FairFriend
Member
Alright GAF, lately I watched an anime I'd like to talk about for a little bit: Infinite Ryvius.
I'd like to start from the basics so that everyone is roughly on the same page.
Firstly listen to its main theme:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IEk5yWUu-ig
awesome isn't it? It sets the mood quite well for the whole show. Or if you want something more relaxing to play in the background while you read this post try this other track:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vM6TnBvJC2w
Alright, so what is exactly Infinite Ryvius about? The plot is as follows: In a distant future a bunch of teenagers find themselves aboard a space station to undergo training, either to become pilots or to prepare for other jobs aboard the station itself. Suddenly a group of terrorists boards the station, kills almost all the adults in control of its systems and sabotages the gravitational engine. The station is about to fall in the Geduld, a region of space containing a high pressure gas wich had been released by a solar eruption 80 years earlier in a mysterious event. If the station sinks in the Geduld it will be crushed by effect of the high pressure, so from now on the hundreds of kids who are still aboard need to work together in order to make it out alive.
A still from one of the early episodes, when the terrorists attack the station
Alright, I hope that the summary did not annoy you, and excuse me for my bad english (I'm not a native speaker). One thing that you may have noticed is that I have not mentioned the name of one single character: that was in fact intentional.
The reason is that Infinite Ryvius has a coral cast, and each one of the many kids play a vital role in the development of the plot. This leads me to the first great aspect of Infinite Ryvius: its cast.
THE CAST
The cast of Ininite Ryvius
There's no denying that Infinite Ryvius' authors had been inspired by Evangelion (more on that later). This is evident by the attention paid to the characterization of each element of the very large cast (we are talking about 10 or more very distinct characters). Each of the girls and boys reacts very naturally to the fear indulging situation that develops after the terrorists attack the station. As the story progresses you start to learn more about their past. The perilous situation forces the kids to cooperate and this brings to the surface the traumatic experiences that some of them had to go through in their childhoods. These revelations are gradual and never feel forced: in this regard I believe Infinite Ryvius excels and surpasses its model, Evangelion. These characters feel authentic in a way Asuka, Shinji and co didn't – at least to me . While Evangelion's protagonists are, in my opinion, mainly a vehicle for Hideaki Anno to convey his emotions to the viewer, Infinite Ryvius's are much more independent, by saying which I mean that it truly feels like they inhabit their own world. Their descent into madness and desperation is gradual and as believable as it can be and clues about the daemons that hide inside them are present from the very first episodes (obviously they become manifest only after the first viewing).
Emotional moments abound in Infinite Ryvius but the show slowly builds up to them
That's not to say that there aren't positive characters. Actually there are quite a few of them. The most surprising thing to me was that I ended up caring even for those characters who at first seemed less than likable.
Take Lucson, for example.
Houjou, Lucson, captain of the Zwei special unit
He is the commander of a special unit , called Zwei, formed by the most capable cadets. After the terrorists attack, since the adults have all been killed, they decide to take control of the situation. However Lucson far overestimates his abilities, being totally reliant on the other students' skills. Soon enough he is kicked out of the unit and he's practically abondend by everyone esle. Nonetheless he never shows any resentment and even though he remains as foolish as ever, he demonstrates to posses many qualities, which complement and round off his personality. Though time and again he is subjected to humiliation by the bullies who have started to gang up, he always stands for those who depend on him, proud of his title of commander of the Zwei unit.
I'm afraid I could not really convey what I like about the characters. Let me say one last thing: I never found myself thinking ”this is absurd", or ”this is really stupid of them", something that happens to me very frequently, even when I watch shows that I enjoy otherwise.
THE BATTLES
The mech controlled by the kids
Another thing that you may have noticed about my plot synopsis is that there is no mention of battles, even though Infinite Ryvius is, supposedly, a show about battles between mechs. This is another sign of Evangelion's inspiration: I would never recommend Evangelion for its battles. Sure, most of them look great, but the show as a whole is much more than that. Similarly, you shouldn't really watch Infinite Ryvius for its action sequences. There are few of them and the mechs start playing a meaningful role only 10 episodes in. Nonetheless Infinite Ryvius manages to be great in this aspect too. While the sequences are not as technically marvelous as Evangelion's, they are well thought out. They are slow paced, which means that strategy plays a vital role, and they also have a kind of hard sci-fi vibe to them, which makes them slightly reminiscent of those of Legend of the Galactic Heroes (even though the scale is much, much smaller). More importantly the mech at the kids' command must be operated by several users at the same time, which predictly gives rise to incomprehension and rivalries. There is another very ingenious element about the operation of the mech, but I cannot give that away without spoiling the plot a tiny bit. In the end I think that the battles are another valid reason why you should look forward to watching Infinite Ryvius.
THE VISUALS AND SOUND
The visual design gets progressively darker (quite literally) as things go awry inside the station
Both the visuals and the soundtrack date very precisely Infinite Revyius as product of its era, the late 90's, and this of course can be a positive thing or a negative thing depending on who you ask. Therefore I'd like to start with some objective observations regarding the technical aspect of the presentation. The drawings can be rough at times and the animation is not always as smooth as one would hope for. Moreover the characters' design has been criticized by many people, even though I must say I like it quite a lot, due mainly to its simplicity and realism (with the exception of one very important character: I'll let you guess which one). The same criticism could be leveraged against the soundtrack: it's not for everyone, and the contamination of styles may sound jarring.
With that said I have nothing but praise for many aspects of the visual and sound design. Firstly, and this is admittedly very subjective, I like the feel of it all: many sets are very dimly lit, the soundtrack is composed mainly of atmospheric tracks and everything comes together to create an atmosphere which at times can be very ominous, even though it never really veers into horror. As I was saying Infinite Ryvius is a product of its time, and this for me was definitely a plus: if you like the soundtrack of games like Ridge Racer type 4, with its sporadic incursions into jazz, or Ridge Racer V, with its techno tunes, you're going to appreciate Infinite Ryviu's too. If you like other contemporary shows like Lain you're going to enjoy Infinite Ryvius' direction too, with its abundance of quiet moments and its art style only superficially bland.
In the end from a technical standpoint I don't think that Infinite Ryvius is going to impress anyone, but I do think that both the visuals and the soundtrack do their jobs quite well.
THE POLITICS
There's only one gun in the whole station: the symbol of power and responsability
Not only the kids trapped inside the space station must find the means to prevent the looming disaster, they must also learn how to live together: to this effect they establish a government. Infinite Ryvius has been summarized many times as ”Lord of the Flies set in space". I must confess that I've never read that novel (I know – shame on me!) but, knowing the general proceedings, I must say that the comparison seems on point. Anyway, as you can imagine, the establishment of this government leads to the creation of privileges for those affiliated with it. Soon enough an insurrection erupts and those in charge are forced to step down. Another group of kids try their hands at ruling the station, this time enforcing much more strict policies about food ratios, free hours and so on. Throughout the show the spectator will witness three different establishments trying to maintain order inside the station. While Infinite Ryvius is not heavy on political commentary, the way the characters' subplots are intertwined with the scheming of those who seek to gain power makes for a very compelling watch.
CONCLUSION
Having reread this impressions of mine I feel like I may have left you cold about Infinite Ryvius. The fact is that one of the qualities of the show is that of being generally quite subtle about its themes. Sure, technobabble abounds, but the character development is impressively coherent and believable and while the plot is thin and little more than an excuse to put the protagonists in a dangerous situation, there are many scenes whose outcome is difficult to predict. Being only 25 episodes it's not an enormous investment of time and in the end I'd recommend it to anyone who digs the psychological character portraits that Evangelion is known for.
