Friday, June 29, 2012

Review: Redline


I'll start with a slightly edited version of wikipedia's synopsis:

"Sweet JP" - rightfully named for his personality, retro style, and refusal to mount weapons on his racecar - nearly wins the "Yellowline" race against a host of semi-pro alien drivers, most of whom use oversized vehicles with jet engines mounted with guns and missiles, but just before the finish line JP's car is sabotaged by an explosive device placed by his friend and mechanic; Frisbee. In the past, Frisbee and JP were sent to prison for fixing races for the mafia, and are doing so again so they can keep racing. While recuperating in the hospital and reminiscing over his loss, JP finds out that he was selected for the "Redline" despite not qualifying in the last race due to popular demand, and because 2 racers withdrew, since the Redline race takes place on Roboworld, a militarized planet ruled by cyborgs. The Roboworld government is violently opposed to the race being held on their planet as they have several ongoing secret projects. JP and the other racers are transported to a backwater moon near Roboworld to prepare. There he meets female racer Sonoshee the winner of the Yellowline and several oddball racers, while he repairs his car and prepares for the race.



And that's pretty much it. After that, the movie shows the racers, the Redline organizers and the Roboworld forces preparing for the Redline. The race itself is a mixture of Wacky Races and Star Wars Episode I's por races. Most runners are aliens, each car is different and has some tricks it can do and they go really fast. The biggest difference is that weapons are allowed. The race itself uses 40 minutes of the movie.



JP looks like a 50's rocker and, true to his nickname, is a pretty nice guy. Sonoshee is very determined, nice and cute. Besides the main duo, every character, including the shady Frisbee, the old man that helps fix JP's car, the other racers and the Roboworld forces get some attention, even if some have only small parts.

The animes visual quality is excellent. The art style is a bit unorthodox, with thicker lines, black shadows and more shadows to show details than the average anime. The animation is very smooth and the blur effect when they use the turbo is cool. The character design is very good and all the aliens have very inspired designs. The mechanic design is awesome with the cars, robots, ships, weapons and etc. being very creative and looking good. But the soundtrack is just ok, with electronic music during the races and generic BGM in the other scenes. The voice acting is good.


The racing is cool, but during the redline there is so many things going on, with the racers trying to defeat each other and dealing with the Roboworld forces and the secrets that the anime just gets too crazy and looses a bit of focus. But it gets back on track eventually. But even though the anime is cool, it lacks drama or a sense of danger or something that really makes your blood boil.

Redline is brainless fun. It's a good way to pass time and if you are the tipe that gets excited with cars and action it's even better. But it's hardly an anime that you'll keep remembering later.

Veredict: Recommended

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