Friday 1 February 2013

Vividred Operation - Episode 4

The Alone just aren't letting up on their attacks upon the Manifestor Engine, which is certainly keeping Akane and Aoi busy even with the addition of Wakaba to their team.  More importantly though, it seems that someone is watching events unfold from afar with a keen interest....

Not only is this party watching, but they're also actively involving themselves in hacking into systems to find out more information about the Alone and their attacks - but who is stealing this information, and why?  Ferret body or not, Isshiki wants to find out the truth, and surprisingly (if for him perhaps, not so much for us) that search for the truth takes him right into the midst of Akane's new school.


With serendipity bringing Akane and her grandfather together, and more importantly the advent of an excuse to visit the ever-absent (or rather, replaced by a mere camera) Himawari, it seems that we've found our culprit; a girl with a love affair with the Manifestor Engine - and more importantly the technology that allows its energy to be sent around the world - that rivals even Akane's.  When the Alone attack once again, with a focus on that very same streamer plant, it seems as if Himawari is the only one in the vicinity who knows what needs to be done to save it.  It seems that the Vivid System team have themselves another member...

A little like last week's episode, this instalment of Vividred Operation both feels a little rushed and a little formulaic - keeping its action as the bread of the show's proverbial sandwich may not be a terrible idea but it does introduce too much predictability to proceedings, while aspects of Himawari's story and her introduction to the Vivid System felt almost as rushed as Wakaba's before her.  If it carries on in this vein, I can see Vividred Operation's charms slowly melting away in spite of its top-notch visuals when push comes to shove, so I really hope that it still has room to shift up a gear or two once it's finished introducing its character roster (and perhaps its most intriguing character) next week.

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