FEATURE - Love Re:ZERO? Check Out the Creator's New Sci-Fi Series
Love the time-bending psychological drama of Re:ZERO? Missing it now that it's gone back into hibernation? We've got good news: the series' creator has another show out right now for all you sci-fi fans!
Tappei Nagatsuki has teamed up with Re:ZERO anime script writer Eiji Umehara to create Vivy -Fluorite Eye's Song-, a completely original anime project. The show follows Diva, an idol A.I., on her path to the future as she tries to stop an oncoming war between A.I.s and humans. And if you're a fan of Nagatsuki's #1 work, you've got a lot of reasons to love Vivy, too!
A Different Way of Playing with Time
One of the most fascinating things about Re:ZERO is its time loops: the fact that our hero Subaru "Returns by Death" to a previous point, trying over and over to get his life right in a new fantasy world. Vivy also plays with time travel, in its own way... in that our main character isn't time traveling, but is still acting with future knowledge.
Vivy (once named Diva) is visited by a program named Matsumoto that says, without her assistance, a devastating war between humans and A.I. robots will break out in a century. Matsumoto proves his point, then sets Vivy on her century-long journey to maintain peace. But operating with future knowledge while stuck in the present is even more confusing than straightforward time travel.
Who Has the Right Answer?
The world of Re:ZERO is fraught with good and evil magic, witches, knights, and political intrigue. As Emilia and her party attempt to do what's right, the question of what even is right is raised more than once.
Vivy approaches this same idea head-on. Vivy is given her marching orders, issued by a program that's seen the devastation the future will bring and which is equipped with data on all the "singularities" that affect the outcome. But sometimes Matsumoto is wrong. Even if a singularity requires alteration, there's often more beneath the surface than simple eradication.
The Mission Is Happiness
How often in Re:ZERO do we hear Subaru say he wants Emilia to be happy? And not just her. Everyone in his life, he believes, can be made happy and kept safe with his power. (He tends to leave himself out of that equation, of course...)
For Vivy, happiness isn't just an ideal: it's a prime directive. After multitasking A.I. proved to be dangerous, robot manufacturers equipped each A.I. with a single task. Vivy's is to sing and make people happy. Now, even as she's forced to go above and beyond her role as an idol robot, she clings to her main job: making people happy. And she refuses to abandon that, even if it means not following every order.
What's Going on Here?
Re:ZERO is, of course, infamous for not answering all its question. Two seasons and many light novels in, we're still in the dark on a lot of important things. And we're likely to stay that way for a while.
Vivy knows that feeling all too well, but Matsumoto doesn't even attempt to disguise the fact that he's withholding information. She often wanders into tasks without knowing the truth behind it. Why? Matsumoto doesn't trust her, for one. This whole mission is risky. Vivy wants to do things her way, too. So not only are we learning new things about this world every week, Vivy is right there with us.
Vivy -Fluorite Eye's Song- is running now as part of the spring anime season. It'll hit the spot if you're a Re:ZERO fan in the mood for some fresh science fiction! Be sure to get started soon, while it's still only a few episodes old!
