Infinite Ryvius

Infinite Ryvius
Infinite Ryvius anime series logo
無限のリヴァイアス (Mugen no Ryvius)
Genre	Science fiction, psychodrama
Created by	Hajime Yatate
Anime television series
Directed by	Gorō Taniguchi
Written by	Yōsuke Kuroda
Music by	Katsuhisa Hattori M.I.D.
Studio	Sunrise
Licensed by	NA: Sentai Filmworks
Original network	TV Tokyo
Original run	October 6, 1999 – March 23, 2000
Episodes	26
Manga
Written by	Yōsuke Kuroda
Illustrated by	Shinsuke Kurihashi
Published by	MediaWorks
English publisher	ComicsOne (volume 1) DrMaster (volume 2)
Magazine	Monthly Comic Dengeki Daioh
Demographic	Shōnen
Original run	December 18, 1999 – September 18, 2000
Volumes	2
Original net animation
Infinite Ryvius: Illusion
Studio	Sunrise
Released	June 30, 2000
Runtime	5–7 minutes
Episodes	6

Infinite Ryvius (Japanese: 無限のリヴァイアス, Hepburn: Mugen no Rivaiasu) is a 26-episode science fiction drama series produced by Sunrise.

The character and mecha designs in Ryvius were created by Hisashi Hirai, who later went on to act as the character designer for Gundam SEED.

The series is also noted for its music, which blends western R&B/hip-hop with J-pop vocals, including in its title song "dis–", performed by bilingual Japanese-American singer Mika Arisaka. Most of the songs were composed by M.I.D., while background instrumentals were created by Katsuhisa Hattori.

The anime was originally licensed by Bandai Entertainment in North America before it went out of print in 2012. Following the 2012 closure of Bandai Entertainment, Sunrise announced at Otakon 2013 that Sentai Filmworks had rescued Infinite Ryvius, along with a handful of other former BEI titles.

A two-volume manga adaptation was released concurrently with the series in 1999–2000, which was then published in English in 2004. A parody spin-off original net animation (ONA) series Infinite Ryvius: Illusion, was released in 2000.

Plot

See also: List of Infinite Ryvius characters

In the year AD 2225, mankind has spread from Earth to inhabit nearly all the planets and nearby moons in colonies and settlements. Space travel is commonplace. For the inhabitants of the Solar System, an astronaut career is a viable option; one of the schools set up to train future space voyagers is the Liebe Delta, a space station in Earth's orbit. This growth has occurred despite the Geduld, a sea of plasma that erupted from the sun along the Earth's orbital plane in AD 2137. Stretching from the sun to the edge of the solar system, this area of high temperatures and gravity pressures remains unexplained.

Kouji Aiba, a sixteen-year-old boy, leaves his home on Earth for the Liebe Delta to train for his Level 2 piloting license. He journeys to the space station with his childhood friend Aoi Housen, who, to Kouji's chagrin, has enrolled in the Liebe Delta's flight attendant program. En route, Aoi tells Kouji that his younger brother Yuki will also attend the Liebe Delta in the same flight class.

The students and teaching staff on the Liebe Delta are like those at any other school, preoccupied with their own affairs and classes. They even have a vacation period, the Dive Break, when the station performs maintenance near the Geduld. About 500 of the approximately 1,000 students stay for the break. Unknown to all, the station is sabotaged during a routine dive. Most of the staff are gassed and rendered unconscious, falling into the Geduld Sea, where gravity pressures could crush the station. The remaining instructors sacrifice themselves, believing they can save most of the students. When their sacrifices fail and the Liebe Delta is near collapse, the RYVIUS, a ship hidden within the station, activates and surfaces from the Geduld Sea, rescuing the remaining students.

Stranded in space and abandoned by Earth's governments, anger, agitation, and fear grip the ship. Kouji struggles to maintain order and peace. He faces conflicts with his brother Yuki, navigates his feelings for Uranian aristocrat Fina S. Shinozaki, avoids Aoi, and witnesses apparitions of a girl in pink. Will Kouji guide the RYVIUS to safety, or will he lose everything he holds dear?

Vaia ships

Vaia ships are crucial to humanity's survival, despite causing mental breakdowns in those exposed to them for too long, as seen with the Blue Impulse's captain.

Six Vaia ships exist, requiring hundreds of thousands of trained astronauts to enter the Geduld to capture, formulate, and secure Vaias for them. This protects humanity from another Geduld phenomenon, as the vital guarders' gravitational warping can block it.

• **BLACK Ryvius** (Called "Brattica" by those seeking it): The main setting after the Liebe Delta's destruction, and the Orbital Security Bureau's target. They even justify destroying Hyperion with the Blue Impulse's Vital Guarder to destroy the Ryvius. It is one of two Vaia ships with manifested Sphixs, and the only one with a humanized Sphix, Neya. The other ship has lost all humanity except the desire to kill Neya. Its Vital Guarder, Einvalt, is a large humanoid mecha deployed from the front lift ship. It controls gravity, with stronger localized control than others.

• **BLUE Impulse**: Disabled by the Ryvius after using its Vital Guarder to destroy Hyperion. The Ryvius used its detached barge cannon and Vital Guarder to turn the battle. Impulse's fate is unknown, possibly decommissioned. Its Vital Guarder, Vertical Drill, plowed through masses with a strong gravity field around its spinning drill arm. It destroyed Hyperion and could fire captured debris.

• **CRIMSON Dicastia**: Piloted by older women, it boasts the greatest gravitational force output, using wired pods. It first inflicted casualties on the Ryvius while it was trapped. Its Vital Guarder, Eysfina, is a pod chain system creating an entrapping gravity field to detain targets for firing.

• **GREY Gespenst**: Conrad Vicuss's ship, similar to the Ryvius, with a comparable humanoid Vital Guarder fixed to a system. Seeing Neya, resembling his deceased daughter, he realizes his errors. It forms gravity blades and merges with "vaia squids" for amplified power. Its Vital Guarder, Geist, has immense gravity power, estimated at twice the Ryvius's. It merged with vaia squids, boosting its power and damaging the Einvalt until both were annihilated in a final attack, leaving the lift ship's occupants safe. After the battle, Conrad's final words, seeing Neya again, were: "Attention all hands. The Ryvius is piloted by children, I want them rescued!" before committing suicide, showing his understanding of the Ryvius's situation. This ends the war between the Bureau and the Ryvius.

Themes and symbols

Infinite Ryvius explores complex themes and symbolism:

• **Responsibility:** With adults gone early, children make difficult decisions without guidance.
• **Loss of innocence:** Adult responsibilities and situations force premature loss of innocence.
• **Politics:** Shifting power dynamics aboard the ship mirror real-world politics.

Episodes

Bandai Entertainment's titles sometimes differ from literal translations (shown in parentheses).

Manga

A companion manga, created by Shinsuke Kurihashi and released by MediaWorks, details the Ryvius's voyage from Aoi Housen's perspective, and to a lesser extent, her roommates Kozue Izumi and Reiko Ichikawa. Unlike the anime, which focuses on the Aiba brothers, Ikumi Oze, and other mostly male characters, the manga offers unique episodes and plotlines.

ComicsOne acquired the English-language rights, releasing the first volume (episodes 1-13) in October 2004. The second volume, covering the rest of the series, was delayed after DrMaster took over ComicsOne, finally releasing in May 2005.

Soundtracks

Infinite Ryvius Original Soundtrack 1

• VICL-60485
• Release Date: December 16, 1999
• Tracklist (omitted for brevity - already present in original text)

Infinite RYVIUS Original Soundtrack 2

• VICL-60486
• Release Date: March 1, 2000
• Tracklist (omitted for brevity)

Infinite RYVIUS Original Soundtrack 3

• VICL-60487
• Release Date: March 23, 2000
• Tracklist (omitted for brevity)

Reception

In 2000, Infinite Ryvius won Best TV Animation at the fifth Animation Kobe.

External links

• Sunrise's Official Infinite Ryvius Page (in Japanese)
• Future Without Limits: Infinite Ryvius: Comprehensive English-language IR website.
• Infinite Ryvius (anime) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia