|
|
||||||||||
| Episode Details | |
|---|---|
| 999A | |
| Overall | Art | Animation | Character Design | Music | Series Story | Episode Story | Reviewer | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rent | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 7 |
 Ggultra2764
|
[series:1845#1552] |
|
(Rent-/ Watch+) 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. As discussed by Dreamer, 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. Last updated Wednesday, October 05 2011. Created Wednesday, October 05 2011. | ||||||||
| Rent | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
 Dreamer
|
[series:1845#2279] |
|
By the synopsis and the images above, this seemed like an interesting series. The plot could have been good but...... Art, Animation & Character Designs The art was exceptionally good. The CG was on par with many anime movies.... since they're known to have strong graphics and CG. Details were extremely high as well, with minute details richly brought alive in both the background and foreground. Excellent! As good as the artwork was, you would think the character designs would be equally as good. However, they seemed "flat". Although they were still done well, they seemed out of place from the rest of the artwork.... but not all the time. Music The OP was a modern techno piece with electronic voice an all. It wasn't too bad, kinda enjoyable. The rest of the soundtrack were mostly pianos and light instruments. Nothing really noticeable. Series and Episode Story It started off a bit slow but gradually picked up. The plot really wasn't anything impressive. As each episode progresses, one would think there would be a dramatic confrontation between the "terrorist" factions and the the agency "supposedly fighting against" (GGP) these terrorist cells. However, the slow build up of events and an impending showdown actually wasn't what you'd expect. In fact, the ending was quite disappointing. One of the things that this series brings to thought is the subject of terrorism and how far a government or military agency will go to "fight" it. Do we as the citizens stand idly by while our rights and freedoms are stripped away all in the name of "the fight against terrorism"? If that is the case, then by that, anything or anyone can be labeled a terrorist if it doesn't fit the ideologies of the powers dictating such. By that step, we might have realized too late that so many of our rightful freedoms and expressions has already been unknowingly stripped away. This show really touches on this topic, whether you choose to listen to the underlying message or not. It's definitely food for thought. Overall, it could have been something good but the end sorta screwed it up. It was entertaining nevertheless. Last updated Thursday, May 14 2009. Created Thursday, May 14 2009. | ||||||||
| Rent | 6 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 6 |
 chibi
|
[series:1845#2380] |
|
I'm of two minds about this series. On the one hand, as a motorcycle rider myself, I find the technology very interesting and the idea of a dancer being able to master it fairly plausible -- though riding around in a long summer dress significantly less so. (I also think the OP rocks if you've got a good playback system.) On the other hand, the logic of the political conflict in the story completely escapes me. I guess we're supposed to believe that Japan is being ruled by a military junta which primarily makes its authority known through occasional acts of senseless violence, yet everybody goes on with their normal life with little more than a shrug of their shoulders. It doesn't really make sense except to manufacture incidents that allow for the action parts of the story. I'd almost like to give it a 'watch', but I'll make it a low 'rent'.
Last updated Tuesday, March 31 2009. Created Tuesday, March 31 2009. | ||||||||
| Watch |
 Forbin
|
[series:1845#1573] | ||||||
Analysis : All Fansubs Watched.
/sigh..owell it had potential to be a great show..they basically end the anime with only 1 out of 10 plot threads resolved. Last updated Thursday, April 02 2009. Created Tuesday, March 03 2009. | ||||||||
| Watch | 8 | 9 | 6 | 10 |
 Xenoknight
|
[series:1845#2967] | ||
|
watching now with a bitter sweet first impression... 11 eps watched... For those who have the same musical inclinations as myself, check out the end credits (all final thanks go to KisekitekinaZanryu): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHEl2zkqP0o - short but brilliant, isn't it? If you think that was good, then you will flip out when you hear the full version! Full version coming soon... Alright, that was pretty intriguing I must admit. I'll give this title props for a female lead which doesn't come too often. The RideBacks being "human shaped motorcycles" was really an interesting idea and I thought it was cool as hell. The animation and art style are certainly of a much higher quality than most, but for some reason, the character design wasn't of the same caliber. The intro was fine, but the end credit music is truly beautiful and masterfully written (my taste for American music is all but gone now). Being a ballet dancer, she had a natural talent for driving her RideBack (?) and was making that thing jump and twirl like a ballerina which resulted in the whole city getting to see her panties as she drove by (LOL). It seems that the Ridebacks have minds of their own. Her Rideback "Fuego" (fire in Spanish) caught a piece of falling debris to save the man's life while still malfunctioning! I guess I'll be watching this title out of sheer curiosity. Let's see how this story unfolds shall we? Intriguing ep... Ep 2: Amazing. The club prez (interested in Rin) challenges her to a race to see her skills under pressure. The race is intense with RideBack form changes, twists and turns, kicking off buildings, and both drivers having their fair share of hardships and sudden crashes! This ep was unpredictable and was fast and fun to watch. Rin's rookie skills are not to be underestimated. I was entranced until the episode ended. It looks like another '09 title that requires my full attention has appeared. Amazing ep... Ep 3: It's time for the yearly race for the RideBack competition and the prez wants to settle the score with Rin in the national race. Only problem is that Fuego isn't a regulation RB (RideBack) and she can't use it. They give her a RB with similar specs called the "Balon" but Rin is not satisfied with it. The specs may be the same, but the "heart and soul" of the machine are like night and day. It seems that the rider doesn't choose the RB, it chooses the rider. She can't ride it properly and she looks like a rookie again. After noticing the true difference between Balon and Fuego and against the wishes of the supervisor, they make the change and it's enough to put Rin at 4th place (the prez is first), but Balon's engines burnout as it couldn't handle her driving and she has to retire prematurely. The prez will have to wait until next year to face Rin again in the race as she easily wins this one. Rin takes Fuego for a ride and enjoys her RB's feel again as she leaps into the moon and the ep comes to a close. Great ep... Ep 4: Exceptional episode... Things jump to a drastic extreme with this ep. The terrorists have made there initial move and inadvertently involved Shouko (the roommate) in their little "stunt". Rin won't allow any harm to come to her friends, so she grabs Fuego and races to the scene to save her. During the ride, Fuego and Rin become "linked" (as indicated on her status watch) to each other and her thoughts become Fuego's thoughts. Together, they crash the terrorist party and save Shouko, only to be mistaken as terrorists themselves!!! The army gives pursuit with guns blazing, but is no match for the combined teamwork of Rin and Fuego. Though they were pinned down for a moment, an unexpected person comes to their aid and Rin finally realizes the power of the link between her and Fuego (...or is it that Fuego has officially chosen Rin as its rider). Truly an exceptional episode... Ep 5: Conspiracy and doubt erupts as the whole country tries to come to grips with the recent terrorist event and the mysterious rideback girl who escaped. Only the "top brass" of the military knows who she is and have any info on her. The rest of the world is told that she was not a terrorist, but a normal civilian girl with no relations to the army. This has a "backwards" effect on the situation as it would've been better if she was a terrorist. The fact that she was a normal girl made everyone all the more interested to know her identity. The media makes their move and assumes a lead, but to no avail. The supervisor of the RideBack club is angry (more worried) and swears to protect Rin and the gang by destroying Fuego and getting rid of any evidence of its creation! This puts Rin besides herself as she finally realizes the consequences of her actions and that she was actually enjoying the danger and the fear of the rescue incident (she has "fangs" just as the prez predicted). The army as well as hidden RideBack groups all prep for this "girl" as she could be a powerful ally or the worst possible enemy. Important ep... Ep 6: A regular/boring ep. Nothing happens until the end where the (implied I assume) little brother Kenji (confused with the obnoxious big brother Rin talked to on the phone) gets caught up with a bad crowd and Rin risks everything she has to save him from getting killed. She ends up getting exposed and captured by the police. Regular ep... Ep 7: Very slow to progress, this ep was on the same level as the last one. I don't know why, but this show is beginning to fall apart. Nothing happens at all except the GGP tortures Kenji and forces him to admit to killing that idiot on the bike who was riding with him that night (though he had nothing to do with it) and they plan on holding on to Rin for a while longer. They want to move her to headquarters, but it seems that another group of people have plans for her instead... Slow ep... Ep 8: Rin learns just what kind of power she really has as the leader of the terrorists shows her the true extent of using a RideBack (like flipping upside down and stuff). The battle between the BMA (terrorists) and the GGP continues and things are getting quite personal (especially between the two commanders of the opposing forces). What would you do if someone told you to wash your neck and wait for them? Rin has learned just what kind of machine Fuego really is and she will have a big decision to make soon enough. Fantastic ep... Ep 9: This ep was crazy as the GGP begins to take the "all out" approach. Rin's final decision is the worst possible one in this situation. Okay ep... Ep 10: What a spirit booster. I was beginning to lose hope in this anime when the events in this ep opened my eyes wide open. I was completely enthralled from start to finish. That ending scene was too graphic for TV. I can't believe it went down like that. I was screaming like a little girl when I saw the sudden fatality of a certain character. It was something else I tell you, and extremely sudden!!!! As if the situation couldn't get any worse, Rin had to watch it with no way of saving that person. She was feeling guilty enough as it is. She is so screwed... Undeniable ep... Ep 11: Finally, the story takes the path I thought it would take (it's a little late now with only one ep left but better late than never I guess). Everyone is forced to come to grips with the death from the last ep and Rin is taking it the hardest. She blames herself completely as if she was the one who swung that sword to behead her friend. The BMA takes their stance and launches the first attack against the GGP and things get serious real quick with a hacked network system and a missile strike!!! Rin finally realizes what she must do and becomes a newly reborn Rin! She is going to take part in this battle and show the world that she still can dance. Great ep that marks the beginning of the end... Check out my award list to see some of the best anime titles in the world! Never forget Xenosaga. Last updated Friday, March 27 2009. Created Monday, February 02 2009. | ||||||||
| Watch |
 Stretch
|
[series:1845#628] | ||||||
|
(Watch+ or Rent-) (All episodes watched): As the narrator described the basic premise of this show, my first impression was "uh-oh, another Code Geass-like Freedom-Fighters-with-Mecha show". This annoys me because guerillas by definition are rag-tag soldiers and the notion of them possessing state of the art weaponry is ludicrous. These are shows which have sold their plausibility in exchange for a little coolness, but they lost more than they gained--IMO, at least. But I diverge. Fortunately, that stage seems to already be over when Rideback begins. The odd thing is that apparently after overthrowing the government (of the entire world?) these guys became even more repressive and dictatorial than the previous government (not uncommon throughout history). Once this has happened is when this story takes place. Despite my misgivings, a sense of pleasing style soon emerged Apparently the OP credits were in English even in Japan (unless fansubbers have developed such expertise that they can strip the original credits away and replace them with translated ones at will). Anyway, Rin was a rising star ballerina, but felt overshadowed by her internationally famous mother. After injuring her ankle she gave up ballet and enrolled in college. There she stumbles across a club that rides strange new ATVs called "RideBacks". These are sort of like a cross between a motorcycle and a robot, and can transform into a number of different postures for different transportation tasks. They are pretty cool from a technology standpoint. After a ride on a berserk RideBack which is both terrifying and exhilarating, Rin becomes intrigued by these vehicles. And that's about where episode one leaves us. Despite my early misgivings, this looked pretty fun! Rin has some personality (she needed a new hobby to get her mind off her crumbled ballet career) and again the RideBacks are pretty neat. My guess was that Rin would discover that the members of the RideBack club were involved in student dissent against the government. At any rate, I was left looking forward to more of RideBack. I'm not sure I like the turn which the plot takes in episode four. Rin's determination to "rescue" her friend Shoko seemed pretty foolhardy to me--I think it placed both herself and Shouko in far greater danger than the terrorists ever did (and Rin should have known this). It only succeeded because of the sort of fantastic luck which allows a character to roar through a hail of bullets without getting hit, the sort of luck which only exists on TV. Thus it didn't seem very "cool" to me. Where will things go from here? After such a stunt Rin's life can never be the same again--unless the show chooses to ignore the concept of plausibility, which would be very bad news. It's hard to take seriously Ridebacks being portrayed as some sort of secret weapon; they are just super agile motorcycles when you get right down to it, and are available to the general public. I'd much rather be in a tank than on a rideback when bullets and shell fragments are flying. Yet they supposedly were instrumental in neutralizing nuclear weapons in a series of commando raids. Japan, being the only country to ever be 'nuked, seems to have a special fear and hatred of nuclear weapons and loves to see them humiliated in works of fiction. RideBack has some coolness--peeling out on one of them is exciting--and plenty of technical plausibility, since their design is well thought-out. But expecting me to buy them as the new God of the battlefield is going a bit far. It's like the common anime practice of trying to portray swords as superior to firearms. Japan also seems to have a special fear of being ruled by a militaristic government, perhaps because it has happened before. Even worse would be one forced upon the country by foreigners. So, it seems to go without saying that the GGP is evil, and little effort is made to explain why--it just commits atrocities now and then, like the one that led to the startling fate of a friend of Rin. The way that Japan's own police force is allowed to continue operating, as long as it doesn't draw the ire of the GGP, was interesting in that situations like that often really do occur. It's much easier to rule another country if it's people can at least pretend that they still hold some power. But what exactly the GGP is getting out of this arrangement (kickbacks on RideBack production contracts?) is hard to say, and it's difficult to see them as inherently evil when they don't seem to be exploiting the Japanese people any more than their own politicians do today. They just carelessly kill people every now and then, but why rule with an iron fist when the bulk of the population seems satisfied with the current political situation? As a result, Rin's decision that she, too, must do something to fight the GGP seemed corny and stereotypical. All sorts of sins could have been forgiven if RideBack had ended in an awesomely cool manner, but it didn't. I think the saying is that those who try to be cool are automatically not cool, and this episode wasn't very plausible either. Okakura knocks out a soldier who can't hit him with a submachine gun at point-blank range? Grimoires can't for the life of them catch anybody important, but they turn on the police with glee? Or, they twiddle their robotic thumbs while Rin urges Fuego to get back on it's feet/wheels? The GGP is "decommissioned" (shut down?) with a phone call? So, they didn't even have the power to shake off a mere scandal? What was the nature of this scandal anyhow? Wasn't the fact that the GGP was defending itself against a terrorist attack more than enough of an excuse to postpone the decommissioning? Romanov is shot by one of his own subordinates? And what was the deal with the "light"?. I couldn't help thinking "what the f--- is going on here?". Am I supposed to consider the "dancing" fight scene to be so cool that I don't give a damn about anything else? I dread the thought that the vast majority of viewers will conclude that the ending was absolutely awesome, while I just want to beat my head against a wall. RideBack was a show with neat visuals but a plot which kind of fell to pieces as it went along. The concept of the Ridebacks was clever, and perhaps the most enjoyable part of the show was seeing how they worked and what they were capable of. I kind of wish the show had focused even more on the thrill of RideBack riding instead of going into politics and revolution, because the treatment of those was distinctly less realistic than the treatment of these fictional vehicles of the future. Last updated Tuesday, April 07 2009. Created Friday, January 23 2009. | ||||||||
| Unevaluated |
 Jan-Chan
|
[series:1845#967] | ||||||
|
Rideback does for ‘cute girls on motorcycles’ what Initial D did for ‘fast cars and street racing’. Well… maybe not….. At least the style is the same – well animated characters and beautiful backdrops with a lot of excellent computer generated action racing scenes. Having rewritten the story as told in original manga series, OGATA Rin is a renowned ballet dancer who (due to an injury) has given up on dance to attend art classes at college. While there, she falls in with a motorcycle club who specialize in riding two wheeled robotic vehicles called RIDEBACKs. But the year is 2020 at a time when the trend in globalization has reached an extreme. Japan is under the control of the GGP, who will not tolerate any dissenting opinions or views and are willing to use any means to enforce their agenda. Fighting against them are heavily armed BMA ‘terrrorists’ who use Ridebacks as combat vehicles. Rin gets ‘scouted’ by KATAOKA Tamayo, the leader of the college Rideback club and a Rideback racing champion. But there are members of the club who have an affiliation with the hunted BMA terrorists…... I would be willing to give my left arm for a Rideback … ummmm … maybe not… you need both arms to operate a Rideback. But in any case, this is turning out to be a fun adaptation that is exceeding my expectations. This just might be one of those great ‘sleeper’ series that could catch-on like wildfire. A short summary of the first chapter of the manga (which is very different from the anime story!) Having taken a wrong turn on the new college campus, Ogata Rin finds herself lost and tries to ask directions from a boy in a nearby workshop. Overwhelmed by the boy's misplaced enthusiasm at having such a pretty new member interested in joining the ‘RideBack’ fanclub, Rin quickly finds herself pushed into the pilot seat of a two-wheeled robot-motorcycle and driving out the door of the clubhouse. While touring the campus and learning how to operate the RideBack, Rin is surprised and confronted by a grouchy and antagonistic police beat-cop who accuses her of breaking the law and demands that she dismount immediately. But before Rin can decide what to do, a pack of students gather and charge the cop, screaming against police abuses and ‘political oppression by the global governmental system’. What started as a flash protest between a single cop and a band of militant students quickly erupts into a full scale riot with arrival of an armoured van filled with riot police. And then the police begin to open fire.... In attempting to avoid the riot control paintbombs being used by the police, Rin unconsciously uses some of the jazz dance steps that she knows so well and the RideBack responds! Leaping over the heads of the melee of protesters, Rin and her RideBack create a disturbance which distracts the police long enough to allow the students to safely retreat. It is only later back on the college campus where the police have no authority enter, does Rin really have a chance to think about what had just happened. And she can only stare in bewilderment when one of the militant students mentions that the police have probably managed to record the entire encounter and they probably have all been 'marked by the Public Security’ agency as being anti-government rebels. Just how can a first-year dance student be marked as a student militant on the first day of class? Here are a few images ... One pen-n-Ink from the manga and two colour images from the anime story. 
Last updated Thursday, January 29 2009. Created Sunday, June 01 2008. | ||||||||
Other Sites
| Name | URL |
|---|---|
| Official Website | http://www.rideback-anime.jp/rideback.html |
| Check out the impressive web design | |
| Kasahara Tetsuro's manga site | http://www.din.or.jp/~te2/ |
| Japanese Language manga web site | |
| IKKI's (Japanese) site for the manga | http://www.ikki-para.com/comix/rideback.html |
