Redline (2012)

Look. I understand. "Anime" isn't a cool thing to most people, not even most self-described "geeks." These days, "anime" is commonly used as shorthand for a particular type of storytelling, characterization, or visualization...and the people who do so NEVER mean it as a compliment. Maybe you're one of these people yourself.

Or maybe you used to watch anime and no longer really do because you've got music, videogames, and regular movies/TV to watch instead. Maybe you used to watch stuff like Cowboy Bebop or FLCL on the Cartoon Network, but never really saw anything else that you liked as much. Maybe you end up spotting some anime that is on Netflix or Hulu, but you don't feel like watching them all the way through.

Does any of that sound like you or someone you know? Then watch this movie.

There's no TV show or comicbook with hundreds of episodes you have to know about first. There's nothing "Final Fantasy" or "Kingdom Hearts"-like about the story or characters. There's no harem of girls surrounding some loser guy. There are no "jokes" involving giant sweatdrops or accidentally copping a feel. This is different from all of that.

Redline is visually astonishing with a soundtrack to match, but contrary to what is often said Redline's strong points aren't JUST those. This movie has great characters, each of whom is memorable in their own way. There's a lot of humor, and the film's comic timing (and restraint!) is spot-on. The story isn't shallow or even minimal. By the time everything ends, you'll know all that needs to be known about who these racers are and why they're doing what they do.

I don't care about racing or cars. But I totally dig Redline. I think you will too.

I watched this when they were showing it as a part of a limited theater release, and I've been aching for it's blu-ray release since! There are few words that can describe how awesome this movie is. The animation is beyond top-notch, with an art style that pops with every frame and keeps your eyes watering from not blinking.

The best way I can describe this film is that its like taking the visual flourish and high-adrenaline action of the live action Speed Racer film, smashing it against the entirety of what made Gurren Lagann one of the most beloved Japanese anime series of the past decade, mixing the two together and cranking all of that up to 11, and then condensing it into an hour and a half experience of visual and aural orgasmica with all of the goodness, none of the filler.

Plus, there's a cute love story in it for those so inclined.

Buy Redline (2012) Now

This is one of the most important anime to come along in years. Not only is it visually stunning, but the music and sounds make it truly brilliant. The styling of it makes it so appealing to watch that you won't want it to end. Combine that with an amazing soundtrack, and you will be glad you own it. If you have a home theater system, it will shake your walls.

This is one of those movies that even if you aren't an anime fan, you will love it. All I can say is if you are uncertain about buying it, don't be. Here is the official story synopsis since Amazon doesn't have anything up yet.

REDLINE is about the biggest and most deadly racing tournament in the universe. Only held once every five years, everyone wants to stake their claim to fame, including JP, a reckless dare-devil driver oblivious to speed limits with his ultra-customized car all the while, organized crime and militaristic governments want to leverage the race to their own ends. Amongst the other elite rival drivers in the tournament, JP falls for the alluring Sonoshee but will she prove his undoing, or can a high speed romance survive a mass destruction race?

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Going against modern conventions of animation, Redline was created using hand-drawn sketches over 100,000 of them rather than computer graphics. The result is a film of gorgeous style, setting, colour and visual complexity. The extraordinary level of detail isn't restricted to the visuals; every sound has been painstakingly mapped onto the film, while the backing soundtrack (which sounds like a Japanese version of Ministry's 'Psalm 69') was custom-created for the scenes, ensuring that the music always fits the action.

The story centres around Redline, a once-every-five-years racing event with no rules except the winner being first one across the finish line. Most vehicles are heavily armed (à la Mad Max or Death Race 2000), but the main protagonist an adrenaline-junkie racer named JP refuses to carry weapons, instead insisting that he has the talent to win on speed alone. JP's pacifist attitude has earned him the outstanding nickname of the Very Sweet Weaponless Prince. Visually, JP is a likeable anime hybrid of John Travolta in Grease crossed with James Dean in Rebel Without a Cause. His friendship with (wonderfully named) fellow racer Cherry Boy Hunter Sonoshee McLaren, develops into a love interest which runs parallel to the main story of the race. On the surface, Redline is a high-octane, heavily stylised mixture of the movies Death Race 2000 and Mad Max, the cartoon Wacky Races, and the computer games Total Wipeout and Unreal Tournament. Look deeper than the high-speed races across sweeping vistas and rocky mesas, however, and you'll find more going on. There's a backdrop of military tyranny that parallels our modern world, with corrupt forces masquerading as the 'good guys' while attempting to silence the voices of freedom. Additionally, a Cinderella story develops between Sonoshee and JP. When Sonoshee drops an earring, JP mounts his supersonic motorcycle and goes for a midnight ride, just to leave the earring and some flowers on Sonoshee's doorstep. The futuristic race is simply the context against which the plot is set. The real theme of the film is a timeless one: love and friendship can conquer all.

Redline is a meticulously crafted work of art. It has both style and substance. Rich in allegorical elements and moral themes, the film is a masterwork of anime.

Viewers can have additional fun by comparing the English voice-over with the subtitles (which seem to be direct translations of the original Japanese). The differences are sometimes considerable and often amusing.

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Public service announcement before I begin review. Toonami is back!!! Airs on Saturday Midnight, well technically Sunday, from 12:00 a.m. to 3:00 a.m., with an encore beginning at 3:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m. Tune in and support it. Now on to my review.

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**Brief Review Of Anime**

Bought this from FYE for 9.99, marked down from 22.95!!! Quite a deal. I have been wanting to watch this for some time and now I finally have.

Do you have to like racing to like this Anime? No, in fact I HATE racing. I have never watched Nascar in my life. And I live in West Virginia, where Nascar and beer are almost prerequisites to live here, that and 'Dukes of Hazard'. No, my reader you do not have to like racing to like this movie. You do though have to be a fan of Anime, as this is one of the more stranger ones...

**Some Spoilers Ahead**

The film centers around "Sweat JP", a human racecar driver. He is one of the few humans in the movie. The rest of the characters are aliens, cyborgs, etc. While all other racers drive weird things, like rocket cars, hover-crafts, and robots, Sweat JP drives a trans-am. Wow those things really hold up... It's actually neat to see one normal looking vehicle in the movie.

The racing in the movie is like watching 'Death Race' meets 'Speed Racer', while droping acid. When Sweat JP starts to go really fast the screen will stretch and distort. This movie is quite a trip to watch, and I was sober when I watched it. I can only imagine what watching it drunk would be like. I'll try that on my 2nd watch of it.

Anyway, by a stroke of luck JP is eligable to enter the Redline, the most ruthless race in the galaxy. Taking place on Roboworld, the race is practically suicide, Roboworld vows to kill all racers who come to the planet.

Sweat JP has more problems than this though. He and his partner are in debt to the mafia and JP routinely throws races in order that the mob can place fixed bets and win big. So not only does he have the cyborgs of Roboworld riding his ass, he also has the space mafia on his back like a monkey as well.

The film only gets stranger from here. Funkyboy, a toxic weapon of some kind breaks out causing havoc. This coupled with many other things make the race quite an edge on your seat experience.

--Pros--

Good animation. Racing is actually exciting to watch, not dull at all. Some fan service for the guys. Sonoshee, a female racer, is topless for like 5 minutes, tee-hee...

--Cons--

Fan service. While I like a naked lady as much as the next guy, this scene was totally out of place. No reason why she's watching tv naked, she's just doing it. This kind of knocks a film/movie down a peg when this stuff happens.

Weird factor. Funkyboy, the cosplay racers, machinehead, the list goes on of weird things in this movie. Eventually you just have to accept you are watching one of those weird Animes and quit trying to figure things out.

I personally thought Sweat JP's hair looked stupid. He looks like Brad Pitt from 'Johnny Suede'. That's not a good look.

--In Conclusion--

Really good Anime. I plan to give this a 2nd view very soon. While this Anime is weird at times, it does stay on track and delivers quite a thrilling ride for us the viewers.

Is it worth buying? Yes, I say it is. But this is a hardcore Anime, so if you are not into Anime, or have just dabeled in it, you make not like it. This film is going for a decent price on Amazon right now. If your near an FYE, check there, it could still be on sale for 9.99 new!!!

Well, that's my thoughts. Now if you'll excuse me I am going to go buy myself a trans-am and start street racing. On second thought I'll just watch 'Redline' again...

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