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NEWS: Muv-Luv Alternative Manga Ends on Thursday After 10 Years




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invalidname
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Joined: 11 Aug 2004
Posts: 2481
Location: Grand Rapids, MI
PostPosted: Tue Apr 25, 2017 2:12 pm Reply with quote
It seemed like this would wrap up sometime this year; its chapter in the last issue I got of Dengeki Daioh in January was well into the final arc of the VN, Operation Cherry Blossom. Though, as a serious mecha war story, MLA seemed somewhat out of place as the magazine tilted more towards supernatural high school series (e.g., featuring both the Irregular and the Honor at Magic High School)

The manga does a really nice job of bringing in other parts of the broader Muv-Luv lore from games, short stories, LNs, drama CDs, etc. that we'll never get here. I would love to see this manga come out in English, though it'll end up being 17 volumes, so that's quite a commitment. Still, with that $1.2 million Kickstarter (average $159 per backer), Muv-Luv fans have proven their willingness to put down their money.
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ryanvamp



Joined: 08 May 2007
Posts: 420
PostPosted: Tue Apr 25, 2017 3:16 pm Reply with quote
I was always interested in "playing" the visual novel (I did go through Unlimited a long time ago) but it's just too long and I can't find the time to do so. It doesn't help that IMO they have too much filler...but I did like the characters and setting. Is this manga a good alternative to playing the game? I know it probably skips a lot of scenes but 16 volumes is a decent lenght.
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invalidname
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Joined: 11 Aug 2004
Posts: 2481
Location: Grand Rapids, MI
PostPosted: Tue Apr 25, 2017 6:47 pm Reply with quote
ryanvamp wrote:
Is this manga a good alternative to playing the game? I know it probably skips a lot of scenes but 16 volumes is a decent lenght.

I would strongly recommend the visual novel over the manga:

  • At the time of its release, Muv-Luv Alternative had previously unheard-of production values (and budget) and it's still impressive 10 years later.
  • The VN will be available legitimately on Steam in the next few months; unless you can read Japanese, the manga is only in scanlation (ahoy, mateys).
  • The VN's translation team really knocked it out of the park with the readability and character in the first Muv-Luv game. The scanlation is a fan translation, so YMMV.
  • The first person immersion of the VN is essential to experience certain story concepts, like spoiler[Takeru's descent into PTSD].
  • "IMO they have too much filler"… Alternative moves much faster than Extra or Unlimited, to the point where it doesn't seem like the same author. Alternative begins with an highly-compressed "set right what once went wrong" do-over of spoiler[Unlimited] that wraps up in 4-5 hours, and then the hits start coming. Whereas Extra was silly and Unlimited was contemplative, once you're about 8 hours in, Alternative turns into an express elevator ride to Hell, and doesn't let up.

I guess the other thing that makes me personally recommend the VN is that you rarely see such an unabashed, unmuted, uncensored voice of the author in fiction. That's usually a bad thing, but when a work tackles themes as big as Alternative does, and has so damn much to say about everything, it's actually an advantage. I've racked my English major brain to find a good analogy, and the only person I think writes like Koki Yoshimune is Victor Hugo: huge themes, an opinion on everything, rich in history, economics, and politics, indulging a hundred little scores to settle… all of which shouldn't work, and doesn't work for a lot of people (Muv-Luv Extra's hated "lacrosse arc" has nothing on the Waterloo chapters of Les Misérables that so many readers just skip), but for some of us, it's just thrilling, and unlike anything else out there. Total love-it-or-hate-it stuff.
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ryanvamp



Joined: 08 May 2007
Posts: 420
PostPosted: Tue Apr 25, 2017 8:22 pm Reply with quote
You're not only clearly a fan but you provided really good arguments. Thanks for the detailed answer, Invalidname.
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