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Muv-Luv Alternative Episode 10 Review & Recap: ‘Resolve’

Muv-Luv Alternative Episode 10

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Muv-Luv Alternative Episode 10, “Resolve,” was another action-packed episode that focused on a civil war involving mecha battles and strategy. As an anime-only viewer, some of the characters and their battles were a bit tough for me to follow. However, Shirogane’s scenes and the political intrigue of the Shogun definitely made up for my moments of confusion. Here’s my review.

Friendly reminder: I’m an anime-only viewer, so I’m sharing these reviews from the perspective of someone who hasn’t read the visual novels (but has done a little background research.)

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This is a Muv-Luv Alternative Episode 10 review. It will have spoilers for the episode, but since it’s anime-focused only, it contains no visual novel spoilers.

Right now, the two main animes that I’m following are Muv-Luv and Eighty Six. Both involve some major battles against an invading force. So sometimes I have to really watch myself to make sure I don’t get the storylines confused in any way. I’m told that Muv-Luv only has two episodes left this season, which makes me a little sad. I feel like there is still so much to explore in order to close out the season with a satisfying arc ending. I hope it’s renewed for another season (or a second-half of this one, depending on how they choose to label it.) If it’s not, then I’ll likely have to dive into the visual novels to see how it resolves. But then I’ll have to decide if I watch the first two versions prior to that, and it could be a long journey.

Anyway, with that rambling opening, on to the review. 🙂


The Episode Was a Bit Confusing for an Anime-Only Viewer

As for Episode 10 — this was an entertaining albeit confusing episode for an anime-only viewer. I’m still having trouble following all the characters, since we haven’t delved deeply into most of them. The main characters that I was getting used to all took a backseat for this episode or were absent entirely, and a bunch of other characters I’m not familiar with were leading the episode instead. I’d imagine that for visual novel watchers, this isn’t so jarring because the VN likely developed these characters more prior to the moment the anime’s covering.

So the episode stars with Rebel Leader learning that the first group was wiped out. The Rebel Fighter with Glasses tells him that she needs to enter the battle herself in order to save Her Majesty. It’s interesting how they believe the Shogun needs saving, while the Shogun herself (Yuuhi) is fleeing from them of her own volition. At the end of the episode, we learned that their entire goal is simply to abscond with the Shogun and make her their rebel leader.

After the intro, we start out with soldiers using the new OS with their mechas (designed by Shirogane and Kouzuki in a previous episode). Lt. Tsukiji is one of the people fighting on the UN side. I’m sorry, but I really don’t remember her or the other soldier she’s talking to.

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Muv-Luv

Apparently these are the “Valkyries” who are the “tip of the sword that defends humanity.” Or they are fighting the Valkyries. I’m a bit confused on that part.

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An an anime-only viewer, the Valkyrie plot was tough for me to follow. I’m not quite sure which side they were on. Plus, I didn’t recognize any of the characters who were part of that unit, so I was never sure as I watched who was a Valkyrie and who wasn’t. Who’s the girl above? Who’s the character below?🤷‍♀️

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Then they show us the woman who’s part of the Rebel force (from the first scene of this episode) getting ready to charge, and I’m still unsure. She’s definitely a rebel. The two characters talking about the OS at the beginning are part of Shirogane’s group. The Valkyries are part of… ?

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It would help if their uniforms were more distinctly different. So anyway, a bunch of mech fighters are about to fight. Those scenes are really pretty to watch and well-done, even if I don’t understand what’s happening or who’s who. I did figure out that the Rebel Fighter (pictured above) is a precursor to the Rebel Leader’s other major regiment, who hasn’t entered the battle yet. And they all believe they’re fighting for the soul of the Shogun.

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The part with Shirogane and the Shogun, however, was a part that I could understand. I really enjoyed how they showed what a tough position he was put in regarding the sedative. He’s not sure if she’s too sick to handle it and needs more time on the ground. Lt. Tsukuyomi of the Royal Guard really wants him to wait, while the UN general Walken wants him to sedate her so they can get her to a safer location fast. Neither decision is a good one. Each decision brings risk. So Shirogane is really left in a tough position. I honestly don’t know what decision I would make in his place.

He thinks back to their conversation and how Yuuhi revealed that she and Meiya didn’t grow up together. Twins are considered a bad omen, so Meiya was quickly adopted out to distant relatives. However, her entire life still centered around the Shogun and serving as her body double. Meiya never had true freedom.

Muv-Luv (Crunchyroll)

While Shirogane tries to make up his mind about what to do, his decision is interspersed with scenes from the battle and Takahara’s death. Since I don’t have a personal connection to Takahara, I wasn’t sure how I was supposed to feel about those battle scenes. But I did know that it was indicating just how precarious their position is and how urgent Shirogane’s decision will be.

Muv-Luv (Crunchyroll)

Tsukuyomi ultimately ends up winning and getting her way, simply by engaging the UN commander in a prolonged debate about the decision. And the Shogun wakes up just enough to tell Shirogane that she wants to take the risk of the sedative because no one else should die for her.

But then just as they think they will be able to whisk her away to safety, the Rebels appear with another ace up their sleeve. They had a secret squadron of planes ready to drop in more mechs. So now they have the upperhand and are commanding the UN forces to cease their fighting and hand over the Shogun.

At the end, Shirogane is back in the forest again with Yuuhi, remembering that unlike everyone else, his goal is still to save mankind. That is the goal that will drive him, not the politics he’s seeing all around him. The episode ends with him wondering what he’s lacking and why he can’t understand these people’s motivations.

And we’re left wondering… Will he hand over the Shogun? Or will he think of another solution?


Could They Attempt a Meiya-Body-Double Switch?

The Rebels revealed that their main goal is to take the Shogun for their own group, leaving Japan without its figurehead. The Shogun was originally in the territory they were taking over and could have easily gone with them at that point, if she truly believed in their cause like they think she does. But instead, she fled with Shirogane. This would be a good opportunity to use her body double, Meiya, and have her surrender to the Rebels, pretending to be the Shogun. In fact, I’m kind of hoping that they already switched those two, and Meiya has been the Shogun since before this series started, and the Shogun is secretly pretending to be Meiya. This could also be why they’ve never sent her squadron into a battle against the BETA, why the Royal Guard was sent to protect her, and why she was sent a special mech. I hope I’m right about this one!

As the episode ends, I’m left remembering that when Shirogane left his original dimension a few episodes back, Kouzuki was putting together a formula he needed and he’s supposed to return in three days. I really hope they revisit the world before this season ends. But with only two episodes left, I’m not sure if that will happen.

Overall, I enjoyed this episode, especially Shirogane’s scenes with Yuuhi. The battles themselves were confusing, since as an anime-only viewer I wasn’t sure in this episode which character is which or whose side they’re all on. I do wish we saw more of Shirogane’s squadron and the characters I’m familiar with, as that would have helped me navigate the battles a bit better.

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    Stephanie Dwilson started Post Apocalyptic Media with her husband Derek. She's a licensed attorney and has a master's in science and technology journalism. You can reach her at [email protected].

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