Sovapex

Okay, so I get you're saying that it's the worst 'Tales Of' game of all time, which is like saying dog turds are the worst type of turds of all time IMO, so you're not technically saying it's a bad game. Regardless, some of the stuff you say don't make any sense. First off, I want to point out that your use of the word 'edgy' just muddies your argument and kind of infuriates me. It's a meaningless buzzword with negative connotations that clearly color the things you're saying in a negative light. It seems way more suited to the supposed grimdark young audience you seem to reject. Plus, you seem to use it as if it's supposed to fill holes in your argument by it's negative connotations alone. 
You seem to fundamentally misunderstand, or refuse to acknowledge, that Velvet at the beginning of the game (I'm talking about Prison onwards) is not supposed to be likable at all. She does, indeed, place revenge as her highest priority and is willing to let loose chaos in order to make that happen. It's a scummy thing to do. That being said, her lust for revenge makes perfect sense, and I'm not sure why you don't acknowledge that. 
Yeah, Laphifelt fine with suiciding in order to save people. It's a logical leap to assume Velvet shouldn't be furious with him and Artorius for doing that shiz, though. You don't just sit around and sip on your starbucks coffee whilst your little brother ties a noose around the rafters. Are you really saying it doesn't make sense that Velvet is angry that this happened? I mean, I'm sorry dude, that's stupid. As far as she's concerned, Artorius killed Laphi, and whilst there's nuance to that, taking something as irreplaceable as a loved one from your life and then sitting down and having a cool discussion about it is not something a lot of people can do. 
Laphi v.2's existence, in large part, seems to revolve around appealing to Velvet's moral side. He is who you should be rooting for to bring Velvet back to her senses. Of course, if you've already written her off for reasons as nonsensical as the ones you listed, then his character probably won't be effective at all.
You seem to really want to push this idea that the game is just catering to 'Edgy' audiences, and therefore the writing is 'Edgy', and the philosophy is 'edgy' and therefore the entire game is 'edgy' and is a bad tales game because, you know, 'edge'. And this thing you talk about, this Baba and his philosophy? I've played Tales games since Symphonia, and the philosophy is always pretentious and lame. I dropped Zestiria, so maybe it did that better, but that game was trash in and of itself. All my opinion, of course. 
 

How? Working Designs is an amazing Publisher. I've went hunting for games published by them ever since Arc the Lad 2, which I expect probably has better dialogue than even the original Arc the Lad 2 in Japan. But I wouldn't know that. 
So, either you're one of the purist detractors, or they messed up. I'm guessing the former, though, given my past run in with you. 

Using words artistically is not the be all and end all of writing. Shakespeare didn't just write amazing dialogue, he wrote amazing characters and scenes, too. There are a lot of issues that can get in the way of a good plot if the writer is incompetent. 
 

Character development hinges on both writing and plot. Without plot there's no development, but without decent writing, the presentation of that development is almost fated to be bad. Development is one of the hardest things to realistically pull off. You can't kill a person's dog and then have them wake up the next day to be fully independent - it's a long, hard grueling process. I've seen characters pretty much spontaneously defeat their inner demons because people simply told them to before. 
Plus, content of the dialogue and how the dialogue is presented. Isn't that pretty much exactly the same thing? 

Let's deconstruct the terms. What does "plot" mean? It's basically the story idea, given a structural form. Writing is the process of bringing that idea into fruition by putting it into the right words. Ideas are many and they are disposable. You can have the greatest ideas ever, but if you're unable to physically manifest them into reality, they will remain what they were - just some thoughts swimming inside your head. On the other hand, good plot tends to achieve far greater impact with equally great writing. I agree with @fun2novel on that point, but the truth is you can't really have a good story without a good plot, or even lack of thereof. Still, you can even turn the most generic and casual of daily activities into incredibly interesting situations with good writing. You can even write sex scenes, that won't look like porn at all.

Your post is great. 
In simple terms, writing is the presentation of pretty much everything in the narrative. As someone who writes, understanding this was absolutely fundamental in improving myself. 
Good writing and a good plot will pretty much always make for a great experience. But if it's a question between one or the other... I guess I can't fault many people who go for plot, but I'll never understand it. Writing simply controls too many factors for me to favor plot over it. There's nothing that puts me off more than a boulder of information being force fed to you, bringing the plot to a halt, because the writer was too incompetent to weave his exposition into the narrative. 

You played ALL THREE Agarest games? The patience on you must be godly. 
To be honest, though, practically all JRPGs have some romance that drags out for the entire game inserted into them. If you just want any type of romance regardless of it's quality you could pretty much just bring up a list of RPGs and throw your cursor any to find one. 
Tales is not a good idea if you want romance, because I can't think of a single one where characters actually end up together. You have like 40, even sometimes 60+ hours of travelling together, getting flags, speaking past eachother with innuendo, and they still don't even hold hands by the end. Granted, sometimes they can't help it because the MC's head got devoured by Cthulhu, but hey. I can say that for Vesperia, Abyss, Graces, Symphonia and Xillia 1+2 are not games you want to play if you want romance. Jesus, that JudeXMillia nonsense was still going on in Xillia 2 with no conclusion in sight. Why even bother? 
Tales is still a good franchise though. Xillia 2 is my personal favorite as I believe the characters developed wonderfully and they have the balls to do things that will hit you right in the feels. 
Emulators:
Persona 3 and 4 are pretty good for romance, mostly because it stays out of the way of the story and it is not forced on you. 3 is probably a bit better for it, as it fits in with the ending more, but 4 is good as well. They do all act like they're keeping it secret from people, though.
Xenogears has a great romance that is both integral to the plot, is fully realized and is treated maturely. Helps that Xenogears has a stellar storyline, possibly one of the best in JRPG history. Gameplay is whack, tho. 
Final Fantasy X has romance, but it's got a bittersweet ending. 
Growlanser is an underrated gem. I would avoid Growlanser 2, but 3 and 4 are more than worth your time if you ask me, with 4 being out and out the best we have available to us (JP releases may be better, who knows). Though you'll probably stay for the gameplay alone. Bear in mind that relationships are things you work on throughout the game with Growlanser. There is no canon love interest that will trot at your heels with stars in their eyes whenever they're out of your sight. 
Dragons Dogma! Though I don't know if you'll accept it as a JRPG considering Capcom often releases games targeted at the West. 
Sakura Wars 5 is the only Sakura Wars that has been localized to the west and it's stellar. It's very, IDK, Power Rangery and the MC is so lawful good it hurts, but the game's polish, dialogue and overall game design is brilliant. And, yes, the Romance in it is fantastic. 
And it has a legitimate black woman as one of the MCs. Never thought to see that from Japan. 'tis set in America tho, so, hey. 
Ar Tonelico has a ton of it. I dislike the story and the gameplay, though, so I can't say much about it. 
Odin Sphere? It's heavily Action and the RPG elements are quite western. Romance plastered all over it though. 
PC:
Kamidori Alchemy Meister: This is one of the only ones I can even think of for PC. 
Final Fantasy X is also on PC. Just putting that out there. 
That's about all from me. 
 

No, it's not. The Working Designs localization is brilliant like every Working Designs product is.
And the PSP version of Lunar is a terrible port which disimproved the difficulty of the game in a way that every battle in the game can literally be won be mashing random buttons.
The PS1 version of the game is the only version worth playing.
 
Speaking of Working Designs, the Growlanser series is a good choice if you want romance in your JRPGs. The characters even say "I love you" to each other which is something that happens so rarely in JRPGs that you could probably count all games where this happens with your two hands.

So you felt it like some kind of second-person-embarassment? Now I can understand how can somebody not 'get into' that scene. 

Great rant, great read.
And I must say... I agree with most of your points. Cast, pacing, rape scene (I literally felt like I was slapped in the face. Not the physical pain on my cheek, but pain inside, that I was betrayed, I trusted and I got pain), plot, unconstant 'power' of enemies which killed the tension, etc.
Almost. I loved the cast. They we're all cliched archetypes, but they 'buyed' me in Extra, I laughed aloud with them many times. (except for Sumika, Sumika suxx). And probably that's why I liked Altered Fable the most from whole muv luv series.
Infodumping - I found it fascinating. It was necessary and perfectly fine within boundaries of this story to tell all of this stuff in some 'summary' to Takeru. And I felt probably just like him during those brefings. Kinda bored, but still fascinated.
Angst - no. Crying in the middle of classroom after 'chomp'? Come one, you heartless bastard.  I loved every second of that 'story arc'. Takeru was completly broken and his pain was depicted perfectly. I rarely get emotional these days, but with Takeru there, I was crying probably same amount as him.

But considering all of this, that's why I gave it 'only' 8/10, later changing for 8.5. It's imperfect game, far from it. But with scope as big, and 'high points' as high as they are, I can forgive much. Muv Luv Trilogy is still my favourite VN.
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Neon genesis Evangelion is best anime ever, and everybody should watch it.
And for all of you Shinji haters (worth read, but heavy spoilers for Evangelion):


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I as well can't wait for Baldr Sky, and hope that it will be, while being at least as 'big', even better than ML. Anybody knows if Baldr Sky have 'routes' or rather more linear, like MLAlternative? Because ML series are the example of perfect 'structure' in vns. I can't even imagine story heavy VN with typical for charage route system. Tsukihime, while great, felt like an anthology of short stories.

Only thing I disagree with really. Takeru started off as an obnoxious, self-absorbed douche, and ended as an obnoxious self-absorbed douche. I might've liked the story tons more with a different MC - though hard to say.

Gotta say, I'm beyond disappointed with Muv Luv Alternative. I slogged through Extra and Unlimited with naiive anticipation of reading the 40+ hour epic rollercoaster that VNBD, and all of Alternative's fans, led me to believe. Shame that this is what I got. I have no idea how it got rated so high on VNBD or why it has such a devoted following. It's certainly not the worst VN I've ever read, but it still sucks. 
I feel as if it's important to say that I played most of it, and kinda read up on the ending because it got so unbearable. So maybe my thoughts are contradicted by things happening near the end. 
I don't know if I'm going to be kicking the hornet's nest posting this here, but after investing so much time into the game, I feel as if I have to rant, so this is happening regardless. Here's my grips:
1. The protagonist sucks. He starts off great. He's a marty stu and you root for him because we've become invested in a world that has little to no chance, but then one little thing goes wrong and he goes down a path of self-degradation. He's so self-important and arrogant that he believes that everything that does not go 110% is his fault. And he never shuts the hell up with his internal dialogue. 24/7 he's repeating obvious nonsense or raging inside his head about something. There is no good scenes in Muv Luv that have Takeru's presence, which is 99% of them, because he has to interrupt with his inane angsty prattling throughout even the most dramatic scenes. 
Think of Majikoi. Think of Grisaia. Remember the Main Characters inner dialogue? If you do, you barely do, because it was so seemlessly inserted into the narrative that it was almost undetectable. 

2. The pacing. There's too many times where Takeru is talking back and forth about nothing pertinent with people (or, of course, himself). Most of Muv Luv is just full of nothing happening. This kinda leads onto the next point. 
3. Infodumping. Self-explanatory. Even if you disagree with every other little thing I say, this is simply an undeniable fact. 
Exposition is supposed to be weaved into a dialogue, not fed to you like you're in a classroom, which you are half the bloody time in Muv Luv AND Alternative. Reading this stuff feels like work half the time. Yuuko, your life tutor, seems to love the sound of her own voice. I get that Quantum Physics is a thing in Muv Luv, and it's very hard to understand for even 'experts' or whatever, but do we really have to have lectures in 20 minute intervals that drone on forever about a subject nobody cares about. Steins Gate did it fine. 

4. The plot is garbage. It doesn't go anywhere. There's really not much more to say. The only time there was any semblance of a plot was the Coup-Detat, but that's hardly ever mentioned again except for whenever someone wants to gush about how awesome 'the Shogun' is, even though it's clearly established she's nothing more than a walking figurehead. Other than that, what was actually going on in between all of these raids on Hives that wasn't Takeru just mindlessly talking to his companions about nothing in particular? 
5. Shock value. The chomp scene was the only death scene that had any significance, since an entire almost-unendurable arc was based around it. Everyone else just died randomly and had little impact on the story on their way out. Hell, they didn't even serve as development for anyone else, with the exception of the one Captain lady, and that was so forced and spontaneous it was pathetic. Like, they all instantly become the characters they end up as in their routes because a dying woman that they knew for less than a couple of weeks told them to. Yeah. Humans don't really work like that. 
Speaking of shock value, let's talk about the Beta Rape scene. 'Spoilers' were included in the title, so no whining about that.
It was utterly stupid, simply put. So, the Beta decided randomly after not even seeing us as worth worrying about, or as 'life forms', for so long that they're going to find out how to make a human female moan? Even if there was a reason, why the female and not the male? Objectively speaking, what's the difference? We're not talking about reproductive qualities, of which females are far superior, we're just talking about pleasure. 
Answer = Because that fate would shock the viewers more, of course, and conjure some stupid reason to put Sumika in a sympathetic light. Well, I couldn't care less about her because that was contrived and her character is weak. 
6. Characters were horrible, yo. Their dialogue was inane and their growth non-existent, at least by any believable or substantial means. They served little more than as triggers for Shirogane to do stuff. It's very easy to forget the original cast exist in Alternative. They're overshadowed by other characters, and even they suck. Most of them exist just to die, and the ones that survive have NOTHING compelling about them at all. This entire game is like a submit of a clumsy first draft. 

7. Romantic interests. This is more of a minor gripe, relatively. Why give us all these options and characters to explore with in the last games and then force us into a relationship with the most generic and insipid character ever created? A character that has NO depth, even in the original. A character that has no likes or interests that are not Takeru related? A character that whines, complains and is only useful due to a power that is not her own? A character two steps from becoming a Yandere, and yet even that somehow prevents her from becoming the least bit compelling because she doesn't do anything. She is the main heroine because, and only because, she inherits the bewilderingly popular role of 'Childhood Friend'. /puke.

8. The ending. What? It's bad. It erases literally everything Takeru did so he can be placed smack bang into square one. And he doesn't even remember! We might as well consider Alternative non-canon. 

9. Angst. So. Much. Angst. Takeru is always screaming and nobody inside of his head, and even outside of his head in front of people, creating awkward atmospheres. The one point where I was like "Oh, this dude is awesome" was in the retelling of the scene where those two jealous soldiers sock the crap out of him. He embarassed himself in Unlimited, but took the situation like a champ in Alternative. 
Where did that Takeru go? The dude who was willing to get beaten the hell out of to get stuff done, and stay calm throughout the whole thing? He was awesome, and he didn't stick around long. He was replaced by a dude who screams in the middle of an entire classroom and hugs his teacher. 
People thought Shirou from Fate Stay/night was embarassing? Lmfao. 
So, that's my rant.  

Gotta say, I'm beyond disappointed with Muv Luv Alternative. I slogged through Extra and Unlimited with naiive anticipation of reading the 40+ hour epic rollercoaster that VNBD, and all of Alternative's fans, led me to believe. Shame that this is what I got. I have no idea how it got rated so high on VNBD or why it has such a devoted following. It's certainly not the worst VN I've ever read, but it still sucks. 
I feel as if it's important to say that I played most of it, and kinda read up on the ending because it got so unbearable. So maybe my thoughts are contradicted by things happening near the end. 
I don't know if I'm going to be kicking the hornet's nest posting this here, but after investing so much time into the game, I feel as if I have to rant, so this is happening regardless. Here's my grips:
1. The protagonist sucks. He starts off great. He's a marty stu and you root for him because we've become invested in a world that has little to no chance, but then one little thing goes wrong and he goes down a path of self-degradation. He's so self-important and arrogant that he believes that everything that does not go 110% is his fault. And he never shuts the hell up with his internal dialogue. 24/7 he's repeating obvious nonsense or raging inside his head about something. There is no good scenes in Muv Luv that have Takeru's presence, which is 99% of them, because he has to interrupt with his inane angsty prattling throughout even the most dramatic scenes. 
Think of Majikoi. Think of Grisaia. Remember the Main Characters inner dialogue? If you do, you barely do, because it was so seemlessly inserted into the narrative that it was almost undetectable. 

2. The pacing. There's too many times where Takeru is talking back and forth about nothing pertinent with people (or, of course, himself). Most of Muv Luv is just full of nothing happening. This kinda leads onto the next point. 
3. Infodumping. Self-explanatory. Even if you disagree with every other little thing I say, this is simply an undeniable fact. 
Exposition is supposed to be weaved into a dialogue, not fed to you like you're in a classroom, which you are half the bloody time in Muv Luv AND Alternative. Reading this stuff feels like work half the time. Yuuko, your life tutor, seems to love the sound of her own voice. I get that Quantum Physics is a thing in Muv Luv, and it's very hard to understand for even 'experts' or whatever, but do we really have to have lectures in 20 minute intervals that drone on forever about a subject nobody cares about. Steins Gate did it fine. 

4. The plot is garbage. It doesn't go anywhere. There's really not much more to say. The only time there was any semblance of a plot was the Coup-Detat, but that's hardly ever mentioned again except for whenever someone wants to gush about how awesome 'the Shogun' is, even though it's clearly established she's nothing more than a walking figurehead. Other than that, what was actually going on in between all of these raids on Hives that wasn't Takeru just mindlessly talking to his companions about nothing in particular? 
5. Shock value. The chomp scene was the only death scene that had any significance, since an entire almost-unendurable arc was based around it. Everyone else just died randomly and had little impact on the story on their way out. Hell, they didn't even serve as development for anyone else, with the exception of the one Captain lady, and that was so forced and spontaneous it was pathetic. Like, they all instantly become the characters they end up as in their routes because a dying woman that they knew for less than a couple of weeks told them to. Yeah. Humans don't really work like that. 
Speaking of shock value, let's talk about the Beta Rape scene. 'Spoilers' were included in the title, so no whining about that.
It was utterly stupid, simply put. So, the Beta decided randomly after not even seeing us as worth worrying about, or as 'life forms', for so long that they're going to find out how to make a human female moan? Even if there was a reason, why the female and not the male? Objectively speaking, what's the difference? We're not talking about reproductive qualities, of which females are far superior, we're just talking about pleasure. 
Answer = Because that fate would shock the viewers more, of course, and conjure some stupid reason to put Sumika in a sympathetic light. Well, I couldn't care less about her because that was contrived and her character is weak. 
6. Characters were horrible, yo. Their dialogue was inane and their growth non-existent, at least by any believable or substantial means. They served little more than as triggers for Shirogane to do stuff. It's very easy to forget the original cast exist in Alternative. They're overshadowed by other characters, and even they suck. Most of them exist just to die, and the ones that survive have NOTHING compelling about them at all. This entire game is like a submit of a clumsy first draft. 

7. Romantic interests. This is more of a minor gripe, relatively. Why give us all these options and characters to explore with in the last games and then force us into a relationship with the most generic and insipid character ever created? A character that has NO depth, even in the original. A character that has no likes or interests that are not Takeru related? A character that whines, complains and is only useful due to a power that is not her own? A character two steps from becoming a Yandere, and yet even that somehow prevents her from becoming the least bit compelling because she doesn't do anything. She is the main heroine because, and only because, she inherits the bewilderingly popular role of 'Childhood Friend'. /puke.

8. The ending. What? It's bad. It erases literally everything Takeru did so he can be placed smack bang into square one. And he doesn't even remember! We might as well consider Alternative non-canon. 

9. Angst. So. Much. Angst. Takeru is always screaming and nobody inside of his head, and even outside of his head in front of people, creating awkward atmospheres. The one point where I was like "Oh, this dude is awesome" was in the retelling of the scene where those two jealous soldiers sock the crap out of him. He embarassed himself in Unlimited, but took the situation like a champ in Alternative. 
Where did that Takeru go? The dude who was willing to get beaten the hell out of to get stuff done, and stay calm throughout the whole thing? He was awesome, and he didn't stick around long. He was replaced by a dude who screams in the middle of an entire classroom and hugs his teacher. 
People thought Shirou from Fate Stay/night was embarassing? Lmfao. 
So, that's my rant.  

Gotta say, I'm beyond disappointed with Muv Luv Alternative. I slogged through Extra and Unlimited with naiive anticipation of reading the 40+ hour epic rollercoaster that VNBD, and all of Alternative's fans, led me to believe. Shame that this is what I got. I have no idea how it got rated so high on VNBD or why it has such a devoted following. It's certainly not the worst VN I've ever read, but it still sucks. 
I feel as if it's important to say that I played most of it, and kinda read up on the ending because it got so unbearable. So maybe my thoughts are contradicted by things happening near the end. 
I don't know if I'm going to be kicking the hornet's nest posting this here, but after investing so much time into the game, I feel as if I have to rant, so this is happening regardless. Here's my grips:
1. The protagonist sucks. He starts off great. He's a marty stu and you root for him because we've become invested in a world that has little to no chance, but then one little thing goes wrong and he goes down a path of self-degradation. He's so self-important and arrogant that he believes that everything that does not go 110% is his fault. And he never shuts the hell up with his internal dialogue. 24/7 he's repeating obvious nonsense or raging inside his head about something. There is no good scenes in Muv Luv that have Takeru's presence, which is 99% of them, because he has to interrupt with his inane angsty prattling throughout even the most dramatic scenes. 
Think of Majikoi. Think of Grisaia. Remember the Main Characters inner dialogue? If you do, you barely do, because it was so seemlessly inserted into the narrative that it was almost undetectable. 

2. The pacing. There's too many times where Takeru is talking back and forth about nothing pertinent with people (or, of course, himself). Most of Muv Luv is just full of nothing happening. This kinda leads onto the next point. 
3. Infodumping. Self-explanatory. Even if you disagree with every other little thing I say, this is simply an undeniable fact. 
Exposition is supposed to be weaved into a dialogue, not fed to you like you're in a classroom, which you are half the bloody time in Muv Luv AND Alternative. Reading this stuff feels like work half the time. Yuuko, your life tutor, seems to love the sound of her own voice. I get that Quantum Physics is a thing in Muv Luv, and it's very hard to understand for even 'experts' or whatever, but do we really have to have lectures in 20 minute intervals that drone on forever about a subject nobody cares about. Steins Gate did it fine. 

4. The plot is garbage. It doesn't go anywhere. There's really not much more to say. The only time there was any semblance of a plot was the Coup-Detat, but that's hardly ever mentioned again except for whenever someone wants to gush about how awesome 'the Shogun' is, even though it's clearly established she's nothing more than a walking figurehead. Other than that, what was actually going on in between all of these raids on Hives that wasn't Takeru just mindlessly talking to his companions about nothing in particular? 
5. Shock value. The chomp scene was the only death scene that had any significance, since an entire almost-unendurable arc was based around it. Everyone else just died randomly and had little impact on the story on their way out. Hell, they didn't even serve as development for anyone else, with the exception of the one Captain lady, and that was so forced and spontaneous it was pathetic. Like, they all instantly become the characters they end up as in their routes because a dying woman that they knew for less than a couple of weeks told them to. Yeah. Humans don't really work like that. 
Speaking of shock value, let's talk about the Beta Rape scene. 'Spoilers' were included in the title, so no whining about that.
It was utterly stupid, simply put. So, the Beta decided randomly after not even seeing us as worth worrying about, or as 'life forms', for so long that they're going to find out how to make a human female moan? Even if there was a reason, why the female and not the male? Objectively speaking, what's the difference? We're not talking about reproductive qualities, of which females are far superior, we're just talking about pleasure. 
Answer = Because that fate would shock the viewers more, of course, and conjure some stupid reason to put Sumika in a sympathetic light. Well, I couldn't care less about her because that was contrived and her character is weak. 
6. Characters were horrible, yo. Their dialogue was inane and their growth non-existent, at least by any believable or substantial means. They served little more than as triggers for Shirogane to do stuff. It's very easy to forget the original cast exist in Alternative. They're overshadowed by other characters, and even they suck. Most of them exist just to die, and the ones that survive have NOTHING compelling about them at all. This entire game is like a submit of a clumsy first draft. 

7. Romantic interests. This is more of a minor gripe, relatively. Why give us all these options and characters to explore with in the last games and then force us into a relationship with the most generic and insipid character ever created? A character that has NO depth, even in the original. A character that has no likes or interests that are not Takeru related? A character that whines, complains and is only useful due to a power that is not her own? A character two steps from becoming a Yandere, and yet even that somehow prevents her from becoming the least bit compelling because she doesn't do anything. She is the main heroine because, and only because, she inherits the bewilderingly popular role of 'Childhood Friend'. /puke.

8. The ending. What? It's bad. It erases literally everything Takeru did so he can be placed smack bang into square one. And he doesn't even remember! We might as well consider Alternative non-canon. 

9. Angst. So. Much. Angst. Takeru is always screaming and nobody inside of his head, and even outside of his head in front of people, creating awkward atmospheres. The one point where I was like "Oh, this dude is awesome" was in the retelling of the scene where those two jealous soldiers sock the crap out of him. He embarassed himself in Unlimited, but took the situation like a champ in Alternative. 
Where did that Takeru go? The dude who was willing to get beaten the hell out of to get stuff done, and stay calm throughout the whole thing? He was awesome, and he didn't stick around long. He was replaced by a dude who screams in the middle of an entire classroom and hugs his teacher. 
People thought Shirou from Fate Stay/night was embarassing? Lmfao. 
So, that's my rant.  

I know that too.
No, Takeru was killed pretty much instantly. As for Male Brains not being able to be extracted, that's just a baseless theory. The reason is shock value. I'm sorry, but it is what it is. 

What? I know that. What do you mean I didn't understand the plot? That doesn't make any sense. I never even mentioned anything about the original Takeru or the alternate realities, so using that as proof that I 'don't understand the plot' is odd. 
Yes, but why did they do all that to Sumika and not Takeru? Answer: Shock Value. 

Gotta say, I'm beyond disappointed with Muv Luv Alternative. I slogged through Extra and Unlimited with naiive anticipation of reading the 40+ hour epic rollercoaster that VNBD, and all of Alternative's fans, led me to believe. Shame that this is what I got. I have no idea how it got rated so high on VNBD or why it has such a devoted following. It's certainly not the worst VN I've ever read, but it still sucks. 
I feel as if it's important to say that I played most of it, and kinda read up on the ending because it got so unbearable. So maybe my thoughts are contradicted by things happening near the end. 
I don't know if I'm going to be kicking the hornet's nest posting this here, but after investing so much time into the game, I feel as if I have to rant, so this is happening regardless. Here's my grips:
1. The protagonist sucks. He starts off great. He's a marty stu and you root for him because we've become invested in a world that has little to no chance, but then one little thing goes wrong and he goes down a path of self-degradation. He's so self-important and arrogant that he believes that everything that does not go 110% is his fault. And he never shuts the hell up with his internal dialogue. 24/7 he's repeating obvious nonsense or raging inside his head about something. There is no good scenes in Muv Luv that have Takeru's presence, which is 99% of them, because he has to interrupt with his inane angsty prattling throughout even the most dramatic scenes. 
Think of Majikoi. Think of Grisaia. Remember the Main Characters inner dialogue? If you do, you barely do, because it was so seemlessly inserted into the narrative that it was almost undetectable. 

2. The pacing. There's too many times where Takeru is talking back and forth about nothing pertinent with people (or, of course, himself). Most of Muv Luv is just full of nothing happening. This kinda leads onto the next point. 
3. Infodumping. Self-explanatory. Even if you disagree with every other little thing I say, this is simply an undeniable fact. 
Exposition is supposed to be weaved into a dialogue, not fed to you like you're in a classroom, which you are half the bloody time in Muv Luv AND Alternative. Reading this stuff feels like work half the time. Yuuko, your life tutor, seems to love the sound of her own voice. I get that Quantum Physics is a thing in Muv Luv, and it's very hard to understand for even 'experts' or whatever, but do we really have to have lectures in 20 minute intervals that drone on forever about a subject nobody cares about. Steins Gate did it fine. 

4. The plot is garbage. It doesn't go anywhere. There's really not much more to say. The only time there was any semblance of a plot was the Coup-Detat, but that's hardly ever mentioned again except for whenever someone wants to gush about how awesome 'the Shogun' is, even though it's clearly established she's nothing more than a walking figurehead. Other than that, what was actually going on in between all of these raids on Hives that wasn't Takeru just mindlessly talking to his companions about nothing in particular? 
5. Shock value. The chomp scene was the only death scene that had any significance, since an entire almost-unendurable arc was based around it. Everyone else just died randomly and had little impact on the story on their way out. Hell, they didn't even serve as development for anyone else, with the exception of the one Captain lady, and that was so forced and spontaneous it was pathetic. Like, they all instantly become the characters they end up as in their routes because a dying woman that they knew for less than a couple of weeks told them to. Yeah. Humans don't really work like that. 
Speaking of shock value, let's talk about the Beta Rape scene. 'Spoilers' were included in the title, so no whining about that.
It was utterly stupid, simply put. So, the Beta decided randomly after not even seeing us as worth worrying about, or as 'life forms', for so long that they're going to find out how to make a human female moan? Even if there was a reason, why the female and not the male? Objectively speaking, what's the difference? We're not talking about reproductive qualities, of which females are far superior, we're just talking about pleasure. 
Answer = Because that fate would shock the viewers more, of course, and conjure some stupid reason to put Sumika in a sympathetic light. Well, I couldn't care less about her because that was contrived and her character is weak. 
6. Characters were horrible, yo. Their dialogue was inane and their growth non-existent, at least by any believable or substantial means. They served little more than as triggers for Shirogane to do stuff. It's very easy to forget the original cast exist in Alternative. They're overshadowed by other characters, and even they suck. Most of them exist just to die, and the ones that survive have NOTHING compelling about them at all. This entire game is like a submit of a clumsy first draft. 

7. Romantic interests. This is more of a minor gripe, relatively. Why give us all these options and characters to explore with in the last games and then force us into a relationship with the most generic and insipid character ever created? A character that has NO depth, even in the original. A character that has no likes or interests that are not Takeru related? A character that whines, complains and is only useful due to a power that is not her own? A character two steps from becoming a Yandere, and yet even that somehow prevents her from becoming the least bit compelling because she doesn't do anything. She is the main heroine because, and only because, she inherits the bewilderingly popular role of 'Childhood Friend'. /puke.

8. The ending. What? It's bad. It erases literally everything Takeru did so he can be placed smack bang into square one. And he doesn't even remember! We might as well consider Alternative non-canon. 

9. Angst. So. Much. Angst. Takeru is always screaming and nobody inside of his head, and even outside of his head in front of people, creating awkward atmospheres. The one point where I was like "Oh, this dude is awesome" was in the retelling of the scene where those two jealous soldiers sock the crap out of him. He embarassed himself in Unlimited, but took the situation like a champ in Alternative. 
Where did that Takeru go? The dude who was willing to get beaten the hell out of to get stuff done, and stay calm throughout the whole thing? He was awesome, and he didn't stick around long. He was replaced by a dude who screams in the middle of an entire classroom and hugs his teacher. 
People thought Shirou from Fate Stay/night was embarassing? Lmfao. 
So, that's my rant.