Comments on: Shigofumi: the difference between thinking and feeling

By: Hotarubi

Hotarubi — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 12:39:42 +0000

I don’t really like Shigofumi nor do I dislike it…It doesn’t feel flat for me, I am still able to enjoy it, but, yeah, it does not impress me that much…
I just wanted to comment on the 3rd episode. I think that guy’s reason for jumping off the roof was believable…I mean come on, some kids are so bored these days, they choke themselves to death. It’s true that people sometimes try to seek deep meanings behind suicides, while I believe there does not have to be a solid reason for that…After all, that’s what they said in this episode: “You never know what’s going on inside someone’s head” (or something like that:)).

By: ConcreteBadger

ConcreteBadger — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 22:07:50 +0000

@Hanners: ah, that explains why I was left wondering “how is this guy holding a whole classroom hostage with no visible weapons?” It doesn’t solve the thematic problem I had with the episode, but at least I know what was odd about that particular scene. *sighs* I’m really hoping ep #4 impresses me now…

By: Hanners

Hanners — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 19:54:07 +0000

Did you notice the big, black obscured sections of the screen when the guy was holding his dead son’s classmates hostage? That was the editing in action. I can only assume he was wielding some kind of model boat. Or something.

By: ConcreteBadger

ConcreteBadger — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 18:43:43 +0000

@Sasa: it’s funny, but for every show you and I feel the same way about, there’s one that we don’t - I’m glad we’re able to agree to disagree on those with no hard feelings. ^_^ Yeah, it’s strange when something ought to ‘click’ but doesn’t…Hanner’s comment about ep #4 suggests it’s supposed to be better so I’ll give that a watch and see how it goes. It really is a ‘gut feeling’ thing, because from a technical and artistic point of view Shigofumi does really well.

@Hanners: I’d be interested to find out about the nature of the edits - that might explain why the episode didn’t ‘work’ as I hoped it would. The ‘open to interpretation’ thing is a plus point I think, but I’d certainly welcome some insight into Fumika too.

By: Hanners

Hanners — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 23:20:07 +0000

I think that perhaps one of the more interesting facets of Shigofumi is that it doesn’t try to tell us anything at all per se - It doesn’t particularly moralise on anyone’s situation at all (be they the deceased or the recipient of the Shigofumi), which leaves it open to interpretation.

I certainly agree with you on episode three though, it really did fall rather flat (although it wasn’t helped by the ridiculous late content edit) from beginning to end, although thankfully the next instalment was somewhat better again. It also suggests that as the series goes on, its focus is going to increasingly shift towards Fumika and her own circumstances - Something that is liable to either revitalise your interest in the series or turn you off it even more.

By: Sasa

Sasa — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 22:26:55 +0000

Hmm, honestly I don’t really know how to respond to that because I don’t feel that way. I, for one, could perfectly relate myself to the protagonist of the first two episodes (even though I did not really understand why she killed him). However, I fully understand that it is entirely possible that you feel different about it - it’s feelings after all. I know people who do not feel anything about the characters of Mushishi, and I encountered such a thing myself: Shinigami no Ballad. In case you didn’t hear about it, its premise is pretty similar to Shigofumi, and for some reason, it just didn’t click with me at all and left me completely cold.

I think it’s difficult to explain feelings like these, and I see no reason why you should have to ‘justify’ yourself if you don’t feel for a certain show.