Muv-Luv Alternative

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Alternative Titles

Japanese: マブラヴオルタネイティヴ

Information

Type: TV

Episodes: 12

Status: Finished Airing

Aired: Oct 7, 2021 to Dec 23, 2021

Premiered: Fall 2021

Broadcast: Thursdays at 00:55 (JST)

Producers: Dentsu, Fuji TV, BS Fuji, Avex Pictures, Crunchyroll, Tencent Japan, Bandai Namco Arts, aNCHOR

Licensors: None found, add some

Studios: Yumeta Company, Graphinica, Flagship Line

Source: Visual novel

Genres: Action, Drama, Sci-Fi

Themes: Mecha, Military

Duration: 22 min. per ep.

Rating: R+ - Mild Nudity

Statistics

Score: 5.84¹ (scored by 12,612 users)

¹ indicates a weighted score.

Ranked: #10386²

² based on the top anime page. Please note that 'Not yet aired' and 'R18+' titles are excluded.

Popularity: #3471

Members: 41,206

Favorites: 178

Available At

Official Site

@Muv_Luv_A_anime

Resources

AniDB

ANN

Streaming Platforms

Crunchyroll

5.84

Ranked #10386Popularity #3471Members 41,206

Fall 2021TVYumeta Company, Graphinica, Flagship Line

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Episodes: /12

Special PV

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Synopsis

The world has been engulfed in a desperate, three-decade-long war against the BETA—an alien species that invaded the planet in 1973. Amid this chaos, a high school student named Takeru Shirogane suddenly wakes up from a terrifying nightmare where he sees mankind in utter defeat. Soon after, he realizes that his dream was nothing more than the recollections of his life in an alternative universe. In those memories, the Alternative V project is implemented, sending hundreds of thousands of people into space as a last resort to preserve humanity, while leaving the remaining billion on Earth to suffer a cruel fate.

Yearning to change this grim future, Takeru joins a military base in Yokohama, which happens to be his former high school. There, he manages to convince the base's vice-commander and leader of the Alternative IV project, Professor Yuuko Kouzuki, to prevent Alternative V from happening. To ensure the success of Alternative IV, Takeru must pilot the gigantic humanoid machines Tactical Surface Fighters (TSF) alongside his fellow cadets. However, he has only two months to complete his training and exploit his partial knowledge of the future—lest the ensuing tragedy take place.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

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Background

Muv-Luv Alternative adapts the first six chapters of the visual novel of the same name, which is the third and final part of the Muv-Luv trilogy.

Episode Videos

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Related Anime

Adaptation:	Muv-Luv Alternative
Side story:	Muv-Luv Alternative: Total Eclipse
Spin-off:	Schwarzesmarken
Sequel:	Muv-Luv Alternative 2nd Season
Other:	Rinne

More characters

Characters & Voice Actors

Kagami, Sumika

Main

Kusunoki, Tomori
Japanese

Mitsurugi, Meiya

Main

Nanami, Karin
Japanese

Shirogane, Takeru

Main

Kamiki, Kouichi
Japanese

Hayase, Mitsuki

Supporting

Yamamura, Hibiku
Japanese

Suzumiya, Haruka

Supporting

Kouzuki, Yuuko

Supporting

Aoki, Ruriko
Japanese

Suzumiya, Akane

Supporting

Itou, Ayasa
Japanese

Yashiro, Kasumi

Supporting

Takao, Kanon
Japanese

Ayamine, Kei

Supporting

Saeki, Iori
Japanese

Jinguuji, Marimo

Supporting

Watabe, Sayumi
Japanese

More staff

Staff

Katsumata, Hideo

Producer

Nobe, Nobuyasu

Producer

Oogo, Hirotsugu

Producer

Nishimoto, Yukio

Director

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Opening Theme

	"Rinne (輪廻)" by V.W.P
	"TRISTAR (Japanese ver. -Muv-Luv mix-)" by STEREO DIVE FOUNDATION (Rebroadcast)

Edit

Ending Theme

	"Rinne acoustic ver. (輪廻 acoustic ver.)" by V.W.P (Rebroadcast)
	"TRISTAR" by STEREO DIVE FOUNDATION

Reviews

Dec 22, 2021

ejennsyahmixcel

Recommended

First of all, don't be tricked by VN-only readers who can't even stand the design being changed partially on just on the hair design and not even care to see the goddamn good later part of this season.

Secondly, for those coming in to see only the mecha vs monster and feel frustrated, I also want to say Muv-Luv, isn't like what the poster shows. It's a drama, yes a drama that's why they have a lot of talking. But it's a goddamn good drama actually if you go in full. Some VN readers also made this mistake and cursing it without knowing the truth (that's ...

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Dec 22, 2021

Graine

Mixed Feelings

I think the key problems with the ML:A anime adaptation can be broken into three categories:

1) WE ARE MISSING THE ENTIRE SETUP OF EVERYTHING!
A lot of people know about this but the original "Alternative" visual novel was the 3rd(!!) entry in a series of stories (titled Extra, Unlimited and Alternative). We are missing 2 visual novels worth of content here and that introduces some obvious problems. There's no way they could have woven in the information from the first two VNs into the anime to make it work flawlessly as a self-contained story, but they could have minimized the damage by writing some crucial bits ... from Extra and Unlimited into the existing scenes and dialogue. But they don't really do that. Instead, a lot of Alternative's (the VNs) own content has been axed as well. I can sort of appreciate their efforts to streamline things – some scenes in the VN are agonizingly verbose and they'll make Metal Gear Solid codec conversations feel like high-octane action in comparison. But this is a case where they needed more, not less! The biggest casualties, I think, are the girls of 207th – our main characters! We get to know next to nothing about their personalities or their group dynamic. Sumika, "the childhood friend" from the other world, is another huge casualty. If you are looking at this show in a vacuum, you will think this is the flattest cast of characters imaginable. There's also the brain, the Game Guy, the cat's cradle thing, Takeru's personality shift, the bunny doll, Tsukuyomi and the three idiots, Jinguuji... I could go on. None of it is properly set up in the anime.

2) THE LACK OF PROPER PRODUCTION VALUES
If something in the source material had room for improvement, it is the action. A VN from the early 2000s is not gonna be great at presenting action and this is where the anime had a clear edge. Unfortunately, the show doesn't really look that great. The character animation stuff is awkward and inconsistent. The 3D stuff doesn't blend in properly with the traditional animation. The various mecha models all just blur together for me. Whether you love the visual designs of the mechas or hate ‘em, it’s a little difficult to tell which faction’s vehicles you are watching sometimes. But I don't wanna harp on the visuals too much. It is what it is. I'm sure it mostly boils down to lack of budget and time more so than incompetence or negligence, since at it's best, the show does look perfectly presentable.

3) THIS IS THE WEAKEST PART OF THE ALTERNATIVE STORY
The story bits covered here in the 12 episodes (11 if you discount the Sadogashima story) are essentially the crud of the original VN. The beginning of the story is really just treading water, as Takeru is repeating things he has already done before. The first major story event is the coup subplot. And while I wouldn't call it a bad plotline per se, it feels more like a world building thing than an integral part of the story. It is a little detached from everything else. So, if they do make more of the anime, they've now gotten the weakest parts out of the way and there should be better stuff coming. That's something to look forward to, I guess.

I’ll end with some positives. Watching the first couple of episodes of this show gave me the final jolt I needed to go through the original Muv-Luv VNs. That's something I've been meaning to do for years and I'm glad I finally got around to it – they are very much worth the while, even though they start real slow. So the anime did re-ignite my interest towards the setting. Also, the Sadogashima battle in the first episode is pretty good! If this is your first contact with the Muv-Luv universe, I think the opening episode showcases the nature of mankind's hopeless war against the BETA rather well. I do wish they had used the opportunity to set up some major plot-related characters as well while they were at it, but hey, I’ll take what I can get. At least we get some more context for Sadogashima, which will be useful in the future. I also like how the anime is gradually weaving the Valkyries into the story! The VN basically just drops them on you (almost) out of nowhere and that’s quite a lot of characters to introduce so late into the story. Doing it gradually like this is a good call.

I can recommend this anime to people who want to re-experience the original story without the insane time commitment that the visual novels require. If your memory serves you well enough that you can figure out what everyone and everything is about with only small reminders (because that's all you're getting), I think you can enjoy this. For everyone that's not already familiar with the source material, I feel like ML:A will be an underwhelming and confusing experience.

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Dec 22, 2021

Infinite

Not Recommended

Muv-Luv Alternative is a disaster, and not even an entertaining one.

It is a failure across the board; The animation is bad, the art is bland, the characters come across as flat and generic, and the pacing is atrocious. However, the biggest failure of this series is managing to make a story taking place in a world on the brink of annihilation so utterly tiresome.

Muv-Luv Alternative is an adaptation of a spin-off of a standard school romance visual novel, where the protagonist from the main game finds himself in an alternate universe where BETA (giant monster aliens) are trying to exterminate the human race. The original ... source was far too long to be adapted into one series, so only part of it could be adapted. The choice of part is the main reason why this show is so incredibly boring.

This series starts part way through the story. Takeru, the protagonist, has already experienced this timeline once, but failed to prevent calamity. This time he will strive to change things. The issue this brings is that this means that Takeru knows when and where the BETA will attack, which means that within this series, the BETA, the central antagonists and threat of calamity, are entirely trivialised and barely appear in the series at all.

Instead, what this series should be about is politics and mystery. The issue with this is that starting half way through the story robs us of context. The show takes often far too long expositing simple things, but fails to cover the information anime only viewers will have missed. It seems that the pacing took a hit so they could stretch this section of the story to 12 episodes.

The other reason the politics and mystery in this series fails is that the characters, the reasons we should care about what’s happening, are weak. The reason why we care about stopping Alternative V should be that we care about the characters being saved, but the way they are characterised is generic and bland. It doesn’t help that the voice acting is often mediocre.

What should have been the climatic arc of this cour felt unnecessary. The questions I kept asking myself when watching it was “why does this matter?” and “why should I care?”. The situation itself was actually fairly well written, and the politics were grounded (if not seeming to promote nationalism). But you cannot just try and set up a situation like this without making the stakes seem meaningful. In the original medium this probably had a lot more weight, but in the anime it just feels like filler.

The production values being as low as they are also hurt considerably, and likely explain their decisions in choosing what to adapt. The animation is bad, with minimal movement and characters often looking off model. The art direction is also bland. This seemed like a tick box exercise of getting scenes from the visual novel and putting it into anime form, there was no concern in making scenes more interesting and suitable for the anime medium.

Overall, this series has repeated every mistake that was previously made in adapting the spin-off Muv-Luv Alternative: Total Eclipse, and is even worse than it overall. It fails to deliver a positive experience for both fans of the original source material and first-time viewers of the Muv-Luv franchise.

My recommendation to anyone considering this is to watch the first two episodes of Muv-Luv: Total Eclipse and stop there. Those two episodes are the height of what this series should be achieving, and is never replicated again, either in its series or in this one.

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Recent News

'Muv-Luv Alternative' Gets Second Season in Fall 2022

The 12th and final episode of the Muv-Luv Alternative anime series ended with an announcement on Thursday that a second season is in production. The official websit...read more

Dec 22, 2021 8:51 AM by DatRandomDude | Discuss (46 comments)

'Muv-Luv Alternative' Reveals Supporting Cast, Commemorative Illustration

The official website of the Muv-Luv Alternative television anime series announced three additional cast members and a commemorative illustration (pictured) on Friday...read more

Oct 22, 2021 12:07 PM by Aidan | Discuss (4 comments)

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Poll: Muv-Luv Alternative Episode 12 Discussion ( 1 2 ) Stark700 - Dec 22, 2021	82 replies	by Unkrowned »» Jul 11, 2023 4:31 AM
Why fans are OVERREACTING.? Sandro8604 - Oct 14, 2021	46 replies	by koneroko »» Dec 27, 2022 4:09 PM
Poll: Muv-Luv Alternative Episode 11 Discussion Stark700 - Dec 15, 2021	45 replies	by MoeMoeKyun »» Nov 16, 2022 7:04 PM
Poll: Muv-Luv Alternative Episode 10 Discussion Stark700 - Dec 8, 2021	44 replies	by MoeMoeKyun »» Nov 16, 2022 6:44 PM
There is no Muv Luv Alternative anime ( 1 2 ) OppaiSugoi - Oct 13, 2021	63 replies	by ixarising »» Oct 8, 2022 11:19 PM

Muv-Luv Alternative

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Characters & Voice Actors

Kagami, Sumika

Mitsurugi, Meiya

Shirogane, Takeru

Hayase, Mitsuki

Suzumiya, Haruka

Kouzuki, Yuuko

Suzumiya, Akane

Yashiro, Kasumi

Ayamine, Kei

Jinguuji, Marimo

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Muv-Luv Alternative

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Information

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Available At

Resources

Streaming Platforms

Synopsis

Background

Episode Videos

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Related Anime

Characters & Voice Actors

Staff

Opening Theme

Ending Theme

Reviews

Interest Stacks

Recommendations

Recent News

Recent Forum Discussion

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