eX-Driver

When I first heard about this anime I thought It was going to be similar to Wangan Midnight, with street racing and tons of cars. I was wrong. Story: A future where cars are controlled by computers, and a team of gasoline powered classic car drivers chase them down when they go haywire, sounds like a very repetitive plot. But it turn out it's not, I wont ruin the plot, so ill just say there's events that keep the plot going. Art: The animation has a very 'mid-90s' feel to it, which isn't a bad thing. The thing I like most is the cars. Theanimators did very well making the vehicals realistic. Sound: Now, I don't know if it was the copy I had or the series itself, but the quality at times was, not the best out there. To me it sounded fuzzy and almost like the voice actors where talking through a thick foam pad. But like I said I don't know if it was my copy or not so don't take the sound to seriously. Characters: Each character has there own defined personality and unique style to how they get the mission done. (Not much to say on that one) Enjoyment: For a six episode series (plus a movie) it's not a bad watch in your down time between other anime.

When I saw that this series was written by Kosuke Fujishima, creator of the "Oh My Goddess!" and "You're Under Arrest" anime series, and with me being a fan of "You're Under Arrest" and hearing good things about "Oh My Goddess!" before I watched series, I became interested in checking it out. After seeing that it wasn't as popular as his other works and getting some less than good, I went into eX-Driver with moderately set expectations that I would get at least some entertainment out of the six episodes knowing what the creator was capable of. And after watching it, I can easily seewhy this wasn't as well remembered or well reviewed as his other works. Set at some point in the 22nd century, people no longer drive cars themselves, instead relying on cars with an artificial intelligence to drive for them. But when the AI systems in these cars started malfunctioning, causing the cars to lose control, a team called eX-Drivers (or eX-D for short) were formed, driven by actual drivers, to chase down the cars that have gone crazy. I don't know why the group of people who actually drive cars are the ones called eX-Drivers, but whatever. The series follows three such eX-Drivers, Lorna, Lisa, and new addition to the group, Soichi. Soichi is the youngest of the group at 12 years old, and the other two are in their teens. I imagine that making them younger was to appeal to a younger audience, and I don't really mind having three kids as the main characters since this is more geared to a younger audience, but it just raises questions to me, like how does a 12 year get a license, especially for such a dangerous job. But I'm guessing this is going off of Pokemon rules, with how children are often put into dangerous situations but somehow never get hurt, with this series relying on the same set of convenient rules. eX-Driver does bring up some neat concepts to explore, such as an underground community of drivers mentioned in the first episode where characters have a boost button in their car and have modified the cars programming, and later in the series, there are characters with gasoline cars that can't be tracked by the same system as the AI cars and are off the grid. It would have been neat if the series explored this stuff, but unfortunately due to it being only 6 episodes, it never really gets to do that. And that's not taking into account other stuff that it could have brought up. Is there no one would doesn't trust the automated systems of the cars, and even cites statistics of AI failures, or at least talks about all of the news stories of failing AI as a reason to not have an AI car? Or even just dislikes the idea in general, based purely on personal preference. What about people who simply can't afford the AI cars, or simply don't care about what car they drive, and just want a way of getting to where they're going? And I'm pretty sure there are car enthusiasts out there who would want to drive, tune, and build their own cars, or just want to buy and deal with classic cars. You could have even had an episode where a mentor once shows his skills of to the kids, who hope to be as good of a driver as him one day. There could have even been an episode where the characters didn't have access to cars, like being stranded somewhere where they didn't have access to the system, or being forced to take a break since the job is clearly stressing them out, and it ends up being a bonding experience. There was enough here for it to expand out to a 12-episode series at least, but unfortunately we got stuck with what we have. All of these could have been good ideas for episodes, and could have easily broken up the repetitive monotony of the series and at least taken the series from a completely forgotten for good reason series to a beloved cult classic with a few neat ideas. The series also came out at that time when anime was transitioning from traditionally done animation cels to digital animation, and it obviously shows. Characters look flat and overly bright at times and the whole thing just looks mediocre at the best of times. Which is unfortunate, because the series clearly shows off Kosuke Fujishima's love of cars, and by extension, motorcycles, and seeing it either be done a few years earlier with cel animation or a few years later when studios were more experienced with digital animation and the detail of the cars would have really popped out more, it would have at least made it worth watching for the eye candy. And it seems like such a waste to not let Kosuke to show off his love of said vehicles and let him stretch his creativity a bit for a sci-fi series with cars we haven't seen before. If this couldn't have been continued as an anime, it would have been nice to see Kosuke continue it as a manga at least. The only interesting thing about this series is just how predictive of self-driving cars it was. But since it never goes that in-depth with the concept either, so there's no real reason to watch the series based on that alone. While eX-Driver is nowhere near the worst thing that I've watched, I doubt that anyone is clamoring for a re-release. But considering some of the stuff that Discotek have picked up, I wonder how long it would be before they get their hands on a release for this. Unless this get some sort of new series that actually expands on the concepts of the series, I can't really recommend it.

Quick Take: Good but dry storyline, good characters and dated artwork. If you like cars, you'll get enjoyment out of this series, possibly even if you don't. This series suffers from it's six episode short run that doesn't allow story arcs to be fully completed. As I complete this easy to watch anime, a few things stick with me. I found the art style a bit lackluster and a little outdated. For an early 2000's anime, it seemed okay but was also rather inconsistent. In the scenes with less movement, the art was great but once there was action, the art seemed to suffer a bit. Thesound is truly stellar. The cars sound proper, that is to say a Europa sounds like a Europa and different from the Stratos. When the car shifts, the sounds changes properly and the voice acting (English dub) is better than many, only missing the mark once or twice. Aside from the art, I think the characters and the storyline are what suffers most. Ironically, it's not because the concept or characters are bad, but because there wasn't enough time to fully develop them out. In regards to the story, each run away car is similar and although the exact details in how they are stopped are different, the main concept doesn't change and becomes old by the third time around. When the story does start to pick up and you think there might be some good plot lines or twists coming, we're treated to a premature end. The same thing happens with the characters. I could see that the relationship between Lorna, Lisa and Sōichi was supposed to be the main focus, but unfortunately, just as the characters were getting warmed up to each other, the series ends. It is especially frustrating as it's clear Sōichi and Lisa are attracted to each other, so I know there could have been plenty of jokes between the two had the series continued. The most frustrating part of this series is its premature end. Just as the plot and characters were starting to shape up into something, you're on episode six. Worth a watch, especially if you like cars, but if you're like me and become a bit frustrated at potential that is not fully realized, you'll find it here.

eX-driver doesn't have the best storyline or the best character development you'd expect in modern animes. Most people can say it's just another car anime from the 90s like Initial D, but is it really? No. When you first watch it, you get the impression that it's a rather odd anime, because it is, and this sensation latches on you as you watch more and more and it's hard to say why without spoiling anything. Not that the story is godly, but because it's just something you have to watch 3 episodes and get used to. It's not like the other car animes out there like ShaokotanBoogie or Wangan Midnight that are mainly about cars and racing. eX-driver has a completely different approach on cars, and what they do and why. Yet it shares resemblance to those animes which sort of explains why it doesn't feel like a complete product, especially in the end.

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