Synopsis
After a brutal six-year conflict on the Moon concluded in 1973, the extraterrestrial invaders known as the BETA struck Earth, slaughtering billions and ravaging Eurasia. Although standard weaponry could eliminate these beings, their laser capabilities allowed them to annihilate entire air fleets, compelling humanity to engineer massive combat mechs called Tactical Surface Fighters, or TSFs. When the BETA reached Japan in 1998, military academy student and TSF pilot Yui Takamura was tasked with protecting Kyoto’s final defensive line alongside her classmates. The Japanese Imperial Army succeeded in repelling the assault, but only after enduring massive casualties and the loss of Yui’s friends, an experience that hardened her resolve to prevent such tragedies from ever happening again. Three years later, Lieutenant Yui joins the XFJ project, a joint Japan-American initiative based in Alaska aimed at developing the new Shiranui TSF. Working within an international squad that includes the difficult test pilot Yuuya Bridges and pilots from nations devastated by the BETA, Yui navigates political tensions stemming from the Cold War while Yuuya struggles to confront the ghosts of his past in this story of Yui’s delicate mission and Yuuya’s personal journey.
Background
Muv-Luv Alternative: Total Eclipse is a side entry of the larger Muv-Luv franchise, showing events taking place prior to and in parallel with the events of the latter two entries of the original Muv-Luv visual novel trilogy. The anime and light novel versions take place on the Unlimited timeline while the manga and visual novel versions of the story take place on the Alternative timeline. The series was released on Blu-ray and DVD in two collections each by Sentai Filmworks. Both versions of the first set, containing the first half of the series, were released on January 20, 2015. Both versions of the second set, containing the second half of the series, were released on May 12, 2015.