Dec 292021
Muv-Luv Unlimited: The Day After was translated this year, and after picking up the bundle in a sale, I’ve now finished it.
(It will be impossible to discuss The Day After without alluding to Muv-Luv Unlimited spoilers, so keep that in mind if you haven’t played.)
The Day After is an episodic release currently consisting of Episode 00, which serves as a prologue to the main story, and then a main story split into Episodes 01-03.
Instead of being set in the Alternative timeline, it takes place after Muv-Luv Unlimited, following the aftermath of Alternative V. This plan proves disastrous and results in catastrophic changes to the Earth, leaving the survivors to struggle to adapt to life in this bleak new world.
It is the darkest Muv-Luv timeline. Only four nations have survived, and they begin fighting amongst themselves and vying for power, while everyone suffers from food shortages and uninhabitable land.
The main story follows Hibiki, a TSF pilot who survived a trek across the ravaged continent and now finds himself the leader of a new team trying to help Japan (and humanity) survive.
It’s a kinetic novel, so there aren’t any choices to make. Each episode is of moderate length; I’d say the main three episodes are each around 5-10 hours long depending on how fast you read, with Episode 00 being a little shorter. All together, therefore, The Day After ends up being a moderate length.
There are some little oddities (for example, the log wouldn’t work properly the first time I started an episode, only after I quit and reloaded once), but overall I found it to be a fine experience.
And the story is well worth reading.
The premise is bleak as can be, but The Day After isn’t without its lighter moments. Little moments of humor helped me grow to love the new cast of characters as I followed them through traumatic experiences, political scheming, and everything else we expect from a Muv-Luv story. There are some good twists and turns, too.
But it’s not over yet! Episode 03 doesn’t actually conclude the story, even though it’s been 8 years since it first came out in Japan. Muv-Luv Resonative, aka The Day After Episode 04, was announced around the same time they confirmed the localization of Episodes 00-03.
Resonative is intended to be the conclusion of The Day After, and there are enough mysteries that I’m looking forward to how it all wraps up – especially when it comes to certain returning characters.
So the wait for Resonative begins! Muv-Luv news has been announced for December 30, so here’s hoping we get a release date. Meanwhile, if you enjoy the Muv-Luv series and want to see how things play out in the dark timeline following Unlimited’s ending, you definitely should check out Muv-Luv Unlimited: The Day After.