Valkyrie Drive: Mermaid

Valkyrie Drive: Mermaid (ヴァルキリードライヴ マーメイド Vuarukirīdoraivu māmeido) (Stylized as Valkyrie Drive - Mermaid -) is a 2015 12-episode anime series by Arms Corporation of Ikki Tousen, Elfen Lied and Queen's Blade fame, which was part of Marvelous' Valkyrie Drive Multimedia Project, which consisted of 3 projects that were Mermaid (Anime), Bhikkhuni (PS Vita Game) and Siren (Mobile Game) (Now defunct since June 7, 2016). The installments of the project were set on each one of the "Five Artificial Islands", with the anime being set at one of the five islands, abruptly named "Mermaid", named after the anime's title, and the project, in general, is about girls who infected with viruses known as "A-Virus" and "V-Virus" which allows them to turn their partners into weapons by either excessively kissing and caressing them, and use them for fighting.

Combined with the anime's poor reception and poor ratings, not to mention the game's poor sales and the mobile game's failure to attract a large audience which resulted in the shutdown, the Valkyrie Drive project eventually became one of the biggest failures in history, with the other two projects set on their other individual islands having thrown overboard quickly before they're ever known.

This was presumably the final anime made by Arms Corporation before dormant, presumed defunct until 2019, when they returned to making the next Ikki Tousen OVA Western Wolves, before officially dissolving a year later in 2020 when the studio filed for bankruptcy.

The anime received an English dub by Funimation and a German dub by KSM Anime.

Plot
In a world where five artificial islands exist, Mamori is a "mermaid" transferred to one of those islands. When Mamori attacked, a newly transferred girl named Mirei saves her. The enemy doesn't stop, however, and the two are soon cornered. When they think all hope is lost, Mirei then pleasures Mamori, and Mamori turns into a sword. Mirei then wields the sword and launches a counterattack against their enemies.

Why It Sucks

 * 1) The concept and premise of having girls infected with a virus that can turn them into weapons when kissed and caressed by others are absurd, mundane, dull, and non-sensical, which was the result of the failure of the multimedia project. It made on the far-too-strong belief that such concepts would bring Ecchi and Yuri to new heights. They haven't.
 * 2) An incredibly weak story with shoddy pacing and bland dialogue.
 * 3) Dull characters with weak development, below-average personality, and poor chemistry.
 * 4) Bland and generic character designs.
 * 5) Boring and naughty fight scenes.
 * 6) Lame villains.
 * 7) Poor voice acting.
 * 8) Unsatisfying ending.

Redeeming Qualities

 * 1) The opening theme song "Overdrive by Hitomi Harada" is a true masterpiece.
 * 2) *The soundtrack is incredible as well.
 * 3) The kiss scenes are amusing and arousing until they get old fast.
 * 4) Beautiful animation, for the 2015 standards, despite cheap keyframes.

Reception
Valkyrie Drive: Mermaid has a score of 6.12, according to MyAnimeList.

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