Review of Wangan Midnight

Ok so I am not going to write a whole essay about this anime because I wouldn't read it and I assume neither do you. I want to start this "review" talking about a misconception about this series. I saw a lot of people on the internet comparing this anime to Initial D, I mean, they're not wrong, both are about cars and take place in Japan...and there is where the similarities stop. Both anime show a different part of the car community in the 80-90's Japan. Initial D is very good at portraing the beginning of the drifting community while Wangan Midnight is very goodat portraing another piece of the japanese history.

The whole plot of this anime is based on a bigger story, that of the Mid Night Club, an outlaw group of racers that used to race on the Bayshore Route in Japan, known as "Wangan", hence the name of the anime, and they did a pretty good job. Knowing both stories and rewatching the series I could understand more what meant to live in that time and do what they were doing.

During those 26 episodes you are presented with the thrill of the race, the consequence of being reckless and with the mentaining, repairing and improving your vehicle in order to be able to achieve those speeds (>300km/h). I enjoyed every fact about the cars, their engines and the methods they used to push their limits to the max.

The Z that could think on its own, trying to kill his owner is a bit unrealist but they did a very good job at creating their own hero car and giving some kind of aura. I still have goosebumps listening to the "Voice of the Z".

The whole story is a bit wacky but the whole conflict between the main character, Akio and his rival Blackbird (a refference to the Yoshida Specials 930) really spices things up. What was a form of relaxation for both of them turns into a race to see who is the best and this drives most of the story, going into the history of them and their cars.

Finally, I want to adress some things pointed out by other users:
-Characters have no backstory/are dull. > Since the story is based on the races rather than the character development some characters aren't that interesting over time. Regarding the backstory problem. What did Dominic Toretto ask Brian O'Conner before they raced? Not even his name.

-Why there aren't any cops during the races? >The whole story is based on Mid Night Club's story which happened between 1985 and 1999 police cars and stock cars had their top speed limited to 180km/h. Maybe there were cops, but way too slow for us to see them.

It ain't much, but it's honest work.