Anime ● Review: Highspeed Etoile

English Title: HIGHSPEED Étoile

Japanese Title: ハイスピードエトワール

Director(s): Motonaga Keitaro

Screenwriter(s): Kono Takamitsu

Studio: Studio A-Cat

Released: 2024

Runtime: 12 episodes, ~24m each.

Starring: Izumi Fuuka, Funato Yurie, Izawa Shiori, Horie Yui, Mizuki Nana

My Verdict: Cool designs but mediocre animation. Crude plotting and the lack of thought in details make it unconvincing and boring if not annoying.

● As a collaborative effort with the Japanese Super Formula Championship and Formula E, this is in some respects a promotional anime.

● The time is not specified but it is assumed to be near-future in which the “Hybrid Performance Exceed Reactor”, also referred to as “HyPER”, powers these single-seater cars of the racing series called NEX Race.

● It is not explained what HyPER is exactly—it is a new form of energy “distilled from fossil fuels” and whilst the tone suggests “alternative” it is not described as “electric” or “hybrid”, probably because the creators know electric or hybrid is just lame. Thankfully, it does not dwell on this point or “climate change”.

● The first episode introduces the setting: heated tracks to melt the snow, a pitlane rig that automatically changes tyres and even AI competitors. These elements are not uninteresting but are used somewhat crudely throughout the series.

● Although the circuit layout is shown and there is even the start of the tour, it then takes cuts away to give the abbreviated version with a few still shots of key parts. This is understandable for storytelling but it is a bit annoying as it starts off giving the impression of a tour.

● In any case, this first episode is actually the last race of the season, introducing the established drivers, particularly the top two referred to as the “King” and “Queen”. Setting aside that it is a boring episode (partly for reasons elaborated below), it is only at the end of the episode when the main character Rin Rindo is introduced.

● Due to some business/political decision, Rin is shoved into the spotlight. Other than gaming, she has no background in motor racing. She was actually a ballerina, which is used little in the plot.

● It’s fine that her character is a little ditzy but she is annoyingly unaware of the most simple rules. Even for a silly anime, it is implausible that a gamer is that ignorant and shoved into a top-class racing series.

● Her situational unawareness is admittedly a deliberate joke but, combined with her impulsiveness as a driver and her inability to remember the fundamentals, she is annoying.

● The cars are supposed to be fast (over 500kph) but there is little sense of that. Vibration within the cockpit is apparent, albeit without variation, and there is the common use of tracking shots of the cars with the road speeding past beneath them.

● The (racing) action is boring. There is no sense of them taking corners at speed (if they are shown taking corners at all), little or no sense of them racing on the circuit as seen in broadcasts, and certainly no sense of speed when they lose control.

● The cars are also quiet, sounding more like a quiet version of jets flying past than a car. At least it doesn’t quite sound like an electric car. The sound design and mix are not bad, it tries to be original but is merely not unique enough.

● Related to the above, the cinematography and car action more resemble flight action than motor racing.

● The look is clean and sleek. The design of the cars and the characters mostly look cool with much attention to detail. The use of different camera angles and even split screen are appreciated. In these respects, it looks good. However, as already mentioned, the animation (motion) of the cars is lacking. The motion of the characters is also not quite right at times but it is not as bad as the cars.

● The narrative wisely skips laps and even races, only providing brief comments. However, the series structure is crude—there is little sense of Rin gradually developing as a driver. She learns something in this or that episode from some incident and that’s it. Even so-called little details show the lack of thought in the writing. Below are examples.

Although there is mention of training early on, more intensive driving training (whether real or simulator) is not shown until later in the series.
Qualifying is only shown late in the series.
The series focuses on the young female drivers of the field. This is understandable as an anime but, setting aside an unrealistic low number of male drivers, these characters are suddenly Rin’s friends and they show up everywhere she goes.
The drivers talk to each other and can see the broadcast. Although this may be technically possible, it is just too unrealistic when driving at those speeds.
Drivers’ reactions in the cockpit like closing their eyes whilst the vehicle is moving are just silly.
The rig in the pitlane changes tires quickly. There are moments when this is dragged out a little longer to accommodate dialogue and/or the driver’s reactions, which is fine, but there are scenes when this is extended for way too long.
The team’s mechanics and crew are not shown until late in the series. They just suddenly appear.
There is a boost function that is activated via a fancy sci-fi trigger beside the steering wheel when it could be just a button on it.
The AI provides Rin with audio advice without doing the driving for her. This is arguably silly but, either way, it is poorly utilized as part of the story. It would be more realistic to also incorporate AI into analysis, simulator training and race strategy throughout the entire series. Instead, the discussion isn’t brought in until late in the series.
The AI competitors don’t do anything.
Some circuits are based on existing tracks. However, the alterations don’t always make sense. For example, the Monaco circuit is over 7km long but the layout at a glance looks similar to the real one that is less than half that length. Given what is shown looks similar enough to the real track, where is that extra half of the track?

● The voice acting is mostly not bad although the female commentator sounds artificially flat to the point that it is jarring and annoying.

● Motor racing anime is not common and even for a token series, this is a lost opportunity considering that funds were presumably not lacking. Although the animation is not great, the designs are good and it looks sleek. The voice-acting is mostly good enough. The opening and closing songs are performed by Nana Mizuki and SCANDAL. But the crude plotting and the lack of thought in details is unconvincing and boring.