HIGHSPEED Étoile – Episode 1

What’s it about? The latest technology called “Revolburst” is revolutionizing the racing world by making cars faster and creating AI support for the drivers.  The NEX Race event was created to showcase a new generation using this new technology, and it’s through this event that Rindo Rin dreams of competing to become the top racer in the game.    

I’ll admit I’ve never given car racing any thought (as I do with most sports) until Noda Juju’s interview reminded me of the challenges women face competing in sports primarily dominated by men.  Even though the CG is noticeably bad, the initial trailers for this series gave me hope that we’ll have a whole ensemble of women characters to root for… but of course, my hopes were immediately dashed.  The entire episode felt like I accidentally stumbled onto a NASCAR race on TV with no context as to who these characters are.  Sure, some characters are introduced, but there isn’t any attempt to give them memorable personalities.  

Instead, there’s an emphasis on a “King and Queen” dynamic between two of the racers and how the “Queen” always follows the “King,” even though the “Queen” doesn’t want to be treated as the second best.  It’s clear the first half of the episode wanted to establish everyone’s competitive nature, but the weak commentary by the announcers didn’t inspire anything in me to care about the racing.  

While the “Revolburst” does make cars drive faster, visually it doesn’t look impressive at all.  There isn’t the sense that I’m staring at cutting-edge technology, and that’s a shame since the premiere tries to hammer home how innovative “Revolburst” is for generations to come.  In terms of the animation, I think as a society, we’ve really been spoiled by Studio Orange because now I know how good CG can look if animators are given enough time to work on their craft.  While the CG in Highspeed Étoile isn’t the most horrendous I’ve ever seen, it’s still disappointing that it doesn’t add anything to the narrative.  To be honest, I’m struggling with what to say about the structure of this premiere because literally nothing happens during the first half of this episode.  Everyone is just driving and while there’s minor background politicking about showing off the new cars, it’s nothing worth mentioning.  

It’s incredibly frustrating that Rin was introduced towards the end of the episode, especially since the build up to her reveal is poorly executed. Rin’s introduction and glimpses of her backstory as a ballet dancer added some much-needed spark to the premiere.  This series could’ve been far more interesting if Rin was introduced from the very beginning and helped us understand what her motivations are and why she’s transitioning from being a ballet dancer to a race car driver.  None of the women drivers in the trailers were given any spotlight about their own goals and were basically forgotten until the last couple of minutes.  

There’s simply no life to this premiere and it’s a downright shame because we seriously need better stories about women in sports to enjoy.  We still have a long way to go in order to balance out the huge anime catalog of men in sports.  I’ll have to pass on this one folks.  Hopefully, next time we get something better.