Shigofumi - Episode 5

Wow, what happened here? From the sublime to the ridiculous in just five episodes, such is the turn Shigofumi has taken. After sticking with decidedly serious subject matter for its opening handful of episodes, it seems that episode five was designated to offer light relief, with Fumika and Chiaki both sent out to deliver a Shigofumi to a cat. Amusingly, that cat's name was Schrödinger, but that was more or less where the humour ended. In case you haven't already noticed, this episode really didn't work for me - it largely felt like filler for the lack of a more interesting story scenario to cover.

Having said that, this episode does at least move on the storyline with regard to the truth about who Fumika is and why she ages unlike all the other Shigofumi, although somehow even that ended up as a bit of a disappointment. It does give this part of the story room to breathe for the remainder of the series, but I have to be honest - I can't really get worked up about Fumika or her plight at all. It doesn't matter how much you use the old 'quiet but mysterious' cliché, it doesn't make a character fascinating, and to me I find it hard to like Fumika, let alone concern myself with her past or future.

Maybe I'm just a cold-hearted guy when it comes to these things, but I'd rather she sticks to what she does best (that being delivering the Shigofumi), and let the writers use that vehicle to create some more fantastic storylines akin to the opening two-parter. Unfortunately I don't see that happening, and thus I find my interest in this show waning.