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Welkin? For the tenth time... stop looking at Alicia and eyes front, dammit!
" Squad 7, move out!"
- Welkin Gunther
is a video game made by Sega for the Playstation 3 and released in 2008.
The story is set in an alternate 1935 Europa, where two large blocs, the Atlantic Federation and the East European Imperial Alliance, are at war over control of the continent of Europa in what is called the Second Great War. Caught in the middle of the warring alliances is the small, energy rich, neutral nation of Gallia, which suddenly finds itself on the painful end of a surprise attack by the Imperial Alliance. In need of soldiers to defend itself, Gallia makes good on its policy of Universal Conscription and drafts every able bodied man and woman into military service. Some of the many regular civilians who are pulled into the war are Welkin Gunther, son of a famous general who fought in the First War, Isara Gunther, his Darcsen foster sister, and Alicia Melchiott, a young girl who dreams of becoming a baker. Together, they are organized into Militia Squad 7 with a number of other soldiers with their own stories and motivations and put on the front lines to defend their homes.
Like many JRPGs, Valkyria Chronicles is very story heavy and contains many themes. The most evident are the tragedies of war, racism, fighting to defend one's homeland, friendship, family bonds, and love. Every character you can control (and a good deal of NP Cs, too) has their own personal biography, special traits, likes and dislikes, and personality quirks, making it feel like you are actually controlling real people in an actual war. However, unlike JRPGs, Valkyria Chronicles chooses to avoid a high fantasy setting and instead opts for a very World War II themed world with light fantasy elements.
Gameplay-wise, Valkyria Chronicles is unique, as it is a mix of turn based strategy, Real Time Strategy, Role Playing Game, and Third Person Shooter. During battle, players use a pool of Command Points to directly take control of individual units so they can move and attack. While the player is controlling a unit, other units not being directly controlled will automatically fire on them if they pass through their line of sight, making cover and strategy in approaching your target much more important. All characters the player controls are separated into five classes: Scouts, Shocktroopers, Lancers, Engineers, and Snipers, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. In between battles, players can use experience and money earned from battles to level up specific classes and purchase new weapons and upgrades for their troops.
Valkyria Chronicles has received generally positive reviews from critics. The main selling points are its beautiful graphic design, engaging story, and unique gameplay based on a unique blend of elements from various video game genres.
In addition to the game, there is also an anime adaptation for Valkyria Chronicles produced by A-1 Pictures, first aired on April 4, 2009. There are also two concurrent manga series in print as well. Extra downloadable content was released in Japan after release, and is now available for download in North America as well and Europe. Available are a mission where you play as Edy, 4 missions playing as Selvaria & controlling Imperial forces, and an extra hard skirmish setting. Further download content released in Japan includes "Edy's Challenges" set for the various classes including Scouts and Engineers.
There is a sequel announced for the PSP, called Valkyria Chronicles 2: Gallia Military Academy. It is two years after the first game and involves civil unrest as students are drafted in to fight the threats.
This series provides examples of:
- A Day In The Limelight: In one of the downloadable content packs, Edy gets a mission that is entirely focused on her. Also included are a slew of secondary characters you may or may not have used in the main game.
- Action Girl: Pretty much every girl in the game.
- Afraid Of Needles: Montley.
- Alas Poor Villain: Selvaria definitely. The writers probably intended for Maximilian to fall under this trope, but at that point, it's hard to feel sorry for him.
- The DLC focusing on Selvaria only makes this worse, as she is depicted as a caring commander who leads from the front and treats the men serving under her as human beings. She even goes so far as to allow her engineer, Johann, to rest in her cot after he collapses after the first battle of her DLC — though she does freak out for a moment and slap Johann when Johann points out that her breasts are pressing against his arm.
- Also, if you listen carefully, it's revealed that Johann is actually Oswald the Iron, one of the enemy aces you fight.
- Alternate Character Interpretation
- Borg- traitor and...
- He already has complete control over the country. He controls the press, the military and foreign policy. So he doesn't need to seize more power. He might be worried about the Princess gaining the throne... except he is 68. It is possible he is trying to outmaneuver the two major powers to insure as much independence as possible (and having the Princess married to the head of the Empire helps).
- Securing independence, by having the ruler (and symbol) of your country under the mercy of one power or the other?
- The Federation are bastards...
- Except that their position makes perfect sense. Gallia will fight until the Imperials withdraw and let the Federation bleed while trading with the Empire. Obviously the reason they are doing this is because both the Empire and Gallia are absolute monarchies and oppose the democracies of the Federation. After all, they fought 3 wars with the Empire, but they don't want to join with the Federation because they fear that the Federation will exploit their Ragnite and reduce the power it gives them. Given the sheer size of the military they have to maintain their current position, it is obvious that this situation exists due to the upper classes control of the country and their lust for glory. All this would change if the government was affected by public opinion- if we changed that...
- It's difficult to ascertain what the Federation is since we only get to see one guy (the ambassador) represent them (his soldiers as well, but they're probably just following orders), and it's difficult as well as unfair to judge an entire country or union of countries based on one guy being a douchebag.
- The fact that the ambassador had been given the manpower to do it suggests that it was approved in the Federation by somebody high up the political food chain. Being an ambassador, he is representing his entire country on his leaders' behalf.
- Amazon Brigade: It's possible to customize your squad so that it is almost entirely female.
- Amusing Alien: Hans.
- Anti Villain: Jaegar, more or less. Turns out, he was just helping Maximilian conquer Gallia so that his homeland gets freedom afterward.
- Anyone Can Die: Units can die permanently if an enemy unit touches their corpse. In the case of the storyline, Isara's come out of the blue.
- Apologetic Attacker: Susie. Just... Susie. Her biography basically defines her as a mellow person, and has the (not-exactly-useful) "Humanitarian" potential to back it up. That doesn't stop her from shouting words and doing things that contradict each other while in combat. And FYI, also check out Jane for her apparent mirror-reverse.
Susie: (Before filling the enemy's skull with lead;) "Sorry if this hurts!"
- Applied Phlebotinum: Ragnite is a multi-purpose mineral, useful for making fuel, weapons, and even medicine.
- Arbitrary Headcount Limit: Typically, you can only take about nine or ten members of your twenty-member squad into combat. Some missions, depending on circumstance, cut it down to even fewer. On top of this, while you can choose to leave out any of the main characters except for Welkin, you are punished for not deploying them by getting one less command point for each character. So in reality, unless you want the handicap, you've already got four slots filled.
- Aristocrats Are Evil: The Gallian generals, and especially Prime Minister Borg and Maximilian. Princess Cordelia is the only exception.
- Ascended Fangirl: Audrey, who was so inspired after hearing of Welkin's exploits that she joins the militia hoping to be part of Squad 7.
- Attack Its Weak Point: Tanks have a radiator exposed on their backs that, if hit with an armor-piercing round, will blow them up in one shot.
- Squad 7 also uses the hole caused by Alicia's Valkyria lance to successfully attack and disable the Marmota.
- The Atoner: Faldio.
- Authority Equals Asskicking: Like you wouldn't believe. Alicia seems to be a subversion though. She's only second-in-command in Squad 7) and she still owned Selvaria effortlessly. Although, to be fair, she's a Valkyria.
- Definitely applies to the leaders of the Imperial invasion; defeating each one is among the hardest tasks in the game. Selvaria, even when she isn't a Valkyria, has a Big Friggin' Machine Gun with huge range; Jaeger has an incredibly powerful tank with a sheet of armor that needs to be blown off before you can even Attack Its Weak Point; defeating Maximilian's Batomys is ridiculously long and involved, and Maximilian himself goes One Winged Angel and absorbs all the powers of the Valkyria and then some.
- Awesome But Impractical: Compared to the World War II style tanks of the period, the Edelweiss has the appearance and capabilities of a modern battle tank. However, its construction and engineering is incredibly complicated and there is currently no way to mass produce it. Background material, however, makes clear that as it was initially built, the Edelweiss was, in fact, practical for mass production—-it simply did not jibe with the overall strategic thrust of Gallian defense spending. By the time the player gets ahold of it, though, Isara's modified it enough that it's rather improbable that they manage to keep it repaired between battles. By game's end, it's a damnable mystery how the thing can move under its own weight.
- Aw Look They Really Do Love Each Other: Karl and Lynn. So much that their (in-game) death quotes are entirely of one of them calling out to another...in a really sad way. Welkin and Alicia get several of these moments as well, especially in side chapters.
- Bad Ass: Selvaria, yes. When you first encounter her on the battlefield, she's powerful enough to own EVERY unit singlehandedly except the tank. That goes double for the time you meet her again, where she shows that she can now destroy TANKS as well. Good thing you didn't have to fight her then.
- And an even bigger one (YES, there IS one) would be Alicia, on the stage following Selvaria's second appearance on the battlefield. Just after Selvaria exhibited her powers in the last stage that she can decimate practically ANYTHING, Alicia (just having awakened her latent powers) walked out into the battlefield (staggering) with her own Valkyrian spear and shield intact. She then proceeded to: dodge Selvaria's attacks effortlessly without taking a scratch; deflect her in a weapon deadlock; evade an energy attack from her; AND disarm her in ONE SINGLE THRUST; all the while acting subconsciously (meaning she's neither conscious NOR even know what she's doing). PURE. UNDILUTED. BADASSITY.
- Oh, and it would be worth mentioning that most of the enemy forces in that stage was taken out (in-battle) by Alicia as well, in the same tranced, awakened state. Well, the early half, at least. Although, in that battle, she's temporarily an NPC who'll attack anyone in range, friend or foe, except the Edelweiss. So long as it doesn't block her attacks...
- In fact, it's probably easier just to say that Squad 7 is an entire regiment of badasses. Invading Gallia was a mistake. Heck, even Isara has her moments!
- Badass Grandpa: Coby, the oldest soldier in the squad at 65.
- Bash Brothers: Incorporated into the combat system. If squadmates are near your selected character when you attack, they add supporting fire too, and some of the potentials give bonuses depending on the type of person the selected character is around. Furthermore your troops also have favourites which they prefer to have around them - though some of them also have potentials that specify people they hate.
- Battle Aura: Activated Valkyria look like they are constantly being consumed by blue flames.
- Battle Couple: There's the obvious. There's also your units Karl and Lynn, and possibly Aika and Vyse.
- Battleship Raid: Literally the final stage.
- BFG: The Ruhm, Selvaria's Signature Weapon, and the game's sole automatic rifle (the rest of the stormtrooper weapons are merely sub-machine guns)
- Beach Episode: Extra Chapter "Squad 7 R&R", between chapter 9 & 10.
- Berserk Button: Welkin. Usually a nice guy, but he burst into a tantrum when he found out that Faldio sniped Alicia close to death. Don't. Touch. Alicia. EVER.
- Big Bad: Maximilian.
- The Big Guy: Hannes, he's either a Class 1 or Class 3
- Bling Of War: Damon's uniform has a very pre-World War 1-esqe feel to it, which probably serves to highlight his general incompetence and arrogance. Also Maximilian; dear god, Maximilian!
- Blond Guys Are Evil: Maximilian encore! Also Gregor, though he usually wears a hat.
- Bond One Liner: Ohhh... Gotta count 'em all!!
- Boobs Of Steel: Selvaria, who is invincible the first time you encounter her.
- Breaking The Fourth Wall: Edy does this in the add-on if you get a D on the misson, calling the player "sloth fingers". Homer, next to her, wonders who she is talking to.
- The nature of this mission makes it very hard to do this bad without getting a gameover, making this something of an Easter Egg.
- Breast Plate: Literal ones. Some of the troopers have them. Covers exactly what they say they do... on both men and women.
- Bunny Ears Lawyer: Welkin. If he says you look like a beetle, don't worry, that's a compliment.
- Camp Gay: Jann. The facts that he wears make-up and lipstick, fancies men AND has a potential called "Largo Lover" do not help. Not to mention the way he talks... especially in the Japanese track where he uses a feminine pronoun of "I". As one of the largest, most solidly-built characters in the game, and a Lancer, he also qualifies as a Hard Gay. The Edy Detachment add on gives him a Paul Lynde voice to complete the look.
- Cannon Fodder: The general perception of the militia.
- Cargo Ship: Salinas, in addition to liking the ladies, also likes tanks, and has been spotted in the hangar stroking them at night; on the plus side, this potential doesn't discriminate between friendly or enemy tanks during combat.
- Catch Phrase: Welkin's famous "Squad 7, move out!". Spammed utterly throughout the game.
- Chekhovs Gun: Isara, Leon, and Kreis' flying machine.
- Child Soldiers: Due to Gallia's policy of Universal Conscription, military training is a part of general education and citizens as young as fifteen may be conscripted. Then there's twelve-year-old Aisha Neumann, a Shocktrooper in your Squad, who apparently begged to serve and had it granted if her bio in the game is to be believed.
- Climax Boss: Selvaria.
- Cold Sniper: Marina, not the only sniper, but by far the best because of her potential "Ultimate Accuracy" which is always activated.
- Partially subverted: her potentials imply she is a sociopath, but the Edy's Brigade reveals that she has a soft side. Apparently she just doesn't like being around other people.
- Cezary plays this trope a little straighter, though in his it's less cold sniper and more selfish asshole sniper.
- Complete Monster: In a game filled with sympathetic Anti Villains and Punch Clock Villains, we have Giorgios Geld in a side chapter, a war criminal responsible for torturing dozens of prisoners to death. Among these, there is also Eleanor's lover Frederik...
- The Computer Is A Cheating Bastard: Enemy tanks, in particular, appear to have freakishly good accuracy and can make pinpoint shots with their shells from halfway across the map. Good luck making equally-impressive shots without Save Scumming.
- Conservation Of Ninjutsu: In a good number of the game's levels, chances are your squad will be horribly outnumbered by the Imperials. Plus, unlike you, they literally have infinite reinforcements they can continually call on until you capture their bases. That won't stop you from beating the snot out of them, though.
- Cool Big Sis: Rosie. In addition, this IS one of her potentials.
- Cooldown Hug: Preceded by a speech and followed by a kiss. Welkin to Alicia when she decided she'll go kamikaze on the Big Bad's land battleship.
- Crippling Overspecialization: Every class is restricted to certain types of weapons. This means that Lancers can't carry a carbine as a back-up weapon for dealing with infantry. Later on, Lancers can have the option of taking mortar lances that are more effective against infantry, with the obvious tradeoff in mortars being less effective against tanks.
- Crowning Moment Of Awesome: Welkin drove his tank through the stinkin' RIVER to the enemy camp on the other side. The fact that he learned the appropriate spot where the water is the shallowest "by observing some weeds in the river" gives it a bonus multiplier.
- Crowning Moment Of Heartwarming: The game's full of 'em, particularly the "Squad 7 Dramas".
- Crowning Music Of Awesome: The entire OST, especially the main theme
- Custom Uniform: Jaeger and Selvaria.
- Cutscene Incompetence: WHERE the hell was that medic when Isara was shot?!?.
- David Versus Goliath: More like David versus TWO Goliaths, if you count the Atlantic Federation.
- Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu: Squad 7's defeat of Maximilian. He had equipment that mimicked the powers of the Valkyria and unlike the fight with Selvaria, Squad 7 decided not to rely on Alicia's Valkyria powers.
- Didn't See That Coming: Maximilian's plan to hold Europa hostage with the power of the Valkyrian bloodline was kind of derailed by the minor detail of Cordelia and her ancestors actually being Darcsen. He rolls with the punches, though.
- Dirty Coward: Cezary; he chose to be a sniper so that he could stay as far away from the frontlines as possible.
- Does Not Like Men: Dallas. Like Rosie, this is one of her potentials, and causes her to lose combat prowess in the proximity of males. Put her with women, on the other hand, and...
- Doomed Hometown: Bruhl
- The Dragon: Selvaria. Or Jaeger, gameplay-wise, since he's the last of the Drei Stern you face in a real showdown.
- Dramatic Gun Cock: In the earliest part of the story, no less!
Welkin: Um, uh, my name is Welkin. ...And you are?
Alicia: The one with the gun.
- Dreadful Musician: In one of the downloadable missions, Edy is shown to be able to trigger death scenes from her own teammates with only her voice. The personals show that she is unknowingly tone deaf.
- Drill Sergeant Nasty: The drill sergeant NPC's existence hinges on his ability to insult you as you level up your troops.
Drill Sergeant: Good job maggots! You're one step closer to being human!
- He's the epitome of the trope, really.
- Jane also becomes a drill instructor at the end of the game, and is even stricter than the NPC one.
- Dubtitle: While hardly unusual for a game with a bilingual soundtrack, the English script used for the subtitles only matches the English dub. While it hardly alters the game's plot in any way and the English script and dub is faithful to the plot and the characters, it can create a strange dissonance with the Japanese track on. Most notable is a moment in which Welkin simply says "Faldio", and the script reads "I don't know what to tell you, Faldio."
- While it is true that the overall plot is, on face value, faithful, the differences in the minor details can lead to a very different impression from the characters, which may or may not change the resulting flavour of the ending. The best example would be Faldio in the fully unlocked (New Game Plus) scene "Awakening"; in the Japanese audio, he comes off far more sinister, not to mention his words are a few notches more brutal than what the subtitles actually say.
- Dungeon Bypass: The best (sometimes only) way to get A ranks on missions. Easy to do in New Game Plus when your units are way overpowered.
- Also easy to do on the first playthrough due to various Game Breaker potentials.
- During The War
- Earth Shattering Kaboom: The Valkyria's Flame is a miniature version, although it's darn strong enough to take out a whole citadel with an entire army with it. On a higher scale, the Valkof's beam attack.
- Elite Mooks: As the game progresses, you'll eventually start facing tougher enemies, who aptly have the title "Elite".
- The Empire: The East Europan Imperial Alliance
- Encyclopedia Exposita: For all the weapons, characters, major world events and landmarks.
- Ensemble Darkhorse: Edy, who isn't even a main character, is surprisingly popular in Japan to the extent that she has her own side chapter available as downloadable content.
- Has the potential to occur with many of the other recruits due to the fact that ever last one of them has a unique appearance, personality and backstory. For example, Marina Wulfstan is quite popular as well, though the facts that she's badass and the best sniper you can recruit for your squad helps.
- All of the members of the Edy detachment in the DLC are Ensemble Darkhorses to some extent.
- Vyse and Aika are also extremely popular characters to use. I can't imagine why. In all fairness, they also have by far some of the best stats for their respective classes in game.
- Ensign Newbie: Welkin is the prime (and apparently the only seen) example of this trope.
- Even Evil Has Standards: In one of the side chapters, an Imperial war criminal who is infamous for taking civilian hostages in battle is court-marshaled by his own superiors. Maximilian may be a Magnificent Bastard, but even he expects his troops to stick to the rules of war.
- Everyone Is Jesus In Purgatory: A lot of people have been coming up with WMG-worthy and unintended ideas about major plot points of the game. Most notably, Alicia opening her own bakery and marrying Welkin in the ending is apparently a result of Welkin forcing her to Stay In The Kitchen.
- Everythings Better With Princesses: Cordelia; notable in that she's the daughter of an Archduke and Archduchess and the only heir to the throne, but is not crowned due to her young age, and cedes control of the country to her Prime Minister. Even after she matures, has her big reveal, and said Prime Minister gets killed, her title remains Princess.
- Her being single and unmarried might have something to do with it.
- Evil Albino: Selvaria.
- Evil Chancellor: Borg.
- Evil Prince: Maximilian.
- Expy: The Federation is essentially a combination of the Western Allies and NATO while the Empire is a combination of the Axis Powers and the Soviet Union/Warsaw Pact. This would effectively make Gallia Finland, and we all know how incredibly awesome they were during World War II...
- Finland was allied to Axis in WW II, so it doesn't fit. More importantly, the Federation doesn't seem to be particularly better than the Empire, and the Gallian military, save for Squad 7, is inept.
- Also Maximilian is Lelouch Lamperouge with a touch of evil blonde.
- One of your shocktroopers is an older man with a mustache and a blue bandanna, and you receive special military commands from a well-dressed Aged Gentleman in a cemetary. The resemblance is there.
- There's also the matter of Shocktrooper Vyse Inglebard and Scout Aika Thompson. Although this is more of a Alternate Universe cameo than an expy.
- Selvaria: If the Nazis had built KOS-MOS...
- Gilbert Gassenarl, the leader of the GRA in Valkyria Chronicles 2 is Hitler...with Cool Sunglasses!
- The Gassenarl family is actually [[Gundam The Zabi Family]] except one of them is a mech!
- Eyepatch Of Power: Vyse; granted, it has a clear part so he can see out of it, but it's no coincidence that he has an eyepatch and is one of the best shocktroopers in the game.
- Eyes Always Shut: Leon the Mechanic rarely, if ever, opens his eyes. Even when he's flying a plane!
- Faceless Goons: Most of the Imperial Army
- False Gunshot
- Fan Disservice: The breastplates on the shocktroopers. Just... it's not strictly for women. Welkin's old-timey swimsuit can count as this, especially as out of place as it looks when the other women around him are wearing extremely modern and Fan Service friendly swimsuits.
- Fan Service: Selvaria. Again. The few girls with skirts are prone to Panty Shots as the their evasive maneuver is to lay on the ground. Guess where the camera points. and then there's The Beach Episode. In particular, Alicia has a very revealing bikini.
- If you pay a little bit attention, you'll see that some of the Squad 7 girls aren't actually in proper military uniforms. If they're not in pants, they wear skirts and REALLY HIGH knee socks. Rosie tops all the others by having a gap around her midriff (and having a much shorter skirt).
- Also, the extra chapter "Squad 7 R&R" seemed to be made with this trope in mind. The massive cost to unlock it makes it look all the more suspicious...
- Fashion Victim Villain: Borg looks like a cross between Liberace and the Pope. And Maximilian has oyster shell-themed shoulder pads...
- Fantastic Racism: Darcsens, although they are a clear analogue for the Jews in World War II and their experiences.
- Unfortunately, It Got Worse in the sequel. One of the goals of the Rebels, the Gallian Revolutionary Army is to not only overthrow the Gallian Government but to wage an ethnic cleansing campaign against all Darcsens all because they believe their responsible for the bad things happening to Gallia.
- Fetish Fuel: Selvaria, tying into her Most Common Superpower.
- The Federation: Subverted, since they aren't any better than the Empire.
- Five Man Band: The main characters of Squad 7:
- Forgotten Superweapon: The Valkof.
- Fragile Speedster: Scouts go down easy. The trade-off is that their insane movement range makes them one of the most valuable units in the game, especially when going for A ranks.
- Zaka's tank, the Shamrock; while not as tough as the Edelweiss, it can move further, and can mount either the standard cannon, a gatling gun, or a flamethrower as its main weapon. The last two weapon mounts venture it into Glass Cannon territory.
- Framing Device: The game proceeds as if you're reading through the history book Irene Koller/Ms. Ellet wrote about the events of the war; cutscenes and battles are played by selecting them in the book's chapters and most of the game's extra content can be accessed through "tabs" to other sections.
- Freud Was Right: The anti-tank lances seem larger and, umm, pointier than a rocket launcher would need to be. So Yeah. And the fact that those pointy heads are meant for penetrating tank armors isn't exactly helpful. Also, is it really necessary for them to be held at waist height?
- Freudian Excuse: Maximilian's ambition to conquer Europa was fueled by his low standing at the Imperial court due to his mother being of common birth, and him surviving an assassination attempt from within his family early in life.
- Fridge Logic: ...How did Squad 7 get their tanks up on the Marmota's deck for the final showdown?
- There's a ramp at the back which leads to a cargo elevator.
- Friendly Sniper: Catherine O'Hara, and Oscar and Emilie Bielert
- Funny Aneurysm Moment: The first time you see the aces, you'll gleefully gun them down for their extra points and equipment, then you play the DLC and learn who Oswald the Iron is.
- Game Breaker: Alicia, lethally accurate, highly mobile, and eventually able to heal to full in a turn, and unleash her Valkyria powers when injured. She can solo many levels. Most orders given to other soldiers eventually exist to support her one woman war.
- Your Mileage May Vary. By the time Alicia is powerful enough to start solo-ing missions, so are several others, even without the benefit of her unique potentials; she's just the one with the most attention paid to her prowess.
- A straighter version of this trope is Selvaria in her DLC. She's got the movement speed, stamina and accuracy of a Scout, the firepower of a Shocktrooper and the defense of a Lancer. That she doesn't carry ragnaid is of little consequence as you're probably not going to need to use it on her.
- Gameplay And Story Segregation: See "Cutscene Incompetence". Dang, that one was irritating.
- General Ripper: And quite literal ones at that. One on each side.
- Generation Xerox: Played with, everyone thinks Welkin is following in his father's footsteps while the only thing he wants is to become a teacher.
- Gentle Giant: Walter, Hector, Jann, and Largo.
- Get A Hold Of Yourself Man: Certain characters, especially in the side chapters and DLC, start to go a little crazy before their Love Interest snaps them out of it.
- Glamorous Wartime Singer: Rosie used to be a barmaid before the war, but still sings occasionally. She remarks that it was hardly glamourous though. She gets back into singing on a full-time basis after the war.
- Glass Cannon: Snipers; they have range which far outstrips everyone else and can kill most opponents with one hit; however, this is offset by their abysmally low health and limited AP.
- Go Out With A Smile: Isara, just to complete the Tear Jerker moment.
- Good Looking Privates: Your squad makes the military look good. One unit (Ramona Linton) was even a model before the war, and it seems the militia makes time for doing hair before morning PT.
- Green Rocks: Ragnite. Used in anything humanly possible from first-aids to ammunitions, including, but not limited to, street lamps and engine fuel. Apparently, the Valkyrian weapons are made of Ragnite as well.
- Happily Married: Welkin and Alicia, in the end. Also Largo and Eleanor. Karl and Lynn, two of the otherwise faceless units, are already married by the time the game has started.
- Heel Realization: Jaeger, after losing to Squad 7.
- Hero Of Another Story: Essentially Faldio's initial role.
- Heroic BSOD: Welkin, and all of Squad 7 really, experience this when Isara dies and when Alicia is shot.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Averted when Alicia decided that she'll take down Maximilian's ship together with her, only to be stopped by Welkin. Then played completely straight by Faldio.
- Heroic Sociopath: Jane.
- Hey, It's That Voice!: In Japanese, Zaka is voiced by Kazuya Nakai, also known for his role as Roronoa Zoro. And he's Steven Blum in English, so there's any number of reasons to squee for that.
- Likewise, the Ohtsukas (aka Solid Snake and Big Boss) voice Jaeger and Gregor. Now if only Jaeger had got a giant Ragnite Payload Lance and went "I AM THE NIGHTMARE OF GALLIA". Also, Lelouch and Suzaku's Japanese VAs come back for another round (as Maximilian and Faldio, respectively). Not to mention... Maxmillian is almost like a 100% evil Emperor Lelouch.
- It's hard not to think of Revy whenever Rosie finished a sentence with "-da ze" (which was often).
- There's also how Cordelia is obviously voiced by Mamiko Noto in the way she used to voice Mercedes.
- JANN IS BENDER!!!!
- Irene Koller (the narrator) and Ms. Ellet (who turn out to be the same person) are voiced in English by Kari Wahlgren, the voice of Ashe from Final Fantasy XII and Raine Sage from Tales Of Symphonia.
- In fact, chances are anyone who's savvy about English voice actors will recognize quite a few of them. Among others, Welkin is Dave Wittenberg (Kakashi), Alicia is Colleen O'Shaughnessey (Sora, Genis, and KOS-MOS), Rosie is Hedy Burress (Yuna), Largo is Fred Tatasciore (The Hulk, Saren, and additional voices in everything), and Faldio is Robin Atkin Downes (Luxord and Travis Touchdown).
- Dammit! Now I have the mental image of the sevens screwing up, and Faldio shouting "TEEEEEEEEAM!"
- Gregor is voiced in English by Roger Jackson, who is perhaps best known for voicing Mojo Jojo from Powerpuff Girls, and the Phone Voice(s) from the Scream franchise.
- Quinton Flynn (Raiden), Nolan North (Nathan Drake), and Sam Riegel (Donatello) feature, not to mention Yuri Lowenthal (who is in enough anime and games to qualify as his own trope) who appears as Johann in the expansion.
- In the sequel, the main protagonist Avan Hades is voiced by Allelujah/Hallelujah Haptism and his classmate Zeli is voiced by Tieria Erde
- Hidden Depths: Turns out Nadine is quite the writer.
- Ho Yay: Dallas... just... Dallas. It's as if the developers had gone through incredible lengths to let you know that she is totally obsessed with Alicia. Pretty much all of her potentials scream out this fact. And then there's Jann, and his massive crush on Largo. Squad 7 doesn't believe in "don't ask don't tell."
- Hot Amazon: Pretty much any male character with any semblance of romantic interest in any female character is definitely into Action Girls.
- I Did What I Had To Do: Faldio. He sniped Alicia at a vital spot to force awaken her power, and thus providing Gallia with a way to counter Selvaria. Although he feels deeply guilty for that.
- I Got Better: If you can rescue your fallen soldiers with the medic, you can bring them back into combat in the same battle using a base. It doesn't matter if they got shot in the head, blown up with a grenade, or blasted to smithereens by a tank shell. They get better (and fast!).
- Idiot Hair: Marina Wulfstan. She's certainly not an idiot though.
- Idiot Hero: Edy in her DLC, which surprises the people who thought she'd be more of The Libby.
- Ill Boy: Oscar and his brother, Emile. Homer sort of qualifies with his frail body, but he seems to enjoy it, a lot.
- I'm Taking Her Home With Me!: Marina of all people. She bears some responsibility for getting the detachment lost in Edy's DLC for running after a cute looking puppy.
- Insufferable Genius: Cezary, he may be a selfish bigoted prick and an asshole, but damn he is on par with marina in terms of sniping ability.
- Insurmountable Waist Height Fence: Not everywhere, but particularly bridge handrails. Kinda subverted: While Snipers can easily shoot over them, Lancers apparently can't.
- Interservice Rivalry: There is a lot of friction between the soldiers of the militia and the high echelon officers of the regular military.
- Intrepid Reporter: Ellet, who decides to tag along with Squad 7 after deciding that they're the most interesting of the Gallian military. She eventually writes a book about them.
- The Ishmael: To a small extent - although Selvaria is the leader in her DLC, the player's experience with her is through the eyes of Johann, an engineer assigned to be her personal aide.
- Jerk Ass: Rosie. She got better eventually though. The incurable one would be Maximilian.
- Like General Damon was any better...
- Cezary just Cezary. At one point in the manga he is shown telling Oscar not to give the Darcsens fighting alongside them backup (Thankfully Oscar refuse to obey him) and lets an Imperial Sniper take aim at Nadine without bothering to help, and she probably would've been shot if Marina hadn´t killed the sniper before he had the chance. Cezary is considered such a Jerkass that he's often portrayed as a downright evil character, or even a traitor, in fanfictions.
- Ironically, the only person that does like Cezary in the manga is not other than Nadine herself who mistaken Cezary as the one who saved her from the Imperial Sniper.
- Jerk With A Heart Of Gold: Edy
- Karmic Death: Pretty much all of the more morally corrupt characters on both sides suffer a well-deserved demise.
- Kick The Dog: The Federation and Prime Minister Borg with their plan to kidnap the Princess.
- In Selvaria's side chapter, Damon kicks the dog when he uses poisonous ragnite gas against the Imperials even though both sides are under a treaty that specifically forbids the use of such weapons. Not only that, but after he loses the battle, Damon covers for his failure by accusing the Imperials of illegally using chemical/biological weapons!
- Killed Off For Real: Isara. Also, if any of your soldiers are downed in combat and are not rescued before an enemy soldier touches them, you lose them permanently.
- The Kingdom: Gallia. Even though the country is actually a Principality and ruled by a Archduke/Archduchess.
- Knife Nut: Maximilian is said to be one in his background fluff; justified in that at the time it was for self defence, but it eventually grows to him having a collection of hundreds of knives, if not thousands.
- The Lancer: Aside from literally being Lancer-class, Largo plays one to Welkin.
- Land Mine Goes Click: Not a noise you want to hear - the only units that won't be immediately caught in a fiery explosion after that click are the engineers, the only ones capable of disarming them.
- You can also drive a tank over the smaller ones to set them off harmlessly (there's at least one mission where you pretty much have to do this) and lancers aren't hurt by mines much...
- Law Of Inverse Recoil: In Real Life, RP Gs have little to no recoil. On the other hand, the degree of steadiness with which Shocktroopers can hold the Ruhm beggars belief.
- The lances do not have a rear exhaust for the back blast, so recoil is expected.
- Leeroy Jenkins: The entire basis of the Edy Detachment DLC is due to Edy doing just this.
Edy: What?! Since when was any of this MY fault?
Jann: Maybe the part where you charged after those imps, screaming like a banshee.
- Spoofed in the manga when Jane is shown charging the Imperial lines (much to Rosie's annoyance), frothing at the mouth and yelling obscenities whilst firing her gun...only to get clotheslined accidentally by Largo's anti-tank lance when he turns around to see what Jann wants.
- Little Miss Badass: Aisha.
- Love At First Punch: Implied with Homer towards Edy in her DLC. Justified in that he is a masochist, though one must wonder if he winds her up deliberately just to get her to punch him.
- Love Martyr: Selvaria to Maximilian, although she has little, if at all, interest about changing him.
- Lower Deck Episode: The downloadable chapters featuring Selvaria are focused around Johann, an Imperial soldier who is saved from mook status by the fact that he is assigned to be Selvaria's personal aide. Selvaria's personality is expanded upon through Johann's experiences with her.
- Luminescent Blush: Let's see here. Japanese RPG: check. Anime-style: double check. Romance plot: check, check, check. Nope. No reason not to see this trope in it.
- Mad Bomber: Wendy Cheslock has all the hallmarks of one, be it her introduction ("heheh Ka-boom! heheh") her background and motivations for joining the milita (accidentally blew up her house, and joined so she could test out some of her creations.) or her epilogue ( becomes part of the Gallian military R&D division, where her pieces of work are described as 'potent' and 'very effective' but too unstable for use by any sane soldier. So Yeah...)
- Magnificent Bastard: Maximilian...
- Forget Maximilian. The Valkyrur are masters of Magnificent Bastardry. They conquered the Darcsen, oppressed the Darcsen, convinced one tribe of Darcsen to turn traitor and gave them the name Randgriz, ruined a large stretch of perfectly good land, and then blamed the whole thing on the Darcsen while elevating themselves as virtuous god-kings. You don't get more Magnificent than that.
- The Mario: Shocktroopers, your standard bread and butter unit, nothing good, but nothing bad about them either, however most players tend to have them make up a 3rd of their squad for More Dakka.
- Martyr Without A Cause: Alicia vs. the Marmota.
- Mighty Glacier: Lancers; they're great against tanks and can weather most incoming fire like it's nothing. Unfortunately they have trouble keeping up with everyone else.
- Military Mashup Machine: The Marmota. Think "Battleship on wheels".
- "Insanely armed and armoured hovercraft" would be a more accurate description.
- Military Maverick: Welkin usually comes up with incredibly unorthodox strategies to win his battles. Varrot also embodies this trope to some extent.
- Mind Rape: Cezary. In his ending, a brain injury erases his memory and corrects his unpleasant personality.
- Mook Maker: Enemy camps. In later stages, they'll spawn one unit per camp every turn, on average, if not always. Better be glad they can't spawn tanks...
- Moral Event Horizon: The Big Bad Maximilian himself. After deciding that Selvaria isn't of any use to him anymore but one, he told her to use the the suicidal Valkyria's Flame while tying her to her own words that "she'll do anything for him". Knowing his brain isn't any less than a Chess Master, he would have realized that Selvaria's serving him out of love. Which is why even after what he had to say about his past in the final showdown, it's too late to forgive.
- More Dakka: Most Stormtrooper weapons. Selvaria's Ruhm in particular.
- Most Common Superpower: Selvaria. Oh dear...
- Must Make Her Laugh: Ted's profile mentions that he's tried time and again to make Marina laugh. He doesn't succeed if the Encyclopedia Exposita is any indication.
- Mysterious Waif: Alicia, depending on how you look at her.
- Nakama: Squad 7, natch.
- Needs More Love: This game was one of IGN's recipients for their depressing "Best Game No One Played" award.
- New Game Plus
- New Meat: Some of the characters' potentials exemplify traits of this.
- The Neidermeyer: General Damon.
- Nice Hat: Welkin's little cap thing is really stupid looking. Faldio is apparently supposed to wear it also, but he later complains that he thinks the hats look stupid. What's truly amazing is that it always stays firmly planted on his head despite not appearing to be made to do this.
- Everyone thinks Wendy keeps a bomb under hers...
- Princess Cordelia has a ridiculous looking hat on for most of the game. Later, it is revealed that the hat was for her to conceal that she was a Darcsen. Though that doesn't change the ridiculousness of the hat.
- Nice Guy: Welkin's a really nice guy... when he's not out there blowing up enemies.
- Nightmare Fuel: Maximilian on the last stage when he activates his pseudo Valkyrian weaponry, the way the veins bulge on his skin and his eyes being devoid of colour or irises... *shudders*
- No Bisexuals: Averted. Ted's potentials and the flirtatious phrases he uses when they activate imply that he has an attraction to both men and women.
- No Name Given: The Medic, unless you know that she's a cameo character from one of the earlier games from the same developers. There are actually three medics who are all identical siblings. Their names are Fina, Hina, and Mina. More direct examples would be the Drill Instructor and the Aged Gentleman in the War Cemetry, though you can eventually get their names and bios after unlocking all the orders and leveling every class to level 20.
- Nonuniform Uniform: If you look carefully, some of the characters, especially the main ones, have noticeable variations in their uniforms.
- Normally I Would Be Dead Now: You can still rescue squadmates even after they get shot in the face with a tank shell. Hell, there are even cases where squadmates can get shot in the face with a tank shell and survive.
- Officer And A Lady: Varrot.
- Official Couple: Guess who!
- Oh Crap: Chapter 4, when Welkin's tank just appeared out of the water in front of two Imperial soldiers. Even though their faces can't be seen because of the helmets, their voices alone are just priceless.
- One Sided Battle: In the absence of Squad 7, the rest of the Gallian military doesn't seem to be able to achieve much of anything and generally get their butts handed to them by the Empire. However, once Squad 7 arrives on the field, expect to see Imperials flying across the Gallian-Imperial border in droves.
- One Winged Angel: Maximilian.
- The Only One Allowed To Defeat You: Edy's attitude towards Rosie. When she heard that Rosie got shot, she runs across the map to make sure she's alright. Does anyone think I'm reading a bit too much into this?
- Optional Party Member: While this appiles in a sense to all of the game's recruitable soldiers, there are also five hidden ones (one per class): Musaad (Scout), Lynn (Shocktrooper), Audrey (Lancer), Knute (Engineer), and Emile (Sniper), that only get unlocked by certain means, two of which involve certain characters getting KO'ed.
- Person Of Mass Destruction: The Valkyria are literally walking nuclear bombs.
- Power Trio: Hannes (Id), Oscar (Superego) and Jane (Ego)
- Player Punch: Isara
- Plotline Death: Isara. And later, Selvaria. Gregor too, but
most people everyone hates him anyway.
- Punch Clock Villain: Not all Imperial soldiers are Magnificent Bastards or Jerkasses. A large majority of them are just regular joes just like the Gallians and this fact is heavily emphasized during one of the game's chapters. The Selvaria DLC expounds on this a bit more.
- Radi Jaeger also has signs of this, as he's only fighting for the Empire to free his homeland. He (and Selvaria, except she's truly dedicated to the cause) is easily the most likable of the villains.
- Putting On The Reich: The Empire loves this. Though they'd probably look more at home in early World War I. They're very Prussian.
- Ragtag Bunch Of Misfits: The Gallia Militia in general, with Squad 7 standing out moreso.
- Really Dead Montage: As if they couldn't hammer home Isara's death enough. Rosie even sings through the entire montage.
- Red Baron: Various characters have names attached to them, most noticeably the enemy aces. They have monikers like "the Iron", "the Immortal", "the Heavy". The Selvaria DLC showed that Musaad was in the military with the name "the Mole", which he apparently had since the previous war, also according to her bio at the end of the game, Jane, in addition to becomming a drill instructor is referred to as "Sadistic Jane" with reverence.
- Red Eyes Take Warning: All activated Valkyria appear to have red eyes, though it seems to be Selvaria's natural eye color.
- Redemption Equals Death: Faldio and in a way, Selvaria too.
- Rescue Romance: Welkin and Alicia don't resolve their relationship until he saves her from herself.
- Resuscitate The Dog: Faldio, even so far as to kill himself together with Maximilian out of guilt.
- Rewarded As A Traitor Deserves: Maximilian does this to Borg.
- Royal We: Maximilian refers to himself this way. (He does sometimes speak without it, however.)
- Savvy Guy Energetic Girl: Homer and Edy in the Edy Detachment DLC.
- The Scrappy: Gens. Gregor and Damon, though this is probably intentional. Also applies to pretty much every person with the Potential of "Darcsen Hater" in the game, notably Cezary and Theold - both are also disliked even more so because these two characters are rather low-standing members of their respective troop classes.
- Sensitive Frail Masochistic Guy And Brash Arrogant Egotistical Girl: Homer and Edy in Edy's DLC, with him being a masochist, Homer takes sublime pleasure in every punch and kick Edy sends his way.
- Senseless Sacrifice: Attempted by Alicia when she attempts to suicide The Marmotah. Averted by Welkin's proposal. Borders on Stupid Sacrifice depending on how you view the character development at the end of the game.
- Shout Out: Major cameos by Vyse, Aika, and Fina of Skies Of Arcadia as two playable soldiers and the unnamed Medic, respectively.
- Small Girl Big Gun: Most female Lancers are this, walking around with a weapon that's usually longer than they are tall. Applies to Aisha too, the 12-year-old Shocktrooper.
- Smug Snake: Prime Minister Borg. He tries to come up with dastardly plots, but all end up horribly backfiring on him.
- Sociopathic Soldier: Jane. One of her potentials describes her as a sadist, and her Catch Phrase when it activates does not help at all, nor does the fact that the animation shows her rubbing her face in something close to ectacsy.
Jane: Scream for me!
- When you first recruit Wendy, she says "Ha ha...kaboom! Ha ha..." According to the biographical material, she accidentally blew up her house making homemade explosives before joining the militia.
Wendy: "Hehe, I upped the power!" "I seeeee yoooou!" "Here I coooommmme!"
- In Edy's DLC, Edy herself seems to enjoy using Homer as her own personal punching bag. However, he seems to enjoy it as well, perhaps too much.
- Space Jews: A rather more benign example than usual in the Darcsens. And rather appropriate considering the setting.
- Spin To Deflect Stuff: The Valkyrian Shield
- The Squad: Enough said...
- Stealth Based Mission: The first operation of Chapter 8, where Welkin and Alicia must dodge Imperial troops and make it to the other side of a forest at night.
- The Stoic: Ramsey, and a few others.
- Taking You With Me: Selvaria took down the whole Gallian army, save the militia, in her final effort. Averted with Alicia, since Welkin stopped her before she could actually do it. Kinda subverted when Faldio took down Maximilian together with him, since this is more of an atonement/apology than a desperate effort. Maximilian, on the other hand, was trying to invoke the trope himself at the time.
- Tall Dark And Bishoujo: Selvaria. Mmmmmmmmm.
- Tank Goodness: Appears to be standard operating procedure in the Empire.
- Team Pet: Hans, the insufferably cutesy winged pig.
- Tear Jerker: The Darcsens at the end of Fouzen mission. And, on a larger scale, Isara's death.
- And in the ending, when Welkin asked Alicia "How's Isara been today?", and out came their daughter. This one isn't directly a Tear Jerker by itself but still, if you know why it's like this...
- Some people also feel this way about Selvaria's using her Valkyria powers the last time.
- The Imperial soldier's death in Chapter 8 also qualifies. It's not too difficult to see how hearing him cry out for his mother can trigger Vietnam flashbacks for some people...
- And once you've played through Selvaria's DLC, you'll never feel the same way about shooting Oswald the Iron dead in Chapter 10.
- That One Boss: Selvaria the third (and final) time you face her.
- Also enemy ace Ty the Immortal kinda counts, if you don't know what you're doing when you first encounter him during chapter 8.
- That One Level: "Chapter 7: The Battle at Barious" is often looked upon as this as it's easy to get killed if you don't know what's going to happen. That's when the game suddenly jumps up from its seat and shoves a difficulty spike down your throat.
- "Chapter 9: Kidnapping of Cordelia." You have to block an APC and shoot it down with bullets alone, no explosives as that would harm the princess. The city streets don't leave much room to maneuver, though, and if you're not careful, the APC can easily gun down one of your soldiers and then run them over.
- "Chapter 17: Breaching Jaeger's Blockade" is another incredibly difficult one; even if you know what's going to happen, you're under a lot of heavy tank fire and the enemy commander is incredibly strong.
- There Is No Kill Like Overkill: Using mortars to kill scouts or engineers, using anti-tank lances to kill anyone but tanks...
- Third Person Person: Aisha is like this at times.
- This Is Sparta!: Literally - Gallia has 430,000 people and a military of 92,000. Yep - one in five serves in the military. And this is for PEACETIME leaving out the universal conscription! For comparison Israel only has 1 in 10 even counting reserves.
- Token Loli: 12-year-old shock trooper Aisha, who is possibly (depending on how her profile is interpreted) the youngest person ever to enlist.
- Too Good For This Sinful Earth: Isara
- Too Kinky To Torture: Homer really enjoys getting hurt; emphasised by one of his potentials which gives a stat boost when his health is depleted to half, complete with a face rubbing animation (and almost orgasmic voice) much like Jane's when her sadist potential is activated.
Homer: Oh, woe is me!
- Edy even remarks on it in her DLC. "So pretty, so broken" indeed.
- Tsurime: Several of the women, though Cpt. Varrot is the most obvious of them.
- Trapped Behind Enemy Lines: One of the chapters is based on this, where Welkin and Alicia are cut off from their squad during an ambush and spend two missions trying to reunite with them, the Edy Detachment dlc is also based on this premise
- Trial And Error Gameplay: A lot of the later stages are subject to this, especially the Scrappy Level.
- Underdogs Never Lose: Pretty obvious.
- Unfortunate Implications: While the Jews are clearly the intended parallel of the Darcsens, the Japanese-influenced art style has made some players wonder if they're supposed to be Japanese instead. Since there's no Japanese equivilant in the game's story (as the fictional war only parallels events on the European front), it can make it seem as if the Japanese have actually replaced Jews entirely.
- This Jewish trooper/anime fan would like to point out that the Darcsens only look "Japanese" because of the anime art style and it would be relatively hard to design characters that would look "Jewish" using the anime art style, especially in regards to designing realistic looking curly hair. The Darcsens mainly look like faired skinned, black-haired people with large dark eyes, which is probably close as close as you can get to a "Jewish" looking character using the anime style without resorting to stereotypes.
- Unknown Rival: Edy has a one-sided rivalry with fellow Glamorous Wartime Singer Rosie, and thinks Rosie's fame is impeding her own path to stardom.
- Unlucky Childhood Friend: Juno. As crazy as she is about Welkin, we all know whom he'll end up with... Poor lass.
- Noce for Alicia would qualify as well.
- Verbal Tic: Oh - Hermes and his "-yo"s in the Japanese track...
- Video Game Caring Potential: Sometimes, your troopers are just too darn adorable! REALLY!
- Video Game Cruelty Potential: You can either let your troopers rush towards the enemy for a suicidal (and admittedly stupid) move, or sock a rocket right in the enemy's face. Your choice.
- Villain Episode: One of the DLC packs includes chapters that are focused around Selvaria and the Imperial army.
- Wave Motion Gun: The Valkyria's ultimate weapon, Valkof, is essentially a gigantic laser cannon capable of blowing up mountains. On a smaller scale, the Valkyrian lance.
- Weak But Skilled: Engineers; sure, they have bugger-all health, but the fact they can move almost as far as scouts, defuse mines (even after stepping on one), carry 3 grenades as opposed to one, and are the only ones capable of fixing your tank(s) make them one of the most versatile units around. It's generally an unwritten rule to have at least one in your squad at all times.
- We Cannot Go On Without You: Welkin's death is a losing condition on pretty much every map in the game.
- We Have Reserves: The Gallian Militia is almost always given the most suicidal missions with minimal support from the main army.
- What Do You Mean, It's Not Symbolic?: The Valkyrur can blow themselves and everything within a mile's radius up, startlingly similar to the mushroom cloud created by nuclear bombs. In cutscenes at the beginning of the final chapter, Maximilian also wears a suit of armor with several Roman emperor motifs.
- Where Are They Now Epilogue: For all the main characters in the credits, and all the secondary characters in your squad when you completed the game in the Encyclopedia Exposita.
- White Haired Pretty Girl: Selvaria and Edy and Alicia when her Valkyria powers are active.
- The Woobie: Poor Claudia...eventually things get better for her.
- Woolseyism: Dallas is on the level of an Alicia idolizer in the Japanese release, however, in the English localization, this is played towards a lesbian angle. A slightly more plot-significant alteration is the properties of Alicia's favourite flower, in English it's described along the lines of being "strong", whereas in the Japanese it's described along the lines of being "beautiful"; whether this change reflects upon the character of Alicia is up to the player's judgment.
- Wrench Wench: Isara is a really sweet, feminine and gentle version of this, bordering on Yamato Nadeshiko levels.
- You Gotta Have Blue Hair: Darcsens have either dark blue or dark purple hair, and are discriminated against for it, (among other reasons)
- You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Maximilian does this to Selvaria when realizes her Valkyria powers won't give his forces an advantage anymore. It may apply to Borg too, in a sense.
- You Have Failed Me: Coincides with the above entry, as Maximilian also does this to Selvaria for losing a critical battle to the Gallians.
- Zettai Ryouiki: Hmm... where to start? Alicia, Rosie, Isara... Pretty much any Squad 7 girl who aren't in pants, in which case, they're in skirts and knee socks.
- Alicia is definitely Grade S.
The anime series provides examples of:
- Action Girl: The girls of the Militia, especially Alicia... but especially not Susie.
- Adaptation Distillation: The part where the regular army takes Alicia for her Valkyria powers answers something even the gamers were scratching their heads about.
- Cordelia having a wig looks better than her having that stupid hat.
- A Day In The Limelight: For Selvaria, Jaeger, and that new guy, Karl (who has no relation to the Squad 7 Karl).
- A Million Is A Statistic: More like hundreds or lower thousands, but Gregor and Damon take this attitude towards their soldiers.
- Anyone Can Die: Well, any of the game recruitables who aren't in Squad 7 can anyways...
- Vyse cameos in one episode, getting about twenty seconds of screen time before reenacting the charge of the light brigade and dying horribly.
- The rest of Squad 5 also get killed off pointlessly.
- Not all of Squad 7 are invincible. Wrench Wench Isara takes a sniper bullet and bleeds to death in the arms of her greatest rival. Cue tears.
- Everyone else in Squad 7 is immune to Plotline Death, as Largo survived a direct attack from Selvaria's Wave Motion Gun where anyone else would've died.
- The entirety of Squad 1 save Faldio gets unceremoniously vaporized by Selvaria's lance beam in episode 20.
- And come episode 24, Selvaria, Damon, and Karl all bite it in quick succession.
- Armor Piercing Slap: Subverted in the anime version the first time Alicia tries to use it on Faldio. He dodges it and Alicia sends it right into Welkin's face instead.
- Ascended Extra: Edy, and 4 of the 5 members of the Edy Detachment (Lynn ain't there for some reason...) game add on, are all members of the squad in the show.
- Other recuitables, like Salinas, Nils, Hannes, Wendy, Cezary, Alex, Hebert, Rosina and Mica become part of Squad 1, and as of episode 6, they get to talk. Episode 13 shows Vyse Inglebard as Squad 5's sergeant who dies a few minutes after his introduction. Wait, what?
- A Team Firing: No one seems to be able to hit anyone unless it's plot important.
- Attack Attack Attack: Gregor's standard strategy.
- Bait And Switch Credits: The 2nd Opening makes you think the anime looks like some war action flick until to see the show for yourself and realize...it isn't.
- Beauty Equals Goodness: Be it Imperial or Gallian, you can trust that only the ugly people are jerks.
- Also, Beauty Equals Competence: When two factions clash, the best-looking one will succeed. Note the ugly appearances of the incompetent Gallian army officer corps, and the conspirators seeking to murder Maximilian. Subverted in Squad 1's case where everyone (good looking or ugly) in the squad save Faldio got shafted to display how powerful Selvaria was.
- Bling Of War: The regular Gallian army. Seriously, there is NO way those poofy pants are practical for combat purposes.
- Breakout Character: Alicia is the main character of the anime, not Welkin. Faldio also gets a lot more focus, even more so than Welkin.
- Jann gets twice as much screen time as any of the other optional characters, along with very flattering characterization as the voice of reason.
- Breather Episode: Episode 6, which shows Ellet Embedded, with a whole lot of added goofy (and sex appeal).
- Bunny Ears Lawyer: Still, Welkin. And Faldio to some extent.
- Child Soldiers: Emile's age (16) is in the squad list Alicia looks at in Episode 3. We can assume Homer (15) and Oscar (15) will be somewhere similar in their ages. Aisha, who's in the credits, still looks 12.
- Camp Gay: Jann, with a bit of Hard Gay.
- Chekhovs Gunman: Zaka appears much earlier, when Gallia still had control of Fouzen.
- Cloud Cuckoo Lander: Welkin, considerably moreso than in the game.
- Conspicuous CG: Tanks and smoke.
- Crowning Moment Of Awesome: Welkin's submarine tank drive is repeated in Episode 3 (with water leaking worryingly into the passenger compartment), he and Isara then top it by driving the tank right up the incredibly steep embankment.
- The events of Episode 11. Welkin, Faldio, Ramal, and Isara teaming up with Selvaria, Jaeger, and Karl who would rescue Alicia and Cordelia from the kidnappers. Take note that these groups are on the opposing sides of the war. And they're badass in their own rights so when they team up, you know epic beat down will ensue on the kidnappers.
- Faldio falcon punching Welkin at the end of Episode 18, after episode after episode of Welkin channeling Shinji Ikari.
- Squad 1 taking out the Batomys at Naggiar. Sadly, it would be their sole moment of glory.
- Largo later on gets a little closer, and almost manages to take out Selvaria with his lance. It sends her into a minor Villainous Breakdown, as she's visibly pissed off by the confirmation that she might be mortal.
- Welkin slugging a officer in the regular army when he calls Alicia a monster; this is after breaking up a fight between Squad 7 and the regulars for the same reason.
- Crowning Moment Of Funny: The brawl between Squad 1 and Squad 7 in episode 6. Highlights include: a pissed off Jann grabbing Hebert and Mica by the backs of their necks yelling "do you want me to teach to teach you the joys of men?!" and Edy clubbing Salinas with a big stick.
- Jann again, this time in episode 17 where he gives Largo a gift during the feelgood valentine-eqse celebration, said gift was quickly revealed to be a leopard print man thong. Largo's expression? Priceless.
- Dropped A Bridge On Him: Arguably, pretty much all of the non-game deaths can come off as unnecessary and contrived. For example, there's Vyse, all of Squad 1, and Karl.
- It wouldn't have been so bad had it not been established since the early episodes that no one could hit the broad side of a barn unless it was plot important. Had it been something else, like squad members getting killed off during their missions to show off that War Is Hell from the start, there'd be less complaints.
- Dysfunction Junction: Squad 7.
- Fan Nickname: Faldio is often referred to as 'Superman' for his ability to do no wrong at certain points in the anime. Probably to make his eventuall fall that much more shocking.
- Maximilian has been called 'Maxi-pad' by people who are familliar with the game, due to the fact that he seems to be a mama's boy and well, just look at Lelouch's profile.
- Early on, the series itself was nicknamed 'Kana Goes To War' on account of Alicia's varied facial expressions.
- Fantastic Racism: More prevalent than in the game (if a bit confusing about it), but less than in the manga. It causes a Red Shirt to ignore Isara's advice about the malfunction in his tank. Oh, the irony.
- Even the Valkyria suffer racism, with both Selvaria and Alicia being called monsters. What's strange in Alicia's case is that this is done by her Nakama, who by now should have a stronger bond than that.
- Ironically it's Rosie who is the most adamantly supportive of her. Guess that Character Development finally sank in... now they just need to do something about Susie, who near instantly abandons Alicia.
- Go Out With A Smile: Ramal. Also, Isara again.
- Growing The Beard / Darker And Edgier: The series takes a dramatic turn at the battle of Fouzen, to the point where the two halves of the anime look like two entire different series. Granted, the replacement of goofy irreverence and A Team Firing with angst and body count isn't always a good thing.
- Handsome Lech: Jaeger
- Hey Its That Voice: Maximilian's brother is Hikaru Midorikawa. Too bad it doesn't go into the Relationship Voice Actor territory since they pretty much want to oust one another.
- Heroic BSOD: Welkin after Isara's death; he gets better after finally having a good cry.
- Faldio when he comes to and realises he's the only survivor of his squad.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Ramal pushes Faldio into a trench so he wont get caught in the giant beam fired by Selvaria.
- While infiltrating the Marmota, Faldio delays Welkin's pursuers by using a grenade to take them out along with himself. This Troper finds this to be far less awesome than his death in the game, but still...
- Less stupid though. Faldio, Maximilian looks like a strong breeze would knock him over now. Why the hell are you throwing yourself into a pit WITH HIM?
- A) Atonement B) like he said, "Monsters like us don't deserve to live."
- I'm Taking Her Home With Me!: Happens to Hans twice, initially by Alicia, but Marina is the one taking care of him at all times. During the epilogue, Marina takes Hans back home with her.
- Instant Awesome Just Add Ninja
- Jerk Ass: Rosie remains a colossal one after Fouzen. She gets better, just later than expected.
- And Damon, just... Damon.
- Karmic Death: Damon, and the entire regular army.
- Kick The Dog: Damon's tantrum about Isara's poncho being on the front of the Edelweiss, shortly after her death and in front of Squad 7.
- Damon kicks it again by telling Alicia that the reason she's been transferred to the regular army is because everyone fears her.
- The Gallian regulars as a whole are jerkasses.
- Last Minute Hookup: in order of appearance
- Alicia and Welkin. Duh.
- Homer and Edy.
- Rosie and Zaka.
- Magic Skirt: Rosie. Apparently ass-length skirt plus kicking people high and frequently doesn't put the underwear at notable risk of exposition. The complete opposite of the game, of course.
- Missed Moment Of Awesome: There were many major moments in the game that did not make it into the anime, which naturally disappointed the fans of the game. Several of the side characters from Squad 7 also didn't show at all or got killed before getting a chance to shine (or talk for that matter).
- Mistaken For Gay: Alicia thought that there was something between Faldio and Ramal.
- Nakama: A narrowly averted tear jerker moment occurs when Jaeger mentions that he wanted to take Selvaria and Maximilian to visit his home town, and though he's his normal cheerful self he has obviously realised Selvaria's ready to throw herself into death out of self pity and Maximilian is a unrepentant dog kicker.
- Maximilian doesn't seem as much of an asshole as he was in the game — he really just looks more aloof than anything. For one, he did not imply to her that she's useless and take her lance and shield. Although he does say "she had her uses" after they lost contact with her, but whether it's because he doesn't care for her or because he's going mad, I can't tell.
- Squad 7, on the other hand, is close, but how close they are flip-flops as plot and angst happens.
- Names The Same: The new guy, Karl, shares a name with one of the squaddies. Perhaps they got around that by never referring to the name of the Gallian Karl.
- The Neidermeyer: Damon and Gregor.
- Normally I Would Be Dead Now: Jaeger shows up in the background during the epilogue, despite assumedly being shot in the back and on the Marmota when it blows up. Then again, the guy never died in the original in the first place, but it still stretches Willing Suspension Of Disbelief when he survives an exploding battleship after getting shot in the back.
- Not What It Sounds Like: Faldio and Alicia, concerning him being shirtless, her panties and some Greek Mythology. All in front of Squad 1 and Squad 7.
- Obviously Evil: Maximilian's brother and conspirators. The way they conduct their private conspiracies, it leaves no room for doubt.
- Offhand Backhand: Isara does this with a wrench in episode 6.
- Princess Curls: Susie.
- Punch Clock Villain: Explored as well with the similar wounded-soldier-in-the-cabin-with-them situation, although it worked better with Franz than it did with Mikhail.
- Jaeger is even more friendly and good natured than in the game, where he was already only nominally loyal to the Empire. He's been promised his country's independence for his servitude and is proud enough to want to do a good job; that doesn't mean he has to hold anything against his foes however.
- Romantic Plot Tumor: So Faldio gets romantically interested in Alicia. Okay, fine, this might be interesting. Bringing it up during battle and other inappropriate situations... Why was this guy appointed as a squad leader?
- Rule Of Cool: Seems to take more of a precedence in the anime, especially when Edelweiss is involved. In every scene it's depicted, Edelweiss is essentially a high performance sports car with lots of armor and a really big gun.
- Serious Business: Interviews.
- Ship Tease: Aside from Jann's occasional fawning over Largo, Susie has been sighted hanging around closely with Edy a couple of times. Edy herself gives Homer a gift as part of some Valentine's-esqe special day during the Marberry Beach episode. Given that both also appear in Edy's DLC in the game, this is just adding fuel to the fire.
- Shocking Swerve: Alicia and Selvaria knew each other? Wait, was that orphanage then in the Empire or in Gallia? Why were they experimenting on her? If they knew she was a Valkyria, how did they find out? Where are the other children that were involved? Who were those scientists? Where are they now? How did Alicia forget about it until she fought Selvaria? What is going on here? Stop trying to write your own story, dammit!
- It wouldn't have been bad if they actually followed it through, but like with the revalation that the Darcsen Calamity was actually the Valkyria's fault, it was dropped and we never heard about it again.
- Shower Scene: A... suprisingly NSFW one from Selvaria, complete with Godiva Hair.
- Spoiler Opening: Second opening. Alicia with a lance and shield. Put two and two together.
- Stupid Sacrifice: Averted, as Alicia's Final Flame gets stopped by a Cooldown Hug (and accompanying kiss) from Welkin.
- What's strange is that, in the game, the reason Alicia needed the cooldown was because she was going to sacrifice herself to stop the Marmotah, while here, it's that her power has gone out of control (as the Final Flame was supposed to be just invoked), although she seemed to have perfect control of her powers until Maximilian said she didn't. Of all the things to keep from the game...
- The Squad: A couple of them appear, but they only deserve Nominal Importance if they're not Squad 7.
- Team Mom: Jann. Oh God, Jann!
- Team Pet: Hans.
- Tear Jerker: Welkin crying in Isara's room after they retake Bruhl.
- Hell, everything from Isara's death to that point there is a major league tearer.
- The Theme Park Version: And freaking how!
- They Changed It Now It Sucks: There were many fans of the game that railed against the anime, less because of its execution or quality, but simply because it was different from the game.
- This Is A Drill: The Valkyrian Lance.
- Token Minority: In-universe, Isara's the only Darcsen seen in the militia. Lynn, Wavy and Nadine are nowhere to be seen. Even a random Darcsen NPC would've been nice to see.
- But then the writers would have to kill them!
- Some fighting Darcsen could've shown up after Fouzen, but noooooo, all that happens is Zaka takes Isara's spot for only Darcsen in the military.
- In the final episode, we actually see Lynn! Sure, it was only for a second... and during the epilogue... and we only see her from behind...
- Too Dumb To Live/ Suicidal Overconfidence: Faldio and Squad 1. Immediately after Selvaria blocks a tank shell and destroys 2 tanks with impunity, you decide to attack her head on? There's a reason why, in the game, you are advised not to take her head on (even when she's not using her Valkyria powers). Instead, you have to double time on accomplishing your original objective since it would put the Imperial forces at a disadvantage and force Selvaria to retreat.
- Karl had the balls to get angry at Maximilian to his face, while he was slowly becoming unhinged. This, after he already established himself as being incredibly aloof and seeing people's value in their use to him.
- And also, Jaeger in a bit of massive Character Derailment. Why in the world would you openly announce your intention to defy you leader, when said leader specifically announced that he is willing to summarily execute anybody who tries to defy him.
- A very quiet Heroic BSOD? Considering he survives, maybe he's secretly immune to bullets (which would explain why he was so casual when Squad 7 shot at him that one time).
- Tsundere: Alicia, considerably moreso than in the game.
- Ramal certainly fits the bill as of episode 7.
- Edy, anyone?
- Wave Motion Gun: The Valkyrian lance.
- We Hardly Knew Ye: Applies to all of Squad 1, in a sense, considering the only people who knew some of the characters were those who had played the game, but Salinas deserves a special mention because he disappears from Squad 1 sometime before the Marberry Beach operation and is replaced with Hermes, with his death meantioned in passing. And even then its just Faldio saying "some of my troops have died too" when trying to get Welkin out of his BSOD. This troper cannot decipher the reason for his replacement as none of the troops of Squad 1 did much except be window dressing.
- The Worf Effect: The Batomys, when it went up against Squad 1. In the game, it was a long, hard and desperate struggle for players to fight it (especially in their first play-through), but in the anime, it went down so simply, it's almost insulting. And who's idea was it to replace the radiators' covers and make the radiators pop-up? At least it's excusable when Alicia fought it, being a Valkyria and all.
- Falls under here or The Worf Barrage, but the Valkof, which can melt a mountain with a shot, gets stopped by just Alicia?
- What Happened To The Mouse: Where did Ms. Ellet go?
- Better yet, what happened to Maximilian's brother?
- Wrench Wench: Isara, still.
- Zettai Ryouiki: All the female military uniforms now qualify. The girls of Squad 1, however, wear the pants.
- Only exception from Squad 7 is Marina, who still wears the pants.
- The anime gets confusing about when the secondary female characters wear shorts, pants or skirts, but it's always consistent with the main female characters.
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