This is a Need For Speed: Underground 2 style anime, with characters in a 80’s look and feel. If you like characters like fuzzy brow from Naruto, you’ll like the designs. The animation is normal 1980 for most of the scenes were the character isn’t driving. When he is driving, we get CGs very similar to Underground 2’s graphics; hence why I mentioned it earlier. For a few moments looking at the city and other elements I was actually pondering: did they copy/paste replays from the game gameplay?

The story was/is relatively unexciting, although perhaps better then envisioned at first sight. Of course in episode two whatever little hope I had got shattered. There is the chance that was just a fluke, but odds say episode one was the fluke.

The story is very simple minded. It focuses on cars for the most part, but not really the technical aspect involved, as in: man and machine or man versus machine. The story trolls the speed issue. Things that are more enjoyable to watch (in my opinion) like control and other aspects are used as plot candy, in other words, while they are the dead obvious shakers and movers, the characters are meant to be cool without them somehow. ~

A lot of technical aspects are ignored. For one, the drivers are daydreaming while they’re driving, especially at high speed. Anyone who ever drove a car should know very well you can’t push your limits and somehow be all mindless about it; without getting your self killed that is.

Disregarding that and the fact that actually seeing people go fast is boring compared to seeing people maneuver at high speed, there are a lot of other things that are wrong with this anime. A simple example: the gears. Very simple and fundamental aren’t they, but in Wangan Midnight for the most part you’d think that they have some kind of auto-gearbox or something, looking at the silly way they seem to drive; Why not take one of those hands off the steering wheel and change gear from time to time? Then there’s the issue of breaking; our friends here seem to be shy, especially when it comes to corners. ~

As for the name, Wangan is a high way for what’s it’s worth. The “midnight” is just eye candy from what I can tell.

Don’t be mislead by my initial comment concerning NFS, the story here is about some punk who knows only of driving and sells his heart and soul for his car, commonly referred to as that Z in the show.

The history:

The previous owner slid into a wall. The car was OK but he died - probably of severe plot drama. The car has passed to several other drivers and has been the cause of accidents. It’s current owner, our main character, bares the name of it’s original owner.

I know it doesn’t make sense for someone to die just only of that, with the car perfectly intact, but the producers seem to think of us as that stupid.

One of the most total crap moments it threw at me has to be the: When I go fast time stops; which is just wrong on so many levels. And of course the memorable: “I’ll beat him *switches from 1st gear to 4th/5th*”

Disregarding the technical aspect the series is a car soap opera, as such I’m dropping it.