Didn't these girls show up on a previous story of his?

We got a Citrus doujin!

https://twitter.com/glidesloe/status/980891885664288768

None other than Maidoll did a Citrus Pinup for Toroana

https://twitter.com/maidoll/status/979243297246871558

She even included the rings!

Beautiful short story of Mirei and Mamori

https://bunnimation.tumblr.com/post/171871996967/valkyrie-in-crisis

I'd debate the idea that Harumin is perfectly content with her life, since as we saw during the election arc, she's utterly terrified of Mitsuko and she lacks the drive to fully express herself all the time; being content to meld into the background to avoid problems. While this per se is not a bad attitude to have, is clear she admires the way Yuzu drives head first into situations just to be true to her own ideals. And is in this regard that Matsuri is a perfect fit for Harumin.

While Matsuri can help Harumin to stop worrying about what society/Mitsuko could think, Harumin can help to temper Matsuri's recklessness and self destructive behavior.

The not so subtle way Matsuri is hitting on Harumin is so freaking adorable.

We need to up the gay more, MORE!!!

Volume 2 of the german release is coming out in May

https://www.anime2you.de/news/199152/valkyrie-drive-mermaid-cover-des-zweiten-volumes/

Saburota interview in Japanese

https://ddnavi.com/interview/421352/a/

last edited at Feb 27, 2018 5:34PM

So I didn't thought were else to post this but the most recent game in the series has added secret files that expand the series' setting and among one of them there's one pretty weird to call it somehow.

蛇女子学園の掲示板に張られていた注意書き 最近、学校敷地内で女生徒同士の不純同性交遊が見受けられます。
本校、蛇女子学園は忍となるべく技術や志を学ぶ場所であり、 淫らな行為をする場所ではありません。
今後、不純同性交遊を見つけ次第、厳しい処分を下していきます。 (程度によっては停学、退学の可能性もありえます)

Ran through Google Translate

Notice written on the bulletin board of Snake Girls' School
Recently, there is impure homosexuality exchanges among girls on the school premises.
Our school, Snake Girls' School is a place where you can learn techniques and ambitions as a Shinobi, and it is not a place where you act a nasty act.
In the future, as soon as I find impure homosexuals, I will make a tough disposal. (Depending on the degree, there is a possibility of suspension or withdrawal)

Er, yeah....

There's also a letter from Daidouji to her mother that puts her interactions with Rin through the entire series in a new light. A sexy, gay, light.

Daidouji's letter

To My Dear Mother,

No matter how many times you write me, I have no intention of returning home.

I have something I need to do, a promise with an old friend I need to fulfill.

I also have no interest in marriage, in spite of your continuous advice.

I will not recognize any man weaker than myself.

I will choose my life partner of my own volition.

My Regards

• The sender's name has been torn off

I'm just going to copy and paste an excellent analysis of previous volumes and how they tie with Mei's letter made by an insightful anon at /u/

Volume 1 - Had Harumin explain how relationships between girls worked at their school and established the deal with fiances. Also had Mei's grandfather as a huge influence on Mei.

Volume 2 - Yuzu learned of Mei's troubled upbringing and dedication to the school from Himeko. Then Shou shows up and we're given the message that there's no one way to live your life.

Volume 3 - Matsuri is there to trigger Mei's jealousy to get her to pursue Yuzu. And while the reader is made to doubt Matsuri's observations, most of them about Mei do ring true to some extent in hindsight.

Volume 4 - Shows that Mei is willing to try to run away from her problems.

Volume 5 - Mitsuko forces Yuzu and Mei to make hard choices, but also introduces the concept of creating your own path with a strong will. Volume also showed how much Mei loved the school, even having to hide her grandpa's photo when kissing Yuzu in his office.

Volume 6 - Yuzu and Mei's relationship intensifies and the ring is given to Mei, which triggers her deeper feelings. Mei acting awkward while comforting Yuzu in the library now has a more negative meaning in hindsight.

Volume 7 - Mei starts actively trying to figure out if she loves Yuzu. By the end of the volume she realizes that she does.

Volume 8 - Sexual tension reaches its peak and is really the "calm before the storm" of volume 9.

Volume 9 - Everything starts to go to hell when Matsuri learns of Mei's engagement. Their friends worry and ponder their future, Yuzu is oblivious to why Mei is acting weird, while Mei is obviously torn. Eventually the guilt overwhelms Mei when Yuzu is thinking of their future together, so timeskip to after Mei bails in order to fulfill her duties. We get a short "where are they now" of the rest of the cast.

Honestly I'm confused as why people are taking these development this hard or assuming this will only end in a het, loveless marriage. I mean, if this were an het story and Yuzu were an idealistic if commoner guy, everyone would be confident on this being just another obstacle to be solved by true love~

Oh, and nothing is really know about Saburota's personal life beyond what she shared on that German interview.

last edited at Feb 19, 2018 4:51PM

And you still miss my point. At this point Mei's dream isn't inheriting the Academy or upholding the Family's tradition, her dream is to be with Yuzu but she can't forego that burden in the same way Shou or Yuzu could.

Mei lacks that courage to break from the traditions she was raised to believe. And she acknowledges her own cowardice in her letter.

But it is.

Mei was raised with outdated values and that is why she doesn't see any other option that take upon herself the responsibility of keeping the Aihara legacy going. This why ultimately, if there's someone to blame here is Shou.

People in the west can sympathize with the fact he said "screw family" and left, but that is still a pretty shitty thing to do because he's not a twenty something bachelor with no responsibilities, he's a father and he should be the one to care and provide for his daughter. People will said "But he asked Mei to come with him!" Yes, after ten years of teaching her that being strict and carrying proudly the Aihara legacy was the only way to live.You can't simply ask a kid to drop all of their beliefs to the wind just like that. Hell, you can't even ask that of mature adults! And yet Shou was pretty much like "Well though luck kid, see ya!"

EDIT:

what really hurts me as a reader is that Mei chose this decision not because she was forced unto it but because she wanted it more than how much she love Yuzu.

This is what I meant about people being passionate about Mei. Mei choosed the marriage not because she wanted it more but because she loved Yuzu that much

Mei has come to terms with her own issues and she's being selfless for the first time in the entire story, she's removing herself so she doesn't hurt Yuzu more. At this point of the story, Mei choosing to remain at Yuzu's side would be truly selfish since due her upbringing she isn't able to forget about her duties as heiress (and I assume, that is why this chapter was so liked in Japan. Family honor and traditions are big things for them).

last edited at Feb 17, 2018 11:10PM

I know that people get really emotional about Mei, but everyone has to realize that Yuzu is as broken as Mei is. The only difference is that Yuzu actually has social skills. See, any normal person would get quick the fact that Mei has serious issues and would keep their distance. Yuzu however seems to be attracted to that. As it was pointed out earlier in the thread, if Mei resembles her father on how she handles relationships, Yuzu resembles Ume. Ume never moved past the death of Yuzu's dad and she has a thing for helping people she finds troubled. Yuzu is mimicking this behavior to a T.

This is why Mei having a talk face to face couldn't work, they're so attached to each other that they would've continued in that vicious cycle. At this point is not an exaggeration to say they're addicted to each other. Under that perspective, Mei's actions make perfect sense.

I really liked this chapter. It finally allow us to understand Mei's actions. And while dramatic, it does show Mei's enormous grow as character.She loves Yuzu with all of her being but the Aihara legacy is a burden she will never be able to shed and is a responsibility she's willingly taking over herself. And to that end she believes the best thing she can do for Yuzu is to break things off and move away in an attempt to force Yuzu to move forward (even if Mei herself wouldn't).

The development itself isn't very original and is actually a pretty cliche within romance but it does tie effectively all the pieces Saburota has been placing all over the series, finally completing the puzzle that Mei is.

That was cute but I can't unseen how er, phallic Sosogu's head design is.

Interesting details that were mentioned on /a/ about the series commentary

According to the Japanese audio commentary, Momoka was originally planned to simply be blasted out of existence in the ending but then Kuroda decided to give it a happier spin.

One other thing that stuck in my head was one of them (don't remember if it was the writer or director) saying they were worried about putting drive scenes and other service cuts in the last episode because it was supposed to be a dramatic serious situation (and they just had the mind-tentacle thing and that was it).

last edited at Feb 6, 2018 12:44AM

Saburota revealed on twitter the reason of the difference between Harumin's houses from the anime and the manga. The house shown in the anime is her Grandma's and Harumin is staying there because is closer to the school, the one shown in the manga is the "main house" so to speak, she also revealed that starting from Harumin's Grandma all the women in her family have attended Aihara Academy.

This creates some plot holes, like how old are Mei's Grandpa and Harumin's Grandma or how Harumin only enrolled in HS to Aihara Academy.

Saburota also mentioned she has some scary family members and that she'd like to write something about that.

I wonder if she's just doing what grandpa wants because he's getting worse and she just wants to repay him for pretty much raising her before he passes away. The old Mei would have just gone with the plan but now that she's fallen in love with Yuzu it's a fight between choosing her pride or her heart and she doesn't really have anyone who isn't Yuzu to ask for advice.

That is pretty much her motivation, yeah.

Except he didn't raise her, after her dad left she continued to live in their own home by herself. She doesn't even know her own grandfather that well, which makes this whole deal with her wanting to inherit the school more peculiar.

He still made sure all of her needs were taken of and he had daily contact with her at school. That alone makes him a bigger influence on her life than Shou.

Comparison between manga and anime of episode 3

https://imgur.com/a/LV3px

He wasn't fired, he resigned. There is no indication that gramps had any hand in it. Why would he care about a teacher kissing his fiance?

The fact said fiance is his underage granddaughter, it was something that happened in school grounds and that his first impulse at finding Yuzu on Mei's bedroom was to expel her should be enough to prove Grandpa was the one who fired him.

Plus, the explanation for the teacher's absence is a textbook example of excuse to minimize damages.

What that... where are you getting any of this? This is just wishful thinking hoping that gramps isn't as much of a piece of shit that we KNOW that he is.

How is he a piece of shit?

This chapter and the exchange at the hospital shows that he is a stern but reasonable man. And read his dialogue, he express regret over having to push the responsibility to Mei, he acknowledges that the school has grown beyond the Aihara family. He is not perfect by any means but he's doing his best.

And yet gramps' first choice was a teacher that how no qualms with preying on female students on school grounds.

Grandpa had no idea of that and as soon he got wind of the shit the guys was pulling, he fired him.

...they would keep control through Mei. They do not actually need a husband for this. If a groom is adopted into his wife's family, today, he is often given a position of responsibility within the business, but he usually does not take over the business as a whole, it is still viewed as the prerogative of the wife (not because Japanese upper classes are big on egalitarianism, but because they are big on bloodlines). Their children are the ones for whom all this is aimed at.

My point is that Grandpa seems like he would rather let Mei take over with no need of a marriage but external factors like Mei's age and yes, her gender force their hand to find a suitor if only to validate Mei's claim over the school.

I guess I should clarify a bit what I meant.

Is not that I believe that Grandpa (and by extension Mei) feel they need to continue the family line so the school is still owned by an Aihara.but rather, that they need a male figure so they can keep control of the school and keep things as they are now. That the responsibility isn't with the Aihara name but with the staff and the students, that the school has grown to be more than just a family business.

Reading the chapter again, I get the feeling that this isn't something Mei's grandfather is happy with either. But that is something they're forced to do if the family business will continue.