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Valmet
S1 10 Valmet
Valmet in Episode 10.
Aliases Sofia Velmer
Status Alive
Origin Finland
Affiliations Koko's Squad
UNFID (former)
Finnish Rapid Deployment Force (former)
Velmer family
Occupation Bodyguard
Military officer (former)
Relatives Unnamed father
Unnamed brother
Unnamed grandfather
Weapons Various
Manga debut Chapter 1
Anime debut Episode 1
Japanese voice Sayaka Ohara (anime)
Ayumi Fujimura (drama CD)
English voice Carli Mosier

Sophia Velmer (ソフィア・ヴェルマー Sofia Veruma?), more commonly known as Valmet (バルメ Barume?), is a former Finnish Rapid Deployment Force officer and the only other female member of Koko's Squad.

Appearance[]

S1 11 Tattoo

A close up of Valmet's tattoo in Episode 11.

Valmet is a fairly tall, youthful-looking woman with pale skin, brown hair, and fair narrow eyes. In the anime, she has black hair and light yellow eyes. Her hair is hime and was initially shoulder length until she cut it to chin length, since allowing it to grow out. She wears a white eye patch over her missing right eye. On her left shoulder blade is a black tattoo of a winged fist gripping a knife with a Christian cross in the centre of the wings from her time in the Finnish military. Slender in frame with a slim waist, flared hips, taut buttocks, and broad shoulders, she also sports a well-toned and lightly muscular build. At the same time, she is considered very attractive with a curvaceous and developed figure with well-endowed breasts.

S1 11 Valmet in FRDF

Valmet as a member of the FRDF in a flashback in Episode 11.

Valmet is normally seen wearing various standard equipment and uniforms when Koko's Squad has been outfitted with them in addition to various civilian attire, including a black suit and tie when on business. When she was in the FRDF her hair was cut short and she wore either the standard Finnish M/91 fatigues or the M/01 hot weather suit. When she first met Koko Hekmatyar she wore her semi-formal uniform.

Personality[]

Coming from a notable Finnish military family, Valmet worked hard to reach the position that she achieved in the FRDF. Her defeat by Chan Guoming in Africa thus dealt her a severe blow as her career was essentially finished. In addition to the blame that she placed on herself for the loss of her men, it is suggested that she had survivor guilt. Discovering who her attacker was and avenging her dead comrades was a major driving force for her. After obtaining her revenge a tremendous burden was lifted from her and she completely dedicated herself to Koko Hekmatyar. Valmet is a tough, fierce, and usually calm and collected individual, though her calmness and composure can quickly change to a more witless behavior due to her love for Koko.

Relationships[]

Valmet is Koko's most dedicated and loyal subordinate, stemming from when the latter offered her a lifeline after her military career had reached its nadir following the annihilation of her platoon in Africa. She is in love with Koko and is highly protective of her, displaying concern and worry whenever she feels that the latter is threatened. Although the feeling is seemingly not mutual as Koko more or less ignores it, she does later reveal that Valmet is very important to her. As Valmet is the only other woman in the squad the two are typically roommates. Valmet is openly happy to receive any displays of affection or special attention that Koko bestows on her, sometimes to the point of getting a nosebleed on a couple occasions. Koko has also taken advantage of Valmet's attitude towards her to fondle her breasts on a couple of occasions.

The rest of the squad is aware of how Valmet feels about Koko, although they do not talk to her about it. She has their respect and her gender is not an issue. Valmet and Lehm have a good relationship as two of the squad's senior members and she has opened up to him about her problems. Lehm will occasionally annoy Valmet though by trying to smoke whenever they are in a car together. While R, Lutz, and Tojo are attracted to Valmet, the latter two are also afraid of her given her formidable fighting skills. Valmet has a habit of ribbing Lutz, usually when he sets himself up for this, and has questioned his soldierly abilities more than once when his weaknesses have become apparent. Nonetheless, the two are in each other's company a fair amount and largely get along, although Lutz is careful to avoid criticising or questioning Koko's actions when Valmet is around. Initially suspicious of Jonah, she eventually accepted him and like the rest of the squad generally treats him as a younger brother. He greatly earned her respect by standing up to her after she had gone off on her own to take on the Tashihai Consu in Country D. After Jonah saved her from being shot by Lee, she returned the favour by shielding him from Karen Low, getting shot twice.

Valmet and Chiquita both respect each other stemming from their time as two of Koko's earliest bodyguards. She does not interact with any of Kasper Hekmatyar's other bodyguards.

Chan Guoming was the target of Valmet's revenge for years, and she drove herself to become a much better soldier, adopting elements of his fighting style. Karen Low's affiliation with Chan made her an initial enemy of Valmet's and she eagerly confronted her when she recognised Karen's fighting style in South Africa. However, Valmet developed an empathy for Karen after her squad was wiped out, recognising that the latter was now in a similar situation as she was when Chan had annihilated her patrol. After Minami Amada recruited Karen to be her secretary, she and Valmet had to drop their rivalry after their respective bosses prevented them from getting into a second fight. Despite not caring about Mildo's idolisation of her and reluctantly accepting her rivalry, Valmet does not want the latter to go through what she did.

Abilities[]

S1 12 Valmet in action

Valmet takes out two Taishinhai Consu guards in Episode 12.

Despite missing an eye, this has not proven to be a liability to Valmet. She is remarkable strong, able to easily subdue a larger man with a single hand, and is fast enough to dodge bullets at close range. Like all the members of the squad she is proficient with a variety of firearms. A master at knife fighting, Valmet excels at close quarters combat, where she can put her strength and speed to deadly effect. Ironically it was her defeat by Chan that drove her to train harder to improve her close combat skills, and she unconsciously began to emulate his fighting style. Valmet can either wield two knives at once or a pistol and a knife, and has bested both Mildo and Karen respectively in this manner. She has also demonstrated the ability to sneak up on a target without them noticing her presence.

Valmet is highly resilient, particularly after awakening in the hospital despite having been shot twice by Karen and then doing sit-ups after talking with Koko.

Equipment[]

History[]

S1 06 Valmet in Africa

A flashback of Valmet after losing her right eye in Episode 6.

Valmet is a third generation Finnish Army officer. Her grandfather was a lieutenant general who fought in the Winter War and Continuation War, while her father had also risen to the rank of lieutenant general and became Chief of Staff of the Defence Command. Her brother is a lieutenant colonel in the Utti Jaeger Regiment. Valmet herself rose to the rank of major and commanded a mechanized jäger company in the Finnish Rapid Deployment Force. She served as a member of the United Nations Country D Expeditionary Force, during which her entire Finnish-led UN platoon was singlehandedly annihilated by Chan Guoming. She herself lost an eye in that attack and the only clue that she had as to who her assailants were was that she was attacked by a man wielding two pistols which had been modified to allow knives to be affixed to them.

S1 11 Valmet accepts

Valmet decides to join Koko.

After returning home, she faced a board of inquiry. It was after this that she met a young Koko Hekmatyar, who demonstrated a thorough knowledge of her background and offered her two options with her military career essentially over. She could return to her family and settle down into domestic life, or join her and be given the key to the world to find her answers. Because settling down would break her and unable to overcome her guilt at her subordinates' deaths and wanting to discover who had attacked them, Valmet quickly decided to join Koko. Since then she had tried to determine who had wiped out her platoon, but did not have any leads until a chance encounter with Karen Low, Chan's subordinate, years later in South Africa. She is one of the earliest members of Koko's Squad, having joined after Chiquita left and following Lehm and Wiley.[1][2] She was with Koko when the latter was being targeted by Hex and her unit and Koko's tears and whining forced her to briefly halt their escape as Koko lost her composure. However a mortally wounded Echo then stepped in and told Koko that they would protect her, but she had to stop crying and whining.[3]

Plot[]

Fire Hare Arc[]

S1 01 Valmet vs

Valmet takes on the Voskhod 6 with her knife in Episode 1.

When Koko introduced Jonah to the squad, Valmet reacted to the revelation that he was a child soldier by trembling as she recalled a prior experience with child soldiers, although what it was was not specified. She and Lehm were assigned to accompany Koko as backup when she drove down to Hewlett Harbour to recover the MiG-29 upgrades. During the drive, Lehm asked Valmet what her impressions of Jonah were, but she did not have much time to form any, as the meeting had been too brief. She then began to get concerned for Koko's safety, as she was alone with a potentially unstable former child soldier. However, Lehm then annoyed her by lighting up, but was forced to quickly put out his cigarette. After the Voskhod 6 arrived on the scene and tried to take out Koko, Valmet attempted to disable the van that was separating both their cars with her FN Minimi, but the van proved too resistant to her fire. She had Lehm get close enough for her to jump onto the van's roof, and after the soldiers inside opened the rear doors to fire at Lehm and force him back, was able to swiftly get inside and take out the occupants. Following this, she rejoined Lehm as they followed Koko to the port. The following morning she hungrily awaited the breakfast that Jonah was preparing but was sickened by it.

Gunmetal, Calico Road Arc[]

A few nights later, Valmet was asleep on a couch in the hotel room when Koko fell onto her while sleepwalking, waking her up. The following morning, she and Tojo were assigned to negotiate with the air force colonel who had agreed to purchase 15 Hind Ds from C. K. Kloshkin. On the way over, she became worried after learning from Tojo about Kloshkin's background. However, she was not as worried about him because she felt that he could take care of himself. During the meeting, Tojo handled the negotiations while she stayed off to the side.

Pulsar Arc[]

She and Tojo were later sent ahead of the rest of the team when they made an arms delivery to a certain Eastern European country south of Russia. The brief border war that erupted for control of a local pipeline forced them to lie low near a valley in a house with the roof destroyed. Valmet suggested that they should have tried to meet Koko at the Orin Pass, but Tojo vetoed the idea because of the nearby fighting. While he kept watch, she rested on a couch and commented that she could not remember the last time she had slept under the stars.

The following day, Koko led the rest of the team and the two escorts who had been assigned them through some woods where Valmet and Tojo were waiting. Instructing them not to kill the escorts, they burst from hiding and captured both men, with Valmet leaping from a tree onto her target. Koko gave Valmet a hug when she saw her again, which left the latter visibly happy even after Koko had pulled away. That night they reached an abandoned watch factory, where CCAT had arrived first. While Koko met with Curry, Mildo went up to Valmet and told her that she wanted to test her again, but Valmet was not receptive. Mildo's opportunity came when both of them were assigned to scout for Pollack's men who were sent after them.

S1 02 Valmet wins

Valmet defeats Mildo in Episode 2.

The two stepped outside and drew their knives for combat. Mildo thought that Koko has slipped, but Valmet still believed in her. Despite wielding two machetes, Mildo was unable to touch Valmet, who was using just a single knife. She revealed that she challenged her in the dark to attempt to use her handicap of having only one eye against her, but was still defeated by Valmet. Valmet commented that Mildo seemed to have gotten slower and suggested that this was due to carrying too many knives. She also revealed that she knew that Mildo was challenged her where she had previously left some of her knives in order to possibly reuse them. When they resumed their assignment, Valmet told Mildo that she did not think that it would be a good idea to get to know more about her. Mildo disclosed her admiration of Valmet and how she overcame what she went through, but Valmet replied that she did not want her to go through what she did. However, Mildo claims that she had nothing to lose and that as a fighter she felt empty, seeking something to fill the void. She then declared that she will challenge Valmet again another time before running ahead, as she sensed that their opponents are just 500 meters away. After receiving Valmet’s warning, Koko had her team prepare to fight and clear a way for CCAT. However, this turned to be a ruse and the soldiers, who wanted to avenge their comrades who had been killed by Mildo, allowed the team to escape.

Musica Ex Machina Arc[]

When they were later at the airport waiting to leave, Jonah observed that a departing jumbo jet had a lot of wheels. When Valmet told him that there were 14 and asked him how many wheels three such aircraft would have, he eventually responded "a lot" after some thought, causing everyone to face fault.

In Dubai, she and Lutz were drawn in after Koko and Tojo cracked a joke while attempting to teach Jonah math. When Koko wondered why her team was just staying in the hotel room instead of going out, Valmet suggested that Koko go out with her. She was temporarily disheartened when Koko responded that she had wanted to show Jonah around, but perked right back up when Koko decided to prioritize his math lesson over sightseeing. When Koko admired an expensive watch in a window, Valmet mused that other girls Koko’s age would be concerned about clothes and makeup, but thought that the watch would match her best. When Koko announced that she would buy the watch, Valmet immediately offered to buy it for her as a gift. Koko tried to talk her out of it, but Valmet insisted that it would be a symbol of her affection and stepped inside the shop before Koko could stop her. Immediately after this Chinatsu, a member of Orchestra, grabbed Koko's wrist, but was surprised by the latter's response. Valmet came running out to support her which led Shisho, who was seated at a nearby café, to draw his pistol. This caught Valmet's attention and when she called out, Jonah leaped from the roof and fired at Shisho. Chinatsu was able to break free while Valmet took cover. Jonah took Koko behind a concrete planter box for protection while Chinatsu faced off against Valmet.

S1 03 Valmet injured

Valmet is shot in the leg in Episode 3.

After the Dubai Police Force arrived and were wiped out by Orchestra, Valmet was able to grab a ballistic shield dropped by the police and tried to rejoin Koko and Jonah. She was forced to stop when Chinatu began shooting at her and returned fire, hitting Shisho in the shoulder. He then began to target her with an AKS-47, pinning her down while Chinatsu picked up a shield to provide cover. Jonah tried to support her with an MP5K he was carrying in a backpack and Valmet made a run for them, but one of Shisho's bullets punched through her shield and wounded her in the left leg. She was forced to shelter behind the planter box but could not reach Koko and Jonah. Valmet apologised to Koko for not being much use and the latter tried to reassure her. Seeing this, Jonah broke cover and directly charges Orchestra while firing in an attempt to save them. He was reeled in by Lehm before he got killed, who also provided enough of a distraction for Koko and Valmet to circle around and reach him. Lehm had Jonah protect Koko while he helped Valmet and met up with the rest of the team. When they arrived, he had Tojo support him and Valmet took his place in the CR-V driven by Ugo and they went ahead to try and protect Jonah and Koko. During the running gunfight with Shisho, she used an MP5 while supporting R and Mao. After their CR-V crashed after being blasted by the M2 Browning that Orchestra had mounted in their pickup truck's rear seat, she and the others withdrew on Koko's signal after Scarecrow appeared. Three nights later she was shown asleep on a couch in the team's hotel room with her left leg bandaged.

Vein Arc[]

While en route to South Africa on the Atlas, Valmet stayed by Koko and gave her her radio when the ship's captain gave an update that Kasper Hekmatyar's freighter was approaching. Koko's reaction prompted her to ask what was wrong and she learned that Kasper was also on the freighter. When he boarded with Chiquita, she greeted the latter.

Sea Route Arc[]

Valmet and Jonah provided security for Koko when she delivered Kasper's shipment of VL MICA missiles in East Africa. Koko later was about to talk to Valmet when she saw her alone, but decided to leave her be. When he saw her by herself, Lehm offered to provide an ear if she needed it, but Valmet reassured him that she would be alright despite her past experiences in Africa. She then happily decided to seek out Koko to help console her, to Lehm's amusement. Later, Valmet, R, and Lutz were disappointed when Jonah turned down Koko's offer to bathe together, considering this a waste.[4]

African Golden Butterflies Arc[]

Valmet spotted incoming Somali pirates and this early warning helped the squad prepare to meet them, earning Koko's gratitude. She did not participate in the ensuing fight but stayed by Koko. Afterwards she commented on Koko's ruthlessness towards the pirates.

The squad stayed at hotel in East London. The day before Koko was to meet Minami Amada at DIESA, Valmet asked Koko if Minami was still chasing butterflies at the same time that she was convincing Mokoena to accompany her into the mountains. The following morning Valmet was on the roof doing her morning exercises and pondering how many times she had been to Africa before when Jonah found her. She handed him a rubber knife and they sparred, with Valmet using the opportunity to teach Jonah some knife fighting techniques. After he jumped to avoid a thrust she caught him and took him inside.

S1 07 Karen vs

Karen vs. Valmet in Episode 7.

When trying to track down Minami in the mountains Valmet laughed at Jonah's response to Lutz's question as to how many opponents they were facing and suggested that he train in the mountains with Jonah. When the firefight with Karen's men began Valmet saw Karen through the sight of her Steyr AUG and recognised her dual wield stance as mirroring Chan's. Drawing her knife and pistol, she charged towards Karen and engaged her in combat, shooting down one of her men in the anime.[5] She managed to confront Karen face to face and introduced herself, trying to pry more information about her fighting style out of her. However, Karen refused to talk and Valmet threatened to make her. Although Karen was able to kick her pistol away, Valmet dodged her shots and was able to wound her left arm, disabling it. After Karen flung it at her and managed to graze her head, Valmet charged in when she was in the process of reloading and cut away her belt, injuring her right leg. She quickly seized on Karen's cries of pain and began to question how someone weak like her could be in command when she recalled her own experience after losing platoon years ago. Lehm brought her back to reality and talked her out of torturing Karen to make her talk. Valmet decided to let Karen go and then learned who she was when the latter volunteered this information. Two days later Valmet agreed with Koko on how Africa was beyond grasping and reprimanded Lehm when he tried to smoke in the Touareg.

Air Route Arc[]

At London Heathrow Airport, Valmet confronted a man behind them in the security line when he complained about how long it was taking Jonah to get cleared, grabbing him by the jaw and squeezing, which forced him to his knees. After Koko told her to stop, Valmet justified her actions by claiming that the man had picked on Jonah.

Mondo Grosso Arc[]

In East Sussex, Valmet revealed her disappointment with how Lutz had been the sole casualty back in South Africa and had him and Jonah engage each other in the woods with airsoft paintball guns. After they returned, she counted how many times Lutz had been shot. The following day she accompanied Koko and Tojo to the Country B embassy, where Koko shocked her by commenting on how beautiful she thought Amalia Torohovsky was.

After Koko discovered that Amalia had beaten her to all the Country B officials that she had planned to meet with, she changed tactics and holed up in her hotel room for two days. Valmet did not have much to do as a result and on the second day was reading the paper when she began to get concerned, as Koko had done nothing but watch TV and eat snacks. However, just before sending an email to Schokolade Koko revealed to her that all her actions within that time had just been an act.

04 176 Valmet intervenes

Valmet sneaks up on the secretary in Chapter 24.

As part of Koko's plan, she had Valmet accompany her to the London waterfront while Lutz and Wiley were posted 300 meters away on a cargo ship, providing overwatch. During Koko's discussion with Amalia, Valmet was able to slip away and find where Nassos's secretary was concealed. She cut the latter's headset cable and called out to Koko, who then signaled Lutz to fire. He disabled the rifles of two other snipers that had been covering the meeting by firing two quick rounds into the barrels. Valmet then brought the Touareg around to pick up Koko as she reached an agreement with Amalia, wondering on the ride back why she was so nice to Amalia. Two days later when they were about to depart at Heathrow, Valmet warned Koko about Amalia when she received a text message from her. However, Koko replied that she would rather keep Amalia as a friend than as an enemy as she was likely to run into her again.

Dragon Shooter Arc[]

Anime and manga differences[]

Additions[]

  • Valmet was shown with the rest of the squad and Minami Amada watching a Hek-GG rocket launch from a naval launch platform prior to Jonah's addition. The scene with Jonah cooking a meal was changed to dinner and sickened the entire squad.[6]
  • The newspaper that she is reading in the hotel room in London is given more detail. When she sneaks up on the secretary, she grabs the woman by the mouth instead of by the forehead.[7]

Omissions[]

  • Her recollection of a past memory in addition to Lehm remembering his experience with a child soldier in Somalia after Jonah is introduced are left out.

Trivia[]

  • Valmet was voted as the most popular character in a poll conducted by Sunday GX which ran from June through September 2012.[8]
  • She and Lehm were both recruited by Koko when they were majors in their respective units.
  • She and Chiquita share several similarities: they are among Koko's earliest bodyguards, are both skilled knife fighters, have prominent tattoos featuring a cross in the design, and are very close to their respective bosses.
  • Her date of birth is confirmed as April 17th.
  • Her alias is derived from former Finnish industrial conglomerate Valmet, which developed RK-62, the standard issue rifle of the Finnish military.

References[]

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