Kakumeiki Valvrave Episode 9: The Third and Fourth

“I want to fight for myself!”


Impression:
I really love this episode for a lot of reasons. The first is while L-Elf never agreed to the part of the promise that Haruto had in mind when they made the deal to protect module 77, which was to prevent any other student from stepping into the VALVRAVE and losing their humanity- he still did the job that needed to be done: train the students. However, until we see what the real consequences are that comes with the immortality, it wasn’t such a bad thing that both Thunder and Kyuuma had each claimed a VALVRAVE of their own. It’s clear though that the “Hunger” factor is something that we don’t know how they are supposed to deal with it, or what will fullill it. If they are really like Vampires, then they’ll probably need blood, if not- it’s probably something else entirely, and if they don’t find the answer soon, all the Valvrave Pilots will go beserk, and I imagine they might even go as far as killing people like zombies.
Although Haruto was not happy with how L-Elf dealt with the whole situation, I- on the otherhand was actually pleased. L-Elf has really done a great job as their military leader. He has been training them, leading them and even came up with the barrier to deflect the Dorrisian’s attack. I really do enjoy seeing him act as their commander, in a way he reminds me of Lelouch but not as um, theatric/drama king (which is good because that is specially for Lulu <3). He is more the cool under fire type, serious face and all. It was really cute and funny when Shouko had shoved that JIOR’s local treat into L-Elf’s mouth and he did like it, but quickly masked it. Heehee! <3
I was also really happy that he got through Kyuuma’s revenge filled head and told him that they can’t afford unskilled and irrational pilots and that revenge will not bring back the dead and that they should focus on minimizing their losses the best they can. If he hadn’t said that, who knows how Kyuuma would have turned out? Seriously, despite the hidden intentions of willing Kyuuma to pilot a VALVRAVE (because he was one of the few A RANKED students who were willing to pilot in the first place), he still said the right thing and as result Kyuuma did think it through, reminding himself that he will turn into what Haruto despise the most and made the resolve that he is doing this for himself. So having done that, he doesn’t regret sacrificing his humanity, as oppose to Haruto- who at the time was possessed by the burning desire for vengeance, and having regretted his decision ever since.
On the other hand, Thunder was the one who was fueled by revenge to get into the VALVRAVE. However honestly speaking, regardless of what his motivation could have been- he still would have tried to get into the VALVRAVE just because he hates the Dorrisian Army so much and he is not the type to sit on his ass in the HQ. Thunder has always been that in-the-battlefield type of guy, so I am not entirely bothered by his reasons for wanting to become a pilot.
Best of all, Kyuuma and Thunder work really well together as a team. Heck, I dare say even better than Saki and Haruto working together, but we have yet to see how they will respond to a bait like Saki and Haruto had dealt with today. The one thing that Saki (in particular) needs to work on is to think before she acts, because so far her ‘just do it’ idea isn’t fairing very well and wounding up in traps thus becoming a hindrance to Haruto who has to bail her out. But the fault also lies in Haruto as well since he follows her. Well both of them will learn at some point or another.
It turns out that L-Elf was almost on the mark about the students being able to pilot the Valvraves.  It is revealed that Kibukawa Takumi is part of the JIOR Army, Laboratory no. 4, Master Fellow. If that wasn’t a shocker- (I doubt it was for most people) it turns out that specifically, the people of module 77 were made/chosen for the VALVRAVES. (So I guess that means the VALVRAVES are JIOR exclusive. So L-Elf will probably never get to pilot one… awwwwww…. I was thinking about how badass it’d be if he were to be able to pilot the purple one….) All the people in the city, and the workers in the harbor were soldiers. Everyone was in JIOR’s army- which is honestly, hard to believe because, like what the hell. Then what was with that slow reaction when Dorrisian attacked???? You’d think the people having been trained in the military would know better… That it was not a freaking drill. Either way, I am having a hard time wrapping my head around that part of the revelation. Everything else though, I can make sense of no problem. Then there was the part about the ‘made’ aspect, which makes me wonder if that means perhaps they aren’t truly human as they believe to be. Perhaps they had modified genes so that if and when they were to agree to the terms and agreements for the VALRAVE and just get that blood infusion that gives them immortality and other quirks. Another thing I wonder is if their genes had been modified, perhaps it was also for the sake of serving as the role to help deal with the chosen one’s hunger.
*Shrugs* Just throwing around ideas.
With only three episodes remaining and only one VALVRAVE left to debut- or rather, two more if you recall the Golden Six remark from last week taking place in the future. I suspect that the 6th one is the one Kibukawa has been keeping his eye on and wondering why it’s not moving. I am pretty god damn sure myself that Cain knows of its existence and in order for it to probably activate, all five VALVRAVES must come together. I have this icky feeling that the sixth and final VALVRAVE might possibly be Cain’s…. just because of the fact he too has that stigma. It would certainly be really fucked up if that’s why he’s been pushing the attacks, not because he cares about dealing with the VALVRAVES, but because he wants them to ‘Awaken the Sixth’. Who cares about the Dorrian military ambitions, at this point I’m convinced that Cain has been pursuing his own plans, and that he’s the guy to watch out for in Season 2.