Infinite Ryvius was a series I came upon after several glowing recommendations. It works in the scheme of a psychological parallel to William Golding’s “Lord of the Flies.” The series revolves around a group of teens and children stranded in space aboard a mysterious warship hidden within the shell of their training academy. They face many obstacles not only in the realm of space, but also within themselves and their relations as the days pass on when they wait to be rescued and make the journey home.
I started watching this series about a year or so ago, but stalled because of other time commitments and activities. One thing I have to comment on is that for a series created in 1999, the animation values in IR are rather inconsistent in some modes, there are times when the character designs are sloppy and others when they are at their best. IR really isn’t a series focusing on mecha as much as it is the characters, so mecha designs and battles didn’t really count as much in my book, they’re good for working in the scheme of the series thus far.
Music is quite well done: Mika Arisaka, also known for her work with Gundam Seed Destiny, sings both the OP and ED themes for the series. “dis-” is probably one of my top 30 anime themes overall, and has several mixes to the melody, including an English version. I know there are quite a few people who don’t like the English rendition, and while I agree it doesn’t retain the lyrical detail of the original, it’s not bad at all. The miscellaneous instrumental themes in the series really complement both the scenes of tension as well as the more calm moments.
Characterization is a bit of a toss-up; there are a lot of central characters in this series. It’s never hard to keep up with them, though, as watching them develop and interact is part of the heart of this series. One may also say the people on board the ship are all shown in effective snapshots pending the events of the series as they unfold one-by-one. The central characters aren’t always likable, but one could also argue that it’s part of the setting: you really get to know each character, their worries, flaws, and strong points all in the scheme of the hardships they face with being stranded in space.
I will start blogging this series in two episode increments, complete with screencaps and feedback. I own the whole DVD set and it’s just a matter of taking the time out to review each episode and take enough screencaps to cover the base story. In between waiting for episodes of Venus Versus Virus and Nodame Cantabile, this will be a much welcome diversion.
