Review of Wangan Midnight

In the beginning I wondered if the star car was going to be possessed ala Stephen King's Christine, and although that question was never exactly answered, that is not the direction the story took. Wangan is a heartfelt look at street, rather freeway, racing, the people caught in the lifestyle and the cars that obsess them. At times it is almost a tutorial on how to rebuild an engine. For one reason and another, I've not finished Initial D so I'm not going to make any kind of cross comparison other than saying Initial D didn't capture me the way Wangan Midnight did.I dated car guys, handed them tools and torqued down timing chain covers . . . .until I broke a bolt or two . . . I drove fast cars and owned them myself. Occasionally, I pretend my sedate Subaru Forester is really a WRX. Consequently, Wangan Midnight spoke to me in a way that may not reach the typical anime fan.

Some folk feel the series is a little slow to reach take off. I didn't notice. I found plenty character development and white knuckle racing action. I also liked the characters who came into the story for an episode or two and, as with the actual racing community, for one reason or another, went a different direction. Some satisfied a need, others chose not to let the obsession rule their life, others devoted their life to the obsession, some with a positive out come, some not so much.

Interestingly, the primary protagonist, is given a James Dean style look, complete with a Rebel Without a Cause white t-shirt and red jacket. The bad luck 240Z is also a reference to the Porsche 1950's actor Dean died in. It is said that his Porsche is cursed. Anyone trying to rebuild it our use its parts got into accidents of their own. And so it is with the Devil Z in Wangan Midnight.

I loved everything about the art except the facial designs of the characters, the females in particular. Apparently, the choice was in deference to the manga it is based on, a manga that goes back to '92, hence the dated look. Soundtrack wise, the music is o.k. but the car sounds are great.

Ultimately, Wangan is about relationships; relationships between people and specific cars, between people who love cars, and between people who love the people who love the cars. If you are even just a little bit of a car geek, make time for Wangan Midnight.