Infinite Ryvius - Lost in Space (Vol. 1)

Rating:
Summary: Lord of the Flies Lost In Space ...
Review: After having the Infinite Ryvius Newtype design book for several years, I decided to try the DVD when it came out. This BANDAI series suffers, in the first disk, from a typical anime shortcoming- lack of contrast.

The basic plot is that a huge spacestation/living environment/something-up-there, peopled by thousands creating their own little world or culture, begins to break up and fall into a planet, or storm, or gravity well...as you can see, the basic ideas aren't conveyed very well. But, any viewer gets the idea- this space platform is in bad shape. All the adults die, and the last remaining splinter of the ship is filled with teenagers between 13 and 16 who now must live in and operate a mysterious, huge craft (the Ryvius) that somehow docked with their part of the platform. Groups of kids splinter off to become the 'leaders', the 'good guys', the 'animals', so on...and meanwhile, an evil army/organization of some kind is searching for the kids in the BRATTICA (their part of the space station I assumed) for an unknown reason. Heap on top of this a mysterious, purpley clad girl floating about, muttering incohesive thoughts and defying physics, and Ryvius is nearly as obtuse and bizarre as any other anime that creates a kind of post-modern stew of ideas.

Infinite Ryvius seems to have a strong central theme, but the direction and conveyance of broad ideas to a 'layman' audience is gone. From a lack of design and color contrasts, the viewer never solidly gets the idea where he or she REALLY is. The animation itself isn't bad, and the character design is decent, however the use of background and color doesn't help a script lacking in basic establishing.

The box set was 'nice' with it's pencil boards and ferret doll, but the major let down of the set was the DVD. WHile well done as a DVD publication, the show was average to confusing. My box will remain filled with the doll and pencil boards, not DVDs.

Rating:
Summary: Lord of the Flies Lost In Space ...
Review: After having the Infinite Ryvius Newtype design book for several years, I decided to try the DVD when it came out. This BANDAI series suffers, in the first disk, from a typical anime shortcoming- lack of contrast.

The basic plot is that a huge spacestation/living environment/something-up-there, peopled by thousands creating their own little world or culture, begins to break up and fall into a planet, or storm, or gravity well...as you can see, the basic ideas aren't conveyed very well. But, any viewer gets the idea- this space platform is in bad shape. All the adults die, and the last remaining splinter of the ship is filled with teenagers between 13 and 16 who now must live in and operate a mysterious, huge craft (the Ryvius) that somehow docked with their part of the platform. Groups of kids splinter off to become the 'leaders', the 'good guys', the 'animals', so on...and meanwhile, an evil army/organization of some kind is searching for the kids in the BRATTICA (their part of the space station I assumed) for an unknown reason. Heap on top of this a mysterious, purpley clad girl floating about, muttering incohesive thoughts and defying physics, and Ryvius is nearly as obtuse and bizarre as any other anime that creates a kind of post-modern stew of ideas.

Infinite Ryvius seems to have a strong central theme, but the direction and conveyance of broad ideas to a 'layman' audience is gone. From a lack of design and color contrasts, the viewer never solidly gets the idea where he or she REALLY is. The animation itself isn't bad, and the character design is decent, however the use of background and color doesn't help a script lacking in basic establishing.

The box set was 'nice' with it's pencil boards and ferret doll, but the major let down of the set was the DVD. WHile well done as a DVD publication, the show was average to confusing. My box will remain filled with the doll and pencil boards, not DVDs.

Rating:
Summary: Well worth watching!
Review: I picked this up expecting a typical dumbed-down angsty superhero-y space mecha anime. I was VERY pleasantly surprised. Not only does this series have some very decent animation (characters don't just cry with tears running out of their eyes--their faces actually distort with sadness) but the character development is quite good. While I liked all the characters (with the exception of Kozue, who annoyed me), the creators portrayed both sides of the characters. For example: the main character/narrater, Kouji Aiba, has several strengths-unfortunately, the ability to clearly see his surroundings isn't one of them. Also, he's a bit of a whiner. I saw the reference to 'Lord of the Flies' in an earlier review and while I do agree that there are some similarities, I enjoyed 'Infinite Ryvius' far more than I enjoyed the book. In the end, I felt pity for and was happy for the characters of the anime; at the end of LOTF, I threw the book against a wall. If your interest in anime runs towards psychology and relationships, this is a definite must-watch!

Rating:
Summary: The best anime series I've seen in years
Review: I was introduced to this show long before it was licensed and after the first five episodes I was hooked. There is a bit of a knowledge hurdle getting into the series because there is a lot of information to digest about the social structure and the physics of the solar system, now altered from the one we know from real life by the Geduld Phenomenon.

However this series strength is in the characters. Infinite Ryvius features an ensemble cast of potentially dozens as 487 students are stranded in the first few episodes of the series, however there are a main handful that the series focuses on and surprisingly every major character is given fair air time and no one ever feels neglected for a cast of this size. Even several of the minor characters show up often enough over the course of several episodes for viewers to get a feel for them and their personalities.

Though there is action for those who must have their ship battles, this is more of a relationship-based series than a comabtive one. Each external conflict (the students vs. their unknown enemy) is significant and plays out over more than one episode, but the internal struggles between the students and within themselves are what drives the plot from story arc to story arc. All the cast members grow and change tremedously over the course of the series as they deal with the unusual circumstances into which they have been thrust. It's important to remember that unlike the teenagers in most sci-fi anime series, the cast of Infinite Ryvius are non-combatants and were never trained to fight for a military. This makes their predicament all the more painful for them to deal with, and there are none of the traditional heroes who come in and save the day.

The first DVD is perhaps a bit slow because of all the foundations that must be laid and the rivalries between the different characters revealed, but the tension picks up in the second volume, and by that point I could no longer stop watching.

I highly recommend this series for those tired of the typical sci-fi anime and are looking for something with a little more substance.

Rating:
Summary: The best anime series I've seen in years
Review: I was introduced to this show long before it was licensed and after the first five episodes I was hooked. There is a bit of a knowledge hurdle getting into the series because there is a lot of information to digest about the social structure and the physics of the solar system, now altered from the one we know from real life by the Geduld Phenomenon.

However this series strength is in the characters. Infinite Ryvius features an ensemble cast of potentially dozens as 487 students are stranded in the first few episodes of the series, however there are a main handful that the series focuses on and surprisingly every major character is given fair air time and no one ever feels neglected for a cast of this size. Even several of the minor characters show up often enough over the course of several episodes for viewers to get a feel for them and their personalities.

Though there is action for those who must have their ship battles, this is more of a relationship-based series than a comabtive one. Each external conflict (the students vs. their unknown enemy) is significant and plays out over more than one episode, but the internal struggles between the students and within themselves are what drives the plot from story arc to story arc. All the cast members grow and change tremedously over the course of the series as they deal with the unusual circumstances into which they have been thrust. It's important to remember that unlike the teenagers in most sci-fi anime series, the cast of Infinite Ryvius are non-combatants and were never trained to fight for a military. This makes their predicament all the more painful for them to deal with, and there are none of the traditional heroes who come in and save the day.

The first DVD is perhaps a bit slow because of all the foundations that must be laid and the rivalries between the different characters revealed, but the tension picks up in the second volume, and by that point I could no longer stop watching.

I highly recommend this series for those tired of the typical sci-fi anime and are looking for something with a little more substance.

Rating:
Summary: Another take on it...
Review: Ok, so you've all heard this is "lord of the flies" in space, but there is much more to this anime than meets the eye. Instead of simply dealing with angst between a bunch of boys, this anime throws in the teenage problems of sibling rivalry, guilt over loss, and GIRLS!!!! I commend this anime for having a strong focus on both men and women. There are so many characters to fall in love with and enjoy (this is a plus for me, some may enjoy animes that focus on a smaller number of people)

Basically, the story finds a shipload of characters (all children) stuck in space, attempting to be rescued but being branded as outlaws. Check out the first disk, but understand that the series REALLY gets going around the 3rd one. And dont worry, it may seem like they keep too much from you, but, in the end, you will find out all the secrets. Just be patient and enjoy!

Rating:
Summary: Another take on it...
Review: Ok, so you've all heard this is "lord of the flies" in space, but there is much more to this anime than meets the eye. Instead of simply dealing with angst between a bunch of boys, this anime throws in the teenage problems of sibling rivalry, guilt over loss, and GIRLS!!!! I commend this anime for having a strong focus on both men and women. There are so many characters to fall in love with and enjoy (this is a plus for me, some may enjoy animes that focus on a smaller number of people)

Basically, the story finds a shipload of characters (all children) stuck in space, attempting to be rescued but being branded as outlaws. Check out the first disk, but understand that the series REALLY gets going around the 3rd one. And dont worry, it may seem like they keep too much from you, but, in the end, you will find out all the secrets. Just be patient and enjoy!