#Muv-Luv Complete

[toskarin]

Muv-Luv is an anime I really don’t think I should watch. All I’ve seen are fucked up Ryona of chicks getting eaten by bugs like it’s fucking Earth Defense Force and everyone went Wing Diver.

you should not watch the muv-luv anime, because it sucks a lot. the vn is better and a lot of what makes it charming simply does not translate to charisma in anime format

a big part of what made muv-luv's presentation interesting is that it was very cinematic, and not just in the way people tend to use that word to describe things they like. it tried really hard to feel like an anime you were playing, complete with subtitles and camera motions. in translating that to actual anime, those deliberate stylistic choices vanished entirely

[pancake-breakfast]

The recent Steam Summer Sale has brought home that I have too many unplayed games. In an attempt to remedy this, I'm going to try to complete at least one indie game a month for a year to parse down the list. I'm gonna start with the games I currently have installed but haven't finished (To The Moon + DLC, There Is No Game: Wrong Dimension), which will count as one game because they're already started.

(In all fairness, I HAVE beat To The Moon before. Just not its DLC.)

Then... I think I'll set up a poll here for August and let other people choose which of my extensive collection I should play next. I'm gonna list the indie games I have below. Please comment or shoot me a message if there are any in particular you think I should play, and I'll try and prioritize it on the poll. (No, I don't have any illusions they'll all fit, and I don't know enough about them all to make a bracket.)

The Banner Saga

Beckett

A Bird Story

Bokura

Botanicula

Broken Age

Brothers - A Tale of Two Sons

Caligo

Child of Light

Don't Starve

Element4l

Epistory

Everything

The Fall

Finding Paradise

The First Tree

Gris

Hacknet

The Hex

Inscryption

Last Day of June

Layers of Fear (Note: I won't generally play true horror games unless I'm streaming them)

Little Nightmares

The Long Dark

Mandagon

Monster Prom 3: Monster Roadtrip

Murdered: Soul Suspect

Muv-Luv

Nephise

Never Alone

Opus: The Day We Found Earth

Pyre

Remember Me

The Silent Age

The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe (Note: I've played the original already)

A Story About My Uncle

Stray

Superbrothers

The Swapper

Tacoma

This War of Mine

The Town of Light

The Vanishing of Ethan Carter

Where the Water Tastes Like Wine

The Witness

Yume Nikki

[onigiri-dorkk]

Assuming if Mikasa does indeed die by Eren's hand in the anime, I wonder how that will happen. Maybe he regenerates after she kills him? If Levi also dies, I wonder if they'll still keep the "Mikasa, stay with me" by having Levi hold Mikasa in her dying moments before Eren kills him too. I've also seen Tensa seaparately theorize that Mikasa may die from an arm injury like her Muv-Luv counterpart Sumika did. What do you think?

YES okay you brought up the “Eren is alive and well” branch of a theory too — a lot of people think that Eren lives even after being beheaded, due to 1) Reiner’s ability to transfer his conscience throughout his body to save his life when getting his vital point cut (mirrors Eren’s beheading) and/or 2) Jaw Titan ability to operate a full Titan with powers while being in a crystal underground… Just seems like Isayama builds and creates such OP Titan abilities for no reason…? And if anime-Eren actually intends to live, wouldn’t he exhaust all means he learned before accepting defeat? (The way he utilized Annie’s fighting style once he learned it too!)

All that to answer your question — I could totally see a route in which everything of manga is animated normally (including Stay With Me, etc!) to the death of Eren as it happens in the manga, making everybody think oh shit, maybe this is just going to be an exact manga adaptation……..

only for him to be shown to actually survive. BOOM, a cliffhanger where the Part 1 episode ends.

Then Part 2 happens and it’s where all hell and chaos lets loose.

You brought up the Sumika arm death with the butterfly wings!! I’ve seen this comparison too and I never stopped to think about how exactly that would play out. It would make sense, maybe, and honestly probably makes for a more emotionally impactful moment, for a slow death of Mikasa. Who knows if it’s exactly arm injury tho, since ripped butterfly wing could just symbolize any type of deadly injury. But knowing how specific the image is, absolutely it could be exactly that. Pure tragedy especially if her death happens in Eren’s arms, as some other theories suggest which is my next segue…

The AOT song theories are insane as a whole but let me bring up 1 specific song, written and sung in Mikasa’s POV: Clean Earth.

Clean Earth is quite literally a death song — if you’re into Les Mis it’s also very much like “A Little Fall of Rain” where Eponine ignores her slow death after being shot, only wanting to soak in being in Marius’ arms to the point where she doesn’t even finish the song. Pls read the full lyrics of these songs but here is how it ends:

This is getting long LOL sorry, but yes — long story short, I believe if Mikasa’s death happens it will be caused by Eren injuring her to the point of bleeding to death, and she will die in his arms while speaking. Because after all, just being by his side was enough for him (ugh). It will be the most tragic ending; Eren doesn’t want to have to do it, but he knows it’s the only way for him to achieve real freedom from these deathly timelines she is somehow able to start, and it never ends bc she can’t fully let go of Eren.

Isayama also always said he always envisioned a tragic ending for AOT, too. How much more tragic can it get than THAT 😢

Throwing Levi into the mix… 100% I could see Levi giving his life to try to save Mikasa and the others. If Eren lives to complete rumbling I don’t see the alliance living 😭 And when it seems hopeless, Captain Levi who defended and protected them for so long would do exactly that til the very end. Fack.

IM SORRY @chrissythisissforyou

THIS IS A NOVEL, HERE U GO

(I’m also half falling asleep so hopefully this all is coherent enough)

((Real talk, I’m excited to have all of these written down because if all of this does freaking happen!!!! I have references!! LOL))

[datsteboi]

Hello, nice to meet you. I’m an autistic 19 year old trying to fill my free time with interesting activities.

My most recent accomplishments were finishing Attack on Titan and reading through all of Subahibi/Wonderful Everyday. I am currently reading through Clannad. Yes I started with classic Visual Novels such as Clannad and Muv-Luv and such but never completed them. So funny enough Subahibi was the first ever visual novel I’ve ever completed which is crazy since it’s not as mainstream as the other two but it was a wild ride of a story that I enjoyed very much. I will be writing about my full thought on it at some point. I started playing visual novels around 2019 with Doki Doki Literature Club. While I understand that it’s more of a novelty game but it is what introduced me to the amazing medium so I think I have to at least give it credit for that. Interesting enough I’ve only played one route of it, but Katawa Shoujo from what I could tell was the DDLC of the previous generations. It was an introduction to visual novels in a time where not even Muv-Luv or Clannad were officially translated and the community almost always had to use fan translations. We are now at a point where there aren’t that many top level visual novels left untranslated and we even got rare translations like Dies Irae and Mura Masa. I have a lot on my mind lol. This was just supposed to be an introduction post but I gives it still ended up fine. Have a good day/night everyone.

[mlundertow]

Pulling a Haruka

tl;dr: Muv-Luv Undertow hasn’t been abandoned. I just have a lot going on right now.

So… long time, no write, right?

Yeah, it's probably been, what, a year and a half since I posted a chapter to Muv-Luv Undertow? You’d be fully justified in thinking it’s an abandoned fic.

Thing is, it’s not abandoned. It’s not dead.

It’s just… resting…

So… this is going to take some explaining. Content warning for severe medical conditions.

So, maybe the first thing to know about the author of Muv-Luv Undertow — that'd be me — is that I'm old, at least relative to most anime fans. Really frickin’ old. Long past the point where individual birthdays are interesting and you have to do math in your head to remember your exact age because it kind of doesn't matter anymore.

Like, seriously, the first election I could vote in was Reagan vs. Mondale, and I voted for whoever the Libertarian was, because I was still in the thrall of both-sides-are-bad poseur contrarian bullshit that took me far to long to outgrow. (That college friend that Noah mentions during the trial in book 3, the one with weirdo political opinions? That’s me trashing my younger self.)

Anyways, when you burn through your 30s, 40s, and 50s, one popular thing to do is to have kids. Both our societal traditions and contemporary media tell us this is an important, heartwarming, and even fun thing to do.

And sometimes it is!

But also, sometimes your kid is born with a congenital heart defect.

And sometimes that acts up with severe side-effects when they grow up.

And sometimes when they're in the hospital for that, a scan discovers cancer.

And sometimes when they're undergoing chemotherapy, they have a stroke.

And sometimes all of these things happen at once.

So… yeah. That's a big part of where I've been (there's more, which accounts for 2022 and why we had to move out of our house, but this is the current problem). I actually had to take four months off work — I'm lucky I work at a company where I even can do that — and I'm still not back to work full time. The kid requires a lot of care, and it has drained all my free time, between caring for him, doing my job, and giving my wife a break.

And free time is the one thing I need to work on this fanfic.

I do think I'm eventually going to get back to it, as the kid improves and life here stabilizes, but I can't put a date on that. I’d hate to set expectations and let readers down even more than I already have.

But it pains my heart to want to finish this story and not be able to. I think about it almost every day.

Still, it’s worth assessing where Undertow is, and what it’ll take to finish it once I can.

Muv-Luv Undertow was always planned as a series of five books. I wrote in that format because I wanted to mimic the light novel format that Schwarzesmarken and Total Eclipse used. I also thought it would be good discipline to have to pay off novel-length plots while spinning the tale of the larger series. I think it's intimidating to see some fic on AO3 that’s like 500,000 words or more. Even though Undertow will probably end up close to that (it’s already at 300K words), being able to see it broken up by book may be more appealing than diving into some big, potentially-unstructured sprawl.

Three books are completely done, at least as first drafts:

Broken Ship — AO3, epub

Jour de Gloire — AO3, epub

If You Tolerate This — AO3, epub

Then we have the in-progress book four:

Join the Parade — A03, epub

And speaking of “progress”, how is this actually going? Well, book four is at 72,964 words across twelve numbered chapters (not counting the front matter that AO3 counts as separate chapters, like the cover image or the epigraph). As I thought I was getting the book rolling again last December, I finally outlined the end of Act II and all of Act III, filling in a lot of gaps I had been putting off making decisions on. Book four has been the least plotted-in-advance story in the series, and that made it harder to write even back when things were moving along. It’s pretty clear that I'm a plotter, not a pantser.

One thing I did in outlining these chapters was to do virtual index cards for key beats — the things that have to happen and the things I want to happen (ideally, the Venn diagram of these should be a circle) — so I could move them around the last few chapters to see how different arrangements worked out, in terms of plot, theme, and feel.

In fact, here’s a PNG of how I ended up breaking Act III… with spoiler protection provided by the Gaussian blur filter in Acorn 7. I let a few cards go through unblurred so you can speculate about what's happening between here and there. It might read a little dull in this format, but I promise you that several things explode before we're done.

So, seven more chapters and a one-scene epilogue get us done with book four.

After that, the story ends in book five. Payoffs for stuff I've been building since the first book, some twists that you won't see coming (oh, but they're coming), and connections back into the main Muv-Luv timeline that’ll show why this story was worth telling in the first place. One thing that’ll help book five is that since so much of it is natural consequences of what’s come before, the plotting should go faster, because everything that happens is now inevitable.

You know, like when you hit Act V in any good tragedy.

One of the themes of book four has been about our protagonist Noah being pulled back to his normal life. Whatever route he chooses, the end of the current book will bring him to the point of no return, and then beyond.

Book five is titled Autumn Closin’ In. I'll save you the trouble of looking up the epigraph; it’s from the song “Night Moves”, because you can’t set a story in the woods of northern Michigan without eventually dropping in a Bob Seger song. Literally. I think Gov. Whitmer signed that into law a few years back.

Ain’t it funny how the night moves, when you just don’t seem to have as much to lose? Strange how the night moves… with autumn closin’ in.

I’ll post here in this Tumblr as things come back together. I also plan to start a Mastodon account (possibly on the anime-themed urusai.social instance, if they’ll have me) to replace the @ml_undertow Twitter account, because Elon has ruined Twitter, and everyone should be migrating off it by now, if you haven’t done so already. As things get closer to starting book five, I’ll also need to commission Hirei to do one more character design and a matching book cover. (Now that we’ve done Noah, Adrienne, Kimmy, and Don, who do you suppose will be on the final cover, and why?)

I don’t know when, but we’ll get there. And it’ll all have been worth it.

Even if it does mean suffering through a three-year Haruka-like coma.

[raximkoron]

Man, I've apparently been lazy recently. A lot of these I've had for quite a while but haven't tossed up here. Enough that this will have to be split into 2 pieces.

The Longest 5 Minutes - Switch game. It's using NISA's more robust box construction which is great. Also comes with some pins of the characters and the soundtrack.  It's in my backlog, so I can't really speak to the game that much.

The Witch and the Hundred Knight 2 - Woohoo, the first game was pretty fun. This also, uses the more robust box from NISA. This came with a hardcover art book, soundtrack, 2 sets of pins. Also comes with a Hundred Knight stress foam ball externally, and I got the rubber strap set that was sold separately. Yet again, this is in my backlog, so I haven't played much yet.

Oddword: Munch's Odyssey - Another LRG release. This guy has a very interesting box that opens from the middle. The can isn't pictured as I honestly can't figure out how to get it out without damaging the container box. Anyway, it comes with said can, soundtrack, poster, art cards and the LRG card.

Gal*Gun 2 - I was looking forward to this game… having to order it from the UK made it fairly expensive, but at least it exists. Comes with an artbook, soundtrack, set of pins, Mr. Happiness plush and… I think it's a cloth case for the Switch if I remember right. Sadly, I'm not having a ton of fun with this one. I liked the rail-shooter nature of the first one. This one is almost always stationary. I'll probably get through it, but I've picked it up a couple times and haven't continued yet. Yet again, Rice screwed up something with the printing. This time, it wasn't quite as egregious as labeling it E for Everyone, but the inside print accidentally used the inside asset for Wild Guns from Natsume.

Megadimension Neptunia VIIR - I've put off playing this since I did play through VII on PS4 and PC. I know it adds some things (and I do have a PSVR for those waifu scenes) but I can't bring myself to play through it again yet. Probably because I didn't enjoy it nearly as much as Re;Birth 1-3. Anyway, comes with a hardback artbook, a case insert, skin for a DS4 controller and a Nepgeardam plush.

Shantae 1/2 Genie Hero UE - I already own this and all the DLC on the Vita. It's a fantastic game, but wanted it for the Switch as well. It also comes with the artbook which I thought was initially only intended for Kickstarter backers (which I wasn't one of). The artbook's great, I didn't bother to open the soundtrack as it's identical to the Vita version I already have, and an instruction manual case insert.

Nurse Love Addiction - Another LRG release for the Vita. It's a VN and by the artwork, I'm guessing it's Yuri, unless it's all first person. I'm perfectly OK with that. The box is fairly robust and has a magnet latch to keep it closed (like Summon Night 6 and Fate/Extella). Inside contains the soundtrack, art cards, sheet of stickers and 5 printed band-aids. Eventually I'll get around to playing a lot of these VNs.

Sir Eats-a-Lot - Another Eastasiasoft release through Play-Asia. The box is in their normal size with the cellophane dust cover (I wish ALL LE's came with something like that. It's dusty here in CO). This comes with an artbook, soundtrack, numbered card (matches number on box), sticker and has a sticker book as a case insert. I've played a bit of this and it's not bad, but feel like the touchscreen additions are mayhaps a bit tacked on or unnecessary… and makes some jumps quite difficult.

Muv-Luv Complete - Well, I did expect this to be a bit more than it was. It's essentially both games (Muv-Luv & Muv-Luv Alternative) with 6 art cards and a cardstock box that (barely) fits the 2 games together and nowhere for the art cards. Glad to have the games, but man, this was damned expensive to have shipped state-side when I could have just got the games domestically.

[redsamuraiii]

My Review : Muv Luv Alternative Total Eclipse (2012)

After watching Kuromukuro , I discovered and watched another underrated mecha anime, called Muv Luv Alternative Total Eclipse.

WHAT IS IT ABOUT  *CONTAIN SPOILERS*

It follows Yui Takamura’s life journey from being a student of the Kyoto Royal Guard Academy to becoming a battle hardened Imperial Guard TSF mecha pilot.

In 1967, humanity first encounters a hostile alien race called the BETA on the Moon. Despite their attempts to stop them, the BETA eventually make landfall on Earth in 1973, which leads to a long, grueling 30-year war where the BETA conquered almost the entire Eurasian continent.

In 1998, the BETA rampaged through the Korean Peninsula across to mainland Japan and rapidly advanced ruthlessly north towards Kyoto where Yui and her cadet friends made a futile attempt to defend Kyoto in their TSF mecha which results in the tragic deaths of all her friends.

Despite the help provided by the US Navy, the Japanese forces are unable to stop the BETAs due to their massive numbers. forcing the military to perform scorched earth tactics on Kyoto. Yui is the only who one who survives the war and is completely traumatized by what she saw.

The rest of the story takes place in 2001, where Yui is now a Lieutenant in the Imperial Japanese Royal Guard, heads to Alaska, to develop a better Tactical Surface Fighter. Here she meets several pilots from around the world, including Yuuya Bridges who will change her life forever.

MY THOUGHTS *CONTAIN SPOILERS*

The first two episodes caught me by surprise as I was expecting it to be like most mecha/alien anime that I have watched, like Kuromukuro, Gundam, Evangelion, Macross and Space Battleship Yamato. So imagine my surprise watching the violence, disturbing scenes and plot twists in the first two episodes. 

The BETA aliens are unlike those that are shown in the anime mentioned above, as they are more like animal like creatures (think of them as a mix of bugs of Starship Troopers and the giants of Attack on Titan). They’re ruthless, emotionless, merciless and eat you for food whether you’re dead or alive.

There is a scene where Yui saw the aliens devouring the dead body of her friend and another friend of hers who was being eaten alive because she could not bring herself to kill her own friend with her rifle to spare her from pain of being eaten alive. The aliens are extremely fast so there’s no way to outrun them.

The evacuation scenes felt real and scary if you imagine yourself in their shoes, feeling terrified, confused, lost and helpless, thinking it is all just a nightmare, the home you have been living in since you were born is now being invaded by aliens and bombarded with artillery. Everyone is running and screaming. 

Having said that, I think the first two episodes kind of sets your expectation into what the anime is all about or how dark it is in terms of its story, like political and military rivalry among nations, the rift between the “poor” left behind to be eaten by the aliens or suffer to death due to starvation and illness, and the “privilege” who get to evacuate to a safe zone, far away from the front lines.

Corruption among governmental and organizational bureaucracy, which leads to the formation of the anti-United Nations “terrorist” group called the “Refugee Liberation Front” who are members of former refugees abandoned by their respective governments and paramilitary who were forced into conscription to fight the aliens while the “privilege” evacuates and so on. 

Although the cause of the “terrorist” is “just” in a sense that they want to get rid of the corruption that is plaguing the United Nations but their execution in a bid to be heard or make a point is senseless and brutal as they are overwhelmed with grief, anger and hatred that they are willing to kill “privilege” civilians to make sure they suffer the exact same way they did.

So it’s a very good example of a grey world where there is no black and white. There are good and bad guys on both sides, in every faction. 

The other things I like is how the various pilots from around the world came together, each bringing along their emotional baggage and past battle scars that never seem to heal, all from countries that have been lost to the alien invaders. After watching how Yui’s friends was killed one after the other, I was afraid of getting to attached to the new characters but fortunately they all live till the end.

And my most favorite thing is their mecha, and how their names, designs and colors or camouflage patterns are based on real life fighter jets like this one which is the F-22 Raptor TSF Mecha. Each with their unique capabilities which requires the pilot to adapt to various tactics, strategies and movements, depending on which Mecha they are piloting.

Overall, despite some dark moments and disturbing scenes, the anime is definitely worth watching and kind of addictive if I say so myself. Every episode leaves you wanting more, which explains why I watched it till the end even though the first two episodes was too “dark” for my liking. Apparently, the manga which was adapted into this anime also inspired the creation of Attack on Titan.

Well, I guess, that explains it. 😂

[kamadaeva]

muv luv main cast vas are changing, i’m relatively okay with this, takeru’s original voice was doodoo and while nostalgic, meiya’s was pretty generic overall. the one im really gunna miss is sumika’s va (she’s amane in grisaia).other than that though i love the new designs and they arent a complete step away from the original art. will post them in a moment

[hopeymchope]

Final (?) Muv-Luv Thoughts

- God, Muv-Luv Alternative was really incredible and made the entire experience well worth the price of admission for me...

- That epilogue was deeply unsatisfying on multiple levels, though. Could’ve been so much better with just a couple of changes. 

- They never did use the term “Muv-Luv” or explain the title “Muv-Luv” whatsoever in any of the three visual novels. Wtf lol???

- I originally only played the two main endings (Sumika and Meiya) of Muv-Luv Extra. And they were both pretty good! However, completing Alternative actually convinced me to go back and get all of the other girls’ endings to Extra. And boy, they are UNsatisfying! 

Now, without further adieu, here are my impressions of each girl’s romance route.

Sumika Kagami here is the absolute queen of the girls here. One of the two “central” love interests, she is easily best Muv-Luv girl. Sumika is the childhood friend who has always loved our protagonist for his underlying, well-hidden kindness. She’s not book-smart (though neither is the protag), but she’s surprisingly emotionally intelligent and insightful. She does everything she can for a guy who blatantly doesn’t appreciate her. Yet... even though her and the protag physically abuse and insult each other CONSTANTLY, somehow the scenes of them getting together are incredibly touching and heartfelt. MUV-LUV MATH: Protag does not deserve Sumika, but no one else would make Sumika happy, and Sumika deserves to be happy. Therefore, Sumika absolutely deserves Protag (in spite of the fact that Protag deserves to be found face-down in a drainage pipe).

Behold purple-haired Meiya Mitsurugi, the source of all the drama. She’s the other of the “central” love interests, an ultra-wealthy heiress who is ignorant in the ways of the “common” world and who just throws herself at the protag. The story starts with the protag waking up in bed next to her because she broke into his house, stripped down, and got in bed with him; it’s LIKE THAT. She’s absolutely convinced that they’re destined to be married, and it takes most of the game to learn why she’d want to be with this useless tool. But if they get together, it’s actually pretty cute and sweet. I can’t imagine that Protag would adapt well to the lifestyle that comes with being in a long-term relationship with Meiya, though. And it leaves Sumika just devastated to where she’ll never see the protagonist ever again, so... can’t be having THAT.

The Kei Ayamine route at least gives you more background on the mysterious, acerbic girl that is constantly off alone... but it ultimately doesn’t feel like it makes sense that they’d fall for each other via the brief, minimal interactions they have. What is their emotional connection? By the end, Protag admits he still can’t comprehend her words or behavior. What kind of relationship is that? Furthermore, the great lost love of her life shows up and is willing to give up EVERYTHING to be with her again; if she should choose anyone, it’s clearly the person she never got over who would put his entire life on the line for her. At least this route gives you more background on Ayamine and a certain important player in Alternative... but man, I don’t like the central relationship at all here. Still, this is the best of the “Other” girls, perhaps in part because Ayamine usually has funny dialogue, and the backstory it reveals is compelling.

Chizuru Sakaki’s route is totally crap. She’s the uptight “Class Rep” character who is usually bossy and emotionally closed off. The romance is based strongly in the idea that “no means yes” and that if someone tells you to get away from them or never speak to them again or to mind your own fucking business, you should keep pursuing them and talking to their loved ones to learn about them behind their back and keep on literally chasing them, etc etc. So that’s awful, and it made me want to see the Protag beaten up even more than I already did. Furthermore, it raises a ton of questions about how Sakaki could possibly be the same person in the Unlimited/Alternative timeline, because her background here is obviously radically distinct from that one... could she even be BORN in another timeline with her parents being so different? Ugh. This is the Actual Worst.

Romancing Miki “Tama” Tamase is inherently creepy because she’s the loli girl and it makes the protagonist seem kinda pedo so, ew. She doesn’t really have much personality beyond practicing archery and acting like a child. Again: CREEPY. Like all three of the “other” girls, it never makes sense why the protagonist would develop serious feelings for her based on what we’re shown. They at least TRY to justify it a bit in the writing, though, which is more than they did for Ayamine and Sakaki. This route gives us a couple of funny scenes, I suppose. Overall, though, it’s yet another miss for the “also-rans” of the cast. 

There are also a couple of “Normal” endings (???) that apparently have the protagonist wind up with no one, which is precisely what he deserves. So I might have to try those... or I might not. I dunno.

[satoshi-mochida]

aNCHOR has delayed the Switch version of Muv-Luv action game from its previously planned October release window, as well as announced that the PC (Steam) version still due out in October will launch as an Early Access release.

The Switch version delay and PC version change to Early Access were for further quality improvements. The Switch version will now release when the PC version’s Early Access period ends.

Here is an overview of the game, via its Steam page:

Set on an Earth where mankind is being steadily annihilated by the alien invaders known as the BETA, Project MIKHAIL lets you pilot a Tactical Surface Fighter in the war to save humanity!

The BETA bring overwhelming numbers and massive size to the war against mankind.

Some are massive, standing 66 meters tall. Some are capable of charging into an enemy at incredible speeds and smashing them to bits with their thick frontal plating. And some can fire powerful lasers from over 300 kilometers away. Each BETA will require different tactics to defeat.

The BETA’s overwhelming numbers make them an unstoppable threat to humanity.

Each mission will put you in the thick of combat, in arenas swarming with BETA. Some will take place at night, or in foul weather, forcing you to fight when conditions are tough.

But no matter how bad things get, the only thing standing between humanity and annihilation is you and your trusty Tactical Surface Fighter.

Each mission you complete will reward with you a variety of new equipment.

Use these parts to make your TSF stronger, faster, and more deadly. Build your own unique machine and use it to defeat your enemies.

Watch the third producer letter below.

English

Japanese

[specterthief]

not to mention that at the time muv-luv first came out, there was nothing to indicate unlimited even existed until you unlocked it and started playing it! age had previously made multiple romance VNs in the same regular earth setting, muv-luv appearing on the surface to be a regular romantic comedy and then hitting you with a big genre shift into a mecha war drama was a massive completely un-telegraphed plot twist

by the time it was localized alternative already existed and the gig was already up so it's never been marketed in the west in a way that would try and preserve this, but upon its release, there being a whole regular romcom to play through before completing sumika and meiya's routes, unlocking unlimited, going "owo what's this? an epilogue?" and getting the rug totally pulled out from under you by isekai mecha was the point

Why is Muv Luv structured like that? I only see people talk about the mecha parts but there's a full length romcom before any of that business even begins

the intent is to acclimate you, as the reader, to the characters in a more normal setting so that the wartime behaviour has something to contrast with

[tamhrayis]

Okay guys, I found a very interesting theory on TF. I know what’s up there, but this theory is a literal brain food. Some of you already might have read it, but I still wanted to share it with you :)

Short summary:

The author of this theory claims that AoT HS AU is the alternative universe and might be intertwined with HS AU.

Disclaimer:

It’s TF so we all know what is their position regarding one topic.

https://www.reddit.com/r/titanfolk/comments/ldfsg3/the_alternate_universe_ending_theory_a_complete/

My thoughts:

I think it’s possible nevertheless, because the author pointed some really valid things, however he/she didn’t explain EH thing here, which I think he/she should have included into the post, because the length still would be long.

However, (1) if Eren from HS AU is the only one who sees Ymir, who is she? How does her existence might be explained? In the main story it’s clear that she was a slave, acquired titan powers...etc. But in HS AU?

(2) EH factor in the main story is unclear to me as well. Again, the author didn’t write it here, so I can’t really understand it from objective perspective.

(3) Let’s say that’s what he wanted, but the thing is...It doesn’t look logical to me that Eren wanted his life be interesting and Ymir, who made his wish come true, became a slave in this story for the sake of Eren’s wish.

(4) Okay, Eren transferred into a parallel universe, but what happened to him in his OG one (HS AU)? Did he disappear?

(5) I know that I might be a bit skeptical, but the post was made before ch.137 (on Feb.6) and I don’t think that it fits the narrative, because 2 chapters is such a small number of pages to explain everything.

(6) HS AU pages are available for manga readers. But let’s not forget about anime onlies, because anime is being made according to the manga (main story). Including HS AU will be...stressful. I know that Isayama said that he wanted to draw something linked, however...I would be okay if HS AU existed as a parallel manga like Junior High, MHA’s Vigilantes series, Lost Girls and No Regrets or even AoT’s light novels like “Harsh mistress of the city”, “Before the fall” so fans would actually know about it. But in this case anime only fans will be confused with such “plot twist”.

(7) AoT being a story of one “bored” kid will truly degrade the meaning and simplify the whole thing. If this actually happenes, I would really disappointed to see all this suffering being just because of Eren’s selfish wish.

(8) Muv-Luv thing...If it actually ends like that manga/anime, won’t it be some kind of...plagiarism? I know that themes are different etc, but at the same time having a story with the same ending is kinda disturbing, and again, will cheapen AoT as a piece of literature.

(9) The part of “My war” about school might be a foreshadowing, however...Lyrics is not always direct. I would want to see the official interpretation of the lyrics before diving into conclusion.

[letusmeetagain]

Same anon who is depressed about eren possibly dying/being dead. Different ask. In chapter 130 when eren kisses historia's hand, we see eren getting visions of the future. Those memory shards. If I'm not mistaken, we have seen all those memory shards in the manga. The latest one being "see you later" in chapter 138. However, the one we have yet to see are those birds. There is a memory shard of two birds flying. Do you think those birds represent eren and mikasa in the end? Like they will finally be free and be able to be with each other? God I hope so. What's also interesting is that in chapter 120-something I think eren has memory shards of the past. In those memories are nerd armin and goth mikasa. It makes me wonder if nerd armin and goth mikasa is actually a memory of an AU from the past. Would love to hear your thoughts on all this. Sorry for the long ask and thank you!

Hi anon again!

... Highschool AU memory shard..... well... no idea. To me... Isayama is trolling us? Like he is trying to emulate that feeling of Muv Luv Alternative... It would be shitty to be honest. It would destroy the sense of tragedy completely. It would also make us ask ourselves why we endured 11 years of tragedy to end up in a multiverse where... we had the bad luck to choose this one. I hope he’s just teasing.

But yeah. That’s it. It’s about Muv Luv.

Even if you saw the flim Mr. Nobody, you get the idea about how choices led to different paths... and the conclusion is that when the kid knows every outcome can finally decide what to choose in order to be happy.

It’s like those kind of “choose your own story” books or like visual novels.

Muv luv Alternative is different in the sense that whatever you choose, the outcome will be the same.

I have a really bad moment thinking that Mikasa and Eren could end up together in the wrong circumstances. To me, Mikasa doesn’t deserve to die. Isayama shouldn’t drag her to experience the same consequences than Eren because he himself didn’t want her to carry his burden. She choosing to die just because of him would be the worst outcome ever because it would be like saying “If you can’t live together with your loved one, then joing him in death”.... apologia to suicide...and I get Romeo and Juliet were like this but in our current times it’s not acceptable anymore. I think Isayama chose to make Mikasa a strong person in ch. 7 as she chose to live aand I hardly see him taking something like that back.

Both dying as a collateral damage? Please no. It would be... sad. Imagine Eren’s reaction to that? He won’t be able to retrieve his pride.

Both surviving together in the world he destroyed... is it even positive? For this kind of ending something positive has to happen so the right conditions for Eren’s survival (which I don’t discard as an outcome) are met. For example:

1. They have to be apart for a while but they end up meeting again either in other life or other universe (I’m not really agree with alternate AUs... but it could be).

After Eren’s death Ymir reborns and in the future everyone reborns but in this new world without wars. Mikasa and Eren reborn again and live a peaceful life again.

2. Everyone gets back to normal. Nobody reborns. Eren’s POV is somehow explained so he wasn’t responsible at all and everyone wellcome him and forgive him. EM ending.

3. Nothing is taken back and Eren has to live in the world he destroyed. He couldn’t save the people he aimed to protect. EM ending... Really. I find this is AnR without betrayal thing but... yeah. Same shitty and not positive ending at all.

Personally, I’m not agree with any of the outcomes I explained but the first one... let’s say. Why?

Because it gives this tragedy a positive effect in the future and that Eren chose this path but not in vain. Because they would be living in the same world reaffirming the main story. Because humanity would be able to learn from the tragedy. Because Eren and Mikasa’s will would be able to meet again. They would get a second chance.

I don’t see any ending where:

1. the tragedy is forgotten: we already know that erasing the memory or forgetting the past isn’t benefitial. I wonder if Isayama would take that back. I don’t think so.

2. Eren survives with regrets. I don’t see the point of torturing him like that.

3. Eren’s existential pain gets magically healed by Mikasa’s love and sex. I’m exaggerating this... but honestly this is the feeling I get from the takes of some fans. Eren’s existential pain isn’t related at any rate to sexuality. It’s related to another kind of feelings. People who claimed to be the ones that understood him the most and stated Eren wasn’t able to have a child with Historia due to his breakdown are now saying everything is going to be okay with Mikasa. .-. Well no.

Eren’s existential pain has to be solved in a different way. What I see after Mikasa’s dream or whatever it was is that he wouldn’t have been okay living with Mikasa as a traitor. Even choosing to avoid the rumbling, he was upset and hurt. Something else is needed. It’s not just having a family what will help him. He already has one, the point is that he can’t feel the pride of existing or his doing because he hates himself. He can’t come back to her like that.

What is needed for Eren to live/die (I consider both ways) with pride? To me, last chapter is related to this question. What should happen for Eren to be proud of his existence?

Honestly... having a child isn’t really.... related to Eren’s personal crisis. Children aren’t considered in SnK as a way to reach maturity, happiness... The birth of a new existence is considered a happening related just to the individual that comes into the world.

Regarding EM. Will they meet again? Yes. How will they meet? No idea. I don’t fear they will be separated forever as I don’t think it will happen.

I’m just concerned about the way things are being banalized and reduced to them being together. Like... Eren has a long way to go until he goes from being ashamed to the point of asking her to forget him to ask her to remember him (which means to be proud of his existence). -This will be veeeery beautiful if it happens.

That process is very important... yet the only thing that matters in fandom is the aftermath? It’s a pity.

However. Sorry for the rant.

Long story short... relax, they’ll be together somehow. That’s the only thing certain.

Thanks for the ask!

[therosecrest]

So I started playing Muv-Luv Unlimited. I complained before about Alternative’s pilot suits, but I didn’t know how bad it really was. That’s, that’s skin! Completely transparent. If it wasn’t censored, you’d see everything. Nothing less from an eroge spinoff, I suppose. No dignity in these designs whatsoever.

[cyborg-squid]

1 year of Muv Luv

Today, July 5th (just two days before Sumika’s birthday), is my one year anniversary of starting the Muv Luv franchise. It’s hard to imagine that I could have predicted the effect that this monumental story of love and war, trauma and camaraderie, regrets and atonement, would have on me. I don’t think that most of us who start Extra can imagine where the story is going to go from there, and that makes it all the better, all without feeling like an unnecessary or grimdark plot twist. 

The Extra route, especially ‘lacrosse arc’ gets a lot of flak for being rather tropey. and while it certainly is that, it is possibly THE most vital part of the franchise! Not only does it provide necessary setup for Unlimited and Alternative, it is a good story in of itself. Despite being a tropey romance visual novel, it still manages to have a LOT of heart and genuine emotion packed into each of the routes, each of the girls having a solid romantic story told between them and Takeru. It is this love, between Takeru and everyone, between him and the squad, that has the power to cross time and space and move universes, the “love” from “Save in the name of true love”.

That’s where Altered Fable kinda falls short for me. It had a great setup, from the epilogue of Alternative, while having Takeru return to the Extraverse, still had the ‘emotion’ and heart remaining, with his inexplicable feelings of sadness on seeing each of the characters again. I like the idea that it’s not just Takeru that has these feelings, that each and every one of Isumi’s Valkyries and Yokohama Base members have these feelings somehow, even though they don’t know their origin. I don’t accept the idea that the memories and experiences of Alternative are forgotten by all but Kasumi and Takeru. The memories might not be there, but the feelings remain, the loves that were born in Extra and forged stronger in Alternative. 

They were the Valkyrie Squadron, Isumi’s Valkyries, and this then is their Valhalla, their warrior’s rest. At last. The world that not only they fought for, but the world that everyone across the Alternative world fought for. A world of peace, a world of love, a world where birds are free to soar in the sky. 

This all a wishful thinking interpretation, since Altered Fable fails to live up to the premise set up by Alternative’s epilogue. It’s not bad and I don’t completely dislike it, but it is overly fanservice-y, bringing back Alternative-verse characters but without any of the emotion behind it. While it is nice to see literally everyone again, the overall story has the tropes and gags of Extra but without the heart to it, aside from in Kasumi’s route, which is one of the few direct references to Alternative. The 24 references are also super dated and probably weren’t that funny back when AF first came out. 

I am really looking forward to the anime, though I am pretty nervous about it. As you can see, I’m a pretty big Extra fan, and I feel it’s going to be really hard for the studio to tell the story of Alternative without including Extra and Unlimited, and the emotions behind them, in some shape or form. I don’t feel like this is something that can be covered in one or two episodes or flashbacks. If they did like two movies, one for Extra and one for Unlimited, maybe then that’d serve as a good enough foundation for the anime, but ultimately the best way to experience the story of Muv Luv is through the visual novels, of course. I’m also rather concerned about the studios they have working on the anime, neither Yumeta Company or Graphinica have much popular/good stuff to their names, and Graphinica was behind the Record of Ragnarok, which was a flawed adaptation to say the least. I’m also not a huge fan of the new character designs and the removal of the necessary hair vents, but I guess that’s just the way it is when a franchise is almost 20 years old, things get ‘updated’.

These concerns aside, the trailers look AMAZING and do make me really hopeful for the anime!

[gear-project]

4Gamer interviews Game Developers in a 2020 Year-end review.

Prominent Figures of the game industry look back on an extraordinary year (2020 edition). Source: 4Gamer.net (Main Article Here) Translation: ME (Gear-Project) -------------------------------- CCO (Chief Creative Officer) Director Daisuke Ishiwatari Representative Work: GUILTY GEAR Series

[Prominent Figures of the game industry look back on an extraordinary year: Question 1 Which game titles released in 2020 impressed (or shocked) you the most?]

SKYHILL, actually it was released several years ago, but I played it for the first time this year.

The objective of the game is simple: escape from a building where monsters roam and the game content is very compact.  I can say this game made me rediscover the root of fun in games.  There is a world and a storyline, but very little information is presented beyond what is necessary.  However, I was immersed in this world while playing.

It's an indie game with a much smaller scale, but I felt the same excitement when I compared it to the big titles of today.

[Question 2: Which entertainment content released in 2020 impressed you the most?]

IT'S THE END: When you see it, it's over. (DVD)

A horror movie masterpiece released in theaters in 1990.  This is a sequel to the remake.

As I was impressed with the first one, I am interested in remakes, but they never surpass the original.  In fact, the first remake only left me with the impression of "I see, this is how it would be with the current expression."  I had the impression that the fear that had been growing in my brain because of the lack of information was simply visualized.

However, this sequel to the first film has pushed the envelope with its visual technology as if to say "Well, then.  Of course, the logic behind the construction of fear is solid, but there is also a lot of 'isn't this kind of situation scary'?"  I'm not sure if this is the right sequel.

Whether or not it's the right sequel, I'm not sure, but I was honestly struck by it.

[Question 3: Who do you personally have your eyes on in 2020?]

Director Zack Snyder: I genuinely love the movie "Man of Steel".

I am personally excited that Zack Snyder, the director of Man of Steel, will be re-directing Justice League under his original vision.

[Question 4: What are your aspirations for 2021, and what is your message to 4Gamer readers?]

In recent years, most of the games that interest me have been in the indie world, and the games made by companies seem to be lacking in energy, except for big titles.

As a gamer, I'm looking forward to playing games on platforms that evolve year by year, but I think the number of manufacturers who can keep up with their production is decreasing.

I want to make interesting things, and I want everyone to play them.  In order to achieve this in a fulfilling environment, I think it is necessary to have a sense of values that are not influenced by the times.

I'm currently putting all my energy in to the prodiction of [GUILTY GEAR STRIVE], the latest in the Guilty Gear series, but at the same time I'm thinking about hte future of the industry.  In order to make the future brighter, I would like to make efforts to improve the production process. -------------------------------- ARC System Works General Battle Director Kazutoshi "Pachi" Sekine Representative Work: Granblue Fantasy Versus

[Prominent Figures of the game industry look back on an extraordinary year: Question 1 Which game titles released in 2020 impressed (or shocked) you the most?]

Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout

I wanted to write a strategy for Fight of Animals, but it was released in December 2019, so I gave up.... So, without further ado... I have the impression that this title appeared like a Comet among the titles released this year.

I think it's great that they were able to release this title with a new world view in the midst of all the existing titles.

The pop design, music, and gameplay are all very well put together.

The game itself is simple at first glance, but there are many ingenious ways to make it easy to understand, and I was impressed with many of them.

[Question 2: Which entertainment content released in 2020 impressed you the most?]

Midnight Swan.

I don't know hot to describe it, but I remember feeling very emotional when I finished watching it.  I don't know how to explain it because I can't digest it well, but I think it's a good movie.  I also recommend "The Naked Director" and "The Way of the Beast" by Eiji Uchida, although they are completely different in style.

[Question 3: Who do you personally have your eyes on in 2020?]

NiziU.  I think a lot of people were cheered up after the Corona disaster.  I was hooked from Rainbow Pro and started checking out Twice.  It's great to see how hard they are working and growing.  I'm personally a fan of Mii-chan (although I want to support all of them), so I hope she comes back from her health problems.

I hope she will come back and give her best performance without hurrying or rushing.  I will probably cry.

[Question 4: What are your aspirations for 2021, and what is your message to 4Gamer readers?]

The year 2020 is the year that Granblue Fantasy Versus was released and kept running.  This title has entered Season 2, and as it is the middle of the season, development will continue.  There are still more things to be announced, so I hope you will continue to enjoy the game.

This year, the Corona Disaster has changed our development system, the environment in which we play, and many other things, and it's been a year of constant heartache.

However, it was also a year of learning and realizing that we need to be more aware of the "bonds" we have with people.  I hope that 2021 will be a year in which I can clear my pent up frustrations with fun. -------------------------------- ARC System Works Director-Fellow Toshimichi Mori Representative work: BlazBlue Series

[Prominent Figures of the game industry look back on an extraordinary year: Question 1 Which game titles released in 2020 impressed (or shocked) you the most?]

FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE.

There were other great titles such as "Ghost of Tsushima", but I dared to choose a remake.  Since the original FF7 was such a masterpiece, it has a strong "memory correction" effect, and I'm sure there will be a variety of opinions such as "it's not like this" or "it's not like that".  But in my opinion, this is a work that surpasses the memory correction in a good way.  In other words, please continue the story on... as soon as possible.  If you don't (Square-Enix), you'll be in a situation where memory corrections will be added memory corrections, which is incomprehensible.

[Question 2: Which entertainment content released in 2020 impressed you the most?]

I was shocked by "TENET".  It is directed by Christopher Nolan, who I love, and this is another film that has caused a lot of controversy in many ways.  The setting and expressions are wonderful, and I apologize for my lack of ability to contradict, but all I can say is "awesome".  Every time I saw it, I made new discoveries, and it was a work that I went to the theater several times for, after a long time.

[Question 3: Who do you personally have your eyes on in 2020?]

Director Hideaki Anno.  It is rumored that Shin Evangelion will be the end of the story, but since I was a 'direct hit generation' (impacted audience of that era) of.... Evangelion, I have a lot to think about.  If I may add one more person to the list, it would be Koki Yoshimune from the Muv-Luv series.  I personally love Muv-Luv, so I'm really interested in the Muve-Luve Alternative anime and other content development.

[Question 4: What are your aspirations for 2021, and what is your message to 4Gamer readers?]

2020.... has been a turbulent year for me personally in many ways.... it's still ongoing, so I'm worn out in many ways.  However, I would like to put into practice the wise words of a passionate manga artist, "Smile when you're in trouble", and keep moving forward.  I'm also hoping to move the BlazBlue Series in some way. -------------------------------- ARC System Works Producer Takeshi Yamanaka Representative works: Guilty Gear Series, Kill la Kill IF

[Prominent Figures of the game industry look back on an extraordinary year: Question 1 Which game titles released in 2020 impressed (or shocked) you the most?]

FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE.  There were many titles to choose from, but I had a hard time choosing this one!  I remembered the old days and enjoyed it to the fullest until I got the platinum trophy.

[Question 2: Which entertainment content released in 2020 impressed you the most?]

Blade of the Demise the Movie: Infinite Train Edition.

I can't not mention this one this year.  The quality was breathtaking.

[Question 3: Who do you personally have your eyes on in 2020?]

Mr. Yokosawa of the world.  He's a professional Poker player and I enjoy his work on YouTube.

[Question 4: What are your aspirations for 2021, and what is your message to 4Gamer readers?]

Dear 4Gamer readers, thank you for watching.  The next generation consoles (PS5 and XBox SX) went on sale in 2020, and it looks like 2021 will be the year that titles for the new generation consoles will be released one after another.  Our company will also be releasing "GUILTY GEAR -STRIVE-" in April, so please look forward to it. --------------------------------