Anyway, Shout! Factory continues along this year with the release of Ōban Star-Racers a show that I never even heard of until I read the press release synopsis, and felt compelled enough to request. By description I thought that it was some new sort of anime. But while it’s kind of marketed that way, it really isn’t. At least it’s not anime in the traditional sense. See, while Ōban Star-Racers is produced out of Tokyo, it actually was created by a Frenchman Savin Yeatman-Eiffel and while the animation may be reminiscent of more modern 2D-meets-3D anime (think the Paprika or Tekkonkinkreet for example) the character design couldn’t be further apart. 

Geared strongly for kids, Ōban Star-Racers is the story of Eva Wei, a 15-year old girl orphaned to a boarding school. Her mother was a star racer who died during a particularly crazy race, and her father, Don Wei deserted young Eva to continue his career in race management. Somehow, the concept of parental neglect and the fact that it’s painfully obvious that her father wants zero to do with her misses the reasoning sensor of her brain completely. The young race addict leaves her school to track down her father and find out what he’s been up to. Meeting her dad didn’t work out as she expected. He is a complete bastard, and doesn’t even recognize her (or, even that she’s a girl). A fact that doesn’t miss the father is her incredible skill with engines, so without even asking her name, (which she decides will be Molly) she’s hired to work for Wei Racing. 

In the future, there are no more applications, social security, background checks or child labor laws.  

Thankfully, she doesn’t have to work fourteen hour shifts under her father’s warden-like managerial style for very long. Aliens come down and instruct our government that they’re invited to attend the titular Ōban Star-Race with a chance to win the “Ultimate Prize” and through a series of circumstances, Eva/Molly becomes the head pilot. Now there is a huge logic problem here, because throughout the rest of this volume Don Wei is obviously concerned about how if his Human Team loses then the world will come to an end by some means. I don’t recall this ever being explained, and certainly not to that degree. But ultimately, I can look past that because Ōban Star-Racers isn’t really about that so much as it is about the Eva/Don relationship and cool races. I can live with that. 

Without yet knowing how this story will end (watch for my review of Volume Two: The Ōban Cycle coming soon!) I can only judge what I’ve seen so far, and what I’ve seen I liked. The story moves very slowly at first, so I can’t say I fell in love with the characters right away, despite the pretty visual style. It really wasn’t until the seventh episode that I really started to get into it, but by that point I was watching one episode after another. After the first couple of defeats in the qualifying races, and the slow revelations of the more sinister going-ons behind-the-scenes, I was captivated. But for a show with Star-Racers in the title, you can expect the focus will be on the actual races, and those are definitely the money shots. 

The races are the visual highlight of each episode where, much like the podracing in The Phantom Menace, each of the vehicles have an entirely different look to them and operate in different, unique ways. Some racers like an entity referred to as Spirit doesn’t even need a vehicle since it can fly about on its own accord.  What I found most impressive with the races is how intricately the plot is wrapped into the race itself. While Molly/Eva and Jordan are racing, any number of things can be going on with Don, the cast of alien racers, and the audience itself. It helps move the story and lend dramatic tension to the sport. 

Having to grade this half of the series without knowing the final outcome, I can’t necessarily say if it will go the way of Evangelion and get almost incoherent towards the finale, but what I have seen so far I’m pleased with, and I’m excited to tear into Volume Two. 

Presentation
Ōban Star-Racers is brought to you on DVD in GLORIOUS 1.33:1. Remember that ratio? Yep, it’s standard frame as originally broadcasted. The great news is that the transfer is pretty aces. As a new(er) show, the animation is sharp and detailed and the transfer doesn’t show any noticeable compression artifacts to blemish the experience. Audio, on the other hand, I have to gripe about. See, the show is a joint French-Japanese production, right? So, why is it that I am only hearing this in English? I don’t know which would have been the “original” but I would have rather heard that with some subs (by the way – no subtitle tracks) than the English dialogue. I’m sure at least something got lost in the translation.  

Extras

The Making of Ōban Star-Racers - Part One – The Start of Production – (28:20)
As the title states, here you’ll learn the genesis of Ōban Star-Racers. Nearly all dialogue is in French and subtitled, which I’m sure will turn young children away, but for a mature audience there is a lot of interesting stories about the conception and discussions on the animation style. 

Star-Racer Profiles
This is merely five different animated profiles on the racers Toros, Prince Aikka, Super Racer, Spirit and Rush. Each of these run under 30 seconds and look to have been commercial bumpers during the show’s television run. 

Trailer – (0:31)
Again… too short to matter, but interesting to see how this show was pushed. 

Sneak Peek at Ōban Star-Racers Volume 2 – (1:39)
Some crazy shit is about to go down on Ōban. I can’t wait! 

The Bottom Line
If you like animated shows or you have kids who might be interested, picking up Ōban Star-Racers shouldn’t seem like a bad idea. Plot wise, it’s intricate enough that I wouldn’t show it to someone under 11, but for those kids that can grasp the basic ideas, this could be a fun bonding show to watch together.  

Again, I don’t know the full resolution to the storyline, but so far, I’ve enjoyed my time spent with these characters.