This is a special one, my friends. My personal experience with "Infinite Ryvius" goes back to its days as a fansub, back when American audiences largely thought of it as yet another "Neon Genesis Evangelion" clone. Luckily, however, enough time has passed since the Eva Extravaganza and "Ryvius's" American release that most reviewers have spared the series all those demeaning comparisons. Demeaning for "Ryvius," that is, as this series far outshines that more popular series in both entertainment factor and depth.

The premise is a complicated one, and it's really more fun to follow it as it moves along, so I'll try to be brief. Far into the future a cataclysmic implosion of the sun causes the birth of the Geduld, a sort of space "sea" composed of levels of mysterious heat matter that gets hotter and denser the farther down one goes. This has proved to be a setback in space navigation, and thus new astronaut training centers have been constructed to teach the young generation the proper methods of traversing the stars, taking into account the Geduld. One of the most prolific of these centers is the Liebe Delta, and just as the series starts this school begins its summer break. Only a few hundred students remain onboard during this time, mostly from curiosity about the Dip, a process in which the school briefly dips into a shallow layer of the Geduld for scientific study and then quickly reemerges. It's really a standard procedure, so much so that the instructors have allowed the Jurai, the upper classmen, to monitor the whole affair. But, of course, something goes very, very wrong and a valiant sacrifice on the instructors' part saves the students' lives but leaves them alone on the ship to survive without an accepted authority figure.

A lot to take in all at once, eh? Well, that's just the beginning (and I haven't even mentioned the weird psyche group-thought babbling ship spirit that keeps prancing around in the form of an extra from "Xanadu"). The actual premise only sets into motion in the fifth episode with the discovery of the titular spaceship, the Ryvius (which is a play on the Latin word for "liberty"). This entire disk is setup and placement, all done to move the cast onto the Ryvius without any recognized authority figure, and that lack of established power is what will drive the conflict from then on. And, really, the slow plot progression is this installment's sole flaw. The characters have to momentarily take a backseat to exposition to ensure that the viewer actually understands the background behind the dramatic events to come.

That's not to say that nothing happens on this disk, though. One of the best qualities of "Ryvius" is its ability to jam-pack each and every episode with crisis after crisis that may not seem very important in hindsight, but at the moment plays out with the highest quality of melodrama. Having seen the series before, though, I know there's so much more to come, and that the characters aren't living up their true potential quite yet.

Oh, and the characters? Solid gold. Though the focus is always on one particular student, the good-hearted but troubled Kouji, and his circle of friends and foes, the rest of the cast and their soap operatic relations all do their part to intrigue and affect the viewer emotionally. These kids are all just trying to survive in a unbearably tense situation, and the shifting factions and Lord of the Flies-esque mentality make clear the frightening consequences that are just waiting around the corner for those not strong enough to handle it all. My personal favorite is Juli, who is by far the most capable person on the ship but lacks the inner strength to stand up and take control, even when the power role is just handed to her. And yet despite her weakness, Juli's warm heart and sympathetic situation causes us to genuinely root for her. By perfectly mingling virtues with faults the writers keep us wanting them to live and maintain stability.

One of the series's trademarks is the sheer size of its ensemble, but more important to me is that the writers are not only able to establish and develop its seven (or so) main characters, but also skilled enough to introduce countless minor background characters and then proceed to keep occasional tabs on them throughout the course of the show. You'll often find yourself looking for your favorite bit character in a crowd, wondering exactly what Music Clip Fangirl or Pitiful Boy In a Towel are up to.

On the sensory side of things, all is good. Normally I'm all about the visuals, but since "Infinite Ryvius" is done in the Sunrise house style (oh so shiny!) we'll just nod and smile and move along. More importantly is the beautiful OP, "Dis." This song, backed by some amazing vocals, so perfectly communicates the sense of a loneliness that all these kids must be feeling, even in such a cramped environment as they are. The ED isn't nearly as good (But what could be? Seriously.) but definitely enjoyable, in a slower enka style. And, the mammoth cast of characters is wonderfully supported by a similarly mammoth cast of seiyuu, most of which are all well-known names and put an extra oomph in their performances. The BGM is definitely above average as well.

"Infinite Ryvius" is one of those great shows that are such amazing experiences that they defy labeling. It's a science fiction serial, it's a soap opera, it's a sociological metaphor, it's a philosophical art film, and much, much more. The folks at Sunrise really outdid themselves with this one, successfully having crafted a series that uses visuals, music, pseudo-science, and a killer ensemble cast to transcend all genres and create an interwoven tapestry of thoughts and emotions. Ultimately, it's a study on humanity and our relations with one another, and it brings up some very interesting points on that subject. But it's the masterful execution of the exploration of that subject through the fantastic set of characters that truly brings it into full glory.

Hmm, not bad for an "Eva" knock-off.

Distributor: Bandai Entertainment
Creator: Sunrise
Released: 2000

Video Quality: A
Audio Quality: A
Presentation: A-
Content: A
Overall: A