As Infinite Ryvius moves into its second volume, a couple of interesting facets of the viewing experience emerge. The first is that - somewhere along the way - I had forgotten that the Ryvius was being maintained and operated by kids. The second is: it seems as though there would not be much of a difference if a few hundred inexperienced adults were on the ship instead. As a subtle byproduct of the main premise, the show reveals how so many adults fail to escape their childhood influences. And that's only a tip of the iceberg. Infinite Ryvius is shaping up to be a definitive account of the human experience.

The plot of the second volume is driven by personal agendas and the will to survive. The Zwei have taken it upon themselves to figure out how to operate the ship - and things are going well, except for the fact that nobody else on the ship knows what's going on. This proves to be a big mistake, as Mutiny #1 occurs - using the information freeze as its justification. Leading the revolt is the cold and calculating Airs Blue, who establishes himself as the ship's first real authority figure. While all this is happening, an unknown enemy seems hell-bent on silencing the Ryvius before her inhabitants can be rescued.

The series takes special care in spelling out the major effects of the regime change, as well as the choices each student is making in order to live. There is plenty of drama to go around, especially where Kouji and his brother Yuuki are concerned. Their personalities are night and day, with Kouji being the adaptive must-please-everyone type, and Yuuki the aggressive take-no-crap-from-anybody type. It's even more amusing when you factor in Blue, who enjoys beating the crap out of Yuuki, but actually listens to Kouji's reasoning. Even though Yuuki's attitude rubs Blue the wrong way, he recognizes that Yuuki's skill at operating the ship's defense robot (the Vital Guarder) is superb. The show has thus far spared no detail in developing its characters, and the writers made sure that the relationships and decisions made produce a plausible effect.

ph3ar my...squirt gun?	You're too manly....I surrender!

Despite the high level of detail presented in the plot, Infinite Ryvius is a bit playful in its storytelling. At times, it dangles obvious clues before the unsuspecting viewer, only to fire a shot from left field. And when you've gotten smart enough to detect these obscure twists, you get hit with the obvious. This is one of many signs that the writers of Ryvius really know their stuff. Another strength of the story is that the plot is not needlessly convoluted. I'm not much of a fan of pseudo-intellectual series that throw a bunch of gibberish at you and leave you to construct the story by yourself (including the purpose thereof). Ryvius could have easily gone that route, but instead it keeps me blissfully ignorant of its intricacies while I'm watching - placing them in the background where they belong. What a concept!

The second volume of Ryvius comes with a boatload of extras, and no rats! Among the standard/boorish items are textless versions of the opening and ending sequences (which are slightly different from the previous volume), and commercials for the three soundtracks for the show. Also included is a psychadelic rap video that happens to mention the word "Ryvius" in it a lot (this month's winner of the Weirdest Extra Award), and a second helping of "Ryvius Illusion" - humorous sketches with cute SD versions of the characters.

If you liked the first volume of Infinite Ryvius, you'd be crazy not to continue. The situation becomes more tense, the characters and their relationships become more interesting, and Juli changes her clothes! (Seriously, how often do anime characters do that?) The best part is: you can use this anime to evaluate yourself. Which character do you identify with the most? Do you find that your relationships with others mirror that character's? Trust me - it's fun. Unless of course you find that you're Kouji. Not that I do or anything.

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