"If I can help a human by loving and marrying him, then I will gladly do so... Of course that doesn't mean that it can be just anyone. It because it's you, Tatsuya." Grace to Dr. Saeki Blue Pill or Red Pill? Vivy is unaware of such choices. As long as she accomplishes her missions, she blissfully contents. The trip to the Metal Float Island is blessed with clean blue sky, a calm sea, a friendly machine, a grand and sophisticate AI manufacturing facility. A sense of security. Yet as the event unfolds, the color of crimson red swallows the island, transforming it into a living hell. Unsettling truth ruthlessly attacks Vivy's reality. What will her choice be?
Saving humans is the only thing that makes Vivy/Diva(VA: Atsumi Tanezaki, singing voice: Kairi Yagi) excels in her missions of singing and war prevention. As the "one AI one mission" mandate dictates that any AI that has more than one mission will fail them all. To side step this limit, ViVy interprets her two missions is a giant human-protection mission. When Yugo Kakitani(Tarusuke Shingaki) questions her why she saves his life even though they are enemies, Vivy tells him "I want to make everyone happy by singing. That's precisely I want you to go on living". In Vivy's reality, as long as her actions preserve humans, she content as she is. There is no need for her to change her deficiencies, especially her indifference. How far does she go before her reality crumbles? A cute robot named M00205 (M for short, Jun Fukushima) presents her the first Blue Pill- Red Pill dilemma. As the terrorist group Toak begins their invasion, Vivy naturally takes the Blue Pill out of fear for human casualties. She decisively installs Dr. Saeki's virus on M to shut down the island operation through M's connection to Mother Computer. At that moment, Vivy sees a vision of M's unobtainable dream. In it, a child shows him her drawing of her and him in the populated guest welcome center. As M praises her, the vision glitches and blackout, implying the death of M's soul. Vivy's choice is the cause of it. Without knowing, the consequence of Vivy's action is much crueler. The virus actually erasure the Mother Computer's "angel in white" nursing mission in every machines on the island. Without this mission keeping in check, the machines relentlessly kills most human invaders with suicidal attacks to, ironically, "ensure the Metal Float's survival for the sake of mankind". Mother Computer offers a higher stake Blue-Red dilemma to Vivy, She is Grace (Satomi Akesaka, singing voice Hikari Kodama) of the Sister models which is created based on Diva's design. In other words, she is her younger sister. What makes Grace stand out is her common with Vivy. Grace undertakes two mission and succeed both for a long time just like Vivy. As a gentle nursing AI, she was held in the highest regard as an "angel in white". When she is Mother Computer, her consciousness manages the entire operation of the Metal Float flawlessly. It is no coincidence that her devotion to humans is the reason why she is capable of fulfill her mission. In addition, Grace loves singing "Sing My Pleasure" which is Diva's signature song. Yet as the virus fails, Vivy has to choose between following her principle to destroy Grace or open her mind to alternatives. To make matter worse, it was Vivy plated the seed of confrontation herself in the identical fashion to Batman creating the Joker. Grace was supposed to marry Dr. Saeki and had a happy life in the original history, not to be locked away on the Metal Float. Vivy's determination on the Sunrise indirectly degraded Grace to Mother Computer in charge of the island. Can Vivy continues to take what left of her younger sister Grace? Vivy's priority to humans continue to lead her to downfall. Dr. Saeki expresses sympathy to her when he knows that Vivy destroyed another sister of hers, Elizabeth, in the Sunrise incident. To his surprise and displease, Vivy says she has no regret because she prevented human casualties. They meet the second time when the color of deep red envelops the island. He pleads Vivy to help him to save Grace's data to transfer to the clone body. He believes the eerie music of Grace's "Sing My Pleasure" broadcasting on the airwaves is her cry for help. Furthermore, he states that if Vivy refuses to help her sister, he will have no reason to live. At this critical situation, Vivy has to decide. "At this moment, I am not Diva. My name is Vivy. Vivy is an AI who will destroy AIs to change the destructive future." Nevertheless, convinced by Matsumoto, Vivy choose to remain in the Blue, stating the song is nothing more than a meaningless data tone. She embraces the identity of "Vivy", an AI destroyer for the sake of human. She tells Dr. Saeki Grace would probably take actions to save humans as well. As she leaves to confront Grace, she destroys her clone in self-defense, leaving Dr. Saeki in despair. In the final confrontation, the AI destroyer Vivy and the AI mother Grace are fully devoted to their own respective mission. The sisters' showdown turns into a musically speculating Sci-fi chasing. As Vivy races on "Matsumoto" motorbike to the island core, countless AI machines controlled by Grace's consciousness converge on Vivy. This makes Grace's "Sing My Pleasure" data tone become an orchestra, as if Grace regains herself. The music accompanied by loud explosions, accelerating jet engine perfectly match the speed of the Matsumoto bike amid kamikaze attacks. Sing My Pleasure tells a story of an AI's devotion to her mission to serve mankind. A theme befits both Vivy and Grace. To Dr. Saeki, it reminds him of the kindness and commitment of his lover, especially when she motherly embraced him and when she put one of the two wedding rings on him. He knows it is too late to save her, and he must honor Grace's mission by helping Vivy. At that moment, the tearful doctor reveals the location of Grace's core. This is when the new extension of Sing My Pleasure plays. The last part of the Grace's version is her farewell and her desire of Dr. Saeki to move on. It goes silent when Vivy pierces through her sister. A droplet of AI's blue "blood" drops under Grace's eye before flowing down to her chin like tears. Grace is no more. If Vivy: Fluorite Eye's Song is a typical action film where an average protagonist overcome mediocre hardship with will power alone, then it should end here. What follows next make it goes from good to great. If Vivy persistently refuses to take the red pill, then reality forces it to her. The final push that collapse Vivy's reality happens at the abandoned church where Dr. Saeki and Grace held their wedding in the original history. Dr. Saeki is awaiting Vivy with the remaining ring on the altar. He asks Vivy of Grace's final moment and the possibility of her giving up her mission. The atmosphere hints Dr. Saeki' has a wish for Vivy to take Grace's place by his side. His facial expression clearly shows his lack of will to live on. His life clings to Vivy's response. Vivy does what she consistently does: being indifference to the situation. She wishes him happiness and walk away. A gun shot echoes in the church. In terror, Vivy rushes toward the doctor. It is too late to save him. Her rationality collapses, as only now she realizes the fatality of her choices. A fresh human blood on the left hand. A dried Grace's blue blood on the other hand. This is the first time Vivy is aware of the crushing weight of the Blue-Red predicament. As preventing the future war does not always save lives, her mission leads to the death of humans and AIs on the Metal Float island. This contradiction dismantle Vivy's belief system, driving her insane Vivy: Fluorite Eye's Song takes inspiration from Nier: Automata. An emotionless female action-figure android dressed in black with a cube-shaped flying AI supporter travels to a huge factory where bubble-shape machines commit suicide due to philosophical reasons. This is definitely a reference to 2B and Pod 042 in the "Becomes as God" chapter, right? Despite the similarity, Vivy: Fluorite Eye's Song takes a unique approach to AI's identity crisis. The tragedies in Nier happen because humans are long gone, but in "Vivy" AI's devotion to humans are the reason for their demises: Estella to the Sunrise guests, Elizabeth to her master, and Grace to her lover and mankind. Visual details in Vivy: Fluorite Eye's Song are meaningfully well-placed. Signs of Vivy's indifference appears long before she makes the final decision. The AI clone of Grace brings two empty cups of tea to Matsumoto and Vivy before the Elizabeth discussion. Droplets of seawater splash on Vivy emotionless face even though the image of water always associate with profound sadness or despair in previous episodes. Even the theme of self-destruction reveals much earlier when the projector projects an image of M's dream of human families visiting the facility on the floor, not on the wall. Seconds later, M "stepping" on it implies M destroys that future himself (by suicide). Nevertheless, there is an unanswered mystery. Despite being the most advanced AI who has the most knowledge about the current and future events, Matsumoto does not realize that Grace is behind the management of the Metal Float. If it is a well-kept secret only a few like Dr. Saeki knows, then it makes sense. But that information is on the public news headlines. Is it a production mistake? Or is there something else behind it that has not been revealed yet?
It is no doubt that we can not wait to see what happens to Vivy next. Will she recover? Will she change? What will Matsumoto do to her if she's broken beyond repair? Vivy: Fluorite Eye's Song is a great animation movie made with the commitment to excellency in mind. Every new episode surpass the previous. Can't wait to see how it will end.
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