Review of Oban Star-Racers

Perhaps not many of you have heard of this amazingly captivating anime show which in fact is a wonderful collaboration between Japan and french studio Sav! The World Productions. And those who have surely remember it from Jetix which was a children television programme. It was..because apparently Disney Channel replaced it as stated on the WIkipedia article about Jetix. I have gathered a few pieces of information regarding this series: First aired between 5 June 2006 – 11 December 2006 this 1 season anime contains 26 thrilling episodes. In the year 2082, the Earth has been asked to compete in the great intergallactic race of Obanby no other than the Avatar, a mysterious powerful entity who appears to be in control of the Universe. He stops the attacks of an alien race, the Crogs, on Earth in exchange for their participation in the race. Eva Wei, an Earth student escapes her boarding school in order to find her father, Don Wei, the best racing manager in the world. Having left his own daughter into a boarding school for so long he cannot recognize Eva as his child. Eva feels unable to tell the truth about herself and pretends to be a mechanic named Molly. Don Wei will accept her into the team right before the goverment asks him to represent the Earth in the great race of Oban. Eva and the team are taken to a far away planet where the first part of the race will take place. During the first race the Whizzing Arrow, the Earth team ship crashes and its pilot, Rick Thunderbolt, becomes unable to race. Seeing as no one else can do it, Molly the mechanic ( Eva Wei) steals the ship and enters the next race. Don Wei slowly accepts her as the new pilot. Emotionally wounded by the death of her mother and the cold reunion with her father, Eva decides to do her best in winning the great race of Oban hoping that one day she could have her family back.

And my personal opinion.. Well i have seen loads of anime, of different sizes and genres,of different styles and times and i have to say that Oban is most likely one of the best for me for a great number of reasons. It managed to captivate me as a child and after 7 years it still manages to make me eagerly consume the 26 episodes in just two days and completely engulf me in its magical and fantastical atmosphere. I am pleasently surprised by this effect as i often find certain old titles to not stir my interest as much as before. But Oban is different and let me tell you why..

First of all it has one of the most complete plots i have ever came across. Its flow is naturally ongoing throughout the episodes and nothing ever feels out of place or out of context. It is somewhat predictable in the way us the watchers can intuitively determine the outcome of certain events. However, the twists of the plot and the mysterious factor of facts yet not revealed will keep the watcher with its eyes on the screen til the end. I could also speak about the somewhat monotone repeatance and ceremony that in other animes is abundant. Watching Oban i was actually amazed that I found no such thing! Every single race is different and moderately detailed in such a way they can hardly bring boredom as well as every single race brings more and more details and shape to the relationships between characters. And this fact brings me to the genre.Oban is an appropriate mix of action dough,filled with adventure and 1/3 cups of drama,sprinkled generously with romance. Best served with a pint of light hearted comical moments. Attention! It will be so tasty your eyes are going to drool!

Characters

Since it all happens somewhere in the center of the Galaxy everything changes drastically. What should you expect of course are aliens! What not to expect is that they come only in the shape of a green humanoid with disproportioned body and large sized light bulb shaped head. Instead prepare to admire the variety of alien races of the Universe and meet their technology’s most powerful ships. Thinking you will not enjoy this particular part of the anime ? Fear not for even these concepts will spark your interest whether you aren’t into mechanics stuff like Stan and Koji, the two mechanics of Earth Team. Returning to the characters i must say that they are really well chosen and structured. The protagonist, young lady Eva Wei, is a really hyper 15 years old who will make sure to entertain you with her ambitions and character. She is a very determined girl and pretty intelligent, being able to craft her own floating motorcycle and drive it really well, too well. Dear readers i suggest you not to take this series lightly and pay attention well to the details at every step which prove to have more importance as the plot goes on. The fun part about this is also that you can never know enough about the characters as their actions and words continue to surprise throughout time and yet nothing will feel out of character. Apart from dear Molly you shall meet up with Jordan Wilde, the gunner. He is a man whose aim is extremly good,he is loud and almost always cheerful. As the story goes one you will learn that he is a caring person and that he is a also faithful to Eva and the team. And this all because he makes an excellent friend which will never ‘abandon ship’ even when he learns of Eva’s true identity. This is also where sweet sweet romance comes in but not too fast and not so cheesy as one might fear. This particular part will be covered in amusing situations involving more characters such as Don Wei, Eva’s father. Speaking of him, this man might come in as a cold and heartless man. He is the most successful racing manager on Earth and the key to his success might be his ever serious and strict character or may not be just like that. But i promise not to ruin the fun by revealing too many details and not dissapoint by telling you that the surprise element when it comes to characters won’t stop here. There are far more personalities to meet in Oban and they are sure to impress. I really feel this review kind of text is getting quite long so i can’t afford to bore you for longer.

Phew almost to the end of this!

Dear readers you have my word that this touching story will be worth a try despite whether a bad first impression or the art of this show which to some of you might seem a little too old. I am really pleased i rediscovered it and decided to write this article of sort to share this with people that love a good anime show. I am certainly dissapointed with some new titles as their only strong points are the vividly colored scenes of fan service. Oban is not like that! It is totally different and worth watching till the end.