Valkyria Chronicles – Anime Review

Everyone is used to anime created from manga, books, history or light novels but an anime having a video game as it’s source material while not unheard up is kinda few and far between. That is exactly what Valkyria Chronicles is an anime based off a tactical role-playing game published by Sega, exclusively for the PlayStation 3. Incidentally, being a fan of strategy and RPG games the Valkyria Chronicles video game is a title I had been following for a while online via trailers and developer diaries but for various reasons I have been unable to play the game (for now).

When I found out there was going to be an anime based on Valkyria Chronicles it was the first on my Spring 2009 anime watchlist and I posted my first impressions on Valkyria Chronicles a few weeks later. Having not played the game I wondered if my view on the anime would be different from others and I also wonder if my thoughts will change after I get the opportunity to play it, but for now I decided to write about the anime focusing on what I liked or didn’t like about the series.

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The Valkyria Chronicles Story

A fictional Europe is at war over a precious multi-purpose mineral called Ragnite. The small independent country called Gallia is right between the warring superpowers of the East European Imperial Alliance and the Atlantic Federation. As the war drags on and Ragnite becomes more and more scarce the imperials decide to to invade Gallia, the home country of the main characters in the Valkyria Chronicles story. The two main characters are Welkin Gunther – a young intelligent university graduate and child of a war hero who would join the ranks on Gallias militia as the leader of Squad 7 and Alicia Melchiott – a carefree baker before the war who is swept up in the war and conscripted into the militia as the second in command of Officer Gunther. Other interesting characters include Maximilian – the younger of the two princes in the Imperial Alliance who is the main villain in the series, Selvaria – a descendant of the legendary Valkyria who worships the ground Maximilian walks on and Isara – the younger sister of Welkin who is a very capable mechanic.

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The Good Stuff

I really like the unique art style of the series which has a cool textured shading look to it. The story is told from different viewpoints with a few surprises and decent plot twists although I did have some problems with it that I will explain below. Although a little too cheerful at times, the occasional massacre or death of a main character kept things a little serious without going overboard with the violence.

The Bad Stuff

My main complaint is how annoying many of the characters were, Suzie being the main culprit, I cringed whenever she was onscreen as she only did one of three thing, feint, be clumsy or cry. The spoiler filled opening animation and title sequence is one of my biggest complains about this series as just from looking at it you could already see how much of the story would play out. The mid section of the anime seemed rather slow and dull while the final few episodes were so generic and rushed, I was really disappointed with how things ended up but it ended with a cliffhanger so I am sure there will be a sequel, whether this sequel will improve on the story is yet to be seen.

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Verdict and Conclusion

A decent anime that I’d recommend if you enjoy comedic romantic dramas with a touch of action, but if love triangles, uneventful final “boss” battles and lighthearted war is not your kettle of fish this one is a pass. I still plan on playing the video game after I successfully snag a Playstation 3 although I am not sure how that will affect my feelings about the anime.

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10 thoughts on “Valkyria Chronicles – Anime Review

  1. I haven’t watched the anime yet. I downloaded the 1st episode, but haven’t got around to watching it. I’m waiting until I finish the game.

    But yah, I recommend playing this game whenever you grab a PS3. I’m only half way through so far, but I have to say it’s one of my favorites. The art style is wonderful, and the game-play is great.

  2. Um… Cliffhanger ending? Are you sure you saw all 26 episodes? I would in no conceivable way call the ending a cliffhanger.

    1. I would ^^, without spoiling too much for those who haven’t already watched it I am sure a few ppl who seems to have died didn’t, plus there are so many characters like the imperial royal family that have yet to be explored properly.

  3. Well, with the game’s storyline aside, the anime in my opinion was pretty decent. Although I must admit that the ending seems to be a little rushed, it did end and it did not really end in a cliffhanger, yeah, the royal family isn’t fully explored, but it is explained as to why there isn’t any need of it.

    Having played the game before watching the anime, I must however concede that the plot within the game is much more intriguing and watching Faldio Landzaat hog most of the spotlight within the anime is a tad annoying for in the game ( take note that the story’s bedrock is from the game ) , he is a flawed character whose tactics and heroics pale in comparison to Welkin Gunther. If you have played the game, you will definitely appreciate Welkin’s character much more due to his outrageous but sound tactics as a field officer and his courage that drives him forward, albeit clumsy and too honest in matters concerning the heart.

    In conclusion, I think that the anime was decent, but the game’s plot and storyline is way better than the anime as it ties up all loose ends at the end of the game and it dives into each of the characters in much greater detail which therefore makes the story much more interesting.

    And yeah, Valkyria Chronicles is by far one of the most interesting games I have ever played for it’s genre on the PS3, in my opinion, it would be difficult for another game within the same genre to stack up to Valkyria Chronicles. Too bad the game was not really a hit in my country, hence making it scarce in supply and when I actually grabbed one, it cost me quite alot.

  4. I watched a playthrough of the VC game and I absolutely enjoyed it. Recently, I found out the made it into an anime series, so I watched it. It started out faithful to the game, but as it went on I grew to dislike what I was seeing more and more. The overabundance of Faldio was annoying, and the triangle with him, Welkin, and Alicia was unnecessary drama to me. The point that turned me off was when Alicia displayed her power as a Valkyria and was transferred to the regulars shortly afterwards. From then on, I had to force myself to finish the series. In fact, I even skipped episodes 23-25. In the end, this had a good amount of potential but it failed to deliver, and I find that fact disheartening.

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