Valvrave The Liberator Episode 19
What They Say:
L-elf is finally reunited with Lieselotte, however the students find themselves surrounded with Captain Cain having predicted their every move. Saki Rukino also finds herself cornered, and Haruto learns the surprising truth about the Magiuses.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
As we inch closer and closer to the climactic moments of the Valvrave series, the revelations have been coming in greater and greater quantities. This time, the one person L-elf truly cares about, which he expresses in a more open and honest way than we’ve ever seen from him, reveals that she’s not the person she appears to be, and as with most of the other info dumps of sorts, the writing manages to wrangle it into some sort of a cohesive plot worth following as the story continues.
Although it’s not the most prominent focus of the episode, the level of sympathy for L-elf that it suggests is possibly the most notable thing about it. Lieselotte’s reveal is obviously most important because she uses it to finally explain to the main protagonist (and the audience) what the Magiuses are, which paints the current paradigm with a bit of a grayer brush than it might have appeared. And while we don’t have much of a reason to care about her character specifically, the circumstances she finds herself in do affect L-elf on a level we rarely see from him, and considering he’s one of the two main characters, that’s very valuable exploration at this point. Having that connection to the Magiuses may be even more important in how the group, particularly the real planner L-elf himself, deal with their clear final opponents going forward. There’s no doubt more to be told about everyone involved, the protagonists maybe more than anyone, and the preview indicates that the next episode will be dealing a bit more with that.
Along with the generally very strong visual production, Valvrave has often made more creative use of music than a lot of other series, and this episode is another example of that. While the mecha battles in space have become boringly regular in this series, it’s always nice to have some added element beyond the specific plot of the episode, and hearing the angela ending from the first season make a reappearance as an insert song in this one was a nice surprise. Following that is one lacking in vocals but featuring epic chanting of sorts that make the scene much more powerful.
The series also tends to change endings more frequently than simply once per cour, and although several of the episodes in this season have foregone the ending in favor of more episode content, it’s already time for another new one. It’s not the most spectacular, but it definitely features some strong music and visuals, and it’s just nice to have that touch that you don’t often get.
In Summary:
Valvrave has actually been pretty consistent lately, almost frustratingly with how the episodes have been following similar formulas in their structure, but at least there are great advances being made with regards to the plot, and this style of presentation is more compelling than the basic info dumps that could’ve been used. There are a few elements worth appreciating for doing something a little different, and this episode explores L-elf in a more interesting way than usual, as well as using music in a way that jumps out at you on occasion.
Grade: B-
Streamed By: Crunchyroll
Review Equipment:
Toshiba Satellite L655-S5191 PSK2CU-1C301U Notebook PC.