[Anime Review]/Vividred Operation

Alright, I'm not entirely sure where to start with this one to be perfectly honest. Directed by Kazuhiro Takamura, (Strike Witches) and with character design by Takamura as well...this one does have a ton of hallmarks from Strike Witches. While there are obviously some differences between both shows, there are a lot of similarities...some good, some bad.

Hell, even the first episode has a few scenes that are near carbon copies to his previous show as well. The enemies? Yep, they sure seem a lot like the same from Strike Witches as well. The difference? Well, it's not WW II anymore, it's not full of panty shots (we get bike shorts instead) and the cast is a lot smaller. Oh yeah, we've also gone for a more cyberpunk/magical girl route with the main heroines too. 

Not that any of this is bad, but Takamura probably should've deviated a little bit. The general concept of the show is great and I think it could've stood up on it's own without making so many references and allusions to his previous work.

• Genre: Action/Sci-Fi/Magical Girl
• Length: 13ep
• Rating: 7.5/10
• Recommendation: Give it a go, it's probably one of Winter's best offerings and the story arc and subplots are enjoyable. Sure, it's extremely reliant on Takamura's past work and there is fan service galore, but get past that and you're in for a good ride. I feel this could've benefited from a longer run or a second season, but I doubt that's gonna happen.
• Where to watch: Crunchyroll

Now, onto thing in a bit more detail. Sure, the first shot of the very first episode is definitely a sign of what's to come in the realm of fan service moment but that shouldn't sway you from watching it (after all, how many watch just for that reason alone, eh?). As always...there's probably a few spoilers down here, so read on at your own risk.

Our story follows Akane Isshiki, her grandfather (more on that in a minute) along with an old childhood friend Aoi. After both of them are forced to transfer to a new school, they quickly befriend Wakaba (the school's Kendo Club) and Himawari (a recluse, obsessed with technology, who attends class via camera...at first). That said, these four make up an unlikely group of heroines, all the more since they're being directed by a guy who's become a stuffed animal. Yes, you read that right...Akane's grandfather, the master mind behind the creation of the Manifest Engine (which powers the entire world, btw...rather important note there) has undergone a bit of an accident and is now...well, yeah. Didn't see that coming, did ya? Neither did I....the sheer madness of that makes some of the later scenes quite entertaining though.

Quickly they're put into service helping defeat the Neuroi..er um, I mean Alone. No one quite knows why they're there or what they want exactly. The only thing is known? They want to destroy the Manifest Engine, which would pretty much put the entire world back into the dark ages since everything (and I do mean everything) is powered from the thing. So, this is a major issue and of course, wouldn't you know it, the regular military is completely ineffective against the things. Solution? High school girls! (I mean, what could go wrong...right?)

However, it's not so cut and dry. The girls from the start are trying to protect their identity outside of their roles as superheroines, which does become rather tricky and leads to a few odd moments here and there. Obviously they will be found out by a few and how it's handled works in a couple of interesting ways, but some of the things that happen after it seem like "Wow, how exactly?" and "Yeah, how'd they know what to do?" in a couple instances. Since there's really only a couple of those moments it's not a huge deal but I think they could've done a slightly better job in that area. Overall, they're all really likable and even the "villain" is quite likable as well...yes, I know that's a bit weird to say but it's true. None of them are lacking in personality either as they're all a little off in some areas but that's probably just adds to their charm.

That said, the way that they've handled the Alone and how exactly the "villain" of the series is presented is definitely a nice change up from things too. There's a connection made with her and it's not so cut and dry as to what's going on or her full motivation of things. Sure, that gets revealed to us and in doing so, shows that good character development runs deep in this one. I have a feeling the smaller group of characters for the show has allowed for this, or they're just that good with the writing. Either way, it was a nice change up from the shallow one dimensional characters that you see in a lot of anime where lazy writing can run rampant.

Likewise, the animation and technical direction is top notch. This isn't too surprising though as it was amazing in Strike Witches as well and should be expected here. I couldn't really find any faults in any of it, nor the voice acting, which is on target throughout the series. Sure, there might be a couple odd parts but (Why do they keep using English for their attacks for instance? No clue) overall it was enjoyable and no one really showed lack of effort.

I've only given this one a 7.5 and I'm sure that many would argue the case for it to be an 8 or even 8.5. I can see where they're coming from but I could've done without the fan servicey moments and lazy writing at times. Also, the tidy wrapping up of things didn't really hit me as something this show deserved after the great lead up. So, yeah, I'd say definitely watch it and you'll mostly likely enjoy it more than a lot of other shows out there in same genre. Just don't expect to be blown away, we've been down a similar road before after all.