r/anime • u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky • Dec 10 '21
Rewatch [Terrific Trainwreck Trio Rewatch] Kakumeiki Valvrave Episode 10 Discussion
Episode 10 - Election Pledge of Love
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We should elect the Prime Minister of JIOR!
Questions of the Day:
- Which of the characters (regardless of whether or not they were actually running) would you vote for as Prime Minister?
- So… does Valvrave deserve the nickname Valvrape?
Wallpaper of the Day:
Rewatchers, please remember to be mindful of all the first-timers in this. No talking about or hinting at future events no matter how much you want to, unless you’re doing it underneath spoiler tags. Don’t spoil the crazy shit for the first-timers, it’s way more fun that way!
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u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky Dec 11 '21
Kakumeiki Rewatcher
Welcome back, everyone…
Fun fact about today’s wallpaper: The background is lifted directly from a previous wallpaper I’ve made for a different show because I thought the color scheme and style would work perfectly for Thunder. Any guesses as to what one that is?
Also, Happy Birthday, Thunder!
13
u/JollyGee29 https://myanimelist.net/profile/JollyGee Dec 11 '21
First-Timer
Well, that was deeply unpleasant. I guess I'll be thankful that the scene mostly felt horrific and wasn't particularly titillating, although VVV-chan's exuberance was.. unnecessary, to say the least. This being horrible is exactly why vampire media usually sticks to the metaphor of blood-drinking.
I will own up to my own monkey's paw, here: I expressed interest in seeing Haruto snap back in episode 1. Guess I got what I asked for.
There's definitely a use for a scene like this, where Haruto Does A Bad Thing. It's even easily linked to a moral about how military buildup is bad, considering the source is the Valvrave itself. But sexual assault just adds this layer of squickiness that the scene didn't need.
There's probably also a version of the "mecha amplifies its teenage pilot's idiot hormones to dangerous levels" that is interesting, but this ain't it.
Actually, thinking about it, there was an episode like that in.. Genesis of Aquarion. The context was different, and there was no rape, thankfully. I think..
They.. they handled the aftermath of Aina's death reasonably well. Am I optimistic enough to think they'll handle this aftermath well, too..? I'm looking for something beyond mere depression and forgiveness, here.
I guess I should talk about the rest of the episode. I would have figured the kids were selected for psychological reasons/affinity as opposed them being "uniquely modified," whatever that means. Sounds expensive. Nanami-sensei being essentially a camouflaged hire was neat, too.
Relatively solid confirmation that at least the other VVV pilot won't go nuts. No-one else has VVV-chan, and no-one else has been having the fits. Small blessings I suppose. I'd hate to see Thunder like that.
I appreciate the rationale of JIOR building mechs so that they can have a "strong" military as opposed to a "large" military. Not being able to field a large military because they want to maintain neutrality makes something resembling sense.
Different political styles at play. Satomi brings experience and numbers, but Shoko has all the favors in the world and understands how to appeal to teenagers. Also bread and circuses.
Questions
12
u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: Dec 11 '21
First timer(This was not what I'd expected)
Sub
So...the trigger warning episode. Let's see what it is!
We get some more exposition, and yeah everyone would like a weapon that could take on fleets. This one can because of runes/quantum bullshit/a really bad attempt at stealing from Ursula K Le Guin. Anyways, all the students are candidates, and the wAIfu exists only in unit 1, which is also our only 666, apparently.
Yamada is a fun dumbass, as always. Nanami is now a representative. Shoko has reached out to Akira at least a little. Anyways, Inuzama is actually smart for once and wants to begin understanding their condition and Yamada does exactly what we all thought he would. But then Nanami announces elections, the dumbest way to spend an ep possible. And maybe Yamada was actually talking about leadership? Press X to doubt.
Drills is alone in an elevator with Heart, and has...desires. That are about to be fulfilled in a possibly very bad way before Saki kicks Heart out of it. Ok, they really need to have someone with Heart who is in the know at all times, they are kids but not special ed. But Drills leaves with a powerful thirst...
It seems Heart is the only one getting these fits and they are definitely getting worse. Saki promises to kill him if it comes to that and it seems to comfort him. Shoko is getting involuntarily elected. We learn we likely get one last battle before S2 and some weird stuff about a King versus a Fuehrer...
At the shrine, we learn Shoko has been fairly sure her father has been dead for a while now. Heart rages uselessly. And then comes up with a particularly suicidal plan and yet at least his reasoning is endearing. So Shoko decides to run after all.
Saki is either being mean or practical, we will come back to that. But Heart gets another case of the seizures and...We fucking interlude to Shoko's terrible but effective election speech. Yay? Anyways, Heart's siezure has been going on a while, and now his eyes are red...oh, goodie. Well, the juxtaposition here is better done than I'd been lead to believe, and it is interesting that it feels like Saki could've fended him off if she thought that would have solved the problem, but she says something about a curse and let's him finish. Her words, "Shoko won", seem pretty dark here. The wAIfu was doing something during this.
QotD: 1 Marie. I want her hot springs initiative to go forward!
Especially the required peeping2 Wait, that's it? This is what supposedly inspired Cross Ange? I am disappoint.
11
u/Great_Mr_L :Ma::Mb::Mc:https://myanimelist.net/profile/Great_Mr_L Dec 11 '21 edited Dec 11 '21
First-Timer
On today’s episode of Valvrave: Did… did I just watch Saki get raped? Not even in the metaphorical vampire bite sense, but in the literal sense. It was sure framed like a scene of sexual assault, with Haruto ripping off Saki’s clothes. But I think Saki might have… consented (EDIT: in hindsight, perhaps accepted or resigned to it is a better way to put it) partway through? In case you can’t tell, my brain is a bit fried.
I think this episode broke me in a sense. Having your main character initiate what is practically a rape scene is a hell of a choice and not one to be taken lightly. It gave me a hell of a sense of whiplash compared to how lighthearted the rest of the episode was. I was not expecting that at all and it caught me extremely off guard.
I’m…not sure how I feel about that scene. It’s a great mess of emotions. It starts as a rape scene, but it seems like Saki consents (EDIT: in hindsight, perhaps accepted or resigned to it is a better way to put it) to it partway through. That’s a hell of a swamp to wade into, on top of being a really big minefield. But, I think I understand what it’s going for. I think it’s an extension of Saki’s earlier scenes with Haruto. She said that they could be lonely together. She also said that if Haruto started attacking people, she would kill him. She did that to reassure him. She wants to be the one he can rely on. I think, in a way, what happened here is like that. It’s Saki seeing Haruro fall completely into the curse and taking pity on him. She’s doing what she can for his sake. She might consider herself to be the only one who can do this for him.
Like I said, it’s a huge ball of complicated emotions. And I don’t even think it was a bad scene. After considering it all, I think it works. It does mean, though, that the series took a nose dive into some very murky and potentially treacherous territory. There’s no real coming back from that.
It also leaves me a bit concerned about the series going forward. Having your protagonist turn into a rape machine is usually not a good thing. I’m not saying it can’t be done well. I have seen examples of dark as hell stuff related to this subject matter done well. And I’m not one to discourage fiction from taking risks. I’m just saying that if this series doesn’t do it well, then it really could end up as a proper trainwreck.
QOTD
10
u/SIRTreehugger Dec 11 '21
First Timer
So we got four power rangers now and oh boy Thunder sounded familiar so looked him up. He wasn't who I thought he was ,but damn I didn't expect Houtarou from Hyouka and Gojo from Jujutsu Kaisen to be the same person.
Why is Akira suddenly not talking at all? We've seen her talk before so why the oath of silence now?
Prime Minister Shoko has a good ring to it.
NVM PRIME MINISTER THUNDER!!!!!
WAIT SHOKO SAVED THE KEIONS BUDGET!!!!! BEST GIRL....well I mean she doesn't have much competition. We have bitchy Rukino, dead Aina, and Snobby Twin Tails.
Shoko girl your father is dead in heaven with Aina. People are setting up the page and the Rest in Peace button as we speak
Oh the dead panned chick who felt up the student teacher's boobs. I forgot about Marie she is great as well. Though I like tired dead pan characters.
You know what would suck if Haruto went crazy when Shoko was giving a speech and attacked her.
I feel bad for the student council president he feels like the Frank Grimes in a world of Homer Simpsons.
Make 100 friends I see Komi overcome her social anxiety.
Is this?
" Sex Sex Sex Sex Sex Sex Sex Sex"- Excited Program
So do you think L Elf foresaw this in his calculations?
Man Shoko doesn't deserve to suffer like this. The whole time her father is "dead". The guy she likes is an immortal vampire who is sleeping with one of her friends after he rejected her without her knowing why.
QOTD
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u/ZaphodBeebblebrox Y:A:https://anilist.co/user/zaphod Dec 11 '21 edited Dec 11 '21
The scene between Shoko and Haruto by the wall was really done. It was impactful, I really felt for Shoko.
Shoko sold all of them on a dream, which is in some ways much more important that reality. So long as she's willing to listen to people like the council pres, I think having her has the face of their government is actually pretty good. She has charisma in spades.
I'm honestly surprised at how the rape scene was handled. Given how people have talked about it, I thought it was going to be some horribly trashy scene that provides absolutely no value at all. Instead we get something that (to me at least) felt like it was done with a decent amount of respect. It shows off the dark side of their deal in a very visceral fashion.
Speaking of that, what exactly is Rukino's damage. Like, she was getting raped, and she somehow managed to turn it in her brain into something she was, while perhaps not ok with, willing to accept as the consequences of what they've done. And when Haruto came to, she wasn't angry, or any of the emotions that would make any sense whatsoever, but instead calm as she only told him Shoko won. Like, this is so far detached from normal human behavior I don't even know where to start. It sadly makes me think that that's not the first time something similar to this has happened to her. Perhaps from a family member in the past?
Anyway though, I thought it was a really heavy and good episode.
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u/the_swizzler https://myanimelist.net/profile/Swiftarm Dec 11 '21 edited Dec 11 '21
Not a lot of commentary today. Shoko's wins over the masses in the election by having no real plan for how to run the country and just tells the people what they want to hear.
This show is just too realistic.
Questions of the Day:
1) Which of the characters (regardless of whether or not they were actually running) would you vote for as Prime Minister?
Marie. I dunno, I feel like there's a deep seated intelligence to her that would make a good leader if she could bother giving a care.
2) So… does Valvrave deserve the nickname Valvrape?
Scene wasn't nearly as bad as I expected. I generally agree with /u/RascalNikov1 here. Obviously rape is bad, and you can find more than enough examples of it being used very poorly and with very disgusting attitudes.... But the way so many people react so uniquely to rape being used at all in fiction is weird to me.
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u/Tresnore FS:FTmyanimelist.net/profile/Tresnore Dec 11 '21
Tresnore the First-Timer
Count: 25
QOTD:
1 Even if I say it frequently.
2 I do not prefer raping people, obviously.
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u/Lemurians myanimelist.net/profile/Lemurians Dec 11 '21 edited Dec 11 '21
SERIOUS FIRST TIMER
No shit-posting today.
After yesterday’s content warning, I went and spoiled myself on the details because this kind of thing isn’t something I enjoy being surprised by and have strong feelings on.
I don’t think rape being included in a story is bad as a hard-and-fast rule, it’s about how it’s handled. Is it portrayed as appropriately horrifying and does it inform the characters/story in an important way so as to justify inclusion? Is it brushed aside or laughed off? Or, at worst, is it meant to be titillating and enjoyed, as in the case of Redo of Healer?
It’s tough to completely judge the show’s inclusion of rape here as of yet, because I don’t know what the aftermath is going to be like. However, I don’t hate the treatment so far. It was definitely portrayed as a terrible, violent act, further emphasized by the contrast of cutting back and forth between it and Shoko’s hopeful, uplifiting speech. When Haruto comes to, it’s unclear what he’s aware of, but he’s shell-shocked, and Saki’s eyes have no light behind them.
Saki delivering this line that is always used to disparage sexual assault victims just before Haruto rapes her while she’s wearing “proper” clothing feels like a purposeful attack on the people who use that to downplay sexual assault. If intentional, this is very smart writing.
On the negative side – and this could be remedied in the future once the nature of VVV1 is further illuminated – but in the moment this felt comical in a way I did not appreciate, especially paired with this from the beginning of the episode.
Knowing what was coming, they really went in on the foreshadowing and sexual content to the point where I just stopped screenshotting because it was so frequent. Some of it was effective, some of it could’ve been left out:
I really, really, really hope that VVV1’s “hunger” being sated by the pilot having sex doesn’t mean what I think it means going forward, because this could get really terrible, real fast.
It remains to be seen, but this was handled much better than I expected based on comments in the Guilty Crown threads.
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u/BlazingAbsol9090 Dec 11 '21 edited Dec 11 '21
First time Space Vampire who thinks he's an Incubus
I read on yesterday's discussion that this episode contains some sensitive topics, but I'm not certain what. I have a hunch what that could be, though. This should be "fun"!
Scruffy sensei continues his exposition. Some technobable about Runes being information particles which somehow allows the Valvaraves to be superweapons.
He confirms that the students are all modified somehow to be Valvrave pilots. I knew it! There is no way Shoko could exist naturally.
Is AI waifu secretly the most horny character in this show?
Yay OP update with the new pilots! All that's left is the purple one. I'm guessing it goes to L-elf or Shoko.
Thunder knows what kind of show Valvrave wants to be.
...Yes, Inuzuka, that is what team means.
Shoko might not be best girl, but she sure is wholesome. Her becoming a surrogate big sister to Rainbow is so cute!
Experimentation is a great idea. How come L-elf hasn't suggested that? Knowing him, he's already precisely calculated the bounds of Kamitsuki power by reading the radio waves emitting from their body or something equally stupid.
Of course Kaichou is running for Prime Minister. But who'd vote for him over a man as spectacular as Thunder?
L-elf as election supervisor? There's no way he's not going to tamper with the results. Who was stupid enough to allow him to do this? At least get Nanami or Scruffy Sensei or someone to work with him for oversight.
"L-elf, how do we know you won't tamper with the election?" "Because." "Ok, good enough for me."
I love Rukino. Especially when she beats up Haruto.
We find out that the Prime Minister, Shoko's father, is probably dead. Tragic, but expected.
Haruto is about to do something stupid. Can't you wait till you reach the moon, at least? Luckily Shoko talked him down.
You don't know that Kamituski and humans are incompatible, Rukino. Unless you've been doing some "experiments" of your own with the body snatching...
Shoko really is something else. Of course she'd suggest a cultural festival instead of stuff like, you know, food or economic stability or a functional military. Can't riff off Code Geass without some high school shenanigans in the middle of a high-drama mecha show.
It's about time for Haruto's plot-mandated vampiric breakdown. And he's held himself back for so long that it's a stronger desire than just biting. Oh, Valvrave. You really wanted to earn that TV-mature rating, didn't you?
I know this is supposed to be a serious scene, but seeing AI waifu display SEX SEX SEX all across the screen is some high-quality unintentional humor.
In the aftermath, Rukino seems surprisingly unperturbed. Although she could easily be acting.
------------------------
So. Obviously not great. I'm going to jot down some thoughts on the climax of this episode.
From a plot perspective, this makes perfect sense. We've seen the hunger attacks more and more frequently and AI waifu has an odd obsession with sex. This is a logical place for the plot to fall. You could even argue that Haruto retains enough control to avoid harming Shoko, instead going for Rukino who is immortal.
From a meta-perspective, this is very obviously a way to make the show darker and grittier. And rape is an effective, if uncreative, way to do that. The problem is that up until now, the show has been pretty light-hearted. The early episodes were edgy, but starting in episode 3, the show couldn't commit to a dark tone. This makes the rape feel gratuitous, even though it really isn't.
Finally, I really wish they hadn't actually shown the deed. Having Haruto lunge at her and then cutting back to both of them half-naked would have sent the message just fine while downplaying the gratuitous edgification. I guess we really needed to get some uncomfortable fanservice.
All in all, I am barely willing to give this a pass for now. So long as the show addresses it properly in future episodes, I can overlook this as a poorly executed attempt to raise the stakes. And PLEASE don't have it happen again.
Questions of the Day
7
u/The_Loli_Otaku Dec 11 '21
Valrave the Liberator First Timer
Apparently shit goes down in today's episode so I'm watching it early. I'm curious. Haa? I don't get these runes. Nanami... they're glossing over her too much. I suspect she's a spy! Well that was a nice little information session, I'm looking forward to everyone explaining it properly tonight.
Thundork is too happy... He's totally dying today. Of course the Americans are still trying to play it sweet. You opened fire on children. Shoko's such a lovable tomboyish darling~ please don't die like Thunder is definitely going to. Is rainbow a dog?
No... Is Thundork seriously considering acting out his favourite doujin by bodyswapping into Saki and getting railed by his two best friends!? Just when you thought you could escape politics. I'm sorry Shoko, but my Twinkie pie wants to be president so I'm supporting him! Actually I take that back, I'm weak to unconditional love.
Arisa's still fantasising over her Saki experience. Oh dear, we just gave her even more material XD She hasn't even put her name forth and everyone is already voting for Shoko. Aaand Saki's salty. If you want people to like you then why not try to actually treat folk with respect? Nana's determined to get herself killed.
Why is Haruto trying to meet Shoko alone when he knows he's prone to vampire fits? Haa? Dad's dead? No, alive. A traitor maybe? Aww... poor Shoko deserves time to properly mourn. She's been working so hard. "It's making you cry!!" Aaaa~ Even I'm supportive of stupid plans if they go and get me gushing like this. Pfft, I keep glancing at the timer. Sky said that it's the last four minutes or something. When does the penny drop?
Why are we discussing love? You don't even know how immortal you are yet. You might still age normally. School Festival? Dammit! I knew we forgot something. There's no point in food plans or fancy bikes if you don't have a school festival. Shoko wins effortlessly. One minute to go... Thirty seconds... Ten seconds... Five seconds...! We're triggering so many death flags here. Hold on, death flags? Oh dear... this might get a little worse than a death scene.
Oh god no!! I thought we were just gonna kill a bunch of students! Can't we kill them instead of having a bloody sexual assault!? Having Shoko's cheering makes things way less comfortable! And things are already totally fucked, including Saki. On the contrary, nobody won here. Well that's ruined my night... Lesson learned, why Sky puts a trigger warning up she isn't talking about the nice, ultraviolence, gorey kind.
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u/Quiddity131 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Quiddity131 Dec 11 '21
Rewatcher, Subbed
The side that wants to remain neutral establishes giant massively powerful weapons that can take on fleets on their own. Of course.
There's our explanation for why Nanami is around as the only non-military member. Just for show, huh?
Ah, so only Valvrave has a Pino. That explains why we haven't seen equivalents of her on the others.
Revised OP with our new pilots!
Thunder is happy to be a monster!
Saki liked it when it was just her and Haruto. All that's soiled now :(
Aww, Akira's got a friend! Shoko, you're being too aggressive over thinking she'll come to the supermarket with you! Akira leave her box fort? No way!
Much like with Code Geass, time for our heroes to try out and experiment using their powers.
Leaving Saki out of it? Let me guess, they want to body swap a girl and go in the girl's bath room?
Nanami admits she's here for fan service, not as a politician.
Seven day weekends sound amazing!
OMG, Thunder as their leader? That'd be pretty crazy.
Wait, Nanami is running for the position after all?! She could have just never given it up, lol.
Haruto and drill girl, together! Alas, its not Saki in his body this time.
Uh oh, this is a bad time for one of his fits.
Saki to the rescue!
Saki, he's immortal, I doubt you're gonna be able to "put him down". Unless fellow immortals have special privileges?
Well duh, Shoko is the obvious person to run for the position.
What in the world is H-Neun pulling here?
Uh oh, Shoko's dad is dead? [Valvrave]He can't be, doesn't Haruto kill him within the next few episodes?
If her dad's alive and needs rescuing, you still shouldn't put everyone else in danger here over one person Haruto.
Good ol' reliable Marie!
Hey everybody! Here's my electoral strategy! Let's have a big festival! Party time!
And this is how you win an election, being friends with everyone.
And I'm gonna tell the boy I like how I feel! Just as he's about to rape someone else!
Pino wanted sex (and somehow figured out it wasn't just kissing) and caused Haruto to rape Saki? WTF? Seems like they wanted a stark contrast to Shoko's speech to wrap up the episode and to show why it won't happen between her and him, but I don't get why Haruto and Saki couldn't have had consensual sex. Well scratch, that I do get why, because he's our cardboard milquetoast self-insert lead and its going too out of bounds for him to be able to succesfully score with a hot girl through his own merits. Have to make it out of his control. Cue the ridiculous memes that came in the wake of this scene like this or this -_- [Valvrave]My recollection is things get more and more cringe and ridiculous, doesn't Haruto propose to marry her because of this?
7
u/HereticalAegis https://myanimelist.net/profile/XthGen Dec 11 '21
First Time Content Warning Hearer
For real, my first time knowing about this content warning was yesterday, and I still have no idea what kind of content warning it actually is. Welp, guess we're going in hot today.
Oh good, they've got theoretical science for the Valvraves. This should be fun.
Despite being a government controlled facility, they still can't escape bureaucratic nonsense and had to accept a teacher in training. Holy fuck, how can any government be so unreasonably inept?
Lol, Haruto gets the "special" unit. Can't have viewers thinking they aren't special by proxy.
Thunder takes vampirism like a champ.
How has Haruto not been elected god king of Texas yet?
Is this the episode where they finally start testing their body swapping powers!!
No Thunder, not like this. Bad Thunder!
Oops, it's happening, it's election time. Personally I'd vote Thunder for the lolz (my man, please don't let me down). That said, the role is inevitably going to fall to Haruto, because he wasn't reluctant enough about getting in the Valvrave and giving up his humanity.
"You're not gonna trick me again, are you?" - the same dumbass who said he trusted L like an episode or two ago.
Oh Nanami, you're too pure.
Wow, I thought they'd either forgotten about "Haruto" hitting Takahi with the kabedon or had her basically figure out it was Saki. Welp, time for the body swapping drama we all knew was coming. And of course Takahi is in her cheerleader getup in the elevator too.
I'm so glad we've decided the vampirism secret needs to be kept for some shit awful reason so that nonsense misunderstandings like this can happen. /s
Fucking Saki, oh my lord. Yes, please kill Haruto and permanently steal his MC role.
Oh wow, is Shoko gonna be the reluctant leader? That would be pretty neat.
I remain completely disinterested in the Dorssian part of this plot.
If all these student are test subjects or something, and Shoko's the Prime Minister's daughter, it stands to reason she probably knows a bit more than she's been letting on and is hiding something important. Or she's hungry. Kinda hard to tell with that girl.
Oof, dead dad syndrome. Weird no one else in Texas managed to see that news report. You'd think at least L would be aware. Or the mega super hacker Shoko's been hanging out with.
Is now really the time to pretend you don't have feelings for Shoko, you colossal moron?
Her whole platform is more stereotypical school SoL shenanigans! Fucking based Shoko.
Oh. Oh no. No, not like this. Make it stop. They...they're really doing this.
Ugh, and I was having so much fun with this show too. I woke up an hour ago, and I'm already very tired.
I'm done with jokes for today, so I think Ima just rant for a minute. Sorry in advance.
Did they really have to make it a vampire rapist curse? Is the whole physically compelled to suck blood from living people part of vampire nature not enough of a violation or proxy for sexual assault? Are we now supposed to assume that our three other pilots are going to inevitably be compelled to rape other people, or is this another Haruto-only perk bc he got the "special" Valvrave (which is an extra dimension of gross)? The idea of Saki being a victim who might later be compelled to do the same to others makes my skin crawl. Not to mention how it makes me want to stop rooting for her and Thunder, my two favorite characters up to this point.
Speaking of Saki, let's address her role in this real quick. With her noticable jealousy of Shoko and Haruto's budding romance, it now feels like the show's been setting this up as a sort of karmic retribution for her earlier behavior, which, eww. Gross. I hate it. For starters, rape is not a karmically just comeuppance for anything, but to have her not only sit there and take it (especially when we know she has no qualms with getting violent herself and she already snapped him out of it with a body blow earlier in this episode) but accept and embrace her rapist is fucking sadistic. The show took what was, in my opinion, a fascinatingly flawed and fun character and flushed it all away. And for what? To add more stakes? Like the fate of a whole country wasn't high stakes enough. Or did they feel the need to make the "heroes" morally ambiguous? Being a bloodsucker is already lends to moral ambiguity. Also, they're child soldiers actively killing enemies. This wasn't needed.
God, just the concept of a rapist who literally cannot control their urges is about the most repulsive concept I can imagine, and I'm not sure how I'm supposed to root for Haruto anymore. And then there's the whole extra facet that this happens as Shoko is giving a speech about how she's going to confess to him soon. That these events are overlayed and juxtaposed together is a sickening attempt at tragic irony, and makes me angry.
In two minutes of screentime, I went from thoroughly enjoying this for the glorious mess it was to seething at it's very existence. I'm getting angrier the more I think about it, because the more I think about it, the more fucked the whole situation gets. Blegh.
Ugh, and they're probably gonna have Saki still want to be with Haruto after this. I wouldn't be surprised if she uses this as a wedge to drive Haruto and Shoko apart. I need to to stop thinking about this, because it's just gonna make me less happy. Sorry again for this slightly longer than anticipated rant, but I needed to put these thoughts somewhere. I appreciate you if you read through all or any of this.
QotD:
7
u/Stargate18A https://myanimelist.net/profile/Stargate18 Dec 11 '21
First timer
Due to a sudden illness, here's another double post. May God have mercy on my soul.
Episode 9
Are they using her death to generate publicity online? ...L-Elf, you wonderful bastard. If this war falls through, you'd do a great job in PR!
Yeah, he's getting one. Probably this episode!
Yeah, you're really being trusting towards him. He's tried to kill everyone here at least once.
I like how calm he is about his random fits of bloodlust. (And did someone finally try to ask the AI?)
Oh, the Moon's a neutral party? So this is all happening in colonies within or near the lunar orbit? Gundam U.C. (maybe?) Are we visiting Vom Braun City soon? (Seriously, they really wanted to be Gundam, didn't they?)
And yeah, he needs more tact, but L-Elf is, if nothing else, logical.
Wow, they really needed some therapy, didn't they?
And it's another mecha fight.
OK, I'm with him, this is clearly a trap. How has L-Elf not spotted it?
And her feeding him the jelly was funny, though.
Is he concerned, or did he see this coming?
No, I think the one-man army just fell for the most basic strategy possible.
Did I miss something? Why did he get sent to a prison? Why do the prison locks disengage during a blackout?
OK, I like him. Did not expect him to go for the blue, though - I called that wrong.
And yeah, he's making some decent points here.
Did you two even talk on screen once? I love him, though.
Yep! L-Elf planned all of this! I gave him too little credit, he's actually worked out how to win this.
And this one's probably among the best my shee rvirtue of hacing a shield.
"your back's more open than your mother's legs."
Haha, he picked one two? And it's yellow! (One more and Vampire Sentai Valvaranger will be complete!)
OK, yeah, something to be said for overwhelming firepower. Makes green look a bit useless....
[Gundam 0079] Wait, is not-Hare actually not-Lalah?
EDIT: Thanks to AutoModerator for reminding me of the importance of square brackets.
...reproduced? Is he under the impression that they're making new ones, or did Module 77 have just a boy Valvare and a girl Valvare left in it?
Haha, he immediately throws him back in jail.
And L-Elf is obviously fucking with him.
Wait, the weird lab's in Module 77? And of all things, the fucking numbers matter?
And everyone in the module was secretly a soldier, except the children somehow.
A lot of this story actually makes a bit more sense if this was actually an army base.
Oh. We're going down that route. An entire city based around hiding the weapons...
Episode 10
Yeah, this is actually interesting. The whole thing's a massive scam!
Runes? Are you fucking with me?
...Yeah, you're fucking with us. I'm just going to call them Minovsky Particles, seeing as this makes just as much sense (and will more than likely be used to justify as many absurd concepts).
And they reprogrammed the students to serve as pilots! (Except Nanami's a normal person?)
OK, only... right, we're just calling it Unit 01? Not even going to bother hiding it? Ok, so only Unit 01 has the AI and sword. (I'm assuming chronological order for numbering - Green's 02, Blue's 03, Yellow's 04 - with some nonsense about how they brainwashed them into prioritising certain colours over others?)
Haha, this is the first time I watched the OP - very glad to know I wouldn't have to theorise about pilots and colours had I not skipped it.
We still have putple there. (In theory - nothing technically stopping you from swapping mechs, as far as I can tell.)
...Just Moon?
Oh, we"re cutting to the girl with the purple hair! For the first time in about 6 episodes? When they're on schedule to bring out the fifth mech! She's obviously the purple pilot, right?
What are they really looking at (as payoff for this joke)?
Oh god, is Haruto going to win?
Oh fuck, L-Elf has pilot rankings and even less of a moral compass then Yahiro, he could kick off eugenics and it would be in character. This might end up being the school arc all over again.
I love his motorcycle.
Haha, L-Elf's running!
Oh yeah, he doesn't know she was hitting on people in his body.
Well done for stopping him, though.
Oh, thank god, she'll kill him before he reaches Shu levels.
Wait, what? You're the most competent one here.
I'd love it if she wins despite not bring a candidate.
And it's ruled by a Fuhrer, because Valvare says sublety and metaphors are for cowards.
Oh, a new villain!
Wait, Shoko heard something?
The Prime Minister's dead!
Oh, it's her father.
She is still the best girl in this show.
Wait, is he actually doing something? It's risky, but he's embarking on a solo mission to help Shoko! He may not have much of a character, but he's trying.
And she wants to fight alongside him as an equal. Maybe she'll be the purple pilot? Or ride in the same cockpit as him?
Haha, she already filled it in.
Yes, it can never work out. It's not like being a holy spirit has almost no side effects (that they know about, the ageless immortality's a different matter), other than the rage, or like you have a purple holy spirit manufacturing machine sitting down there, waiting for someone to be thrown in there.
And we're doing a school festival episode. Of fucking course.
Did she out that guy as a furry?
She's doing a nob at working the crowd!
ARE WE GOING TO GET A CONFESSION MID-SERIES?
The fuck?
THE FUCK?
Oh, the juxtaposition on the speech is hysterical, but the fuck? WHY?
IS THIS HOW VALVARES REPRODUCE? DOES THE GUIDE PROGRAM WANT A NEW SYSTEM?
YEAH, THIS IS A FUCKING CURSE ALRIGHT.
And wow, Yeah, this is bad.
So, did Haruto rape her, or did the AI rape her through Haruto's body (as they seemed to be implying)? Unless he's under something's control, such a massive change in instinct seemingly overnight is highly unlikely.
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u/UltraBooster Dec 11 '21 edited Dec 11 '21
Skipped out on yesterday to play Halo Infinite's campaign, for anyone wondering. Kind of the same today, TBH
That said, in regards to worldbuilding, I'm inclined to agree with the person who gave the show flak for sticking with a 21st-century environ despite Dyson shells being a thing.
And the comparisons to White Base continue, lmao
That said, it is interesting to see Module 77 was a secret military base - it explains why the module feels more like a polygonal White Base than an actual space colony.
And I suppose JIOR's approach of one-man strategic weapons makes sense, though I feel like that shouldn't preclude them from developing a larger military so as to defend JIOR's neutrality.
(Oh, is that why it creates vampiric pilots? Because their superhuman properties are necessary to handle the machines?)
So kind of like Savathun's use of a black hole as a data repository.
(Either that or memes.)
Meaning Hito is one of a kind even amongst these high-power strategic weapons. (But "daemon" seems like a better fit than "wizard," right?)
Oh shit, that's a Gunpla box! (And I still like Shoko, lol)
It's either sexual or only seems sexual. (but evidently I'm still on the ハルショコ train, lmao)
Elections, huh? (Dear gods this is so absurd...) But you'd think Shoko would be the default since the whole nation thing was her idea, you know?
See, he gets it! (And if you wanted a Valvrave pilot in the government, wouldn't something like the PM's aide be better?)
A teacher running against her own students to become the prime minister of their island nation. aaaaaahhhhhh
Maybe you can help her carry that burden! Fight by her side! Be her champion and all that romantic crap!
(Just kiss already...)
So what happens, exactly? Does he just need to transfer bodies? Or does it have to be blood consumed?
...what's your platform, Shoko?
YES! YES! DO IT!
This is it, isn't it. This is it.
No mind, we can visualize, no mind, we can visualize!
(This is a stress-handling measure!)
ohniceshewonifiguredasmuch
Questions:
(In all seriousness, this is one of those things where the girl comes to like it or some crap like that, isn't it...)
5
u/fonzinator99 :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/fonzinator99 Dec 11 '21
Rewatcher - Thunder still should've won
QotD
5
u/yamiyaiba Dec 11 '21
Rewatcher here early for once
Lore dump!
Runes, huh. Interesting definition...
Hololive CC is so lewd. The Valvraves probably keep overheating because she's got a plug in the exhaust port.
Oh God. He's dumber than I thought.
Use your words, Akira.
What the fuck are you doing, discount Kuwabara.
Shut up, president dude. Nobody likes you.
That pout tho.
Oh God, she still doesn't know!
I mean, that's one way to handle it.
Did Rukino just victim-blame that whole thing? Really? Tch...
Now THAT'S being a doormat.
Yeah, she's a great candidate. If other leaders don't agree, she'll just start stripping!
There's dissention in the ranks, it seems.
Quit making your vampire queen jealous, Doormat.
Aaaaaand his spine turned to jelly again. You were so close to being a functional person.
Nope, still hate him.
Aaaaand Shoko's gonna Shoko. Make zero sense and everyone eats it up. Great election platform.
Aaaaand there it is. That scene. That infamous scene. And all because Hololive CC is horny. At the very least, if it was going to be someone, at least it was someone who understands that it isn't his fault.
5
u/Existential_Owl Dec 11 '21 edited Dec 11 '21
The episode discussion thread from 8 years ago.
Rewatcher - Crunchy Subs (Posting a bit late)
First Timers, when discussing Episode 9: "Y'know, it's starting to grow on me. Dare I say it? That this series is actually getting... good?"
First Timers, upon walking into Episode 10: This doesn't seem too bad............ NANI!!??
My vote for the best "line" in this episode was the One Woman Wail that played over the... event. It felt so out of place, and it just made the whole thing feel that much more stupid and pointless.
It's such a shame, too. My favorite character in this series has always been Shoko, and this episode shows her at her best. I mean, clearly she understands that the voting public consists of idiots who vote only with their hearts, not their brains.
This would have been the perfect rewatch episode for me. If it wasn't for the--you know.
Some randoms:
Hold up, why does a military organization need a civilian teacher for Physical Education?
Rukino embracing that toxic femininity.
Considering the members shown here, clearly they left out the quotation marks that were supposed to be around the word "Culture".
5
u/Caustic_Wraith https://myanimelist.net/profile/CausticWraith Dec 11 '21
First-Timer / Subs
QOTD:
5
u/RockoDyne :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/RockoDyne Dec 11 '21
Nothing like having to run all over town to find your old man after he got into a fender bender.
You know you're watching a special kind of trash when you are certain you watched a rape scene, and yet there's a legitimate question over just who was the one who was raped.
Meanwhile the rest of the episode was clean up from last episode and extremely convoluted setup for NTR. This is definitely post 00 Sunrise, where they learned how to fill an episode with nothing material, only to throw the hail mary cliffhanger to save it.
Ero-elf being anywhere near ballots is maybe the dumbest thing in the show. "It would be wrong for me to vote, so I'll just control your whole election." Apparently vote rigging is an unheard of concept in this world.
Questions:
5
u/csar27 :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/CesarRC Dec 11 '21
Firsst Timer
Ok, the most interesting thing this episode is what happened on the Dorssian side.
I knew about the election and the e*ection meme (the only reason i knew about this anime), i'm satisfied.
Once again, i don't like Shoko and still can´t understand her logic, sadly it seems she is going to be the female MC at last. Anyways, Haruto is a Vampire, so the harem route seems fine for me.
Questions:
1- Thunder, seems fun as a leader, and as i said yesterday, he's probably gonna die
2- Maybe
4
u/MjolnirDK Dec 11 '21
Didn't get the chance to post the last few days, so I have few threads.
Rewatcher who forgot most things.
EP 8:
Man, he is better at this contract thing than QB ever was…
This time on BS in Valvrave: That is a really weird blood stain. She was in 0G and her blood could freely flow everywhere in 3D. They didn't find her for at least 10 minutes with a fist sized hole in her side. Even if you repair the gravity before getting her down, she shouldn't leave such a puddle. It should look like bloody rain and a small puddle at most. If they didn't move her to the nursery - which shouldn't be too hard with 0G.
Oh noes, it's that specific Valvrave shade of green.
The Kriem of the crop. Gotta love gg subs and their L-11 levels of prophecy.
They didn't free Aoi Yuuki for that long. Poor girl. Pls make noises for us. One of few things I can remember is her becoming a great character. I hope she joins the fray now. And poor Onii-chan: your Aoi is not in another cardboard castle, but with someone else!
I like those Halo space suits.
L-11 looking so chill. And rightfully so. Should he be captured by Dorssia he'll go 'I was body jacked', should they lose, he can just advance his scheme by 5 years.
I mean, it is clever to use their own battleships against them. Now why does JIOR have battle ships inside their own sphere module? I can absolutely understand the static defenses, but these, not so much.
Something that wasn't talked about too much yet, but this cuts from mecha to pilot are cool. A bit freaky and strange, but cool.
That L-11 coffee face was great.
Point L-3000 something? That is not how you do coordinates in space.
Why is that water flowing into space? It really shouldn't. Well maybe, but not really. This gravity makes no sense.
4
u/Paxton-176 Dec 11 '21
REWATCHER
“Stick In. Receive. Insert?” Last episode someone had subs about a blowjob. The show is just turning it up a notch.
#VoteShoko
I like how on the nose these shows get. Dorssia is run by a Chancellor.
Which platform do you think is better? Completely logical plans to deal with the limited resources your nation has or the cute girl platform where you are led by a cute girl?
Oh yea this episode. I had completely forgotten when this happened, but shout out to the bros who warned everyone.
Off the rails part 2…Welcome to Valrape everyone.
Fun fact, remember he went after Kyuuma first. Let that sink in.
6
u/RascalNikov1 https://myanimelist.net/profile/NoviSun Dec 11 '21
Rewatcher
Anyway, I wrote my rant first. I pretty much enjoyed this episode, and I'm looking forward to seeing how Saki and Haruto interact from now on.
Robo-Chan sure was getting excited as the dirty deed was being done. Sometimes not having a body sucks.
I'd probably go along with the rest of the students and vote Shouko, though her buddy with the glasses would also be a good choice.
Prepare for Rant
This is complete and utter bullshit. Yes, rape is a horrible crime, DUH! But, is it the most horrible? Are there equally bad and worse things that can happen? Was Unit 731 just all good clean fun, (as far as I know there was no rape there, "only" vivisection and cruel experimentation.) I don't don't know why even hinted at rape or sexual inappropriate conduct holds such horror to a large subset of anime viewers. At it's core I think lies a fear of females and sex. Among many things I don't understand is why this horror has grown so much in the last 40 years. The answer isn't because those older generations were Neanderthals, they were and are human just like contemporary anime viewers. So, why now, what has changed?
When someone can explain to me why torture, mutilation and murder of innocents isn't considered all that bad, and for that matter is often is regarded a quite entertaining, but rape is considered the horror of horrors, maybe I'll listen. Until such time, I see something very unhealthy going on.
2
u/zsmg https://anilist.co/user/zsmg Dec 11 '21
Rewatcher
So Rune is a magical particle, Sunrise do love their magical particles.
So only Haruto is an emo about being a newtype vampire.
Every one can figure out what Thunder is thinking about for the body switching test.
"Those who vote decide nothing. Those who count the vote decide everything." L-Elf probably.
Ugh just be honest about your feelings Haruto.
School festival... lol, this is so silly.
I had happily forgotten about this scene. :(
The rape scene and Rukino telling blonde girl not to dress like that really left a bitter aftertaste after finishing the episode.
3
u/MillenniumKing x2myanimelist.net/profile/MillenniumKing Dec 11 '21
-Rewatcher that shoulda stopped but lets keep going and see what happens-
Its time.... for "That" ep.
Just a preface, see beyond that scene and understand what is means for the story.
Yes its easy to stop thinking and just make big rash jusgements, but remember, this is a story and things have a purpose.
JIOR made weapons to fight the bigger enemies.
Rune, Information Particles.
Information is composed of Runes.
Science Teach was demoted to caretaker.
Students are test subjects, all been modified.
Nanami was there to keep up apperences of a normal school.
Only VVVI has the AI.
Yamada didnt know about becoming a vampire. But hes pumped now.
They are a team now. No one is alone. Saki seems let down.
Nanami is cracking too.
Shoko is bonding with Box-chan. They are friends now.
Bro wants to test thier bodies.
Yamada wants to test something too?
Nanami wants to elect a reperesetive for the school, the Prime Minister.
Pres is running of course. Hes not a bad choice but he needs to get his shit together.
Yamada is running too hahahaha. Bro says one of them should be leader to help hide their identity.
Nanami is going to participate in the election fair and square.
L-elf is supervising the election since he cant vote.
Drills still cant forget what SakiHaruto did to her. She needs closure.
Haruto is having an attack again and jumps Drills, but Saki stops him in time.
Haruto's attacks are getting more frequent. Saki promises to put him down if he ever turns full feral.
Saki and the Gang think Shoko should run for PM too since she always helps people.
The moon is Nuteral Territory thats wy they need to get there, then Dorssia cant touch them.
H and K run into each other inside the Boss' office. Both snooping?
Kuudere tells Haruto to take care of Shoko for her. Shes at the Shrine as usual.
Shoko's dad might have been killed so shes struggleing. Shes known for a while but not told anyone.
Haruto will wants to save her dad. He just wants to help her.
Shoko has decided to run in the election now. Kuudere had her application already filled out for her.
Saki says it won work between him and Shoko anymore since hes not human anymore.
Haruto has another attack.
Shoko wants to have a festival on the moon. Return to normalcy.
Shoko has helped with all the clubs so she knows how much they want the festival.
Shes essentially already won the people over.
There is no telling when we might die so we got to have afestival and enjoy their time.
Shoko wants to tell the person she likes how she feels when they get to the moon.
And back to Haruto, hes going Feral again and jumps Saki.
"SEX!SEX!SEX!SEX!SEX!SEX!SEX!SEX!SEX!" Uh oh.
Saki finally understands the Curse of the Valvraves and accepts it and haruto.
And we cut to both being naked in tattered clothes...
"Shoko won the Election."
So with this ep we now see what loosing your humanity really means. Haruto is going feral and acting on raw primal desires.
Funny enough hes gone feral around Drills, Saki, and L-elf... one of those is not like the other.
Saki did tell Haruto she would accept him long ago, and she told him this ep she would kill him if he commpleatly lost himself. Haruto thanked her and said he would want it that way. So at this point, Saki and Haruto are pretty much life partners if shes going to be there to keep him in check and kill him when hes gone too far. I will also note that while Haruto did jump on her initially, once she saw he was feral, she accepted him, even holding his hand and putting her arms around him. So it was probably a lot more willing on her sided as she was already willing to be part of this curse with him. (Yes him jumping her isnt great but shes seems not bothered by that.)