Overtake!

 An anime about Formula racing... I'm game, big time!

Because F1 has been my favorite sport ever since 1991 (yes, the times of prequali's with Olivier Grouillard in the Fondmetal for example) and the year those beautiful 7Up Jordan's and a certain Michael Schumacher debuted in the sport.

So let's see what this series can bring to a long time fan as myself.  Kouya Madoka is a freelance photographer who is one day hired to take pictures of a car race, something he doesn't know anything about.  On the circuit he meets one of his friends, and only that day finds out he owns a Formula 4 team, Belsorisso, and starting to pick Madoka's intrest in the sport.  He meets Asahina Haruka, who drives for a small team, Komaki Motors, and decides to support him.

And so their lives, with highly different ages and personalities, start to interweave as he captures a moment of great disappointment of young Asahina, who fell out the race with a puncture the moment he was going to overtake for a podiumspot.  Madoka wants to become an official sponsor of the team, and get involved.  And then he gets the numbers of what a season of F4 actually costs...

 

However, when he gets potential sponsors to visit a race, Haruka underperforms, causing none to jump onboard.   Never the less, he finds one through a friend, allowing them to get new tires and such for the car, even though this means a commercial has to be taped.  In the race, Haru seems on fire, as at the Belsorisso team is starting to suffer internal cracks.  Tokumaru, their second driver, wanted to go his own chance for once as he was better setup for this race, but got team orders to act as the windbreak for the first driver.  During the race, he comes in a duel with Haru with whom he has a feud, and who by using the slipstream beats Tokumaru for his new best result, 4th and just short of the podium.  

When the commercial is presented, Haruka isn`t to happy they used his crying picture.  During the planning for a photoshoot, Haruka learns more about Madoka and who he really is, while reflecting on his own childhood days.  Part of a team effort, Haruka and his team sign up for a charity run, with also the Belsorisso team featured in it.  It's a threeway tie for the win, Haruka being assigned second place by rock paper scissors.  But he just wanted to win a prize to give to the teammanager as a birthday gift.

 

But when Haruka qualifies his highest ever in fourth, rainy weather hits the track, making all teams ponder between slicks and rain tires.  Haruka wants the first option, but Madoka knows his father died in an accident in the rain. This brings a discussion about between Madoka and Haruka, as he sees Haruka is on a "high" mental state today and fears for his safety.  But the weather is fickle, and soon it starts raining hard.  Haruka makes the wise decision to not take big risks, throttling down and stopping the race realising an accident might happen on his slicks, as happens with number one driver Harunaga of the Belsorisso team.  

Luckily, he comes off with broken bones only, escaping a worse fate.  Madoka relives a trauma from long ago though as he sees the despair in his eyes.  His past is revealed, costing Komaki Motors their sponsor.  In his past, he took a picture of a young child during an earthquake, causing people to question his morals in not trying to save her and him having to adopt another name.  Haruka really starts to worry about Madoka, going to look for him and appologise.  

Haruka receives a test for the position of number two driver with Belsorisso, with the blessings of his team.  Harunaga in the meantime forces his recovery in the hospital.  He learns that Ena, the Belsorisso owner, goes a long way back with his late dad and Komaki.  During practice, Haruka forces his leadman Tokumaru to make mistakes.

Haruka tracks down Madoka, and goes to visit him.  He decides to stay with Madoka until he is finished doing what he has to do, and Madoka tells him te story of what really transpired 12 years ago.  He was accepted in the community, taking pictures of the people present, when an earthquake strikes and a tsunami approaches.  Using his camera he sees the young girl Momo run through the streets, moments before she is crushed by the rubble, and why he can no longer take pictures of people as her begging eyes are seared in his memory, even though he was to far away to help her.  

 

 

Together with Haruka, he goes to visit the girl's grandfather in hospital, who is dying of an illness, and brings closure to Madoka on his dying bed.  Haruka returns to his team, having turned Belsorisso down.  After a bad qualifying, Haruka makes his way up the field as Tokumaru leads the race, going all the way up to second and in the tail of Tokumaru.  But with his tires wearing out, he drops back unfortunatly.

But thanks to the local sponsorship search Madoka did early, they merchants decide to step in to sponsor Haruka.  This allows them to do a serious upgrade in parts and tires on the car, as Harunaga is slowly recovering and visiting the race again, and doing some practices showing he still has the speed.  But he hides the extent of how his injuries still play up though.  

The day of the race, Madoka gets a job to make a special about F4, Haruka promising he will get onto that podium and give Madoka that podium picture of him.  Qualifying 6th, he is not far behind the Belsorisso cars where the positions of number one and number two driver have been switched, quicly finding Haruka behind them in third.  As Tokumaru is hit by a lapped car, he takes the risk of not pitting, allowing Harunaga to pass him with the slipstream.  Haruka goes on the offensive, making a passing move on the final corners.  He takes that long eluded checkered flag, making up his promise to his deceased father, to the joy even of his rivals and everyone present. 

Okay, I loved this series, it was a great sportsshow, and it had some serious emotional rollercoaster moments to show the reasons of how the characters became who they are... go watch this stuff for certain!