It's like Zoids Zero meets Hot Wheels World Race..... but less exciting in all respects.
The music is just too damned sombre. It doesn't inspire excitement like it should. The action comes too little and too late. I thought it was cool seeing Takeshi wielding a sword as a reflection of his concentrated strike, but that was the only moment I really found exciting.
Whole fights should be an intricate dance like what was saw in Zoids Zero and races should be break neck like they feel in World Race.
I said before, I hope this is just the surface. That this'll lead to more and actual serious combat to save the world against a greater threat or something and not just be a racing anime.
Animation, pacing and voice acting are all top of the line, but if Team Satomi wants to compete against the FMA's, Narutos and other heavey hitter anime out there they gotta pick up the action and make it awesome.
I enjoy it because I'm down with Toonami and can appreciate this accomplishment they've achieved in making their own anime, but if they wanna mak it a success so that people are cosplaying and dying for merchandise, they need better costumes and more intericate excitment on both a mech and personal level.
It frustrated me that the coaches in their stands were practically falling asleep while watching the race instead of occaisionally imparting some bit of advice, observation or tactic. And in the end all it came down to was some simple riddle that wastes the teams' time when if it was as simple as, "find a week point" it could've just been said.
Actually I would've preferred it drawn out to the heroes. Explain what this week point was that they see, tell them how to hit it, "but it's a slim chance and if you miss.... you could lose it all. You've only got one shot at this..." and then crank up the music to something exciting to see Takeshi give it all or nothing and then have one of the defenders help out and see that teamwork brings them to the finish the victors.
So far the show's average and offers less in meaty plot that Gundam SEED and Yu Yu Hakasho, both of which got cut from the line-up. I'm not sure how IGPX'll be able to hang.
