Lots of sports anime have an exclamation point (or several), but not all of them earn it. Ovartake! definitely does. I’m not sure how or why this of all series would get a decent budget (which it clearly has), but it’s unmistakable that this show has passion behind it. Cynics may scoff but when you’ve watched as much anime as I have, you can always tell. Tell when a show has key staff who give a damn, vs. just punching the clock and doing what they’re told. There’s a lot of personal investment behind this project, and it absolutely shows.
As such, Kouya really is the right protagonist. His background is still a bit of a mystery – though we now have confirmation of his past with Sae-can (ex-wife – I guessed ex-lover last week but close enough). We still don’t know the cause of his photo PTSD, though it seems to involve having photographed a tragedy. But like Billy Mumphrey he’s by nature driven by unbridled enthusiasm – a “rollercoaster” is how he refers to himself. My question last week was how a guy like him could sponsor a racing team, and we got our answer – he can’t. Kouya was just going off half-cocked – which is obviously his usual M.O..
I like the fact that stuff which isn’t acknowledged right away but stands out – like Kouya not being a logical sponsor or the dubious ethics of that candid photo he snapped of Haruka – is acknowledged later. Things make sense in Ovetake!, a very underrated quality in a series. Haruka has a right to be angry over being captured in that moment (I suspect he’s going to be even angrier soon based on the post-credits scene). And he has a right to be dismissive of Kouya’s ability to actually help Komaki Motors. But Kouya seems to be a bit of a tireless terrier, someone who doesn’t give up once he gets the bit in his teeth.
Of course all this talk of costs and sponsorship brought me right back to Capeta, but that’s fine – actually good, in fact. That’s racing – it’s crazy expensive. And Capeta is the platinum standard for racing manga, especially in terms of realism. As Kouya’s pal tells him, F4 is actually cheap (11 million Yen annually for privateers, 18 million for a big corporate team like his) by racing standards because it’s an equal conditions sport. Kouya not only can’t help out financially, but he’s so ignorant about racing that he can’t immediately help out in other ways either. But because of who he is, he’s determined to figure it out anyway.
Kouya as a middle-aged burnout inspired to embrace life again by the youthful passion of Haruka is a bit old hat, sure, but it’s a rock-solid basis for a mentor relationship in a sports anime. He’s ready to embrace the challenge, finding sponsors who do have the financial wherewithal to make a difference. But getting them to commit to a team with no track record of success and a schoolboy driver is no mean feat. Even scaling it down to the local mom and pop businesses, the best this unlikely pair can manage is an armful of guilt offerings and a “Raceman” sticker. But obviously Kouya isn’t the sort to give up.
Another element I really liked here was the development of the relationship between Haruka and Futoshi. He’s kind of a stealth character, initially looking like a background figure, but he’s really important. His bond with Haruka is grounded in something very real, and Haruka wants to do well as badly as he does in part because he wants to succeed for Futoshi’s sake. The Catch-22 of their situation is that they can’t attract sponsorship without on-track success, and they can’t succeed on the track without sponsorship money. “I don’t think it’s possible to succeed on enthusiasm and spirit alone” – Haruka’s own words tell the unhappy tale.
All this is a really good foundation on which to build a sports series. And it’s very clear that the will to make Overtake! a success is strong indeed. My concern is that while one-cour original series often work well, it’s very hard to tell this sort of story in 12 eps, even for an original – sports anime just don’t lend themselves to that sort of length. As ever it’s going to come down to the writing, but I’ve been thoroughly impressed by these first two episodes. This is a series with an interesting story to tell, and the ability to tell it in very winning fashion.
Nicc
October 10, 2023 at 6:35 amIt seems appropriate that both “MFing Ghost” and “Overtake!” are airing on Sundays, where we get a lot of motorsports events (And, monster truck rallies). The racing takes a backseat in this episode as it focuses on character building and more world building. Both tie into the business side of the sport.
Kouya goes to the Komaki Motors garage and announces that he’s going to be a sponsor! Except he doesn’t know a darn thing about what it takes to sponsor a racing team. At the least, he’s got the enthusiasm to learn. We do learn a lot about Kouya in this episode, but you’re right that it looks like what caused his trauma will be saved for later. Kouya gets a gig to take photos for team Belsorriso and we see the clear difference between a team that has a big budget and a team that’s scraping by. It’s notable that even Formula 1 has a budget cap now to help level the playing field.
We get a lot of Haruka this time too. He lost both of his parents Futoshi took him in. He and Kouya don’t see eye-to-eye at first, which makes sense. How can a photographer who doesn’t know anything about the sport possibly do? Still, they do find a way to bond and Kouya’s enthusiam helps with that. He was able to line up some corporate sponsors to watch a race, but were unimpressed with the team and decided to pass. Yep, it’s that Catch-22 that you mentioned. Haruka and Kyou both try to get some help from the local small businesses (We learn that Haruka is probably on the shy side). They don’t get any commitments, but at least they got some swag. This was a great episode and so I didn’t even miss the racing. I think this one is a keeper for me.
Raikou
October 10, 2023 at 3:20 pmTwo episodes in, and Overtake seems the right anime for this season.
For a sports anime, likeable character, realistic setting is what I expected the most.
I remembered about Ryman’s club for some reason when I watched this. I figured people would be skipping this, but I hope Overtake is the Dark Horse of the season.
Guardian Enzo
October 10, 2023 at 7:18 pmYeah, I thought about Ryman’s Club too. Same vibe to an extent.
Bel
October 10, 2023 at 10:57 pmThe very first teaser PV of Overtake! mentioned that this is Troyca’s 10th anniversary project. That’s probably why they are pulling out all the stops. The first 2 episodes are great all around. Overtake! strikes a good balance between motorsports and human drama. Even though I’m not into motorsports, I like what I’ve seen so far.