The first impression one might have when hearing about Rideback might be, " Oh, everyone's riding on a Segway® ." A Rideback is not an absurdly intricate machine like Gundams are, nor are they as insane as the racing machines in IGPX. A Rideback is a humanoid motor vehicle, with wheels for feet and freely moving arms. It can either stand tall on its legs, or change to Spread Legs Form, where its wheels shift to the front and back of the vehicle, much like a motorcycle. The concept is simple enough to seem possible in the near future, and this simplicity is what makes Rideback an enjoyable show to watch. The vehicles serve their functions as cool tools, but what these vehicles mean to our protagonists grants them their significance.
Rin Ogata, our protagonist.
Story
Several years ago an unnamed nation (perhaps America) held enormous political power, greatly due to its massive ICBM base in Arizona. Before the nation became too greedy, a rebel group known as the GGP (Global Government Plan) managed to attack the base and used attack vehicles known as Ridebacks to crush the ICBM threat. With its trump card gone, the nation slowly found its position in world politics replaced by the GGP, an organization bent on exacting its ruthless military influence over the globe...
Rin Ogata's raison d'etre was to become a ballet dancer, as graceful and renowned as her mother was before she died. A devastating stage accident, coupled with the recent death of her parents, compels Rin to abandon her childhood dream, and she finds herself without a purpose worth striving for. Soon after, Rin moves on with her life and enters college. One rainy afternoon she wanders into the campus Rideback Club for shelter; she is mistaken as being an interested potential member. After some convincing she mounts Fuego, a specially modified commercial Rideback. She proceeds to drive but quickly realizes she has no idea how to control the vehicle, or so she thinks. Rin barely survives the wild ride, but finds herself drawn to riding Fuego again. There's an unusual freedom that riding comes with, a freedom that she also experienced when she was a dancer. Rin's previous lifestyle, surprisingly, granted her skills necessary to gracefully handle the humanoid Ridebacks with ease. Her finesse does not go unnoticed, and she catches the attention of both the GGP and the BMA, a terrorist organization attempting to dethrone the military dictatorship. Suddenly Rin's life is in jeopardy...
Rideback is a short series at twelve episodes long. The first three episodes are devoted to introducing our characters and allowing Rin to develop her skill on a Rideback. After this, the series quickly delves into the larger threat that the GGP poses to Japan, as it forces the nation into martial law in order to better deal with the BMA. The plot is well-executed for the most part, however not much is said of exactly what occurs during the War of Arizona that resulted in the GGP's initial rise to power. The vendetta between the two factions greatly stems from events that occurred in Arizona. Understanding this is key; the GGP seems to anticipate and even allow BMA attacks in order to gain support for using more extreme counter-terrorism tactics. It's as if these factions are engaged in a dance of their own. Rather than devote great chunks of time on explaining the War of Arizona, the show focuses on the effects the recent battles have on Rin and her family and friends. In some ways this is for the best; the show never becomes an overly masculine treatise on complex killer robots.
Characters
Rin is a nineteen year old who has suffered through much heartache during her early years. Dancing was her life, her "light" - a term also used in Canaan to signify hope, motivation, and in an extreme interpretation, a raison d'etre. Once dancing was no longer an option, Fuego provided her with an emotional outlet and an opportunity to once again strive for attention on the world's stage. Rin Ogata is a satisfactory protagonist with inner turmoil; it's difficult, however, to separate Rin from the supporting cast, which inhibits her ability to carry the narrative on her own with a powerful on-screen presence. Her motivations soon become tied to her concern for the well-being of her loved ones, elevating their significance in the story. But it is hard to note anyone as being a particularly stand-out character. Okakura, founder of the Rideback Club at Rin's school, is probably the most intriguing personality. His rough and often impatient attitude, paired with his mysterious history with the GGP's War of Arizona, make him consistently enjoyable to watch on-screen. He eventually decides to protect Rin as she is targeted by the GGP, and so Okakura grows more intriguing with each episode.
Rin and Okakura.
Animation
The animation is a bit complex to break down. Overall the presentation of the show is very nice. Colors are never overwhelmingly bright and fluorescent, and shadows and light fall nicely upon objects. The animation is consistent and without variations in style that often occur during the course of a longer series. The character designs are atypical, to say the least. Faces are slightly elongated, eyes are small and are unusually spaced apart, and simple red lines are often on a character's cheeks, likely signifying blushing. Anime faces are generally unrealistic, but Rideback's approach is unique even for anime standards. Okakura's face is another story entirely; his eyes are simple black dots and his nose is almost a rectangle that juts out of his face. He is the only character with this design and his simple style brings to mind comics like The Adventures of Tintin and Annie.
The Ridebacks are animated using 3D computer graphics. When it comes to including 3D in animation, there has to be a lot of work done in order to ensure that it does not look out of place. Production I.G. usually does a good job at this, for example, and pioneered the technique in Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence. In the case of Rideback, which was produced by Madhouse, the decision to use 3D wasn't a terrible choice. The show does a decent job of mitigating the shock of mixing digital cel animation and 3D models. Could Madhouse have done a better job? Probably, but the 3D hopefully shouldn't distract the viewer too much.
A Well-Oiled Machine
At the end of the day Rideback is a decent show. Decent is probably the best way to put it; the show doesn't aim to be particularly groundbreaking or awe-inspiring. It's hard to imagine that anyone will call Rideback their absolute favorite anime. It's a show that many might not ever get the opportunity to see, and that's because it doesn't scream for attention like the more popular anime shows do. Rideback humbly tells a tale about people whose lives are affected by realistic technology used for both benevolent and sinister purposes. Any strengths and the flaws the series has come together smoothly to provide us with a good show, and that is not something one often comes across.
* Rideback is available for free viewing at Hulu.com.
- Elijah Lee
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