Anime: Shigofumi

Surprisingly solid characters in a show which could be so much worse.

First thing which came to mind when I saw the AniDB-image for this show was: Dokuro-chan. Or perhaps ‘Futakoi meets Jigoku Shoujo’. Granted, it looks as if it was a childish version of Jigoku Shoujo, which made me expect a sheer wrong comical version of the horror-genre.

I was proven wrong.

Shigofumi is a show which features solid characters, a fairly original story and pure emotions without much room for comic relief.

Animation: Did I see Shinkai Makoto there?

At times I was wondering whether I was watching something from Shinkai Makoto. Beautiful shots of nature, scenes which play with light and shadows, it all gives off a very melancholic feeling which sets the mood and the necessary pace for the show. Perhaps one of the most important things which makes this show this good, is because the characters appear in a world which embraces them and breathes life into them.
Most of the beauty is derived from the majestic coloring, but there are several other aspects as well. One of them is the nearly perfect use of CG.

Good CG represents itself as non-CG
If a CG-object points at itself and yells ‘Look at me! Ain't I friggin' beautiful?!’ while the rest of the anime is bland and uninteresting, then it is bad CG. If you watch an anime and your attention is constantly drawn to the CG then you miss out on a lot of the other animation.

Good CG integrates itself into the rest of the animation, without standing out, yet while adding more beauty to the show itself. This show manages to do that really well, although it misses the perfect-mark because of some minor details I won't point out because it will only detract from your enjoyment. I was really surprised to see how well they managed to integrate the CG into the rest of the animation and sometimes I only noticed it after having seen that particular part a few times already. Pointing them out now would really do it injustice, since they managed to hide it so well.

Sound[/u]: Solid voice actors. And Ali Project for the OP-song.

I was happy with the voice actors, which generally did a good job for practically any character in the show. There is nothing I could point out (except for a personal preference) which is bad about the voices. What I do point out is the fact that the OP-song comes from the notorious Ali Project, known for i.e. Noir. While they are pretty okay by itself, their songs are always pretty much the same. So after having seen a few more anime where they participated in, I think their presence was bad for the show. While I admit that's a personal stance, it is still an opinion.
The ED-song is much better, with a slow, melancholic song which fit the atmosphere of the show a lot.
There is also plenty of music used as BGM, including some songs, which are not often misplaced. It does show how the people creating this series paid attention to details like these though.

Story[/u]: Starts off strong and stays strong, although it diminishes a bit near the end.

If there's anything the show resembles, it is probably Shinigami no Ballad, with the difference that Shigofumi's Fumika is much more visible in the story and that this time the story is continuous, rather than episode-wise. In comparison, Shigofumi is also much more focused on story aspects than the previously mentioned title.

Shigofumi starts off really strong, with a scene which feels a lot like Hoshi no Koe, beautiful surroundings around a simple slice of life-scene. Add a little near-blossoming romance and it's a wonderful setting to watch.
It is hard to tell anything about what's good about this series in terms of story without spoiling too much already. But the way how they move from episode to episode in the beginning of the series shows that they thought about consistency and how to build up the plot. And with only 12 episodes, they don't beat around the bush much, but get straight to the point for most things.
What the story mostly tries to bring across is that there is often no real ‘right’ or ‘wrong’. Several episodes tell the stories of people who get into situations where they have to determine what's right or wrong – either in terms of ethics, society or rationality – and how they have to cope with their own feelings and reasoning, which often defy rational thinking.

The worst of the story might be that I believe the story could tell so much more after the conclusion we get to see. But perhaps that's simply the proof that it is a good show, since the watcher should feel like he doesn't want it to end.

Characters[/u]: Solid, realistic and sometimes heartbreaking.

Most of it has been said above already, but no story can bring across topics like ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ well without being supported by good characters. This show has those good characters, which often balance on the edge between what society believes they should do and what they believe they should do.

This results in characters which do what they do, which results in characters who are simply no protagonist, main character or side-character. They're simply there, because the world is there. Just like how some characters connect other characters, some events connect others, giving off a feeling that the world is ‘round’, meaning how people get involved without them being willingly involved.

Oh, I said something about comic relief. Well, there is something, in the form of the talking staff Fumika has. But besides him bringing some comic relief to the show, it never becomes jolly. It is more that the staff gives the show a more lighthearted feeling because otherwise it might feel too grim. And the show has enough grim aspects as it is already.

Value & Entertainment[/u]: Very realistic show and characters despite the occult context.

Extremely good show, imho, which combines a lot of good aspects into a form which is very much appreciated if you can appreciate human feelings in your anime. These characters aren't all happy-go-lucky, but their lives contain tragedy and sadness just as well as our own lives.
The realism in this show, together with the occult aspect, makes this show good.

My first thought when I started watching this anime was JIGOKU SHOUJO!! Then after I watched a bit it was very different then that. Right from the get go you are put into a relatively original setting where you don't know whats going on. The story unfolds slowly and you find yourself understanding more and more about what the anime is about and also WHAT KIND of anime this is. Just as a side comment I would suggest anyone who decides try this anime at least watch the first 2 episodes because they make one complete story. Also the anime is broken into a bunch of short stories but it has a main story as well that gets developed on the side. Personally speaking I enjoyed the first half better though then second when they were dealing more with side stories rather then the main plot. Either way it was good on both sides. The anime is about Fumika who is a mail courier along with her partner Kanaka a talking staff. As you can tell she doesn't deliver normal mail but shigofumi, the last words of a dead person addressed to someone. So the story revolves around Fumika delivering mail to various people. That is why I found it similiar to jigoku shoujo but reversed.

Animation
I was surprised but the animation is actually quite good. I mean they have fairly detailed scenes and animate the action/fast paced scenes very well. You rarely find reused frames or distorted figures and everything stays consistent. They also choose to use darker colours so that the more serious atmosphere is felt. I think its rare to find animes that are heavy on content with better then average animation but I can definitely say they put the effort in shigofumi. Even the CG they use fits well, they only use it for objects and so they don't look out of place. Actually I found it work much better like for instance the gun being a CG. The other thing I liked was that even though they had soo many different backgrounds and settings they still put the effort to make them have impact. I really was impressed.

Sound
They also had amazing sound. Well for starters they used Ali project for the opening and I personally like that band so it was nice to hear a song from them. The ending also fit very well. Actually I think the ending fit much better then the opening :(. Since the ending was slow and gentle song that usually works the best for serious series. The voices were good but I didn't find anything too impressive with them. The only voice that sticks in my mind is Kanaka the talking staff. her voice is really distinct but I found it a little annoying. Its ok though I think that was the point a naggy staff :P. The background music was great I really want the OST. The music did its job. They had a few themes that are recalled for specific purposes and they work. You get the feeling something will happen i.e. if its the "sad" theme you know its coming or happy or w/e. Its good music too so you don't get bored. The other thing is its a short series so you really can't get bored of it anyway.

Story
The story is short and sweet. Its not the greatest but its not bad either. The main plot is paced well and you find out little by little what the anime is actually about. They also don't waste any time to get the point across. The only thing I would of liked more is to have more short stories and make the anime longer. I think this anime could of easily gone for 26 episodes if they just put in my side stories. I know that many people might not like "fillers" but I think they put alot of thought into each story and the situations and topics they deal with were interesting. They go through many "taboo" topics and don't judge with societies perspective but from a neutral perspective. Thus it gives the possibility of more serious thought. Although i liked the story the length also led me to rate it lower since I felt it wasn't enough and the ending was hurried a little bit.

Character
The characters were all good but not spectacular. I actually liked some of the side characters more the main ones. The main ones don't go through TOO much development besides Fumika and even her its more towards the end. I also found it kind of weird how they introduced some of the characters and they just stuck around till the end. It was a bit ackward for me. None the less they use the characters very well and they don't lose there purpose. The other big set back of having a bunch of characters was that only the main characters received a bunch of work on. I mean other character may of had there moments or one episode changes. But its not as apparent and it didn't matter as much either. You didn't feel for them as much since the series was short. I actually felt for more minor characters then some of the main ones :S.

Value and Enjoyment
Since they deal with different issues I think this anime has lots of good messages. They just look at an issue at face value and don't put too much commentary or bias on it. I liked this part of it because you get to really see something for what its worth. I mean sure it may not be 100% realistic but its much better then what I've seen in other TV series or animes. I would definitely rewatch this series if not to show others but also myself. It has really good moments and also some memorable stories that I would want another sitting for. having said all that clearly I enjoyed this series very much and think highly of it. I hope they do another season or something because I can see further development being done. It is harder to recommend this series since the genre is a bit mixed. I would just say that if you enjoyed Jigoku Shoujo then you will definitely like this series. You SHOULD actually watch it if you watched the later :). So yeah have fun.