Valkyria Chronicles

[Yukimura]

Well my dislike for Alicia's character has been further strengthened by this episode. Idealism is great in a show like Gurren-Lagann where you can tell reality to take a hike but this show seems to be going with a more realistic depiction of war and its consequences and in that regard I simply can't abide Alicia's temperament. Blind heroism, confidence, and sentimentality are certainly likable qualities but they don't win you realistic wars. I think the most dangerous thing I sense in Alicia at this point is her (over)confidence. She comes across as thinking she is the shit because she cares deeply and had some manner of skill compared to the other farmers and shopkeepers with uniforms running around her town. She doesn't seem to understand that there is a hard limit to what any one person with limited military skill and intelligence can do.

After the mini time skip I was rather shocked to see that fainting girl was allowed into the militia until I heard that she was one of those 'illustrious' families. With that, I figure they'll stick her into some sort of support role like counter-intelligence and she'll turn out to really good at it as long as no one shoots at her. Alicia on the other hand, I don't think she belongs in any armed organization more important than a town watch at all. I can barely believe they gave her the rank of Sergeant (i.e leader of other grunts) considering her demeanor. Sure she has plenty of spunk and motivation to defend her country but she seems to lack greatly for discipline, intelligence, and wisdom. Hopefully she'll pick those things up on the way or just be vetoed constantly by the other members of her squad so that she can't get too many people killed.