Another anime series that I finished last week was Rideback. Mostly an anti-establishment series that pits some anti-gov't group called the BMA (which is not that well explained in the anime) and the GGP which is an oppressive military gov't faction that comes to Japan and starts setting up rules and regulations even banning the Ridebacks which are motorcycles that can transform into a bipedal like robot and imposing a curfew to fight the terrorists.
While those two groups are slugging it out a new freshman college student and former ballerina ends up finding a Rideback machine and joins up with the college Rideback club and in short order is an expert rider that can do amazing things on it. Her name is Rin and she inadvertently becomes a tool for the BMA when during a terrorist attack on a shopping area Rin rushes in by passing the GGP checkpoints and rescues her childhood friend who had been in the middle of the terrorist attack. This of course leads the GGP to believe that Rin is in fact a terrorist herself.
This leads to her arrest (after saving her brother from being killed by the GGP in a test of the new white Ridebacks) and subsequent rescue by the BMA (for the second time) the last part of the series is a major battle between the BMA forces and the GGP as the GGP unleashes new riderless Ridebacks but are easily dealt with by Rin who smashes them to pieces in a lovely ballet dance with her Rideback. The GGP is easily defeated and the main leader of the GGP is killed in the end by one of his own officers who decided that his egomania was to much and needed to be dealt with. Or some such thing anyway. It was more than likely an order from the higher ups to take out the trash. All ends well after that.
As for me I liked the series once it really started to get going but holy hell they didn't need to kill off one of the bit characters like they did but I guess they used that as a catalyst for Rin's need to stop running and fight back in the end. That honestly is my only complaint about the show well that and how fast her little brother enters and leaves just like that during the anime. Other than that it's pretty decent and I'd say it would be a great rental if it was released in the States. Not really a must buy but a worthy rental in my opinion. It would be awesome to have a Rideback though.
