Muv-Luv: Tactical Surface Fighter
I have another mecha model kit for you. This week it is the "Shiranui, Imperial Army type", in 1/144 scale from kotobukiya. Unfortunately I bought this kit before the rerelease for the anime adaptation in 2021 and so I did not get any alien figures as freebies. Oh well. I'll go over my thoughts on the model kit and its construction briefly before trying to sell you on the visual novel, as it is unlikely that I will do a dedicated article for either the anime or the VN.
The construction process was fairly simple, taking a couple of hours when building at a relaxed pace. The kit did come with some translucent blue accent parts, however they are deeply recessed for the most part, making them hard to notice, so I have simply painted over them. Another thing to take note of is the highly visible seam lines on the codpiece and the legs. Nothing a little bit of filler and sanding won't eliminate.
One of the most distinguishable features of the TSFs in Muv LuV is the waist mounted thruster pods. These usually follow design cues from real aircraft, but as the shiranui is entirely fictional there is no aircraft to base it upon. Whilst undeniably cool looking, these pods do have the drawback of placing the centre of mass much further back than would otherwise be the case, so you may want to consider using a support stand or gluing the jointsinto a fixed pose.
As for Muv Luv as a property, the series (mostly) takes place in an alternate timeline in which aliens are discovered on mars in the year 1958. After a short war on the moon, the aliens make landfall on earth in the year 1973.
For the most part Muv Luv stories chonicle the exploits of specific units during the (losing) war on earth. In this universe mechs (TSFs) have replaced planes on the frontlines in response to alien anti-air creatures. It's really just an excuse to have mechs in an otherwise realistic setting, so it does what it needs to. If you have a spare 120 hours, have some tolerance for anime tropes in service of a better story down the road and aren’t put off by multiple content warnings then I would highly recommend Muv Luv (the Visual novel, split into Extra + Unlimited, followed by Alternative) as despite appearances it is quite a gripping story and it is considered one of the greats in the VN community for a reason. If you don't have 120 hours spare then I suppose that the anime adaptations for Schwarzesmarken or Total eclipse are serviceable, though they don’t compare very favourably to the VN which has some seriously scary and emotional moments.
