(Note: Contains some spoilers, but it doesn't matter. You'll understand what I mean if you read this)
So, as mentioned in my Sasami-san@Ganbaranai review, having been disappointed with the Winter 2013 crop of anime, I decided to step outside my comfort zone and watch a couple of shows that I would normally skip because they had caught my eye for various reasons. The second show I took a gamble on was A-1's new original show Vividred Operation. It piqued my curiosity for two reasons:
1. It is an original franchise as opposed to an adaptation, which is not as common these days, and also means that no one really knows what it's going to be like. Think Madoka Magica – if that had been an adaptation of a manga or novel, the surprise of what it ended up being wouldn't have existed, and it would have lessened its impact. Now, I'm not saying that this is going to be another Madoka, but it was certainly possible, and I actually ended up being surprised by the true nature and character of this show (as I'll explain later).
2. The preview images for the show. Observe:
I mean, just look at them. I know the desire for fanservice, sexualization and ecchi exists in the anime world (often to an annoying degree), but something about school uniforms with tiny boy shorts just seemed a little too ridiculous to be true. And the previews were even worse, with crazy gratuitous ass shots and such. There had to be more to this than just a magical girl-type show with sexual elements...
Once again, my instincts turned out to be correct.
Vividred Operation tells the Story of Akane, a girl living in a small Island town in a utopian future. She also happens to be the granddaughter of the scientist who invented the Manifestor Engine - a monolithic generator that wirelessly supplies 95% of the world with clean, free energy. There's just one problem – this generator also attracts mysterious unknown creatures called "Alones," who quite easily make minced meat of the Japanese Self Defense Forces. Luckily, Akane's grandfather also invented a device that turns her (and later on, her friend Aoi as well) into a suggestively clad magical girl (more like technological girl, but you get it) with incredible super powers and an assortment of weapons. But during the initial Alone attack, an accident turns the grandfather into a talking ferret. Or weasel. Or something... I'm not sure. This device also enables the fusion of two magical girls into one magical woman (by use of a process called - and I'm not kidding - docking) with incredibly powerful special moves. Add to this the mysterious antagonist magical girl (who just happens to be in the same class as Akane and Aoi) that assists the Alones by boosting their powers and you got a recipe for a terrible, terrible show. Right?
Well, not exactly.
The beauty of Vividred Operation is that it is entirely self-aware. It took a little while for this to dawn on me, but I am now convinced that it is a clever tongue-in-cheek parody of these types of shows. Although it's been pointed out to me that parodies tend to criticize what they are parodying, and this is the exact opposite – a campfest, so maybe "parody" is the wrong word, but you know what I mean. Everything is taken to such a ridiculous level that it simply has to be deliberate. This is true for the tiny boy shorts, the highly sexually suggestive transformation sequences (lots of underwear shots), the "Docking Operation" that requires the girls to kiss (while hugging in their underwear. I mean, come on!), and many more such things. It almost feels like the creators said: Oh yeah? You want sexualized magical girls? Well, here's a girl with half her ass showing yelling "Naked Impact!" as she smashes a comically large rocket-powered mallet into an alien robot. Is that enough fanservice for you, audience?! IS IT?!?!
It also hits you over the head with its simplicity. Take this example from episode 2 – Akane and Aoi (who is by this point one of these magical girls herself) need to perform the Docking Operation in order to defeat the approaching Alone, but the process fails because it involves a mind/memory merge, and Aoi apparently has been hiding a dark secret from Akane. This is teased as being something quite serious, and I was thinking to myself "oh boy, here comes this show's Madoka moment." The dark secret? Aoi lied to Akane about liking tomatoes, when she in fact hates tomatoes. This one plot point was discussed ad nauseum on message boards with tones of utter disgust. "That was it??? She doesn't like tomatoes?!" But that's when it hit me – they are doing this intentionally. I mean, if they weren't, would we really see something like the following picture?
Vividred Operation is an over-the-top celebration of the campiness of fanservicey action magical girl shows. Much like Sasami-san@Ganbaranai, everything here is turned up to 11, but in this case it is disguised as a more standard show. And by "standard" I mean "awesome" - the animation and action are pretty top notch (including some great transformation sequences), and watching it feels like sharing an inside joke with the creators. Every time I see people complain about the logic of the plot, I feel like I am in on the joke and they aren't. Think about the scene in Kill Bill where Kiddo fights the Crazy 88. Did anyone think that the comically fake (and often hilariously delayed) blood geysers spewing from severed heads and limbs took away from that sequence, or did you understand that Quentin Tarantino was going for that exact vibe, which made it work perfectly? That's exactly how I feel watching this show - like when a serious monologue about someone's hopes and fears is shown from an angle that conveniently has a large semi-exposed ass in the foreground. These guys aren't lolicon perverts - they're just funny.
Once again, this show definitely isn't for everyone. Don't expect some kind of disguised criticism of this style (at least not thus far). It's more like they are saying: "Yes, these shows have this kind of nonsense, but so what? Who gives a shit? We're having fun." So, in a sense, you have to like this stuff at least a little, but if you watch it bearing in mind what I just told you, I think you can actually have a lot of fun. If you take it as a more straightforward show that requires consistent internal logic and proper plot points and motivations, you will probably think it is beyond stupid. But there are so many things that lead me to believe that this is intentionally campy and winks at the audience that I can't help but operate under that assumption and enjoy it for what it is.
