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Infinite Ryvius

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is a 26-episode drama/sci-fi series produced by Sunrise Animation, the studio also responsible for other landmark shows in the space genre, in 1999. The series also refers to a manga.
It is often called a Lord of the Flies in Space crossed with The Hunt for Red October, as many of the characters, drama, plot, and theme resembles the former, while the action scenes mimicked the submarine battles of the latter. The high number of character and mecha designs in RYVIUS were the brainchild of a then-unknown Hisashi Hirai, whose success in this series led to work on s-CRY-ed and then the coveted position of character designer for the biggest and latest two mecha series from Sunrise, Gundam SEED and its sequel Gundam SEED Destiny.

The series is also noted for its music, a blend of western R&B/hip-hop music with J-pop vocals. This is most evident in the opening song, "Dis~", performed by bilingual Japanese-American singer Mika Arisaka, as well as the many thematic background instrumentals.

Contents

Plot

[Spoiler warningSpoiler warning]: Plot and/or ending details follow.
Set in the year AD 2225, mankind has spread from Earth to inhabit nearly all the planets or nearby moons in colonies and settlements. The reason for this rapid rise in space migration is the Geduld, a sea of plasma stretching from the sun to the outer reaches of the solar system. As a result, space travel has grown and improved to the point of being commonplace. For the inhabitants of the solar system, an astronaut career isn't out of the question, and one of the schools set up to train future space voyagers is the Liebe Delta, a space station positioned somewhere in Earth's orbit.

Kouji Aiba is a sixteen-year-old boy who packed his bags and left his home on Earth for the Liebe Delta and the training to obtain his Level 2 piloting license. He journeys to the space station accompanied by his childhood friend, Aoi Housen, whom Kouji discovers to his chagrin has enrolled in the Liebe Delta's flight attendant program. En route to the spaceport Aoi gives Kouji the unwelcome news that his younger brother, Yuki, is also to attend the Liebe Delta and in fact the brothers will be in the same flight class together. Aoi ends with quipping that the boys' mother Mrs. Aiba had asked Aoi to look after the brothers while at school. Kouji's unhappy moodiness does not improve.

Once aboard the space station, the students and teaching staff on the Liebe Delta were like any other school, normal and concerned with their own affairs and classes. They even had a vacation period, known as the Dive Break, when the ship ventured near the Geduld for system maintenance. Out of about 1000+ students, about 500 stayed for the break. Unknowingly to all, the space station, in the middle of the routine dive considered so regular that it was entrusted to the elite Zwei cadet class, was sabotaged and the majority of the staff gassed and rendered unconscious. Free falling into the depths of the Geduld Sea, where the resulting gravity pressures would crush the station and kill all aboard, the remaining adults, all instructors, sacrificed their lives to save the majority of students on board. When their heroic actions proved unsuccessful and the Liebe Delta hung on the verge of collapsing, a mysterious ship hidden within the Liebe Delta activated itself and surfaced from the Geduld Sea. Its name was RYVIUS.

Stranded in space, with humanity's governments forsaking them, and within the ship anger, agitation and fear setting in, Kouji tries his best to maintain a semblance of order and peace in a time of crisis. But with fighting his own brother Yuki, dealing with his feelings for the beautiful Uranian aristocrat Fina S. Shinozaki, trying to avoid Aoi, and seeing the strange apparation of a girl in pink wandering the halls, will Kouji be able to help until the Ryvius reaches safety, or will he lose all that's dear to him in the process?

With an ensemble cast of nearly 500 different characters, Infinite Ryvius was an ambitious undertaking by Sunrise. Nearly all the characters have some screen time, be it cameo appearances or speaking roles, and each (with few exceptions) has his or her own personality. Ranging from the elite Zwei cadets to the piloting students to the flight attendants, nursing students, mechanical trainees and more, the crew of the Ryvius encompass a range of individual talents, quirks, and mannerisms that set each one apart. The average age of the Ryvius crew is 16, so the story, despite its space-age setting, is more of a coming-of-age tale than anything else.

Ryvius Manga

A companion manga was released in Japan in 2000. Created by Shinsuke Kurihashi, and released by MediaWorks Publishing, the manga details the voyage of the Ryvius from the character viewpoints of Aoi Housen, and to a lesser extent, her roommates Kozue Izumi and Reiko Ichikawa. This is in contrast to the anime, which had been seen through the eyes of the Aiba brothers, Ikumi Oze, and other mostly male characters. As such, the manga does not follow the anime "to the letter", but provides episodes and plotlines previously unseen.

The English-language rights to the 'Ryvius' manga were acquired by ComicsOne, and the first volume of the English version, covering the anime episodes 1-13, was released in October 2004. The second and final volume, covering the remainder of the series, was expected to be released in January 2005. After ComicsOne was taken over by DrMaster, Volume 2 of the Infinite Ryvius manga was delayed. It was finally released under the new DrMaster label in May 2005.

[Spoiler warningSpoiler warning]: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Characters

Major characters


Infinite Ryvius Characters
Kouji Aiba Aoi Housen Yuki Aiba Ikumi Oze Kozue Izumi
Cullen Lucciora Fina S. Shinozaki Neeya Team Blue Zwei

Supporting characters

Reiko Ichikawa: This plain-faced flight attendant trainee was roommates with Aoi, Kozue, and (briefly) Fina. Timid by nature, Reiko proves to be selfish and mean in a hostile situation, when Kozue was ganged up on and attacked by several other girls for being the girlfriend of an "unlimited points user". Reiko, feeling unable to help and stunned by the fact that battles between women were even more ugly than men's, ignored Kozue's cries for help and fled. She was the last to move out of the dorm used by the four girls, the first being Fina, who in following her religious beliefs left in favour of a private officer's room, and the second being Kozue, whose injury had her hiding in another officer's room unable and unwilling to contact anyone. (Seiyuu: Megumi Toyoguchi; VA: Sylvia Zaradac)

Nicks Shaiprapat: A hyperactive nutcase from Deimos, a moon of Mars, 13-year-old Nicks is a Level 2 Flight Class student. He was the boy who made it a point of rubbing in Ikumi's failure to retrieve a piece of debris in the premier episode. When first exploring the Ryvius, Nicks discovered what became the Vital Guarder system and is one of its sub-pilots/operators. Nicks likes racing utility robots and slacking off, and on the Ryvius is the roommate of Kouji and Ikumi. Nicks also likes pretty girls, as evidenced when he used binoculars for up-close looks at the contestants in the Miss Ryvius beauty contest. (Seiyuu: Rikako Aikawa; VA: Reece Thompson)

Akihiro Miyabi: A plump boy from Mars, Akihiro is meticulous and withdrawn. He and Nicks are childhood friends, and although at 16 he is older than Nicks by three years, Akihiro gets treated as a little brother by the overactive Nicks. Preferring on the whole to work in the background and do his best, Akihiro often has to keep Nicks from slacking and/or going out-and-out nuts. In addition with Nicks, Akihiro is also one of the VG's many sub-pilots and operators. He believes that Kouji is like Akihiro himself, a weak-willed person who would rather stay on the sidelines and let others do what they will. Kouji, however, proved Akihiro's assumption wrong, and Akihiro resolved to be a stronger person, a decision he told Kouji of in a letter Akihiro sent to Kouji during the last episode. (Seiyuu: Toshiharu Sakurai; VA: Gabe Khouth)

Kikki (alias Kibure): A girl in a dinosaur mascot-style costume, she is a background character on the show. She appears in passing or in crowds scenes at least once every episode, and many fans have made a point of searching for her in the episode they are viewing. Aside from this, she is a loner, and does not appear to have any real friends. Possibly the only exception to this is Cullen, whom Kibure-san accidentally clonked on the head with the headpiece of one of her other costumes when the gravity control on the ship failed. They were seen talking together in a few subsequent episodes, but this was likely just a casual acquaintance as Cullen did not appear to have anything to do with Kibure after the former became a VG pilot. (Seiyuu: Mikako Takahashi)

Themes and Symbols

Compared to other anime series, Infinite RYVIUS has more underlying themes and symbolisms. Even the name of the ship itself, Ryvius, is a play on several English phrases, among them: "Revive Us", "Redeem Us", "Reveal Us", "Revise Us", "Ravenous", "Revolt Us", "Revert to us", "Reverie of Us", and "Reawake Us". The katakana in the title (リヴァイアス, ri-va-i-a-su) can also be Anglicized as "Leviath", an obvious allusion to the Biblical Leviathan [link], an immense and eldritch creature of the deep. These phrases can be seen as an insight into the ship's crew as a whole, and the subconscious pleas that the students harbour. Neya, picking up on these stray mental thoughts, gives voice to them and as such, exposes these ideas to the viewer.

In another view, Ryvius can be used as a representation of Earth itself. In fact, as stated by a government official, the Vaea project was designed and implemented as series of Noah's arks for the human race to escape the Geduld-encompassed solar system.

In general, the gun and Vital Guarder represent the martial power of civilization.
Spoilers end here.

Episodes Titles

(Japanese titles are shown first with their romaji renderings, followed by the literal translation of their titles. Some of the titles given by the series' North American distributor, Bandai Entertainment, differ from the literal translations; the Bandai-given titles appear in parentheses where applicable.)

Soundtracks

infinite RYVIUS Original Soundtrack 1
  1. DIS (Club Mix version; performed by Mika Arisaka)
  2. nani mo shiranakutemo (Unaware of Anything)
  3. boku no setsuna (My Moment)
  4. REVISE US
  5. NOWHERE
  6. mishiranu mono (The Unknown)
  7. kokoro no sukima (Void in the Heart)
  8. kuzureyuku mono (What is Decaying)
  9. EASY LIVING
  10. kobore ochite (Dropping Out)
  11. yume o sugite mo (Even After Dreaming; Remix version; performed by Mika Arisaka)
  12. communication
  13. ALMOST BLUE
  14. ikinobiru kanata (Beyond Survival)
  15. FAINT HOPE
  16. maemuki ni (In A Positive Mood)
  17. COOL!
  18. DIS (English version; performed by Mika Arisaka)
  19. yume o sugitemo (Even After Dreaming; performed by Mika Arisaka)
  20. DIS (karaoke version)
  21. yume o sugitemo (karaoke version)
infinite RYVIUS Original Soundtrack 2
  1. harakunaru sasayaki (Distancing Whisper)
  2. nani mo shiranakutemo (Unaware of Anything)
  3. toge (Thorn; performed by Mika Arisaka)
  4. mukai aumono (Face To Face)
  5. genjitsuto no haza made (Until Reality Shows Its Face)
  6. kokoro no kakera (Fragments of the Heart)
  7. itoshi sa no nakade (Into Beauty)
  8. hayaru kokoro (Thriving Heart)
  9. utsutsu narumono (Taking Revenge)
  10. tawamurete (Flirting)
  11. mitsumete (Watching)
  12. shijirarerumono wa (Of Disbelief)
  13. yume o sugitemo (Even After Dreaming)
  14. mirai e no ippo (A Step Towards the Future)
  15. aragaenumama
  16. sasurai tsuzukete (Continued Wandering)
  17. tsumugareta fuan (Spun Anxiety)
  18. ketsui to koudou to (Decision and Action)
  19. todoketai kokoro (Undeliverable Heart)
  20. shinkirou no you ni (Like A Mirage)
  21. ashita ga arukara (Because There Will Be Tomorrow)
  22. yamikara no hohoemi (Smile From The Shadows)
  23. shiritakatakoto (Things I Wanted to Know)
  24. yume o sugimoto (Even After Dreaming; performed by Mika Arisaka)
  25. todoketai kokoro (Undeliverable Heart; Reggae Phil Mix)
  26. H (Mega Mix)
infinite RYVIUS Original Soundtrack 3
  1. M.I.D. ANTHEM
  2. DIS~ (Song Bird Mix; performed by Mika Arisaka)
  3. BLUE WRECKAGE (performed by Noriko)
  4. CODE-026
  5. aoi tori no yukue (performed by Mika Arisaka)
  6. menterae
  7. GOING (performed by Kaori)
  8. JUST (Interlude)
  9. THE NEPHILIMS (performed by Bambaataa Afrika)
  10. kanashiki hyouryuu (performed by DJ MA$A)
  11. SEE THE LIGHT (performed by Smooth Bee)
  12. tobira (performed by DJ MA$A)
  13. GENERATION WAR
  14. ENVIOUS
  15. DIS~ (Terra Mix; performed by Mika Arisaka)

External links

 

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