Forum - View topicShelf Life - Valkyrie Drive: Mermaid
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Spike Terra
 Subscriber Posts: 363 Location: Maryland |
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I would only recommend Valkyrie Drive Mermaid to people who already like fan service anime, so I feel that your assessment is fair. I had alot of fun with this show and I really liked our two leads. I will admit that some of the episodes were pretty stupid but it maintained a level of charm through out it's run (with the exception of two scenes that made me feel really uncomfortable). There's something about Mermaid's simple story telling that I find really endearing, when I compare it to the other shows that aired that season. I'm referring mainly to Heavy Object (which I couldn't get past episode 3 with because it felt like nothing but an exposition dump).
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CatSword
 Posts: 1489 |
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Making the anime as explicit as they did was really deceitful, considering it was just a giant ad for the game, where the worst that happens is yuri kissing and (clothed) breast-touching.
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DanQ
 Posts: 115 |
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Valkyrie Drive was fun. Main pair (Mamori and Mirei) are likeable enough, premise is silly, but embrace own sillinest and some episodes have truly, truly outrageous actions
 . I like the story (bit of Lord of Flies, prison drama etc.), and yes, fanservice was sometimes facepalm worthy, but hardly insulting .
Spike Terra funny story, Heavy Object is my another fav anime from that season .
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Tomchic420
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Valkyrie Drive: Mermaid seems like the type of anime only guys and lesbians would like.
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Greed1914
 Posts: 4751 |
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I know what you mean. I was interested when I hear that the game was getting localized, but I came away disappointed when I found out it was nowhere near what we see in the show. |
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bassgs435
 Posts: 398 |
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The problem is that a console game can't get as explicit as this show did. There are regulations against that. Not even nipples are allowed. This is why VNs that had sexual content in their initial PC releases (like Fate/Stay Night) had to remove said content for the console ports (This is where the dragons and dolphins used in F/SN's adaptations for the mana transfer scenes come from. Realta Nua, the console port)
Also, I don't think the anime was an ad for the game since they feature different casts and stories with Mermaid's Mamori and Mirei being exclusively optional DLC for the game. The game is stil fun and in my opinion has better gameplay than Senran Kagura. Finally, as for why they didn't release the game on PC so it could be more explicit, the answer is simple. Only recently are japanese companies opening up to the idea that the PC can be used for gaming and not only VNs. Mostly because japanese gamers themselves prefer consoles and/or cellphones for their gaming (Just look at Fate/Grand Order's massive economic success to see how big mobile gaming is on Japan). PC gaming was never a big thing in Japan, unlike the west (with the exception of VNs, again. And maybe, some MMOs) |
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FloozyGod
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Valkyrie Drive perishable? BUUULLLLLLSHIIIIITTTTT!!!!!!!
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Key
Moderator
 Posts: 18608 Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley) |
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Nope, entirely fair, I'm afraid. Paul's evaluation of the series is identical to mine, even including the dub being an improvement. The series is great at fan service but really bad at anything else. |
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Zin5ki
 Posts: 6680 Location: London, UK |
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I take it that Valkyrie Drive could have been more successful on its own merits as an adults-only title with no narrational aspiration, but the requirement to market the original game instead mandated the forging of a traditional single-cour series from its subject matter; a feat that would satisfy nobody.
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DerekL1963
Subscriber Posts: 1133 Location: Puget Sound |
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That's my take-away from the review. (Disclaimer: When it aired, I dropped it like a hot potato before the ED of the first ep...) |
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Spike Terra
Subscriber Posts: 363 Location: Maryland |
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@Key I wouldn't say Mermaid is bad at everything else but I get where you are coming from. I find that hardcore fanservice shows tend to get limited appeal beyond their core fanbase. Too much focus on audience arousal can can detract from the other elements of the work as well as drive off any viewers who find the material too objectionable to watch.
If I were to compare this story to other shows of it's genre, I would say it's no where near as good as Seikon no Qwaser but slight better than Manyuu Hikenchou. While I love the two leads and I believe they had enough time to develop them out as characters, many of the supporting characters feel left out and under-developed. I think Akira and Kasumi got enough screen time but I wanted to learn more about Meifon, Torino, Momoka and the Lady duo. So I could see cutting episodes like the "Giant Woman" episode (despite all of the Steven Universe jokes I made during it) in order to add more episodes to focus on the plot. While I really liked all of the political infighting within the island's governement (or lack there of). But, I wanted to learn more about the outside world. You end up learning way more about the world from Bhikkhuni (the game for the vita) but that game is also very long winded (it's twice the text for the same amount of story you would get with your average Senran Kagura title). I thought the fight scenes were cool but a little too short. I liked most of the character designs, some of them just were odd to look at like Lady J. Lastly, I loved the soundtrack that I still keep the opening and ending on my current music playlist. @DanQ Does Heavy Object get less exposition heavy past the first arc because I really liked Railgun and I like some parts of Index. |
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Animegomaniac
Posts: 4183 |
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I really like Queen's Blade or considering the state of Queen's Blade's Rebellion, it's more like I really liked the franchise and while I still haven't seen any of Valkyrie Drive: Mermaid, this show seems to be more Rebellion and its cast of castoffs than the robust characters that dominated the core Queen's Blade crew. When you get right down to it, if the best a series can say is "You're going to see these characters in compromising situations whether you like them or not", it misses the point.
What makes these kind of shows work isn't the nudity, fighting or wacky hijinks, it's the character interaction which makes the fan service... and the rest... matter in context. Otherwise, you may as well just watch porn. And I just saw the first episode... it's a remarkable achievement in that none of the characters either are or look engaging; At best, they just reminded me of other shows I could be watching. Yosuke Kuroda... and Go Zappa... as writers? Wow, that's disillusioning... |
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EighteenSky
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I never noticed any of the issues raised here with Valkyrie Drive, I've watched it twice (and more when / if it releases in the UK) and think it's one of the top tier ecchi shows, nearly every element gelled for me and I was almost completely satisfied on all angles by the time it ended.
For me it was a good sign when I enjoyed the story and was excited for the following week to see what happened without thinking of all the glorious ecchi scenes (and oh my were they glorious). Likewise the action which was sensational with some exquisite fights. I do think it is limited in appeal stricly to ecchi lovers though which is no bad thing at all, it knows it's audience and delivers. Sure not all characters were fleshed out as much as I would have liked but given it was only a 12 episode series that gets a bye from me. The main ones were. In fact my only issue was some of the episodes in the middle where it goes away from the heavy plot elements felt weaker to me. I wanted more focus on the school and the main storyline. |
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DanQ
Posts: 115 |
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Actually, viewers didn't have to know anything about rest of franchise (2 other games, manga) to enjoy "Mermaid". It pretty standalone (there is only reference to other "islands" at the end, and it's more like bonus/ possibility for next adventure, not necessary for "Mermaid" story). Well, it worked for me, at least .
Don't know where i read it, but there were some claims, that this serie is pretty pupular with female authors of doujinshi. Probably make sense .
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BodaciousSpacePirate
 Subscriber Posts: 3026 |
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You could definitely put "knows who its audience is, and doesn't care about appealing to anyone else" in either the PLUS or MINUS column for this one (as opposed to something like Keijo, which makes a decent effort to appeal to viewers outside of its intended demographic). |
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