(This review contains no spoilers for Muv-Luv and Muv-Luv Alternative. For any links to videos that I have, I will send the spoiler-free versions with just songs or OST with no story-related thumbnails)

Muv-Luv Alternative is my favourite story of all time.

In the autumn of 2021, I was looking for visual novels to read since I'd taken a break from the medium. Then, I remembered that there was this one acclaimed visual novel trilogy called Muv-Luv that I knew nothing about, other than that it somehow goes from a cutesy romcom to having mechs. The Muv-Luv trilogy consists of Extra (a slice-of-life romcom), Unlimited (a-coming-of-age story) and Alternative (a real robot mecha war story). I decided that, since this is one of the most loved VNs, I would have a blind playthrough, and so I got the trilogy. At the time, I had only read Doki Doki Literature Club, ChäoS;Child (my pre-MLA favourite), Fate/stay night and Tsukihime. At the time of writing this review, I have read just over 70 VNs (an obsession with the medium of which was fueled in no small part by ML), and while I have great respect for all of those to this day, this is the one that changed my life. I've learned many things from it, and even gained a desire to learn Japanese to a level that would make me appreciate this even more through a reread.

Right off the bat, I thought Extra was pretty enjoyable — I liked the art style, cute chibis, characters, humour and Initial D references. There's a character whose name and personality are blatantly based on Rei Ayanami, some of the girls have hair based on Gundam helmets, all of them have gigantic hair vents and/or ahoges (otherwise known as hair antennae) that were above average in size even in the 2000s. Still, even though I really clicked with the characters and cute humour, but I couldn't see where this was going, especially considering the acclaim of the series. Nonetheless, I kept going due to liking the cast and being intrigued by how this ever becomes a serious mecha story. And to be honest, I think the hate for Extra is overblown — sure, the structure equals slow pacing, Takeru is mean and sometimes borderline obnoxious in Extra, the jokes are repeated a lot, and the routes vary highly in quality, but it was a comedic take on what âge and other visual novel companies often released at the time, and it allows for greater contrast to how the mecha aspect works. Plus, if you enjoy it for what it is, it's quite fun. However, even though I knew the trilogy was a slow burn, I was left wondering if it truly would get better than just "pretty good". So Unlimited rolls around with its genre shift that I did not expect to be executed in the way it was, with massive contrast to Extra while still keeping that familiar Muv-Luv vibe, as well as intriguing worldbuilding that was merely a demo before MLA, and I was beginning to understand that this was something special. Once I got to Alternative, I was thrilled by the way the "main" story finally began. I was so hooked that I read the entire trilogy in less than two weeks.

Starting with the visuals, this part of the series is marvellous. For something that was made in 2003 and 2006, it is insane that there is so much motion, such as with eyes blinking, lipsync, many sprites (they sometimes face you with their back, which was a small detail that blew my mind at the time), backgrounds and CGs, and creative use of all of those to create a dynamic experience. Also there is a small detail I like where the text is basically subtitles with different colours depending on who's speaking. And this is just in Extra and Unlimited. In Alternative, TSFs (Muv-Luv mechs) move in fights, too. It is extremely immersive to sit in the cockpit with ambient background noise and have the UI (that changes with time!) appear on your screen, as the POV camera shifts across the screen, while seeing the TSF move from the inside, but also in other moments seeing multiple TSFs flying around, shooting bullets, swinging a sword or knife, etc. The fights have movement, and sometimes even straight up animation. Coming from Type-Moon, DDLC and Chaos;Child, the latter two of which are more recent than ML and MLA, I wasn't aware that Muv-Luv was this visually impressive to this day (big thanks to how much budget went into this, some of which was out of the author's, Kouki's, own pocket), so I was absolutely shocked by the fact that it was borderline an anime with how vibrant everything was.

Speaking of TSFs, I did enjoy Gurren Lagann and Evangelion, but I wasn't exactly into them for the mecha aspect. I did not like superpowered robots or space fights. I wanted mechs that behave more like machines, but are also not especially powerful so that fights will be tense. I tried ML/MLA in the first place because of its high acclaim and intriguing transition from Extra to mecha, not for the mecha aspect itself. I did not consider myself to be a mecha fan. But then, I realised that I just had not found my niche, and that niche was something Muv-Luv hard sci-fi has. Everything mecha, strategy, technologically, in-universe historically, geopolitically or worldbuilding related is explained and consistent in a "grounded" way, so to speak. They even made a 400-page textbook called the CODEX which is based primarily on lore featured in the source material, and even that is considered a bit outdated by now as more material came out. TSFs are agile yet fragile machines, and are treated as just another weapon. They are not superior in every aspect to tanks and planes, they have a reason (besides being cool) to exist. They are not able to do space flight, and they do not have beam or laser weapons such as laser guns or beam swords. They have bullets and large metal swords for the most part. They also have various mech-related features that I wish more mecha featured, such as neck braces for the pilot's safety due to sudden movements, various magnetic points on the fortified suit that attach to the seat and a pattern-recognition algorithm that calibrates how the machine behaves for greater efficiency as the pilot uses it more. We are also given history on various TSFs and how the various generations of them progressed and their limits. There is also the fact that TSFs are based on real life jets — the F-22 Raptor is a fighter jet in real life, but in Muv-Luv it's a TSF. Various TSFs also have different strategies and features when using them, such as how the Raptor has stealth capabilities, as well as different designs, inspired by quite a few other mecha, such as Gunbuster, Gundam and Evangelion. The politics in this are very layered, too, with many parties having complex, yet understandable, goals, while being portrayed in a humane manner.

In addition to hard sci-fi, the strategy and tactics featured in this go an extra mile in terms of details and immersion. One thing that personally bugged me (not that there's anything wrong with it) in a lot of mecha was that they use cool-sounding terms and words that are barely (and sometimes never) explained, like the "omega actuator" or something. When tech is being described to you in Muv-Luv, you are told exactly what each term means and how it contributes to the overall picture working. When you are told there will be a military op in Muv-Luv, you are given an explanation on what each plan and phase is, what the backup plan is, what to do depending on the situation, parameters such as distance and weight of objects, the advantages and disadvantages of the situation, what each squad member's placement in the plan is, what the deadline is, etc. If they suddenly need to change to plan B, you know exactly what that entails. You know what the Arrowhead 2 TSF formation is, so if in a fight someone says "All units, switch to Arrowhead 2," you know what they're referring to. You know when to switch to what weapon. You know what that omega actuator would be here. All of this is accompanied with various technical and strategic diagrams, to boot. There is so much depth that they go into with a plethora of things, that one would need a separate post just to discuss all the major topics. And when a very large-scale fight starts, you end up keeping track of so many variables and players, but it feels natural, and so mesmerising.

The soundtrack in this is wonderful. You are greeted by two opening themes in MLA, one being the PS3 theme, 0-GRAVITY, which is insanely exciting, especially after after the cute opening theme of Extra and the Unlimited OP which fills one with wonder; and the other being the original opening by the legendary band JAM PROJECT, who have been involved in many mecha and other anime projects. The song's name is Asu e no Houkou, or Roar to the Future. I think to this day, this is my favourite Japanese song of all time, let alone opening to anything, ever. It is so, so cool, hype, whatever you want to call it. It makes one remember the days of Extra and find it unbelievable that this is part of the same story as it. The non-vocal soundtrack is great in this too, when there are tracks like the briefing track which really set the tone for the mecha war story aspect of the trilogy. There are also more relaxing tracks for day-to-day life. There are so many tracks in this that just ooze passion and variety. This, similarly to the animated scene and voice acting aspect, is in part due to having some very known and talented people working as composers, such as Iwasaki Taku, who also worked on the Gurren Lagann's, Katanagatari's, Soul Eater's and other soundtracks.

Of course, the most important aspect is the story. Takeru starts as an immature teen and develops as he gains an adult's perspective on life. This is possible largely due to the genre shift of having that same romcom protagonist in Extra experience the different sides of what life is like. The change from having his biggest concern be who he wants to eat lunch with to what one might call having "real problems", with both him and the reader now remembering those relaxing times as something to be appreciated, leaves a lasting impression, and is only possible due to having lived through Extra. As this is a spoiler-free review, I will leave the plot discussion at that, and now just mention the impact it had on me. I hadn't cried from a story for years at that point, and yet Muv-Luv Alternative had me crying so hard that I had to stop reading lines for a few moments just so that the tears would clear and that I would see the screen better, six times. It was an absolutely incredible experience, and nothing has come close since for me. There were a few aspects of the story that were personally relatable to me that had an impact as well. I am so glad I went into this unspoiled.

That's not to say it's perfect, of course, there are issues such as some jokes that would be in bad taste now, 17 to 20 years later, the road to it truly becoming great (after being decent in Extra and pretty good in Unlimited) in Alternative is very much a "it gets good bro, trust me" deal where the beginning is in no way indicative of what comes later, but man, the intrigue, the characters and investment got me there without any issues. The structure definitely makes it a slow burn, and there's some weird stuff at times. But you know how in a lot of media, you have a peaceful town life for a bit in the first episode before the real story begins? Well here, you live the peace, and you live the war, making the impact very great for many people such as myself, and for others it might not be worth the build-up, which is fine. The infodumping and lore might be too much for some, but for people such as myself who get into it, it is a treat. This isn't a work for everyone, and that's fine. However, I would recommend many people, including mecha fans, visual novel readers and Attack on Titan fans, to check this out, since it really is worth trying.

Finally, I want to give thanks. I was sitting there bawling my eyes out as the credits rolled, and I want to write down the words of gratitude that I had not written anywhere before.

Thank you, Shirogane Takeru, for your inspiring journey. Thank you, Kagami Sumika, Mitsurugi Meiya, Ayamine Kei, Tamase Miki, Sakaki Chizuru and Yashiro Kasumi, for your stories that showed both the protagonist and reader the many perspectives and lives that exist in the world. Thank you, Kouzuki Yuuko, Jinguuji Marimo and other cast members, for being reliable mentors and saying things that both Takeru and I, a university student at the time who had been lost with as to what to do with life, needed to hear. Thank you for making this story such a joy to read.

Lastly, and most importantly, thank you, âge and Yoshimune Kouki, for creating this beautiful tale of love and courage that I hold dear in my heart to this day.

Cleared on Hard, finished all side-quests. Finished it a while ago, but it's still stuck in my craw, so I feel like writing a review. I'm not going to spoil anything directly but I'm definitely giving impressions of the whole game, so if you're particularly sensitive to spoilers maybe dip now.

This was obviously lovely in a lot of ways, but I think this is where I get off the Trails train for a while. Trails has never been big on stakes, but the lack of lethality to anything in Zero and Azure is just devastating. There's no weight to this anymore. The big scary villains aren't scary because I know no one's ever ever going to die.

It's especially weird because Zero gets most of its resonance from paying off an extremely dark character thread set up in 3rd. You'd think they'd realize it's good to have some edge every now and then in a massive fantasy epic. But if there was any edge left in Zero then it's completely gone in Azure; this is one of the most bloodless stories ostensibly about revolution I've ever seen. The new emphasis on light dating sim mechanics means we also don't get a strong core romance like in Sky. I didn't get to see any of the meager sparks between Elie and Lloyd pay off because I didn't buy her enough stuffed animals to put in her room, whoops.

It's a shame because the character writing is as lovely as ever. I finally upped the difficulty to Hard for this one and I should've done it sooner, it feels amazing and the bosses are super-chunky and fun to unravel. The music and art and setting texture are as gorgeous as always. But at this point Trails is a romance where nobody fucks and a war epic where nobody dies. I've lost my patience for that for the moment.

Fuck me for playing this one, I guess. The bulk of the game is better than my two star rating would imply, but the combination of a momentum halting, seemingly endless exposition dump at the climax of the story combined with sudden-onset-stupid-Japanese-wordplay made this one a chore to finish. I was just happy by the time it was finally over.

There's various plot twists, all of them dumb, but if taken at face value and contained to just the first three routes, Raging Loop is not the worst game in the world.

Put that on the box, please.