Anime Hajime Review: Vividred Operation

***Warning, the following may contain spoilers for Vividred Operation. Reader discretion is advised.***

Series Synopsis

Humanity has achieved its ultimate dream. Almost every machine on Earth is powered by the Jigen Engine. Efficient, renewable energy is now available to all. Yet there are forces out there which hope to plunge the world into chaos. They are the monstrous entities known as the Alone.

Akane Isshiki (voiced by Ayane Sakura) is the granddaughter of the Jigen Engine’s creator. To protect the Earth, she’s given the key to unlock the Vivid System. This gives her the power to fight off the Alone and protect everyone.

But this isn’t a job Akane can do by herself. She must rely on her three closest friends, Aoi Futaba (voiced by Rie Murakawa), Wakaba Saegusa (voiced by Yuka Otsubo), and Himawari Shinomiya (voiced by Aya Uchida). Together, these four manage to fight off wave after wave of Alone attacks.

Yet the secrets of the Alone are great. And they seem to have something to do with the mysterious Rei Kuroki (voiced by Maaya Uchida). Weather by desire or necessity, Rei's determined to assist the Alone.

If Akane and her friends hope to save the Earth once and for all, they must learn to trust each other. As well as lend a helping hand to those who need it the most.

Series Positives

Did Vividred Operation have problems? Yes, but I still liked it.

Was Vividred Operation dumb and hard to take seriously? Yes, but I still liked it.

Would I say Vividred Operation was a good show? Not in the slightest. But I still liked it.

For so many reasons, this series should be easy to pick apart. Instead, I must try to put into words a new guilty pleasure. I suppose there’s only one way to start off this review.

Despite Vividred Operation’s many issues. Despite its many faults. Despite its campiness, silliness, and ridiculousness. Despite all that, this show did one major thing right. It was fun.

Well, that and the animation. This series was very pretty. I loved the colors. The art style was nice. Everything was crisp. Movements were smooth. And all this played into why Vividred Operation wasn’t just watchable, but enjoyable.

The Fights

I have to give this to Vividred Operation. The fights in this show were exciting. They were big. They were frequent. They had an impact. Each encounter with an Alone felt important. The consequences for failure were real.

Never once was a fight the same as shooing away a pestering bug. The girls were never delusional. They always recognized that these beings were a threat. The girls didn’t screw around. They were never overconfident in their abilities. But they never believed there wasn’t a challenge they couldn’t face.

Let’s not forget the huge amount of collateral damage that came with each attack. Millions of dollars of property gone. At one point a huge streak of Tokyo was left with no power. Tokyo Skytree was destroyed. And of course, the hundreds, if not thousands of lives that were lost whenever an Alone appeared.

All realities this show choose to ignore. 

“Good work girls. Never mind the families who’ve lost loved ones in some fiery explosions. Yay, friendship.”

With each Alone battle, the threat was real. If the girls failed, the world would end. The climactic battle laid this on strong too. I know if I were there to witness it, the whole thing would be terrifying. And though I liked that fight, it wasn’t my favorite.

There was one encounter in which Akane did not participate. Kind of. Instead, it was up to Aoi, Wakaba, and Himawari to deal with the Alone on their own.

Few shows do this. Few shows have its main character, the anchor of the group, not fight. And instead, have the rest of the team face the enemy. Let alone do that and succeed. Vividred Operation is now one of those few exceptions.

Regardless, this was a great way to illustrate the closeness of the team. It demonstrated that the burden didn't fall on the shoulders of one. It was spread out amongst everyone.

This was the only time Vividred Operation did this. And it still found a way to make Akane a key player. But credit where it’s due.

These fights alone made the overwhelming issues with this series overlook-able. They were never far way. And when they happened, Vividred Operation got a noticeable pickup. While these moments didn’t replace all that was wrong with the show, they made it at least entertaining.

That’s the best I can do to explain why I could like this series. But despite that, I will always be the first to say this. Vividred Operation wasn’t good. It was bad. It was a bad show.

Sure, it was great that these fights were as common as they were. As well as exciting as they were. But these were the most enjoyable, most interesting, most fun moments of the series. Everything else wasn’t. Everything else was filler until the next encounter.

The fights were the reason why I could like this series. Do you want to know the real reason? I found untold enjoyment in how stupid Vividred Operation was.

From left to right: Akane, Rei, Wakaba, Himawari, and Aoi

Series Negatives

I don’t know who Vividred Operation was made for. The tone and style were all over the place.

This was a Magical Girl show. All the qualities of one were here. Love, kindness, and friendship conquer all. The girls had faith and trust in each other. That power saved the day. These traits point to a target audience of younger females.

But at the same time, there was an absurd amount of fan service. A lot of it out of place and out of nowhere. There would be instances where the show would hold back. Although its intentions were clear enough. Then without warning, boobs. So yes, this was that type of anime. One that seems to want to target a more male audience.

Then again, audiences, in general, may not care about any of this. Despite solid action scenes, as an action series, Vividred Operation wasn’t spectacular. Yeah, an Alone attack was a serious problem. Except at no point were the girls going to lose. It all came down to the execution. An Alone may have appeared big, bad, and scary, but they weren’t difficult to beat once the girls arrived.

And then there was that otter. Once he showed up, my give-a-crap-switch turn to the off position. I do not care what you’re about to say if it comes from this thing.

Then let's mention the insane level of campiness. It’s one thing to have a good message. And Vividred Operation had a good message. The importance of friendship. It’s another thing when it keeps getting shoved down your throat.

I haven’t even mentioned all the conveniences. Everyone and everything had a habit of being in the right place at the right time. Saving the world becomes easy when you’re lucky.

Plus, docking… … … … … penis joke, let’s get passed it. How docking worked in this show was dumb. The girl’s ultimate power could only be unlocked through friendship. Which, corniness aside, was whatever. The first time Akane activated this with Wakaba and Himawari there were no issues. But when she tried this with Aoi for the first time it didn’t work. Why, because of tomatoes.

This show said a solid, multi-year friendship couldn’t trigger this key element. Because of a small lie about tomatoes? But it could work with people who just met. People who had nowhere near enough time to build a meaningful relationship. Let alone the relationship needed for this function to trigger.

This may have been a small thing. But it was a dumb thing. It was one of many dumb things which littered this show. There were so many in fact, they all sort of blend into one. And to give context and details for them all is an effort I don’t feel like doing.

Besides, there was one major thing Vividred Operation failed to achieve.

Not a Team

Akane, Aoi, Wakaba, and Himawari never felt like a team. It was more, Akane would save the day and the other three would help. Which is common. But there were a few other things going on.

Of all the main characters, Akane was the least interesting. That wasn't good since she was the leader. She served her role well enough. And that would’ve been the end of it. But this show shot itself in the foot.

There was one episode which dealt with Wakaba and Himawari’s friendship. It was a fine episode. One of the best of the series. By the end, these two had grown closer. Yet it was only these two.

There was never a Wakaba and Aoi episode. There was never a Himawari and Rei episode. Akane never got a more personal story with any of her friends. And there was never an episode where the girls were working together. It tried to have one, but the group ended up splitting. There was never any team building.

Even in the fight Akane wasn’t in, her presence was. The group relied on her influence to save the day.

When Vividred Operation went on about the importance of friendship, it was hollow. This series almost never took the time for that friendship to grow. It just existed.

Final Thoughts

Alright, what do I do here?

On one hand, this show was bad. On the other hand, it was a lot of fun. Mostly because of how bad it was. But this series didn’t lack excitement. The animation was well done. Plus, it wasn’t awful.

Yet, is that enough to give it a recommendation? Every ounce of my being says no. Except I liked it too much to not give it one on the grounds of curiosity.

Know going in you may not have the same experience I did. Still, the chances of you enjoying yourself are strong. Vividred Operation is worth the look.

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