Vivy: Fluorite Eye’s Song (First Impression)

Posted on April 6, 2021 by KiritoNarukami 2 comments

Studios: Wit Studio

Source: Original

Genres: Sci-Fi

Synopsis: “Nierland—an A.I complex theme park where dreams, hopes, and science intermingle. Created as the first-ever autonomous humanoid A.I, Vivy acts as an A.I cast for the establishment. To fulfill her mission of making everyone happy through songs, she continues to take the stage and perform with all her heart. However, the theme park was still lacking in popularity. One day, an A.I named Matsumoto appears before Vivy and explains that he has travelled from 100 years into the future, with the mission to correct history with Vivy and prevent the war between A.I and humanity that is set to take place 100 years later. What sort of future will the encounter of two A.I with different missions redraw? This is the story of A.I destroying A.I. A.I diva Vivy’s 100-year journey begins.”

-MAL News

First Impression:

I get excited about a lot of animation studio but WIT Studio is one of those studios that puts me over the moon when they announce new shows! They has this distinctive style that showcases a stunning amount of detail that really brings life to the settings. They’re also known for their gruesome depictions of death in all kinds of forms…(Shingeki no Kyojin and Vinland Saga…). And let’s not forget that this is also an original anime! Alright, let’s dive in!

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I’m already in love with this AI (Artificial Intelligence) vs Humans concept and also I really love the perspective from an AI, which is the “bad” side in this case. But rather being an anti hero story, Vivy, our AI protagonist, is fighting to prevent the tragic that would 100 years in the future. Being an AI includes a number of things: have processes programmed in your system, a HUD interface, superhuman abilities, and the list goes on! The interface cleverly sticks itself on the top left part of the screen through the first scene with Vivy. The window may not even be noticeable (especially when the scene is really bright!) but it continues to have a moving timer and some data, until the value turns red and Vivy…

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…shuts down! Aside from the quite humorous way that Vivy fell, the glitch effect across the screen that subtly eliminates the black bars at the top and bottom of the screen was a wonderful touch and it gave me an uneasy feeling and also trauma because who else has experience the terrifying blue screen of death when working on an assignment that’s due the next day? This disappearance of the black bars and Vivy’s shutdown signifies the end of the prologue and the beginning of Vivy’s journey in a rather elegant and poetic way, if not a little unsettling.

AH! Can’t I just say how much I love Vivy’s character design?! I love the color of her hair, her performance outfit, and even the way she switches between the happy cheery idol personality and her normal monotone one at a snap of a finger. Though one thing that does bother me about the show (and the art overall) is the significant gap between the typical scenes and the sakuga sequences! It’s almost uncanny how large the gap is! Please refer to Exhibit A.

Exhibit A

(Surprise Animation Check Point!)

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Twenty-four frames of pure quality! It’s the detail in the eyes and the smooth animation of the hair the makes it amazing for me but if these scenes weren’t in the same episode, I would’ve thought that they were two different shows! The gap is huge, it feels a bit off but I’m not too bothered by it at least for now. We’ll just have to see how the studio decides to handle these sakuga sequences and if the quality will even out a little more bit as the story progresses!

WIT Studio takes my breath, yet again, with it’s stunning background but not only the detail of the architecture but the coloring of the entire landscape! The pink sunset is calming and just as lovely at the night scenery with it’s yellow glow to represent the hustle and bustle the city. It also hints at the districts beyond the Nialand, the amusement park that Vivy resides in. Just what wait for us beyond?

While Vivy’s been thrown in a chaotic mission to save the world from an all out war between humans and AI… her initial purpose is to bring happiness to the world with the power of her singing. So you can expect to see a lot of idol like songs and a rather robust soundtrack! The first episode gave us a good taste of what’s the come and I have to say, I’m very excited!

Recommendation:

YES

I’m blown away at the quality of the show, from the story premise, to the animation, and the character designs, everything comes together in a great way. WIT Studio continues to show their dominance in the anime world with another phenomenal show that will no doubt be getting traction here as the story starts picking up! And with a double episode premiere the second episode is already out, so what are you waiting for?!

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