Kurt Irving (クルト･アーヴィング Kuruto Āvingu) is the protagonist of Valkyria Chronicles 3. He is a Squad Commander of Squad 422.
Appearance[]
Kurt is a stern and serious looking man with mid long moppish dark brown hair that covers his ears.
He wears the Nameless's darker uniform, complete with red stripe and Squad 422 badge with an insignia of a muzzled doberman.
Personality[]
Kurt is an incredibly diligent soldier, often striving for perfection on the battlefield and being critical of his flaws at falling short of perfection, comparing his own performances to that of Welkin Gunther or even Captain Dehau of Calamity Raven. This strive for perfection is entirely self targetted however, and he often gives others credit for their roles no matter how large or small their contributions such as when thanking Gursurg for his contribution in believing in him and encouraging the other Squad 422 members to trust in his orders, despite Gursurg stating Kurt's command has united the squad and made them less self interested.
When frustrated he has been known to crunch down on hard candy to calm his nerves and clear his head, with his favourites being Susie's Drops. He keeps a jar on his persons at all times.
Despite his analytical and tactical mind being able to understand how his opponents would think and staying one step ahead, he can be dense when it comes to women, being overly analytical of Riela's swimsuit choice, causing her to state women just want to hear they're cute. Believing Riela at face value, he turns to Imca, calling her cute and garners her confused anger as a result.
History[]
Kurt was a top graduate from Lanseal Royal Military Academy, before joining the Gallian army. Here he took command in two battles but his strategic mind impressed his superiors greatly. As a result of the successful battle, Kurt is requested to report to General Carl Isler who wishes to congratulate him on his success. Upon arriving however, a civilian bumps into him dropping a letter. Seeing the General's name on it, Kurt diligently delivers the letter back to his commanding officer, unaware of what information the letter contains.
The following day, Kurt is told he has commited treason, and is given two options; either firing squad, or having his military records scrubbed from history working as a ghost soldier unit in the penal squad known as Squad 422, or the Nameless. As the squad's name implies, Kurt's name is taken from him and he is instead to be referred to as Number 7.
Without any other option, Kurt agrees to transfer to the Nameless, but requests to know what he did that could be classified as treason. Unfortunately nobody below General Isler knows any details, but Kurt is still treated as a criminal. Determined to regain his name, Kurt sets out to become an exemplary officer in order to be promoted back out of Squad 422.
Upon arriving to meet his new team, he surprises Number 13 (Riela Marcellis), who puts a knife to his throat, unaware of who he is and thinking he's an enemy. Luckily, Number 6 (Gusurg) explains the situation having been informed of a new member arriving and clears up the incident, with Number 13 apologising for the confusion. Kurt is surprised to find that the commander died only the previous day, and that he is now the most senior officer placing him in charge of the squad. He accepts the position, but has a hard time getting Squad 422, all of whom are fearful for their lives knowing every mission they're sent on is a suicide mission, to trust his orders.
Their first mission ends up being only Kurt, Gursurg, the guilt ridden Riela and Number 1, Imca, who stayed for her own reasons. In frustration Kurt crunches on candy to calm his nerves at the sudden lack of troops to carry out the plan, but the mission is a success regardless and in doing so wins the trust of Gursurg, who agrees to gather half the squad who would be most likely to hear Kurt's plan out for their next mission.
Slowly Kurt earns the trust of Squad 422, and eventually the whole team becomes willing to try his strategies when they discover not only has nobody been killed in these tactics, but no-one was even injured.
Other appearances[]
Project X Zone[]
In Project X Zone Kurt appears alongside Riela Marcellis in Chapter 13, where they are teleported from the second europan war and meet Valkyrie. Kurt decides it is best to refer to himself and Riela by their Nameless numbers, but Valkyrie has overheard them. She suggests using a number to refer to herself if it makes them more comfortable, but accidentally reveals their names to the rest of the group whilst introducing them. Kurt works out they are no longer in their world by the lack of reaction from anyone about ragnite.
Chain Chronicle[]
Kurt appears as a limited time recruitable soldier in Chain Chronicle.
Trivia[]
- Susie's Drops, Kurt's favourite hard candy, are manufactured by Squad 7's Susie Evans' family and named after her.
- As Valkyria Chronicles 3 never recieved an official western translation, Kurt's western debut was in Project X Zone.
- Kurt is one of the few male characters to be drawn by Raita Honjou for Valkyria Chronicles Duel. This artwork appears in Chain Chronicle too.
- Whilst all units in Valkyria Chronicles 3 can become any class, Kurt's preferences that give him boosted stats are that of the Shocktrooper and Sniper class.
Gallery[]
