Valkyria Chronicles. Otaku Review.

If there's a familiar face that I've seen floating around in the internet, it's that girl in the front running through a war torn trench with her rifle. Apparently, that's with good reason; turns out that Valkyria Chronicles is a hit game in the PS3 that I would certainly love to take for a spin, but sadly, yeah...I am not so well off for such pleasantries in life. So, I thought I'd settle for the next best thing then, which is..well, son of a gun, an anime adaptation of the game itself! Then I read scathing reviews from the gamers saying the anime shouldn't be compared to the game itself since it does the game no such justice. Well, turned out I had to find out what the deal was then for myself. Valkyria Chronicles is a war themed anime that seems to take place in an alternate earth resembling the WWII. Although later on, development tend to add more fantasy related elements and romance started to play a role. It's typically how war neutral Gallia repels the Imperial Forces from taking over to acquire ragnite ores for the war effort somewhere else, but of course, people in power also have ulterior motives for the hostile takeover. The story is from the point of view of a Gallian militia squad with a unique tank designed by the war hero, brilliant tactician general and late father of Welkin Gunther and the strong spirited Alicia Melchiott.

The whole plot in itself is well thought out, and is already intriguing from the start. The change of direction of the plot later on was pretty unexpected and perhaps adds a lot of action and impact to the whole storyline. But somehow, I think execution of the many centerpoints in the show are sloppy and half-assed. It somewhat leaves me with the feeling of being unexpectedly left out in the cold from something that could've been much more. In short, many of the highlights have huge wasted potentials in being more dramatic or emotionally tugging on our heart strings. So much feelings could've been evoked out, but the plot chooses to jump directly to the next focus that it comes out as if nothing ever happened in the first place. 

The art in itself isn't too shabby. Nothing majestic, but I didn't find myself grumbling about it either. The action scenes are average to a bit good. Later on, things become more chaotic and action junkies like me always love a good lump of chaos. The romance is suitable enough with some amusing set of chemistry, but as with above, I feel as though there is a lot of wasted potential when it comes to this department, but in the end, at least, I found the conclusion acceptable.

If you have a penchant for wartime romances with a fair bit of action with the late fantasy plot, then maybe you might enjoy Valkyria Chronicles -- Unless of course, you own a PS3. With that, I suggest you directly skimp out on the anime and go directly engrossing yourself in a game with a solid plot with universally high review ratings with game critics worldwide. Damn, I wish I had a PS3. Boo.

Rating: 7/10