This is going to be a long write up but it'll be worth it because this film is like an overdose of adrenaline.
This will be a review of REDLINE.
And I'm going to say this first. It has become one of my favourite anime movies ever made.
Synopsis (taken from ANN):
“Sweet” JP – so named for his endearing personality and his reluctance to weaponize his tricked-out Trans Am – is mixed up with the mafia, purposefully losing in a series of illegal intergalactic races that lead up to Redline, the most dangerous, rules-free championship in the universe. A freak occurrence slots JP in for Redline after he throws the qualifier, meaning he's not only got to get his ride up to spec, he's got to contend with the other hardcore racers, and a planet overflowing with menacing alien military technology. There's also the matter of fellow racer Sonoshee, a girl from his past who he just can't seem to get out of his mind…
Note: I wasn't affected by the hype surrounding the film. I saw the trailer in 2009 but after that it faded away and soon I forgot about it until now when I went to the Polymanga 2012 Animecon where I saw Redline on Blu-Ray and thought I must pick it up so I did and I'm so glad that I wasn't spoiled by the hype because it makes everything much more exciting.
This film premiered at the Locarno Film Festival in 2009 and 3 years later, it has finally come to DVD and Blu-Ray. A thing to note is that Redline has a long development history taking 7 years to making it so is it worth the 7 year development cycle?
ABSOLUTELY! Redline is a movie that spices everything that is dull in life and making it all more exciting.
Now I'm going to split this review into 6 parts: Story, Animation, Art, Voice Acting, Sound Effects and Soundtrack.
STORY: In many ways, the story is nothing that can be considered as high art. The formula isn't a masterpiece to be honest nor is it very original but it has some uniqueness to it and depth in it although I would like to have more depth as in a more detailed story such as the relations between JP and Sonoshee, the Redline or the Yellowline but that would slow dramatically down the pace of the movie. On the upside, it has enough elements to make us understand what's going on and what it does best is that it knows that you know that it's story is not meant to be taken seriously and that is a big plus. It's all about the thrill. Not the absolute core of the story.
ANIMATION: This is probably Redline's pièce de résistance. It is absolutely fabulous. This is a fully hand drawn anime movie with little to no computer generated graphics. As it turns out, the total amount of drawings made for the entire movie accumulates to more than 100'000 sheets and that is a mind blowing number. The quality of the animation is stellar and gorgeous. There is no inconsistencies, the movements are fluid and dynamic and the shots are composed beautifully. The thing that I love most with the animation is the distortion effects, sense of speed and dynamism in the race scenes. It's so over the top, so much that you're constantly on the edge of your seat and somehow you feel like you're pumped up with adrenaline.
ART: The art in Redline is a combination of old school meets new school and it does that in such brilliance that it has become unique and probably a trademark for the movie now. Even though it was made by Japanese people in Japan, the art has that retro American comic style infused with a bit of Japanese craziness on the details. Talking about details, this film has so much of it that you will see things that you haven't seen before if you watch it for the second time. Colours are vivid and super contrasty, too much for my liking because the shadows are dark, I mean really dark but that is for the purpose of creating that American comic effect which I absolutely adore.
VOICE ACTING: I watched it with the original Japanese voices and it's very good. Each actors did their job very well and did it like they were under the skin of the characters. Props to the guy who voiced JP, the main character, because I have never heard such powerful voice in an animated film. There's no hint of the actors sounding a bit forced and dull. It's phenomenal how much the effort they put in it.
SOUND EFFECTS: Probably the best I have heard in a very long time. I used my Beyerdynamic DT-880 Pro (250 Ohm) and an Asus Xonar Essence STX soundcard. I always thought that my STX lacked the brilliance for music (after having my HP-P1) but for movies and especially this one, it showed me how good it is for movies and with the DT-880 Pro with it's neutral analytical sound, I could hear that the one who did the sound for this film is someone that is very talented. When I watched it, the explosions were coherent and impact was plentiful. Soundstage and surround effects is also done correctly. I could hear and pin point where the cars come from. What they did done correctly are the engine noises, I like that they didn't put a generic engine noise but each racing car has it's own and unique sound that could be a thundering V8 or a high pitched V12 sound. Oh and it sounds realistic as well.
SOUNDTRACK: I haven't heard the whole soundtrack but what I can say is that it corresponds well with the movie and each characters. The theme song is also nice although I think it might lack dynamic range but it's not too bad because it sounds great. Most of the music is mostly Rock as in there's lots of use of Guitars, Drums, Bass and Keyboards. There's also some electronic music with a guitar riff.
CONCLUSION: Redline is a very special thing. It's something that cannot be classified in a group because what it has done is creating something completely different and unique. It's art is a tribute to the past and the future. There's no technical achievement here because it uses rudimentary techniques that looks outdated in a period where we're dependent on computers but it does it so well that it's a technical achievement. It pushed the barrier on what's physically possible and proved that it can even conquer the digital age with techniques and effects that are impossible to do digitally. It might not have the story and art of today's anime but what it has is something that most animes lack which is excitement, charm, technicality, uniqueness and best of all an X-Factor, something that only happens when each element connects so well that it creates an identity of it's own that separates from the others. Redline does everything in such a spectacular fashion that even the new-comers that haven't been much exposed to the anime culture could be mind blown when watching it and even other anime studios and makers should learn a thing or two from this. This is a triumph of entertainment, a spectacular achievement for it's genre and an all around great film that can be appreciated by anybody who wants to have a very good time. An instant classic and one of the best anime film I have ever seen in my whole life.
ABSOLUTELY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
18/20
