Initially, it felt like the show had some innate potential. The idea of a science fiction thriller mixed with adventure themes easily takes my attention in. Furthermore, we got a bit of mystery content about this girl named “Mage”. The first few episodes sets up the main plot as Derrida is thrown into a labyrinth of conflicts. Not only does he get thrown into a post-apocalyptic world in the future but he also has to take care of Mage. The main issue also stands as we don’t know much about Mage at all. In fact, I’d say the creators’ attempt to make Mage a relevant character degenerated from the start. She feels less and less prominent with each episode and by the half way point, I almost forget the character exists.
At somewhere after watching half the show, I also noticed the strange pacing of the series. It continuously jumps between themes to the point that it sometimes feels like a thriller, sometimes like a mystery, sometimes like a science fiction, and sometimes like a survival adventure. Because let’s face it, Derrida’s life is always in constant jeopardy and he has few allies to rely on. The people he encounters hardly trusts him in the beginning such as Yuri or Vidaux. It’s not until they risk their lives for each other that they develop a growing trust. The show occasionally dedicates screen time to grow these supporting characters although most of is easily forgettable in one way or another. The only person from the group that I find relevant is Vidaux as he plays key roles in their survival.
An anime like this can’t be complete without antagonists, right? The rogue gallery honestly looks pretty blend with the legion of robots and automata. However, there’s one name I can recall often and that person is Donna. From the start, she plays an assassin-like role and attempts at every chance to kill Derrida. In later episodes, we find out about her past and real motivations. But honestly, Donna is no more than an antagonist built with flaws. The way they reveal about her character didn’t make me care about her to begin with. Honestly, does anyone give a damn about Donna? To make matter worse, it took an entire episode to reveal her origins. The show already suffered pacing issues from the beginning and it didn’t do justice at all to concentrate so much on an uninspiring character.
For what potential it had, the show also has time travel. You’re probably wondering if this contains a similar style of storytelling to Steins;Gate. Considering that Takuya Satou directed both shows, that thought also came to my head more than once. However, this anime is nothing like Steins;Gate and I don’t mean that in a good way. It’s more of a tragic way that you shouldn’t feel sorry for. The story suffers from a lack of care with its character cast in particular for Mage. It’s void of any humorous content and instead tries to make the story as moody as possible. I also confess that the emotional value the show sells is incredibly underwhelming. This failure results from the consequence of its character chemistry. There’s hardly any that exists and most of it is overshadowed by the show constantly trying to appeal to its sci-fi thriller plot. And that’s a major slap in the face.
By technical standards, REride doesn’t house a name that makes people curious. Before this show aired, I had no idea that GEEKTOYS was producing it. I literally had to look it up since its animation quality and character designs didn’t remind of any other similar shows. It’s a good thing White Fox didn’t contribute into this show though. Because honestly, this anime looks plain average at best. Character designs looks one dimensional without anyone standing out from each other. Most of the characters’ expressions also reminds me how each lack personalities. I’m not going to lie, it’s really hard for me to tell what kind of person Derrida really is. By the end of the show, I still have no word to best describe him.
This year honestly had a lot of shows with sci-fi themes. Original science fiction series even took a step forward such as the extremely entertaining Planet With. Other established names like Steins;Gate 0 got attention for the good and bad reasons. What about RErideD? To be honest, it doesn’t even deserve to be on the list.
