F

September 14, 2020

First review here on MAL. I watched this anime a couple of years ago after watching Initial D and was craving for more. I loved it back then and gave it an 8, but now after rewatching it I realise it is amazing and deserves at the very least a 9. Here is why: Story: The story follows Gunma Akagi who is a country boy who loves to drive. He has a friend who is a mechanic and loves working on engines. We follow these boys as they try to get to the top in order to reach Formula One together. The road is not as smoothas one could think and many problems have to be tackled. The nuances and sometimes actually the realistic story makes this anime great. It really shows the struggles to get to the top as a racing driver, or actually in any profession! I have to say that the story is not the strongest in the beginning but it more than makes up for it! - 9/10 Art: I think the art was why I only gave it an 8 when I watched this years ago, but I have to say that the art is sublime. For this being 1988 it is amazing, and even today I would still say that this is great. The art has so much character and you can truly se that they use the medium to the fullest. It is not unusual for the animators to reuse frames or not have a developed background, but they do it in a way that it either does not affect the experience or actually improves it by the team being creative! These creative ideas makes you miss that this artstyle is not used any more! - 10/10 Sound: The soundtrack is in my opinion great. The opening for the first half of the show is what you have to call a banger! The second one is not as good in my opinion but still quite good. The music in the background is quite good with the 'epic' distorted electric guitars that sounds like they are borrowed from Top Gun. My favorite part of the sound is the sounds of the engines. It feels like they put a large amount of energy in recording convincing engine sounds that corresponds with the correct car. Bravo! - 9/10 Character: I think almost every character is great in this show. Some are better than others though; you can feel this especially with some characters that sometimes 'act out of their character'. And in the case of Gunma, I love his character, but from time to time you can't ignore his attitude and anger issues. Despite these frankly small issues, I believe that this show has a great character roster with a lot of development! - 8/10 Enjoyment: This one is easy for me. There was not really a minute spent where I was bored, there were constantly issues to solve or epic races to watch. It was not like a flood either, they balanced the heavier things with the lighter very well. Superb! - 10/10 Overall: This show is amazing. I think it's a shame that during the time of writing this review, this show only have been scored by 457 users. If you love drama, sports and general fun, I believe you have to see this show! - 9/10