Anime / Vividred Operation

From left to right, Aoi Futaba, Akane Isshiki, Rei Kuroki (behind Akane), Wakaba Saegusa and Himawari Shinomiya.

"Isn't the world a nice place?"

—Akane Isshiki

Vividred Operation is an anime that is directed by Kazuhiro Takamura and began airing on January 11, 2013.

In a futuristic world where the development of a new power source, the Manifestation Engine, resulted in the resolution of an energy crisis five years previously and rendered warfare unnecessary. Akane Isshiki is a girl who lives a peaceful life with her family on the island of Ima Oshima, but when the appearance of an unknown alien force, the Alone, threatens the world and the Manifestation Engine, Akane must take up a special combat suit created by her grandfather, known as the Vivid System, and defend the world.

The series is available for streaming on Crunchyroll and on Hulu. A Vividred Operation Licensed Game for Playstation 3 titled Vividred Operation: Hyper Intimate Power was released on the Japanese PlayStation Network on July 20th, 2013. A minigame titled Vividred Operation: Operation: Mayonaisse with Akane was released on the Japanese Playstation Network on March 28th, 2013.

---

Tropes featured in Vividred Operation include:

• Absent-Minded Professor: Kenjirou is a professor who had participated in the development of the Manifestation Engine and is shown to be a talented researcher who may forget family meals while involved on his projects. Following an accident, his body literally become absent of mind once his consciousness gets transferred into a doll.
• Against the Setting Sun: Himawari's ending credits.
• A God Am I: The Crow regards itself as a God after acquiring newfound powers when it consumes Rei's arrows during the finale.
• All Men Are Perverts: Wakaba mentions this in episode nine when other men hit on Himawari during their date together.
• Always in Class One: Six of the characters are in 2-A as of episode three, one of them being the teacher.
• Animals Hate Her: Rei's parakeet goes into panic whenever The Crow appears.
• Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: Rei must meet three conditions for the Alone to revive her parents. She must help them destroy the Manifestion Engine, she must not get involved with others, and she must attend school.
• Art Shift: The Vivids are more vivid than even their surroundings, itself quiet colourful.
• Awful Truth: Akane and company are shocked that Rei is responsible for powering up the Alone's.
• Bad Boss/Kick the Dog: The Crow's first appearance is her inflicting magical torment to Rei, because Rei saved someone and The Crow doesn't like that. Not to mention that she wants Rei to support the Alone, despite there being less collaterally damaging methods to destroy the Manifestation Engine.
• Barbie Doll Anatomy: While this was censored on TV via glowing lights and steam, on the Blu-ray versions, nipples are drawn, but nothing in the way of genitalia.
• Bare-Handed Blade Block: In the beginning of episode three, Akane catches Wakaba's bokken with her bare hands after the latter attacks her.
• Barrier Warrior: All of the girls' weapons can parry the Alone's beam attacks, but Himawari's Naked Collider is the best example.
• Bathtub Bonding: In episode ten, Akane and Rei take a bath together and get to know more about each other in the process.
• Beach Episode: Episode six justifies this by stating it is an exercise for summer school. At the same time, this episode doubles as a Bizarro Episode. The episode's title should let indicates that this episode will not be serious in any way.
• Between My Legs: Three shots in the first three episodes: One of the sun rising, one of the first Alone and one of Momo. The first two are framed between Rei's legs, the third one is between Akane's.
• Being Good Sucks: If Rei does anything to contradicts The Crow's original mission to destroy the world, the latter will not hesitate to inflict unbearable pain to her. She can ingratiate herself to The Crow by acting like a typical Dark Magical Girl. It's implied the Crow might intentionally be trying to sabotage its masters' Secret Test of Character, since knowing Rei is a good person would make them more likely to spare her.
• BFS: The Vivid Blade is a large sword that acts as Vivid Green's primary weapon.
• Big Blackout: The Alone in episode seven causes all electronics to malfunction.
• Big Damn Heroes: Akane demonstrates her capacity to overcome all odds in several cases:
  • She overcomes her fear of heights to save Aoi near the end of episode one.
  • She appears out of nowhere in episode four to rescue Himawari from falling debris.
  • Rei saves the Akane's and her friends several times during episode six.
• Big Good: Yuuri Shijou, the governess of the Manifestation Engine and peer of Kenjirou.
• Bloodless Carnage: Akane in episode 8. She looks strangely clean for someone who, according to the doctors, is suffering severe blood loss and going into shock.
• Body in a Breadbox: Akane and Momo literally placed Kenjirou into a refrigerator after his mind is accidentally transferred into a stuffed animal leaving his body lifeless.
• Breather Episode: Episode six is fairly light-hearted compared to the other episodes. Similarly, episode nine comes after a pair of much darker episodes. The title is, appropriately, "Clear, With Occasional Fluffiness".
• Bridal Carry:
  • Wakaba carries Momo into the infirmary after crashing into the latter as she's chasing Akane for a duel.
  • Akane carries Himawari to the power plant to shut it down (long story).
  • Wakaba to Himawari in episode six. A very silly version, since Wakaba was freaking out over a swarm of Literal Surveillance Bugs and simply scooped up Himawari while she was running away. For her part, Himawari was not freaking out at all.
• Bridge Bunnies: The UDF control center is operated solely by young women.
• But for Me, It Was Tuesday: The crow mocks the girls by stating that she's destroyed countless worlds before, and this Earth would be yet another statistic in ensuring her master's plans are done. To Kick the Dog a little bit more, she tells them had Rei succeeded in destroying the Manifestation Engine, they wouldn't restore her world, because they don't want anyone getting that technology.
• But Thou Must!: Invoked verbatim by The Crow, citing it necessary for Rei to carry out her mission simply because "they" stated thus.
• Calling Your Attack: The girls call their attacks when they do it with their magic weapon. This can be done repeatedly for the same attack in a single episode. Amusingly enough, they are prefixed with 'Naked'.
  • Akane: NAKED RANG!
  • Aoi: NAKED IMPACT!
    • Vivid Blue: VIVID IMPACT!
  • Wakaba: NAKED BLADE!
    • Vivid Green: VIVID BLADE!
  • Himawari: NAKED COLLIDER!
    • Vivid Yellow: VIVID COLLIDER! And VIVID ENGINE!
  • Vivid Red: VIVID PUNCH!
  • All the Vivids: FINAL... OPERAAAAATION!
• Cassandra Truth: Kenjiro had stated that the Alone were a real danger, but this was disregarded until they appeared for real.
• Cerebus Syndrome: The show takes a slightly more serious turn after Akane discovers that Rei is the enemy in episode ten.
• Clark's Third Law: The users of the Vivid System (a purely technological construct) are Magical Girls in all but name.
• Colour-Coded Characters: The main characters have their own specific colour theme.
  • Akane: Red
  • Aoi: Blue
  • Wakaba: Green
  • Himawari: Yellow
  • Rei: Black
• Colorful and Numerical Theme Naming: All of the main girls have a color in their given name and a number in their family name. The only exception is resident Dark Magical Girl Rei Kuroki, who has it the other way around.
  • Akane Isshiki is red. Her family name has the kanji for 'one'.
  • Aoi Futaba is blue. Her family name has the kanji for 'two'.
  • Rei Kuroki is black. Her given name can mean 'zero'.
  • Floral Theme Naming: The other two characters indicate their colors in a different way:
    • Wakaba Saegusa's given name means 'new leaf' (green). Her family name has the kanji for 'three'.
    • Himawari Shinomiya's given name means 'sunflower' (yellow) . Her family name has the kanji for 'four'.
    • Incidentally, 'Akane' is the Japanese word for madder and 'Aoi' can mean either hollyhock or wild ginger. Again, Rei is the Odd Name Out.
    • 'Momo' means 'peach', and, as in English, can be either the fruit or the colour.
  • Akane and Momo's mom, Mashiro Isshiki, has a given name that means 'pure white', standing in contrast with Rei's given name.
• Crash-Into Hello: Wakaba meets Momo this way when she runs into her in episode three while pursuing Akane.
• Crazy-Prepared: Kenjirou has an emergency bunker under the Isshiki home that can withstand bunker buster bombs.
• Credits Jukebox: Different permutations of the main characters sing a new ending theme every week.
• Curb-Stomp Battle: Interestingly enough, four young girls are able to take out the Alone almost entirely by themselves, something that the military has trouble with even with their latest weaponry. Justified in-universe however, in that they get their powers from Kenjirou, who also foresaw the Alone becoming a threat and developed the Palette Suits specifically to fight against the them.
• Credits Running Sequence: All of the girls do this in the opening.
• Curtains Match the Windows: Akane (red eyes and hair) and Aoi (blue eyes and hair).
• Cuteness Proximity: Wakaba is prone to squeeing at cute-and-small girls and turning into an affectionate-and-doting big sister at the very sight of one.
• Darkest Hour: When the Crow absorbs Rei and becomes a leviathan capable of annihilating the planet during the finale, even Kenjirou cannot come up with a solution.
• Dark Magical Girl: Rei is a fairly archetypal example... except that she's not actually a Magical Girl. Until episode twelve.
• Deal with the Devil: The Crow promises that the Alone would bring back Rei's deceased parents once she successfully destroys the Manifestation Engine.
• Debut Queue: Episode one focuses on Akane, episode two on Aoi, episode three on Wakaba, episode four on Himawari, and episode five on Rei.
• Deflector Shields: Himawari's weapon projects distinct shields.
• Devour the Dragon: The Crow assimilates Rei and turns into a monstrosity perched on top of the Manifestation Engine.
• Dirty Old Man: Professor Kenjirou, a scientist who enthusiastically orders Aoi to kiss Akane, his granddaughter. As the creator of the Vivid System he is also the one who named the weapons 'Naked [Weapon]' Then there's episode three, where he ends up in Momo's shirt.
  • Word of God attributes the term 'Naked' as referring to motorbikes that have their engines left exposed, much like the visual motif of the weapons.
• Diving Save:
  • Rei saves a little boy from being crushed by a falling metal bar in a construction side.
  • Lieutenant Amagi also does while piloting an F-35 against the first Alone to appear, blocking a shot meant for a civilian transport and managing to punch out as her plane breaks apart.
• Does Not Like Spam: Aoi dislikes tomatoes and during her and Akane's first meeting she lied about liking them to make Akane happy.
• Does This Remind You of Anything?
  Aoi: "When we were trying to dock I could feel you flowing into me..."
  • The first Alone has a weak spot dangling down from the main body, surrounded by its legs. When Akane's boomerang (and about a dozen missiles) hit it, the Alone groans and its legs buckle inward. It's easy to see this as a Groin Attack of sorts.
• Don't You Dare Pity Me!: After Akane nurses her back to fitness, Rei expresses these sentiments: while Akane is deeply hurt, Rei believes it necessary to minimise contact with other people.
• Dramatic Irony:
  • As of episode three, audiences are aware that Rei has Alone-empowering abilities, is actively working against the protagonists, and is attending the same school as the other girls. Conversely, the protagonists are totally unaware of her existence.
  • By episode five, the other girls become aware of Rei as a classmate and the higher-ups learn that there's a third party involved in the Alone attacks, but neither group is aware that Rei and the third party are the same person.
• Dual Wielding: An impromptu kendo match has Akane using twin swords against Wakaba.
• Earn Your Happy Ending: Rei's world is returned to her at the series' conclusion.
• Easily Forgiven: Despite Rei's involvement in countless deaths, Akane and her friends are quick to befriend her and help her overcome her situations.
• Eldritch Abomination: The Alone are beings that inhabit a higher dimensional plane and do not have any discernible patterns. Similarly, The Crow is not a crow.
• Energy Bow: Rei's bow is material, but the golden arrows it fires are made of energy and can energise Alone.
• Enhance Button: This is averted in an instance where Himawari zooms in close on a distant image capturing Akane in flight, and ends up with a human-shaped cluster of pixels. She also zooms in on one of Rei's arrows and ends up with a vague golden streak.
• Establishing Character Moment: Rei's first major act in the series is to power up the disabled Alone in episode one with her aforementioned Energy Bow.
• Evil Is Hammy: In episode six, Kenjirou role plays as the Alone in a team building exercise for the girls with a much greater enthusiasm than is necessary.
• Evolving Credits:
  • Parts of each new girl's Transformation Sequence get mixed into the opening as they join.
  • The first five episodes had unique ending credits, each focusing on whichever character was the focus of that episode (see Debut Queue above). Starting with episode six, a standard ending is used.
• Everybody Knew Already: When Aoi tells Akane that she never liked tomatoes to begin with, Akane laughs and mentions that she was well aware of that.
• Expy: The Alone are depicted as mechanical beings that bear a strong resemblance to the Neuroi, including their red particle beams and black armour plating.
• Fanservice: Given that this is by the director of Strike Witches, this is hardly a surprising element, and much like the aformentioned series, it's more prevalent in the Blu-ray version.
• Flying Brick: The Palette Suits turn its wearer into this. You can be rammed by an out-of-control jet fighter and not suffer a single scratch, while saving the pilot from certain death.
  Random Jet Fighter Pilot: "Missiles couldn't hit it, but flying little girls can?!"
• Force Field: The Alone in episode seven projects a powerful barrier that repels the UDF's missiles without any effort.
• Foreign Queasine: Akane's tendency to put mayonnaise on rice may be perturbing for some viewers.
• Friendless Background:
  • Rei's bio in the official website says that she's "always alone".
  • Himawari is initially friendless, having very little faith in what friendship means until she meets Akane, Aoi and Wakaba.
• Frilly Upgrade: VividYellow, erring closer to the traditional Magical Girl.
• From a Single Cell: If empowered by Rei's arrow, even a single block of Alone can regenerate into a full-fledged one.
• Fusion Dance: Docking!
• Get It Over With: In episode ten, The Crow says that it could kill Rei if she continued to fail. Rei merely challenges it to kill her, provided it is capable of doing so.
• Gratuitous English: "Oh my god," right after Aoi swings her hammer for the first time in episode two.
• Girlish Pigtails: Akane, as befitting her main character status.
• Girly Run: Aoi does this in the opening sequence.
• Godzilla Threshold: In episode eight, Shijou suggests to the Japanese Prime Minister to use all 109 SGE bombs onto the Alone currently regenerating. She states that even that would only have a four percent chance of succeeding, and even one would be pretty devastating wherever it explodes. Considering the circumstances however, of the Manifestation Engine being destroyed, the Prime Minister ultimately allows that plan to go forward. Fortunately, the remaining girls suggest they Take a Third Option.
• Hacker Cave: Himawari's apartment is filled with electronics and hardware.
• Headbutt Thermometer: In episode five, Akane checks Rei's temperature by putting her forehead next to hers.
• Heir to the Dojo: Wakaba treats losing to someone as Serious Business, even if they were evidently a superhero. However, Wakaba is an emotionally healthy and sentimental instance; she is kind, loving and affectionate towards small and cute girls/things rather than being in constant-denial about such kindness.
• Hikikomori: Himawari is one because a girl betrayed her trust and broke a promise. However, in episode four, Akane makes a promise to her and keeps it, helping Himawari to break out of this condition.
• Hot-Blooded: When Wakaba decides that someone is worth challenging, she won't back down until a battle is properly had.
• Human Popsicle: Following the lab accident in episode one, Kenjirou requests that his body be placed into their refrigerator to prevent significant decay from occuring.
• Humanity on Trial: Initially, it appears that the Alone's appearance was to test whether or not humanity was worthy of wielding the Manifestation Engine. The Crow mentions near the end that these higher powers have decided no one should control the Manifestation Engine, but it ends up being a part of The Crow's distorted goals: by the series' end, humanity has passed the test.
  • Humongous Mecha: Kenjirou deploys one to "test" the resolve of the Vivid Team. The aforementioned mecha is also a prototype for the girls' Palette Suits.
• If We Get Through This…: Akane motivates her team by promising the fact that Momo has a dinner waiting on the table, and that a quick victory would result in a quick return home. However, the newly-resurrected Alone manages a hit and decommissions Akane.
• Ignored Expert: Despite Kenjirou's knowledge of the threat that the Alone had presented to humanity, the scientific community remained skeptical and excommunicated him.
• I Will Fight Some More Forever: On their first encounter with the Alone, the military deploys a squadron of F-35 fighters to investigate. This squadron is promptly shot down, and the military responds by deploying additional fighters to engage the Alone in an effort to prevent the destruction of the Manifestation Engine.
• In Which a Trope Is Described: Episode six's title is unnecessarily long.
• Improbable Aiming Skills:
  • Akane's throwing skill is impressive: she is able to throw a newspaper-roll into a mailbox through two open car windows while she is on a speeding hover bike without any external assistance.
  • Rei disables hidden cameras with nothing more than a thrown fork in episode six.
• Improbably Female Cast: Kenjirou is the only major male character in the series.
• The Infiltration: Rei sneaks into Akane's house while trying to learn more about her and the Palette Suits.
• Instant Expert: The girls immediately know how to use their abilities, and they know how to summon and use their weapons by just taking a glimpse at some schematics. Docking is also quickly mastered; all of the girls learn it in no time at all, with Himawari picking up the procedure so quickly that even Kenjirou expresses astonishment.
• It's Up to You: The Vivid System is the only means of defeating the alone.
• Jumped at the Call: Akane is really enthusiastic about her new role. So is Wakaba.
• Just Plane Wrong: The F-35 Lightning IIs in episode one and episode two. They're shown to be based from the carrier, which implies they're the F-35C carrier variant, but they're depicted firing an internal autocannon, which the F-35C lacks ^note the F-35C uses an external 25mm Gatling gunpod which it shares with the USMC's F-35B, which would not be carried as a matter of course, and are firing air-to-air AMRAAM missiles at an armored target; they should have been using antiship Harpoon or antitank Maverick missiles.
• Kendo Team Captain: Wakaba Saegusa is the captain of the school's kendo club.
• Large Ham: Kenjirou can barely stay ten seconds on screen without hamming it up.
• Macross Missile Massacre: Kenjirou uses this against the girls in episode six.
• Male Gaze: The camera finds itself behind the girls rather frequently.
• Magical Girl: In this anime, it's Sufficiently Advanced Technology Girl: the series displays many of the standard Magical Girl Warrior tropes, but there is no magic whatsoever. As time goes on, the series looks less and less like a Magical Girl show with technology and more like a lost Brave Series starring teenage girls.
• Meaningful Name: In connection with the Colorful and Numerical Theme Naming:
  • Akane is red. Her family name has the kanji for "one". She's VividRed and the first Vivid System user.
  • Aoi Futaba is blue. Her family name has the kanji for "two". She's VividBlue and the second Vivid System user.
    • Wakaba Saegusa's given name means "new leaf" (green). Her family name has the kanji for "three". She's VividGreen and the third Vivid System user.
    • Himawari Shinomiya's given name means "sunflower" (yellow). Her family name has the kanji for "four". She's VividYellow and the fourth Vivid System user.
  • Rei Kuroki is black. Her given name can mean 'zero'. She's working for the enemy side and has powers that come from outside the Vivid System.
• Memento MacGuffin: Rei gives Akane her scarf before returning to her own world.
• Mission Control: Kenjirou fulfils this role for Akane and the other girls when they're fighting the Alone.
• Modesty Shorts: The girls' Palette Suits have what appear to be white cycling shorts built into them.
• Monster of the Week: The Alone, albeit not on a strict schedule.
• Monumental Damage: The Tokyo Skytree is annihilated during episode eight when it latches itself to the structure.
• Mum Looks Like a Sister: Akane and Momo's mother could easily pass as their older sister if she so chose.
• Mundane Utility:
  • Akane transforms into her Palette Suit when her bike breaks down on the way to school, and is subsequently scolded by Mizuha for using secret technology inappropriately.
  • Akane is also the owner of the sole hoverbike in the entire world, capable of flying over any surface at high speed. She uses it to do her morning paper route.
• New Transfer Student: Akane, Aoi and Momo end up being the transfer students after the first Alone blows up their school, resulting in a strange inversion. Amagi Mizuha also transfers to the new school as an instructor to keep an eye on Akane.
• No-Gear Level: Episode six has the girls encounter Kenjirou's traps without their Vivid Systems.
• The Not Secret: When Aoi tells Akane that she never liked tomatoes to begin with, Akane laughs and mentions that she was well aware of that.
• Nuclear Weapons Taboo: The "SGE bombs" are non-nuclear, despite being capable of levelling cities and leave the area uninhabitable.
• Nuke 'em: The SGE bombs fielded in episode eight are used in great numbers because the bombers can't get close to the Alone without being shot down. The girls' means only one is required.
• Omniscient Morality License: Kenjirou's idea of playing a prank to get the main characters to bond apparently involves knocking an innocent bystander unconscious with a stun gun and kidnapping her, assaulting the characters with huge mecha (which are still huge fast moving chunks of metal, even if no direct harm was intended), threatening to drop two characters off a high cliff and launching explosions which are strong enough to cause serious damage to the nearby scenery. But since it was meant as a prank, it's all okay and no one displays any hard feelings.
• One-Winged Angel: It's actually six-winged, but The Crow takes this form when she decides to destroy this world.
• Palantir Ploy: Himawari and Kenjirou make extensive use of cameras.
• Pants-Positive Safety: Rei relieves a guard at the Manifestation Engine of his sidearm and sticks it in her waistband.
• Paper-Thin Disguise:
  • Akane tries this with a pair of triangular glasses in episode three to hide her face from Wakaba, but the latter recognises her immediately when they meet again.
  • Rei tries hiding her identity by wrapping her scarf around her face in episode six. Everyone except Akane sees right through it.
• Parental Abandonment:
  • Akane's father is deceased and her mother was involved in an accident that left her hospitalised, leaving her and her sister, Momo, in Kenjirou's care.
  • Aoi was sent to live on Oshima to improve her health. However, her parents are too busy to follow her there.
  • Rei's parents were killed when her universe was destroyed. He motivation for helping the Alone is so that they will be revived along with her universe.
• Patrick Stewart Speech: Dr. Kenjirou delivers one to The Crow in episode eleven.
• Perpetual Poverty: Momo says she can't go greet Aoi with Akane in the first episode because she doesn't want to miss a sale on a carton of eggs. When their grandfather, Kenjiro, says she's overreacting to such trivial things, Momo then looks at him and asks who it was that put them in such a penny-pinching state. The camera then focuses on several boxes of high-tech equipment, which Kenjiro says he needs for his research. Episode eight reveals that Kenjiro gave away a lot of the money he earned from his inventions, which Mizuha sees as possibly being a way for him to atone for the accident seven years earlier.
• Pinky Swear: In episode ten, Akane and Rei do this when Akane makes Rei promise that she'll come over her house and they will have fun together again.
• Promotion to Parent: Momo takes care of the domestic chores, because her mom is in the hospital, grandpa is busy with research, and Akane is busy making some extra money to support the family.
• The Power of Friendship: The Vivid System's performance is largely dependent on how closely two individuals are with one another, and their past experiences.
• Power Source: The Manifestation Engine provides a nigh-inexhaustible energy supply for the world and resolves the energy crisis, but its operation draws the Alone's attention.
• Primal Fear: Akane has acrophobia as a result of the incident that hospitalised her mother. She gets over it at the end of episode one in order to save Aoi.
• Red Is Heroic: Akane's associated colour is red; appropriately, she is the main character, team leader, and all-around most heroic character.
• Red Shirt Army: The F-35s, tanks, and naval vessels deployed to engage the Alone are totally destroyed, having never dealt with entities like the Alone previously. Fortunately, Kenjirou foresaw this, and developed the weapons necessary to combat them.
• Reed Richards Is Useless: An interesting aversion exists in that despite Kenjirou being one of the leading developers of the Manifestation Engine, his belief that a hostile alien species existed resulted in the his excommunication from the scientific community. Presently, Kenjirou carries out his own research independent of government funding.
  • It is mentioned that he actually held a lot of patents, but signed them over to atone for the Manifestation Engine accident.
• The Rival: Wakaba initially sees Akane as a potential rival after the latter matches her pace during a one-on-one kendo match.
• Rubber Face: In episode four, Himawari stretchs out Kenjirou's face while she's inspecting him.
• Secret Test of Character: The Alones were trying to see whether the humans would kill Rei in order to save themselves. The Crow tells Akane and her friends that their decision to spare Rei was unexpected, but the trope is subverted when the Crow decides to destroy their universe anyways. It's then Double Subverted when its masters step in and confirm yes, humanity passed and the Crow was acting on its own.
• Scarf of Asskicking: Rei wears one that conceals a tattoo of The Crow.
• Scenery Censor: After Akane inflates her swimsuit inside the Wave-Motion Gun of Kenjirou's mecha, some branches and leaves block the Fourth Wall's point of view where Akane's politically incorrect bits would be visible.
• Scenery Porn
• The Scream: When Rei finds Kenjirou's body in the fridge, she cries out in terror.
• Secret Identity: The military insists that the heroines don't reveal their identities to anyone.
• Sentai: Vividred Operation possesses elements from both the Sentai and Magical Girl genres.
• Secret Test of Character: Rei's status as the Alone-beacon is one for all of humanity. If humankind kills her, then they fail the Alone's test and will be destroyed. While humanity passes, the Crow has decided to annihilate them nonetheless. Its masters disagree.
• Shockingly Expensive Bill: At the end of episode six, Mizuha presents a bill for all the things Kenjirou used during the summer school. When he takes a look, he's completely shocked, then asks if he can pay it in instalments. His immediately previous line, in which he tells her "you can't put a price on friendship!", is what makes his reaction priceless.
• Shout-Out:
  • While decidedly being Lighter and Softer than either, the visual style of the series manages to be a very recognisable pastiche of Nanoha, Madoka, and Evangelion.
  • Akane materializes orange Triangle Shades that look exactly like those worn by Kamina. Kenjirou sports the same shades in episode six.
  • The Vivid forms's finishers appear to be ''Brave-themed. Vivid Impact is Goldion Hammer, Vivid Blade is Thunder Flash (behold!)...
  • Rei's only line in episode four is "Home run" (pronounced "Homuran"), after seeing Akane deliver one in their baseball game. This line can easily be misheard as "Homura", a character with whom Rei shares a lot of traits.
  • The similarities between Vivid Yellow and Mami are numerous, including the use of humongous guns, overt emphasis on elegance of dress compared to other modes, and two blonde curled pigtails - except blown up to frankly ridiculous size, and a characteristic close-up on the smiling face during the transformation sequence.
  • In episode five, the Alone here is a cube. It also shoots beams, and its introduction is overly dramatic.
  • Episode five also has Rei standing amidst a flock of terns, just like Hagino does in the beginning of the Blue Drop anime, with Akane filling Mari's role of gawking passer-by.
  • The launch sequence of the final robot in episode six is a clear shout-out to the Eva launch sequence in Neon Genesis Evangelion. The rest of the episodes is spent making homage to all kinds of anime, such as Rei being a scarf-wearing superhero.
  • In episode eight, the way the girls get through the Alone's barrier resembles the way Xenogears enter its final dungeon.
  • Episode nine has another Evangelion tribute with the Alone attempting to pull a Ramming Always Works Colony Drop.
  • Episode eleven has a very clear shout out to Xenogears in the form of The Crow's One-Winged Angel mode, essentially being a black Deus.
  • Episode twelve: The nature of the Final Battle is also a Shout-Out to Xenogears. Only the main character can fight the Final Boss, which holds the Damsel in Distress in its massive body.

• Spiritual Successor: Sharing many thematic similarities to Strike Witches, this anime is another optimistic military-yarn about flying technological girls in short pants and unsurprisingly was directed by the same person. The similarities extend to character dynamics between the protagonists, Akane and Aoi, which respectively mirrors the dynamics between Yoshika and Lynette.
• Star Scraper: The mega-structure housing the Manifestation Engine has a height exceeding a kilometre: this figure is from an elevator within the structure.
• Stealth Hi/Bye: Kenjirou pops up out of nowhere on top of Momo's head in episode three when Akane and Aoi are fighting the latest Alone creature and later does so again during episode four.
• Stock Sound Effects: By virtue of Fizz Sound Creation providing the sound effects for this, many of the sound effects from the Brave Series can be heard in this show.
• Storming the Castle:
  • The girls break into a high security prison on their side in episode eleven to rescue Rei.
  • There's a more traditional instance during the final battle against The Crow.
• Super-Empowering: Akane and Rei have different versions of this power. Akane manifests Keys for other magical girls, while Rei gives disabled Alone a second chance at fighting.
• Swallowed Whole: At the end of episode eleven, the Crow swallows Rei.
• Take My Hand!: Happens in episode one, as Aoi tumbles off the side of the Manifestation Engine. Akane speeds over the edge after her on a hover bike, shouting for Aoi to take her hand.
• Taken for Granite: Several male characters attempt to ask out Himawari in episode nine while she's at the mall with Wakaba. The latter puts up a scary aura/face, causing all of them to suffer from this trope.
• Taking the Bullet: To prevent Aoi from being shot down by the Alone, Amagi Mizuha maneuvers her F-35 between Aoi's V-22 and an oncoming particle beam. She is able to both save Aoi and eject from the wreckage.
• Talking Is a Free Action: Akane and Aoi resolves their psychological obstacle to docking in conversation, even as the invading Alone is engaging the armed forces with its lasers.
• Take a Third Option:
  • The girls in episode eight suggest an alternative to using the deadly SGE bombs on the Alone and prevent it from destroying the Manifestation Engine. They would attack it and attempt to plant a modified SGE bomb into the Alone, which would allow it to destroy the creature without it utilizing its EMP attack rendering normal electronics around it useless. They barely manage to succeed in that plan thanks to some help from Akane's boomerang.
  • The girls do this again in episode twelve, when the Crow attempts to destroy Earth. Kenjirou at first feels nothing can be done to stop it, and even the SGE bombs have no effect on it. Akane's excuse is that she wants to return Rei's key to her.
• Tastes Like Disdain: After showing Rei around her home, Akane picks one of the tomatoes she's been growing and offers it to Rei as a sign of friendship. Rei crushes it in her hand, infuriating everyone except Akane, who isn't discouraged in the slightest.
• Team Power Walk: In episode eight, the team (except Akane, who's in a coma at the time) do a power walk when they show up to volunteer to take part in the attack against the Alone attached to the Skytree.
• Tempting Fate: Akane states that the world is a nice place, but the peace is shattered upon the Alone's arrival.
• Title Drop: The meaning behind "Vividred" is unclear until it is revealed that Akane and Aoi's fused form is called VividBlue. Episode twelve is titled "Vivdred Operation", and in it Akane fuses with Rei to form VividRed.
• Title Theme Drop: In episode three, the opening theme music can be heard when Wakaba and Momo are in the school's infirmary.
• The Tokyo Fireball: In episode eight, the option is either this, or a very risky bomb delivery by the girls.
• Tomboy: Wakaba is highly athletic and boisterous, standing in contrast with the quieter Himawari.
• Trademark Favorite Food: Akane loves mayonnaise, and puts it on everything she eats.
• Training from Hell: Wakaba insists on them doing a training exercise which involves dodging swinging tree trunks, she then orders them to repel them as well. Aoi and Akane don't enjoy this much.
• Transformation Sequence: Any transformation or docking with the Vivid System is a detailed sequence that does not appear to occur in a physical dimension or real time.
• Transformation Trinket: Kenjirou creates small keys to house the Vivid System and gives Akane a red key. Akane then manifests new keys for the other characters.
• Trash of the Titans: Himawari's room is incredibly messy: by episode nine, Wakaba even comments that despite having cleaned and organized it a week earlier, its already back to looking like a pig sty.
• Tron Lines: The girls' Palette Suits feature glowing blue ones. The Vivids' outfits are similar, with the lines mirroring the Vivid's colour scheme.
• Turns Red: The Alone glow red after taking a powerf-up from Rei's arrows.
• 20 Minutes into the Future: Aside from the use of a nigh-limitless energy supply and Akane's flight-capable bike, the level of technology remains reasonably consistent with what is seen in the modern day, including newspapers (albiet holographic newspapers) and corded phones. At the end of episode four, Himawari mentions a scientific document that came out in 2020.
• Wake Up, Go to School & Save the World: Although Amagi tells them not to reveal their secret identities to anyone, the girls fighting the Alone doesn't seem to affect their schoolwork, club activities, or work. In Rei's case it is Wake Up, Go to School, Destroy the World, and it doesn't seem to put much burden on her shoulders. At least, not beyond the whole 'being friendless' situation. However, in Akane's case, Alone-fighting and part-time working during nearly all her free time is negatively impacting her sleep cycle and grades.
• Was It All a Lie?: While Rei doesn't use this line verbatim, she accuses Akane of betraying her trust after the former is tasered and arrested by the JSDF.
• Wave-Motion Gun: VividYellow's Vivid Collider is a powerful directed energy weapon.
• Weasel Mascot: Uso-kun is a weasel doll that eventually houses Kenjirou's consciousness.
• Wham Episode:
  • In episode seven, Akane is injured when she attempts to block the regenerated Alone's attack following its revival.
  • Episode ten has Akane finally discovering that Rei is the one who's been powering up the Alone. Similarly, Rei finds out that Akane is the one who's been destroying them.
• What Does This Button Do?: Despite being a hacker who should know better, Himawari has a habit to push buttons to see what they do. One of those buttons happens to be on the posterior of Akane's swimsuit.
• What the Hell, Hero?:
  • In episode nine, Wakaba promises to go with Himawari to an electronics factory if the latter would put on a dress and go to a mall. Once there, Himawari gets scouted by a modeling agency, and despite Himawari's skepticism towards it, Wakaba agrees to it for her. Unfortunately, the date for the photo shoot is on the same day they were supposed to go to the factory tour, causing Himawari to get extremely upset at Wakaba when the latter forgot about it until Aoi points out the letter on Himawari's desk. Himawari decides to do the photo shoot, on the condition that Wakaba essentially be her slave for that day. Wakaba feels that she got off rather light considering her reaction after Himawari says she forgives her.
  • Rei invokes this trope in episode ten after she finds out who Akane really is.
• Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: Wakaba greatly dislikes creepy-crawlies.
• Xanatos Gambit: The beings that the crow represent seem really determined to get rid of the Manifestation Engine. At first they use Rei in an attempt to destroy it, but in episode eleven, the crow makes it clear that her superiors were intent on making sure no one got the Manifestation Engine technology, period. They simply lied to Rei that they would restore her world, and really had no intention of fulfilling their end of the deal in the unlikely event she succeeded. Though it turns out the crow was actually lying and doing things without approval.
• You Shall Not Pass!:
  • Wakaba, Himawari, and Aoi do this in episode eleven so Akane can go rescue Rei.
  • Akane says this in episode four while fending off an Alone trying to attack a power plant.
• Zany Scheme: One that Kenjirou concocts to get the girls closer to each others. It involves (amongst other things) an inflatable swimsuit, a treadmill floor, and a Spider Tank full of bees.

---