「A Tender Moon Tempo -星たちとの歓談-」 (Ē Tendā Mūn Tenpo -Hoshi-tachi to no Kandan-)
“A Tender Moon Tempo – A Pleasant Chat with the Stars”

It’s fifteen years later and Diva’s voice is finally reaching real live audiences, her small venue filling up with smiling joyous faces. Her mission to bring happiness to those who listen to her sing is in progress. Every day, however, she’s concerned with her programming, looking for signs of Matsumoto’s return. Lo and behold, he (the teddy bear version) returns unexpectedly, washed and dried, with a new mission for Diva (Vivy).

Looking back at the end of the second episode, one thing left unclear to me is why and how Diva knew that Momoka’s plane would blow up. Was this information something Matsumoto thought important to share with her? I wonder if we’ll get more clarity around this particular moment in time. It wasn’t as straightforward as the rest. On a more plot-oriented note, the event sets up precedence for why Diva can’t prevent every death, even that of her treasured Momoka.

Playing with events in time always has an effect, and oftentimes, not the desired outcome. Vivy brings this up with Matsumoto saying that in preventing the assemblyman’s murder by Toak, they’ve opened up a path for more robust laws (AI Human Rights Law) resulting in their exponential evolution. This hints to perhaps Matsumoto’s true intentions. Rather than preventing an uprising, he might be working, using Diva, to ensure that it occurs.

It’s a little confusing to me why Diva would continue to partner with him knowing full well that he’s untrustworthy. But even with this knowledge, she steps up and finds her way to the Sunrise Space Hotel where she takes on her new identity as Vivy the hostess. And so begins a new arc, where Vivy meets her successor Estella (Hikasa Youko), a fellow autonomous AI build off of similar code (the Sisters series) and the owner of the Sunrise Hotel.

This episode showcased some new ‘features’ in Vivy that we hadn’t seen before. She was actually quite comical. In trying to investigate the source of this particular singularity (Sun Crash Incident), where the hotel was intentionally brought out of orbit to crash into the earth’s surface, she learns more about Estella and about what it is to have ‘heart’. So rather than allowing Matsumoto to terminate her Sister AI, she prevents him and uses the moment to bond (or interface) with Estella.

This episode only makes up one part of this story arc but I’m invested now. Where does Ms. Leclerc fit into all this? I clocked that ‘psycho’ vibe way before she showed her hand. Her lifeless ‘kind’ eyes were extremely reminiscent of Yuno‘s in Mirai Nikki. I want to know more about how Estella and Vivy’s relationship will evolve, and whether the impact of the upcoming actions will have a positive or negative effect. There’s a lot on the table here, and a lot in this series I think is worth watching. I’m not sure Vivy: Fluorite Eye’s Song will make up a hit this season but I do think it will make for a good watch. I’ll be going on this 100-year journey alongside you if you’ll join me this season.

So keep an eye on this space for my weekly reviews as I watch Vivy inadvertently cause the extinction of the human race.

 

12 Comments

  1. Focused on why and how DIva knew about Momoka’s accident.
    I can think of 3 scenarios:

    1. There was no filter on the information of the future shared and Diva just picked it out.
    2. There was a filter but the information shared just happened to also contain information about the accident, which Diva noticed.
    3. Matsumoto intentionally shared it to teach Diva a lesson.

    As for the AI laws, here’s how I saw it.
    The AI naming law was flawed in the way it was implemented after the assemblyman’s death. It was implemented as a result of him getting killed so him not getting killed would prevent it from being implemented. Basic 1-1=0 logic.

    But because Diva went the extra mile of reaching out to the assemblyman, the law was implemented in a “not so flawed” way? It seemed to me that this was not what Matsumoto wanted but an unintentional result of Diva going the extra mile. But from Matsumoto’s viewpoint it was acceptable because it shouldn’t change things too much.

    Unless we’re talking 4D chess strats of Matsumoto intentionally letting Diva do her thing and then fakes this not being what he wants.

    JHNSeph
    1. I agree with you, that’s exactly how I understood it.

      Regarding Matsumoto (the AI), I still think that it is in “our side” (humanity), it’s just that it lacks empathy; quoting a certain “Hollow Knight” character, “No cost too great”.

      I still think that it’ll ultimately fail and AIs will rebel, getting us to the begining of the first chapter (that short scene with Vivy getting ready for the performance in the main stage), and that her singing will somehow shutdown AIs and prevent humanity’s extinction.

      Arkanon
      1. And regarding Momoka’s sister role, I’m guessing that Vivy will get to knew different generations of her family through her 100 years “adventure”. That will keep Vivy motivated as she’ll be able to, somehow, keep her promise.

        Arkanon
    1. That or this.. Human… (The scene when they Unload the Water and Food) become over 100 Years Old and every time now Vivy has to clean up his Anti-AI Terror Plots

      If i am right, then me.. then i watch for the Path, not the Destination

      Worldwidedepp
  2. Bear Kyubey still is incredibly sketchy. Not to mention that, given the Butterfly Effect, the future where he came from doesn’t even exist anymore, hence the entire mission is obviously suspect as well.

    Magnus
  3. in space…
    everyone gonna hear you sing!
    (just had to insert that Alien reference here)
    not sure about Matsumoto intentions right now, but Monokuma made me suspicious of teddy bears forever…
    can’t wait for next episode as this time we will have definitely some action
    it looks like Estelle really is wanting to bring the Sunrise down
    (at first I was suspicious of Leclerc, but she ended up dying – and killed by Estelle, no less…

    ewok40k
  4. The news articles Matsumoto shared with Diva included the one about Momoka’s plane crash. Watching episode 2, you can see it on the upper left and third from the left on the bottom when Matsumoto explains about the damage to the buildings. The cut from her robotic eyes staring, presumably perusing the articles, to the airport scene was more of an “oh shit” moment.

    bakato

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