So I watched Infinite Ryvius over the course of 17 months which should instantly go to show you just how slow and grueling this was for me to watch at times. As a disclaimer I may be somewhat harsh on this show at times but in reality it did have certain redeeming qualities and ends up falling on the better side of average in my opinion. I certainly cant say that Infinite Ryvius was anything close to a masterpiece but on the same token I cant call it straight garbage either as it most definitely had its fair share of interesting points On a technical level Infinite Ryvius really shows its age. Visually its not great either aesthetically or on an animation level. The aspect ratio being stuck at 4:3 isnt fun but understandable given that its over two decades old. Even down to aesthetics the show lacks a lot of soul or trademark style. Its a lot of bland grays browns and blues which really makes the show rather dull to look at. I think thats actually what sort of made me like Neeya so much as the show went on because she actually stood out somewhat. On an animation front the show does little else to bolster its case. The animation tends to look jagged and uninspired. I could put those faults on it being old if certain other shows such as Cowboy Bebop and Neon Genesis Evangelion didnt have such solid animation despite being older than Ryvius. On the musical front Ryvius finds more ways to stand out. I actually really liked the stylistic choices made in the music. The soulful hiphop/ RB mashup was incredibly unique and really added a stylistic flair that the show was lacking in the visual department. Even if the opening and ending songs were rather lackluster and there were some poor song choices for moments on the screen such as vocal warbling playing as some important and dramatic scene is taking place the music was definitely a highlight of Ryvius. As an aside I watched this dubbed and it was terrible I dont know why I subjected myself to that and Im a dub over sub when I can get it kind of a guy. Favorite Character: Airs Blue https://pm1.narvii.com/6177/90c785c9ea5b82887179dc577481e094b6c2c563hq.jpg Blue really takes the cake as the best character of Ryvius for me for a multitude of reasons. First off he looks like he just escaped Naruto to get onto the Ryvius and secondly because hes one of the few characters in the show who isnt afraid to take charge and act even though for purely selfish reasons. Its really a testament to the solid writing of the show that hes one of the few characters who doesnt really grow in an extremely meaningful way. He does grow but more emotionally than anything which is the fun part of his arc. Watching him grow from a gang leader who just wants to seize control and run the ship his way. Interestingly enough everyone in the show hated his points system but everyone who took over the ship ended up keeping it around which was an interesting thing to note as everyone but Juli and Kouji seemed to hate Blue. This is where I can talk about the good part of Ryvius. The political movements of the leadership on the Ryvius. It starts out that the elite students of the Ryvius the Zwei become default leaders and prove their incompetence as a unit leading the way for Blue to seize power by force and implement a dictatorship. Eventually that would get overthrown putting Juli in charge after a vote. She proves that shes too much of a doormat for the job and is herself pushed out of leadership. Lastly Ikumi takes over and rules with his martial law. The most interesting part of it all is that none of these styles of leadership are at all effective or even shown in a good light at all. Theyre all shown as having their obvious flaws and limited benefits as the children struggle to survive work together and keep morale high. This is the most interesting aspect of Ryvius and when paired with the vast character pool and all their different ideals and whims it creates a complex web of relationships and loyalties that really push the show to a high level in the writing department. As far as things that drag the show down it has to be the pacing. Theres so many times where the story is progressing at a breakneck speed only to slow to the slowest of crawls. And this happens multiple times which really makes you feel jerked back and forth between small character moments and intriguing plot movements. I would also say that a lot of the terminology and many of the scifi concepts really went over my head a lot of the time since I was really trying to mostly figure out what was happening in the story and keeping all of that straight all on top of keeping characters and their connections straight. It just got a bit confusing at times. Essentially if I had to boil Ryvius down Id say that while yes its good Id put a huge disclaimer that it really shows its age on top of many weird little kinks that could be deal breakers to most viewers. Its not an easy watch thats for sure but if youre looking for something niche and character driven especially with a unique look at mob culture and political movement this is your show. And so with all of that said I give it a cautious recommendation.