SPOILER FREE ZONE ENDS HERE (I will tag spoilers so you could still sort of maybe read it but links are totally NOT safe).
MLA Spoilers Good times were had.
The whole plot of Muv-Luv is filled with a lot of wisdom(self destruction devise indeed), clever meta commentary as well as the greatest sex scene ever made that takes full advantage of its sci-fi roots! What I never knew I wanted! :P. It is also filled predictable-but-not-really plot twists, I was able to grasp some important narrative threads for the entire duration of Muv-Luv but there were always other elements I would not account for and I was constantly second guessing myself, there’s some really solid sci-fi supporting the entire structure of Muv-Luv and that’s what kept me engaged and surprised at every turn to the very end.
The idea behind the BETA is something that really got to me, even during Unlimited and Alternative did not disappoint, the biggest worry for me was that the illusion and fear would go away once the showed the actual monsters but they managed to keep them scary and that is due to many reasons that lie at the core of everything that is Alternative.
The first one was the actual military setting, it’s very well handled, war should be inherently scary and because Alternative is second to none, no matter the enemy you are always at the edge of your seat, MLA Spoilers
Lastly the ending, it was probably the hardest part to pull off and what would make or break the idea of MLA Spoilers despite all odds? And the result is eerie.
I guess the real, final answer to the question: How do you keep the monster scary after you show it? is: You make up another bigger badder monster and don’t show that one.
It obviously does borrow from the Deep Ones, but instead of making “blub blub” as they make their way to us, now they come from a place where no one can hear you scream.
Like I mentioned earlier, I really liked the characters, not all of them to be sure, and I have only tangentially touched on the many great things about the world building and the political side of things (both self-contained and what applies to our world as well).
I really like the approach to politics, it’s fair to both sides, left and right, and stays true to what MLA Spoilers said when she talked about points of view and that a leader should be able to see the validity of the opinions in many different sides of an argument, I do think that the VN leans left but it is possible that those are my own biases that give me that perspective.
While the nations are sometimes condemned as a whole for their actions they never forget to consider the perspective of the individuals and I always appreciate that. Muv-Luv takes it a bit further and considers the different and opposing ideas even amongst those in power of a single nation, and it does this for both the west and the east, this shouldn’t be refreshing but it sadly is.
If I liked Meiya in Unlimited and during Ayamine’s route in Extra then I ended up loving her in Alternative, obviously I went with her “route” here and I don’t even know how it could work any other way, everything felt right into place and it made sense for her to be the closest person to Takeru, and given the plethora of other elements that work in favor of them being really close I might even consider the fact that Alternative allows others to be the “BFF” a huge negative issue, but since I didn’t actually go for them I can’t really pass judgment.
It’s not so much that what Meiya said was particularly insightful or deep(though at times it was) but it was always the right thing to say, and exactly what Takeru needed to hear, even if he was to dense to catch it at the time. The one thing that bothered me was when MLA Spoilers. Really WTF was that?! It felt really forced and out of place, they wanted that parallel with MLA Spoilers but it wasn’t needed, they already had enough. Just having her be Meiya was enough.
Meiya really understood Takeru and also reacted properly, and MLA Spoilers so props to them I guess. Yes, I just dedicated 3 paragraphs to Meiya, she’s best girl if I’ve ever seen one.
As I mentioned earlier the military setting is excellently executed, Âge really went all out, they clearly did their research and tried as hard as they could to empathize with their characters and the situation they were in on top of that, the result was an excellently crafted setting and believable characters. Izumi is in my eyes the culmination of that work, a real believable soldier, the by-product of good characterization and world building.
I previously called out Sumika’s character in Extra as pitiful and the worst part of Extra but then MLA Spoilers but it paid of and even redeems Extra(just a bit).
MLA Spoilers I'm sure if this had been written by someone like Kinoko Nasu the end would have lasted 2 more hours but sometimes something short like that is all you need.
There are so many things I could say and expand upon, more about the BETA, the sort of rushed ending (though it worked plenty well and was foreshadowed enough for me to be ok with it), many many characters I didn’t even mention and all the plot twists that kept me at the edge of my seat, made me cry and gave me plenty of sleepless nights, but I believe I covered everything important and what stood out to me the most without delving into the nitty-gritty of the actual plot.
It's been days now since I finished Alternative but I still find myself depressed every now and then, the ending hit me really hard and I don't even now how to get rid of that feeling because it's not fun anymore. Send help.
Oh yeah, and go read it if you haven't already.
