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Synopsis:
Redline is about the biggest and most deadly racing tournament in the universe. Only held once every five years, everyone wants to stake their claim to fame, including JP, a reckless dare-devil driver oblivious to speed limits with his ultra-customized car – all the while, organized crime and militaristic governments want to leverage the race to their own ends. Amongst the other elite rival drivers in the tournament, JP falls for the alluring Sonoshee – but will she prove his undoing, or can a high speed romance survive a mass destruction race?

Review:
In a world where wheels on cars are a thing of the past and hover cars are the present, there are still those people who cannot let go of the past. And in Redline you will see why there is still an undying support for these vehicles. The movie begins with a race called the Yellowline. It is a pre-qualifier race for the main event known as the Redline. Our protagonist, JP is a racer who believes winning with pure skills and not by how many weapons he can use to destroy the chances of the opposition is the true definition of how a race should be. With that state of mind, it is the reason why he has no “weapons” in his car, other than his crazy nitrous boost. When JP was about to cross the victory line, an “accident” happens and he loses the race.

While it was disappointing to the viewers and the crowd in the show, it certainly was not disappointing for the mob boss who has arranged for this set up. You see, JP and his life-long friend Frisbee are known for fixing up races just to boost the bottom line for the mob. The return for fixing races is having the financial back up to build the car to race with in the first place. JP had no idea that Frisbee had implanted an explosive device in the racecar and did not suspect anything from his friend Frisebee.

Lady Luck comes to JP’s side, as he is recovering at the hospital from the injuries suffered at the Yellowline, with news that several participants had withdrew from the Redline race after learning that the event will take place at the dangerous Roboworld; a planet where the government’s race opposition is strong and lethal force was said to be enforced at the day of the race. When JP was selected as a replacement he jumped on the chance.

The plot of Redline is focused. While there is a love interest with JP and Sonoshee, it really never takes over the screen. The story moves from race, to getting ready for the race, to some character development and tie ups, to the final race. It moves from point A to point B smoothly and I must credit Takeshi Koike for his directing, his directorial debut at that!

It is even more astonishing to learn that Redline took seven years to complete and used a hundred thousand hand drawings to create. Madhouse did an extraordinary job in bringing the animation to life. The racing was captivating and the music was gripping. When I heard the speakers thump I felt I was in the race. The character designs and their vehicle designs were unique. And for some reason it felt a little like that old Playstation game, Twisted Metal or if you do not like Twisted Metal, we could go with a Nintendo game like Mario Kart. You know… where the goal is to interfere or destroy your opponents with all sorts of tools, as much as it is to win the race itself.

The Breakdown:
Look if you are here expecting a serious racing anime with full characters and plot developments you might want to check out something like Capeta or Initial D. If you just want to see a show that is about pure racing and mayhem, Redline is truly a delight. Its combination of fast paced racing with interesting characters and a simple yet engaging story makes this show an absolute must watch.

This entry was posted on Monday, January 9th, 2012 at 11:52 am and is filed under Articles, Reviews, Genre, Type, Company, Action, Movie, Manga Entertainment, Sci-Fi. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.