Rainbowsphere

It was some time before me and Nagato finally managed to fix a problem on my Media Player Classic. The stubborn thing can’t take screenshots properly (it’s fucked up really, it never hard this kind of a problem in the past). After a few tweaks and changes on the settings, it finally boiled down to a stupid conclusion: Restart the stupid player.

Lord, was I so stupid not to notice too soon…

Anyways, that aside. Welcome to Rainbowsphere’s first anime episode review! It’s about time I try to tackle something I watch, since we’ve reviewed games, manga, and all that. Then again, my tastes might not be too different for your fancies, but that’s another matter altogether, all the more that when one mentions cars, one immediately gets a masculine’s mindset.

To begin with today’s synopsis on Wangan Midnight, the episode starts off inside Body Shop Sunday’s garage, where a very tired Takagi sleeps while the garage door opened, only to reveal Kitami Jun rehauling the Devil Z’s engine back to its hood. And so, the resurrection for the Devil Z is completed, with the car keys handed back to Akio, and Kitami declaring that Akio really is the Devil Z’s destined partner.

The Devil Z, resurrected!

After testing the finished settings, and giving the devil some fresh runs on the highway, Akio and Kitami land on the rented garage for some final tweaking. Very grateful of the Z’s revival, Akio then asks Kitami how to repay him and Takagi for the work. Kitami answers that he doesn’t need money, and the same goes for Takagi. All they want is for the Z to run, till the very end.

Uh… With that car’s erratic behavior, isn’t that just like telling someone to die?

News spreads quickly, and Hiramoto gets a heads-up from Harada about the Devil Z’s return. Of course, Hiramoto wasn’t that surprised. He knew the devil’s car would be back, and he was prepared for it anyway. So after work has been done, he proceeds to finish his settings on his R. Akio, on the other hand, informs the hospitalized Takagi of how the Z’s been doing, and both are mutually happy at the devil’s current condition.

Night falls, and the cast of characters for today’s show are at the ready. Hiramoto gears up his R with Harada, while Akio preps up his Devil Z, and Shima his Blackbird. Reina picks up Kitami on his garage, saying that she knows there’s going to be something amiss tonight. While on the road, Kitami points out something about Yamamoto, her R’s tuner. He tells her that Yamamoto made some modifications to bring the R’s speed down. Yamamoto knows how people would get reckless when it comes to speed, so when he knew Reina can bring it up to dangerous velocities, he tempered it down so something stable. That’s why none of his customers died, which contrasts to Kitami’s tuning career.

The nature of speed is hell-bent only on one thing: Once you’ve achieved unbelievable speed, you’ll only crave it more. You’ll crave for it, hunger for it, spend money for it as you go faster, or die in the process if you’re careless enough.

Hiramoto’s a bastard anyway. What gives? He can just die for all I care!

The Dragon R cruises on, and finally clashes with the Devil Z head on! They slalom through the traffic, and dish it out by going full speed when the highway was all clear. This displays the difference in power between the two, as the Devil Z manages to catch up to the still accelerating Dragon R, still gaining speed over 330 km/h and overtaking Hiramoto. It seems that Takagi has taught Akio the way of the road, especially now that he can go over the 330 km/h mark.

Meanwhile, Blackbird returns to the loop, with Reina’s R following it. As they cruise, Kitami tells Reina the story behind the legendary devil’s car: how he found it, how he tried to get it, how he tuned it, how he lost everything for it, and how he found it again. Kitami may deny it, but he cannot, and will never, take his eyes off the Devil Z.

How? You did some voodoo and called Satan?!

The Blackbird then joins in the race as the Devil Z and Dragon R pass by. Seeing another R, Reina attempts to floor it, only to be stopped by Kitami. Kitami tells Reina how she and Hiramoto are different. Reina had her R for enjoyment and leisure, Hiramoto had his for the sole purpose of defeating the Devil Z, and nothing else.

The three duke it out in the traffic, waiting minute by minute for the traffic to subside, with Hiramoto desperate on getting in front. Once it was again all clear, they floored it, darting forward like speeding bullets into the freeway. At the end of the clear road, they stumbled upon a situation: there are three lanes, and two are occupied by two trucks side by side on the left. Only one car would be able to pass through, and that will be decided by the fastest car of the three. The question is: WHO IS THE FASTEST?!

They continued acceleration. Faster, faster, faster they went. Hiramoto thinks about everything he’s done to get to this point, and remembers the wrong things he’s done as well. His spirit wavers, but he doesn’t step off the pedal. The three cars accelerated more, and Hiramoto is plagued by his thoughts and his conscience. Still he keeps at it, until the face of his child flashes into his mind, making him lose his resolve. And so, Hiramoto UN-bastards himself for the sake of his family.

And you hesitated. Good job. I thought you were a sick fuck all the way.

Shima didn’t bother follow after Dragon R slowed down. He knows that he needs to be more powerful than the devil’s car, and that battling it now would only result in him losing. The race ends with the Devil Z jetting alone in the highways, claiming the victory for the night.

Hiramoto then returns to his loving wife and child, his R nowhere in sight. He finally learned that happiness isn’t only attained by the addiction of speed, but also the camaraderie of family. As Kitami says it, “Some will give up, and some will stay… That’s all there is to it.” Hiramoto gave up for the right choice, and Kitami was somewhat happy of the result. He sees himself in Hiramoto, and Hiramoto made the decision he didn’t made in the past, thus he was happy.

My say on this episode is that human nature is a very complex study, and it was applied here in a very dramatic way. The way people decide for themselves and for others is quite a burden to the persons involved. Clearly, Hiramoto was again allured by the Devil Z’s charm, but in the end, he knew that there would be nothing to be achieved even if we continued. He may have won the race if he floored it, but he knew he would have nobody to celebrate the victory with. And so the pangs of loneliness and responsibility finally got the better of him. He knew that his current happiness is only temporary, compared to the happiness given by his family, and that’s why he’s given it up. He did not bother, he did not care if he lost, for he knew there’s no such thing as a winner on that race.