Appare-Ranman

Remember long ago the odd racing cartoon from Hanna-Barbera from the 60’s? Yes, remember Wacky Races whereby strange and varied races compete with each other across America? Oh right. I guess most of you aren’t as old as me :-/. But whatever. Yeah. The nostalgic memories. Anyway, I’m not talking about the reboot that came out a few years ago. I’m talking about its Japanese version, Appare-Ranman. Sort of. A pair of stranded Japanese need to win the grand prize of this race so they can return home. Yes, this means racing against the strange and varied racers along the way. Just that it doesn’t have Dastardly to try and sabotage the race. Oh wait. You mean there is one?! Oh, the racing is starting so let’s gooooooo!

Episode 1
The Trans-America Wild Race is about to start and with all the competitors gearing up to start this survival race, why the heck is Appare Sorano still tinkering with his machine?! Is he not ready? Then the flag off. Just finished in time so Appare’s team is propping up nicely at the back of the race. Hey, it’s going to be a marathon, right? Flashback a year ago in Japan, Kosame Isshiki is summoned by Lord Kuroda to his mansion. It seems one of Appare’s invention crashed and destroyed his garden. Although he is thrown in prison now, Kuroda orders Kosame to watch over Appare. If anything happens, they will be jointly responsible. After all, Kuroda has to be careful with this as Appare’s parents are wealthy merchants so this could backfire if he makes the wrong move. So Kosame rushes down to the prison. Too bad Appare already got himself out by unlocking the prison door and leaving all those hardened criminals in a lurch. Yeah. Brains over brawns any time. Appare returns home and his father is not mad he is causing trouble with his inventions rather than helping out with the family business. Appare has no interest in all that so father tells him to get out. Kosame comes by to Appare’s workshop and is awed to see all his contraptions. Since Appare won’t come with him lightly, Kosame bows his head and begs. You thought he was going to kill him, no? Appare then takes him to his underground lair to show his steam engine ship. Because Kosame laughs at it, Appare thinks he is no different than the rest. Appare’s sister warns him as there are men who are here to arrest him for escaping prison. She gives him her charm knowing that he is leaving. Kosame tries to convince the men he will convince Appare to come with them but he has taken off in his ship. Kosame hangs on for dear life and some struggle has the ship accelerate further out into sea until it runs out of fuel. I guess it’s too far to swim back now, huh? Kosame asks why he is so obsessed with such technology so he explains after watching huge ships from other countries cross over for the first time, it made him think that the sea connects all nations and that the sky connects to the stars. Hence the ship is just his first step into making his dream come true as he wants to go to the other side of the moon. With no water or food, I guess the duo have to lay waste as the ship floats to nowhere. Until an American ship passes by and brings them to America. Welcome to America! Land of the milk and honey! Oh my God, Kosame says?

Episode 2
Appare won’t fix his experimental ship since he is already at the next step of his experiment. Plus, that ship can’t sail all the way across the Pacific, right? Kosame then begs the captain to bring him back to Japan. Well, is he going to pay the fare? Plus, they’re heading to Panama so they won’t be going to Japan for a while. With no money, they try to find a job but none. At least there are no openings in the kind of jobs Appare wants to do. At the park, they get this idea for people to pay a small fee to hit Kosame in a minute. Being the great samurai he is, nobody could touch him and they earn handsomely. You’d think easy money is here to stay but Appare catches the attention of the racetrack and uses most of that money to enter. Easy come, easy go. He is impressed with the fast cars here. They also hear Seth Rich Carter from GM (part of B.I.G. Boss Automotive) sponsoring the Trans-American Wild Race as he challenges those who can beat his vehicle across the American landscape. You bet Appare wants to enter. As Kosame is pessimistic and worries about his family, I guess he has to join Appare and earn the big $1.5 million prize money to get home. Wanna spend 10 years working here? They spot a little Native American kid, Hototo trying to look for a man with a scar on his neck but apparently racism rearing its ugly head because f*cking whites brush him off. So Appare’s logic to get a better look at the cars themselves is to sneak into the racetrack at night? So trespassing is okay now? They see Jing Xialian racing and because Appare ran into the tracks, she almost crashed into him. Luckily only the engine blew. They learn she also entered here illegally to drive. She is a servant and works as a mechanic. Although her dream is to be a racer, apparently sexism reared its ugly head because the men didn’t think women could race. Appare is baffled because she is letting others decide how far she could go. Anyway, Xialian thinks she’ll be fired tomorrow when they find out the car is busted. But the next day, her boss is happy since it is working way better and setting new records! Could it be Appare’s tinkering? Elsewhere, Kosame sees whites ganging up on Hototo. He tries to protect him but gets traumatized when one pulls out a gun. Apparently that’s how his mom died protecting him. Luckily Dylan G. Ordin steps in. Nobody gonna ruin his drink.

Episode 3
The thugs recognize Dylan and scram. Hototo is still asking if he has seen a man with this snake tattoo on his neck but Dylan tells him to forget it or he’ll get killed. Also, Appare throwing him a challenge that his car will be faster than his. What a way to make more enemies. Hototo has nightmares of his people and father killed. Damn whites. He wakes up in the storeroom that Appare and Kosame are squatting in. Kosame doesn’t think he should try revenge while Appare is only interested in knowing the terrain of America. Hototo knows the land well and can give Appare the info he needs. Soon the captain is going to kick them out because this rich boy from overseas will pay a hefty price to rent the storehouses here. He is Al Lyon. With his fiancée, Sofia, he is going to enter and win the race and prove to his family that he has what it takes to run the family’s automobile company, BNW. So Appare challenges him to a race. He will fix his car in 10 days and if Appare wins, he’ll get to stay in the storehouse. Since the storehouse already belongs to Al, it wouldn’t make sense for him to do as he wishes if he wins. So Kosame will hara-kiri?! Are you joking, Appare?! Well, Al will settle for his swords. Oh sh*t. Appare heads to Xialian’s place to scavenge for parts. What a gold mine! Apparently Xialian is sad her employers won’t enter the race as they believe they do not have what it takes and the costs itself will threaten their team’s survival. Race day comes. No one is going to believe Appare’s huge clunky tractor thingy can beat Al’s race car. The race starts and as expected, Al speeds off leaving Appare in the dust. But his vehicle soon picks up speed. It is not enough to beat Al, though. Hey, at least this contraption can take a shortcut by jumping over the chasm! It’s still in one piece! Nearing the finish line, Appare then has Kosame pull a lever which is some super booster. So super the engine literally flies off and towards the finish line! Kosame then runs to the finish line, beating Al in a whisker. Everyone in disbelief Appare won. Al gives his car to Appare seeing he won. Al has another faster car for the race. Al admits his defeat since Appare created his own car and strategy to win while he got complacent and relied on his car’s performance. Kosame thinks Appare will use this new car for the race. Appare’s face says it all: You kidding me?!

Episode 4
Kosame gets this great idea. Just sell Al’s car enough for their ticket back to Japan! Genius! Only… Appare has dismantled it!!! FFFUUUU!!! Xialian pleads to her boss she wants to race. Despite he is still against her, David who is the team’s top driver challenges her to a race to make her know her place. More sexism as he berates her as a woman. She tries to fight him but is stopped. Boss agrees to the race but after that she is fired. Hence he will lend her the worst car ever. Hey, he is trying to save cost and has got no time for this silly showdown. Hence she brings the car to Appare to service it (since no one in her team wants to do it). Although he can boost it up, she doesn’t want to because it will be meaningless if she doesn’t beat David via her own strength. Hence Appare takes the car to Al for servicing. That night, Xialian asks Appare for advice but he is busy visualizing his prototype. Yeah, no time to build one so imagine he is driving one! Next day as the race starts, Xialian makes a great start but her lead is soon overtaken by David who has a more powerful machine. As the laps wither down, it soon dawn to everyone that David is not breaking away and Xialian is keeping real close to him. This is her strategy because since David is in the lead, she has wind resistance and this means fuel efficiency and her tyres will last longer. On the penultimate lap, she finally overtakes David. David can’t do anything to regain the lead since his aggressive driving has worn out his tyres. Then on the final straight, Xialian is obviously going to win but David plays cheat by slamming his car into hers. Though nobody is injured and no cars are damaged, Xialian is going over to sock it to him but boss is the one who did it. Could you have imagined had David crashed the best car?! Now get back to work! Boss praises Xialian for handling the car well when it spun, avoiding a total crash. Although he still believes racing is a man’s world and nobody will be happy if a woman wins, he still gives her hope to join the Trans-America race because she can prove everyone otherwise. Hence she gets to keep this car. The mechanics apologize for being mean to her and want to help soup up her car. Seth talks to Dylan about Crazy TJ and Gil the Butcher joining the race. Dylan has a history with them but unlike Dylan, they have a bounty on their head. The police have agreed not to interfere with the race but Dylan is sceptical. He doesn’t care about all the politics but doesn’t intend to lose. Seth needs him to win so he’ll become the next GM head.

Episode 5
It is the eve of the race and Appare still hasn’t completed his car?! And he is sleeping?! Oh, there’s this party too for all the racers and sponsors to attend. You bet they’re going to attend it for the free food. However a roadblock at the reception since they aren’t formally dressed. Seth tries to shoo away these monkeys but when TJ arrives and forces his way in despite his flamboyant attire, I guess Seth gives into thug rule. If this guy can get in, Appare can go in too, right? The host explains the route and along the way there will be supply points across the country in which one can partake and have mandatory rest times. Some know this is all just a ploy because B.I.G. Boss want to showcase their gasoline powered cars. This puts small teams at a disadvantage who don’t have the money and manpower to repair and resupply their cars. After Gil and his partner, Chase make a rude late entrance, the party continues by introducing the drivers and their cars. Yeah, just a very short spotlight on Appare’s team. Next! At the same time, Hototo confronts Dylan about the tattoo. He doesn’t want to say until Hototo asks him what he would do if he had his loved ones taken away from him. Dylan then mentions that tattoo is called Gil the Snake and is famous among outlaws. Those loyal to him have this tattoo so his target could be one of his men. During the race, he might meet up with them. He advises Hototo to be patient and wait. As the party proceeds to draw lots for pole position, TJ doesn’t want this boring event and to spice things up. So a shooting contest with Dylan? Damn, are they shooting or dancing? Do they have unlimited bullets cheat code?! Thankfully nobody gets killed… As for the others, it’s like some talent show? Hey, is this a circus?! I thought this was a high class event?! So that night Appare has finished his car. Apparently this is not even its final form?! And finally we can see some racing action as the participants make a roaring start. Of course as we already seen at the beginning, Team Appare propping up the back nicely.

Episode 6
Appare’s machine is great for driving on rough terrains, thus allowing him to take shortcuts and keeping up with the pack. Dylan, TJ and Al are the leading trio. But here’s the railroad crossing. Train’s coming. Al puts his brakes on by Dylan and TJ being the crazy daredevils they are step on it and actually go through! Can Appare do the same? With all those crazy equations and calculations, you think he is going to make the jump. Nah. Just calculating the end of the coach and that’s where he drives through. In the end, reaching the first pit stop first is Dylan followed by TJ and then Al. As they rest, Kosame spots Richard Riesman, the guy who cut them off near the finish, causing them to go off and losing a few places. Richard claims he had to avoid an animal so that’s that. But for Appare, he realizes his machine needs more tinkering and that he isn’t going to win just by taking shortcuts. Al is surprised that Sofia is here. He thinks she should’ve gone and waited straight at New York since the race is going to get more dangerous. Asking if she is a bother, he thinks not. Unlike Dylan and TJ who will risk their lives for the race, Al is nothing like them because he won’t risk his life for it since his policy is to protect those he loves. I guess this means Sofia will be staying next to him because that’s the safest, right?

Appare and co discuss the next route that involves driving through Death Valley. It is a small narrow valley and since it is not safe to drive through at night, many will sit out and wait till daylight. As Hototo tries to look for his father’s killer, he stumbles into Gil’s men as Chase explains how they’ll block the valley and set explosives at the narrowest point. Their car can bulldoze through anything and this will give them time to get ahead. Hototo is spotted and they’re going to put him with the explosives. With Hototo not back, Kosame is worried. Apparently not Appare. Everyone has their own thing to do so if Hototo doesn’t return by midnight, they will leave without him. That won’t do for Kosame so he goes look for him. He stumbles into Richard and talks to him about Hototo’s problem before stumbling into Gil’s place. Since he sees Hototo’s axe lying around, he thinks he is trapped in the nearby box. Chase dares him to open it and if it’s nothing, he’ll pay. Kosame opens and this critter furball… It’s Hototo?! This quick thinking saves Kosame’s life as he returns with a new pet. With the race flagging off, Kosame still can’t believe Appare is willing to abandon Hototo. So you mean Kosame is willing to stay back just for Hototo?! As fate would have it, Appare’s machine stops working. Time to tinker. This gives enough time and hope for Kosame to go find Hototo. Hototo finally breaks free. So he’s all by himself near a farm? Kosame finds him and brings him back as he spills the beans on Gil’s evil scheme. Looks like Appare also just finished upgrading his baby. Time to catch up.

Episode 7
Appare explains his hybrid steam and gasoline engine. It helps power up his baby but because it is still not perfected, he cannot strain it. His tactic is to ride behind Gil’s car to help conserve his engine. But Kosame and Hototo are worried and need to warn others about Gil’s plan. Appare has a change of heart and goes ahead of Gil to warn others. They follow Gil through Death Valley and only because of Dylan usurping Gil’s men on standby, the goons blow up the rocks late. By that time all the cars have gone through. Barely for Appare, though. As this has damaged his machine, Appare is going to pull it to the next pit stop to fix it?! Oh well. Better than waiting here. But luck has it, Al and Xialian turned back to help tow them. Appare refuses their kindness and doesn’t understand their logic to help a rival in a race. But as Al puts it, he wants to win fair and square. This is a long race so they still have time to catch up. After all, Dylan and TJ (who overslept) have to take a big detour around Death Valley to catch up too. After exiting Death Valley, they have to camp here since it is too dangerous to cross Bloodstained Pass at night. Everyone except Appare is useful in cooking. Appare is confused with himself over his recent actions. Kosame had to explain a little about the human heart. They’re not machines. Next day at the Nevada pit stop, Gil is about to flag off but here comes Appare and co blocking his path. They accuse Gil and Chase of their dirty tricks but do they have proof? Even so, is it illegal by the rules?! Al and others agree to settle this via racing. However Hototo won’t. He is still hell bent on his revenge as he tells his sob story his fun days with dad will never return. Apparently white racists couldn’t care less and start hurling rocks so as to get the race started. Appare and co protect Hototo. It is then Gil has had it and confronts Hototo. He then unmasks himself. Damn, he got a nerdy face! Gil is crying?! He can’t take this anymore as he reveals he is not the real Gil, but Tristan. The snake mark is fake and they’re taking this name so as to scare off others. I mean, you wouldn’t approach badass bandits casually, would you? Tristan and Chase AKA Bad Brothers claim they are not bad guys and did not kill Hototo’s father. The duo can’t resume the race since Appare dismantles their vehicle and it will take them 8 hours to reassemble it. Karma.

Episode 8
Appare falls asleep right before their flag off?! Oh boy. Can Kosame drive?! Thankfully the jerky ride won’t be long as Appare soon wakes up to take control of the wheel. The group comes to a dead halt when it seems all those racers ahead of them were killed! The only survivor is Richard as he claims Gil and his men ambushed them. He is probably left alive to leave a message to others. Hototo is dead set on revenge so the gang heads to the nearest town to seek a sheriff’s help since continuing the race in this fashion will be dangerous. It is obvious that they don’t like outsiders. As they ask about for clues, they are surrounded by Gil’s men. The biggest crook is the sheriff himself. Although he has a snake tattoo on his neck, he is not Gil. Because the real deal is much worse than this. All try to fight back but get knocked out. Kosame couldn’t draw his sword because of his trauma. Only Kosame is spared because he is deemed a coward while the rest will be hung tomorrow to set an example. So Kosame drowns his sorrows in a nearby bar? Good thing the bartender listens to his traumatic story. He still feels down he couldn’t protect anyone even after all the training. Cue for some good advice because it’s not like he could change the past and bring his mother back. So once Kosame overcomes his enslaving nightmare, he goes to face off the bandits. Wow. Appare had so much confident Kosame would come? Well, he never failed to leave one behind, right? It’s time for samurai showdown because Kosame draws his sword to cut their guns. Reading their movements to dodge the bullets as well as cutting them down with the blunt end of his sword. You think Hototo could throw weak punches and get somewhere so it’s cue for Kosame to be an adult to tell about his own tragedy. In short, just be a kid and let the adults handle it. So the final face off with the sheriff, not only Kosame dodges his first fake shot but also cuts his second bullet in half! I didn’t shoot the sheriff… The race resumes as they reach their next pit stop at Denver, Colorado. By this time Dylan and TJ have already overtaken and take top spots. Meanwhile Richard talks to a guy who is not impressed he pulled that unnecessary stunt. Because if the public finds out, they’re history. Richard doesn’t care. It’s his way of warning all that the new era won’t come. And oh, Richard is actually the real Gil! Gil T. Cigar!

Episode 9
Seth tells the remaining racers that a consensus has been made by B.I.G. Boss and the race will continue albeit they will take a different route to avoid running into Gil’s men. Only Richard decides to pull out from the race and the rest don’t blame him for not wanting to continue. For the time being, everyone will stay here for the night. Appare is concerned about his cooling mechanism for his hybrid engine and decides to check Dylan’s car. Seth is not too happy about it but Appare doesn’t find him useful if he isn’t going to give him ideas about the engine. Seth is shocked to hear Appare’s hybrid idea and doesn’t believe it. Flashback shows Seth once had Appare’s fervour and created some new stuffs. However his boss was concerned about the costs and told him to follow protocol. Hototo thanks Dylan for his hint and thinks of helping him about this Claudia lady he heard him mutter at the pre-race party. He doesn’t reveal much but it sounds like he couldn’t protect the person he wants to protect the most. And so Hototo gets some advice about protecting others from Bad Brothers but it isn’t much. They’re outlaws anyway. TJ is so bored so Al challenges him to a drink. Al falls after just 1 glass of tequila! Sofia takes his place instead and drinks until TJ goes out! And she’s just getting started?! Damn, this woman can hold her liquor! We also see Dylan getting a haircut, Xialian practising sparring with Kosame and Appare do deep in his thoughts that he didn’t realize he bumped into everything. Including Thomas Edison’s house???!!!! And then everyone gathers at the hotspring. Culture shock because the Japanese counterparts go in butt naked! You’re supposed to wear bathing suits! More civilized! Xialian talks to Sofia and learns she isn’t exactly Al’s fiancée but more of his chaperon since they grew up together. Now that Appare has thought it out properly, time to get to work and create the final ultimate hybrid engine. How far can it go now? It couldn’t be a better time to know as the race is about to resume.

Episode 10
The race restarts with Xialian taking the surprise lead. Bad Brothers got a badass gun?! Is that legal?! They’re ramming through property too to make up for lost time! Is this legal too?! With this new route that runs side by side along with the train where audiences and crew members can watch if cars can outrun trains, Richard is then called by his boss for a private talk. It seems he is not happy Richard didn’t do anything to stop the race as promised. As he is a railway magnate, he is of course against the rise of automobiles. Richard then throws him out of the train! He’ll take orders from nobody but himself. He then signals and calls his henchmen to hijack the train, killing police and the train crew. They also bomb the last carriages and this takes out the Bad Brothers. The henchmen also start shooting at the racers before making the train coming to a complete stop on the Missouri bridge. Richard comes running to them on pretence for help but gets shot. But when nobody comes to help him, he then reverts to his true colours and reveals himself as the real Gil. Al confronts him about Sofia but after seeing her bloodied hat, he gets angry. Too bad European kid gets beat down by this outlaw. No samurai sword, Chinese kenpo or Appare’s invention could even stop this guy! Dylan and TJ confront Gil. Let’s settle this. Gil also has his men surround them and kill anyone who tries to escape. Gil lock horns with TJ and gets the better of him. He only lives because Dylan intervenes. When a henchman tries to shoot Dylan for disobeying the rules, Gil kills him for disobeying his orders. Gil decides to call it quits today. He will be taking some of the train passengers as hostage. That includes Sofia. Hey, he didn’t say he is dead. He wants the race’ grand prize money and they’re going to get it for him. Appare tries to be a smarty pants and go against him but is given a warning shot.

Gil then shows off the power he has by disrespecting everyone’s car. This includes busting up Xialian’s car. Then he steals Dylan’s locket and mocks him about Claudia. Blinded by rage, Dylan gets beaten up easily as Gil further mocks and blames Dylan as the one who killed Claudia. It seems the orphanage she was trying to build got burnt down and it might not have happened had Dylan stayed by her side instead of fighting his battles. Not forgetting Hototo too. He remembers killing his dad. He will kill his mom next time and challenges him to get revenge. Yeah, his mini axe can’t do anything to Gil. Gil further brags that he is so powerful he cannot be stopped. It doesn’t matter what era, all that matters is power and it will be all his. After burning and destroying all the cars, once again Appare tries to deny all that so no more warnings from Gil as he shoots him. However Kosame takes the bullet. Gil and his men get the train moving again and reminds the racers to get his money quick. Kosame is losing blood quick. Appare is in panic mode as he tries to save Kosame. Strangely, it is Kosame now who is calm as he tells Appare that the race isn’t over. Just get going. He believes he can finish the race. Kosame then closes his eyes… WTF. No time for jokes!

Episode 11
Bad Brothers’ car is still moving so luckily they send Kosame to the hospital. Despite stopping the blood loss, he is still in coma. Appare is sad-cum-mad at Kosame for doing something illogical. Look who’s talking. He is so broken and lost that he has lost the motivation to fix his car. He doesn’t care about it now. Kosame was right racing was ridiculous. He can’t do it. I guess Al has to seek someone else’s help to fix his car to go save Sofia. More woes since the damage is far greater and there are lack of parts. Seeing Appare down is one thing, seeing Dylan and TJ sulking while talking about Claudia is another. Yeah, they really put that dead woman on a pedestal. Seth tries to get the police to help but the chief lambasts him that it was agreed they weren’t going to interfere. Also, his reputation is on the line and doesn’t want to fight Gil so you’re on your own. More Appare gloominess as we see him crying in the rain. Oh dear. What is he going to do? All he ever thought was his inventions but now what? Kosame not around to tell him things. More drama as Hototo tells Appare about Kosame… KOSAME DEAD?! Damn samurai dude pulled a fast one just to see Appare’s reaction. None really. They talk about things and when Appare suggests making a boat for him to go back to Japan, Kosame doesn’t want it. Kosame’s positivity gives Appare some hope. Because Gil said he can’t be stopped but look at this medical technology that saved Kosame’s life. This technology stopped his power. How far can Appare go? As Seth assembles the racers to tell the likelihood the race will be cancelled, Appare is here to say otherwise. He will help fix everyone’s car. They will go save the hostages, kick Gil’s ass and then return racing. This race only will end when one of them reaches the finish line. With that, everyone gets back into their groove. Seth also throws away his pride as he summons all his engineers to do whatever they can to help fix the cars. Spend as much as you want. He will take responsibility for everything.

Episode 12
One of the hostage pleads for his freedom because he has a family. Gil then throws him a gun. Whoever kills the other will be set free. The guys fight over it and the winner shoots the loser. Gil then sets him free and after he runs a distance, he shoots him. Sofia is appalled but Gil warns her he’ll kill her if she disagrees with him and the only reason she is alive is because she is his property. Meanwhile our heroes have their cars fixed as Seth briefs them on the info from the police. The train is found abandoned at an abandoned station and most likely Gil and his men are holing up in a nearby ghost town. There are at least 100 men and they need to rescue the hostages first before the police arrive and turn the town into a bloodbath. Thanks to Appare’s car that was once a ship, he gets to help make a makeshift bridge for them to cross the river. Outside the town, Al suggests they split into teams to find the hostages. Dylan and TJ get the ball rolling by killing all the small fries with their direct approach. Gil orders his men to slaughter the heroes so we see the face off from the teams. Appare-Kosame against the shotgun guy, Al-Xialian against knife woman, Tristan-Hototo against big dynamite guy and Chase-Seth against double gunslinger dude. When Chase gets shot, Seth surrenders and is brought to Gil to give the ransom. But this is just a ploy as Chase was wearing an armour beneath so as to make him lead them to Gil. Gil kills this dude for failing. Chase then sets off the smoke signal to indicate he has found Gil and Sofia. Cue for the rest to finish up their fight. Appare’s distraction has Kosame using his sword on shotgun guy. Xialian’s kenpo knocks the lights out of knife woman. Tristan using his brute force to slam out big dynamite guy. Everyone converges before the chapel but don’t rest now. Gunshots are heard.

Episode 13
Everyone lines up behind Kosame as he deflects Gil’s bullets! Is this a joke?! Apparently this is what they discussed on how to take down Gil. As his gun holds 6 shots, they have a small window to take him down as he reloads. They do that but oh damn, Gil still beats their ass and reloads! Oh well, back behind Kosame again. Yeah, feels like everybody vs Thanos too. It is revealed that Sofia is not here. She is on a one way ticket train to Chicago. The train is laden with explosives and when it crashes into the station, you can imagine what will happen. So will our heroes have time to fight Gil? That’s where Dylan and TJ come in. Time for adults to play and you kids to go chase the train. So I guess this proves gasoline cars are faster than steam powered trains. Al and Xialian recklessly hop on board to beat up the punks. But they can’t stop the train since the brakes are disabled. How? Appare is going to use his car as the brakes! Can it?! It’s a whole train he is stopping! JUST BELIEVE IN HIS MACHINE! Okay. His puny car isn’t going to be just the brakes. Remember his booster? He powers it up enough force to stop the train from crashing. At the same time, Dylan and TJ defeat Gil. So that guy finally ran out of power, huh? They won’t kill him and will let the law deal with him in honour of Claudia. So with this over, what now? Yeah, before we forget this is a racing anime, the race is back on a month later as we see all of them (except for Bad Brothers who are just taking a leisurely ride) neck to neck on the home stretch. Appare is propping up the back but can he catch up? Time for the booster to work its miracle again. So powerful this time that it flies! Kosame using his body weight just to help it turn! Like sailing?! Hey, his machine was a boat! That booster is enough to make Appare cross the finish line first! OMG! First Trans-America race won by Japanese! If you’re interested in the other rankings: 2) Xialian; 3) Al; 4) Dylan; 5) TJ; 6) Bad Brothers.

In the aftermath, Al and Sofia are going to returning to Europe soon since they have lost the race and have lots of work to do. Al offers Appare to come with him and can make all the cars he wants. However Appare has bigger plans because he now wants to make a plane. Okay. See you when you fly over the Atlantic! Kosame is happy to have found a ship back to Japan. But Appare tells him the bad news he isn’t going with him. He is staying behind in America since he has things to do. Even Hototo is staying with Appare. You can go back by yourself if you want. Okay then. On the day Kosame leaves, for some reason we all know too well, Appare chases after the ship. Too late to regret he couldn’t tell Kosame to stay because he really wanted him to. It’s more fun with him around! Oh boy. The ship’s gone. Tears not going to do you any good. Imagine his surprise when Appare is standing behind him! He didn’t leave? Yeah, he too decides to stay back to help Appare. He just sent a letter back to his family. More Appare-Kosame style jokes that feel a lot like home. Damn, Kosame learnt how to tell an American style joke? Appare and Kosame’s sisters receive the letter and are glad their brothers are doing well in America. Yeah, that group photo of them winning the race, you bet everything is alright.

The Amazing Race: Apparent Errant Running Man
Oh yeah. America. The land of milk and honey. The land of opportunities and dreams. It is no wonder our Japanese duo are staying behind to take their next step forward. It feels like Japan has no future. Maybe not in that era. Japan only became a technological powerhouse after the second World War. And before that, it’s still a backwater samurai country. I think. With such an amazing experience in America, racing and fighting off the most wanted badass villain in the country, it’s a good thing that the Japanese duo do not feel homesick and making good ol’ USA their home base. I know it’s inconclusive but with Appare briefly encountering Thomas Edison and possible the Wright brothers, he could become anime’s version of Forrest Gump and go on to meet great historical people and achieve greater heights! Who knows? That’s another story for another day when Appare becomes a legend!

If you’re hoping that this is entirely a racing series, you’ll probably be disappointed. After all, this isn’t any Speed Racer AKA Mach GoGoGo in Japanese. Nowhere even near it. Even trying to compare this to Wacky Races feel like a bit of a stretch once you’re done watching the series. I mean, it would be ultimately boring if the entire series is just about racing and the drama of some dastardly character trying to sabotage the race but it always backfires. This is entirely not a comedy centric anime either. So when the race takes a detour having the racers become heroes and turning the race into a rescue mission, I won’t say that this is really a bad plot. After all, you do realize that many of the main characters here do have some sort of fighting ability. So it’ll be a lot of waste if we just see them having driving potential but do not show off their fighting chops.

Well, if you’re still disappointed in the overall story, then please note that this anime is an original creation. Yes, not based on any manga or game. Therefore as far as we can see when the anime ends, there seems to be some missed potential. After all, it might be us getting the wrong idea in the first place when we read the synopsis about this anime going to be a racing theme. I am not sure if this Trans-America race will be an annual thing but you have to remember that Appare is the main character here. Heck, his name is on the title, that should give you a hint. Hence this race is just a stepping stone in his quest to see how far he goes, eventually he may or may not reach the moon. Therefore I am speculating that if there is going to be a sequel, it might not necessary be a racing theme. It might showcase Appare’s next journey to achieve his dream. Which of course would feel a bit weird since by the end of the show, we are somewhat used with the racing theme and characters so it will be awkward to see Appare in a totally new journey with totally new characters. Unless, race around the world! Oh yeah. Wacky Races. International version!

Yeah, this anime is so racist with racists being racists. Oops! Didn’t phrase that right. I mean, if a person who plays a piano is a pianist, a person who deals with chemicals is a chemist and a person who deals with mental states is a psychologist, why is it not a person who races a racist???!!! WTF, English???!!! Anyway, your diversity in this anime as we have all kinds of racists, oops, I mean racers in the fray. White Americans, Black Americans, a Native American, Latino Mexicans, a Chinese lady, a European Caucasian and yes, the obligatory Japanese characters. Wow. So much diversity. America truly a melting pot. So where’s the Arab and the Jew?! Not enough diversity, you say? We already have 1 female here to fight #MeToo sexism, so where are the trans people?! Well… It’s in the name, Trans-America Wild Race, silly! That should be enough for you people! Sheesh… Okay, enough of the dumb PC stuffs and jokes…

Speaking of the characters, they have potential here but as I have said this is an original work, it feels like there is room to improve upon them. Unfortunately this series only has a single cour so some of the back stories of the other characters feel a bit superficial. Like the Thousand Three, the past between Dylan and TJ feels like they needed to give these characters some character and let us know why they are badass outlaws. It is like as though in the event of a sequel, they might expand this lore. I mean, it was mentioned that originally there were 7 badass outlaws and now there are only 3 of them left, hence their current collective nickname. So if they want to do some spinoff story or something, this could provide some room to expand the story and give more depth to the characters. Otherwise, you won’t get much from what we have seen like Xialian, the Bad Brothers and Al.

Appare as the main character, he is of course an eccentric one. I have mixed feelings about finding his character likeable as well as annoying. You see, Appare isn’t your typical main character although he still has some qualities that makes a cliché main character. Because he is a genius, he is so ahead of his time that he is an outcast because yeah, nobody understands him. Socially awkward. Uh huh. Nobody understands geniuses because the common mass are just stupid. To put it bluntly. For most of this series, all that is on Appare’s mind is tinkering his machine and making it better. Nothing else. In a way, this makes him feel like a robot. And what makes his character annoying is the fact that he is very direct and blunt with you. There are so many instances that makes him sound that he doesn’t care but that is only because if you aren’t going to tell or give him what he wants, why is he going to bother trying to change your mind? Time is precious to him. He just lets it be and leaves. Hence many might not like this part of Appare and like yours truly who find it annoying because Appare doesn’t look like he has a shred of common sense for humanity inside. But bear in mind, he is eccentric in the first place.

Of course we can’t have Appare sounding and acting like so for the entire series so they need to inject some dilemma moments for his character. You will later obviously see him scratching his head and wandering the illogical things that he has done. This does not compute! Yeah, sounds a lot like a robot. So with him being irritated by these so called human emotions, it makes us believe that Appare is after all still human underneath that genius inventor façade. All that really blows up when Kosame was close to losing his life and it really sent Appare into a spiral downwards. It was also very weird to see Appare in this gloomy state since we are used to see the kind of brand Appare’s character is. The clincher is when Kosame left but didn’t. Despite all the pranks he pulled on him, I suppose Appare still values him a lot. Heh. But I guess that is Appare’s character development for us. More Appare trolling when you see confusing equations popping up on the screen. Like as though Appare using his grey matter to make the impossible possible. But eventually the answer is just freaking simple and nothing to do with all the calculations! Or maybe we’re just too dumb to understand it!

It isn’t unfair to label Kosame as a coward as initial synopsis puts him. Perhaps that is a red herring that they want us to believe and quickly form an opinion over his behaviour. From the kind of upbringing and tragedy that he encountered, I view Kosame as more level headed and cautious. Because you do notice that there are many times Appare is so deep in his thoughts that it could’ve put his life in danger. Had not Kosame be there just to warn him (mostly ignored anyway), it could have turned out for the worse (but thankfully it did not). This makes him play the role of a comic relief sometimes. Because Kosame is a cautious person, he sounds pessimistic. But that is also because he is trying to be realistic. You do know that Appare’s dreams are grand but if you don’t really have a plausible way to achieve it, they’re just castles in the air. Hence Kosame being the voice of reasoning sometimes make him sound cynical and distrustful when he is only just trying to be careful and look out for their wellbeing. In this point of view, you could say that Kosame is a much better character than Appare. Their personalities are poles apart and you can tell from their names, despite Appare meaning sunny and Kosame stemming from rain but it doesn’t generally is a good indicator of their personalities as I have already rationalized.

But what about that hypocrite thing he tried to tell Hototo not to seek revenge because it would not bring about any difference but he himself continues to be traumatized by his own mother’s death? Well, because Kosame has experienced something a kid should never have in his life, he doesn’t want Hototo to grow up the same way as he does. I mean, generally speaking if a person who has undergone something awful, many of them would not wish for others to undergo the same suffering they did. That’s why I believe Kosame isn’t being hypocritical trying to stop Hototo in his revenge plot. He doesn’t want him to end up like he is, shackled by his past. But thankfully Kosame has his redemption episode and it makes him way cooler and more respectable than before. Even Seth who started out as an arrogant character whom viewers would love to hate, has his own redemption and casting away his pride to do what is right.

Gil being the series’ main antagonist, I guess he is what Dastardly could have been had he been seriously a very evil character that is bad to the bone. Yeah, he is the Dastardly of the series but a million times more evil and much more despicably successful. They really want to make us hate his character when we see him having his way with the racers and doing as he pleases. It is true that he has the power to do what he wants. That is only because many allow it because of the fear he stokes in them. If Gil lived in modern times, he would be an even more frightening terrorists with modern gadgets and technologies at his disposal. Yikes, I hate to imagine a reboot spinoff of Detective Appare hunting down international terrorist Gil in a battle of wits and technology! Hope that doesn’t happen. But of course like in any other stories, good always triumph over evil so rest assured that they finish him up and even have time to finish the race. Yeah, feels a lot like plot convenience they make him lose like that. After beating everyone up so convincingly and this is how he goes down with a whimper? Okay then. Because in a way it is good too because it is embarrassing for such a powerful man like Gil just to run out of steam in the end. Heh. Can never beat the power of plot convenience!

On a side note, the B.I.G. Boss trio of companies, I think most of us will think GM is General Motors. But wouldn’t they get sued? No wonder the hilarious misspelling as Great Mortors! F*cking great misspelling. BNW is definitely a parody to BMW. But too bad it isn’t close to Bayerische Motoren Werke. Bright New Works! Sounds more like bright English than German definitely. Finally, Iron Motor, many speculate this reference to Ford since the closest American company with iron in its name is Hughes-Iron Motor Company that was established to sell Ford cars. And to think that these companies lost to a personalized Japanese car in this anime! Not even a Toyota, a Honda or a Nissan. A f*cking makeshift car from a boat! Oh yeah. Gotta thank the boosters. Saved lives and won a race! The real star of the race, those boosters.

Art and animation are pretty cool and good quality. The colourful designs of the characters and especially the cars, a reason why some like me would want to associate it with Wacky Races. I mean, you see Dylan and TJ’s car are so supped up and colourful, you wonder if they’re actually for racing or just for a car exhibition show. Heck, Bad Brother’s oversized tractor car or whatever that is, it looks like it came out from the Hollywood movie, Death Race! I don’t think they have or intended to roll over anybody but what the heck it has big spikes for?! For show?! Uh huh. Our main characters’ cars are so stylish and flamboyant that it makes them stand out from the rest of the other racers in the field whose car designs are just so freaking plain and boring! Seriously. Oh well, racing isn’t all about just speed but they need to be flashy too. So sup up those designs, baby!

As for the characters, they are all also colourful and flamboyant. Like TJ whom you’ll think he is more of a rapper than a racer with his dreadlocks and rapper accessories. Of course Appare is the weirdest looking character because of his design. Not only with his messy hairdo (because those with such wild hair can somewhat be associated with geniuses like Albert Einstein) the weirdest part about him is his, uhm, can I call it weird makeup dots on the edge of his mouth? Because of that, don’t stare too long at Appare because he looks like some killer doll clown! That’s scary! Coupled in with his robotic character, sometimes I wonder if that is an alternate version of Appare in another genre. And Tristan looks like a dork with that silly face. But you can tell he is a gentle giant when birds all flock to him! I guess this friendly smiling style is better than having a scary face like Richard because he could be a Terminator model in disguise! I don’t mean to offend Xialian but her main outfit exposes her midriff and it makes her look kinda fat… Whoops! Does TJ wear some sort of iron bra as his headgear?! Flashy is one thing but ridiculous is another. Oh well, can’t understand some people’s taste… This series is done by P.A. Works although I don’t find the characters here as beautiful as Hanasaku Iroha, Glassslip and True Tears. Oh well, this isn’t a modern day high school setting in the first place.

There are a few recognizable seiyuus lending their talents here like Natsuki Hanae as Appare, Takahiro Sakurai as Dylan, Tomokazu Sugita as TJ, Sora Amamiya as Xialian and Kenjiro Tsuda as Richard/Gil. Surprisingly I found out Aoi Yuuki as Hototo and it seems the more she voices characters away from her trademark style, the harder I find it to recognize her anymore. I mean, I still couldn’t believe it is her. And Daisuke Ono as Tristan? Damn, with such a dorky and gay voice, I sure didn’t expect him to be helming this role. The other casts are Seiichirou Yamashita as Kosame (Chris in Eromanga-sensei), Souma Saito as Al (Ray in Infinite Dendrogram), Tetsu Inada as Chase (Gamagoori in Kill La Kill), Fumihiko Orikasa as Sofia (Rukia in Bleach) and Kazuya Okitsu as Seth (Fat in Boku No Hero Academia. The opening is I Got It by Mia Regina. Your typical rock outfit with lots of fanfare that suits the fast pace racing action. But the one I prefer the most is the ending theme, I’m Nobody by Showtaro Morikubo. There is this catchy tune to it that gives this American cowboy/rodeo feel to this rock piece. Yeehaw! Howdy!

On a trivial note, I noticed that some of the episode titles take after or parody movie titles, though it might have nothing to do with those movies. The most obvious one being episode 8’s Heavy Rain. Then there’s also episode 10’s The Bridge To Hell which is a reference to the Italian war movie in the 80’s and curiously enough the final episode’s Over The Moon which is an animation feature released back in October 2020. Episode 5’s The Eve, And… could be a reference to The Eve and the first episode which is the only episode whose transcribes are in Japanese instead of English, Sunny With Occasional Showers might be from Occasional Showers.

Overall, this is a fun and enjoyable series and sometimes you might get confused of the genre this series falls into. Is it a racing show? Is it an action adventure flick? Is it some sort of comedy and drama? Kinda a bit of everything. Just like Appare’s contraption. Might not be a masterpiece but it is still enjoyable and overall good (don’t let the naysayers bog you down with their complicated criticisms!). It doesn’t have a very convoluted plot and there are some eye candy visuals and the characters are okay. Yes, it could have been better since it does have some potential but next racing season maybe? I wouldn’t say this series sputtered and limped towards the finish line nor did it cross the chequered flag as a winner but at least it did what it is supposed to do by entertaining us with its fair share of racing, action, funny moments and debatably character developing drama. How far can anime go from here? I’m not so optimistic but it’s not totally impossible either. Stay tune next time as Appare battles NASA and Elon Musk’s SpaceX via ultimate race to Mars! Oh yeah. Can’t wait for that. So what are we waiting for? Let’s gooooooo!