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SUMMARY

In the year 2225, space travel in the solar system has been severely restricted, due to a solar phenomenon called the Geluld Field.  Stretching across the solar system, this gravitational field will crush any ship that goes too deep.

The students onboard the Ryvius are working hard to help keep things running smoothly until they can be rescued.  The members of the senior class are trying to figure out the inner workings of the ship, and figure out what to do next.

When another attack by the Earth military forces the Ryvius deeper into the Geluld Field, gang leader Aris Blue decides to take control of the ship.  Forcing his way on the bridge, he threatens to kill anyone who goes against him.

While Kouji and Juli try to keep the peace, Aris and his gang begin their own plans to get to Mars and deal with their attackers.  Aris decides to use a battle suit called the Vital Guarder to fend off the attacks.

During an intense battle, contact is lost with the Vital Guarder.  Will the Ryvius be able to make it to Mars with out their protector?

DVD VISION TEST

VIDEO: The quality is excellent.  There are no pixels or errors noted.  The colors are solid, and the motion, fluid.

AUDIO: There is very little difference between the Japanese and English 2.0 audio tracks.  It will depend on your equipment on which one sounds better.

EDITS: No edits.  Everything is exactly as it was in Japan.

EXTRAS: Perhaps some of the best extras ever in Bandai's "Platinum Edition" series.  First we have new text less open and close animation.  Next, we have original commercials for the Japanese release of the soundtrack .  Then comes a new VJ Mix Video, made just for Ryvius.  Last is a very cool feature called Ryvius Illusion a collection of short, flash-based, internet features.  Recreated for your DVD viewing pleasure, these are very funny, Super Deformed (SD) clips that will leave you chuckling with delight.  Also, if you let the music play on the extras menu, you can hear an entire musical piece by Dis.  Inside the case, you get a large plastic card.

WIDESCREEN REVIEW

STORY: Welcome to "Dawson's Battle Creek...er ship".  Don't let the science fiction trappings fool you, this is a teen drama.  Yosuke Kuroda and his team of writers really play up the angst elements of the story.  It seems like every kid has some sort of emotional or spiritual damage they are trying to work through.  What keeps things going isn't the level of action, it's the way the kids deal with a very unusual situation.

ACTING: The acting is pretty solid on both tracks.  While no one really stands out, each actor infuses the right amount of youthful enthusiasm and dark foreboding.

FAN SERVICE: We get a couple of panty shots with this one. The space ship designs are very cool, and will please the mecha heads.  If you listen closely, you will hear two of the voice actors from the very funny "Ed, Edd, n' Eddy" cartoon and the entertaining "Transformers: Armada".

CONCLUSION

Of to a strong start, Infinite Ryvius continues on it's rockin' course.  A blend of science fiction and teen angst, this is a hip and trendy drama that will appeal to viewers of all ages.

In the first volume, we saw the "battle lines" starting to be drawn.  On one side is the Zwei Cadets, "led" by the arrogant and self centered Lucson Houjou.  He and the rest of the senior cadets have decided to limit the flow of information to the students.  This plays right into the hands of the other side, Aris Blue and his gang.  When another attack by the Orbital Security Bureau makes the ship go deeper into the Geulud field, the "punks" revolt.

Yet, surprisingly, the "punks" do a better job at running the ship than the Zwei ever did.  While their methods are a little rough at times, you can't argue with success.  They manage to get the students to unite, get the ship to Mars, and activate the giant robot, the Vital Guarder.  They even manage to get some of the Zwei to work with them, and place the clear and level headed Juli "in charge".

The relationship between Kouji and Yuki is still tenuous.  While Kouji quickly integrates himself with Aris and his gang by going along with them, Yuki constantly challenges Aris.  After several beatings it takes Kouji's friend Ikumi to get the kid in line.  Once he is working with Aris and not against him, he becomes a major help in piloting the giant robot, the Vital Guarder.

Like the Ryvius, the Vital Guarder is a way cool and unique design.  It requires the main energy drive of the ship to power it, so both have to separate from the Ryvius to work.  Naturally, when you take away the main engine, your ship doesn't work as well.  I also like how it reminds me of the Space Shuttle, with it's patchwork look, and smooth lines.

We still don't have any answers to the questions posed in the first volume.  We don't know who built this massive ship or why the military call it the Braticia. What is it about this ship and the Vital Guarder that is so important that they are willing to kill everyone on board?  While the empathic girl has faded somewhat into the background, she is still and enigma. Now, they have added a new mystery to keep us interested! A mysterious "squid" creature zips past them while they hide in the Geluld.  While this encounter is brief, you know something else is going to happen later on.  What ever the answers are, I can't wait to find out.

The animation is very well done.  Nothing ground breaking, but there is plenty of detail and impressive mecha designs.  The character designs are nothing special, but like the animation, they are solid and fairly easy to tell apart.

The BGM is an interesting mix of Hip-Hop/R&B and orchestral.  For those of you who like the R&B inspired music of "Bird" will find Mika Arisaka's vocals on the opening theme just as powerful and soulful.  According to the advertisements on the extras, there is an English version that was released in Japan.  Getting just a tantalizing snippet, I hope that a future volume will have a copy included somewhere.

Bandai has done a fine job with this DVD.  The video, audio is excellent and the extras are plentiful.  I love the second  set of SD Ryvius Illusion segment.  The commercials, the VJ mix, and the Ryvius codas on the extras menu makes you want to get up and groove to the smooth jams (no laughing).

I am now a total fan of Infinite Ryvius.  Full of surprises, suspenseful battles, and strong character development make this an easy one to enjoy.  I eagerly await the next volume from Bandai. 

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