182nd G-View: Vividred Operation

Yes doods and peeps, after a long absence, the G-Views are back! What better way to kick things off than with a sow heavily inspired by Strike Witches and other magitechno-shoujo anime, Vividred Operation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBeYjnTuBw0

Genres: Action, Sci-fi, mahou shoujo.

Number of episodes: 12

G-Rating: 8/10 (Favoritism), 7/10 overall

Plot Summary: In Oshima the happy, carefree 14-year-old Akane Isshiki lived a poor but well-loved life together with her reliable little sister, Momo, who does all the housework, and her grandfather, Kenjirou, a genius inventor who only created useless devices. When the weather is clear, they can see the artificial island, Blue Island, across the sea. In the center of that island rises the revolutionary Manifestation Engine, a discovery that solved the world’s energy problems, and leads to some major problems.

First of all, this show is not as good as the Strike Witches series, so comparing VO to it is unfair. However, on its onw, it’s pretty good, depending on what kind of animeniac you are. It does not take a super genius to figure out which audience this show will appeal to and which it won’t.

As you can tell from this single pic, the show is filled with butt shots and no, wearing shorts instead of panties does not lessen the appeal/disgust. I’m used to to stuff like this, though sometimes the show does get carried away.

I am pretty sure the writers were inspired by the Neuroi when working on the designs of the Alone, the main enemies of the show. The action scenes where our heroines do battle with the giant mechanical entities are enjoyable and nostalgic in the sense that it always made me laugh seeing superpowered girls easily (not always) take down alien robots that the local military, with all of its heavy artillery, cannot. It all culminates in a pretty epic and gloriously cheesy finale.

Another factor that could be a turn off to some is the emphasis on the “power of friendship”. Yes, we have seen that theme many times before and honestly, I still cannot get sick of it. I mean, what is so bad and annoying about seeing a group of teenagers tap into the strength of their friendship to take down evil? I do not see what the big deal is. It is certainly better than any Tween romance crap written by Stephanie Meyer, where 99.9% of emotions emotions are overrated. The “power of friendship” motif is awesome because it usually leads to cheesiness and I LUV ME SOME GRADE-A CHEESE!

The show also tries to include the “humans abuse perfect energy sources” message, which they don’t really do much with.

Next up is the explanation of the title. See, Akane’s grandpa gives her the power to transform into a superheroine and any other girl Akane befriends gets those powers as well. The Vivired Operation is when one Akane and one of the other 3 Vivid Rangers fuse together through a kiss on the forehead and form a more powerful version of the Ranger Akane fused with. however, that does not explain why they named their attacks “Naked”, such as Naked Rang. Oh well.

I really like the animation quality. It’s colorful, crisp and hey, like them or not, the butt shots and show of skin is top notch.

The OP and multiple EDs are also pretty good, with each fan having their own pick of which ED is their favorite. The main soundtrack is also heroic, just the way I like it when watching a Power Rangers-esque show.

Akane, Aoi, Wakaba and Himawari, left to right.

All the characters have their likable charms and unless you dislike a certain stereotype, none of them are annoying. Akane’s the energetic airhead protagonist who like mayonnaise too much. Aoi is the lovable best friend who secretly has a crush on Akane (or maybe Akane already knows). Wakaba (favorite of the 4) is a badass kendo prodigy with a fetish for cute girls. Lastly there’s Himawari (2nd fav), a busty, out of shape ex-hikikomori techno geek.

Lastly, there’s Rei, who was compared to both Homura Akemi and Fate Testarosa. She plays the role of “is she good or evil” character, which if you’re an anime veteran, know what to expect from her.

Thankfully the professor is not a lecherous old man.

As usual when it comes to mahou shoujo anime, there is yuri subtext aplenty. My personal favorite is Wakaba X Himawari and my least fav is Akane X Rei, mainly because I did not see much chemistry between them compared to Akane X Aoi. There is a fourth pairing but it quickly becomes meaningless.

Overall, a fun show not to be taken very seriously. Like I said, it is not as good as Strike Witches but stands very well on its own. If you like mahou shoujo anime and don’t mind butt shots, give this one a try.