Nobody ever expects… The Gallian Inquisition!

Noirsword:
The first episode of the semi-anticipated Valkyria Chronicles anime was pretty good. So far it’s deviated from the game’s script a bit but remains a faithful adaptation while expanding on some minor points here and there. The majority of this episode consisted of Alicia hounding Welkin, thinking him to be an Imperial spy, and Welkin gradually winning over her trust, all the while Imperial soldiers continued on the warpath towards the small border town of Bruhl. This subplot was drawn out just a bit, but it’s understandable that you can’t trust outsiders in a war, especially when they’re conspicuously scribbling in a notebook. (I mean, it could be some kind of otherworldy killing device, right? – Meultima)

Alicia is the type of character that benefits from an anime adaptation, because she emotes with a variety of expressions that just can’t be captured the same way with a game model. I was excited to see that a good selection of Squad 7 members in the OP and ED, including my favorite stoic sniper Marina, and we’ll see all of them soon enough once Welkin and company reach Randgriz and Welkin becomes the squad leader. So far the only grunt character we’ve seen was Susie the pacifist, and she was pretty true to her character as far as personality and game traits. Hopefully all the other members will remain faithful to their personalities as well. I can sense a love triangle between Alicia and Juno for Welkin brewing in the background, as well as Noce’s one sided rivalry with Welkin for Alicia if the writers wished to do so.

Alicia Melchiott, the heroine of our fine tale. Current interests include baking, shooting at stuff, heroic protagonists, and winking at kids.

Rule Number One: You shall not question the Gallian Inquisition.

I wonder if the game’s extra side missions and the DLC missions will be integrated into the plot. The extra missions fleshed out the cast a great deal and are pretty much seem essential to the growth of the main cast, though there are a few side plots that would spoil the whole story if revealed too early, as some of the missions were intentionally unlocked near the end of the game. As far as the DLC content, I would like to see an episode or two of the war from Selvaria’s side to make her a more sympathetic character. A somewhat minor point is for the anime to not introduce Zaka too late in the story, as his inclusion felt like an afterthought in the game, and to give him a bigger role in the grand scheme of things.

Susie, just as useless in the anime as she is in the game. Joy!

When you’re being shot at, stand out in the open and return fire.

The Imp troopers more or less suffered from Star War’s stormtrooper syndrome and couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn. I expect this disease to disappear once the real battles start, otherwise the battles wouldn’t be suspenseful at all if the main characters never got hit. Will we actually see some Squad 7 casualties though? (They’ll probably have it at ‘Slap on a band-aid and you’re good as new!’ – Meultima)

I initially thought the anime would do away with the game’s trademark watercolor look, but the animation actually retained elements of the watercolor visuals. It would have been a blasphemy to do otherwise. The voice work was pretty good, and the music was pretty much straight from the OST, so it’s basically like watching the game play out in anime form.

Don’t you absolutely love the pouty look?

Alicia and Welkin hanging out in the forest.

Hey guys, let’s take the tank out today.

Overall the pacing was decent enough, and I understand the plot will have to be stretched a bit to accommodate 26 episodes worth of time as most of the story cutscenes in the game weren’t very long. My only real gripe with the first episode was how prolonged the spy subplot was dragged out and how Isara’s placement in the story was slightly altered because of it. No game to anime adaptation is ever perfect, but the first ep of Valkyria Chronicles was pretty close to the target. All the characters acted like they should, the animation was crisp, and the story was faithful enough while expanding on small points to keep things flowing along. Anyway, I’ll continue watching and commenting on the show.

PS: Is it just me or did Alicia’s breasts go up a cup or two in the anime…? Ahem. Not like I was looking or anything… But it’s noticeable. Also roast pork as promised! (Credits – Meultima!)

Meultima: Well, that was pretty nice for a first episode. I liked the whole homely feel the anime is bringing across. Will certainly be looking forward to adding this to my weekly doses of anime. It’s funny that I just finished the Tales of the Abyss anime, and while it wasn’t the best job in the book it’s really given me a lot of faith for a faithful and entertaining game-to-anime adaptation. Unfortunately, I’m not one of the lucky ones with a PS3, thus I was unable to play the game beforehand. On a note, my dear Noir overlord, I must inform you that the bust size thing was noted in Kotaku. Personally I just feel it’s a different angle. A good angle can give the optical illusion of an increased cup. It’s an interesting nuance of the female body. Cough.

And yes, I drew that apple and the X on Hans’s face. Yay Wacom and boredom.

This entry was posted on Thursday, April 9th, 2009 at 11:47 am and is filed under Anime, Valkyria Chronicles.You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.