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“There are certain things you can’t say until you’re dead.”
- Mikawa Fumika

Shigofumi. Literal translation as “Dead-Letters”. We all have those things, secrets and words we will never say in the range of our lives. Shigofumi explores the answers to ‘what if’ we actually had the opportunity to tell the last words of our life, our final mementos to the world of the living.

Mikawa Fumika is one such deliverer of Shigofumi. Accompanied by her talking staff Kanaka, she faithfully delivers shigofumi to their respective receivers.

The show’s episodic nature is easily one of its strongest elements. The individual arcs to a fantastic job of showcasing different ... sides of humanity, focusing on the pain of loss, anger, and retribution. Though these tales can vary in subject from that of a bullied student, to a dear cat of a recently deceased couple, each end in their own satisfying way. The overarching plot is strong in its own right, but doesn't quite capture the momentum of the smaller archs.

The characters in the episodic storylines are filled with surprising depth and emotion. Even though most only exist for the duration of an episode, great care is taken in developing who they are and motivations for their actions.

Problems with the characters begin when the show focuses on the overarching plot.

The two recurring mortal characters are flat, simply existing to propel the story. You have the typical glasses wearing I’m-in-love-with-you-but-just-won’t-say-it highschool boy, and the I-know-you-like-her-but-now-I-actually-like-you highschool girl. Both characters are annoying to watch, weighing down the episodes where they interact with the Shigofumi carriers.

And although the Shigofumi deliverers themselves are actually well developed over the series, the show suffers from the robotic nature of the main character. Emotionless characters seldom take the front stage due to their unrelatable nature. And when it is done, these characters best connect to the viewer by some process of humanization. The problem with Shigofumi is that even when Fumika is the sole center, she remains mostly inhuman and cold up until the last episode

It’s also important to note that the show focuses very minimally on the world of the Shigofumi deliverers. Besides a couple of occasional scenes in another world and small hints about the ‘gospel department’, the viewer is kept entirely in the dark, allowing a greater focus on the effects of the Shigofumi themselves.

The animation is nice and fluid, though I’m not one to notice even if it was bad (case in point, I noticed nothing wrong with Symphogear’s animation). However, the backgrounds themselves are consistently sharp and detailed. The dark color palette greatly helped accentuate the gloomy nature of the show. The character designs were average for the most part (Though I will say that Fumika’s unique design helped make her one of my favorite anime characters).

Overrall, Shigofumi proved to be a surprisingly good watch with an interesting concept and character driven storylines. Despite stumbling some in the overarching plot, the series still resolves nicely with a superb and fulfilling ending.

Some spoilers up to episode 3, but they’re minor at the most.

“And the world…… changed.”
- Rin Ogata

Soft. In a word, that’s how I would describe the first episode. Not as a disparage, but rather as a positive opinion on the human way the story introduces Rin and world of Ridebacks. The first episode set high expectations, and the for the most part, Rideback managed to follow through.

In a time much like our own, Rideback follows the story of former dance prodigy Rin Ogata as she interacts with a new type of mechanical motorcycle, called Ridebacks. Her skill lands her in the middle of a war ... between a worldwide government called the GGP and a terrorist cell called the BMA.

Rin herself is one of the best parts of the series. An extremely strong main character, her development is fantastic as she struggles to discern the driving force and moral responsibility behind her actions.

However, that’s about as far as good characters go. With the exception of Tomoyo, all the other characters are pushed aside in terms of any sort of depth. Most of the cast are used only once or twice at specific points to advance the plot. And that’s a major disappointment, because the creators had several chances to make the characters great. For instance, the animosity between the the GGP leader and the BMA terrorist leader is never explained, despite the fact that the incident itself is hinted at multiple times over the course of the show. And that’s not the only relationships that isn’t fully explained.

One positive aspect of the plot is its realistic nature. The manner in which characters react to certain situations and trauma is very similar to real life. Entire episodes are devoted to showing character’s reactions to certain events. This is both a positive aspect and negative aspect. Though it helps keep the show grounded in reality, it plays havoc with the overall pacing.

Which for me, is the main problem with the show.

The first couple episodes are extremely fast and interesting. Rapidly moving through Rin’s past and her education on using a Rideback. By episode 3, Rin has already reached her peak level and is participating in the world championship Rideback tournament. As we move on to the government centered part of the show, the tempo slows as we are gradually feed the message that the GGP AREN’T GOOD GUYS.

Rin is mostly inactive in these episodes. Interest in the show becomes reliant heavily on the action of side characters who aren’t good to begin with. Luckily enough, the story picks up at the last couple episodes for a awesome conclusion.

However, if there is a positive aspect to this, it’s that the rate the story progresses at allows for a slow build of tension, transitioning nicely from the fun adventures of a Rideback club to a darker story of death and loss.

A large criticism of the show is that there weren’t enough episodes to squeeze in a plot as large and detailed as Rideback’s. However, I would argue that they had a perfect amount of time, but invested it in all the incorrect parts. Instead of devoting an episode to Rin’s emotional state, they could have had an episode long flashback detailing what specifically happened on the day the GGP scored their biggest military victory and why that lead to the formation of the BMA from former GGP members. They could have had an episode about Tomoyo, or to any other side character.

As opposed to say, having a cliche reporter create pointless tension while looking for the identity of the mysterious “Rideback Girl” that the government already knows about.

One thing that I can’t criticize is the animation and sound of the show. The CG used for the Ridebacks is absolutely amazing. When they happen, Rideback to Rideback fights are fast-paced and stunning. I find it interesting enough to mention that Rin’s past as a dancer is heavily reflected by her Rideback style, specifically in the final fight. The soundtrack complimented high tension moments perfectly, helping produce maximum impact from certain scenes. Despite the bad English, I found the OP “Rideback” by Mell to be a awesome stand alone song.

Overall, Rideback has flaws. Plenty of them. But if it seems like I have an altogether negative opinion of the show, I don’t. Because at the end of the day, Rideback left me fulfilled and fairly happy with the softspoken perspective on dreams and awesome fight scenes from Rin. It’s not enough to be considered one of the missed series of 2009, but its definitely better than its made out to be.



Just a background note for those of us who didn’t know: “Fuego” literally translates to “on fire” in Spanish.