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Undeniably, without a doubt in my mind, not only one of the greatest anime's I've EVER had the pleasure of seeing, but also just one of the greatest pieces of television ever made. I will not hesitate for even a second upon saying that. I love this show, its worldbuilding, definitely its soundtrack, and above all, its insanely well written cast of characters more than so much other shows I've ever seen. A brilliant fusion of Lord of the Flies, Evangelion, Star Trek, and hip-hop culture creates what I think is very easily Studio Sunrise's finest work.

Story:
The story and the characters go hand in ... hand. Saying "the characters are the story" would be incorrect, but instead of taking priority over explaining every technological term or the full lore behind the aliens in the ships, it's much more focused on the inner conflict of the crew on the Ryvius, this inner conflict is what drives the entire show. Now, for the first half this show's pacing can be pretty slow, it takes its sweet time setting up the characters, their relationships, the circumstances of the ship, and just how these characters end up getting stuck in space in the first place. However, around episode 7, the show starts letting you know it knows what it's doing, and EVERYTHING gets kicked into full gear from that point on. Hidden conspiracies, betrayals, infighting, and psychological breakdowns galore. The pacing becomes literally perfect, always giving you just the right amount of information regarding both the characters, the ship, and their enemies. It always has the audience asking just the right questions, while showing us just the right amount of information. And as the second half goes on and the show gets progressively darker, and darker, the main question that'll be on your mind is: how the hell is all this possibly going to end? The story likes to save its payoffs till pretty late into the show but trust me when I tell you that they are cathartic and they are extremely satisfying. Anyone who said Fullmetal Alchemist has the most satisfying ending in anime history was wrong, just because of this show's existence. When credits roll on that final episode, I refuse to believe anyone could ever leave unsatisfied.

Characters:
Now, let me preface this by saying that if you don't like openly flawed characters, characters who genuinely act their age, for better and for worse, you will NOT like this show, straight up. These characters are messy, their complex, and I adore them. Part of what makes this cast so appealing to me is how, similar to video games like Shenmue and Majora's mask, the side cast are just living their own lives and dealing with things completely disconnected from the main cast, not in a way that makes them feel completely uninvolved either, as the show always makes sure to show us their reactions to most significant plot changes. Little side arcs like the guy with no clothes establishing his own toxic friendship and getting an ego, or the guy who gets a gambling addiction that interferes with him and his girlfriend's relationship, or seeing multiple recurring characters like Akihiro have their own distinct philosophies that parallel with the main cast, not only make the cast feel fleshed out and alive since they their own routine and activities, but also gives us a pretty good look at whatever tone the series is going for at the moment, as the more wholesome or comedic hijinks of the side cast progressively give way to more toxic and darker places. They really do help in making the spaceship they're all stuck in, the Ryvius, feel like a lived in environment. And when it comes to the main cast, I love them more than most in not just anime, but in all of fiction. The character progression, and in some cases, regression, was some of the most fascinating and entertaining I've ever seen out of an psychological drama. The main character, Koji Aiba, is a very obvious callback to Shinji Ikari, yet the way both series explore these characters living in a state of inaction and trying to please everyone ends up being pretty different, or at the very least ends in very different conclusions. As much as I love Evangelion, Koji's character arc definitely feels a lot more complete and satisfying by the end. While I don't believe the same could be said for his brother, Yuki Aiba, (again, the story saves its payoffs until the LATE stage), he's so entertaining as both a rival character and just a scared angry kid that I still greatly appreciate his role in the story, especially since him being a prodigy at piloting the Vital Guarder (main mech of the show) contributes to some of the shows coolest moments. While I can't get into too much detail regarding my absolute favorite characters of the show: Ikumi, Aoi, Blue, and Fina, without going into HEAVY spoilers, just know that the way this show subverts expectations while still keeping up with the amazing and writing and equally amazing voice cast (in both sub and dub, though I'd say the dub is sort of an acquired taste kind of thing), is truly something amazing. Even the more simplistic characters journeys of some side characters like Lucson, Charlie, and Crif, are written so well they ascend each of those characters into my favorites of the entire show. If this super long paragraph didn't already convince you the writing for this show shines with every aspect but definitely characters the most, than nothing but watching the actual show will.

Music + Sound:
The soundtrack for this show is godly, but also something I'd call an acquired taste. I love soundtracks that are kind of strange fusions between various musical genres, and Infinite Ryvius might be the best example of this. A mixture of J-pop, your typical sci-fi orchestral music, and hip-hop creates one of my favorite soundtracks in all of anime. The only thing I love more than the actual tracks is the way the show uses them. I feel like a show knowing when to use specific tracks is extremely important to how good the overall soundtrack actually is and just know this show does not disappoint. It's so unique yet so addicting, I guarantee a large amount of those who watch the show will look up at least one OST upon finishing it. I've heard the voice cast for the sub is fantastic, and from some of the clips I've seen I'm inclined to agree. However, I watched this show with the dub. It's definitely your typical 90s anime dub, with some goofy sounding voices here and there with roles that stick out more than others, I REALLY liked the dub. I was bit mixed on Brad Swaile as the main character but came to appreciate it, and when it comes to everyone else, they all nail it. Bill Switzer as Ikumi Oze is without a doubt the very best role out of the whole cast though, a role I find to be even more superior than his voice in the sub.

Visuals:
While I can understand some complaints about the visuals lacking here and there, they ended up being far better than what I expected. With the whole plot being based around the fact that they're trapped to one single location, I'd expect the inside of the Ryvius to get stale to look at fast, however, this series expert use of lighting mitigated that problem. I personally love the character designs, but I think a large part of that comes from me being a longtime Digimon fan and these characters looking pretty similar. Despite their simplistic appearances though, sometimes the show can really distort the expressions on these characters faces to really drive home a scene, and when they do I just love it. Yuki Aiba and Aires Blue are both some of my favorite human designs, and I adore the designs of the two aliens too. As a mecha fan, I love the look of all the ships and their mechs, called 'Vital Guarders' in the show. They all serve as a great blend between the real robot (or hard sci-fi for some) aesthetics of Gundam or Gasaraki, and the more unorthodox, strange looking, almost alien designs of the Eva units and the angels typically seen in Super Robot series, which also showcases just how much of a unique fusion of the two genres this show manages to be.

Overall:
If I haven't made it as obvious as humanly possible by now, I love this show more than mere words or text can describe. It's in my top 3 anime of all time and definitely in my top 10 tv shows and overall fiction of all time too. I can't imagine most watching this and leaving unsatisfied unless one just has a hate for semi complex writing or flawed characters. If you love or even just tolerate those parts though, you will adore this show, I promise you. Needless to say, it's getting a 10, straight masterpiece.

This is my first review on here so it might not sound too well written or coherent. This show has a very 'Nintendo' feel to it. Like the plot by itself isn't too great but the characters are so charming, and the vibes are so energetic I fully believe it can get a lot of people looking for a simple story on board.

Story:
Some other MAL reviewer said they like to judge a story based on how well it's balanced with the characters, like weak characters but strong story and vice versa. This show is a very good example of good characters but weak story. ... There's not really a central overarching plot outside of the rival just trying to take over the city that the anime takes place in. The anime is pretty vague on the actual societal problems that plague 'Night Town', so the most the viewer knows is that it's just a dump. The setting not really being too interesting can tank down a story, and since this whole story is primarily about taking over the setting, it's not too interesting. The show also takes its sweet, SWEET time getting to the actual mystery behind the mechs and not going to lie by the time they actually do reveal it you'll most likely have lost interest by then. Overall, a pretty weak overarching plot with a handful of stellar moments. 5/10.

Characters:
Easily the best part of the shows writing, I truly do love a majority of the characters in this anime from the bottom of my heart. Almost every interaction feels realistic and genuine. So much of the cast just bounce off each other so naturally it's insane, ESPECIALLY in the way the adult characters behave towards the kids. However, I can't mention the characters without mentioning my all-time favorite from this show: Katana. On the surface he can just come across as a very typical rival character, and honestly, he is. But I don't know if it's his design, his English dub voice (which is shared with Kakashi Hatake btw), or just how smooth and overly aggressive every single piece of dialogue that comes from is, but he's great and without a doubt the star of the show in my eyes. Hell, I definitely liked him a lot more than the main character, Hajiki, and this is no slight against him because I loved him a lot too, but he really just doesn't compare to Katana. Every episode that centers around Katana is genuinely a highlight of the whole series, no joke. What's DEFINITELY a lowlight would be two the kid characters: Arashi and Aiko. They both genuinely don't contribute much to the show other than having crushes on the male characters, and normally I wouldn't care as much but when so much of the cast is so good they genuinely stand out with how mediocre their writing is. Despite this, I still love this show's cast to no end and it's definitely the best part of it all to me. That comfy 'community' aspect of this show's cast reminds me of the video Majora's Mask, which might also be a pretty big reason as to why I love them so much.

Music:
I'm not experienced in music and so this section's not going to be long, but this soundtrack is godly. This is coming from someone who doesn't even care for jazz that much, the main genre of this show's OST, but every, and I mean EVERY track is either so catchy or so memorable I can't hate it. There are definitely some standout tracks of the show and trust me when you hear them you'll now them.

Visuals:
The lighting is genuinely some of the best in not just any 2000s anime but in a lot of anime in general. I'm not going to lie, I'm a heavy fan of more muted, subdued colors in anime, especially in 2000s anime. It's one of the main reasons why FMA 03 is one of my favorite anime of all time. The lighting is easily the third best part of the show, and I genuinely don't think any sane human being with an eye for lighting wouldn't recognize it. I also adore the character designs, every single one of them, from how 1930s 'Tom and Jerry'-esque gangster Katana looks, to the cool more 2000s urban look of Hajiki. That being said though, when the show is saving on budget, you can tell. Especially since it's a 2000s anime and ESPECIALLY since all of the kid characters have very simplified designs, and my belief when it comes to anime is that if the character designs are going to be simple it should usually have stellar animation to back it up (Mob Psycho 100 or for a more 2000s example, FMA 03), but this anime doesn't really have what I would call 'stellar animation'. Despite that though, the fight scenes are genuinely still entertaining, primarily due to the high-speed movement of the mechas.

Overall:
If you're coming into this show expecting writing on par with some of the greats of mecha anime, or even just 2000s anime, it's not here. However, if you just want a simple fun show with a very charming cast, pretty great visuals, and an amazingly catchy soundtrack, then hopefully this review convinces at least someone out there on the internet to watch this. Overall, a solid 8/10 for me.