First Impressions / Vividred Operation

「もう一つの鍵」 (Mo Hitotsu no Kagi )
“Another Key”

If there’s one thing this episode really made me think about, it’s those times where life makes it so you just end up seeing the same person over and over again through the course of the day. In this case of course, we’re dealing with the mysterious Kuroki Rei as the person who keeps appearing no matter where you look, and Akane as the gal who keeps bumping into her. All in all though, it’s not unexpected considering how our other heroines have met up in the previous episodes, but dang, it sure went from “I see you from time to time” to “WHOA YOU’RE EVERYWHERE” in a hurry—not that that’s a bad thing, as more Homura Rei is definitely a better thing.

Still though, Rei’s similarity to Homura from Madoka Magica is exceptionally striking, and it looks quite obvious that they’ve borrowed from her archetype/story/personality a bit for her character. Like I mentioned above though, it’s something I don’t quite mind… though I do wonder how things are going to work out in the span of the half a season we have left.

Either way, the whole bit about how Fate chose to end Kuroki’s world following what the crow claims to be a Manifestor Engine meltdown throws a slightly interesting wrench into everything. On one hand, it explains why she’s doing what she is (how bout that attempted infiltration?)… and on another, seems to insinuate that she isn’t originally from this timeline… or at least from Akane’s world as we know it. One does wonder however if the crow isn’t just some Alone in and of itself and if the whole meltdown wasn’t actually something caused by an Alone succeeding in attacking the Engine—which would potentially Rei the reason why it happened in the first place. Would be some crazy circular logic if it was the case, but it seems like it’s more likely that she’s been told a false truth more than anything at the moment.

Overall, just a pretty straight forward episode for the most part. It was admittedly nice that it didn’t feel anywhere near as rushed as the previous few episodes however, but I do wonder whether or not it’ll stay along this pace for the remainder if its run.

 

ED4 Sequence

ED4: 「ありふれたしあわせ」 (Arifureta Shiawase) by 内田真礼 (Uchida Maaya)

65 Comments

  1. It’s always possible that the subbed version I saw translated it poorly, but in that version it seemed fairly obvious that Rei wasn’t from Akane’s world. Rei’s world, whatever it was, was destroyed by an accident with the Engine. The bird seems to be telling her that if she destroys Akane’s world by destroying the Engine there, it will somehow bring Rei’s world back.

    Personally I suspect that is BS, and would not be surprised if the crow or some associate of its were, in fact, responsible for the destruction of Rei’s world.

    Wanderer
    Reply

    1. I might just agree with you, since the another translation said that the ones that were from the other dimension was the alone.

      (They’re close enough unless we have a Japanese speaking person verifying one of the guess.)

      Either way, that just turned Hormura Rei from one of the antagonists into a VERY important side character.

      info600
      Reply

      1. Literally translating, the crow talks about “Your world” and “The world where you used to be”.
        This implies a different world, but doesn’t necessarily exclude the possibility that “Your world” is a “Future world”.
        It’s sufficiently vague that we’ll just have to wait and see.

        sinkingmist
        Reply

    2. Crow: *tortures Rei* Come now, Fate Rei, you must do better than this. Simply this much power is not enough, not nearly enough. Don’t you want to fulfill my dream of reaching Al-Hazard saving our world?

      Rei: *in pain* Yes…mother…

      MasterDragonKnight
      Reply

  2. FIRST!!!! lol XP

    Anyway, really liked this episode. So much (tsuntsun and a little deredere) Rei! <3 lol

    Not so much fighting as it was backstory, which is nice. More than likely that the crow (almost always bad omens) is duping Rei. I also wouldn't be surprised if the incident was caused by Rei in the first place either in an attempt to stop the Engine from working.

    Then it begs the question on just WHY the crow wants the Engine destroyed in the first place, saying the energy has "run amok" and all.

    HalfDemonInuyasha
    Reply

  3. It seemed rather clear to me that Rei was from a different world that is not connected to this one. At least, I didn’t even think about her being from a diverging timeline.

    Though I do wonder if this show would be daring enough to do something where Rei actually manages to destroy this world and bring back her own, except that Akane somehow survives like Rei did originally, and the crow attempts to make Akane do the same to Rei’s world to bring back her own world.

    In such a scenario, I guess the crow would just be trying to see which world “deserves” to be saved with its own twisted logic. And it would be interesting to see Akane’s reaction.

    Tre
    Reply

    1. From what we’ve seen of Akane’s character, and what she told Rei in this episode I don’t see any way that Akane would agree to it. I’m sure if it came to it she would find another way.

      anime viewer
      Reply

  4. Despite being a character with redeemable qualities, we should all remember that Kuroki was directly responsible for countless UN casualties during the first Alone battle in episode 1. She acted knowingly that her actions will spell demise to many innocent people. It just nags me that eventually she is going to be converted by Akane and live a happy school life while disregarding all the people who died because of her…

    But that’s just me :/

    Jack
    Reply

      1. While it’s true that no one (that we are aware of) died after she powered-up the Alone, she would have to know the possible consequences of her actions.

        It’s like an insane criminal goes on a shooting-spree, runs out of bullets, then you walk up to them, hand them another clip and walk away. We don’t know what will happen, but even a 14-year old bloomer wearing school girl could make a pretty accurate guess. Past behavior predicts future behavior.

        7godeohs
        Reply

      2. I agree, I realized that the Alone power up sequence was ep 2, not 1. The first Alone blew up three UN ships and a sizable area of the island relatively close to settlements. Rei’s action pretty much resulted in hundreds of deaths (UN and potentially the islanders).

        Jack
        Reply

    2. Rei has essentially been told “you must destroy this world to bring back your own.” It is a terrible thing that she is trying very hard not to consciously think about. The crow is taking advantage of the selfish (but totally understandable) wish of an anguished child, who saw everyone and everything she loved burned away in front of her eyes. Of course Rei wanted to bring her world back! Of course she would promise to do anything, anything, to undo what happened to her family and friends! In that moment, with the agony of their loss still burned into her mind, with no one left in the world to help her or comfort her, what other response could anyone have expected?

      I cannot blame her for her choice. I cannot fault her for it. What she is doing is wrong, and cannot be justified, but I understand why she is doing it, and I cannot hold her to blame for it.

      Wanderer
      Reply

  5. Felt a little weird to not have an adrenaline rush after watching a Vividred episode for once. I don’t mind, it’s about the right time that things slow down for storytelling purposes, anyway.

    Rei doesn’t interest me very much, sadly. I’d say her archetype is more along the ‘dark precure’ vibe, where she obviously has a good heart and good intentions, but is being duped by the sinister party… though Homura had the same vibe up until episode 10, so who knows. Very curious about whether the crow is spouting BS in order to get her cooperation.

    Also, the Isshiki sisters are just too adorable with their mother.

    R
    Reply

  7. Vivid-red Pantsu show~~~.

    At least they change arse shot every week. And two arse shots at that this week! AND a bonus boobage-shot in the shower. They are going all out, they are~~. Yay.

    deathtogeneric/formulaicshows
    Reply

  8. I expected better from Alone and Rey than the routine of Palpaltine converting Anakin to the Dark Side. Even if Rei is from another universe (or timeline), siding with an alien force instead of another humans is way too farfetch, even if the motive is to “bring back you own world”, which at this point we can clearly sai that is a big fat lie.
    She’s not Homura, since she wanted to save Madoka, but not at the expense of others. Right now, Rei doesn’t care for our world nor its people (even if she saved that kid) just because a selfish wish. In counterpart, Akane clearly is conscious of her priorities (others first and respect your values and your family’s)
    The saving grace for Rei is her key. Clearly, that’s Incarnated (Manifestation) Energy, maybe even pure than the one the Engine manage now. Just as Akane is the main power source for Vividgreen, Vividblue and Vividyellow, Rei must be the power reactor for the arise of the titular Vividred. Expect her in the last episode.
    So, the Alone are clearly evil (manipulate an innocent to do their dirty job? Evil!), and like their cousins, the Neuroi, they evolve with each combat. Let’s expect that friggin crow to mess even up things.

    Just for the lols, where did Rei manage to obtain a H&K Mp5? Childs this days…

    SeedStriker
    Reply

  11. Seeing how popular Homura seems to be in Japan, I wonder if we’re watching the advent of the Homura clone to join the ranks of Rei, Shana,or other popular character clones.
    I wonder who is controlling the raven though. At first I thought they were going to use the abusive mother villain, but that was wrong so I wonder who it is.

    xephx
    Reply

  12. Honestly, I don’t see this strong “Homura clone” vibe. Yes, they might be physically similar, but in terms of role in the story Rei is much closer to traditional Dark Magical Girls like Fate from Nanoha:

    – she directly opposes the heroine despite not being happy about it;
    – she plays the role of the Dragon to what appears to be the Big Bad of the show (The Crow);
    – she has major family issues;
    – the heroine is dead set on “befriending” her.

    Basically, this is just like Nanoha season 1 plays out, and quite a bit different from Homura (who remains a mystery character until much longer in the show and never directly fights the other gals). I guess the whole point is: Madoka deconstructs the whole Magical Girl genre; on the other hand Vividred plays it very straight.

    Steelman
    Reply

      2. That really depends on how stubborn Rei is. Fate was very powerful and even won some fights which forced Nanoha to beat the stuffing out of her just to reach out.

        So far all we see of Rei is that she has no powers other than her bow and her skills as an infiltrator. Hardly a match for Akane.

        fragb85
        Reply

  13. How to end this serie in 2 episode ,wait for mass alones rushes and Rei powers them up she leave 1 feather just to survive then sneaks in and bombs reactor lol

    about her resemblance to homura , don’t really mind I don’t really thing about that i just think that she is so cute since first time seeing her and I assure you after 1.5 month time watching anime it too much for me to remember

    pokpok
    Reply

  16. >not meeting butt shot quota this week.

    Anyway Rei seems less Homura now that she’s actually fighting for her world and not for a singular person. Common tragic hero stuff.

    TheMoondoggie
    Reply

  17. I may have missed it, but does Akane have to be in the docking combination every time, or could you have some other combination? If so, then if you have red/blue Vivid and green/yellow Vivid, what happens when THEY dock? Just wondering.

    SmithCB
    Reply

  21. To be honest I don’t see Hormura in Kuroki. She is much more like Fate from Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha. In fact there are a lot of Nanoha references in this show, including the ferret. I suspect the whole ‘power of friendship’ will also be used in this as well to convert Kuroki from the dark side.

    Scruffy
    Reply

  22. So that’s why the different naming pattern:
    Akane & Co.: Family name contains number, given name contains color.
    Rei : Family name contains color, given name contains number.

    Would be interesting to see how they’re gonna solve the “there can be only one world”(if it really turns out to be that way).

    Without “cheating” (e.g. save both worlds!). ^^

    LGrey
    Reply

  23. akane on paper route see “mystery girl” with on birds give she ran so on school finally know her name is rei try invite her to group camp give not now.

    so akane quiet follow rei even see her save a little kid from metal falling piece all seem fine then rei came home here come “crow” to hurt rei for saving a child with glowing curse tattoo & remind help alone destroy engine building so you can what you want.

    so rei sneak in building to attack but guard bot take them down & swim away who later next found rescue by akane during which some talk time til alone attack.

    then rei try to go shoot her arrow cause if help “crow” & alone to destroy energy building rei will get her world back but still injured & faint.

    rei awake here akane to give rei that key cause it remind rei of her home then after that akane visit her mom with bit advice her mom is certain she can help rei.

    roni
    Reply

  24. We are officially in Nanoha territory now. We have an exuberant, hot-blooded protagonist who grows oddly fascinated with the mysterious girls who just happens to be a sympathetic antagonist? When do we get to see the wait to see the eventual befriending?

    Poor Rei doesn’t seem to know how this works. Rejecting Akane’s offer of friendship just means Akane won’t be able to quit her. Although I am intrested on where she comes from, as it implies that the Manifestaion engine has either temporal or inter-dimensional qualities. Maybe even both.

    fragb85
    Reply

  26. Too bad we didn’t see the fight with the Alone. Now they’re not even getting screentime anymore, poor creatures.

    Anyway, while I could totally see her grandpa inventing something that could blow up the world (he did mention something like that in the first episode, after all), I do think the crow is lying. After all, no need to torture her otherwise, or generally acting all evil. Miss Sixth Ranger needs to join the cast at some point as well. Probably after some evil plan reveal, which all villains love.

    And I’m impressed. There were actually newly installed guard bots this time near the reactor that could blow up the world. Even the Sixth Ranger didn’t see that coming. And what is with all the seagulls constantly circling around her? What is she, a Big Octo? I’m guessing there’s some kind of significance there.

    Dvalinn
    Reply

  28. Kuroki Rei… “Black Ghost”

    Bit of an ironic name for a girl from a dead world

    Even more ironic is her key, since she’s now a Key Character to the plot XD

    Hmm, wonder if the Manifestor Engine really did cause the destruction of her world, or if it wasn’t the Alone themselves.
    In the translation I watched, the line of “They live on the borderline between the beginning and the end” gave off a Lovecraft Old Ones or Skullduggery Faceless Ones feel – basically world enders dimension hopping and killing worlds for lol

    The whole “destroy one world, get one back” does make sense, as you’d need a huge amount of energy to recreate a whole planet (ie – equivalent exchange) but I can’t help feeling the crow only told her a lie or even a half-truth, in that it would bring back her planet, but only the planet sans people

    As to the new Alone – heh, it’s Ramiel from Evangelion’s little brother ^^

    And I don’t know if the feathers on Rei’s neck are the number Alones that came / still to come, but if they are + their connection to her world then they could be a reference to Assassin Creed’s Ten Feathers, which, if you had all, gives you achievement “In Memoriam” or In Memory Of – rather fitting, no?

    Digid
    Reply

    1. Erm, not exactly “black ghost”, I’m afraid.

      Her name is 黒騎れい
      騎 – mount, ride – as in a “black rider” or “black knight”
      鬼 – ghost
      Both are pronounced “ki” in the on-yomi pronounciation.

      Kinny Riddle
      Reply

  37. The boys to the mountain, the girls to the beach. Why???

    And those robots are autonomous instead of feeding back a security system which coordinates them? And it was designed to shoot before asking? Awesome tech, terrible design I guess.

    I must continue to refrain myself from posting in vividred’s. Too many plotholes that try to stop me from enjoying it. It could make me look like a troll if I started ranting really, though I like to see the chapters. I hope that crow meets a Homura style shooting as Kyuubei.

    Ebisu
    Reply

  38. Well, at last now we have everybody “Motivations” here. Now we know “why” Black Ranger is doing this, hope with this the “Introduction” of the VIP Chars are done. Or do we need some “Background” of the Ex-Pilot and now Teacher san?

    Germanguy
    Reply

    1. oh and now they noticed that someone is “powering Up” the beaten Alone from outside….

      Well, we cannot have every time a T-800 Terminator Model with alternative Power route fix (Insider)

      Germanguy
      Reply

    2. Btw, with these Feathers = Shoots. We need a good “Story” for why she “survived” all the used Feathers for an 2nd Session, if they Plan to expand the Lifetime of this Anime

      7 Feathers left, so Episode 12-13 could be the end. This time she fainted.

      Germanguy
      Reply

  40. Just noticed that Zephyr’s post becomes shorter and shorter each episode. Well it’s not like there’s a lot to talk about anyway… (btw what’s with the Zanibas hate comments everywhere???)

    I don’t mind Kuroki being a clone of Fate/Homura, I don’t mind if this show is full of tropes. It doesn’t annoy me for some unknown reason. I like it!

    nagi
    Reply

    1. It’s not an intended pattern. 😛

      Most of it was cause this week I had P-P in addition to my usual Zetsuen on Thurs and snowstorm was blowing through so, yeah. Lol. Wanted to kinda make it a lot more concise and straight to the point in case internet went out. XD

      Added some extra screens though. Pics worth a thousand words. 😀

      Zephyr
      Reply

  42. Oh, I assumed the “meltdown” was the flashback Akane had in the first episode (unless that was explained and I completely missed it), making a possibility it happened simultaneously in both worlds, but only one was allowed to survive…

    …or something.

    Crunchie
    Reply

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