Infinite Ryvius

In our quest to watch all of the classic and overall decent science fiction anime of the 1990s and early 2000s (except mecha anime, which we still largely skip), we finally gave Infinite Ryvius a second chance. As a Lord of the Flies in space story with several dark, intense moments for the young, beleaguered crew, it was occasionally painful to watch. Some of the sub-standard animation and the lack of explanation for a lot of the technobabble and science fiction mumbo jumbo also made the story a little hard to follow. In other words, the show could have been so much better. Indeed, in some ways its young crew reminds one of Martian Successor Nadesico while Aiba Kouji is somewhat similar to the famous Shinji of Evangelion. The young crew, left to its own devices without adult authority or supervision, descends into chaos, violence, and by the end, fascism. The adult authority, represented by corrupt factions on Earth, however, are revealed to be no better given the extent to which they will go retrieve the ship and put the adolescents at risk. 

Still, seeing the extreme depths to which the teenagers descend will shock and disturb any viewer. One sees this in their highly unequal ranking system for the crew, the abuse of authority, and the problematic ethical systems used by the different groups which successively rule the ship. Blue, representing sheer power and fear, seizes power in a coup. A Spock-type character and the Zwei students retake the ship and use one character as a "puppet" captain while Heigar controls from behind the scenes. When that does not work, Aiba Kouji's friend, Ikumi, later seizes power and, despite having the noblest intentions of them all, establishes the most despotic, authoritarian regime that nearly destroys the ship. And while all this is going on, the Ryvius is attacked by other Vaia ships and Fiona is establishing a cult based on her religion from Uranus. The show does not take it in this direction, but she appears to be the force behind a theocratic type of authoritarianism while Ikumi, Stein, and Blue represent different types of authoritarianism, fascism, and police states. Oh, and the ship, like Moya in Farscape, is alive or rather is powered by a living organism that assumes a human form. 

The main protagonist, Kouji, wants to please everyone, is anxious, unsure of himself and lacks the skills of his younger brother or the willfulness of the other leaders. Yet Kouji, who seems occasionally pathetic, useless and perhaps even naive, never loses his sense of basic decency. By the end of the series, Kouji is more determined and willing to shape things instead of going with the flow, although events beyond the control of the students ultimately resolve the situation. Ultimately, what could have made this show great rather than "good" would have been a little more fleshing out of the post-disaster solar system and a little more background to some of the characters. For example, what was happening on Earth with the 2 groups involved in the conspiracy was not as clear as it could have been. I also would have liked learning a little more about the science of ship navigation and the origins of the alien lifeforms in the Geduld and part of the 6 advanced ships. It also would not have hurt to see what conditions were like in the other parts of the solar system, why were some groups independent of the Solar System Alliance government, and how class and religion operated in the 23rd century.