is a Japanese
motorcycle racing manga written and illustrated by
Kaoru Shintani
is a Japanese manga artist. Shintani is best known for his series '' Area 88''. In addition to his pilot comics, Shintani has ventured into science fiction, fantasy, comedy, and hentai comics as well. In 1985, he was awarded the Shogakukan Manga A ...
. It received the 1984
Shogakukan Manga Award
The is one of Japan's major manga awards, and is sponsored by Shogakukan Publishing. It has been awarded annually for serialized manga and features candidates from a number of publishers. It is the oldest manga award in Japan, being given since ...
for
shōnen manga
is an editorial category of Japanese comics targeting an audience of adolescent boys. It is, along with manga (targeting adolescent girls and young women), manga (targeting young adult and adult men), and manga (targeting adult women), ...
. The series focuses on Sawatari Taka and Toujou Taka as they compete with each other and other competitors in
motorcycle racing. Their names means "hawk" and "falcon", respectively.
The manga was adapted as a 36 episode
anime
is hand-drawn and computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japanese, (a term derived from a shortening of ...
series broadcast on
Fuji TV
JOCX-DTV (channel 8), branded as and colloquially known as CX, is a Japanese television station based in Odaiba, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Owned and operated by the it is the key station of the Fuji News Network (FNN) and the Fuji Network S ...
between September 20, 1984, and June 21, 1985. The anime premiered in France on March 11, 1990, and was released on
La Cinq
La Cinq () was France's first privately owned free-to-air television network. Created by politician Jérôme Seydoux and Italian media mogul Silvio Berlusconi, the network broadcast from 1985 to 1992.
The contract for France's fifth terrest ...
and
Mangas
Manges (; Greek language, Greek: μάγκες ; Grammatical number, sing.: mangas , μάγκας ) is the name of a social group in the Belle Époque era's counterculture of Greece (especially of the great urban centers: History of Athens#Modern At ...
.
Only 32 were aired in France.
This was one of the last series to be animated by
Kokusai Eiga-sha
, also known as Movie International Company Ltd. (MIC), was a former Japanese animation production company known for the '' J9 Series''. It was originally established in 1974 by Tsubota as Shigezu Ukuda founded as a video distribution company. It ...
.
Plot
When Taka Sawatari and his mother were heading home after having dinner, they were attacked by a motorcycle gang. They got saved by a mysterious young man. The next day, Sawatari learned that that young man was a professional racer who has the same first name, Taka Toujou. In a race, Sawatari loses control when entering a curve, nearly killing Toujou. After the event, the two become rivals as they compete against each other with their racing skills.
Characters
Main characters
*
*
*
Guest appearances
Pops Yoshimura
Hideo "Pops" Yoshimura (October 7, 1922 – March 29, 1995) was a Japanese motorcycle tuner, race team owner, and manufacturer of speciality motorcycle accessories. He is remembered for his ties to the beginnings of Superbike racing and the Yoshim ...
and
David Aldana
David Aldana (born November 26, 1949) is an American former professional motorcycle racer who specialized in dirt track oval racing and road racing. In the 1970s, he was one of the more colorful racers in the A.M.A. Grand National Championship ...
made some celebrity appearances throughout the series.
Anime
The opening theme for the series was and the ending theme was , both performed by
Takanori Jinnai. Music for the series was composed by
Joe Hisaishi
, known professionally as , is a Japanese composer, musical director, conductor and pianist, known for over 100 film scores and solo albums dating back to 1981. He is also known for his piano scores.
Hisaishi's music has been known to explore ...
.
References
External links
*
1981 manga
1984 anime television series debuts
Fuji TV original programming
Kaoru Shintani
Motorsports in anime and manga
Shogakukan franchises
Shogakukan manga
Shōnen manga
Animated television series about auto racing
Winners of the Shogakukan Manga Award for shōnen manga
{{manga-stub