I'll try to keep this spoiler free and write a bit longer, a first for me.
As the basic mainstream Ani-Tuber watcher I am, I went over Gigguk's Top Anime of 2021 list recently, looking for new stuff. And in that video was a clip from Vivy Episode four that sent shivers done my spine because that small section was cool on all the levels. So I made a mental note to watch it.

A day later, at work when I had downtime, I was in the mood for some anime. So, I went for it, remembered Vivy and boy did it help me pass a few boring days.

Story:

Let me start by saying I was a bit confused by the time travel shenanigans. I always am when it comes to time travel mumbo jumbos, but I still think they're enjoyable. That Vivy is an AI makes things a bit easier to follow. Upload the save data from one AI onto another one in a different timeline, boom.
Still, if that Vivy is the same Vivy as the previous Vivy just with different memories/data or if they're entirely different entities... Dunno, I got lost.
BUT, like I pointed out in the summary, Vivy is very similar to Terminator Judgment Day I feel like, and its "AI uprising that ends human life as we know it and an AI needs to prevent it by traveling back in time" is just as entertaining now as it was some 30 years ago.

That the narrative time frame is a different one and that a young boy is replaced by a snarky ~~GLADoS~~ companion cube doesn't change things a lot.

What does change the narrative is that the companion is the one who knows what's going to happen instead of the AI that needs to stop the world from going kaputt. That switch in dynamic was pretty fun, and that it's told in various mini arcs at different points in time is a great way to show the characters developing.

Development and growth are two of the main topics in the story, and it shows. Because of a time skip narrative structure we see the result of strong character development without having to use a ton of the show's limited runtime for actually displaying it. Does that make sense?

Speaking of which...

Characters

Vivy and Matsumoto are the focal points of the story. In the first few minutes, it's established that Vivy is actually a nickname given to the AI Diva by her only real fan who compares her to a character from a fairy tale. Later on this becomes an important distinction as, while they share a body, the, I guess personalities of the AI take on different developments, up until episode 10. I can't really talk much more without spoiling that aspect of the show, which I really don't want to do. Still, the AI is a great base for a wonderful development, going from little more than a robot with a single goal to a fleshed out person.

Matsumoto likewise develops, from a sarcastic no nonsense AI solely focused on the mission to thawing and becoming more humanesque. He fulfills his role as exposition fairy well enough while also being a valuable companion to our heroine in combat.

The other characters are kind of there, really the show is IS Vivy and Matsumoto. Though special note needs to go to Kakitani, Vivy's main hurdle in her mission for the first two thirds or so of the story and Osamu, for all intents and purposes the Big Good of the show.

Production

Let's talk about the showy bits of the show. Vivy isn't the best looking anime of 2021 but that's only because ufotable dickslapped everyone with Demon Slayer and Mushoku Tensei is as fluid as it's water magic is wet.
Vivy looks awesome. I mean, duh, it's a Studio WIT production so it's got the folks behind early AOT and Vinland Saga working on it. The combat is absolutely gorgeous and they really went hard on the Sakuga. But even outside of combat, the character design is good, the animation is overall fluid and hell, even the CGI doesn't look out of place. Combine that with great sound design, a bonafide banger opening and perfectly fitting voice acting and you got yourself a really great overall experience. Two standouts in the sound are the distortion in the voice of a character before the big fight in episode 4 begins while the battle theme overlaps, which gave me goosebumps (it makes sense in context but it's awesome) and the insert songs which just add so much to differentiate this sci-fi show from its time travel brethren.

Additional thoughts:

It actually has a conclusion. A proper bittersweet ending for an original show in the era of 11-13 episode anime. That's impressive. What's more, it didn't ever feel... Rushed. It flowed organically, which is ironic given how the show's mostly about AI.

Closing thoughts & Score

I had a really good time I have to say. Its snaps action, good characters and engrossing story made for a very entertaining watch that's definitely flown under the radar for a lot of people. I can really recommend this show to anyone who's into thrillers, character-driven stories, kickass action and time travel stories.

8.2/10