Overtake! – 12 (END)

「オーバーテイク -Do your best!-」 (Overtake: Do Your Best!)
Overtake: Do Your Best!

Overtake!’s finale ends on a jovial note as Haruka’s ability to keep his car intact in time for this last race win him the respect of both Toshiki and Satsuki. In the span of this episode’s race, it manages to wrap up every character’s story with a tightly-knit bow and aims to make sure you leave the show on a positive, light-hearted note.

CLOSURE

I’m impressed with how, what could have been an intense final episode, wound up being consistently easygoing. From the start, they set up this episode as an opportunity to give every character a moment where, win or lose, they would leave today’s race with a renewed sense of purpose.

It’s heartwarming to see Haruka finally win a major race as Kouya gets his picture on the Winners Circle. Funny enough, that isn’t even the most important picture for Kouya as he’s in such high spirits that he gets more pictures of Toshiki and Satsuki celebrating with Haruka now that he’s caught up with the two of them. Although Kouya had a hard time clearing his mind until the tail-end of the race, his mood worked out for the best as the two pictures that were the most widely spread were Haruka with the Belsorriso boys and Haruka celebrating with tears of joy instead of heartbreak.

It was nice to see that Haruka gaining more reliable wheels and sponsors got him in better graces with the Belsorriso boys, especially since they all have good reasons to be excited for the race. For Satsuki, he might’ve been happy to recover and enter the race in time, but he owes much of his enthusiasm to Arisu changing his perspective to rely less on luck to dictate his worth when misfortune is more of a learning experience than a door in the face.

My favorite development was seeing how far Toshiki had come. After his qualifying race with Satsuki in the last episode, he came away from it with a mature mindset as he apologized to Haruka for projecting his frustration onto him, and was able to clear the fog in his head over the drivers behind him. Even if a collision kept him from being in the Top 3, he came away from the race knowing that he no longer had to worry about the insecurities that bothered him throughout the show.

FINAL IMPRESSIONS

In a season where some of the best anime are the best of the year, Overtake! is more than worthy of being a part of the Winners Circle. It tells a feel-good story where its dramatic beats land as effectively as its triumphant peaks. With such a well-written cast, it not only balances out its tone effectively, but makes every character in the show worth rooting for.

Whether it be the Komaki Motors team or Belsorriso, it’s hard not to feel like you know these characters personally by the time you learn all about them. Their familial bond and relatively level-headed mentality makes it easy to understand their mindset and cheer them on. Their bonds also help solidify their teams as a family unit considering how attentive they are to keep each other’s emotions and goals in mind.

I also thought the animation was nice and polished, making its CG cars surprisingly smooth as they tailgate and chase one another on the track. I admire how expressive the character designs are as the fluidity of their expressions give them as much of a personality as their words and actions. Every smile, pout, and grimace is vivid, emotive, and adds to the quirks that each person has, especially Haruka, who wears his emotions on his sleeve to such an extent that it becomes the catalyst for Kouya to offer his support as the team’s mother.

I highly recommend giving Overtake! a spin if this is your first time reading about this show. It’s actually a pretty solid anime to recommend altogether as it carries the same kind of energy and spirit of a memorable sports film. I still need to see MF Ghost, but it is awesome to see that this Fall season was an absolute win for anyone who loves racing. Hopefully, there will be more chances out on the horizon for racing anime to gain exposure and win the hearts of many in the process.