Ranked #388

Shigofumi

First time I heard this series, I was hesitant to watch it due to the fact "shinigami" or other death-related themes are proliferative in the anime market these days but boy...was I wrong. :D

Story: 9/10
The story is well-made with "death letters" being the main dish. No beating around the bush since all storyline will end with each episode in the early parts. Although at first, it may be bit confusing, especially Fumika's story but will eventually be revealed later on.

Art: 8/10
Not as appealing or dazzy such as Shakugan no Shana but J.C. Staff made good use of the artwork and styling. Some episodes however are not consistent with the animation quality but only in fair details.

Sound: 8/10
BGM done in the series was good and very much appeal. ALI Project made use of their stylistic approach for the OP theme making it haunting and adds a mystery around the series. The ED theme also was done fairly but not compared how the OP was done.

Character: 9/10
Character styles was done nicely in good amounts such as Fumika, Chiaki and especially Fumika's father character of evil but pure intention. Character development leaves a fair amount to the series due to it being short thus focusing mainly on the main character (Fumika). Voice acting is good especially Fumika and Kanaka.

Enjoyment: 9/10
Considering "death" as one of the factors in the series, the average otaku might be intimidate at first due to some "controversial" topic such as child abuse, suicide, and school bullying. Nevertheless, this series aims to expose the dark side of humans and how people came to notice that death may be the answer.

Overall: 9/10
Although the sensitive topics the series is shedding light on might be a cause of disbelief and confusion, this anime did aim to teach us how fragile human feelings are. This is a highly recommended short anime series to watch if you are looking for psychological and rare slice-of-life-but-dark theme. Happy watching! ^__^ read more

Upon reading the summary for this show, most would think it's just another episodic and unoriginal anime with silly stories and characters that have no depth. I, too, was one of those that wasn't expecting much of Shigofumi, but after taking my chances, I was thoroughly impressed.

At first we're presented to separate stories that revolve around the delivery of Shigofumi, the letter from the dead. But the themes and characters involved are a lot more serious than you'd normally see in shows like Jigoku Shoujo and Shinigami no Ballad, shows that follow the same basic concept of Shigofumi. Bullying, child abuse, teenage suicide, the list goes on. They're all recent issues that are so real to us, treated without sugar-coating. The characters are so human and their situations so easy to recognize that it's hard to be indifferent to them.

And we're not served of only parallel stories. The main character actually holds a story of her own, some dark secret, and often we think we know something, but the unexpected pops up. A mixture of supernatural, reality, human characters and those that are just meant to be eccentric, mixed with a pretty good soundtrack and a beautiful art that J.C.Staff is known to deliver.

Shigofumi is a definite enjoyment if you're looking for a quick but still meaningful series. The ride is good, and it definitely stands out among its "episodic series that deal with death" sisters. read more