Shigofumi: Letters from the Departed (You've got mail!)

"Hey, hey! Do you know those get sent out?"
"What?"
"Letters! From the dead!

Shigofumi primarily centers around a young-looking girl named Fumika who works as a mail carrier to deliver "after death letters". These letters are written by people after they die and are delivered to the person the letter is addressed to in the living world. The letters contain things that the now-deceased could not say while they were alive, such as things they wanted to say before they died, or even to inform others about who killed them in the case of a murder. Accompanying Fumika is her talking staff Kanaka which can also float of its own accord and likes to be treated as if "she" were a human.

The episodes are mainly loosely tied together (some go in 2-3 episode arcs, like the first), but all are tied together by the back story surrounding Fumika and her identity.

Recurring Characters:



Fumika and Kanaka:

Fumika serves as the primary character of the series, she is deadly serious about her job and isn't a very talkative type (see: Rei), although she does on occasion have back and forths with Kanaka. She is the only Shigofumi deliverer that still ages. She's also afraid of cats.

Kanaka [voiced by Yuki Matsuoka aka Tsuruya!] is Fumika's partner/staff. She doubles as Fumika's wings, and on the odd occasion when Fumika feels like beating someone up, her weapon (something that Kanaka is not very fond of).

She has a somewhat intense rivalry with Matoma.



Chiaki and Tomato Juice:

Chiaki is a mail carrier in a neighboring area, and makes her introduction in Episode 4. She appears to know Fumika well enough, both on this side of the world and on theirs. Contrary to Fumika however, Chiaki is very outgoing and shows plenty of emotion. Her partner Matoma plays the role of the more serious character, and he enjoys long walks on the beach along with making fun of Kanaka.



Tatsumi Nojima:

A detective, usually in charge of the investigations involving the dead people who send the letters Fumika delivers. Expect to see plenty of him during the series.



Kaname Nojima:

Claims to have known Fumika during the 8th grade back when she was still among the living. After seeing her show up to deliver a letter during one of the episodes, he has since been on a search for the reasons behind her death/dissapearance, mainly

Spoiler:

why she shot her father. It is hinted at later on that he had a crush on Fumika.

Natsuka Kasai:

Childhood friend of Fumika from her middle school days. Her older sister becomes and editor for Fumika's father. Occasionally tags along with Kaname in the later episodes, hinted at that she likes him.



Haruno Kasai:

Older sister of Natsuka, she works for a publishing company and lands a job as editor for Kirameki Mikawa. She is a big fan of his works. Your typical older sister type.



Kirameki Mikawa:

FABULOUS

Spoiler:

Fumika's father. She shot him at one point, but didn't kill him. Abused Fumika during her childhood years.

Arc Characters:



Shouta:

Lead during the first arc, he receives a letter from the father of Asuna Ayase after he dies, which is addressed to "Ayase's Lover". Having spent a significant time with Ayase, but not officially her boyfriend, he decides to GO FOR IT in order to rightfully receive the letter. Likes to build rockets, which are a part of his grand plan to earn Ayase's love. Little does he know...




Ayase Asuna:

Claims to be the student council president at the school she attends (her and Shouta go to different schools), but spends a lot of quality time with Shouta in an old abandoned building watching him make rockets. She has a very.. unpleasant secret.

(More to come)

Impressions: First of all, it should be noted that the OP SUCKS. It sucks bad. Ali Project is fucking terrible and you should save yourself the trouble and just skip it. Everything else about the show is excellent. The plot twist in the first episode alone pretty much seals the deal. Shigofumi is by far one of my favorite releases of this season, and I'd highly recommend you check it out.

Episodes:

Number of groups doing it, but Menclave is the best (although they started late, and are kind of behind). FTP-A and w.0.0.f are decent if you're trying to catch up. (They're up to episode 5.)

Menclave
h264 MKV
Episode 1
Episode 2
Episode 3
Episode 4

XviD AVI
Episode 1
Episode 2
Episode 3
Episode 4

FTP-A

h264 MKV
Episode 1
Episode 2
Episode 3
Episode 4
Episode 5
Episode 6
Episode 7
Episode 8

XviD AVI
Episode 1
Episode 2
Episode 3
Episode 4
Episode 5
Episode 6
Episode 7
Episode 8

Jam it back in, in the dark.

I love this series. It is - in my opinion - one of the best this season!

And I have to be honest that I really like the opening! I don't hold a grudges against Ali Project OPs ... yet

Well,
the characters and artwork are well done and the storyline seems new and interesting. Definitely cool; Team Fumika+Chiaki is unbeatable!


YUUBIN!~

Most amazing jew boots

For those of you still keeping up with the series, Menclave is now on Episode 4, and FTP-A just released Episode 8. Links are in the updated first post.

Looks like they're winding down at this point, as 8 finally clears up the confusion surrounding Fumika's story. It's pretty epic.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

I hope Menclave decides to finish subbing this series. (I read somewhere that this was licensed, so I hope it being licensed doesn't hinder it for awhile.)

How ya doing, buddy?

Doubtful. That aside, it's been how many months now? Lol, Menclave speed.

w.0.0.f. and FTP-A both finished months ago, and both have batch torrents that should be alive up on TT and BoxTorrents. I'd go for the former first.

Most amazing jew boots