Shigofumi

Shigofumi is a fantasy anime series from 2008. A shigofumi is a letter from beyond the grave and is grated to a few as their final communication with the living. The letter is hand delivered by a postal worker from beyond. This story is about one such shigofumi postal worker, Fumika.

The first few episodes deal with the fairly routine task of delivering shigofumi until Fumika encounters someone who knew when she was alive. As the story progresses, it becomes apparent the Fumika is as much a mystery to her fellow postal workers. Although all postal workers are of course dead, Fumika is aging. Ultimately her past and present collide is a rather touching ending to the series.

There are no scenes of the after life except for those of the off duty postal workers. The point of view of the series is that of the living and how individuals cope with death. It is actually refreshing to see the subject handled in such a realistic manner, and makes the fantasy aspects of the story much more interesting.