Of all the months of the year, January is probably the worst, right? Sorry for anyone born in this month, but it’s not a very good month, at least in the UK. The holidays are over, the weather is cold and wet, and most of the time it’s a dead time for a good movie or game. No wonder the phrase “January Blues” exists in the first place!But even if there’s nothing new to watch, there’s always something old – and personally, I can’t recommend a better movie to lift your spirits than 2009’s racing anime red line.
I have to admit, I just watched Redline for the first time a few days ago, so I’m a little late to the party, but honestly, I’ve never seen a movie that so thoroughly makes you want to say “OMG,” every time. Yes” movie step. For those of you who haven’t heard of it before, Red Line is Takeshi Koike’s directorial debut, and if you’ve seen Lupine III movies like Goemon’s Blood Mist or Fujiko’s Lies, you might will recognize him. It’s also easily one of the most visually unique anime I’ve ever seen, utilizing thick, deep black lines and shadows to emphasize the various alien designs.
The film is set in a distant future where planetary space travel is a non-issue, aliens are everywhere and vehicles with engines as we know them are a thing of the past. Even so, there are still racers eager to race with the typical four wheels and engine, leading to a series of races where the prize is knowing you’re the fastest, culminating in a race called “Red Line.”
This movie has a lot to put you in a good mood. One, the protagonist, “Sweet” JP, a human race car driver with a pompadour so tall you might think he was wearing a top hat. He’s basically a stock character, definitely borrowing a greasy look from the West, with a confident and occasionally arrogant attitude to match, but he’s kind and caring enough to balance said arrogance – and he’s also a pretty good character riders, so confidence is earned.
He’s perfect for a movie where the animation is truly insane, and he does things with cars that are obviously physically impossible – like a scene where JP spins his car so fast he’s like a perfectly thrown Jumping across the lake like a stone – but no matter how things go, you can’t help but always be locked in.
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To describe this film as dynamic would probably be doing it a disservice, and to describe it as action-packed and nothing more would almost be a lie. In this movie, racing is the most important thing in the galaxy, with all its highs and lows, and by the end you’re thinking the exact same thing – which is almost enough to get me into real racing, but it doesn’t come as a surprise A situation where a planet of cyborg aliens tries to kill racers to protect military secrets.
Oh, did I not mention that part? Yes, while all the competition is going on, the inhabitants of the planet where the Red Line race is taking place also don’t want it there because they have some hideous weapons hidden away that could constitute a war crime. Ridiculous is really the only appropriate calendar word to describe this movie today.
The Red Line is a movie that you really don’t have to think too hard about, it’s more about the journey than the destination, which honestly is perfect for a month like January. I wouldn’t describe it as “easy on the eyes” considering how fast the animation is at some points, but it’s definitely easy to watch – it’s also on Prime Video in the UK, so you don’t have much of an excuse Don’t look at it. I guarantee you’ll say “oh my god yes” to yourself at least once when the credits roll.
