UFO Princess Valkyrie 2: Juunigatsu no Yasoukyoku

Synopsis:

Episodes:

• Episode 1: The Key of Time (Aired: 10/04/2003)
• Episode 2: Cyborg Princess Chorus (Aired: 10/11/2003)
• Episode 3: Wave Princess Chorus (Aired: 10/18/2003)
• Episode 4: Girls of Planet Academy (Aired: 10/25/2003)
• Episode 5: Valkyrie Ghost (Aired: 11/01/2003)
• ... and 7 more episodes

Characters:

• Sanada (Main) - Voice Actors: Tanaka, Rie, Auten, Christine
• Tokino, Kazuto (Main) - Voice Actors: Suzumura, Kenichi, Ayres, Greg
• Valkyrie (Main) - Voice Actors: Vincent-Davis, Kira, Ogata, Megumi, Mochizuki, Hisayo
• Valkyrie Ghost (Main) - Voice Actors: Vincent-Davis, Kira, Ogata, Megumi
• Akidra (Supporting) - Voice Actors: Martinez, Cynthia, Novotny, Nancy
• Chorus (Supporting) - Voice Actors: Prause, Kimberly, Kuwashima, Houko
• Hydra (Supporting) - Voice Actors: Novotny, Nancy
• Laine (Supporting) - Voice Actors: Haag, Hilary
• Mar (Supporting) - Voice Actors: Mignogna, Vic
• Marduke (Supporting) - Voice Actors: Momoi, Haruko, Rush, Don
• Nanamura, Akina (Supporting) - Voice Actors: Chiba, Saeko, Martinez, Cynthia
• Shirokenhaimu (Supporting) - Voice Actors: Love, Andrew
• Tokino, Rika (Supporting) - Voice Actors: Rial, Monica, Minami, Omi
• Wakitani, Aiko (Supporting)

Staff:

• Takamoto, Yoshihiro (Director, Episode Director, Storyboard)
• Aoki, Shinichirou (Episode Director, Storyboard)
• Iwasaki, Tarou (Episode Director, Storyboard)
• Kobayashi, Kousuke (Episode Director)
• Shimura, Hiroaki (Storyboard)
• Chiba, Saeko (Theme Song Performance)
• Melocure (Theme Song Performance)
• Nishiwaki, Tatsuya (Theme Song Arrangement)
• Tanaka, Rie (Theme Song Performance)
• meg rock (Theme Song Performance, Theme Song Composition, Theme Song Lyrics)
• Fujii, Maki (Character Design)
• Ishibashi, Yukiko (Animation Director)
• Jones, Kyle Colby (ADR Director)
• Kaishaku (Original Creator)
• Kawai, Kenji (Music)
• Kinoshita, Yumiko (Animation Director)
• Mukouda, Takashi (Key Animation)
• Nakajima, Yoshiko (Animation Director)
• Sekiguchi, Masahiro (Animation Director)
• Shiokawa, Takashi (Animation Director)
• Suzuki, Emi (Art Director)
• Takeuchi, Akira (Animation Director)
• Tanaka, Masayoshi (Key Animation)
• Tanaka, Masaya (Animation Director)

Reviews:

• User Touka (Score: 7/10):
  Set in an alternate version of the present, where magic, alchemy, catgirls and aliens are all acknowledged and present, UFO Princess Valkyrie 2 follows (you guessed it) a magical princess from outer space named Valkyrie. The leading lady crash lands on Earth - and into Kazuto, the male lead - damaging her soul and transforming her, both physically and mentally, into a child. Told mostly in an episodic fashion, the often crazed, random, imaginative story is a wholly enjoyable ride. The episodes often take a 'monster-of-the-week' format, where a villain or problem is presented at the beginning and is resolved by the end. These unorthodox adventuresare, of course, highly predictable given the format, but they are carried by creativity and fun. The world of UFO Princess Valkyrie is overflowing with inventiveness; there is a whole heap of content with which to base each episode on, and the sheer limitless nature of the anime universe keeps the series fresh and compelling. The second series begins to expand more on Valkyrie's character and past, and the few episodes that do connect add a sense of heightened drama to an otherwise predominantly comedic series.nnThe animation in UFO Princess Valkyrie 2, much like in the first series, is simply satisfactory; it doesn't give off the impression they had much budget to improve. The action sequences sometimes come across as stiff and dull, not helped by the uninspired, turn-based choreography. The art department, however, have created a rich, invigorating world, filled with all kinds of delightful, intriguing aliens and space creatures.nnThe score was handled by Kenji Kawai, perhaps most famous for his work on Ghost in the Shell. The music in UFO Princess Valkyrie is of course very different to his haunting melodies in Mamoru Oshii's sci-fi tour de force, but his clear talent lives on evermore. Kawai creates some stunningly beautiful themes and composes a lovely variety of insert songs sung by members of the cast; the soundtrack is one of the absolute stand-out elements of the series.nnThe characters are a merrymaking bunch filled with excitement and imagination. All the anime archetypes are present; from the air-headed Raine to the robotic yet comical Chorus and the troublesome tsundere Akina. There's little character development, however, and the cast are largely one-dimensional. They complement the story format, but never leave their moulds or challenge convention.nnNeedless to say, that's besides the point. UFO Princess Valkyrie 2 is a series not to be taken too seriously. It's a harmless bit of no-brainer entertainment; something you can pop in and out of when you're in the mood. Simple-dumb-fun. When you feel like a bit of light-hearted anime entertainment, UFO Princess Valkyrie can do you no harm.
• User Fear_the_Reefer (Score: 6/10):
  It seems that love can come from the strangest places. Even on a version of Earth where technology has advanced to the point where alien integration has become commonplace, the phrase “Strange places” should still not be taken lightly. This is how it was for Kazuto, the owner of his family’s struggling bathhouse, who was minding his own business one day, both literally and figuratively, when calamity struck. A spaceship, driven by a runaway bride from another planet, crash-landed through his roof, killing him. The pilo, Princess Valkyrie of the Valhalla royal family, was stricken with grief by what she’d done,so she offered half of her soul to bring him back to life. This simple act of kindness brought new life to the young man’s heart, in more ways than one. The loss of half of her soul may have turned Valkyrie into a child, but the bond between them still continued to grow, to the point where the two of them became very much in love... And it was a love strong enough to overcome every obstacle the scorned Royal Family could throw at them. nnHaving put what they thought was the worst of it behind them, Kazuto and Valkyrie have settled back down into their relatively normal everyday lives, running the bathhouse, dealing with all sorts of alien nonsense, and generally stagnating in a passionless, vaguely defined relationship. Whatever floats their boat, I guess. But strange things have been happening around them, beginning with the appearance of The Key of time, a weapon tied directly to the dark history of Valhalla, followed up by the appearance of Chorus, the weirdest member of the Royal family, and most importantly by the appearance of Valkyrie Ghost, a mysterious black-clad woman who bears a striking resemblance to Kazuto’s child bride. Calling him her “Phantom Lover,” Valkyrie Ghost seemingly intends to separate Valkyrie and Kazuto from the life they’ve settled into, but for what purpose? What does she want with the Key of Time? How much does Chorus know about her? As it turns out, these elements and more share a surprising connection in the continued adventures of Valkyrie and friends! nnYes, we’re revisiting UFO Ultramaiden Valkyrie again, which of course means we’re revisiting it’s animation studio, Media Factory Inc, who shared it’s duties with a smaller studio, TNK, who also collaborated with them on High School DXD, but managed such lovely projects as School Days by themselves. The animation was abysmal in the first season, and while I can’t say the budget has improved since then, the direction definitely has. The first season was directed by Shigeru Ueda, who’s had a ton of backstage experience, but has only acted as the main director on a handful of titles, including Rin: Daughters of Mnemosyne, the swimsuit OVA from Senran Kagura, and the final two episodes of Key the Metal Idol, one of which you’ll remember I called virtually unwatchable. Ironically, I can’t find any information on second season director Nobuhiro Takagi outside…

Forum Topics:

• UFO Princess Valkyrie 2: Juunigatsu no Yasoukyoku Episode 4 Discussion
• UFO Princess Valkyrie 2: Juunigatsu no Yasoukyoku Episode 1 Discussion
• UFO Princess Valkyrie 2: Juunigatsu no Yasoukyoku Episode 3 Discussion
• Ufo Princess Valkyrie 2: Juunigatsu no Yasoukyoku Episode 12 Discussion
• Ufo Princess Valkyrie 2: Juunigatsu no Yasoukyoku Episode 11 Discussion
• Ufo Princess Valkyrie 2: Juunigatsu no Yasoukyoku Episode 10 Discussion
• Ufo Princess Valkyrie 2: Juunigatsu no Yasoukyoku Episode 9 Discussion
• Ufo Princess Valkyrie 2: Juunigatsu no Yasoukyoku Episode 8 Discussion
• Ufo Princess Valkyrie 2: Juunigatsu no Yasoukyoku Episode 7 Discussion
• Ufo Princess Valkyrie 2: Juunigatsu no Yasoukyoku Episode 6 Discussion
• Ufo Princess Valkyrie 2: Juunigatsu no Yasoukyoku Episode 5 Discussion

External Links:

• Official Site
• AniDB
• ANN

Related Anime/Manga:

• UFO Princess Valkyrie (anime - Prequel)
• UFO Princess Valkyrie 3: Seiresetsu no Hanayome (anime - Sequel)