WARNING ALERT: Be very aware that Redline contains considerable coarse and rude language, drug use, sexual references, nudity, and violent killings which some may find seriously objectionable. Proceed with caution.
The following is the official trailer for Redline
The following is Beyond Ghibli’s review of Redline
Anime(2009) Movie 102 minutes
D: Takeshi Koike
W: Katsuhito Ishii, Yoji Enokido, Yoshiki Sakurai
M: James Shimoji
Studio: Madhouse
MAL 8.29
ANN 7.944
IMDB 7.5
Characters:
MC
“Sweet” JP
“Cherry Boy” Sonoshee McLaren
SC
JP’s pit crew:
Frisbee
Old Man Mole
Antagonists:
Roboworld President and the entire Roboworld
Everyone Else
Redline is without a doubt, one of the greatest feats of animation you will ever see. There is a scene where our hero JP, is so intense that he begins to bleed from his nose, and even into his eyes. Any one watching this work, might also do the same.
No one over 40 should ever watch this Anime because old people literally do not have the capacity to handle the heavy duty stress of Redline.
When we say that Redline is intense, we are not crumbling cookies and petting furry little animals here. This anime should carry a warning sign, “Dangerous to health”.
This makes Redline the perfect Rock’N’Roll movie/anime. With a beautiful, driving rock soundtrack, all one has to do is turn off the audio, and in the silent visuals on the screen, you will still hear Rock’N’Roll baby!
The anime is even constructed like a rock song! It begins with the Yellowline race which is a qualifying runoff race for the final Redline, followed by a bridge, and then the final Redline race itself.
A typical Rock song:
[verse, chorus,……]
Bridge
[verse, chorus,……]
Redline:
Yellowline Race
Bridge
Redline Race
A bridge is a transitional piece of music which carries the themes of the beginning over into the final ending.
In Redline, the bridge is a serious slow down where backstory, and character development takes place which in this case explores the relationship of JP and his life pal, Frisbee, as well as the love that Old Man Mole has for JP. The story also sets up a very cute and sweet romance between “Sweet” JP and “Cherry Boy” Sonoshee which climaxes during the Redline race itself.
What is actually amazing is how much story and character is handled in such a limited amount of time sandwiched between two incredible, extended racing sequences.
Redline is a race that the entire Universe is excited about, and follows closely, but its all somewhat illegal, and happens every 5 years in an undisclosed place, which everyone knows about, and is broadcast to the entire Universe.
This time Redline is scheduled to be held on Roboworld, a fascist robot dictatorship whose president vows to destroy the entire race with all the technology at his disposal. The world of Roboworld is so efficient in it pure logical thinking, that the robots end up being laughable in their own ineptitude. And of course, we have the “literally” underground rebels fighting the Robots, and they accidentally end up releasing the ultimate weapon “Funky Boy”, a giant yellow thingy of immense power. One has to see this monster to appreciate the joy and celebration involved. But nothing, no way, stops the race.
Please see the wikipedia page, Redline on Wikipedia for details.
Pywackett Productions was so blown away by this work of pure rock art, that in one body, we turned around at the end, and watched it again. It gets even better when you know what is going on here.
Redline is the Pure Rock’N’Roll anime in its raw, anarchic power. Tyrants of the world quake at the force of rock, and try every despicable method to control it, emasculate it, and popyfy it in order to destroy rock’s ability to “destroy all robots” and free people from tyranny.
Redline strips away all extraneous cliches, tropes, and motifs, puts them in the back seat, and takes the raw power of rock, and jams it into your face.
We can guarantee that you have never seen anything like Redline.
Highly recommended but be sure to wear your seatbelts.
© 2021 Folwine P. Pywackett (mox011)