Today, I am going to review one of my favorite anime movies: Redline. Redline is about a type of racing that sort of combines the idea of Speed Racer with a dash of Podracing from Star Wars. Racers from across the universe dream of competing in Redline, the most dangerous race of all. Anything goes at Redline, and racers are lucky to survive. Here we find our protagonist, Sweet JP. JP is a highly skilled, yet goodhearted racer. He doesn't approve of high tech weapons on his car, instead relying on his natural talents as a racer and a few caps of nitro to get the most out of his TransAm 20000. JP almost wins the Yellowline preliminary race, but sabotage from his best friend and mechanic, Frisbee, costs him the victory.
Frisbee and JP are in up to their necks with the mob, and have been involved in various race fixing schemes. Money from the mob pays for JP's bail bond funds. Following Yellowline, JP is wondering what to do next when word come out that two racers decide to drop out of Redline, and fans vote JP into the race. This time around, Redline will be held on Roboworld. However, Roboworld's president vows to destroy the racers by any means necessary. Not only do the leaders of Roboworld despise racing culture, the high levels of media coverage will likely expose Roboworld's illegal weapons buildup. JP is ready to give the race his all, and hopes to get on better terms with fellow competitor and Yellowline winner, Sonoshee McLaren.
The strength of Redline rests in the characterization of JP and Sonoshee. Each of them embodies stereotypical racer tropes. JP is the easygoing nice guy with a questionable past. He allowed himself to be arrested so that Frisbee wouldn't get into any more trouble. And Sonoshee is the strong willed independent female out to prove herself to all the boys. As formulaic as their budding romantic relationship is, it works because the writers don't make it the sole focus of the story. In addition, viewers get brief bios of the other racers, which range from satirical, to clichéd, to downright comedic. Other plotlines involve Frisbee coming to terms with his involvement with the mob, and Roboworld's efforts to destroy all the racers.
Redline is also a technical and artistic masterpiece of a film. It was the first time I had been exposed to the work of Madhouse, and I have been impressed with everything I have seen from them since. Every single frame is hand drawn, and it took the people involved in making this film seven years to finish. I can only imagine how painstaking it was to render all 100,000 frames. Fortunately, the result is completely worth it.
I never saw the 2008 Speed Racer live action movie, but I feel like this is what that movie should have been. The racing action is balanced by well developed lead characters, excellent humor, and an engaging story. Racing anime tend to sit between a spectrum bookended by the fun, but campy, Speed Racer on one end, and realistic and overly technical Initial D at the other. Redline rests just off center towards the Speed Racer end, but is able to keep audiences glued despite getting over the top ridiculous at times. It's one fast ride of a movie, but audiences are going to enjoy every minute.
