I've never really given my thoughts on a piece of media in a longer form before, but I've been told to try my hand at it and what better way to do a first review than with a movie of Redline's quality?

I've had Redline planned for just over a year at this point, and today I finally decided to take the leap and actually go ahead and watch it. Boy, am I glad that I did - right off the bat, I was captivated with the vibrant energy the world brought on offer.

In comes JP, our suave protagonist that made me instantly think of Dandy from Space Dandy, combing his hair with his comb switchblade and burning through nitro capsules like a kid burning through a candy bag on Halloween. We are also introduced to his rivals on the Yellowline track - the B-tier competition that qualifies adrenaline enthusiasts to the premier Redline program. Sonoshee captivates you with her charm and stellar design, Frisbee presents JP's entanglements with the underworld and an integral presence to his backstory, and the rest of the ensemble make up a wacky yet enjoyable cast.

Onto the visuals and animation, and fuck me I was blown away. Usually I watch anime in subbed, but hearing that the dub cast is no slouch, I decided to switch to that early on in order to fully enjoy the rollercoaster of balls-to-the-wall action unfolding in front of me - a decision that I do not regret in the slightest. I'm an avid fan of the older Madhouse productions such as Perfect Blue, Monster and Black Lagoon, but here they absolutely flexed their muscle on the industry to deliver a product that puts most projects nowadays to shame:

Accompanying the cinematic experience we have a well produced score, further invoking the rush of adrenaline and high-octane energy left from the trails blazed by the cars on the track. Packaged with James Shimoji's work we have a very strong performance from the dub cast as a collective: Patrick Seitz delivers a memorable performance worthy of JP's chad energy, Michelle Ruff shows the audience Sonoshee's charisma in full form and the rest uphold the film's chaotic yet fun energy to a T.

A minor critique of mine is some of the subplots - namely those involving the Roboworld military - weren't as compelling and engaging as the better parts of the film but overall that doesn't detract from the overall package all that much.

In conclusion, while it may not have the most thought provoking plot and narrative, it certainly doesn't need it. It's action-packed, it's hard-hitting, it's unapologetically fun and it isn't afraid to go the extra gear.