Final Impressions / First Impressions / Shigofumi

Summary:

Fumika ends up telling the police everything about how her father abused her, and when Natsuka later asks her why, Fumika explains that she had to do it so that she can move forward. Sometime later, she is enrolled in the same school as Kaname, but she soon realizes that everyone is watching her because word had spread about the abuse. This frightens her, though when she talks with Kaname, she claims to be having fun at school. Kanaka meanwhile is having problems after having been reassigned to a new partner and accidentally burning the girl. Matoma reports that Chiaki is also burned out, but in her case, it’s due to how she found a legal precedent to get Fumika approved only to have Fumika disappear. Back on Earth, the media picks up on Fumika’s story, and crowds of reporters gather in front of Natsuka’s house wanting to speak to her. Fumika still manages to attend school though, and while waiting for her one afternoon, Natsuka and Kaname talk about not having said anything to her about Mika. After Natsuka brings up how Kaname had liked Mika and suggests that this is why he’s nice to Fumika, she finally confesses that she likes him. Unbeknownst to them, Fumika overhears all this.

That night, Natsuka questions Fumika about the gunshot she heard at the shrine back on the day Fumika had run out of the house. Fumika, however, dismisses it as Natsuka’s imagination. She ends up feeling even worse after overhearing Natsuka’s mother complaining to Natsuka’s father about the media hounding them. A few days later, Fumika heads with Kaname’s father to the airport to meet her mother Aizawa Kirei who is flying in from Italy. Kirei, who is quite pretty, likes how her daughter turned out and thinks that Fumika can become even more beautiful. However, she claims that she wants to stay a woman and doesn’t want to take responsibility for her daughter. This causes Fumika to question why her mother got married and gave birth to her, so Kirei reveals that she just wanted to experience a woman’s joy once. Kirei then runs off with a rich guy, leaving Fumika behind with Kaname’s father. Moments later, Fumika starts to hear the clicks of cell phone cameras taking her picture, and she tries to run away from it all. After he loses sight of her, Kaname’s father calls his son to tell him what’s going on. Kaname ends up heading to Natsuka’s house, but since Fumika isn’t there either, he guesses that she went to her father’s house.

Fumika is indeed at her old home, and she’s about to shoot herself in the head when Mika suddenly shows up. Mika feels that Fumi didn’t change and recalls how Fumi couldn’t pull the trigger back on the day they met at the shrine – it was Mika who helped her do it. When Fumi questions why Mika appeared again, Mika explains that it’s because Fumi tried to run away again. Fumi denies this and tries to slap Mika, but Mika punches her in the face first and then punches her again when Fumi blames her for always stealing what she tries to do. Picking up the gun she dropped earlier, Fumi questions why Mika doesn’t wait for her until she can get some more courage and do her best. She surprises Mika by throwing her the gun and challenging her to shoot so that they can both disappear. When Mika cannot, Fumi accuses Mika of wanting to live and to make friends. Mika admits that this is true and reveals that she also wanted to do things like play basketball and have a part-time job. In response, Fumi confesses that she wanted to do these kinds of things too, and in the heat of the argument, the two girls start listing off everything they can think of.

Mika eventually realizes that this is a future that could have occurred, and she thinks that the Shigofumi is the same in that it is a letter that couldn’t be sent. She then admits that she felt she had to disappear because she was a personality that wasn’t truly there, and she thanks Fumi for creating her. This leads to both girls crying, and they’re still doing so when Natsuka, Kanaka, Kaname, and Chiaki find them there. In the aftermath, Fumi and Mika continue along their separate paths, and Mika stays a Shigofumi courier with Kanaka as her partner.

Epilogue

This final episode had a rather “blah” feel to it. Yes it was a happy ending and yes it gave some closure for all the characters we’ve seen in the past episodes, however the whole crying scene just didn’t do it for me. I was really hoping for another plot twist that involved Chiaki, Kirei, and/or Kirameki, but there wasn’t one. I thought they’d definitely include more of Chiaki doing stuff after what last episode showed with that Lisala lady, but her role here was minor at best. In fact, the key of this entire series, the Shigofumi, is also almost entirely absent from the final episode save for one minor mention. Surely they could have used that in some clever way, but instead we see the girls cry, make up, and that was it. It just wasn’t a very satisfying ending.

Final Thoughts: I can still remember how surprisingly the first two episodes were and how much they made me want to watch the rest of this show. If only the production team had been able to keep up the good writing and excitement the entire way through, then this could have been a great show. Shigofumi ends up being rather inconsistent in that regard because while there are some good episodes and interesting characters, there are also some bad episodes (I still hate the bullying one) and a mediocre ending. It’s a shame too because after the first two weeks, I thought that Shigofumi might change my mind about generally staying away from episodically structured shows. In the end though, it merely reinforced that idea.

30 Comments

  5. Hmm. I was was expecting something a little more out of left-field than this. I do like ‘happy endings’, so it’s not the resolution-choices in this episode that are anti-climatic per se. It’s just the execution of them.

    They should have done better with Kirei too, imo.

    Diodati
    Reply

  13. Oh, looks like you finally got around to watching this Omni.

    To me, Shigofumi didn’t really end on a high note, but there was closure so I’m happy about that. Given the Saturday shows I’ve been through today, I have to say this was the most “pleasant” to watch. Gundam 00, true tears, and Kimikiss (the most) were shockers for the day and have put me in quite the “OMG…shock” mood.

    So in contrast to that, Shigofumi’s ending was a nice change. Also, Kimi ga Aruji de Shitsuji ga Ore de ep12 was quite the usual as well (in a good way). All that’s left is to see what Persona ep12 has in store. I’ve been out running errands so I haven’t had a chance to watch that yet.

    divine|s
    Reply

  17. all in all, I think the most interesting episodes in the series remains the first two, too bad it’s mostly downhill from there.

    Except for the Chiaki back-story episode, that one was pure win 🙂

    Mike
    Reply

  18. Shigofumi was pretty nice as a whole. I felt that definately the first and second ep were great, but I believe eps 6 and 10 need some attention. those were quite good by themselves
    The epilouge was quite good, because it brought back characters from previous eps and showed how the Shigofumi affected them slightly over time. The revisiting of places and characters was a rather nice way to end.

    Rauzes
    Reply

  19. Great ending! I love it. It’s like, one of those endings that people always say “bleh, it’s been done before”, even though it’s really not, since many producers/storywriters avoids them for the same reason; hence, it’s fresh again… get what I mean? No? Me neither. But I meant what I said. 😀

    Seeing Mika bursting into tears was a truly heartfelt moment. She’s been trying to act tough and strong for Fumi’s sake at the expense of her own, all these time without realising it. And when Fumi mentioned Mika’s desire to be just like everyone else, that must’ve hit a really sore spot, since Mika’s been doing the same as Fumi, ignoring and escaping her own true feelings. As it turned out, they really are of the same person: Fumi escapes via disassociating herself from society; while Mika escapes by being a Shigofumi and keeping her emotions locked up.

    As happy as the ending may be, it did had a hint of bitterness to it for me, and that is because in the end, Mika’s wish was the only one that never came true. While Fumi grows stronger and fits into society, Mika’s still stuck with her job, never to experience love, school, and all those things that she so-wanted. At least from the last 5 seconds, it seemed that Mika has come to terms and accepted her fate as a deliverer of shigofumis. She had such a cute, calm (though albeit sad) face when she uttered her last words for the series. Kanaka, 0609!!!!

    Well, that’s my take of the final episode. While it might not be what some of you were expecting, I love it a lot. Very nice ending indeed. Now all I need is some mindless OVA to keep me happy. 😀

    Jayars
    Reply

  20. OMNI my otaku brother!!
    I really think this season was all about ” BLAH! ” endings…really!
    a real ” generic ” story wise feeling in all animes…except on gundam00…..even CLANNAD was a generic anime in plot and in animation too…I was a lot disapointed with Kyoto animation…with production I.G on GHOST HOUND was the same feeling…and GENEON productions like shana 2 ( means pussy here in Brazil 😀 ) it was ALOT generic with nothing to add………I am really sad here because they keep killing this season animes with fast endings like meat on a food store..because there´s an expiration date and there ALWAYS will be more to fill up their places……well sad but capitalism is pretty much this…and the anime market has become this crap about..
    ” HAS ALREADY ENDED…..SOOOOO….LET´S FILL THE VOID WITH ANYTHING FAST!! LET´S JUST MAKE MONEY…….FAST!!!!! ”
    T_T

    TESAI OTAKU
    Reply

  26. I think Shigofumi’s ending was as most people are saying here “simple but nice”. But Omni is correct the show did not use all the elements provided to make the ending more intereesting (Kirameki could have been used more at the end, same with Fumika’s mother).

    As a whole..I think I like Shigofumi more than Spice and Wolf (prepares to get shot by Horo fanboys)….

    Oh yeah and episode 10 made me cry…so bonus points for that.

    Avisch
    Reply

  27. awwwwwwwwwwwwwww i liked this anime, it had to end huh? well at least it ended so it didnt turn into them long series and turned boring. even so, not that happy it ended but it was a great ending 🙂 ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh i want that gun too~a real one that shoots~ i want one~

    klinc
    Reply

  28. I agree how the ending felt a little hurried with new elements added in but quickly forgotten (Chiaki and that weird gypsy woman or how Kirameki actually turned out in the end) It could have gotten to 14 episodes and ended there. I don’t have anything against what some call the “blah” ending. In a way, its how most things end in life. Nothing extravagant. Simple but powerful which is what i think the author meant for the ending to be. Overall, Shigofumi was my favorite series for the season as it finally pulls away from the “big boobs hey let’s have some vampire panties service” or the “yo robots!” or any of the “mahou shoujou girls” themes. I mean not that those are bad, but come on. let’s have something different please.

    Love the idea and the show. I give Shigofumi a 9/10 (only cos it felt hurried at the end).

    Belliom
    Reply

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