★ the saltmaster extraordinaire

I promised that I would do a canon rec for one of my favorite shows and here it is – why I think you should watch Ōban Star-Racers (or OSR, for short), a French-Japanese co-production, with an excellent English track (both the French and English audio tracks were recorded simultaneously, by the original production team). This is a rec predominantly for people who enjoy animation with a strong narrative and character focus, such as Voltron Legendary Defender, Avatar the Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra.

SUMMARY:

Once every ten thousand years, the Avatar, protector of the Milky Way Galaxy, organizes the Great Race on the legendary planet Ōban, at the very center of the galaxy. It is a competition between ninety-six chosen sentient species, with the mysterious Ultimate Prize at the very end. Wild rumors and speculation abounds, with some claiming that the Ultimate Prize entitles the victor to wipe entire planets off the face of the galaxy, while others say that the winner of the race may see the fulfillment of any wish, even the return of a loved one from the dead.

But that’s not how our story starts. Our story begins with teenage schoolgirl Eva Wei, a talented mechanic and pilot, desperately lonely and dreaming of reuniting with her estranged father and of having a normal family once more. Her wish sees her embroiled in the machinations of both the Great Race of Ōban and the politics of the Earth Team, with her own father failing to recognize her and her team-mates initially treating her as little more than an unwanted stowaway. Against the odds, Eva has to prove herself and fight for her dream of family, while navigating the treacherous and often life-threatening competition. Not realizing that an ancient, malevolent force awaits in the wings, spinning its webs and slowly bringing its grand design to fruition.

REASONS TO WATCH:

• genuinely complex, multi-faceted, flawed main characters, who grow and change and make mistakes as the series goes on, who hurt themselves and others with their actions, yet who also strive to do the best they can in the situation. Someone seems like an asshole and nothing more? Strap in and get ready for the character-development roller-coaster!
• a female heroine who isn’t exempt from the above complexity, capable of great selfishness and terrifying inner darkness, yet also transcendental courage and kindness
• a diverse human cast, with the Earth Team being an openly multi-racial affair
• gorgeous animation, particularly the lush, alien backgrounds and the racing scenes
• equally gorgeous music, courtesy of the famous Japanese composer Taku Iwasaki, with some of the tracks sending chills down the listener’s spine
• the emotional core of the show is, beyond grand efforts to win an intergalactic competition and save the world, a teenage girl’s determined efforts to reconnect with her estranged father and have a family once more
• extremely creative and varied alien designs, with individuals ranging from bipedal orc-like creatures covered in black fur all the way to sentient crustacean-like beings, who can communicate through telepathy
• the show avoids demonizing any of the main characters or most of their opponents, who are presented as equally complex individuals, with personal motivations that range from selfish to utterly selfless.
• tightly-plotted, able to achieve its goals and tell an engaging, emotional story in 26 episodes

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