Shigofumi 01 - You’ve Got Mail!
Posted by 0rion on January 9th, 2008 - 3:15 pm
Shigofumi is one of those series that has an intriguing and quirky setting that can either become amazingly brilliant or turn into absolute rubbish, depending on the execution of the story. Speaking of which, using the phrase “execution of the story” when talking about J.C. Staff and light novel adaptations conjures an entirely different mental image from what that phrase usually means (Zero no Tsukaima or Shakugan no Shana, anyone?), and will almost certainly bring bad luck to the production, so I’m going to refrain from saying that ever again.
Shigofumi (死後文) basically means a “letter from beyond death”, and refers to a letter which a recently deceased person writes to someone still living. These letters are delivered by Fumika (pictured above), along with her talking staff sidekick, Kanaka. The series seems to be more or less episodic, with the duo delivering a different letter to a different person each time.
Fumika is basically a moeblob from the opposite side of the spectrum, the yin to Mikuru’s yang, so to speak. She’s a quiet, monotone, loli DFC angelic-looking magical girl with school seifuku, a cape, and a hat that looks like a cross between a postman’s cap and something a Nazi would wear. In other words, awesome.
Her sidekick Kanaka, voiced by Mutsuoka Yuki (Tsuruya in The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya), provides the comic relief with her hyper genki tone and random comments. The ultra-peppy voice kind of gets on my nerves at times, but overall Kirika adds a nice lighthearted side to the show.
And that’s certainly needed, because this definitely does not seem like a cheery happy series. Since each episode involves the tragic death of at least one person, as well as the recipient of the shigofumi coming to grips with all of this, the tone is actually quite dark.
Oh yeah, also there’s random sad lolis n’ stuff.
Notice how the tape has gotten stuck to her. Sorry, I just couldn’t help but mention this. During the phone conversation I was so distracted by the crying loli that I had to go back and watch the scene again to listen to what was being said.
MAJOR SPOILERS below for episode 1.
Click to show… SHOW SPOILER
I should also mention that the ED animation is strangely mesmerizing. The close up shot of Kirika looking like some kind of strange magical lava lamp had me completely entranced.
Overall, this series seems like it’s off to a very strong start. The animation is solid, and the music is absolutely exceptional. Composed by Nanase Hikaru, it features a wide range of beautiful tracks, from light happy pieces to brooding mysterious ones. If nothing else, I’ll follow this series just for the eye & ear candy.
You’ve got mail!
Everyone’s all about the shocker at the end of this episode, but I thought the spectacular production values were what made this show so great. I mean, everything was excellent. I have faith that JCStaff will provide on this one.
I liked the first episode. Right until things got scary. ;;; It got me interested, and at the same time, disturbed. I loved the animation and music so I might check out some more, but… hopefully I don’t have to see too much blood next time.
Lol, believe it or not, the first 15 minutes bored me so much that I almost dozed off. Seriously, dozing off. Only the last few minutes saved the show for me.
I guess this is not a show that will have tension all the time, but builds it up slowly for “power ownage”. In my mind, I am thinking how it is like playing a 2D game where I am getting owned by a superior player and I suddenly come out with a maximum combo and kills my enemy.
her hat does happen to be the single greatest hat ever recorded.
Out of the four series’ that you have “reviewed” so far from this new season, I believe this one is the most appealing for me at the moment. Another strike for the J.C. Staff I think.
P.S. Emo MoeBlobs FTW.
P.P.S When she is wearing the coat and the hat she seriously looking like a Jack The Ripper-esque train instructor person.
Agreed, the high production value is immediately obvious. The show both looks and sounds great. Let’s just hope they didn’t blow too much of their budget on this first episode. >_>
Well, while not all of the episodes will necessarily be like this one, the story itself is extremely dark. And obviously, due to the nature of the plot, at least one person is going to die in every episode, otherwise there would be no shigofumi.
Haha, that’s an awesome way to describe her outfit; it really is a blend of a lot of different looks.
Didn’t abq once say that crying lolis would save the world?
Anyway, I did sign a contract in 2005 in which I promised my soul to J.C.Staff, so I kind of have to watch Shigofumi, even if it doesn’t look like a colorful, heartwarming ball of marshmallowy cuteness.
I just watched episodes 1-2… I’m having a hard time saying what appealed to me about this show, I think there’s a real Yoshitoshi ABe element that I can’t put my finger on but nonetheless is drawing me right in. The NICE BOAT moment was a shocker of course, but the flashbacks in #2 were the real meat of the story for me - perhaps I’ve been terminally softened by wall to wall moeblobs but sometimes it’s good to have a reminder that the life of a pretty, perfect high school girl can be ugly, nasty and cruel on the underside.
Are we in for episodic two-parters with added arc plot a la Darker Than Black? It’s a format that seemed to work really well for that series, and I think I’m on board for this one too. And Yuki Matsuoka’s voice is love, incidentally.