>>280083222
7/10

Picked up the show on a whim not really knowing anything about the series besides surface-level knowledge of it. Not sure how the other shows, movies and seasons are but I take this one deliberately tries to tone down the more wacky parts of the series to which I don't really have any feelings towards but I can appreciate the difference in artstyle with the characters in this looking a bit taller and gruff compared to the game (now that I've picked it up).

Character-wise, Oguri is fun to watch but I didn't find that there's much to her beyond "gotta go fast". The characters around her though are developed well enough though ironically enough (or maybe it's intentional? can't tell) like March and Rudolf but unfortunately some of them just kinda stop getting much after their time in the spotlight is over, like Belno.

My biggest complaint is these guys, they're supposed to be Oguri's friends in Tokyo but goddamn you barely even see them talk to each other for more than a few seconds. Even the bully trio in Kasamatsu had more to them than these guys.

Then there's the plot, where Oguri keeps winning and winning and winning for most of the show with not much else to it. The races almost always go the same way too, there's the main rival, maybe a few others, they all get monologues about how they're totally going to win the race, then Oguri comments about the dirt feeling funny, then it pans to main rival again with a flashback about their backstory, and then Oguri wins. That being said, I'm glad the final episode happened the way it did and I'm really happy that Oguri took it in stride. Maybe this is an unpopular opinion but I hope they slow it down with the races and maybe explore Oguri's new environment for a bit, or even just herself as a breather.

Good animations, exciting music, characters are charming, humor lands most of the time, not much to complain about for a casual watch.