Vifam can be best described as a show that settles upon simple concepts and focuses on executing them as well as possible. The show has a simple premise: humanity has expanded out into the galaxy and has come into contact with an alien race, over time war broke out between humanity and them, a group of children( from ages 4 to 15) got separated from their parents in the fighting, and we follow them as they go on an adventure through space to find them again. They learn to defend themselves, make hard decisions, and grow up a lot along the way.
These children and their development is the focal point of the show, with the ongoing war and enemy attacks providing the background needed to facilitate their growth. The children really do feel like children, and there is a prevalent slice of life element present that connects you with them all as characters. Their trials are almost as much about learning proper social interaction and dealing with their own personal challenges as it is fighting off enemy mecha and managing their spaceship. The two intertwine constantly. All the characters are well developed, and in a stroke of brilliance the show delivers a story about how children – through their need to be protected and loved by their parents, a definitive trait of children – end up maturing into heroic, independent and reliable individuals who tend to do just fine without them.
Visually this show delivers, the art is rarely if ever off model and the mecha are well designed and tend to just look plain good. At times it looks as good as you would expect an OVA to. Even the grunt units tend to be well shaded and rarely are brought about via stock footage. What is especially interesting is that the mecha are incredibly plain – just about every unit has the same set of weapons and have similar capabilities, and yet every battle is dynamic and engaging. The choreography is extremely well done, especially considering how plain the mecha and their capabilities are. The creators pulled this off by making battles multifaceted, adding in more elements than just the mecha combat, and by having a good sense of how to keep a battle visually engaging in general. Just like with the general themes and character development in this show the mecha element is simple and effective, focusing on high quality execution and not worrying about novelty or flashiness. The music is well done and achieves what it needs to. The main antagonist’s theme is really satisfying to me personally and is one of my new favorites in anime.
Vifam is an underrated gem from the golden age of mecha anime. It isn’t a flashy show at all. If anything it is the epitome of “substance over style”. If you like 80s mecha anime then this is a must see.
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