Impression:

It may have started off on an awkward foot, but Kakumeiki Valvrave quickly became one of my favorite series of the entire year. The first season was great and it left a lot of stuff up in the air. Luckily, the series only took a one season break. What did Sunrise bring us this time around? A fantastic mech series that is making the recent Gundam projects look like shit.

Summary:

Just so you know, there is a first season to this series. The title should make that clear, but some people require clarification. You do need to watch the first season in order to understand what is going on, so definitely check that out if you can. Now that we can talk about the actual story, they threw out a lot of stuff that I am still trying to wrap my head around. That secret organization that is in charge of molding the world is basically a cult filled with people like Haruto and company. They are called Magius and they just transformed the leader of Dorssia. After that, things kicked off right where we left off last season. The module was under attack and Haruto started a damn good fight with Cain. Even though Cain escaped with the incomplete Valvrave, Haruto and company made it to the moon. They gained a lot of support from other nations and the supplies started to rain in. Things appeared to be going well on the outside as the module was recognized as an independent nation and Saki became even more popular. There are just a few problems. Haruto’s attacks are becoming more frequent and he has become a lab rat. This is all for the future which must come now. The module has officially challenged Dorssia and is attempting to land on Earth. Things are going down at a ridiculous pace.

Characters:

This is a second season, so I will only go over a few characters individually. Most of them will be covered in groups. I am actually quite fond of the characters in this series. One of my biggest problems with the first season was Haruto because he was a little bitch. However, I do believe that he is starting to develop into a stronger character. Haruto may be fucking crazy, but he is not a total bitch anymore.

Haruto Tokishima

Haruto is the pilot of Unit 01. He is the best pilot, but that may be due to his connection with a very special mech. His Valvrave is one of the original two. This gives him a very important task. The attacks that plague Haruto are actually a reaction towards a need for energy. Runes power the Valvraves and Haruto must feed on humans in order to power all six mechs. His kind spirit was once a crutch, but it now fuels Haruto to fight for others.

L-elf Karlstein

L-elf is the total badass that basically leads New JIOR. His ability to command a nation is fueled by his intellect that was molded by Cain. Even though the “one man army” is capable to taking on a great deal of enemies, he is not a pilot. That is left to the others.

Saki Rukino

Saki is an idol that is trying to escape the life that she once had. This has led to her becoming a pilot and falling in love with Haruto. Unfortunately, they don’t have the best foundation when it comes to a possible relationship. The once hard to approach idol may be very concerned with Haruto’s well-being, but that doesn’t change the way that Haruto feels about the rape incident.

Shouko Sashinami

Shouko has taken on the role of New JIOR’s prime minister. The time that she spent with her dad has helped Shouko, but running a nation has really taken a toll on her. You can see the spirit slowly draining from her. Politicians do tend to get white hair while in office. She has even decided to withhold her confession to Haruto for the time being. That may be a good idea.

NEW JIOR Students

The students of New JIOR were not brought together on accident. The entire staff, aside from Nanami-sensei were military personnel. Did you ever wonder how they were able to run an independent nation so well? They were hand-picked for the Valvrave experiment.

Dorssian Army

This group is actively attacking New JIOR. Dorssia is attempting to take over the world now that the tyrannical regime has taken hold. They are full of skilled pilots and great strategists. Their one weakness, a gap in technology, may have just been bridged.

We will meet other characters along the way, but we are already looking at a pretty crowded field. I know that some of the pilots will get the short end of the stick, but I would like to see more from the political side of things. The non-pilot students need some screen time as well.

Current Opinion of the Show:

I nominated the first season of Kakumeiki Valvrave as a top ten series for the year and this first episode gives me hope that the second season will be even better than the first. I am that high on this series right now. Let’s not even talk about the amazing story for now. That fight scene between Cain and Haruto was beautiful. Haruto pulled out some crazy shit in that one. After losing a leg, busting out the spare arm from another mech and throwing a massive punch was an amazing move. The action scenes in this series are getting better. Add that to the story and we are golden. On the story, I honestly can’t believe how many answers we got. The secret society being full of the Magius is crazy. Will Haruto and company have to take them on eventually? Will they even get that far? Well, we can assume that they do get that far because of the future Saki stuff. Also, Haruto did not destroy the Valvraves. Saki still has hers two hundred years from now.

Did anyone else notice the new mechs in that ending that may be an opening? Well, let’s assume that they are those children of the Valvrave things. I can’t wait to see fights between the Valvraves and those new mechs with Dorssian pilots. Excitement for fighting aside, there is a lot of drama piling up. New JIOR is definitely being exploited due to their lack of experience and they will eventually have to stand up for themselves. My money is on the president to make the first move. Then we have the romance stuff. I honestly forgot about the stuff between Haruto and Shouko. I was a little too focused on what was going on between Haruto and Saki. I find that to be far more interesting. Saki is going through a lot of stuff. Denying the marriage proposal due to its circumstances and offering up her body even though the last experience was probably very traumatizing. How does she look so happy in those soda commercials when she is going through so much? I am honestly concerned that the stuff between Haruto and Shouko may get too much attention moving forward. I am not saying that just because I support Haruto and Saki as a pairing, but I do think that there is more important stuff going on. If Shouko looks towards Haruto for comfort/avoids that because she knows he is having a hard time, then that is the proper way to go about it. Just give everything a proper amount of connection to the main story. The stress of supporting an independent nation in the face of war is big time. Oh man, I could talk about this stuff forever. I think it is pretty obvious that I am looking forward to more from this series. Also, definitely check out the first season if you have not yet done so.