Warning: this post contains spoilers.
Valvrave the Liberator is the latest mecha anime from Sunrise, but unlike its other anime, it adds a lot of plot twists you would not expect from a mecha series. Perhaps taking a cue from successful anime that have combined different genres, like Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Valvrave seems to have taken the mecha genre and infused it with the supernatural and school life drama. The result is a lot of plot twists that some consider ridiculous while others consider entertaining.
One of the first surprising moments in Valvrave was when it was revealed that the main character, Haruto, had turned into some sort of vampire after becoming a pilot. While it might sound silly at first, you have to admit that it solves some problems associated with the traditional teenage pilot, particularly how they also seem to be invincible when not in their mechas. Having a vampire-like pilot also makes for some unique problems you wouldn’t find in mecha anime, such as the urge to bite people and how to have a relationship when one person will outlive the other.
In mecha series, the mecha typically takes refuge in a “neutral” country or is serviced by highly trained military personnel aboard a special ship. In Valvrave the Liberator, the Valvraves are serviced by high school students in a country that they have declared for themselves. It’s later revealed that the school was actually set up by the military in order to hide the development of top secret weapons. This was a unique way for Valvrave the Liberator to incorporate school life aspects into the series. It allows for things you normally find in school anime like popularity contests and group rivalry in a series that normally doesn’t have that. At times it may seem out of place though, after all, who would actually be concerned with classes when a superpower is sending their strongest fleets to destroy your school?
Perhaps the most shocking plot twist recently was the rape of Saki by Haruto. Practically everyone who is following the series is talking about episode what happened in episode 10; it was sudden and unexpected. At this point one could argue that the writers of Valvrave the Liberator are taking the series into a darker direction but also that they are simply sensationalizing the series now.
Regardless of what their intent was, it’s clear that Valvrave the Liberator is going to have a lot more plot twists in the future. It may be great for people who like to see anime experimenting with different combinations of genres, but it can also seem silly and turn out to be one big mess that doesn’t make any sense. I think it creates some interesting situations, but at this moment I just don’t see how a lot of it ties together to create anything solid.
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