One day she discovers a garage with a red motorcycle called Ride Back. She's drawn to this machine as the rain pours down outside. Much to her surprise, a second year engineer named Hishida offers her a free ride on the machine. Reluctant to try, Rin double stags on to the machine with little difficulty. Throughout the first and second episode, traces of her ballet background influences her ability to easily maneuver the Ride Back. While Rin possess these amazing talents, her character's demeanor is that of a frazzled and timid little girl. This works in her favor and makes her a likable character that accomplishes impressive feats.
Two episodes into the series and you feel like a junky waiting for their next fix. The riding sequences will leave you on the edge of your seats and make the show go by at eighty miles an hour. There seems to be a bigger story brewing with cut sequences to the news and the boiling conflict between the BMA and GGP.
The first two episode focus on introducing Rin and her supporting characters, which include, Kataoka Tamayo, leader of the Ride Back racing club and a world class driver in the Ride Back racing circuit. Her roommate and close friend Shoko, who seems to be the only person in the story that doesn't treat Rin like a celebrity. Uchida Suzuri, in stark contrast to Shoko, treats Rin like the second coming, but mellows out from stalker to athletic supporter by the end of the second episode. Hishida and Kawai who are members of the Ride Back club and official nerds of the series. Then you have a few characters that have a reason for being in the series, but clearly have little significance in the first two episode.
Put this on your to do list and watch one of the latest series coming from Madhouse Studios. If you're not familiar with Madhouse, they're the company that brought us Death Note, Claymore and a more recent fan favorite, One Outs. Expect to hear more about this series.
Director: Atsushi Takahashi (assistant Director for Spirited Away)
Original Creator: Tetsuro Kasahara (Edison Fantasy Science)
Character Design: Satoshi Tazaki (Otogi-Jushi Akazukin)
First Opening Theme: "RIDEBACK" by MELL (Black Lagoon, Shakugan no Shana)
First Closing Theme: "Kioku" by Younha feat. GOKU (Bleach)
First Episode Aired: 01/19/2009
Production House: Madhouse (Claymore, Death Note, Chobits, One Outs, Ninja Scrolls)
Episode Run: 12
Genre: Shonen, Mecha
