Shigofumi

There are some things that people are unable to say while they are alive; for these, there are "shigofumi," letters carried from the world of the dead to the world of the living. When a person with strong emotions dies, they are able to create a shigofumi, whether their feelings are of love, longing, or resentment. It is the quiet and mysterious Fumika's job to deliver these messages from the departed. Along with her talking magic staff Kanaka, she ensures that each shigofumi reaches its intended recipient, even if that person does not want to face its contents.

Fumika witnesses the tragedies of people, both dead and alive, and sees their deepest secrets revealed. What is unclear, however, are the details of Fumika's past. Who was she before she came to be a carrier of shigofumi?

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Fumika Main

Ueda, Kana Japanese

Kanaka Main

Matsuoka, Yuki Japanese

Chiaki Supporting

Asano, Masumi Japanese

Ayase, Asuna Supporting

Sendai, Eri Japanese

Matoma Supporting

Katou, Masayuki Japanese

Mikawa, Kirameki Supporting

Koyama, Rikiya Japanese

Hibiya, Takehiko Supporting

Okano, Kousuke Japanese

Senkawa, Daiki Supporting

Kimura, Ryouhei Japanese

Machiya, Shouta Supporting

Yonaga, Tsubasa Japanese

Kasai, Natsuka Supporting

Chiba, Saeko Japanese

Matsukura, Yuuji Producer

Oosawa, Nobuhiro Producer

Kashiwada, Shinichirou Producer

Yukawa, Jun Producer

Reviews

Mar 28, 2008

MaxwellLily

Recommended

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.

Reviewer’s Rating: 8

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Jan 19, 2012

randompadley

Mixed Feelings

Okay, first review on the site, I'm not really one for long essays, and I've only just recently got into anime so apologies if it's not very technical but felt I wanted to pass my view on.

When I first read the summary of the anime I was very excited, the plot semt really intresting and just the type of anime that I was looking for. It was also a short series therefore I completed it within 24 hours (barely) the opening couple of Shigofumi were really good, very nice. Kept me intrested until 3am in the morning and that is a task all on its ... own. But when I came back to it the next day (very excited may I add) I was sadly dissapointed....

I felt the episodes were hit and miss, some were actually quite powerful and moving, and as people have said already dealing with very touchy subjects, it was like a rollercoaster ride, on minute I would be hitting the 'next episode' quicker than a kangaroo on steroids, and then for the next couple of episodes it took me great strength to not just turn it off and drop it.

I never felt very close to characters, I didn't feel sympathy, I dont feel they were developed well enough, the main characters I thought were pretty bland and unintresting in my personal opinion. Although the plot had potential, and I did get what was going on eventually, I just felt it could have been handled better (maybe with it being such a short series they just didn't have time to fully develop the characters well enough for my taste)

I shall end with some positives for the show because despite it seeming like a loathe this anime, it probably wasn't as bad as what I am making it out to be. First of all I though both opening and ending songs were really nice and atmospheric and went well with the show. I especially like the ending which I have even downloaded. The picture and art in the show is very nice with fluid motion throughout. If anything the sound and art really brought the series up in my eyes, and I have said before some episodes were really gripping and very good, and at points I was actually gripped and thought that it was going to go somewhere.

But overall I just think the story didn't really contain any 'wow' factor for me, I did not really care much for any of the characters (especially the annoying and tbh quite useless sidekick staff) and while some episodes were quite thrilling and gripping and I do appreciate and respect that they were touching on real life problems and tragedy's (abuse, teen suicide, bullying etc etc) I still found some of the episodes rather boring and hard to get through. But I loved the art and soundtrack, and I must say the ending was quite touching.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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Apr 27, 2019

YuukoDreams

Not Recommended

We are dealing with another episodic show with a main character glueing them together. But just because you push the characters who change every episode through one drama cliché at a time doesn't mean that that's a good way to waste someone's time who has watched more than at least 30 anime's with exavtly the same plot twists and moralities. Now have cliché personalities play their part and the boredom is complete. Of course one shall not forget the dull animation and the forgettable, at times obnoxiously boring music.

Maybe this was an acceptable standard in 2008 but after Violet Evergarden I feel like we've ended ... up too spoiled for such mediocracy.

Reviewer’s Rating: 4

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