Redline

Plot synopsis:
On the planet Dorothy, a world populated by canine-like biker aliens, human "Sweet" JP races in the Yellowline car race, the galaxy's famous final elimination race, despite two interplanetary wars, to the most popular race in the galaxy, the Redline. The crowd is watching the race on an outdoor giant monitor screen in the desert town of The Water Stop. JP's alien mobster mechanic, Joshua "Frisbee" Flathead, is watching the televised race with a mafia boss. The gambling boss is concerned that JP might attempt to win the fixed race but Frisbee reassures him that JP needs bail bond funds from the pay-off. JP attempts to win anyway while Frisbee resorts to using a remote detonator transmitter hidden in the palm of his hand, which the mob boss doesn't notice, causing JP's TransAM20000 to explode thereby making the 'Crab Sonoshee Sea' hovercraft, piloted by female racer Sonoshee "Cherry Boy Hunter" McLaren, the final winner.
While recuperating from the explosion in a planet Dorothy hospital, Frisbee tells JP he's off the hook with his bondsman. JP initially turns down the money but a crowd of reporters storms the hospital room where JP learns that he has been voted by popular demand for the Redline following the dropout of two qualifiers due to the revelation of the race's location as being on Roboworld - a planet dominated by purist, militant zealot cyborgs whose President has threatened on interstellar television to hang all involved with the Redline mothership if it appears out of hyperspace over their planet. The broadcast (sent over the race's thousands of satellites) also exposes the secret weapons Roboworld has built-up against treaty.
Inside DEST Tower on Roboworld, the President asks Secretary of Defense Titan for a report about ships landing on Roboworld's moon, EUЯPSS (pronounced Europass) - a de-militarized zone that Roboworld signed away to refugees in the M-3 Nebula Federation, making it off limits to Roboworld troops. The President obtains a verbal oath from Colonel Volton to fight to the death to protect Roboworld and the M-3 Nebula.
While the racers are staying on Europass before REDLINE under constant media coverage, Frisbee's alien junk dealer, Old Man Mole, wants to put weapons on the restored TransAM which JP refuses despite his competitors being armed. Old Man Mole also protests the presence of Frisbee on their team and his insistence on using a rare uncontrollable hyper-powered engine, but eventually gives in to JP's convincing.
JP finds Sonoshee in the slow hours of the Oasis Restaurant on the moon. Shinkai, formerly of the Roboworld army, shows up at the Oasis when racer Little Deyzuna, a recently AWOL subordinate of Col. Volton, attacks Shinkai's partner, Trava. The Redline favorite, Machinehead, a tall menacing cyborg, appears and attacks Little Deyzuna, who is retrieved by Col. Volton. Machinehead confronts Volton for being in the de-militarized zone. Volton reminds the racer the Redline event will be repelled by the army and police before leaving the damaged restaurant.
Fireworks celebrations and bookmaker agent desks break out on Roboworld despite the threats from the military, and are raided by deadly android police robots. Miners on Roboworld use their power suits to sabotage the military base's power station while the Race Commission, which promotes gambling, hires Earth-native racing partners Lynchman and Johnny Boya to sabotage the Orbital Disintegration Cannon which Secretary Titan plans to use to destroy the Redline mothership with the instant it comes out of hyperspace.
While in hyperspace, the Princess from the planet Supergrass marks the race course on a military base with a pair of scout vessels, with the starting line to the north at the Knock-out Tower and the finish line to the south, east of DEST Tower. Unaware of the sabotage against the Orbital Disintegration Cannon the President realizes the racers are on the planet once the cannon fails, and sends his troops en masse at the racers. The President becomes increasingly desperate as the racers evade them and approach the mine-laden Zone XXXXXXX (pronounced "Seven X"), lair of a secret illegal biological weapon named Funky Boy which awakens from its stasis as the racers and the rebellious miners converge on it. With the several hundred foot tall Funky Boy awakening and subsequent destruction of the base coinciding with the orbital cannon coming back online, the President orders Funky Boy fired upon. The explosion takes out most of the racers while JP pushes to right his overturned car off its side. Sonoshee, her vehicle ruined, agrees to ride with him to the finish line as Funky Boy regenerates. Funky Boy is taken out by Col. Volton, who had to dangerously merge physically with another bioweapon to do so.
Frisbee watches the race on several televisions parked atop a mesa in the mob boss's giant Cadillac hovercraft where he revives the same deal as Yellowline. Frisbee however, refuses to detonate the explosive charge this time, wanting to see his friend win 'the big one' just one time. He is attacked by mobsters for his decision but is saved by Old Man Mole - who discovered Frisbee's sabotage - and shoots and kills the mob boss and his lackeys with a double barrel flecette firing shotgun.
As the race nears the finish line, Machinehead and JP race to the southern line boosted by their rare Steamlight boosters. As they come to a desperate neck-and-neck finish a drunk Old Man Mole accidentally detonates Frisbee's remote detonator, propelling JP and Sonoshee towards the finish line, thrown from their vehicle. The boost is enough and JP wins by the length of his long duck tail pompadour. As the racers rest at the end of the race amidst the ruins of Roboworld, JP and Sonoshee float back down to the ground declaring their love for each other. Machinehead (who vowed to win but comes in second) sees the romance and his rage turns to laughter, happy with the outcome anyway.

Tags: avant garde, entertaining, flashback

Review:
Quick capsule summary of Redline: It's an animated, intergalactic "Death Race 2000," on buffalo steroids and with a jalapeño up its a$$.An illegal and absurdly violent drag race occurs once every five years, each time on a different planet.
If you want to see what animation can do better than live film, Redline is a good start.
Michael Bay and his lesser followers can use all the CG and shaky-cams they want, but no live-action movie will ever be able to whap the viewer in the face with unhinged chaos that buckles the frame and yet stays somehow comprehensible.
A pack of nerdy Asians with paintbrushes do Hollywood like punks, and all the render farms in the world wilt and run barren.The movie opens with a race that is merely impossible, and introduces J.P., who almost wins it until a Mafia bomb takes out his front wheel.
This year, the Redline race committee feels that equipping the cars with rockets and grenades doesn't make for nearly enough mayhem, and decides to hold the race on Roboworld – a planet run by Nazi cyborg generals who are willing to do absolutely anything to avoid the honor.
I don't even like movies about racing....
It's an over-the-top, action packed movie with great characters that leaves you twitching with adrenaline.The animation, visuals, sound, and music really bring this movie together.
I usually avoid dubbed foreign movies, but the English cast is actually pretty good here.P.S. Watch this movie in HD with surround sound..
I went in without any preconceptions other than the movie looked very zany after seeing the trailer on YouTube.What surprised me most other than the very energized racing sequences, is that there seemed to be a whole back story to the universe where the races were taking place.
Plus the characters are a fun mix of races and designs.The movie isn't about the subtleties of racing such as taking corners well or the art of overtaking by any means, its very much a "I'm much more driven and angrier than you, so now I'll catch up and overtake!", but with the world this is taking place in, the different array of vehicles all going up against each other and the obstacles that keep popping up, its just fun.There is a scene where there are some boobs hanging out, but the story never gets sexual, so if you don't mind your kids seeing a little bit of breast you should be fine.
The violence is a hard one, there is some serious fighting and some of the concepts as to how a person died may be a little scary to the younger kids, but a lot of this happens very fast.Do see this movie if you want something visually engrossing, good for when friends are over.
Redline is one of those movies that is absolutely popping with adolescent joy, from the sleekly-animated racing sequences to the ridiculous bravado of the characters.
It's a bold debut for director Takeshi Koike, and what really amazes is that it manages to be an epic story that at the same time seems to be only a sliver of a crazy and exciting universe.
You get the feeling that any of the other racers, some of whom only get a sliver of screen time, could easily support their own movie, and that kind of overflowing exuberance is hard not to buy into.
The only other media that comes to mind as capturing this sensation is the anime series Giant Robo, which seems like a clear precedent here.Plot-wise, there isn't much going on, with the story a serviceable vehicle to get from one action sequence to another.
Redline really only does one thing -- epic action -- and those looking for anything else will probably be disappointed.
(My favourite is Machine Head's.) And, in the end, that's what Redline ultimately wants to leave you thinking: "How cool is that?".
It is without a doubt, the absolute no holds barred best visual achievement in 2-D animation ever, you could make a poster out of pretty much every individual frame of this movie.
Aside from all that, it's a pretty standard plot about an underdog racer getting to compete in a big race, if you seen any movie like this you can probably guess every single thing that goes on in Redline.
But it's the journey rather then the story that really gets you, Redline had memorable and likable characters, a gorgeous and original design, am amazing soundtrack and jaw-dropping racing, go see this if you haven't already..
The movie, which seems to be at least partially based on Kawajiri's similar Running Man segment from Neo Tokyo, follows a car racer named "Sweet JP" as he competes in two large races, the Yellowline and then the Redline.
While the characters are mostly light on meaningful personality, and the story is little more complex than "he's in these two races", the movie turns out to be a flashy action ride that should not be missed.
While on the hostile planet for the Redline race, the story does take an Akira-style turn for the bizarre, but with all the other weird and crazy things assaulting your senses throughout the movie, it doesn't seem as out of place as it otherwise might.
I decided to watch this movie because i heard it was hands down the most beautifully animated anime of all time, they were 100% right.
The art style, sound effects, animation, story line everything is just so spectacular.
I've never seen anything that can hold a flame to this movie, it is hands down the most amazing anime movie you'll ever see in terms of visuals.
Its just such a fun fast ride, the ending is pretty cliché but it delivers what it sets out to do, which is just be as awesome and amazing as possible.
If your looking to just be blown away and see something that you've never seen before this is for you, EVERYONE should watch this movie once.
Anyway, it's an anime set in a futuristic universe involving people and anthropomorphic creatures racing in vehicles on different planets.
After losing a race called the Yellowline, a precursor to the famous no holds barred Redline, it seems like it's over for him.
JP, being the daredevil that he is, participates in the big race that's the final scene for the film.
Added to the story is a nice relationship with JP and Sonoshee, a female racer."Redline" was in the works for seven years, as I've recently learned.
Unlike the live action "Speed Racer" film, "Redline" was never overwhelming to look at.
Watching the film, I didn't even think of the flashbacks that way.Looking past the craziness and the animation, does "Redline" have anything meaningful for us to take away?
I can't believe that word comes to mind when this film has a racing vehicle with two breast-shaped windows.
Redline is an anime movie directed by Takeshi Koike and written by Katsuhito Ishii.
Originally Redline is a spin off anime of Trava: Fist Planet (2003) and although the characters from Trava: Fist Planet are in it briefly, this is a story that conceptually was developed from Trava: Fist Planet into a full length movie.Redline itself is a story about a race driver JP who is in driving under influence of some Yakuza/Mafia types.
When he finds out he qualified for The Redline competition he's up and about and this time ready to race the way he wants no matter the consequences.
Prior to the Redline race JP meets female driver Sonoshee.
Though they do hit it off right away, they slowly come to realize they have met before.Redline takes you on an exciting ride that is visually stunning filled with hilarious animated characters.
Personally, I would have liked them to have followed Trava's quest and competition in the Fist Planet Competition and maybe once again have a run in with Princess Mikuru, or even just have seen more of them in Redline which you do not see a whole lot of.
Still Redline in itself is a cool anime movie and stands out by itself.You do not have to see Trava: Fist Planet before watching Redline, but it wouldn't hurt to see it.
I do recommend Trava: Fist Planet if you're into funny action packed anime with some nice trippy undertones and cool looking visuals.
So it's worth watch once to look at.The other things that keeps you in this movie, besides the awesome racing scenes, the characters are entertaining, maybe more than the creators realized.
All the other characters are fun as well.The plot was not deep, but like it needed to be at all for a movie like this.
It's like they were trying to emphasize how crazy the final race was going to be when I'm sitting here like "hey you have cool characters here let's develop them more." But none the less you don't need a crazy plot for this movie.Basically, if you enjoy anime, this movie is a must see.
Redline is an incredible movie.The animation is absolutely gorgeous.
The visual designs are charming and wild, with a colorful cast of characters featuring humans and aliens alike.The music has an undeniable sense of energy, often with some kind of pumping bass line designed to get you in to the movie's kinetic rhythm.
It matches the on-screen chaos very well.The story is simple: it's like other films about a crooked race driver with a heart of gold and his team's unfortunate connections to the criminal underworld, but it's presented with so much flair and irreverent personality that Redline stands out.
But that also just contributes to the movie's breakneck sense of speed as it races to the finish line.
So much love in the details, characters and art.The movie is not only about the races and vehicles.
We also get a insight of the daily life of the creatures and how the main character JP enjoys his time before the next race in the huge Cyberpunk world of Redline.The races are of course the best part in this movie.
It's mind blowing when JP or the other racers use their boosts because you can see special tracking shots from inside the vehicles and how the racer reacts to the unbelievable speed of his own car.I also love that they don't use 3d objects in this movie and when they do, you won't even recognize them.I really enjoyed Redline because you can see the love they've put in every frame in the 7 years until the movie was finished.Watch this movie when you just want to sit down a have some fun with awesome animations, sound and characters and of course their incredible vehicles..
Redline is directed by Takeshi Koike, whom you'll know as long time Madhouse animator working under Yoshiaki Kawajiri on such legendary anime films as Ninja Scroll & Wicked City.
Every shot of any character is just dripping with attitude too - very cool stuff.I won't say too much about the story other than to say it is a fairly straightforward racing tale.
Even if you don't like racing movies, try this!.
I was skeptical at the beginning, expecting to see something I would dislike.Instead, I found a crazy and extremely funny anime with a lot of action and fast paced fun.Ah, I watched it after reading some suggestions about mature anime.
If you want good story/action/characters i would look elsewhere.I don't know what else to say about it really.
It's like watching a 2 hr long episode of Cowboy bebop (style & adrenalin) meets Outlaw Star (comedy ).
It's about "Sweet" JP, a small-time ex-con racer who competes mostly to help his mechanic buddy Frisbee pull off fixes for the mob he owes money to, but he finally gets a shot at the biggest race of them all - the illegal Redline.
It's a race where anything goes (and usually does) - add to that the authorities want to stop the race at all costs and what you get is the anime version of The Cannonball Run, with a lot of explosions, nitro, burning rubber and a cast of characters good and bad you'll not forget anytime soon!.
Take the motorbike parts and the animation of Akira, and mix it with Speed Racer, JoJo, LSD and a special type of just pure, Japanese insanity and you have Redline.
A passion project that blossoms into one of the most visually stunning animated movies ever put to the big screen.
This movie has some terrific animation and music and in the racing scenes this makes for an extremely fun, energetic ride where you can hardly take your eyes off the screen.
Sadly the story and characters are much weaker than the audio-visual aspects and so the connecting bits felt at times like a bit of a drag.
It's just a shame I hadn't done so sooner all I need to do now is unwatch it and watch it all over again!If you enjoy action, adrenaline and a love story as well as a little strangeness added in the mix then this is a no brainer..
Over-the-top action is taken to a whole new level in the anime film "Redline" but unfortunately that's not a compliment.
The animation style, while starting off interesting, gets stale fast and by the end almost feels more like an elaborate motion comic.
The majority of the action takes place in the second half of the movie and much like the rest of the movie comes and goes so quickly for anyone to actually feel completely involved.
Some anime enthusiasts might enjoy "Redline" for the unique animation style and occasional quirks but for everyone else it's another potentially fun film that crashed and burned..
This animation is a great combination of amazing, original art combined with a catchy soundtrack.There are many moments in this movie that would be great as a printed canvas and the abstract and surreal nature of the futuristic fantasy setting reminds somewhat of Heavy Metal and Star Wars's pod racing.It is a rock and roll love story that took me a re-watch to appreciate the talent and as a result I now see it as something way above average.Not the story but the drawings and direction make this a gem which is probably more enjoyable for adults than the youngsters who grave for less complexion..
A thrilling ride through colorful animation, not to be taken seriously but such an unforgettable film.
It is a highly entertaining movie with an incredible visual style (Which looks reminiscent of one of the shorts included in the movie "Animatrix", called "World Record".
After all, both this movie and that short were done by the same director, Takeshi Koike) Even when the plot from this animated film seems like something that could expect from a B-Movie (Or a Capcom video game, for that matter) at least this is very funny to watch, and it doesn't take itself too seriously.The stylish character's designs and the excellent animation from this film, combined with a funny storyline and likable character made this film a highly enjoyable experience.
It's like seeing an "extreme", crazy version of the "Wacky Races" that keep all the fun of that cartoon series.8/10.
Watching the movie was a bit like a roller-coaster ride.
The entire movie is one really long, action packed, colourful, adrenaline-fueled, shrill and loud drag race for your brain - which is the movie's main strength, as well as its most prominent weakness.There is (unfortunately) little explanation concerning the characters, the locations and the entire story...
but seriously, if you want action, you care little about the story, right?
At least you are being told that it is taking place in a different galaxy.As mentioned, the movie is visually rather stunning and I really had to watch some sequences in slo-mo, otherwise it's really hard to keep up with everything happening there.In terms of presentation it sort of reminds me of "Heavy Metal (1981)", but just here and there.
Most of the time it's your good Japanese anime.
After finishing the film I have only one question.Why didn't I order this earlier?The story is decent (it's a race on a robot planet where the robots don't want them there.) All the characters have an AMAZING amount of character depth, personality and back story (yes, I know that's what depth is.) The animation is some of the best you will ever see coming from Japan, the acting is pretty good.
I went into this movie with absolutely no expectations and was very surprised.This movie has aliens galore and a bar scene that makes the scene from Star Wars look like a church picnic.
It is a simple story about this illegal race and our hero who has to win at all costs but the animation and music are out of this world.This movie, is loud and the animation is excellent and the characters are funny, scary and just down right disgusting, all in all it's a fun race.Much better than I had expected..
However a racing opponent drops out and he gets in.There is a lot of stunning visuals in this movie and the art style, animation and character designs look very interesting.If you want to see it in good quality I would recommend you watch it in HD.
So buy it in Blu Ray.One more thing, I would recommend this movie to an older audience as in one scene the Sonoshee's boobs were shown, there is a lot of strong language, drug usage and a lot of violence.If you love a good space, romance, racing anime movie I would recommend this..
I loved the racing scenes on this and the characters were very likeable including JP!
For one who has played racing car video games in the past, I never would've thought that I'd fall in love with this kind of anime!The developing relationship between Sonoshee and JP would get you pumped as well because they honestly were so sweet and cared for one another.