is a Japanese

motorcycle racing The motorcycle sport of racing (also called moto racing and motorbike racing) includes motorcycle road racing and off-road racing, both either on circuits or open courses, and track racing. Other categories include hill climbs, drag racing and ...

manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...

written and illustrated by

Kaoru Shintani is a Japanese manga artist. Shintani is best known for his series ''Area 88''. In addition to his pilot comics, Shintani has ventured into science fiction, fantasy, comedy, and hentai comics as well. In 1985, he was awarded the Shogakukan Manga Aw ...

. It received the 1984

Shogakukan Manga Award The is one of Japan's major manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is ...

for

shōnen manga is an editorial category of Manga, Japanese comics targeting an audience of both adolescent boys and young men. It is, along with Shōjo manga, manga (targeting adolescent girls and young women), Seinen manga, manga (targeting young adults ...

. The series focuses on Sawatari Taka and Toujou Taka as they compete with each other and other competitors in

. Their names means "hawk" and "falcon", respectively. The manga was adapted as a 36 episode

anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...

series broadcast on

Fuji TV JOCX-DTV (channel 8), branded as or , is a Japanese television station that serves the Kantō region as the flagship (broadcasting), flagship station of the Fuji News Network (FNN) and the Fuji Network System (FNS). The station is owned-and- ...

between September 20, 1984, and June 21, 1985. The anime premiered in France on March 11, 1990, and was released on

La Cinq La Cinq (, ) was a French free-to-air television channel. Created by politician Jérôme Seydoux and Italian media mogul Silvio Berlusconi, it existed from 1986 to 1992. The contract for France's fifth terrestrial network, which was suppos ...

and Mangas. Only 32 were aired in France. This is the last series to be animated by Kokusai Eiga-sha.

Plot

When Taka Sawatari and his mother were heading home after having dinner, they were attacked by a motorcycle gang. They were saved by a mysterious young man. The next day, Sawatari learned that that young man was a professional racer who has the same first name, Taka Toujou. In a race, Sawatari loses control when entering a curve, nearly killing Toujou. After the event, the two become rivals as they compete against each other with their racing skills.

Characters

Main characters

* * *

Guest appearances

Pops Yoshimura and David Aldana made some celebrity appearances throughout the series.

Anime

The opening theme for the series was and the ending theme was , both performed by Takanori Jinnai. Music for the series was composed by

Joe Hisaishi , known professionally as , is a Japanese composer, musical director, conductor and pianist, known for over 100 film scores and solo albums dating back to 1981. Hisaishi's music has been known to explore and incorporate different genres, inclu ...

References

External links

* 1981 manga 1984 anime television series debuts Animated television series about auto racing Fuji Television original programming Kaoru Shintani Motorsports in anime and manga Shogakukan franchises Shogakukan manga Shōnen manga Winners of the Shogakukan Manga Award for shōnen manga {{Manga-stub