First Look Fair: Shigofumi

And you thought class reps were nice people

Shock! Horror! Talking staff! Does it work? I think it’s a masterful manipulation of mood, at least.

I have seen the other bloggers raving over the show, and had gathered the impression that Shigofumi was supposed to be serious. The premise had seemed so, at least; as one of the shows I was personally anticipating, I was hoping for something along the lines of Death Note. It was thus a surprise to me to see some fairly standard romantic comedy scenes, though tinged with melancholy since Ayase’s father dies–as well as a talking staff not all that different from the talking sword Delfinger in Zero no Tsukaima. Up until the last few minutes, I was thinking I was going to write a review about a show that blended comedy and supernatural drama together fairly well. I was even starting to think Shouta was being a bit too bright and optimistic for a show like this one…

One of those deceptive scenes.

Then the Sudden Cruel Twist happens, and all those thoughts got thrown out the window. It genuinely surprised me, though in retrospect, I should have seen it coming.

After all, I then remembered that the show had actually felt just a little off-balance, Ayase’s reactions seeming to be just a little understated, to say the least. That the content of the letter was actually quite ominous. What happens at the end is, in my opinion, rather unmotivated (the second death, not the first), and I hope they’re going to continue this storyline in some way rather than having this be episodic, which is what I thought the concept would lend itself toward.

It’s so mean, what they did to a boy who dreams of rockets…

The soundtrack is great–atmospheric creepy music mixed with some fine melodic passages during the “normal” scenes. (The main theme, which was played in the trailer, is somewhat reminiscent of some parts of Boogiepop Phantom, which is one of my favorite shows.) I also rather like the character designs, especially that of Fumika and her postal uniform. I see the talking staff as being annoying down the road, though…

This show looks to be the most original so far of the season, which has been devoid of terribly impressive work thus far for me. (Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei doesn’t count since it’s more of something we saw before.) I’m very likely to follow this in future blogging as a result; it looks like a combination of some elements of Boogiepop and Death Note and mixed with some good atmospheric manipulation.