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Ōban Star-Racers

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Ōban Star-Racers
Promotional poster. Clockwise from top: Molly, Jordan, Don Wei, Prince Aikka, Satis
Created bySavin Yeatman-Eiffel
StarringGabrielle Jéru
Thomas Guitard
Opening theme"A Chance to Shine" by Akino
"Never Say Never" by After Midnight Project
Ending theme"Waratteta" by Sukoshi
Country of originFrance and Japan
No. of episodes26
Production
Running time22 minutes approx.
Original release
NetworkFrance 3, Jetix
ReleaseApril 12, 2006 –
Present

Ōban Star-Racers is a French/Japanese animated television series created by Savin Yeatman-Eiffel of "Sav! The World Productions". Twenty-six episodes have been set for release on France 3. In the US, it made its official premiere on the Toon Disney Jetix block in June 2006 and started on Jetix UK on October 1st (Curently running on a five episode strip with weekend Marathons, not unlike CN UK's Treatment of Dragon Ball Z). It premiered on Jetix Japan on September 23rd.[1] It has also been airing on Canada's Family Channel since Sept. 10th.

Development

Sav! The World released a short movie entitled "Molly, Star Racer" in 2001 set to a Y&Co. remix of Ayumi Hamasaki songs. The trailer already showed a mix of 3D and 2D though at the time 3D was still predominant. It featured many of the characters with unfinalized designs including Jordan, Don Wei, Maya, Aikka, Satis, Toros, Sül, Ondai, Ning & Skun, Furter and of course, Molly racing across various places in the Oban landscape featured later in the series. This short movie won the 2001 LEAF Awards and was nominated for best editing in the 2002 Imagina Awards. [1]

The search for financing for the series was a long process since Yeatman-Eiffel refused to negotiate with a party that would have more control than that of the creator (including, but not limited to the option of changing the main character into a boy). So Savin Yeatman-Eiffel created his own company, "Sav! The World Productions", to create this series without having to conflict with potential investors.[2] In the end it took him a total of nine years to complete the series (the concept was created in 1997, with actual production having begun in Tokyo in 2003). [3]

While this is Sav! The World's first TV series, the company has previously existed as a maker of various short films (including the aforementioned Molly, Star Racer).[4]

Presentation

Oban Star-Racers is a co-production between France and Japan. The creative team behind the project (Paris based indie company Sav! The World Productions) moved to Tokyo and worked hand in hand with the teams of anime studio Hal Film Maker for almost three years.

Originally planned as an all-French, all-CGI production, the animation is mixed-media, with 2D Japanese-animated characters and sets produced in Japan by the aformentioned Hal Film Maker, and with 3D French-animated ships and races produced by "Pumpkin-3D".

Synopsis

Main article: List of Ōban Star-Racers episodes

It is the year 2082. Earth has been invited to compete in the Great Race of Ōban, an intergalactic race whose victor can be granted any wish in the world - even bringing back a loved one. The invitation comes from the Avatar, a mysterious entity who ends hostilities between Earth and the sinister race of the Crogs - in return for Earth's entry into the race. Eva, an earth student, escapes boarding school to find her father, Don Wei, president of Wei Racing. Having left his daughter in the care of the boarding school for many years without ever visiting, Don Wei does not seem to recognize Eva as his daughter. Unable to tell her father who she really is, she lands a job as a mechanic in his team under the name "Molly", a name chosen from a convinient crate in the hangar. When Wei Racing is ordered by the government to represent Earth at Ōban, Molly stows away as they are taken to a far-off planet. During the first race, the Whizzing Arrow, the Earth Star-Racer ship, crashes, a victim of sabotage and its star pilot, Rick, becomes unable to race. After finding that the gunner, Jordan, makes a miserable pilot, Molly steals the ship and enters the next race. Don Wei grudgingly decides that the only one who can replace Rick is Molly. Haunted by the death of her mother - a famous star-racer - and the harsh "reunion" (such as it was) with her father, Molly is determined to win so she can be with her parents once again.

Characters

Template:Spoiler

Main Characters

Below are characters that remain important throughout the series.

  • Eva Wei (aka Molly) - An ambitious 15 year-old Earth girl who often subverts her school studies to improve her mechanical skills. Upon escaping from her harsh boarding school, she travels to find her father, Don Wei, and subsequently lands a job as a mechanic for his company. Lacking in self-confidence and intimidated by his harsh demeanor, Eva is unable to tell Don Wei who she really is, and assumes the name 'Molly' after reading it on a poster. Eva soon becomes the lead pilot for the Earth Team after their star, Rick Thunderbolt, is injured during the first race. Her life soon becomes more complicated when she learns that the reward for winning Ōban is any wish her heart desires, including bringing her dead mother back to life. In "Optimized Like Ondai", her father finally confronted her and asked if she is his daughter. She gives him a cryptic response and leaves the matter unresolved. Later she comments that if she can't have her family back the way it was, she would prefer to stay 'Molly' forever.
  • Don Wei - Eva's father and owner of Wei Racing, a successful Earth corporation that manufactures vehicles and sponsors races. Uptight and arrogant with an openly hostile view towards female pilots, he often hides his true feelings through formalities, as well as pride. When his daughter finds him, not only does he not recognize her - he even mistakes her for a boy at first. However, he does remember having a family, and it appears that the death of his wife resulted in his current personality. Due to several events while on Oban, he finally discovers that Molly is his daughter. Afterwards he becomes very concerned for Molly's safety due to the increasing danger of the grand finals - even trying to withdraw the team from the competition to prevent her from racing.
  • Maya Wei - Eva's mother and Don's wife, one of the best racers on Earth who was lost in a race ten years before the start of the series. Her sudden and tragic death appears to be the reason for Don Wei's current behavior. It originally appeared that Spirit, one of the pilots racing on Alwas, caused her to crash. This belief was later proven to be false, and that the crash was caused by Maya's ship leaking fuel from the engine causing it to explode. Eva (Molly) is determined to win The Great Race of Ōban in order to bring Maya back to life and reunite her family.
  • Jordan Wilde - An 17 year-old rambunctious, army soldier who is hired by Don Wei to be the gunner for his racing vehicle. He is a good shot, although he tends to overdo it. Jordan is very protective of his racing partners. He doesn't approve of Molly's interest in Prince Aikka, as the Nourasians have an 'alliance' with the Crogs. While he acted more like an over-protective brother toward Molly while they were on Alwas, recently he has started to develop more serious feelings for her. This development has only served to further aggravate his feud with Aikka, who is also close to Molly. Jordan wears a set of dog-tags, one of which presumably belonged to his father, though it's not known for certain. This dog-tag may be linked to the reason why Jordan has such a hatred for the Crogs and their allies.
  • Rick Thunderbolt - A Minor League Racing Champion and one of the best racers on Earth, Rick is chosen to accompany Don Wei as the Earth Team's original pilot. He is seriously injured in the team's first race, and is later told that he can never race again. Cool and confident, he seems to appreciate Molly's enthusiasm, and affectionately calls her 'Little Mouse'. Eventually, Rick becomes Molly's personal 'coach' and begins to discover that Molly is hiding a secret from the team. During the race against Spirit, he finally determines Molly's true identity but doesn't reveal her secret. After the team qualifies for the Grand Finals on Ōban, Rick returns to Earth.
  • Koji - The Earth Team's co-mechanic and electronics specialist. Originally working at Miguel's Garage, he is hired by Don Wei as part of the Earth Team. Shy and non-combative by nature, he prefers to avoid conflicts but his quick thinking has saved the Earth Team on many occasions. It was his idea for the 'clustered turbine' hyperdrive that allows the team's new racer, the Whizzing Arrow III, to be much faster than their previous racers.
  • Stan - The Earth Team's co-mechanic and hardware specialist. Originally working at Miguel's Garage, he is hired by Don Wei as part of the Earth Team. The polar opposite of his fellow mechanic Koji, Stan is very direct and combative, and doesn't hesitate to speak his mind, especially when the safety of a teammate is at stake. Stan feels that Don Wei is putting too much pressure on Molly to win Oban, and that Don is too prideful and concerned with his own feelings to consider the feelings of the rest of the team.
  • Aikka - Prince and Knight of Nourasia, who races on the back of a giant flying beetle named Kedar, which acts as his vehicle. Noble, chivalrous and skilled in martial arts, he is a rival of Molly's, but also a close friend - plus Molly finds him cute. Prince Aikka's name may be a play on the Japanese word "aika", meaning a sad song, elegy, or dirge. After racing each other, though, Aikka felt his trust was betrayed and felt as if humans have no honor. However recent events have shown that Aikka still cares for Molly and would even come to her defense if he felt she was threatened, such as her race against Spirit. Aikka is one of the nine Oban finalists, and appears to have forgiven Molly, but still holds a grudge against Jordan. During his time on Oban, Aikka has been pressured by General Kross numerous times to cut ties with the Earth Team and eliminate them.
  • The Avatar - An enigmatic, seemingly omnipotent entity who organizes the "Great Race of Ōban" every 10,000 years, and grants the winner their wish.
  • Kanaleto - Also known as "The Timeless One". A dark, sinister being that first appears as a shadow with flaming red eyes. It is unknown what his intentions are, but it appears that he was behind the sabotaging of the Arrow I. His mark, a spider-like crest that looks remarkably similar to that of the Avatar's, was seen on a millennia-old carving of an ancient 'star-race'. In the episode, 'The Will to Win', his true name was finally revealed. Feeling that he was 'wrongfully removed' from his rightful throne, he intends to destroy the 'old ways'. Molly recently discovered his crest again, this time inside the ruins of a temple on Planet Oban.
  • Satis - Faithful servant of the Avatar and host of the Earth team. He mysteriously appears whenever Molly needs some encouragement, or when things aren't going her way. He also has a second persona. Super Racer, and competes against her in the playoffs on Alwas. Satis becomes even more mysterious, when on Ōban, another grand finalist pilot reveals that he was on Sangrar, one of the other preliminary planets at the same time he was on Alwas.

Characters in Alwas Arc

Below are the characters the Earth team meets during their time on Alwas.

  • Groor - A biomechanical racer who, along with his ship, seems to run predominantly on steam power. Violent and quick to anger, he does not suffer losing gracefully.
  • Flint - A pilot from Alwas, the host planet of the Great Race's preliminary matches. Somewhat arrogant and not quite as good as he seems; the judges fix the races for him, since he's the home-town favorite. He and his gunner, Marcel, later confront Stan and Koji, who are looking for spare parts, and shows them the location of a star-racer 'boneyard'. Flint's reasons that if he can help the Earth Team reach Ōban, then he will have lost to the best team in the galaxy and this would 'restore' him in the eyes of his fans.
  • Ceres - The last surviving member of the Mong, a very ancient race of the galaxy. He resembles a hieroglyphic carving come to life, and his ship is a bizarre unaerodynamic tangle of pipes that apparently functions via planetary gravitation. He could use this gravitation to send enemy attacks back at them and also used a flute to create hallucinations. Ceres was able to trap Molly within a hallucination during their race, until Rick was able to turn on her CD player, causing the illusion to shatter and cause Ceres to lose concentration and ultimately crash into a wall on the race track.
  • Paradice - A cat-like 12-year old hacker prodigy. Trickery and sabotage are her main strategies, but she won't hesitate to blast an opponent off the course either. She controls her ship via a dynamic footpad, which resembles a Dance Dance Revolution platform. She sees the Great Race as nothing more than a game. It was Paradice that reveals the 'true nature' of the Ultimate Prize to Molly during their race. She is seen again, briefly, in 'Make Way!' when Eva runs to the docks looking for Rick.
  • Rush - A giant, Viking-like racer who, despite his intimidating appearance, is a very friendly, good natured person. He saves Molly from drowning after she becomes trapped inside flooding ruins. Rush abandoned the race to duel Toros after it was revealed to him that he was the Crog who lead the invasion of his homeworld Byrus. He lost both the duel and the race when Toros drove his ship into a bridge over the race course, burying him in a pile of rubble and knocking him out of the playoffs. Rush had wanted to use the Ultimate Prize to undo the damage that the Crog had done to his homeworld.
  • Spirit - Ambassador of the Fihls; a mysterious, shadowy being. Ten years earlier he raced against Molly’s mother, Maya. Near the end of the race Maya’s ship crashed and exploded. Molly and her father since that day have believed that Spirit had intentionally killed Maya. During a race against Molly that ended in Molly crashing her ship trying to kill Spirit, Spirit showed an unconscious Molly what really happened to her mother. Spirit then left to finish the race, but not before shedding a tear down his face. He is eliminated at the end of the playoffs by Prince Aikka.
  • Toros - Colonel of the Crog Imperium and younger brother of the Crog leader. The Crogs are the sinister alien race that threatens to destroy Earth. Determined to obtain the Ultimate Prize in order to enslave all other races in the galaxy under Crog rule. Toros was also the leader of the Crog force that decimated Rush's homeworld of Byrus, transforming it from a paradise into a polluted wasteland. Seemingly unbeatable, he is finally handed a defeat during his rematch against Molly, but still advances to the Grand Finals. During the course of the Alwas playoffs, his first racer, a standard "Crog Trident" was damaged during his race with Rush. It was replaced just before his rematch with Molly with an upgraded model, sporting more curvacious and intimidating blades and a two-level Hyper Drive similar to the Earth Team's Whizzing Arrow III. Despite having the best record on Alwas, Toros' 'unacceptable' loss to the Earth Team results in him being replaced as the Crog's pilot on Oban by General Kross. Both Kross and Aikka hinted that Toros may have been executed, even willingly.

Characters in Oban Arc

Below are the characters the Earth Team meets on Oban.

  • Sül - A 'magician' known across the galaxy with telekinetic super-powers that are rumored to equal those of the Avatar himself. Seemingly pacifistic in nature, he has not shown any aggressive actions towards the other pilots. He does not actually use a star-racer during the competition, instead he surrounds himself with glowing, diamond-shaped objects apparently conjured and controlled by his mind.
  • Ning and Skun - Two very proud and aggressive sisters. Their star-racer is distinctive in that it is actually two ships that fly in tandem, but are capable of combining to form a more powerful craft. The short-haired sister, Skun, can make her fingernails grow into very long claws. She is also extremely strong, tearing a hole in the Arrow III's hull with her bare hands in the episode 'Nervous Like Ning & Skun'.
  • Lord Furter - Captain of a space-galleon, as bad-tempered as he is egocentric. He is easily recognizable due to him being the smallest in stature of all the racers, as well as his habit of keeping his very large tongue hanging outside his mouth. Being a pirate, he only sees the Ultimate Prize as a treasure to be claimed. Lord Furter made it to the finals by eliminating his opponents just before the next race.
  • Kross - General of the Crog Imperium. He replaces Toros as the Crog's representative on Ōban, because Toros' lose to Molly in the last race of the playoffs was 'unacceptable'. Even more intimidating than Toros, Kross has a distinctive crescent-shaped scar over his left eye and has four 'ears' compared to Toros' two. Kross pilots a much stronger version of the "Trident", the Crog fighter used by Toros on Alwas, this one equiped with more cutting blades and stronger laser cannons.
  • Ondai - One of the nine grand finalists pilots. Ondai is a robot that looks like a cylinder that walks on three metal legs. Very analytical and constantly running calculations, but is also known to have a sarcastic and narcissistic personality. Ondai's star-racer is capable of 'transforming' into a humanoid-shaped robot to use in attacking other pilots. He may sometimes get carried away with calculations when too many things around him are mathematically possible, turning to a state of awe. He wants to win the Ultimate Prize so robots could be the dominant species in the galaxy.
  • O - The largest of the nine Oban pilots, it resembles a large upside down teardrop with one large eye in the middle. Coincidently, Oh's name means "Big" or "Great" in Japanese. It appears to "pilot" a large, liquid-like object somewhat similar to what liquid looks like in zero gravity.
  • Muir - One of the nine grand finalists pilots. A large crab-like alien with a heavy armored shell and large pincers. Molly and Jordan initially mistook it for a native Ōban lifeform. Aikka comments that it's not normally agressive unless provoked. Muir flies in what appears to be a giant, flying insect. In 'Monstrous Like Muir', Molly discovers that she isn't the only one who wants to bring back a loved one; Muir's mate was killed by alien hunters and hopes to win the Great Race to bring its mate back to life. While racing, Muir sits on top of a large, liquid-filled globe, containing the body of its mate. It is also revealed that the tentacles on Muir's back allow it to communicate telepathically and appear to be highly prized as a hunting trophy.

Earth Team Star-Racers

Whizzing Arrow I - Prototype racer built at Miguel's Garage by Miguel, Stan, and Koji. Purchased by Don Wei for the Great Race. It has very powerful engines but unsteady and untested. Rick Thunderbolt pilots the Arrow I in the Earth Team's first race on Alwas. Near the end of the race, the port engine explodes causing the racer to crash in a flaming wreck across the finish line. The Arrow I cannot be salvaged.

Whizzing Arrow II - Sister ship to the Whizzing Arrow I. Purchased by Don Wei for the Great Race. Subtle advances over the Arrow I make the ship more stable. The Arrow II also boasts a orange and red flaming paint job compared with the Arrow I's flat green color. The Arrow II serves as the Earth Team' primary racer during the preliminaries and most of the semi-finals on Alwas. Suffers severe damage throughout the competition numerous times but is constantly repaired by Stan and Koji. During the semifinal race against the Fihl Ambassador, Spirit, the Arrow II is damaged beyond repair when a crash literally tears it apart.

Whizzing Arrow III - New racer built on Alwas by Stan and Koji with the help of native Skrub mechanics to replace the lost Arrow II. The Arrow III is far more advanced than both Arrow I and Arrow II but maintains the same overall shape of the previous racers. Major upgrades include it being safer, more stable and a good deal faster than the Arrow II while in cruising mode. Also, a new Hyperdrive developed by Stan and Koji back on Earth but not implemented until after the Arrow II's crash uses 'clustered turbines' for far greater thrust that allows the Arrow III to far exceed the Arrow II in speed. The new Hyperdrive is physically very different from its predecessor too, forming numerous turbines and wings all around it. A larger fuel supply also allows the Hyperdrive to be used for longer periods of time.

Music

The opening and ending theme songs of Oban Star Racers are composed by Yoko Kanno (of Escaflowne and Cowboy Bebop fame, and the musical score is composed by Taku Iwasaki.

In the US broadcast, the opening theme song was replaced by an original rock oriented theme song entitled "Never Say Never". The closing song had also been replaced during the first broadcasts, but now features "Waratteta", the original closing song composed by Yoko Kanno. This is the first song to retain its original Japanese lyrics to be featured on Jetix USA. Jetix UK retained the original Japanese opening theme. The French broadcast also has the original theme, but only plays the part that's in French [2].

  • Opening Themes
  1. "A Chance to Shine" by Akino (International broadcast)
  1. "Never Say Never" by After Midnight Project (U.S. broadcast)
  • Ending Themes
  1. "Waratteta" by Sukoshi

Casts

French language version

Thomas Guitard, Alexandre Coadour and Rémi Caillebot are actors of the French dubbing association Gotohwan. Gabrielle Jeru and Sarah Bouché de Vitray joined it after working on Ōban.

  • Gabrielle Jeru ... as Molly
  • Thomas Guitard ... as Jordan
  • Alexandre Coadour ... as Rick
  • Jérôme Keen ... as Don Wei
  • Mathieu Barbier ... as Toros / Avatar
  • Nicolas Mead ... as Stan / Satis
  • Rémi Caillebot ... as Prince Aikka
  • Vincent Latorre ... as Koji
  • Sarah Bouché de Vitray ... as Maya
  • Laurent Maurel ... as Flint
  • Omar Yami ... as Groor


English language version

The English voices were recorded by Airwaves Sound Design in Vancouver, Canada.

Voice director for the series is Michael Donovan.


Japanese language version

[3]

Reference

  1. ^ http://www.savtheworld.com/eng/company.php4 STW company background summary
  2. ^ http://www.newtype-usa.com/xml-rss2-all.php NewType USA Interview with Yeatman-Eiffel
  3. ^ http://www.savtheworld.com/eng/company.php4 STW production summary of Oban Star Racers
  4. ^ http://www.savtheworld.com/eng/company.php4 STW company background summary
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