Comments on: Ride Back 1-3: all hail the biker ballerina

By: Martin

Martin — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 19:41:34 +0000

@Sasa: I loved the first episode but if it gets as good as that again, you’ll hear it here first!

@Omysith: I thought the CG was very good, but sadly that made the decent-yet-average animation look worse!

@Hanners: the broader story would be welcome but I honestly don’t think such a short episode count will do it justice. If there’s a second season at a later date though, that ought to be okay, certainly if the budget’s a bit higher.

@gaguri: I’m hyping this but with low expectations at the same time, if that makes any sense at all. To put it another way, I have high hopes for it as a fun B-list title (as opposed to having the ambition of being an A-list title and falling short).

@coburn: I think ep #4 will give a better handle on where the series is going. We’re only a quarter of the way through so far but I can’t say whether the pacing is good or not. I wouldn’t call it ‘slow’ either, but the episode count is a worry – we’re not dealing with an epic story here, after all.

By: coburn

coburn — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 20:05:25 +0000

The thing where the show might be too short to develop its politics is getting to me. After episode 1′s Big Moment, I was very hyped up. After episode 3 I find myself thinking that if all the show really has to make it special is that delirious flying feeling, then maybe it should have been an OVA and dropped the political thing into the background permanently. It’s one of those shows that gives off that nothing special feeling for 15 minutes, then delivers pure happiness. I like to think it’ll find a way to cut the slack and deliver purified Rin perfection, but the politics bodes poorly.

By: gaguri

gaguri — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 19:27:23 +0000

One day, everyone will come to realise what a disappointing ride Ride Back has become, and remember to heed gaguri’s wisdom as he was among the very few wary of its hype.

…or he will one day find himself heeding everyone’s words and realise how awesome it turned out to be.

By: Hanners

Hanners — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 16:51:38 +0000

I’m with Omisyth on this one – In my opinion Rideback probably has one of the best blendings of CG and traditional animation I’ve seen in anime. Admittedly that isn’t saying much (as it’s normally pretty bad, even in high-profile stuff like Evangelion 1.01), and it is a bit variable, but overall I thought the two blended together almost perfectly.

That aside, I pretty much agree with your feelings on the show, although I’m not too scared by the thought of it getting “political”, it might make for an interesting change of pace.

As a side note, I’m also impatiently waiting to see Viper’s Creed get the fansubbing treatment.

By: Omisyth

Omisyth — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 14:31:50 +0000

I loved the designs and and thought the reverse about the animation and the CG. In my opinion, CG just doesn’t mesh well with anime.

By: Sasa

Sasa — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 10:35:15 +0000

Ahh, Rideback. I gave the first episode a 9 on MAL and now I haven’t even seen the third episode, this is how quickly my excitement for the show faded, amazingly enough. I am quite happy to see that everybody seems to be talking about it though, it’s the first series adapted from an IKKI manga that received so much attention as far as I know. (A few people have seen Bokurano, Tetsuko no Tabi got only one episode subbed and Noramimi was never subbed).

So please somebody wake me up when this adaptation goes beyond silly Rideback races again. :3

By the way, I am looking forward to more of your 1000+ words posts. ;)