Somehow, this show turned out to be WAY different from what I imagined it would be. And that’s my fault for not reading the description correctly.

I had read somewhere that Vividred “takes place in a peaceful island filled with nature and technology.” Naturally, I figured this would a relaxing anime to watch, kind of like Aria. While Aria took place on Mars in the distant future and there was advanced technology involved, it didn’t have mechs flying around or rebels shooting each other with futuristic guns. It was quite the opposite, and the result was a slice-of-life story that just happened to take place in a futuristic setting. I was actually hoping that Vividred would be similar to that, judging from the description. I was picturing an anime where cute anime girls were living in a distant future filled with prosperity and peace, and would have the technology instead play a background role in their lives. In short: I wanted something relaxing.

While I couldn’t have been more wrong, what I got instead was actually surprising.

Vividred takes place in a future where the world’s energy crisis has finally been solved with the invention of the Incarnate Engine five years previous. Sitting on an island just off of Sagami Bay in Japan, the engine provides clean and limitless energy to the world. The result is an era of peace and prosperity, and things couldn’t be better. We’re introduced to Akane Isshiki (Ayane Sakura), a cheerful middle-schooler and the granddaughter of Kenjirou Isshiki (Masaki Terasoma), the inventor of the Incarnate Engine. Life in the Isshiki household is a cheerful one, and all seems well.

That is, until something called the Alone begins attacking. The military engages in battle with a mechanical monstrosity bent on destroying the Incarnate Engine, but the battle quickly becomes one-sided as their firepower fails to penetrate the machine’s defenses. Caught in the crossfire is Akane’s best friend Aoi Futaba (Rie Murakawa), whose plane crash lands on the roof of the Incarnate Engine. Rushing to save her, Akane activates the Vivid System (patent pending) that her grandfather created and saves Aoi. With her new powers, Akane has the chance to fight the Alone and save everyone.

I’ll admit, the show’s premise is…intriguing (I’m being very cautious with my words). Little girls with (practically) magical powers help save the world? Sounds like anime to me. This show is essentially a magical shoujo with a sci-fi twist. I’m sure friendship will play a huge theme throughout the series, especially when they inevitably add more girls to the team.

This kind of thing has been done countless times before, and I honestly don’t see this show straying too far from the usual formulas. It’s got action, comedy, plenty of fanservice, and slick animation. The transformation sequence was actually my favorite part of this episode and looked pretty darn cool, I’ll admit. The chuunibyou in me only wishes I could have cool transformation sequences like that, though I’d probably end up using my powers to get to school quickly or something juvenile.

What I’m worried about is, well, a lot of things. The story is really cliched, and I could pretty much guess how this episode was going to turn out the moment things started blowing up. The story also requires an enormous suspension of belief, considering that there are girls flying around using fantastical tech and the grandfather becomes a stuffed weasel (yeah, I should’ve mentioned this earlier). Because this show wouldn’t be complete without some kind of mascot character to really attract crowds.

And don’t even get me started on the fanservice. Just look at the image at the top of this post. That happens 20 seconds into the show. A normal establishing shot of the sun rising over the city would’ve sufficed, but no, the show’s producers decided it was important, nay, CRITICAL, that the rising sun be framed within a character’s ass and thighs in the extreme foreground. Because that’s the only way to see a sunset, amirite?

Not only that, our first glimpse of Akane is of her ass, high and mighty in her tight hot pants as she goes about her morning paper deliveries. Seriously? We can’t get a shot of her face instead to better associate us with this person? This show is trying REALLY hard to grab the attention of its male audience, and frankly, I’m put off by the objectification of the female characters so far. I’m not exactly a feminist, but that shit is just distracting.

Magical sci-fi girls, talking stuffed weasels, incompetent military forces, and hot pants. That about sums up Vividred Operation from the get-go. How long can I withstand this assault on the senses???

Lingering thoughts:

• Why did Kenjirou entrust the fate of the world to his granddaughter?
• How did Akane know what to do when transforming, and why wasn’t she surprised by what was happening?
• Shows like this and Senran Kagura make me question the state of the anime industry.