Vivy: Fluorite Eye's Song (2021)

Director: Shinpei Ezaki
Studio: Wit Studio
Starring: Atsumi Tanezaki, Jun Fukuyama, Yoko Hikasa
Episodes: 13

Synopsis:
The world's first autonomous AI, a small-time singer, is given a mission from the future, to prevent the coming war between humans and AIs.

Impressions:
I nearly let this series pass me by and it would've been a terrible waste if I had, as it ultimately became my favorite of the season and so far, it's a strong contender for best of the year. In the opening minutes, it looked like it was going to be some sort of futuristic idol series, which wasn't inspiring much enthusiasm, but then comes the mass slaughter. Oh, have I mentioned the story was written by Tappei Nagatsuki of Re:Zero fame? That should give you some idea of the suffering to come. With the subject matter and themes (and even a lot of the aesthetics), comparisons get made to the game Detroit: Become Human, but don't expect the same blunt parallels to the Civil Rights Era because, well, how many Japanese authors are even going to think in those terms? Other than the terrorist group Toak, humanity seems largely accepting of AIs (and this actually becomes a plot point) and rather than looking at machine subjugation to humans (and vice versa), the central point is the singular mission of AIs and their struggle to achieve that. Our heroine Vivy is tasked with making people happy by putting her heart into her singing, which is a crazy thing to ask of a machine (but this was entirely by design, as we learn). The initially cold and largely emotionless Vivy is counterbalanced by Matsumoto, the fast-talking emissary from the future (played excellently by Jun Fukuyama) who looks like he stepped right out of the Portal series (imagine Wheatley as a cube rather than a ball).

The way the narrative is delivered via time skips reminds me of Mnemosyne and it's interesting to see character and the world at large grow and develop. As you would expect from the author, each vignette is its own little tragedy, but Tappei is definitely the sort who believes his characters have to earn their happy ending, if they get it at all. I also want to give high praise for the technical quality of the series. Everything looks gorgeous and the animation never fails to impress. Action scenes are first-rate. Some people grumble about Wit Studio for bailing on Attack on Titan, but if a show like this is what we get in the exchange, I fully endorse their decision.

As I said in my opening statement, this is my pick of the season, so it should come as little surprise that I'm going to recommend adding this to your collection. Get this by all means.

Rating:
Own It