me just go and watch it xD I still hate it though, what episode 10 did had ruined Haruto in my eyes x.x’..
Shouko keeps triggering all these death flags – she would have been killed by L-elf this week if she had made the wrong choice. I’m hoping she makes it out of the first cour alive!
I think you need to change this statement. It makes it sound as if this is a 2-cour show when it will be over in two more episodes. Unless a second season has been announced.
As to who will win the ‘love’ war, does it matter?
Second season has already been announced. Starts in October.
Second season is in october. After the first cour ends, there will be an event held by VVV VA’s and writers, hyping S2. However, one VA notably absent for that event is Shouko’s.
Make of that what you will.
Yes, Shouko’s VA may be absent… but Aina’s VA will be present at that event, and we all know what happened to her.
Aina can still appear to Inuzuka again and again in the whole silly ghost fashion, not to mention talking about “first death” does count as hype.
Eh… my point clearly flew over your head. So let me lay it too you straight… the exact people who are attending that event does not correlate in any way to who lives or dies. First and foremost, the event exists purely for fan service. Secondly, actors can refuse to show up for a number of reasons, including ones not necessarily related to their career.
Shouko’s VA not showing up to that event means absolutely nothing until we actually have a real explanation.
Honestly, I remember someone trying to convince me Shouko was going to die because she appears on the ED2 cover as a ghost beside the living Haruto, but then lo and behold the over side the cover has Saki appearing as a ghost behind Haruto. Saki, who’s clearly quite alive and going to live for another 214 years.
Point is, extrapolating that something BAD may happen to Shouko (like DEATH) just from a list of who’s attending an event (which itself has a disclaimer that it could change at anytime) is just reading dangerously too much into what basically amounts to nothing.
Oh don’ worry. Show itself provides enough deathflags for Shouko every single episode. The not-attending S2 event only supports it, not proves it 😉
A marriage proposal before heading into a dungeon filled with enemies… Death flag, anyone?
Dude, Haruto gets killed almost any time L-Elf is involved.
I dont care about saki n haruto anymore. Now its L-Elf x Shouko time
I don’t care what happens, but any pairing is better than Amata and that dark haired girl from Aquarion Evol (Mikoto?)
THISSSSSSSS!Yea she was called Mikoto and she annoyed me to death right till’ the end,and so did Amata.I was always rooting for Zessica.Still,Shouko is a much better character than Mikoto and shouldn’t be compared with her if that’s what you were thinking 😛 It would be an insult to her!
Her name’s Mikono. Anyways, you should know better than to root for a Hanazawa Kana voiced character. If there’s stiff competition the Hanazawa voiced character always gets the shaft. It’s pretty much a rule now.
🙁
That is so true. But it’s just so hard when you’re absolutely in love with Hanakawa’s voice. I can’t help but root for her.
Now the one to root for is Tomatsu Haruka, and guess who’s voice her in this anime? 8D
There will be a manga series spinoff with Saki as the main character starting this June:
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com.au/news/2013-05-24/valvrave-the-liberator-saki-gets-her-own-manga-series
The manga will cover her time as a pop idol and other related events.
This should clarify whether Saki really does have an abusive, terrible history as she claims, and should hopefully tide us until October comes.
Hm… when was the last time a lead protagonist in an anime triggers a panic attack by seeing boobs?
Haruto is an old school person, wanting to marry because of guilt and as a form of taking responsiblity.
I was watching L-Elf like “You better not…” when he pulled that gun out. Also, I doubt that L-Elf didn’t predict Cain invading the Module and definitely has a plan.
Someone else might have brought this up already but for some reason a lot of the preview images are coming up as the no-hotlinking image for me (they also came up like that in my RSS aggregator), numbers 8, 11, 23, 25, 28, and 34.
why does this episode give off a weird School Days vibe?
The Princess is a supporting character so I doubt it will have any romantic relationship with L-elf. Shoko x L-Elf rises in polls ^^
The marriage proposal is something out of someone like haruto, so no wonder their behavior
Haruto will take responsibility for killing Shouko’s father by giving her his life and restore the triangle. Saki will just have to wait until Shouko dies of old age. =P
I couldn’t stop laughing for 5 minutes after that end… this is NOT going to end well and I’m eagerly anticipating watching the carnage!
I liked the proposal, and I like why Haruto did it. She likes him, he “likes” her, both are Valvraves pilots, the destiny of both are together, they confront the future together.
The rape stuff, I’m the only who thinks that Saki don’t fight against it? That she accepts be the “sacrifice” for Haruto’s “attacks”, this says a lot for Saki’s feelings.
Maybe Saki and Haruto are not in love, they like each other, but not love… but personally, I think that Saki and Haruto abre much better pairing that the one with Shouko.
And they will be a Wedding, the blonde says it!!!
This is all reverse Code Geass. L-elf still merciless ,he want to kill shouko that badly?!
Haruto have some affection for Saki too, she is like CC , we share the truth , trust , dark secret and in return you promised to be by my side and stay with me forever.
Shouko know nothing , I pity her , it will end up with her dead or she will leave in the world of lie like Karen in the end , the greatest mistake all mecha serie ever make is love triangle/square , why can’t haruto just tell both of them the truth and have em all.
it would have been different for lelouchXCCXKarenXKaguraXCornelia XD
Shoko is too naive, you can’t win a war without making sacrifices. (That said though, watching her father get murdered by the person she loves was incredibly brutal) L-elf is ready to do whatever it takes to bring revolution to Dorssia, and he’s already murdered so many people, what’s another one or two? Not sure where he was going to go after he shot her, but it didn’t happen, so we’re fine not knowing.
He didn’t seemed particularly phased that Cain is invading the module, not sure what he’s planning, but with only one episode left before the season finale, it’s sure to be something ridiculous and explosive.
There’s also the factor of the marriage proposal (shocking, but good for Haruto taking responsibility) and the sixth Valvrave waiting to be activated, and they need to somehow drive the Dorssians out of Module 77 with what limited military training they have… Next week might end on a cliffhanger and make the wait til October feel like a long time, but it’s going to be one to remember, that’s for sure.
I can definitely see Saki turning Haruto down.
She may love him but she’s not stupid. She wants to be genuinely loved back and it should be plain to her with how he’s acting that he’s simply wracked with guilt and trying to take responsibility.
At best this should reinforce her feelings for him but not enough to accept his proposal until she believes she’s truly won him over.
Good point, Saki will say “Yes”???
Shoko x L-elf remind me of Heero and Relena xD
http://i.imgur.com/zNumsob.jpg
Internet, how funny can u be? (I shouldn’t be laughting, but it can’t be helped. D: )
Saki’s not blaming him. In fact, she doesn’t want to talk about it at all and wants to return to status quo. That’s probably the coping mechanism.
It’s Haruto who’s blaming himself and insisting on doing this, and as we have seen before, once he makes up his mind, he is goddamn stubborn about things.
Well, we finally have conformation that the pilots of the VVV are all vampires. Also who knew that Valvrave was an acronym?
VAmpire Link Vessel Rune Activate Vital Engine
Hopes, ideals, and to a degree common sense, all come crashing down as Valvrave gears up for what should be an explosive season finale!
Haruto’s marriage proposal threw me for a loop. I expected something like “will you go out with me once this is all over,” which carries just as many death flags but is a bit more practical and not as… I think out there is the phrase I’m going for. The situation between Haruto and Saki is extremely complicated, but I don’t think rushing to marriage is going to fix things. It could make things much, much worse.
But for now, I’ll give Haruto the benefit of the doubt that he has a genuine, good reason for what he’s doing. I’d hate to think he’s just proposing out of the blue purely out of guilt and duty to make up for something that he wasn’t in control of. I’d like to think he’s aware of the unfortunate implications of proposing to the girl he took advantage of when said girl is clearly aware you have your heart set on someone else. Still, barring maybe L-Elf, Haruto has had the most relationship development with Saki out of the entire cast, and I think the same can be said for Saki. Even his relationship with Shoko, ripe with chemistry and history, has been on the backburner ever since he jumped into the Valvrave. In contrast, Haruto and Saki have kissed, come to understand each others pain, actively declared that they’ll help the other, and even gone on a “date.” As such, I can see Haruto at least liking Saki at this point, even if it’s not the love he feels for Shoko. I definitely don’t think its enough to warrant marriage, but I’m hoping that Haruto has some plan concerning what he’s doing.
As for Saki, we have her in this episode looking no worse for wear mentally from the events of the last episode, but then again she’s been abused her entire life and it hardly ever shows. She seemed to enjoy her little “date” with Haruto, and isn’t holding anything against him for what happened. And considering how she made sure Shoko didn’t interrupt their moment, it appears she’s still gunning for him on a romantic level. In terms of the proposal, I can see her going either way in terms of accepting it and rejecting it. On the one hand, the person she’s fallen in love with has declared that he wants to be with her and that he’ll save her from her chronic solitude. On the other, she probably sees it as a pity proposal and her pride and self-respect will prevent her from accepting. But if she does reject it, I can see Haruto giving out another cheesy speech to try and win her over. It worked with L-Elf didn’t it? At least the relationship has OS-Tan’s approval.
Poor, poor Shoko. She finally faces her first real hardship, both as a person and as the leader of New JIOR. Not only did she lose her father, but the boy she’s in love with did the deed unknowingly and she was left without the ability to do anything. I’ve brought up Haruto having a start of darkness before but it looks like it may happen to Shoko first, especially with L-Elf at her side, ready and willing to manipulate her. I’m left wondering whether the Love Triangle will carry over into the plot of season 2. I’m kinda hoping it does, if only to see a proper confession from someone in season 2 and to see how external factors such as OS-Tan, L-Elf, and the Curse of the Valvraves will effect it.
So now that Yamada’s renamed Valvrave III “Nobu Lightning,” that gives us two Valvraves with customized names. I wonder if that means Valvraves I and V are due a name change in the future? Then again, Haruto and Kyuma aren’t as big on “style” as Saki and Yamada are. Haruto would probably come up with a pretty cheesy name anyway.
This episode finally gave a real focus on Akira, as we see just how badly she’s scared of people and why. Which is a shame, because she’s pretty cute when she’s not going crazy over socially interacting with others. If she turns out to be the pilot of Valvrave VI, I imagine it’ll hold numerous opportunities for her to develop as a character though I imagine it may take a while for her and the other Valvrave pilots to warm up to each other. Satomi also got to really man up for his sister, so that’s a plus as well. But considering his breakdown at the end of the episode, I don’t see anything good in store for him by the time the seasons over.
I found the scene with the cabinet both hilarious and sad. Hilarious because of the character interaction, sad because I knew it was all going to go downhill from there. I wonder what Haruto and Saki are the ministers of though? L-Elf is probably one as well, presumably defense. I doubt Yamada would want to be the only Valvrave pilot left out so he’s most likely a minister as well. Now that’s a scary thought.
Dorssia has infiltrated New JIOR and I can’t imagine this ending well for a lot of the cast. As much as I want to believe Cain was able to outsmart L-Elf, I can’t say I’d be surprised if it’s all a part of L-Elf’s ultimate plan. It just goes to show that all that matters to him is completing his objective, and that the people of New JIOR were nothing more than a stepping stone that he can do away with as he pleases, as evidenced in the scene with Shoko. But there’s still hope that Cain can finally take down L-Elf’s poker face, especially considering he’s the Big Bad and a Magius. L-Elf probably has no idea about the latter.
I’m definitely looking forward to the season finale, especially with all it has to offer. The status of Haruto and Saki’s relationship, the Valvraves presumably final showdown with the Ideal pilots, Valvrave VI, and hopefully Haruto vs. Cain. Here’s hoping Valvrave can deliver!
I see Haruto’s proposing to Saki is only to keep her honor, or feeling guilty. It reminds me asoiaf.
The proposal seems like a decision to nor hurt Shouko. He loves her, he knows she has feeling for her. He thinks of himself as a monster, now more than ever because he raped Saki. He doesn’t want to physically hurt Shouko, so he decided to break her heart and start a relation ship with Saki.
And I don’t think he really loves Saki right know, he’s only worried about her. Maybe in the next episodes he developes feeling for her, but at the moment there is no love betwen them.
And what I’m eagger to see… L-ElfxSaki and Akira as the next valvrave pilot.
If you rape someone, so long as you take responsibility and marry them it’s perfectly okay! Ladies and gentlemen, once again, welcome to anime.
No sir,it’s: Welcome to Valvrare!
It’s not that simple. You can’t just paint Haruto as a rapist and call it a day.
He’s a good guy who, in hindsight, was even trying to look out for Saki. Why do you think he told her to kill him if he ever went out of control?
Rape is rape. It is that clear and simple. Haruto may not have been in complete control, but it doesn’t change the fact that she was raped. And how does this show handle it? By tiptoeing around the issue for the entire episode and having Haruto propose to her. Like everything else in this show, it wasn’t treated seriously. And when you bring the issue of rape into a story, it’s a whole different ball game. It never should have been brought up in the first place, and I guess expecting any type of seriousness from Valvrave is my own fault.
Don’t you think you’re being a bit presumptuous considering we’re only a single episode after what happened?
Really though, in what way did you want Valvrave to treat the issue “seriously”? Have Haruto get on his knees and beg for forgiveness? Saki made it clear that that’s not what she wanted, and I’ve gotta say I agree. It wouldn’t have accomplished anything.
This is precisely what I mean when I say that the issue isn’t as simple as that; and you trying to view it through a proverbial black-and-white lens by saying that “rape is rape” doesn’t help.
In spite of everything, Haruto is still a good guy that wants to do right by Saki; and while his efforts are quite clumsy, you’ve gotta give the kid credit for not running away. In fact, one could look at his proposal as his indirect way of saying: “I’ll always be by your side for you to take your revenge on whenever you want. Until then, I’ll do my best to make you as happy as I can.”
What makes you think that marriage is going to solve anything?
And I don’t think he’s blaming Haruto, just that the issue needed a bit more focus than it got. Burying the issue and trying to forget it doesn’t really help, considering the real life trauma it causes, nor does trying to hand wave it away by proposing an even worse idea, marriage.
@Mormegil
I think rape is like every other ball game and the show handled it like it has handled everything else so far, is that really surprising?
Gets laid 1 time and falls in love. /facepalm
Sounds like Barney on HIMYM.
I didn’t see much guilt in his face this episode after the initial part before he met up with Saki, but he did see something in Saki a sense of “wanting to be with someone” from her. The way she said those lines to him was something deep down were the truth and he stood up and told her she is never alone. He didn’t go on crying about his curse he kept moving forward and didn’t bother asking about what happen that night with Saki.
I never said it was going to solve anything. At the very least though, it’s a show of Haruto’s determination to try and do something to make amends for what happened; and not through trite, half-assed words, but actual action.
That aside, I’d argue that the issue was somehow buried. Just because it wasn’t talked about openly or in as clear a fashion as you and others might’ve liked, that doesn’t necessarily imply sidestepping the issue.
Obviously, it was on Saki and Haruto’s minds; and one could view their respective silences as reflective of their dealing with their internal conflicts before deciding how to go about dealing with it in the open.
I for one am withholding judgment until this distorted triangle comes to a head and Shouko finds out. That’s when we could be in for some very… palpable confrontations, one might say.
Meant to put “@Captain Sunshine” at the beginning. Whoops.
Haha, it’s alright. Again, an edit button would be very much appreciated.
Anyway, right now, that’s all his proposal is: just words, no action. The word “marry” doesn’t mean much when you’re their age. He could’ve just as easily said, “I’m here for you” or something vague like that, and it would’ve amounted to the same thing.
And yeah, it might be better to wait till it’s all out in the open, but man, Shouko…I am not looking forward to her reaction.
Am I the only one who doesn’t give to fudge cakes about the rape scene, and would rather focus on the fact that Shouko’s getting a MASSIVE reality check.
Can somebody please explain to me why Saki is such a great character? Every week i try and try to find a reason to like her as I want to support SakixHaruto ship but i just can’t! Even this episode she felt so cheap to me! the whole I feel so lonely and I want someone to choose me for once blah blah. It screamed GUILT TRIP! She comes across as really selfish and I’m failing miserably to like her character.
I’m pretty sure I can give you an incredibly detailed essay on her character and what makes her great and interesting. But I’m not sure you want that. XDD
I wouldn’t mind reading it 😛
Must be because you keep misinterpreting the character or your inner sexism/misogyny is preventing you from liking the character.
Because there’s no way in hell to interpret her actions this episode as “guilt trip”.
What would sexism or misogyny have to do with it? She’s shown before that she’ll even take drastic action to get attention and approval, so it’s not like you can’t chalk this up to that.
ARGH, THAT PROPOSAL!!!!!!
I want HarutoXSaki, but this proposal is most likely guilt-driven and was obviously a thing done mostly as a way to take responsibility, so I would think that, if Saki has any pride left in her (and I would think she does), she would turn it down for that reason.
Which would be really sad, because that would be almost +1 HarutoXShoko flag. Heck, if the 2 did get together, it would probably be +1 HarutoXShoko flag, because becoming a couple in the middle of the series is usually a sign that they’ll break up (and/or the girl dies), and then we’d have “OTP”. I am seriously hoping that is not the case.
Anyways, seriousness aside, I was laughing my butt off when I first heard Haruto propose, and even later made a joke about it:
“Really, Haruto? Getting married after just one date? Who do you think you are, Max?”
Just in case you were wondering, I’m referring to Maximillion Jenius from Macross…
Show Spoiler ▼
Ignoring that, I felt really bad that Shoko had to have reality slap her across the face in such a painful manner, and I hope that L-elf didn’t actually make a plan to counter Cain’s; I want to see him shocked and not know what to do.
Also, Valvrave Six next week! Yay! And last episode next week. Boo! I don’t know how I’m going to be able to wait until October for it to start back up. This has been the Most Exciting Show of the Year for me (kind of like how Aquarion Evol held the title in 2012).
P.S. Is it just me, or did Satomi and Akira’s dad look and sound kind of like Cain?
I’m really amazed that everyone except that one single poster (Yuu) above in one of the comments mentioned that what prompted Haruto to suddenly propose was because of Saki’s “Be sure to save Shouko”.
Are you guys so blind? Haruto’s marriage proposal was not just because of guilt and taking responsibility. He sure as hell understands that marrying her out of guilt would not be what Saki wants.
The theater scene was to build up for the proposal. Watch closely at how they interact and try to put yourself in Haruto’s place, then you’ll know what he is thinking. He loves Shouko for sure, but he sure are developing feelings for Saki. He doesn’t want her to be alone, that’s why he reacted that way when Saki said that at the end. That is a clear indication of his growing affection for Saki and his desire to not want her to be alone.
In real life, when the girl you love say something like “Yea, go be by her (another girl) side”, how would you feel? You would certainly want to correct her and tell her that she is mistaken right? Why would you want to do that? Because you have an affection for her and you don’t want her to feel that you have feelings for another girl.
If you can understand that logic, then you’ll know that Haruto does have an affection for Saki, it might not necessary be love, but it is growing to be.
Also, the right timing. Really? They are in a time of war, where they could be the next one dying. If it was you, would you want to say what you want first or charge into the Module to save everyone acting like a hero and dying a dumb death? Stop trying to play hero and being morally correct. “Oh my gawd, Haruto picks the worst timing evars, ppl dyingz in module and he doezn’t care, only care to propoze, wat a stupid dick”
Jesus Christ, I facepalm so bad when I read your comments. To be honest it really depends on the views of the person. In my view, I find it idealistic and totally pretentious to try and save everyone. If I were to fight in a war, what I want is to simply protect the people I love and do what I can while I am alive. I could care less about the country or others. There ain’t time for that and no one is damn immortal. Even Haruto can die, if you blow his head off, he sure as hell can’t regenerate from that.
For those saying this show is unintelligent and purely full of stupidity, watch again. Shut your arrogant mouth and watch this show from a different viewpoint than your own narrow minded view, then you’ll perhaps understand much more.
@STOPARROGANCE
Yeah, I heard somebody somewhere else mention Haruto’s reassurance that Saki isn’t alone, and that, while originally he was going to propose later, her somewhate bitter-sounding “Go and save Shoko-san” comment convinced him to do it immediately.
At this point, I welcome any and all evidence that Haruto has interest in Saki (in hopes of them being the final pairing at the end of it all), but to be perfectly honest, up until this point, it looked to me like Haruto only had eyes for Shoko (with most concern for Saki being on a platonic level at best), so I took the seemingly out-of-the-blue proposal as either being MOSTLY out of guilt and a need to take responsibility (as noted in my post), or the writers really forcing a pairing without the proper development (whether it be because they wanted to stall “their OTP” or otherwise).
Regardless, I think you made some very good points, and I’m hoping that things all work out well, even a season finale of doom closing in.
huzzah!!! SAKI!!!! *fangirls*
So THAT comment is what prompted him to propose? You mean the one that was basically a guilt trip when the guy was already feeling guilty as hell? What the hell else would he be feeling other than guilt and wanting to take responsibility at that point? Besides, the marriage would ONLY be out of guilt if they did it now. And so far, there’s been little to no evidence that he likes Saki, as starqo said, so added with the comment, guilt’s pretty much the whole thing.
Considering they’re both immortal, I’m pretty sure they can pick whatever time they want without the threat of death. For all we know, they COULD survive a shot to the head, and no one in the audience is convinced either is at risk of dying, so they really could have picked a better time that wasn’t only for drama’s sake.
It’s fine if you see it that way, but given the evidence, it’s understandable people would see it differently.
I really don’t quite understand how Saki was guilt tripping him, unless it wasn’t on purpose.
It probably wasn’t intentional, but it was certainly off the cuff. Plus, after a day of awkward attempts at normalcy, trying to reflect on what happened between them and telling him all about how lonely she is, following it up with a comment like that is ONLY going to cause guilty feelings. “Yeah, go save HER. I guess I don’t matter after BARING MY SOUL to you.” How else do you expect the guy to react after that?
Anyway, just my interpretation.
Does anyone know how long this series will run for?
First half ends next week, second half begins in October, then ends in December.
Anyone getting the feeling the fifth Valvrave might be stolen by the Dorssians? Hoping Akira gets it though, seems like she’s going to play an important role in the second half of the series.
The fifth one isn’t even completed yet…. though thats what I thought.
Who knows.
Haha right and when a drunk guy or a druggy rapes someone they also always claim uh somebody controlled me.
And in the next episode Shoko learns about Harukos marriage plans boards the last remaining valv thus getting infected as well then throws a fit and rapes Haruto, lmao. The thunder guy will probably not be that picky and will rape boys and girls alike. VALVRAVE THE PENETRATOR. Ravager of innocents! Calling it now.
My Shouko, poor dear, I was really rooting for her. How much more is this girl going to go through? Don’t get me wrong I do like Saki but I like Shouko a little bit more :). Moving on, I’m really interested to see how L-elf deals with the sudden invasion, I’m pretty sure he saw it coming though knowing him.
Hahahaha laughing my ass out! This anime is so ridiculous that I simply love it! There’s no logic with this anime.
There is. I’m sorry that you cannot notice it.
I’m betting L-elf saw it coming and this is just part of his master plan to make the next pilot jump into the cockpit of Valvrave VI(much like what he did with the yellow and blue ones)
btw, there are Valvrave 1, 3, 4, 5, 6. I wonder where number 2 is.
My gut’s telling me L-elf didn’t see all that coming, but I’m happy to be proven wrong in the coming episode.
Valvrave II and VII have not been revealed – assuming there’s seven, so nobody knows where they are or how they look like. That’s what season two is for, I guess :3
L-Elf has everything planned out. EVERYTHING.
Marrying Saki out guilt? Wait till the would be groom find out he was instrumental in killing Shouko’s father. Oh of course Haruto will be blame L-Elf for inadvertently tricking him in the killing but the fact remains, it was Haruto who pulled the trigger.
For me, the only thing that would salvage the ‘marry me Saki’ fiasco is that the someone that Shouko plans to confess her love with is NOT Haruto.
This episode confirmed for me that I don’t like Shoko. I get that she’s just ‘so happy and so nice’ and everyone loves her for it, but she’s just too much of an idiot for me.
Before this I was pleasantly indifferent too her, but a combination of not having the slightest clue what it takes to be a prime minister beyond “we should all be HAPPY” and causing a nervous breakdown in Akira pushed me over the edge.
I mean seriously, the girl has a VERY OBVIOUS phobia of people and the outside world. It’s one thing to kind of try to coax her out of her shell, that’s okay, but to just suddenly blast her with ‘come meet everyone, go swimming, make friends, have parties, blah, blah, blah,’ was just criminally insensitive. It was cruel.
Though it was sad when her dad died.
I think you ought to cut Shouko some slack – she’s only a teenager 😡
I probably would have acted the way she did when I was her age.
For the prime minister thing, you’re probably right. For the Akira thing though she was just being thoughtless and insensitive. I was not a fan of that sequence. She just kept talking without once stopping to think about the girl she was talking to.
http://www.japanator.com/a-very-special-episode-valvrave-the-liberator-ep-10-28926.phtml