As the title suggests, the make-shift government continues to be strained as politics and emotions are thrown into this Lord of the Flies setting.
If there is anything the students of Infinite Ryvius should be used to by now, it's changes among the ranks. From their homes they all moved to the Liebe Delta where hardships were soon experienced resulting in the deaths of every instructor aboard the training facilities.
The victims of a terrorist attack gone wrong, the students, led by the elite Zwei, escaped with their lives by boarding the Ryvius. It saved their lives but did not take them out of harms way. With control of all the information, the Zwei keep the details of their peril a secret of the rest of the students. This doesn't sit well with Airs Blue and his gang of thugs, who take over the Ryvius by force and bring Zwei's secrets to light.
Emotions build as the students aboard the Ryvius are not exactly greeted with the warm reception they had expected from those on Mars. The students have a long journey ahead of them and this forces Blue and the Zwei to enforce a point system on board the ship. You work for food, and any violent outbreaks get you a deduction in points resulting in less food and goods for yourself.
The system sounds good on paper and does help conserve food, but not the morale of the students aboard the Ryvius. This all leads to strife as those in power find themselves with infinite points while those at the bottom of the food chain struggle for food scraps and drops of water to bathe.
After the series' slow start, it was easy to imagine things being stretched out as each episode came and went, but that's not the case here. With new foes standing up to the Ryvius and its Vital Guarder, there is much to look forward to. In a way the series has gone as far as playing with our emotions and guiding our thoughts to make us think and feel what the students living on the Ryvius feel.
You're first led to believe that the series would have a quick resolution with things being stretched out as long as they possibly can go, but slowly you sink into despair. You don't exactly know where things are going and how could the students possibly get themselves out of the hole the world governments had dug for them. All the while drama and turmoil between characters brews leading us to a series of very messy events.
Score: 7 out of 10
The Video
As with previous volumes, Infinite Ryvius is presented to us in the series' original 4:3 aspect ratio. A marginally well made transfer is what we're treated with here. Colors are solid and clean with only the rarest signs of edge enhancement.
The largest problem with this DVD being some interlacing problems coupled with some grain issues. Putting those issues aside, this is one clean transfer for a series whose animation is rather simple and not something that will impress anyone.
Score: 6 out of 10
Languages and Audio
Tension presents with similar Japanese and English audio tracks as those we were given in the two previous volumes. A pair of Dolby Digital 2.0 mixes are what we're handed on this DVD with an English dub that remains about as accurate as it has previously been.
With the English track having voices that can often over-power any music or sound effects, the Japanese track proves to remain the better of the two with voices integrated more naturally in the mix.
Score: 7 out of 10
Packaging and Extras
One thing this DVD does not skimp on would be the extras. Gone are the VJ mix videos of previous volumes and in are an all-new set of audio dramas and art galleries. We're also given a third and all new clean opening animation with Tension as well as the next installment of chibi-filled Ryvius Illusion, one set of extras that most would be well advised to stay away from until they've seen the series in its entirety, since it contains spoilers of later episodes. It leaves one questioning why Bandai even bothered to include these episodes of Ryvius Illusion on this DVD.
The art galleries themselves are nicely done, with sub-titles detailing the origins of the artwork and what magazine it ran in. Accompanying the galleries is one of the DVD's three audio dramas. It's not something people should become too excited with, but are certainly fun little extras concerning themselves with each of the series' main characters as they go out and try to get a hold of the Infinite Ryvius VHS, DVDs, and CDs.
Though we're given three Art Gallery/Audio Dramas we're still only receiving one art gallery as it happens to be the same art gallery that is displayed when each short drama is played. Filling out this large selection of extras are commercials for the Infinite Ryvius CD dramas as well as trailers for other Bandai series.
Score: 6 out of 10