RideBack

Rideback tells the story of Ogata Rin, a ballet prodigy who, due to an injury, was forced to stop practicing ballet. Rideback also tells an alternate future story about a world government, the GGP, against the terrorist group BMA. These two seemingly unrelated plotlines come together and quite possibly make Rideback one of the best show to come out of the Winter 2008 anime season.

The first thing that caught my eye when I saw Rideback was the quality of the animation. The CG work in this show is amazing. From the very first episode to the very last episode, the Ridebacks were given extremely fluid ... animation and modeling, almost to the point of realism. I found it very neat to not have to suspend my disbelief too much at the Ridebacks, since they were animated so well. The character designs and movement were also done quite nicely, and having the show air in HD helped a lot. Madhouse did a fantastic job of creating a living, breathing, alternate universe Tokyo in the year 2020.

The second thing that caught my eye, or in this case, my ears, were the sound and the music. Music composer Takafumi Wada went all out, mixing techno, classical, and heart-thumping action pieces throughout the show. The music really coordinated with the scenes, especially during the action sequences along with the soliloquy sequences. The opening song is a jumble of Engrish, but once you figure out the lyrics, it creates a nice motif to the show. The ending song is a slow ballad, which goes nicely with the slideshow of solemn redemption scenes.

The characters, given the time constraint of the show, were given enough development for the audience to care for. We get to see Ogata Rin's desires and motivations, the BMA's desires and motivations, and we are able to empathize with them. However, many secondary characters were one dimensional and only appear in the show to create plot devices. Sadly, with only 12 episodes, these characters were unable to become fully fleshed out. We can only see the police chief as only "the police chief," the reporter as only "the reporter," and the Rideback club members as only "the Rideback club members."

The story is also a mixed bag. Frankly, Rin's soliloquies were much more fascinating than the game of cat and mouse between the terrorists and GGP. Madhouse, however, did a fantastic job to meld the two storylines together. I can see why some people would scoff at sudden climax in the last episode, or at the disregard for physics in some of the action scenes. But all in all, the story provides a nice tinge of sentimentalism, which is not overbearing or underwhelming. The allegory between Rin's Fuego and her desire to continue ballet is done very well, I must say.

When I started watching Rideback, I didn't know what to expect, other than awesome animation. After finishing it, I found out that it had a little of everything: political intrigue, amazing action scenes, intense ballet, and lesbian tendencies. On Anidb's comments for Rideback, some people have complained that this show is all animation, no quality. I must politely disagree. Most shows hit you over the head with repeated symbolism. Rideback, however, does it with style, by layering the symbolism with multiple story backdrops. I recommend this show highly to those who enjoy action and mecha series in general, and to those who like to see quality coming-of-age stories.

I forgot to mention that the voice acting in this show is superb, especially commendable is Nana Mizuki as Ogata Rin. I want to end by imploring whoever is reading this not to get discouraged by Anidb comments, and give Rideback a chance. I was quite glad I did.

This series could have worked better if it was entirely focused on how Ridebacks influenced Rin's character instead of the focus on corruption from a military-driven government and terrorist activity. For the most part, Rideback does do a decent job in exploring the development of Rin's character as she finds herself taking an interest in the vehicle as a replacement for her lost interest in ballet. As she becomes entangled in the military-terrorist conflict and realizes the original use of Ridebacks, Rin becomes disillusioned in the show's second half as she comes to grips over what would make her happy in spite of the hardships ... she has come to deal with.

On the other end of the coin though, the military/ terrorist conflict comes across as rather flat. Both the GGP and BMA factions don't get much in the way of fleshing out other than we know they have their own radical agendas and come across as morally corrupt. Beyond Rin, there isn't much fleshing out provided of most other characters within the series as they only serve as supporting characters among Rin's friends or represent the GGP and BMA, many of whom serving to influence the development of Rin's character. The series also often gets in the annoying habit of having situations occur rather conveniently with Rin or other characters whenever they get in trouble as they are quite saved in the nick of time.

Visually, Rideback does have a slick presentation with highly detailed and lush shots of urban environments and the Ridebacks being almost lifelike in appearance as they are rendered in CG animation. Scenes with Ridebacks in action are very fluid and pleasing on the eyes to see onscreen, especially in some elaborate sequences whenever Rin is on a Rideback fleeing from GGP forces. Music in the series mostly consists of light instrumental pieces with the OP being a nice techno track, all of which go along well in conveying Rin's developments.

Overall, Rideback does do decent with its character exploration with Rin while lacking quite a bit in its political focus on the GGP/ BMA conflict. While it was entertaining to see the premise concerning Ridebacks, the series is marred by enough flaws where I can't picture myself wanting to see it again anytime soon.

Rideback has perhaps the greatest drop in overall quality that I've ever seen. It starts out on the highest highs with a masterfully crafted first episode, then it slides down on the next two, still a great show with a great premise but not quite living up to the opening. Then the fourth episode drops, and the whole series falls off a cliff. From then on we get to watch our promising mech-racing show drown under all the needless drama and shoehorned war stories that nobody wanted to see. Rideback draws you in with the promise of an engaging, introspective sports series full of potentially ... great characters, then leaves you with a half-assed Gundam story and bitterness.

The first episode of Rideback is a masterpiece. If that was the only episode ever made, I'd give it a 10/10 and lament the fact that we never got to see such an amazing story told in its entirety. Rin Ogata is a ballet prodigy whose career is cut short by an on-stage accident in high school. Though she recovers, Rin is no longer able to dance at the same level and is forced to give up the greatest love of her life. The themes of this episode are constantly and expertly reinforced by the visuals and settings. Rin's post-accident life is shown in drab, gray tones. Her graduation from high school is a lonely, solemn affair. She slowly walks out with her head down, thrust into the outside world with no direction and no motivation. Her one friend rushes to her side, but is unable to cheer her up, as the camera pulls far away and cherry blossoms fall over the screen like tears. College initially seems like a second chance, but she is hounded by memories of her past, tormented by her well-meaning fan, a constant reminder of her happy life snatched away by fate. When Rin reaches her lowest point, she's caught alone in a rainstorm and forced to hide in an unfamiliar garage. There, she finds her salvation in the form of a Rideback. The feeling of exhilaration from her first Rideback outing is hammered home by the shot of her flying high over the city, sun beaming in the distance, the colors dancing across the screen, life flooding back into her face as her passion is rekindled. The combination of story, themes, visuals, and sound is nothing short of pure art, and would have earned a place in every anime fan's heart, if only the rest of the series had reached the lofty goal set by the opening.

The next few episodes are less inspired, but still lay a solid foundation for a 12 episode series to build on. Rin's talent as a dancer gives her a leg up in the Rideback world, with her unique sense of balance and movement occasionally translating into expert level racing maneuvers. Tamayo is initally presented with an awful lot of depth. She's both a rival and a mentor to Rin, simultaneously frustrated at Rin's seemingly flippant attitude about Ridebacks while also wanting to nurture a natural talent. Hishida is a dorky outcast with an endless love for Ridebacks, providing a visual metaphor for the public's distrust and disgust towards Ridebacks. The rest of the Rideback club are all shown as unique individuals with various personality hooks that could be fleshed out later on. Rideback racing itself shows hints of some great new concepts for a racing anime. Ridebacks can go essentially anywhere on land, teasing the audience with the idea of never before seen settings for races. The combat in the first (and only) major race shows us that there's much more to Rideback strategy than we've seen, and that we can expect a twist at any time during a race. The stage is set for a fresh, exciting racing series with a well-rounded cast.

Then the fourth episode hits. It hits hard, with guns and bombs and military Ridebacks. It knocks down everything you've seen built up, derails the entire story, and rips the focus away from Rin and her personal redemption. Instead of watching Rin further her budding racing career while learning to enjoy life again, we're instead suddenly given a ragtag rebel group fighting against a big oppressive empire. Rin's friends change from a quirky racing team to terrorist liberators. Everything you learned to care about is callously tossed aside in favor of a color-by-numbers military plot. None of the original themes are ever explored again. Despite Rin's efforts (and many times because of them), Ridebacks are overall presented both in-universe and out as tools of war and not as racing vehicles, again robbing Rin of her purpose in life. Rideback racing is outlawed and heavily policed, eliminating the chance for even clandestine nighttime Rideback touge with drifting and eurobeat. Tamayo's conflict with her father goes nowhere, same with the rest of the cast, and the whole “racing to win popular support” side of the story is torpedoed. All of the careful foreshadowing and subtle metaphor is abandoned so Rin can have a conversation with a guy while Rideback waltzing in the middle of a firefight, and it's sadly as silly as it sounds. Rideback plummets from its high standards like a bird with clipped wings. If the whole show had been like this then it wouldn't be so painful; Rideback could just be tossed on the heap of other boring rebellion stories. But the initial impression and betrayal are so powerful and unforgettable that it's impossible to separate those bitter feelings from the overall show as it is presented.

Rideback hurt me. It gave me the best first episode I've ever seen, and tarnished that memory by piling disappointment on top of cliches. It gave me a wonderful story of personal redemption before smothering it with a forgettable, aimless and messy rebellion. It gave me an exciting spin on racing that could never have been done elsewhere before mercilessly cutting it out forever. It gave me a reason to always doubt my first impressions. And it gave me a reason to warn you, before Rideback hurts you too.