Someone else doesn't like tomatoes?! Hooray!
I was admittedly hesitant going into this show because I was under the impression that it was the spiritual successor of
Strike Witches. Considering that I couldn't even make it through the first episode of that show for various reasons a part of me was worried that
Vividred Operation would be more of the same. However, I have successfully made it past two episodes without being too offended so . . . hooray (again)!
That being said, the second episode was less enjoyable than the first in my opinion. Excluding certain shots I thought the first episode was quite promising. The beautiful animation did justice to the pure, saccharine mahou shoujo goodness. The characters (excepting Aoi) were pleasing to both my eyes and ears. The writing wasn't particularly stellar, but it was fresh enough not to come across as uncomfortably stale.
After finishing the first episode I eagerly waited for the second. However, now that I've watched it I have to admit that I cringed quite a bit as it played. I was prepared for the "kiss = power-up" situation because it's rather common (
Simoun,
Kiddy Grade, etc), but I had hoped that this show might incorporate it in a more interesting way. And no, exchanging the location of said kiss from lips to forehead doesn't count!
Also, the dialogue in the second episode left a lot to be desired. I will give kudos to A-1 Pictures for making my eyes happy. The palette for this show is so vibrant, so
vivid, and the lines strong yet crisp that it truly is a joy to watch.
I'm going to give it a few more episodes to see what direction the story itself pursues, but I'm afraid that I ultimately might end up dropping it despite the lush animation. I like saccharine yuri-esque mahou shoujo shows as much as the next person, but I'm craving originality lately and this show hasn't delivered on that (so far). Although, at this point I'm intrigued by the purple girl (who needs names when you're defined by your palette color?) and her feather bow. Hopefully she'll make a true introduction in the third episode.