RDG Red Data Girl

Written by Little_Wolf-18 on September 1, 2013 at 6:25 AM

The title of this show is derived from the RDB, Red Data Book, which is basically a collection of data on endangered species.

What’s an RDB reference doing in anime? Basically, “Red Data Girl” plays on spiritually talented people in a world that’s not particularly kind to their kind--and the RDB reference is just saying that these spiritual abilities makes them “treasured”, so-to-speak.

If this doesn’t show the level of thought put into this anime, I don’t know what does. For that level of thought, though, twelve episodes are a tad too short if you ask me.

Review’s long once again.


“Red Data Girl” is a series about a sheltered shrine girl named Izumiko, who has some as of yet unknown power. That’s just the surface of things, though, and zero percent as overused as it sounds, at least in the context.

The entire story is kind of told from Izumiko’s eyes; and as she’s not initially aware of her powers and some or another mystery revolving around them, the viewer as well only gradually becomes aware of bits and bits of information; and so the background info/story is puzzle-pieced together during the watch. It’s a quite fresh approach, and it gets even better since every single scene is important to the story. There’s not one unnecessary moment in the entire anime.

That in itself might be awesome. There’s one problem with it, though; and that’s that the “show, don’t tell” approach is taken to extremes at times. Basically, if you don’t get something, you won’t have it explained at some or another point; at least not unless you trouble Wikipedia, Google, or your nearest know-it-all friend. And some things tend to be quite complicated; namely, a lot of the details in this anime tie into Shinto religion and Buddhist mysticism, both of which is interesting but probably not common knowledge in most Western cultures.

It’s quite a deep story; but not always that easy to get, at least not in terms of background story (the superficial story tends to be easier, but those spiritual undertones…). And it’s not exactly light either. “Red Data Girl” is almost completely serious to sometimes dark, and can get quite heavy at times. It manages to uphold viewer attention well though.

The devil once more lies in the detail, though, and in the time. Twelve episodes are barely enough to press the entire story in. There’s a whole lot of information in each episode; and while it’s amazing enough that things don’t feel cluttered with that (in fact, I’ve read a whole lot of complaints about “Red Data Girl” being too slow), some things simply aren’t cleared up. If you ask me, the end is more of a “good enough” one than one that really ties up all the strings. It gives enough closure so the story doesn’t just drop out and leaves people wondering about the next episode; but there’s just that bit of background missing, and if you’ve been patiently collecting the puzzle pieces, it’s somewhat annoying. Basically, of the sourcing novel’s six volumes, the producers just left out the last.

With all the complaints about the pacing (complaints I personally can’t relate to, but w/e), I don’t want to know about the reactions had P.A. Works taken the time to set up all of the sourcing work and let “Red Data Girl” run over two seasons. I’ve got the feeling there’d at least be a few open questions less, though.


I’ve got to admit I didn’t really like the character cast at first. Out of the two main characters, Izumiko is shy and weak on the outside (she’s got quite the power, as becomes obvious later on, but first and foremost… well), and Miyuki only appears as somewhat of a jerk at first.

The story allows for a good deal of character exposition however. “Red Data Girl” takes its time in setting up the characters and their relationships, and as time goes on, the characters definitely become more interesting, if not likable as well. Character development in the main characters is good, though side characters can appear rather static throughout.


There were a few moments when I felt the dialogue had just left me behind, aka confused. Only when re-watching did I often get all the detail. Other than that, though, I can’t complain. The script flows well, gets the characters and their relationships across, and the voice-acting definitely deserves an A.


Visually, “Red Data Girl” is a treat for the eyes. 2013 animation quality, the music’s nice, and the art is nothing short of awesome. P.A. Works has a knack for character animation and lush backgrounds, and it definitely in this anime. Backgrounds in general are detailed and look good; there are some especially impressive shots of mountain scenery, and spirit realms have the right touch of otherworldly feeling to them. The colour scheme’s usually subdued, just slightly more vivid in spirit realms, but with some eye-catching contrasts (e.g. Izumiko’s clothing). Characters are attractively designed and rendered as well. The background music is lightly used, but it fits.


I did like this anime--a lot in fact. The first two or three episodes didn’t yet win me over; I initially didn’t like the characters, and subtle revelations of background story just isn’t something that jumps in your face. As the ball got rollin’, though, I found the sense of mystery to be quite enticing. I like the fresh approach it takes, and I loved the cultural references and overall depth/thought put in this anime. It’s visually pleasing as well, and while there’s not much comedy and only a minimum of graphic content all in all, I tend to like the more serious works, and I’m not usually engrossed by over-the-top action--that one’s the icing on the cake for me, if anything.

And yet, just because I’d been collecting the puzzle-piece-y bits of background story all the while, and occasionally gotten frustrated with confusion over one or another reference I didn’t get before rummaging through Wikipedia, I was quite disappointed with the way “Red Data Girl” ended. Sure the end wrapped up some things, but a lot of the stuff I would have lided to see was left entirely up in the air.

I understand that it’s hard adapting six full novels into twelve episodes; heck, they barely managed the same with five. Nevertheless, I’d be much happier with this anime if they’d wrapped up all the story threads they opened. It’d probably be asking a lot, but that’s how it is. I love the concept and thought behind this, and I liked how the story unfolded; but the way it ended simply was a disappointment for me.

Thanks for the read.