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A review of the "Shigofumi" light novel series. This series has been decided for an anime adaptation in 2008.

Japanese title: シゴフミ 〜Stories of Last Letter〜
English title: Shigofumi ~Stories of Last Letter~

Author: Ryo Amamiya
Illustrator: Poko
Available volumes: 3 volumes (ongoing)

Publisher: MediaWorks
Label: Dengeki Bunko

"Shigofumi" means "posthumous letter," the last message from a dead person. The cover page illustration (above) is Fumika and her long mace, dubbed Mayama. Their work is to deliver "Shigofumi" into the hands of the bereaved, or significant others of those that have passed. This volume consisted of three chapters, each with a different heroine: Aoi, Noriko and Arisa.

The first chapter starts on a sunny Sunday afternoon where Rika Ayase waits for Aoi Tsukishiro for lunch around half an hour, but Aoi doesn't appear. Rika gradually becomes worried. For her, Aoi is more than a friend – they had promised to "jump together from the roof of the building" to leave this world in a double suicide. Suddenly, a strange girl appears and tells her why Aoi delayed – she had been killed in a train crash.

In the next chapter, a magic show has just finished. In the green room, a young magician named Takaaki Soma is dressing to say his final goodbye to Noriko Hasegawa, his lover and magic assistant. Then, a strange girl walks into the room through the wall. She hands Noriko's "Shigofumi" to Takaaki in which Noriko writes only one sentence: "Take care, I wish your work becomes good". Takaaki simply returns the unopened letter to Fumika.

The last story features a young girl named Arisa, who cuts her fencing club activity for the first time ever. After the death of her father, Jill Belton, Arisa half-heartedly continues to fence, as she had received rigorous training from her father for many years. At the time she started fencing, he was pleased. But after a certain point, he stopped praising her and gave her pitying, disappointing looks. When she gets home, a strange girl is waiting and passes the letter from Jill to Arisa, but Arisa finds herself unable to open it.

Official anime website:
http://www.shigofumi.com/

Reviewed by: wakataka423