What should I say about Valkyria Chronicles? For starters, it was a disappointment. The word ‘disappointment’ is usually synonymous with bad, but I don’t mean it in that sense. It’s just that it didn’t live up to the excellent source material. The game was about high-octane action with no shortage of thrilling battles, with the Welkin-Alicia romance acting as a sub-plot. The anime was more focused on the Welkin-Alicia romance (with Faldio along for the ride), with the war acting more as a sub-plot. Definitely not as expected. The anime itself wasn’t bad, really, though it wasn’t great either. Game-to-anime adaptations tend to suck, and in that regard VC was actually above par compared to its brethren.

I’m being generous when I say the VC anime was a loose adaptation of the original story. It never does much good to nitpick the hell out of one, since liberties will always be taken with the plot. VC was faithful enough in the first half. Sure, I was miffed that some of the game’s best battles early on were abridged or outright skipped, but it more or less followed the plot, albeit with lots of Faldio love tossed in along with Isara-love-interest, Ramal. I mentioned these points before, but I’ll go ahead and mention them again because redundancy is fun. The increased screen time better fleshed out Faldio’s character to set him up better for his tragic fall, as he was rarely seen in the game until his pivotal scenes near the end. I also really liked Ramal too, especially since I typically loathe the male-tsundere archetype. He was a well written character all-around, and though he didn’t add much to the story, I thought he added a new dynamic to the story by becoming a romantic interest for Isara. Ramal’s death was a crowning moment near the show’s end and made me a bit teary eyed… Ironic since the story’s best death was supposed to be Faldio’s sacrifice, who instead went out with a whimper after the tons of character development he had gotten previously. I’m still pissed that the generics (Edy, Homer, Marina, etc) didn’t get much screen time until the end of the show. They weren’t all that important to the big picture, but I liked them. I really wanted to see the short lived Edy Detachment come to fruition since we had all the necessary members, but alas it was never meant to be. A shame too because it would have been a good filler episode at the very least.

Faldio love-fest and Ramal aside, the first half of the show was more or less faithful to the original story. Then it completely jumped the shark in the second half and ran with its own story, roughly around the time of Cordelia’s kidnapping in episode 12. From that point up until episode 19 or so, the show was really “meh” for lack of a better word. It just wasn’t interesting, and the emo Welkin and Welkin-Alicia drama (forgive me for using the word emo) was way too dragged out. Things turned around in episode 20, and the show steadily got better again.

The two duels between Alicia and Selvaria, especially the latter, were friggin’ awesome. The guerilla warfare in the streets of Randgriz and the foot assault on the Marmota were also friggin’ awesome. We finally got awesome fights at the end of the show, which begs the question, “Why couldn’t the whole show be like this?”. I have no qualms with putting more focus on character drama and romance, which were done well for the most part, but there just wasn’t enough action. The aforementioned scenes were well choreographed and exciting. Why didn’t we have exciting battles like that more often? The second OP constantly teased us with a great city battle that never happened (Which I assume was supposed to be the very epic, second Battle of Vasel against Jaegar). Well… Better late than never right?

Since the show skipped so many of the early battles, we also hardly ever saw the iconic symbol of the story and vanguard of Squad 7, the Edelweiss. That thing kicked all sorts of ass, perhaps too much for the anime to handle. We only saw it in a handful of episodes, and most of the time it was just Isara performing maintenance on it. Squad 7′s super tank was pivotal to the game’s story but was strangely out of action for much of the anime for one reason or another.

Anyway, the ending was pretty satisfactory. Maximilian is defeated, peace returns to Gallia, and the members of Squad 7 go their separate ways after the war, ultimately ending with Welkin and Alicia returning to the ruins of Bruhl (complete with our always beloved sunset ending). Good, somewhat bittersweet ending overall, but I’m especially disappointed that we didn’t see the epilogue that wraps up the story and puts the cherry on the sundae. I doubt we’ll get a proper epilogue, so I’ll just tell you Welkin and Alicia get married and name their daughter after Isara. It’s not much to see in text, but it was a heartwarming ending.

Overall, VC was disappointing but adequate enough to be decent. It had the tools to be great but didn’t fully utilize them, instead settling for mediocrity. Did I have fun watching it? Sure. Would I watch it again? Probably not. VC was a decent, if at times frustrating, adaptation. I’ve said VC anime and decent in the same sentence quite a bit, but I can’t think of another word that really fits. An okay beginning, bad middle, and awesome ending average out to make a decent show.

PS: As with all adaptations play the game, doubly so for Valkyria Chronicles. It’s a masterpiece of artistry and awesome.

I don’t really have a witty introduction for this rant, but here’s what I have to say about the Valkyria Chronicles anime. It’s kind of long-ish though, so you’ve been warned.

The Good:

One of the few things the anime has over the game is greater depth of characterization, and all the major characters are fleshed out significantly more than their game counterparts, though this applies predominantly to Faldio as he’s taken a significant role in the anime compared to the game where he was a seldom seen, recurring character that initiated a few plot points as needed. Compared to the original game, Faldio’s anime counterpart is very relevant to the story, and his presence actually adds some much needed drama to the otherwise boring and predictable Welkin-Alicia relationship. All love stories worth their salt are obligated to include a love triangle or two to keep things fresh.

Faldio’s greater role in the anime also sets him up much better for his inevitable falling out with Welkin and Alicia later in the story, because we the audience actually get adequate time to know and identify with him, learn his motivations, what makes him tick. The anime has actually set up his fall as the tragic hero perfectly.

Alicia, and to a lesser extent, the other members of Squad 7 also benefitted from the anime. Originally, Alicia didn’t have much personality to speak of aside from being a Mary Sue heroine, but the anime makes her a much more believable character. Sure some fans will cry foul for consequently turning her into a tsundere, but she became much more vibrant in the anime and shows a certain spark to her personality that was missing in the game, partly due to the greater role of Faldio who knows how to push all her buttons. And how can you not love the full range of her priceless expressions? The Alicia facefault is worth the price of admission.

Even the Imperials have been humanized much more from the big generals all the way down to the grunts. Jaeger is actually a pretty interesting guy, and seeing him get a boost in screen time has made him more than just some enemy general you fight a couple times in the game. Selvaria is still little more than Maximillian’s puppet, but at least she has more personality than “Hay guyz I’m a Valkyria and I’m gonna tear you a new one lolol”. It’s also kind of nice to see the rank and file soldiers actually have faces now, because it reminds us that although they’re the enemy they’re still humans… Though to be fair the game probably had to dehumanize the enemy soldiers for morality issues since you end up shooting a lot of them, mostly in the head.

The inclusion of the anime exclusive, Ramal, adds some depth to Isara and gives an otherwise shafted character a much needed love interest that was missing from the game… Some among us may have shipped Welkin-Isara (I know I sure did), but there was no way that would ever feasibly happen in such a mainstream game… Ramal started off as Faldio’s annoying sidekick, but I’ve grown to like the guy lately, partly because he’s interesting and partly because Isara needs a love interest while Welkin is off being an idiot. Speaking of which…

The Bad:

I lauded the script for making Faldio a relevant character, but at what expense? There’s almost been too much Faldio at Welkin’s expense. It’s not completely his fault for making Welkin look like a friggin moron, but Faldio’s competence on the battlefields of both war and love makes the real protagonist look like an ignoramus. While Welkin’s personality is more or less intact, as he is supposed to be oblivious to social interactions, at least he was an awesome strategist. Faldio has basically usurped Welkin’s original role in the story as the brilliant (if unorthodox) strategist that wins against stacked odds, and he’s sweeping Alicia off her feet while Welkin stands on the sideline being a doofus.

By now we should all know Welkin-Alicia is the canon relationship, but it’s hard not to make the real relationship look contrived with Faldio’s overbearing hand in the love triangle. Any way I look at it, Faldio is such a front runner that having Alicia settle for Welkin looks like settling for second place.

My other major nitpick, and this is a big one, is that all the battles have been lackluster and just plain missing. Epic battles were a staple of the game. Welkin and company would run through the streets of abandoned towns and vast fields engaging in guerilla warfare with ruthless Imperial troops. The Edelweiss would advance as scouts, shock troopers and engineers followed suit taking care to stay out of the enemy’s line of fire. Meanwhile the snipers would find a perch, waiting for the perfect headshot to present itself. None of that has been present in the anime, which has liberally skipped some of the game’s best battles. This is a show about war, so where’s the fighting? I didn’t expect the VC anime to be totally action packed, but the total lack of action is just ridiculous.

The anime has been sorely missing two of the game’s biggest symbols, the Edelweiss, and by association the Lion’s Paw, are the symbols of Squad 7 — one a resilient tank epitomizing Gallia’s sole hope against the vastly superior Empire, and the Lion’s Paw a resilient flower that overcomes adversity to bloom in even the harshest of conditions.

A lesser nitpick is how much the Squad 7 generics like Edy, Susie and Marina have been shafted. I never expected them to be more than minor characters, but they desperately need just a little more screen time since they’re actually quite engaging when they do get to talk, and by giving them lines the squad feels like it’s more than just Welkin, Alicia, Largo, Rosie, and a bunch of expendable background characters to fill out the roster. I want to see more of Edy’s one sided rivalry with Rosie, more Jann being a complete fruit, more Homer being a hilarious masochist, and moar Marina Wulfstan being a friggin awesome sniper. These guys are interesting, and they need more lines. It’s looking increasingly unlikely we’ll see the Edy Detachment at this rate.

I think I covered the things I’ve liked and disliked about the VC anime. Unlike most of the people watching it, I don’t think it outright sucks, but it has been a letdown in certain areas. The characterization is much improved at the expense of some story aspects here and there. The small liberties with the story I can live with like Alicia getting kidnapped along with Princess Cordelia. It didn’t happen in the game but it’s fine. I’m not the kind of guy that complains about lack of action, like when shounen have to insert story episodes between fights to set up the plot, but the VC anime’s disparate story/action ratio is alarming. This little rant ended up being far longer than originally intended, so let’s end it here.

tl;dr: VC anime needs more action and more Squad 7 side character development. Maybe some more jokes about Selvaria’s huge tracts of land too. Yeah! I want that too.

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.