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(Buy if you're rich, Rent if you're poor) (All episodes watched): I'm impressed by this show--the makers clearly knew what they were doing and managed to deliver a slick, intriguing program of professional quality. I'm not a big fan of supernatural stories, but this one seemed like it might be interesting without being particularly disturbing--and it had an "impossible" twist, which I generally enjoy. There's even a distinct touch of comedy, and they are good jokes, too. For most of the first episode I remained uncertain whether this was above or below average. Would this be episodic, I wondered, with each episode involving a new cast of humans and a new message being delivered by Fumika and Mayama? The way it ended, however, almost made my heart skip a beat. I really hoped it wasn't episodic, because this first tale would not exactly be having a happy ending. In fact, the first plot arc ended after a two-parter story, which just felt right. Shigofumi (letters) arrived more than once, and were cleverly interspersed with the normal world goings on. I was surprised how quickly and skillfully my attitude towards a certain character was turned 180 degrees (from hatred to sympathy) early in episode two. Something which I should have expected, but made me giggle with delight anyhow, was that just because a character has gotten killed doesn't mean that he or she is entirely out of the story! The end result was a tale that was tragic but not depressing, or, as I put it to myself, "pretty damn good"! It's gotten to the point where just the first scene and the OP sequence leave me grinning and completely confident that I'm in for something good. Perhaps this comment will explain why Shigofumi is so reliably outstanding: "Shigofumi: Letters from the Departed comes from a dream team of highly acclaimed anime creators including Tatsuo Sato (Stellvia, Nadesico), Ichirou Ohkouchi (Code Geass, Planetes) and Kouhaku Kuroboshi (Kino's Journey)" (Anime News Network) As you might imagine, storylines tend to be grim, what with numerous people dying and all. Episodes often seem to go very quickly, as if they were only 15 rather than 23 minutes long, which is generally a good sign that a show is holding my interest well. Indeed, the fact that this show firmly holds my interest is the best thing about it; it's both fascinating and intriguing. In fact, I considered Shigofumi to be the single Winter 2008 series which I most looked forward to watching. One more thing--you do not want to screw with Fumika, believe me, since she takes her job very seriously. What was amusing was that although she possesses certain supernatural powers, in episode two she used a very conventional technique to "persuade" someone. In addition to the short term stories about people recieving messages there is in fact a long term plot about Fumika herself. I was a bit confused by the split personality deal near the end but everything worked out nicely. This was a neat little show in a class by itself--touching, funny, tragic, and intriguing too. I think possibly the first two-parter story, and the one about the man with terminal cancer were my favorites. My favorite line: "You've got mail!" --Mayama P.S: The OP song reminds me of something from Rozen Maiden. P.P.S: This series has already been R1 licensed by Bandai--I guess they read my review! P.P.P.S: See Fumika's montage at Cute Girls with Guns! Last updated Tuesday, April 08 2008. Created Thursday, January 17 2008. | ||||||||
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Other Sites
| Name | URL |
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| Japanese Series Web Site | http://www.shigofumi.com/ |
| English - Wikipedia entry | http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shigofumi |
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