So when the story also adds in a Japanese nationalistic coup d’etat attempt clearly inspired by similar real-life Japanese nationalistic coup d’etat attempts, you can see how people might get squeamish. Just the very concept of a modern-day Japanese Empire is already fertile ground for potential controversy. Age has suggested before that the heavily political nature of this arc had scared off some of the previous potential sponsors for an Alternative anime. Perhaps what’s most surprising to me is the extent to which the anime is being allowed to portray this storyline at all. However, while Total Eclipse focused more on international relations, and Schwarzesmarken on the state of Cold War Germany, Alternative is set in Japan, and this political arc centers on Japanese domestic politics. Longtime readers of this blog will know that the complex political conflicts of this world are one of this franchise’s biggest draws for me, so it’s no surprise that this is exactly the kind of episode that I love. And the launch of this coup d’etat is the next step in that process, as Takeru is exposed for the first time to the deep political divisions that govern this world, as well as the fact that his interventions in the timeline can have negative repercussions as well as positive. And it happened again at the start of Alternative, when he was brought back to the beginning of this timeline, this time with the knowledge that the world was operating under a strict timeline, counting down to December 25 and the end of Alternative IV, which he had no idea about his first time around. That’s what happened when Takeru was originally transported from his original world to this world, a world under attack by the BETA. That’s how the story has always depicted Takeru’s growth – each time Takeru has matured as much as he can in his current status quo, the story exposes him to an even darker truth hiding beneath the surface.
MUV LUV ALTERNATIVE TIMELINE SERIES
That all gives this episode an extremely dark feel, in contrast with the relatively more lighthearted feel of the series so far, especially the last few episodes which have focused heavily on Takeru’s return to his original world.īut then, that’s the entire point of doing the episode this way, to shock Takeru – and the viewer – with a sudden, darker shift in tone. Indeed, as Yoroi notes, all five of Takeru’s teammates are now deeply connected to this incident. It also brings back both Undersecretary Tamase and Chief Yoroi, and pays off the shady hints involving Kei over the last few episodes. It brings back into the foreground the hints of dissatisfaction with the way the civilians have been treated by the government, which had been seeded in several episodes. At the same time, though, it also pulls together many of the strands of foreshadowing that have been laid throughout the series. And I really mean it wastes no time – it launches straight into the story without any lead-in from the previous episodes. This episode wastes no time in taking us deep into our first truly serious storyline of the show, a full-on coup d’etat by a rogue military faction within the Japanese imperial forces. Muv-Luv Alternative: Total Eclipse Game Review/AnalysisĪnime Rewatch 2021: Schwarzesmarken 11-12Īnime Rewatch 2021: Kimi ga Nozomu Eien 1-2Īnime Rewatch 2021: Kimi ga Nozomu Eien 3-4Īnime Rewatch 2021: Kimi ga Nozomu Eien 5-7Īnime Rewatch 2021: Kimi ga Nozomu Eien 8-9Īnime Rewatch 2021: Kimi ga Nozomu Eien 10-11Īnime Rewatch 2021: Kimi ga Nozomu Eien 12-14Īnime Rewatch 2021: Kimi ga Nozomu Eien: Next Season I started out by translating interviews from the Total Eclipse cast and staff, and eventually I began providing my own commentary as well.īelow I’ve highlighted the posts I’ve devoted the most time into writing. At the time, it was difficult for English-speaking fans to find information about Muv-Luv, so I hoped to fill that void at least a little. I started this blog to bring attention to the newly-announced Total Eclipse anime. Welcome! I’ve been a fan of Muv-Luv since 2003, and I’ve been running this blog since 2012.