English Dub Review: Vivy -Fluorite Eye’s Song- “Sing My Pleasure – To Make You Smile”

Overview (Spoilers Below):

Five years after the Sunrise incident, Diva/Vivy and Matsumoto reach another Singularity point. This time they have to destroy the Metal Float, the first unmanned AI factory. The duo first saves an AI researcher who formerly worked with Toak, Saeki. He knows about Diva’s involvement in the Sunrise incident but doesn’t hold anything against her. He gives them a program to destroy the Metal Float since AIs are progressing at a rate where humans can’t keep up.

Then Vivy and Matsumoto infiltrate the factory and go along with the tour with a civil engineering AI, M. At the end of the tour M poses a question on cuteness for them at a recreation place for humans in the future. Then Vivy is struck with the sight of the AI party as the AIs sing her song and questions M on it. However, the security system of Metal Float turns on as Toak heads to the Metal Float. The AIs and humans clash in the sea and Vivy rescues a familiar face.

Our Take:

We arrive at another turning point this time involving another one of the Sisters, Grace, and a large AI island. Before we get to that, there are the effects of the Sunrise incident. Vivy tells Matsumoto that the most defective AI turns out to be a model AI in the diverging timeline. He concludes that their existence is the reason for the increase in AI progression. Not to mention we get her committing to the Singularity project since her audience has grown. Furthermore, her determination to stop the AI rampage in the future because of the twins’ sacrifice was touching. It’s a decent display of the aftermath of the incident and Vivy’s thoughts on the project now.

The episode’s animation was good as always. I liked how they incorporated Diva’s songs into the plot. It seems that her influence as a songstress blurs the lines in between her mission to make everyone happy with her singing and the Singularity project. Furthermore, throughout the episode, there’s a focus on the AIs indicator. When Diva and Saeki discuss her actions to the twins and regretting her actions, her indicator flickers to blue. The anime does a good job dropping visual hints like that for the viewer to glean into Vivy’s emotions over her actions.

Then there’s the love between an AI and a human through Grace and Saeki. It’s an interesting concept to bring in now especially with the duo’s main objective in destroying the Metal Float. Saeki’s marriage with one of the Sisters, Grace, was the bridge between AIs and humans after the tension between the groups was high with the Sunrise Incident. He’s with Grace in the alternative timeline but understands that destroying the Metal Float would eventually harm Grace according to Matsumoto.

Their story is undoubtedly a unique case, and I do wonder if the next episode will dive into it more. The episode has already given hints to their connection with the Metal Float. There’s the beginning of the couple in the abandoned church and Vivy’s glimpse into the system when injecting the program into M. It was also an emotional gut punch to see M’s dream with the children as the program is injected into its body.

Overall the episode is a good bridge between the Sunrise incident and the Metal Float conflict.