SI-VIS: The Sound of Heroes – Episode 1

What’s it about? SI-VIS has a sound that is popular in and out of Japan, but it hides their true identities as heroes who are the only thing between humanity and a mysterious calamity. Through their live concerts, they gain the power to fight, but will it be enough when the looming threat of humanity’s end stands in their path?

We’re just gonna dive in on this one since long time readers of Anime Feminist, and potentially even newcomers, know that I’m all about the music anime. Episode 1 starts with a live concert, perfect for a group of heroic musicians. Set in Shibuya with a crowd of over 100,000, this stands to be the perfect proving ground for their musical talents. A mixed gender group, SI-VIS resonates with almost everyone who listens, and it makes sense: they’re secretly heroes who are fueled by the passion and energy of their audiences.

Enter Kyoya, a young man who wants to join SI-VIS, but is a bit rustic to start with. Still, his adventure to Tokyo and attempt to become a heroic musician can’t be stopped. Pretty soon, Kyoya meets a young girl who is incredibly intrigued by his dancing and the way he can possibly become a warrior in the fight to protect the world from utter demise…

I gotta admit, SI-VIS has all the makings of a really good superhero idol anime. I really like the concept, and while lead character Kyoya is doing what so many young men before him have done in a boy-centered idol anime, SI-VIS is rather grounded in the way it treats Kyoya as a boy who has potential but isn’t uniquely special. In fact, the show kind of positions him as a bit of an overeager boy who immediately gets in over his head and forces a problem by not curbing his enthusiasm. He can’t just join because of his connection to team leader Yosuke: he can’t just debut. In fact, after reminding him that he’ll need to train and actually gain skills, Yosuke automatically rejects Kyoya and wants him to return to Aomori and his rural home. It’s grounded even within the framework of a somewhat predictable premiere—predictable especially if you’re invested in this genre.

Still, I couldn’t help but immediately like this world: there’s no infodumping, leaving views to deduce the rules of SI-VIS’s music-meets-superhero structure. When the monsters and their mirage powers show up, the show doesn’t pause to explain it, but instead, lets the alien-like entities be uneasy foes. I respect that a lot because if I had to level one criticism against the music anime genre, it’s that anytime there’s a twist, they overexplain it to death when, sometimes, I just wanna learn as a I go. That’s half the ride, after all?

SI-VIS: The Sound of Heroes is in its infancy: there’s a lot laid out in this first episode that needs development to go from interesting components to a fully competent story. Still, I can’t help but want episode 2 to be out right now: I want to see this start to coalesce into a really great show. I can see all the places where this anime original can actually become really, really good if given the chance. It just needs two more episodes to really flesh things out before it gets into the more dynamic aspects of what humanity is facing, including the end of episode plot twist that, while you can see it from a mile away, still feels like it’ll have ripple effects if integrated into the larger plot in the right ways.

For now, consider me invested but cautiously so: I’ve let myself swan dive into too many idol anime and see what could have been. I’ve seen what could be with SI-VIS. Time to guard my heart and see if this is a mirage or if this is actually a dream come true.