Ladholyman

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 fluidanimation 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.

burntlettuce

What do you do when you fall down? Do you get back up and continue what you are doing? Or do you simply wait for someone to come along and pick you up? In a futuristic Japan where vehicle's know as Ridebacks are all the rage Ogata Rin must try to pick herself up from ruining her career as one of Japan's finest dancers. Rin herself may be one of the best things to come out of Rideback, as she is a terrific main lead. Throughout the entire series she tries to come in gripes with herself, and why she does the things she does.Why is it that when she rides Fuego does her heart pound so much? Why did I make that jump? Why in all of these flames do I feel truly alive? These are the type of questions she ask's herself throughout the series, and her coming into gripes and realization of each of the answers is truly a wonderful journey. Rin is most definitely a rare character, but sadly that's all this show has to offer in terms of characters. Unfortunately all of the characters are nothing more than one-dimensional cut outs used simply to move the plot forward. You never get to know any of the characters, on really any level, other than their purpose inside the context of the plot. Which is definitely a draw back, from an otherwise great show. One of Rideback's successes is that it's plot is believable. I am not talking about the motorcycle's with arms. No I am talking about how everything comes together. How Rin comes into mix with the terrorist organization and why she becomes wanted by the GGP. It's brought together, by a couple of really believable coincidences. Rin getting caught in the middle of this doesn't feel forced at all. On the contrary, it actually feels like she got caught in the middle of everything. However, just because everything comes together in a believable way does not forgive the very shaky plot of Rideback. The problem with Rideback is that it's only 12 episodes long. I think that a longer series would've benefited Rideback a lot more. The viewer never fully understands what happens in the show. Why is the BMA leader want revenge so bad? It's clear he was screwed over, but how? Why? Who is this mysterious lady who seems to have the answers? Why is she helping take down the government she works for? The anime itself is full of questions that never get answered. If this series was extended and had the time to answer, explain and expand on everything already present that this anime would have truly been a masterpiece. But alas it's 12 episodes holds it back and keeps it an average level. The two biggest successes of Rideback have to the art and soundtrack. Both entirely entrancing and add so much more depth to this series. The animation of Rideback is breathtaking. The character designs are top notch, and the background visuals will leave you in a state of awe at just how beautiful they are. The Rideback animation is flawless and the action sequences done with the Rideback have so much detail in them that they will raise your heart levels tenfold. The soundtrack in anime(Outside of Mells consistent bad English in the opening) is fantastic. From the adrenaline pumping techno to the beautiful piano scores. The OST adds a depth to this anime that the story and characters weren't able to. It adds so much emotion as Rin tries to figure out who she is, and really gets your heart pumping every time she gets on a Rideback. Truly one of the better Sound Tracks out there. Unfortunately do to the jumbled messed of the plot and lack of any character depth(Outside of Rin} leaves this anime easy to forget and easy to pass by. It's a good anime, but at the end of the day that's it. The stunning visuals and beautiful OST does not make up for the other area's that are lacking. Rideback is definitely worth a watch, but don't go in expecting to find one of the rare gems of this decade.