Starting airing as an anime in the fall of 2019, Val x Love is a room-sharing romantic comedy battle series in which the protagonist is forced to live and flirt with nine adorable Valkyries. While the story is packed with plot twists, I'd like to summarize its appeal and highlights!
Appeal of the Series 1: The Cute and Charming Characters!
The most appealing aspect of the series is undoubtedly its captivating characters. Each of the nine Valkyries who visit the protagonist is unique, and you're sure to find one you like. Cuteness is justice, and anime featuring cute girls is worth watching just for that.
Introducing Some of the Characters! ① Protagonist: Takuma Akutsu
The protagonist of this work is an enviable man who has a love affair with a cute Valkyrie. However, his intimidating appearance makes no one want to get close to him, and without his knowledge, numerous angel-like legends have been created, leading to his being feared as an incredibly cruel and dangerous person. Naturally, he is constantly looked down upon by those around him, and as a result, the unfortunate protagonist has developed a phobia of humans. Despite growing up in such an environment, she has a kind, gentle, and earnest personality, but perhaps due to her upbringing, she is also timid and easily nervous.
Introducing Some of the Characters! ② Main Heroine: Saotome Nanaki (Siegrune)
She is the main heroine in Val x Love, and is in the same class as the protagonist. Her abilities as a Valkyrie are excellent for attack, and she has no particular weaknesses, making her easy to use. Therefore, she is instructed to prioritize leveling her up (by engaging in extreme flirting). She has a tsundere personality and is self-conscious about her small breasts. Perhaps it's the fate of the main erotic heroine, but she often finds herself humiliated by lucky perverts, and even unlucky perverts end up in embarrassing situations.
Introducing Some of the Characters! ③ Saotome Ichika (Brunhilde): Overwhelming Combat Abilities and Attributes
Among the nine Valkyries, she is the eldest and most reliable, possessing the strongest combat abilities. She cares for her younger sisters, but can also be strict and scary. However, she also has a fairly simple and easy-to-understand personality. She doesn't approve of the protagonist at all and is prepared to kill him if he does anything strange, but she has super-sensitive skin and a very sensitive body, so she's ready to die when the protagonist touches her. Ah, that's great.
Appeal of the Series 2: Beautiful Girls Getting Erotically Involved
This work is an erotic genre in a boys' magazine. As such, the heroines, the Valkyries, end up in embarrassing situations, but the depictions are quite extreme, even though the original is a boys' magazine. It's unclear to what extent this extremeness will be reflected in the anime, but it could escalate if things go wrong, so that's another highlight.
Appeal of the Game 3: You Can't Survive Without Flirting!
The power that Valkyries gain through love is like MP in RPGs. It depletes as they use it, and flirting is the only way to replenish it. However, there are times when demons suddenly attack, and your current fighting power is insufficient. In such cases, you must flirt regardless of the time and place. You must flirt even when a powerful demon is nearby. Moreover, the more extreme the gameplay, the greater the benefits, so the more critical the situation, the more extreme the gameplay.
Attacking while transformed is outrageous!
Despite the extreme conditions of battle, the sisters are often putting their bodies on the line to hold off the enemy, or even getting cozy with the enemy almost right in front of them. For some reason, the enemy never takes advantage of these golden opportunities. The sight of Nanaki being left wide open in front of the enemy for a long period of time and getting into some erotic situations will surely generate some serious laughs. What are they doing?
Appeal of the Series 4: The Protagonist's Serious Personality
The protagonist, who is tasked with such Pleasure Club-like activities, may have a scary face, but he's not the embodiment of eroticism; he's a truly earnest and kind-hearted person, a saint who works hard at the tasks before him. So even when given a mission with so many potential pitfalls, he remains completely serious. The protagonist's humanity will surely generate serious laughs.
Appeal of the Series ⑤: Flashy, Powerful, and Erotic Action Scenes
Don't just think of it as an erotic story. The battle scenes are quite impressive and full of highlights. But since it's an erotic story, there are also scenes where characters end up in embarrassing situations or are injured and made to look ugly. I'm really looking forward to seeing how these scenes are portrayed in the anime.
Appeal of the Series ⑥: The foreshadowing that's been laid out throughout...!
The story itself is actually full of hints, leaving you wanting to know what's going to happen next. Since it's based on Norse mythology, knowing the gods who appear and how the story will unfold will make it even more enjoyable.
For example, here's a hint: ①
It's no coincidence that the protagonist, Takuma, was chosen to play the role of the Valkyries' lover; there seems to be some special reason for this. For starters, he receives special treatment, with nine Valkyries surrounding him and sharing special items with him. Furthermore, it seems the purpose of sending the Valkyries isn't to raise the Valkyries, but to raise the protagonist. There are still many mysteries.
For example, here's a hint ②
The goddess Skuld, who appears among the enemy forces of evil gods, is actually one of three sisters, as is familiar from various works. Her older sisters, Urðr and Belzandi, may also appear in the future. This sort of thing is to be expected when the subject is mythology.
Summary of the Appeal of [Val x Love]
Val x Love has fascinating characters and a fascinating story, and I'm particularly excited to see how it will turn out as an anime. It's a fascinating work, so I'm really looking forward to its broadcast starting in October!
