Valvrave the Liberator 2nd Season- Request for Freedom from Problems Partially Granted

So while my evaluation of “Valvrave the Liberator’s” first season was less than enthusiastic (See my review here) compared with Angela’s impressions, both she and I have decided to press on and see how the second season holds up (See her first impressions here). For me, this was about giving the series a chance to redeem itself, and also to see how it moved on from its abrupt, jarring ending of the first season. Would the series be able to improve on its flaws from the first season?

Thankfully, the first episode begins where the end of the first season left off- from the middle of the climactic battle in the previous series, and there is a conclusion that is drawn and some of the prior questions which prop up in the prior episode are more fully developed. While this transition between season is handled better than “Code Geass,” it nonetheless introduces elements which don’t integrate easily into the series itself such as Cain’s power. Going further on into the show, it is apparent that the first season’s pros are kept- battle scenes are once again flashy, and the mechs still retain their wonderful appearance, and of course are upgraded specwise, though their pilots also mature and develop for the most part. Unfortunately, while the Valvraves still retain their wonderful appearance, they aren’t involved in as many battles during the second season, with the series instead focusing more on tactics, politics, and motives, so expect a lot less of the wonderful eye candy which highlighted season one. Of course, L-elf easily remains the most interesting character, protagonist or antagonist and thankfully his character becomes even more interesting in the second season of Valvrave, with key questions of his past and future motives coming to light.

Still looks cool, but now with additional arm attachment.  The fact it looks like it came from Kallen Stadtfeld’s Guren Mk II isn’t a coincidence.

Other improvements also abound in the second season- most of the characters are given a new dimension to them, not a difficult task considering most of these cookie-cutter characters were about as flavorful as a water cracker. Universally, the willpower and courage of the JIORians and the Valvrave pilots has gone up, and this is most welcome in Haruto. This character at least has some plus points now, realizing what he has become, becoming more tactical, and accepting of his responsibility, but he still feels half-baked. While his piloting skills have naturally improved and he is able to handle his Valvrave in a more professional manner, there is still next to no attention given to how he acquired his skills, and his acceptance of fate is highlighted by only a brief, middling speech and thus comes off as somewhat defeatist, wasting an opportunity to more fully develop his character. Nonetheless, his worst aspect of turning into a helpless crybaby has thankfully been eliminated. An attempt is also made at livening up the other bingo-board characters as well. X-eins is more than just a boring analytic and A-drei thankfully no longer feels like a watered-down version of “Gundam Seed’s” Yzak Joule. While some attempt is also made at fleshing out Q-vier and H-neun, these attempts are less successful, as they neither develop the character by tempering his flaws nor give dimension by explaining his means. Therefore, H-neun still is more interested in flirting than piloting his mech, and Q-vier is still a simplistic, battle-loving sadist. Attempts are also made to flesh out the main antagonist, Cain, and while explanations are made as to his motives and actions, they are usually thrown out in enormous lumps at the beginning and end of the series, and he mostly remains stagnant in the series’ middle half. In the end, Cain’s character development can’t hold a candle to other masked adversaries like Char Aznable, Zechs Marquise, or even Graham Aker, and instead can be summed up as a watered-down version of “Gundam Seed’s” Rau le Creuset.

Perhaps the biggest issue with the second season of “Valvrave,” however, is that a majority of issues with the first season are still prevalent and have not been addressed. While the plotline and storyline have been fleshed out, the pacing has not slowed down, an unfortunate but unsurprising problem considering that there are again only twelve episodes of content to work with. Thus, the series still moves much too quickly, tries to cover too much ground and introduces too many new elements which don’t integrate well. The explanation which is given to viewers regarding the role Runes play in the series’ story and the role of the Magius in the worldwide political spectrum is inadequate and these elements are haphazardly glued and stapled into the series. These elements, like in the first season, remain underdeveloped and again lead to the series having a shallow feel to it, festering a mood of apathy from the viewers. The second half of “Valvrave” still uses many cut-and-pasted elements from “Gundam Seed” or “Code Geass” and unfortunately doesn’t attempt to go down any sort of innovative path, giving the series an overall generic, cut-rate feel. For instance, the launchpad element has been pulled directly from “Gundam Seed,” and several major plot events are taken directly from “Code Geass,” with little attempt at disguising said event. The series does attempt to inject moments of angst and conflict but the overall results are feeble compared with other series. The problem is twofold: not only are these events crammed into the last third of the series but also the apathy towards these characters still hangs about like fog. The reason for this apathy is simple: most of these characters still carry over their flaws and negative points from the first season.

Explanation haphazardly given, somewhat expanded.  More details needed.

Case in point is the simple-minded brute Yamada, whose lack of focus on defensive maneuvers begins to cause small problems such as having parts of his Valvrave cut off in the middle of battle. Next, there is the disintegration of Rukino Saki, whose drastic fall from grace in the first season continues in the second season. While there are moments where the producers attempt to redeem her as a character, her subsequent dialogue turns this attempted redemption into a move of self-inflicted permanent injury to the point of no return. In fact, the disintegration this character suffers is even worse than what the producers did to “D-Gray Man’s” Lenalee Lee or “Sword Art Online’s” Yuki Asuna, minus their subsequent recoveries. The series does attempt to remedy itself by introducing elements of betrayal, love, and sacrifice, and these elements achieve some success at righting the series. However, they can only go so far with the time given, and as a result, the characters don’t respond well to the sharp transition in feelings and many characters undergo a huge BSOD and reboot sequence. Case in point is A-drei, whose character is given preparation for his dramatic character transition, but the eventual maneuver still comes off as jerky and unsettling. Injecting elements of sacrifice attempts to fall back onto the UC-Gundam tactic of killing off characters to make the series feel more substantial. Again, since this happens in the last third of the series to characters with an underdeveloped platform, it comes off as the producers putting their characters through a disguised seppuku ritual.

He says this to his sister.  Take it as you will.

Now, for those who have watched the first half of “Valvrave the Liberator,” the second season ought to be watched. There are several welcome elements such as the improved characters and a fleshed-out plot. However, the big plus points which made the first season so appealing to watch such as flashy battles and excellent mech designs have been somewhat tempered in the second season. Though some of the characters have improved from the first season, the transition for many characters is awkward and many characters nonetheless carry over their detrimental aspects. This flaw is not only limited to the characters themselves as the series still moves too quickly and elements are haphazardly introduced to try and flesh out the series. Now, the series does expand, but with the elements available to the producers, more could have been done and a much better product could have resulted. Now, overall, is the second season better than the first? A little at most. Is the second season worth watching? If one has watched the first season, the second season is a necessity as it does wrap the franchise up, but sans the ribbon on top of the present. However, if one has not seen the first season, there is no reason, and if one does choose to watch the series, it is better to treat the first and second seasons as a 24-episode series rather than two separate 12-episode series, and one must watch the entire thing as the first season’s ending is abysmal. Should one get into the series at all? Probably not, as there are too many flaws and problems to deal with.

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