Muv-Luv: Difference between revisions

After 3 years in the ''Unlimited'' world, Takeru wakes up to find that he has rewound back to the beginning of ''Unlimited''. Unable to accept the result of what happened at the end of ''Unlimited'' ({{spoiler|mass evacuation of Earth, followed by the remaining humans' last stand against the BETA}}), he strives to find a method that could give humanity victory. ''Alternative'' also includes Michiru Isumi from age's debut game ''Kimi Ga Ita Kisetsu'', which got a remake in 2011 (in which Touko Kazama and Misae Munakata also appear), and Mitsuki Hayase, Haruka Suzumiya (Akane's sister), along with Akane herself, from ''[[Kimi ga Nozomu Eien]]''. The composers from ''Muv-Luv'' return for the music, which also features contributions from [[JAM Project]], Hijiri Anze (''[[Resident Evil Code Veronica]]''), Hikaru Nanase (''[[Zone of the Enders]]'', ''[[Chrno Crusade]]''), and Taku Iwasaki (who would later compose for ''[[Soul Eater]]'' and ''[[Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann]]'').

 

 

 

 

'''Please note that this page, as well as its subpages, contains a ton of spoilers, especially for the latter parts of ''Unlimited'', as well as the entirety of ''Alternative''. And yes, even mere mentions of many tropes here are in themselves spoilers.'''

** Voice actors who do not do eroge have voiced characters in eroges numerous times before, as long as the characters that they voice are not involved in any eroge scenes. However, considering that the voice actors for virtually all of the characters are non-eroge, ''Total Eclipse'' is pretty much guaranteed to be non-eroge.

* [[Book Ends]]: {{spoiler|The ED of the prequel ''Akane Maniax'', the OP of ''Extra'', '''and''' the ED of ''Alternative'', is the same song: "Muv-Luv" by Minami Kuribayashi (the voice actress of Kasumi and Haruka). The song has also been stated by [[Word of God|the singer]] to be about Sumika ''in Unlimited / Alternative''.}}

* [[Bug War]]: Humanity against the BETA, and with good reason, too. {{spoiler|The BETA are just organic mining machines.}}

* [[Cerebus Retcon]]: In ''Alternative'' Hayase gets a little pissed at Munakata for not having a proper confession or romantic moment the last time she saw her fiancee. It's played for laughs {{spoiler|until we learn that Hayase was never able to have one either before the man she loved died.}}

* [[Deflector Shields]]: Not present in this setting, and a major reason humanity was faring very badly against the BETA. {{spoiler|The Susano'o units were later equipped with a prototype, however TSF-sized ones were still impossible to build yet.}}

* [[Dropped a Bridget On Him]]: Mikoto in ''Unlimited''. Played both for laughs and seriously, as Takeru's initial inability to see Mikoto as nothing but a boy causes him to avoid her, creating even more strife within the squadron against him.

* [[Eagle Land]]: The US, which was among the very few nations not invaded by BETA in ''Unlimited/Alternative'' {{spoiler|due to their nuking of Canada when a hive landed there}}, is seen by many Japanese as opportunistic. {{spoiler|Justified, as the CIA instigated and escalated Sagiri's coup in ''Alternative'' in order to bring those with his sentiments out into the open and wipe them out.}} Subverted in that the American soldiers and field commanders Takeru meets in ''Alternative'' turn out to be as decent and gentlemanly as their Japanese counterparts.

** Pay no mind to the fact that Meiya looks every similar to [[Kimi ga Nozomu Eien|Mitsuki]] and Sumika looks similar to [[Kimi ga Nozomu Eien|Haruka]] or that Sumika gets hit by a car in "Extra" in blatant reference to Haruka's accident in [[Kimi ga Nozomu Eien]]. Don't worry, this is only played for laughs and Sumika gets better pretty much immediately. As you might had guess, like Haruka and Mitsuki, Sumika and Meiya are the main heroines in this game. As a bonus, the song "Muv-Luv" is sung by Haruka's voice actress and is apparently, by "[[Word of God]]," a song about Sumika. To make up for it, the personalities between Meiya/Mitsuki and Sumika/Haruka are completely different.

* [[Eye Beams]]: The signature weapons of the Laser-Class BETA ''Lux'' and the Heavy Laser-Class BETA ''Magnus Lux'', and, due to their nullification of the concept of "air superiority", the reason for the development of the Tactical Surface Fighter.

{{quote| {{spoiler|'''Gen. Radhabinod''': ''We will carve into our hearts the noble deeds of those who are not permitted to reveal even their names.''}}}}

* [[Hero Secret Service]]: The true purpose of the VFA-01 Valkyries {{spoiler|was to escort the 00-Unit and her Susano'o mobile fortress into battle and protect her}}. The trope was played with {{spoiler|as Takeru (the main character) was initially among the escorts}}, but later played straight {{spoiler|when he assumed piloting duties (in tandem with Sumika and Kasumi) for the Susano'o Type-4}}.

* [[Humongous Mecha]]: The "Tactical Surface Fighters" in ''Unlimited'' and ''Alternative'' are [[Real Robot|Real Robots]]. {{spoiler|The Type-2 and Type-4 Susano'o units technically are, as well, but veer close to the [[Super Robot]] borderline.}}

* {{spoiler|[[I Am a Humanitarian]]}}: {{spoiler|''The Day After'': In the aftermath of the mass G-Bombing and the sinking of Eurasia beneath the waves, Canada and France (whose has relocated to the former) went to war with the US. Hibiki's squad found that the besieged defenders they were sent to relieve had resorted to cannibalism in their desperation.}}

* [[New Game+]]: ''Unlimited'' can only be unlocked by finishing the two possible endings of ''Extra'''s "main route".

* [[Nice Job Breaking It, Hero]]: {{spoiler|In ''Alternative'', Takeru's choice not to get Squadron 207 personally involved in the evacuation of the villagers from the eruption of Mt. Tengen (unlike what they did in ''Unlimited'') was the indirect trigger for Sagiri's coup d'etat, which claimed the life of Chizuru's father the Prime Minister.}}

* [[Nostalgic Music Box]]: ''[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GnfMvYIHJt8&fmt=18 A World To Protect]'', one of the three rearrangements of ''Muv-Luv'' main theme.

* [[Not a Morning Person]]: Takeru and Ayamine are terrible when it comes to waking up. {{spoiler|After having lived in a military livestyle for three years, at the beginning of ''Alternative'' Takeru has begun waking himself up on time, much to Kasumi's disappointment.}}

** The number designation of the unit the main cast of the ''Unlimited/Alternative'' prequel/sidestory ''Schwarzesmarken'' belongs to: the 666th TSF Squadron.

** The standard military code for "impending G-Bomb deployment" is [[CODE 666]], which is first seen at the aptly-named Operation Lucifer.

* [[Omake]]: Several non-canonical, and comedic, "Radio Dramas" set in the world of ''Alternative'', about such things as Mitsuki attempting to find out what exactly the relationship between two of her squadmates is, {{spoiler|the Shogun (or so it seemed)}} showing up in place of Meiya during Squadron 207's breakfast, and Squadron A-01 facing off with a berserk Base Commander.

* [[Ominous Latin Chanting]]/[[One-Woman Wail]]: ''[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MbiwLnduNU Original Hive]''

* [[Redshirt Army]]: The average survival time of a new pilot against the BETA is '' {{spoiler|just eight minutes}}''.

* [[Reference Overdosed]] - And how!

** In addition, [[Masayo Kurata]] and [[Soichiro Hoshi]] (Takeru) had four other instances playing as teammates: Michael and Fasalina in [[Gun X Sword]], Fayt and [[Optional Party Member|Peppita]] in [[Star Ocean 3]], Kira and Mayura in [[Gundam Seed]] and {{spoiler|Gino and Rakshata late in the second season of [[Code Geass]] via [[Enemy Mine]].}}

* [[Rewrite]]: [[The Reveal]] in ''Unlimited'' {{spoiler|about Meiya being a member of the Imperial family}} was changed to {{spoiler|being a member of the Shogun's family (the Shogunate still exists there)}} in ''Alternative''. This change was retained in the later all-ages release of ''Unlimited'' as well.

* [[Shounen]]: The manga adaptation of ''Unlimited'', which ran in ''Dengeki Daioh''. The original visual novels are, of course, anything '''but''' shounen.

* [[Shout-Out]]: ''Muv-Luv'' has at least three general sources:

** '''Science Fiction Literature.''' Several chapters in ''Unlimited'' and ''Alternative'' are named after {{spoiler|plot-relevant}} sci-fi novels or short stories (most notably Arthur C. Clarke's ''The Songs of Distant Earth'', which gave its name to ''Unlimited'''s last chapter and ED). In addition, several plot points in ''Alternative'' owe their origin to ''[[Starship Troopers]]'', per [[Word of God]].

** '''Video Games.''' From (among others) [[Virtual On]] (Valgern-On), [[Tekken]] (Dokken), [[Fire Emblem]] (the strategy RPG Takeru lends to Chizuru), and [[Metal Gear Solid]] (the game Takeru lends to Ayamine, in addition to a line from Takeru where he says he's not a member of "SOCKSHOUND").

* [[Shower of Love]]: {{spoiler|Chizuru's}} H-Scene in ''Unlimited''.

* [[Sibling Yin-Yang]]: {{spoiler|The twins Meiya and Yuuhi (the Shogun) were supposed to be this (see [[Meaningful Name]] above).}} Subverted in that they turn out to have exactly the same personality and can understand each other's feelings ''perfectly'' {{spoiler|despite being separated mere days after birth and never meeting each other since}}.

* [[Signature Style]]: {{spoiler|1=age seems to have a thing for [[Last Stand|Last Stands]], [[Kill'Em All]] and/or [[Sole Survivor]] in its works set in the ''Unlimited'' and ''Alternative'' timelines.}}

* [[Suck Out the Poison]]: Mikoto has to do this to Takeru when he gets bit by a poisonous snake during a combat exam. {{spoiler|In the game, it turns out the snake wasn't poisonous; in the manga adaptation, the snake was.}}

* [[Suicide Mission]]: In the standard Japanese and UN Army tactical doctrine, once the orbital diver squads break through a hive monument into the interior, they are essentially cut off from reinforcements and additional supplies against a [[Zerg Rush]] of enemies in their home territory. {{spoiler|Takeru and his squad go off on this when they were ordered to invade the Original Hive, [[Kill'Em All|with predictable results]].}}

* [[Super Prototype]]: {{spoiler|The Susano'o units in ''Alternative'', which were the only ones big enough to carry the prototype [[Deflector Shields]] and [[Wave Motion Gun]]. They require in turn another [[Super Prototype]] to even operate at all - the 00-Unit.}}

* [[Survivor Guilt]]: {{spoiler|Marimo after losing her squadmates to a surprise BETA attack, as her backstory reveals.}}

** [[Incredibly Lame Pun|Alternatively,]] your standard wacky [[Dating Sim]] high on [[Starship Troopers]] and {{spoiler|[[Yoshiyuki Tomino|"Kill 'em All" Tomino]]}}.

* [[Your Princess Is in Another Castle]]: During the combat exam, it looks like the squad has finally made it to the target point, {{spoiler|when a gun battery suddenly attacks the helicopter supposed to pick them up, requiring the team to take a whole day just to get to the next point and disabling the battery.}}

* [[Zerg Rush]]: On any battlefield the BETA outnumber human forces ''at least'' 20 to 1 (inside hives the ratio is at least ''100 to 1''), and have perfect [[One-Hit Kill]] extreme-range attackers. {{spoiler|It got far worse later on when the BETA started using tactics in addition to sheer numbers and Laser types.}}

* {{spoiler|[[Zombie Apocalypse]]}}: {{spoiler|The ''Venator'' BETA strain is created by recycling protein of humans.}}

* {{spoiler|[[Dwindling Party]]}}: {{spoiler|The members of original Squadron 207 die off one by one in the final suicide mission against the Original Hive.}}

* {{spoiler|[[Dying Declaration of Love]]}}: {{spoiler|Meiya at the end of ''Alternative''.}}

** {{spoiler|In the ''Alternative'' world, the ending is a touch more [[Bittersweet Ending|bittersweet]], but all the same, you can't deny that Takeru and his squad earned every last drop of sweetness enjoyed.}}

* {{spoiler|[[Everybody Lives]]}}: {{spoiler|Together with [[Kill'Em All]] below, a double whammy by ''Alternative''! Only in a separate dimension, though.}}

* {{spoiler|[[One-Way Trip]]}}: {{spoiler|Sumika never intended to survive the Kashgar Hive assault, and in fact originally planned to go at it alone.}}

* {{spoiler|[[Shoot the Hostage]]}}: {{spoiler|A rare instance where the hostage begs for it: At the end of ''Alternative'', Meiya's TSF has been captured by the BETA Superior and is being held in front of Takeru, leaving him unable to fire Susano'o's [[Wave Motion Gun]] at the Superior. [[I Cannot Self-Terminate|Meiya, who was under excruciating pain from the BETA infecting her, begs him to fire]]; Takeru is forced to pull the trigger in a [[Tear Jerker]] moment.}}

* {{spoiler|[[Someone to Remember Him By]]}}: {{spoiler|The True End of each heroine's route in ''Unlimited''.}}

* {{spoiler|[[The Greatest Story Never Told]]}}: {{spoiler|1=Not the deeds of the Valkyries, whose names were released post-Operation Cherry Blossom, with one exception. All of ''Takeru'''s achievements will never be revealed due to ceasing to exist and being [[Ret-Gone|Ret Goned]] from everyone's memories save Kasumi and Yuuko's, and the latter has vowed to take the secret of the existence of alternate worlds, and therefore Takeru's existence, with her to the grave.}}

* {{spoiler|[[The Hero Dies]]}}: {{spoiler|In ''Unlimited''.}}

* {{spoiler|[[The Last Dance]]}}: Operation Cherry Blossom was one for {{spoiler|Sumika, who had previously lost the hive reactor which was sustaining her life. She managed to hold on for long enough to see the success of the operation.}}

* {{spoiler|[[Together in Death]]}}: Invoked by Takeru {{spoiler|in the Normal End of each main heroine in ''Unlimited''.}}

* {{spoiler|[[Utsuge]]}}: {{spoiler|Prepare to shed [[Manly Tears]] at the end of ''Unlimited''. Prepare to shed ''even more'' during ''Alternative''}}.

* {{spoiler|[[What Measure Is a Non-Human?]]}}: {{spoiler|Inverted - the BETA are programmed by their Creators to recognize only silicon-based life as alive. By extension, they don't recognize humanity (and even themselves) as alive. May be a warped version of Asimov's First Law of Robotics.}}

* {{spoiler|[[And Then John Was a Zombie|You Are The BETA]]}}: {{spoiler|While berating Takeru, Yuuko in the ''Extra Branch'' invokes this trope, telling him that, to that world's Takeru, to that world's Sumika, and to the five billion people who will die due to his being a causality conductor, he is the incomprehensible harbinger of despair that the BETA are in the world of ''Alternative''.}}

* {{spoiler|[[You Killed My Father]]}}: {{spoiler|1=Chizuru, to Sagiri in ''Alternative''. Subverted; she gets an arm sliced off her TSF and nearly gets killed for her troubles.}}

 

{{reflist}}