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Last edited by Tony K. on Fri Apr 12, 2024 2:56 pm; edited 3 times in total

Overtake! (TV)

Source: Original

Demographic:

Animation Studio: Troyca

Genres: action, comedy, drama, thriller

Themes: photography, racing, sports

Plot Summary: Freelance photographer Kōya Madoka finds himself in a slump due to a certain reason. He goes to Fuji International Speedway to work on a story, and he meets the high school F4 racer Haruka Asahina. He suddenly finds his heart racing after not feeling much for a long time. With that, he starts supporting Haruka and the "Komaki Motors" youth team to help Haruka achieve his dreams.

Air Date & Platform:
October 1, 2023 (Sunday)
Available on: Crunchyroll

Episode Count / Runtime: 12 episodes
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Ah yes, the second racing anime this season. We have not had a single one in years and now suddenly have two.

...and as I noted in the other thread (for MF Ghost), they both air on the same day. Real life synchronicity in action, I guess.

Last edited by Tony K. on Fri Sep 15, 2023 7:24 pm; edited 1 time in total

So it looks like we've got two racing (MF Ghost and Overtake) and two rap-battle (Hypnosis Mic and Paradox Live) titles both battling for esoteric-genre supremacy this fall. And then a whooole bunch of fantasy ones (19 by my count, so far).

I almost think that anime should be called fantanime these days. Yeesh, talk about genre overkill.

I found this anime more engaging than it's racing anime competitor MF Ghost. I was a little surprised to find that the main character was an outside observer. It didn't surprise me that someone who would normally be a secondary character had commandeered the POV in Firefighter Daigo, but in a racing car drama, it seemed like an unusual choice Then again, the racecar driver MC tropes are pretty well established ("I just don't want you to die like your brother/father did" or "I can't spend the rest of my life being afraid because I almost died in a bad crash when racing is the only thing that makes me feel alive" etc ) so this felt a bit fresh.

I like the hapless MC all right, although I have no idea what a traumatic boating accident has to do with not being able to take a picture of a living person. I get how trauma could interfere with the careers of cops, doctors, athletes, and so on. I get how anxiety could isolate people and keep them from showing up to work or having conversations and so on. But being unable to press a button on a camera while looking at someone from a distance seems pretty extreme. I'm not saying it makes no sense, or that the human mind isn't a mystery and/or trainwreck in progress...I'm just saying, without some pretty convincing additional details, it's going to be hard for me to picture, no pun intended.

Having an observer MC didn't keep me from getting invested in the race itself, and unlike MF Ghost, this pilot had a pretty good one. Having a total novice MC also made the deluge of background info that is a staple of Japanese sports anime seem less intrusive.

There were a lot of side characters, and even though most of them were tropes with name tags, they had more energy than the people in MF Ghost too. The thing that MF Ghost had going for it was a distinctive art style and more enigmatic characters. The two big character questions in this show - why is the MC so traumatized and why is Haruka so intense - have big honking neon arrows pointing at them. But it was a pretty agreeable way to pass a half hour.

Episode 1

Here's a hot take for y'all: dang, cars are cool. And this seems like a pretty solid entrant into this season's Car Racing Rally, along with MFGhost. I too am curious about the Watery Traumatic Event that has left our MC unable to take pix of human beings. MFGhost has sexier chicks, but I think I'm gonna dig this one, too...

This was fantastic. We actually got a super compelling anime, which is funny since we have two racing anime this season and I kind of predicted this one was going to be better and it is. Better writing, better characters, way better animation, and just an overall more compelling story.

Kind of shocking since Initial D is one of the important classics and yet its follow up is like...fine? just really dull.

This anime and MF Ghost changed positions, and this week, this show was the racing anime that didn't have a race. It worked reasonably well as a slice of life anime for me. I like the earnest MC better than the depressed shmuck he was acting like last week, though if he's a roller coaster there will be another dip coming up at some point, and maybe we'll figure out how those tsunami flashbacks tie in with him having some kind of picture phobia. And I like the defensive but hard working racer better than the arrogant/crying prick from last week. So like MF Racer, this show too, expanded on what it needed to expand on without getting irritating. I'm glad they're keeping the ex around. Her and the MC's relationship is interesting.

I may be the only one still watching these racing shows - and to be honest, I was all set to drop this one if the third episode was still just "okay." But with the gradual emergence of a villain, the sense of progression, and the way familiarity with these characters is starting to cause them to grow on me...I want to watch it again next week.

Episode 03

Parts of this show are starting to feel like a light anime'd version of the movie Rush (2013), which I highly recommend if anybody is enjoying this and wants a more cinematic historical iteration of formula racing.

What I really like about this show, though, is how it gives you that third-person perspective from the photographer's point of view. By seeing the story unfold through his "lens," we get to learn a lot about the ins and outs of sponsorship and other grueling politics that go into the actual business side of racing, which I feel is pretty insightful. Because, now, we know it's not just about the racer, but also the hardships of maintaining the car and its parts.

The cherry on top is the developing rivalry, which we've probably seen time and time again in many a shounen title. And the cool thing I've always enjoyed about sports anime is their knack for buildup/anticipation. It can be a bit of a slow-burn, at times, but it has a lot of potential for compelling drama and a big payoff. Both these racing shows are off to great starts, so far.

This show has really come together for me. I'm starting to legitimately become attached to the characters, and the slice of life stuff is more compelling than the racing at this point. The reason for the photographer's trauma actually made sense, and it makes the relationship between the two exes kind of sad and heartwarming at the same time. The narcissistic pretty boy rival and the mechanic are pretty entertaining background characters as well.

Holy crap! I might be the only member on these boards still watching this anime, but man, today's episode got me good. First I got pulled in further by the relationship between the exes. My own relationship with my ex is pretty good (though it took some time) but there are solid reasons we won't be getting back together. To see these two still taking care of each other...well, it's mostly her taking care of him right now, but still...it makes me root for them.

Then I got genuinely apprehensive because of the foreshadowing. And then I still wound up being surprised and emotionally affected by how things played out. spoiler[I was even kind of heartbroken by the same scared, vulnerable look on Harunaga's face that got to Madoka. Harunaga is usually so cocky and always going on about luck and positive vibes. To see him so rattled...and understandably so since it's not clear if he's going to be hospitalized or not...was a real gut punch. ] I'm even wrapped up hoping that Madoka won't backslide on his own road to recovery.

As much as I love what show is trying to do, it makes me frustrated. As 60 year fan of F1, watching F1-FE, show misses mark many things, like slip streaming (drafting). In American NASCAR or European GP super car racing, drafting works well. In Formula racing, it hurts the cars run in dirty air. F-cars need clean air to run. Pulling out of stream and trying to overtake from bad air is all impossible, specially if car does not have DRS. F4 in Overtake does not have DRS. (DRS is variable rear wing geometry to changes down force on rear tires)

spoiler[This week is even worse when rain. Crews can change between soft, medium, and hard, or rain tires right up formation lap as log as car in pits. Yes this makes for good drama, but not how F4 works! In heavy rain, race marshals would have delayed start or force all cars to run with rain tires. Once rain got bad, marshals would put out yellow flag, and forced virtual pace car. When the first car went off the track and cars were not pitting for rain slicks, marshals would have automatically gone to red/yellow flags, or would suspended race entirely.]

I like how studio is trying to be accurate, but it misses many of mechanics of F4 racing!

I have to admit, this development where self-righteous @$$holes with lots of time on their hands and a burning need to feel powerful have made it their mission to track photo-kun down and make sure he can never work professionally again without spurring protests and potential boycotts is a real bummer. I was really enjoying watching Kouya find some purpose in life again, and just like I couldn't imagine what that wave had to do with taking a picture, I'm having a hard time imagining how this situation can be resolved. It's a pretty accurate reflection of one of the many ways social media has warped our world, but still a bummer.

I remember seeing a picture of a woman and her child falling from a burning building. It was horrible and undeniably powerful and I did find myself speculating on what the photographer's state of mind was while he or she took that shot. I also had some neighbors whose house caught on fire when I was a kid, and I remember being irritated at this local reporter who showed up and asked really stupid ass questions about how it felt to have their house burn down. But that ghoulish aspect kind of comes with the job.

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