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RideBack
Anime Review
Rin Ogata had no intention of being a hero, or a terrorist, but somehow, in the space of just 12 episodes, she goes from ballet dancer to the most wanted criminal in Japan to unexpectedly saving the entire country from military totalitarianism. And she does it with just a motorcycle. Well, a motorcycle with *arms*.
And by arms we don't mean weapons, we mean arms with hands attached.
Rideback recalls the halcyon days of Megazone 23 or Mospeada, except that here, the motorcycle doesn't transform into full-fledged mecha, it's more a Segway-Motorcycle-Mecha hybrid. You can ride it like a motorcycle, but most prefer when the wheels are side by side and you are seated higher-up, hence the term "Rideback", it's like riding on someone's back.
The story makes a startling series of jumps to take you where it's going, sometimes moving the plot along forcefully with too-contrived co-incidences, but it all makes sense at the end thankfully; Rin Ogata lives in her mother's shadow, a famous ballet dancer, and Rin follows in her footsteps, only to be sidelined by an injury. While attending college to decide what she's going to do now that she's given up her stage career, she happens upon a Rideback club, and is given the chance to test-ride Fuego, a new RideBack prototype. Chaos ensues, as she has no idea how to handle this bucking bronco.
 However, her ballet skills come into play and pretty soon she's feeling the adrenaline rush, and something more, an indefinable sense of joy and freedom. It's an instant addiction. Her dancing background makes her a natural-born RideBack jockey, and within a short period, she's the best in the club.
However, while this is happening, on a larger scale, under the pretense of terrorism, a military group is slowly taking over police duties. And, this is going to lead back to the leader of the Rideback club, who didn't realize that Rin would get caught up in the events that are about to play out. And Rin isn't in it for the politics; she just wants to feel that high she's getting riding Fuego.
However, when her friends get into trouble with the growing military crackdown, she's able to open a can of ballet-powered whoop-ass on the authorities (which brands her a wanted terrorist) and eventually ends up taking part in a full-scale rebellion against the military dictatorship.
 Now all of this stretches belief beyond the breaking point, so be prepared to throw a lot of logic out the window. But it doesn't matter. Rideback is *amazingly* directed, and Rin's character development is so compelling that you don't care if the story has plot holes the size of Kansas. I watched the entire series non-stop, which doesn't happen often.
Seriously it's *that* good. I mean, anyone who's ever dumped their sport-bike can tell you that motorcycles are delicate machines, they are most definitely NOT combat vehicles, and yet, watching Rin twirl and jump and kick other Ridebacks into the ground just made me want to run out, hop on my Ninja and ride really fast!
I know that rush she's feeling on Fuego. I get that feeling as well. You're grinning ear to ear and you can't really explain why. And you'll get to experience some of that watching Rideback.
Reviewed by Brian Cirulnick, August 2011
Below: Scenes from RideBack.
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