Overtake! Episode 5 Review

Race to Fuji Speedway

Overtake! Episode 5 features a race, but not the kind you’d expect from this series. Rather than a Formula 4 or even a motor race, it’s a 10k footrace. And since the race ends at Fuji Speedway, the Formula 4 teams have been asked to help out.

The point of the 10k is to serve as a local revitalization project. It’s supposed to help spread awareness and bring tourism to the area. And, usually, I’d think that this is a pretty dumb idea. Hosting an event like this normally wouldn’t do much to revitalize a town.

However, the difference here is Fuji Speedway. A 10k might bring some tourism to the area for a day or a week. But, that bump in visitors isn’t going to last long. A 10k that ends at Fuji Speedway, though, has the potential to be a popular annual event.

What Fuji Speedway brings to the event is something unique. It’s also pretty high above sea level, which means the 10k course heading there is a bit of a challenge. Those two things combined are what give this event potential. That is if the organizers can prevent the locals from ruining it.

There is one missed opportunity with this event, though. It doesn’t look like the organizers attracted any actual runners to participate. This is the kind of event you should encourage actual runners to sign up for. That’s what will bring more people to the area, both to participate and spectate.

We can be pretty sure there were no runners at the event because of who won. Haruka, Satsuki, and Toshiki all tied for first. I get that they train and stay in shape for Formula 4. But, that’s not enough to beat someone whose main sport is running.

Friendly Competition

During the 10k, we got a bit more information about the supporting characters. Nothing new about Haruka came out of this. But, we learned more about Satsuki, Toshiki, and Alice. In this section, I want to focus on Toshiki and Alice — Satsuki will come in the next section.

As we know, Toshiki Tokumaru has been set up as Haruka’s rival both on and off the track. Satsuki is also one of Haruka’s rivals, though only on track. He doesn’t have the same beef with Haruka that Toshiki does.

But, in Episode 5, Toshiki learned a bit more about Haruka. Specifically, he learned that Haruka has a part-time job delivering newspapers. And, that information made Toshiki respect Haruka a bit more. He understands that some F4 drivers need to make money to support their racing careers. And he respects drivers who do that.

What we learned about Toshiki from this interaction is that he also used to work a part-time job. Before he was on Belsorriso’s payroll, he was in the same position as Haruka. He worked as a mover in order to pay to go racing. That’s why he empathizes with Haruka’s situation.

The new information we got about Alice isn’t nearly as important. And it actually confirms something that was already implied earlier in the series. But, it turns out that Alice is a grid girl, after all. I thought she was, but changed my mind once I found out she worked at Belsorriso.

It turns out that my initial impression was correct. I didn’t realize that teams had their own grid girls, though. Grid girls don’t exist in Formula 1 anymore. But, when they did, they were hired by the event organizer. I would have assumed F4 worked the same way.

Chariots of Fire

Let’s talk about Satsuki Harunaga. Toward the end of the 10k, he told Haruka and Toshiki why he acts the way he does. And the reason is that he wants to be more like his hero, James Hunt.

Last week, I explained how Haruka’s father’s fatal crash was supposed to remind us of Lauda’s crash. And, if you had any doubt that that was the case, it should be clear now. That’s the exact crash that Satsuki brought up when talking about Hunt.

However, Satsuki focused on the other side of the crash. He focused on how Hunt was able to win the race in dangerous conditions due to his luck. And he believes that luck is one of the most important parts of racing. This is why he tries to act like Hunt; he believes it’s a way for him to make his own luck.

Satsuki identifying with Hunt makes this whole rival thing a bit trickier. Before he brought that up, it was easy to see that Toshiki was Haruka’s main rival. But now, it’s not as clear. If Satsuki is supposed to be like Hunt, does that mean Haruka is like Lauda?

That makes sense except that it leaves Toshiki out. So, at this point, I’m a bit unsure of how the rivalry is going to play out between these three drivers. Is Satsuki or Toshiki Haruka’s main rival? Or, are they both his rivals?

In any event, we should expect that Haruka will win a race by the end of the season. And when he does, that could be seen as completing this whole Hunt vs. Lauda reference. Haruka winning after his father’s crash is like Lauda becoming the world champion after his own crash.

Final Thoughts

What do you think of Overtake! Episode 5? Would (could) you run a 10k up to Fuji Speedway? Do you consider Satsuki or Toshiki as Haruka’s main rival? And, what do you think the greatest rivalry in racing is? Let me know in the comments.

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My review of Episode 6 is available now.