Rideback...
Recently, I picked up Rideback...
Putting aside the issue with the story, Rideback is actually quite entertaining. There is a great deal of action within the series, particularly when the political elements start to unfold. Rin's struggles to find her way in the world and to help her friends do not always end well, but, Rin does show growth during the series and I found myself sympathizing with Rin as the series progressed. Interestingly, Fuego, had an important part to play in the series. The final climactic dance-off between Rin and a horde of killing machines requires a great deal of suspension of disbelief, but, was intriguing nonetheless.
Rideback has that clean, well-polished look that I've come to expect in newer anime. There are no naughty bits, but, some bloodshed and death is evident. Overall, Rideback does have some issues with its storytelling and is probably not for everyone, but, I found it quite entertaining nonetheless. I would give Rideback a 3 out of 5.
John from the AnimeNation blog was somewhat disappointed and wrote...After an injury forces Rin to trade her stage career for college life, she finds new thrills as a member of the RideBack Club. When she discovers an unusual connection with one machine in particular - Fuego - she is forced into the middle of a revolution. The tyrannical new government rules with an iron fist, and Rin is reluctant to take them on. But as her dearest friends suffer and the insurgency struggles to topple the increasingly powerful regime, Rin may have no choice but to gun Fuego's engines and speed directly into the heart of the fight for freedom.
Madhouse’s Rideback TV series begins as a loose remake of Production I.G’s 1987 mecha racing OVA Dead Heat (which Production I.G also loosely remade as IGPX) but turns into something else entirely. The series’ first four episodes suggest something like a bishoujo mecha Initial D in which a prodigy discovers her talent for racing. However, beginning in episode 5, series protagonist Rin quickly begins to get marginalized and subservient to a political intrigue storyline that’s neither adequately developed nor exciting. The series’ remaining six episode struggle to find a focal protagonist and a narrative anchor. ... In effect, the show tries to juggle several balls at once, never devoting its full attention to developing any of them.In Rideback, the story centers around Rin, a dancing prodigy who tries to find purpose in her life after an injury sidelines her dancing career. Rin discovers that she has a talent for riding the motorcycle/robot hybrids known as "ridebacks". John's assessment that the political intrigue does seem to monopolize the story in the middle of the series is correct. And, to add fuel to the fire, the idea that these ridebacks somehow changed the course of world history does require a significant leap of faith and suspension of disbelief.
Putting aside the issue with the story, Rideback is actually quite entertaining. There is a great deal of action within the series, particularly when the political elements start to unfold. Rin's struggles to find her way in the world and to help her friends do not always end well, but, Rin does show growth during the series and I found myself sympathizing with Rin as the series progressed. Interestingly, Fuego, had an important part to play in the series. The final climactic dance-off between Rin and a horde of killing machines requires a great deal of suspension of disbelief, but, was intriguing nonetheless.
Rideback has that clean, well-polished look that I've come to expect in newer anime. There are no naughty bits, but, some bloodshed and death is evident. Overall, Rideback does have some issues with its storytelling and is probably not for everyone, but, I found it quite entertaining nonetheless. I would give Rideback a 3 out of 5.
