The Final Race

It’s time for the final race of the season in Overtake! Episode 12. Actually, I don’t know if the series ever said this was the final race. Maybe I just assumed that was the case because it’s the final race of the (anime) season.

Either way, it’s the final race. And, that means it’s the final chance for Haruka to achieve his goal of making it onto the podium. But, I’d like to remind you that his exact goal is still kind of up for debate. Does he want a podium or a victory?

Obviously, a victory is a podium and if he could get a victory, he’d take it. But, as far as I remember, he and Kouya have always mentioned him getting a podium. And, that’s a lot more manageable than getting a victory. After all, there are three podium spots.

The main problem for Haruka is that both Toshiki and Satsuki are taking part in this race. He’ll have to get passed both Belsorriso cars if he wants to win. And even if he’s not going for the win, it means two of the three podium spots are pretty much locked up.

But, even if Toshiki and Satsuki are going to be in Haruka’s way, I like how their rivalry has developed. At the start of the season, it wasn’t a healthy rivalry. Though, that was because of Toshiki, not Haruka or Satsuki.

However, even though Toshiki was the original problem, all three characters have grown. Haruka learned to rely on others more. Toshiki learned that the team is more important than the driver. And, Satsuki learned that what’s important is how hard you work, not how lucky you get. In the end, I’m glad we got this three-way rivalry.

Path to the Podium

This week, we didn’t get to see any of the qualifying. But, it looks like Haruka started back a bit, as he had to overtake quite a few other cars. And, this is something I have mixed feelings about.

Well, not Haruka starting outside the top two rows on the grid. The thing I have mixed feelings about is how easily he’s able to pass the other cars. These are teams with more money than Komaki Motors. They should have more resources and, therefore, better cars.

However, this is also F4, which is a spec series. All the cars are the same regardless of team. So, you could argue that Haruka’s just a much better driver than most of the others on the grid. But, as we already saw earlier in the season, there’s only so much a driver can do with a worse car.

Alright. So, is it unrealistic for Haruka to be able to pass all those other cars? No. Not at all. What I’m complaining about is the ease with which he does it.

There are diminishing returns in F4 when it comes to money. So, the amount Komaki Motors got from the shopping district may put them in contention. And, as we know, Haruka is a very good driver. But, considering where he qualified, it shouldn’t be that easy for him to climb the positions.

Now, enough of my complaining. The fact is that Haruka does catch up to Toshiki and Satsuki. And when he does, Toshiki gets in a minor crash with a backmarker he’s lapping. This damages his wing, which effectively knocks him out of contention for the win.

But, instead of pulling into the pits immediately, Toshiki decides to help Satsuki by giving him a tow.

Haruka on the Top Step

I wasn’t actually expecting Haruka to win the race. I know he’s the protagonist and all that. But, that doesn’t mean he needs to win a race in the end. Again, his goal may have simply been to make it onto the podium.

Also, there’s precedent for similar series ending without the protagonist winning. Love Live has quite a few examples of this. Love Live is similar to Overtake!? Yes. Both series are about underdogs competing for glory. Even if one’s about idols and the other is about motorsports, they’re similar.

I don’t think Haruka had to win in order for his character arc to be fulfilling. Even without a victory, his story would have been complete here. And, it may have actually worked out better that way for Satsuki’s story.

So, Haruka’s story didn’t require him to win. And, Toshiki’s story was complete once he gave Satsuki the tow, showing he’s a team player. But, what about Satsuki’s story? His story was all about him realizing he should be more like Lauda than Hunt. Did Haruka beating him add to this in any way?

I’m going to argue that it didn’t. Though, that’s only because this is the final episode of the season — and probably the series. That means we won’t get to see Satsuki continue to work towards being the number 1 driver again. In that regard, we’re not seeing him be like Lauda.

This episode was our last chance to see Satsuki reclaim his standing after his accident. A major part of Lauda’s story was how soon he returned to racing. Overtake! got that with Satuski. But, what it missed out on is how Lauda reclaimed his world champion title the following year.

Final Thoughts

What do you think of the final episode of Overtake!? Did you like how Haruka, Toshiki, and Satsuki ended the season with a three-way rivalry? Would you have liked it if some of the other teams played a role in the series? And, do you think Haruka needed to win the race for the series to have a good ending?

If you enjoyed this review, remember to share it with everyone you know. Also, follow me on your social media of choice so you don’t miss out on any future articles — links are in the footer.

Finally, I’d like to thank Roman and JasonHK for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika tier this month. To learn more about supporting this blog, check out DoubleSama.com/support.

Komaki Motor’s New Sponsors

Overtake! Episode 11 goes back to how things were at the start of the series. This episode has a little bit of drama. But, for the most part, it’s about racing and it’s about explaining things surrounding the act of racing.

You may remember that back in Episode 1, the series explained the different colored flags. Well, that’s the kind of stuff we’re back to. It explains things about racing that your average person doesn’t know. And, in this episode, the big thing being explained is car upkeep.

Previously in the series, tires were a big deal. Because Komaki Motors doesn’t have as much money as other teams do, they can’t afford as many sets of tires. And, that means they either can’t practice as much. Or, they won’t have as many sets of fresh tires as their competition.

Well, tire talk is back in Episode 11 thanks to how well Haruka performed in the last race. If it hadn’t been for his tires wearing out, he might have won the race. But, because of Komaki Motors’ tire situation, he ended up in seventh. So, once again, the team talks about how more money could help.

But, tires aren’t the only thing a racing team needs to regularly replace. The brake pads, brake fluid, and other parts need replacing as well. How frequently they’re replaced depends on the specific part. But, top teams are able to replace parts more often, giving them an edge.

This is where the team’s new sponsor(s) come in. The shopping district businesses decided to band together and support their local team. They saw how much better Komaki Motors was able to perform with their previous sponsor. And, this proved that their money could make a difference for the team.

Satsuki’s Return to Racing

I wasn’t expecting Satsuki to return to racing so soon. If he hadn’t returned at all this season, that wouldn’t have been odd. He suffered some pretty bad injuries in his crash. The fact that he’s already driving again is surprising.

But, what isn’t surprising is Satsuki’s desire to get back out on track. He knows that every day he sits on the sidelines, his chance of returning shrinks. His rivals are able to keep training and getting better while his skills decline from lack of use.

Why shouldn’t Satsuki drive at this stage of his recovery, though? He said the only reason he still wears a cast and uses a crutch is so he doesn’t injure his foot further. According to him, his foot is good enough that he can use it to drive. So, what’s the problem?

Well, the problem is that his foot wasn’t the only part of his body injured in the crash. He also broke some ribs and may have had other injuries I’m forgetting, as well. But, it looks like it’s his ribs that are still giving him trouble.

There’s nothing he can do to make his ribs heal faster. You can’t exactly put a cast on them to keep them in place or do anything like that. All you can do is not strain them further. And, straining them further is exactly what racing does.

As Satsuki points out, the G-forces his body experiences in the car are higher than his body can handle right now. When he hits the brakes, he has to deal with high G-forces. When he goes around a fast turn, he has to deal with high G-forces. And an F4 race is 30 minutes of that.

The Battle for the Number One Seat

Satsuki might be able to handle a few laps in his current condition. But, a full race seems out of the question, to me. I mean, he puked, was in pain, and had to recover after doing only a few laps during practice. And yet, he wants to race.

Ena, the Belsorriso team boss, is fine with letting Satsuki race if he says he’s up for it. But, he’s not entirely convinced that Satsuki will be able to perform at his full potential. And thus, he doesn’t want to give Satsuki the number one seat automatically.

Instead, he has Belsorriso’s four drivers compete in a five-lap race during practice. Whichever driver wins will be the number one driver for the upcoming race. And, presumably, whichever driver comes in second will get the second seat. There are only two seats, after all.

In the end, Satsuki loses to Toshiki but beats the other two. So, I assume that means he’ll be the number two driver in the next race. But, it’s also possible that he backs out and lets one of the others drive in his place.

I kind of get the feeling that he only pushed himself to participate in the practice race for Toshiki. He seems pretty aware that completing a full race in his condition isn’t feasible. And, he’s always been pushing Toshiki to improve. So, I could see this being one of those moments.

Satsuki put pressure on Toshiki, as expected. But when Toshiki didn’t crack and managed to hold him off, Satsuki congratulated him. It’s as if he was testing Toshiki’s resolve to be the number one driver all along. I guess we’ll just have to wait to see if Satsuki actually races next week.

Final Thoughts

What do you think about Overtake! Episode 11? Are you glad the series went back to teaching viewers about the intricacies of racing? Do you think Satsuki’s going to participate in the final race? And, how high up the podium are you expecting Haruka to end up? Let me know in the comments.

If you enjoyed this review, remember to share it with everyone you know. Also, follow me on your social media of choice so you don’t miss out on any future articles — links are in the footer.

Finally, I’d like to thank Roman and JasonHK for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika tier this month. To learn more about supporting this blog, check out DoubleSama.com/support.

My review of Episode 12 is available now.

Haruka and Kouya Return

Overtake! Episode 10 sees Haruka and Kouya both returning to the track. And, thanks to the time they spent together, they have a better understanding of what they need to do. But, what exactly is it they need to do?

For Haruka, he needs to go back to Komaki Motors and win with the team he calls home. Sure, Belsorriso is the team with which he has the best shot at winning. And, racing for them is the best option when it comes to furthering Haruka’s career in motorsports.

But, Haruka realizes that his career isn’t what’s important to him right now. What’s important is succeeding with the team he’s been with from the start. He doesn’t only want to win for himself. He wants to win for Futoshi and Koutarou Komaki, too. That’s why he turned down Belsorriso’s offer.

For Kouya, things are a bit more complicated. He needs to reclaim his ability to take photographs of people. And, while he knows he wants to take Haruka’s photo on the podium, that still seems a long way off. Not just because Haruka needs to win, but because Kouya still doesn’t seem ready.

Something else I want to point out is that Kouya and Saeko seem to have gotten closer in this episode. We saw Haruka reunite with Komaki Motors. So, are we going to see Kouya and Saeko get back together? It seems like their divorce stemmed from them not understanding each other’s feelings.

But now, they’re able to be more open with each other. This could be the start of a new chapter in their relationship. Or, they could decide that being separated is still for the best at this point in their lives. We’ll have to wait and see.

From Fuji to Suzuka

The racing parts of Episode 10 were a bit hard to follow. At the start of the episode, while they’re practicing, they’re at Fuji Speedway. But, later in the episode, for the race, they’re at Suzuka Circuit.

At first, I thought this was some sort of mistake because I wasn’t paying attention. I missed the part when the episode swapped over to Suzuka and showed the Suzuka Circuit signage. So, I was wondering why we saw the front gates of Fuji, but I could tell they were racing at Suzuka.

Well, as I said, I wasn’t paying attention. However, when I went back to check, I was still confused. Yes, the series swapped from Fuji to Suzuka and that swap was intentional. But, it doesn’t make sense within the context of a race weekend. Why did they swap tracks between practice and the race?

It’s possible that I don’t understand how Japanese F4 works. But, practice should take place on the same track as qualifying and the race, right? I mean, that’s how it works in every other racing category. There’s no point to practice if it’s not on the same track.

So, what happened here? My best guess is that the stuff we saw at Fuji was supposed to be testing, not practice. But, the series didn’t make that clear. In fact, it almost went out of its way to make it more confusing.

After qualifying (at Suzuka), Koutarou mentions how it went way worse than practice did. And, what was the “practice” session we just saw Haruka perform well in? The one at Fuji. We cut from Haruka practicing well at Fuji to him qualifying poorly at Suzuka. That’s the kind of stuff I expect from Drive to Survive.

Never Say Never

Alright, so we know Haruka didn’t have the best qualifying. But, how bad was it? He qualified in 14th out of 30, which, honestly, isn’t that bad. Sure, he’s not even in the top 10. However, we need to consider his team.

Komaki Motors is an independent team with a total of three members, including the driver. They don’t have much money. And that means they don’t have the tires, data, and other resources of the better teams. You’d expect a team like this to be closer to the back of the grid.

The only reason Komaki Motors isn’t back in 30th is because F4 is a spec series. All of the cars are basically the same. Teams can make tweaks to the setup, and that’s it. So, because of that, Haruka’s skill is able to come through and carry the car higher up the grid.

Anyway, after qualifying back in 14th, nobody expected Haruka to be able to win this race. Though, I’m not sure why they thought that was possible, to begin with. Why was anyone expecting him to be able to jump back in the car after a break and immediately score his first-ever win?

Of course, the title of the episode, “Never Say Never,” was a bit of foreshadowing here. Despite where he started, he managed to get all the way up to second before his tires gave out. If they had held on, he may have been able to take the fight to Toshiki.

But, from what I remember, this is a new record for Haruka. I believe this is the closest he’s ever been to the podium. So, it’s only a matter of time (there are two episodes left) until he reaches the top step.

Final Thoughts

What do you think of Overtake! Episode 10? Do you think Kouya and Saeko ae going to get back together? Did the jump from Fuji to Suzuka confuse you as much as it did me? And, do you think Haruka will win next week or the week after? Let me know in the comments.

If you enjoyed this review, remember to share it with everyone you know. Also, follow me on your social media of choice so you don’t miss out on any future articles — links are in the footer.

Finally, I’d like to thank Roman and JasonHK for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika tier this month. To learn more about supporting this blog, check out DoubleSama.com/support.

The review of Episode 11 is available now.

Kouya and Haruka

Overtake! Episode 9 was easily the best episode of the series. And, it wasn’t even an episode about racing. Funny how that works. That tells me that Overtake! would probably be a better series if it had less to do with racing altogether. It could have focused on the tsunami disaster.

In this episode, Haruka locates Kouya in the coastal town where the tsunami struck. It’s been 10 years since the disaster, and the town appears to have mostly recovered. But, the people who live there, and Kouya, still remember the event like it was yesterday.

As expected, Haruka tries to get Kouya to come back. But, that’s not the only thing he’s after. He also wants to get to know Kouya better. He thought he understood Kouya. But, then he learned that criticism wasn’t what made Kouya stop photographing people. It was something else.

Before leaving Kouya’s apartment, Haruka went through his photo albums and noticed something. Kouya stopped taking photos of people a month before he released the one of the girl during the tsunami.

When pressed about this, Kouya doesn’t want to talk, at first. Instead, he deflects by taking Haruka around the town and doing everything he (Kouya) wants to.

They go out to eat “breakfast,” do some sightseeing, eat ice cream, and finally race at a go-kart track. And, it’s while they’re at the track that Haruka proposes a bet. They’ll have a race, and the loser will have to do something the winner wants them to do.

Even with a three-lap handicap, Haruka manages to win. So, what does he ask for? First, he asks for Kouya to take a photo of him. And, when that seems too unreasonable, he asks Kouya to tell him the real reason he stopped photographing people.

The Day of the Disaster

Previously, I assumed Kouya first went to the town because of the Tsunami. I don’t know why I thought that since I don’t believe it was ever stated. But, that’s what I thought, even if, thinking back on it, it doesn’t make sense.

How would Kouya have known a tsunami was coming? It could be that there was an earthquake, and so a tsunami was expected. But, even if that was the case, it would have meant that the townspeople also knew it was coming. And if they knew it was coming, they could have evacuated earlier.

Anyway, it turns out that Kouya had already been in the area for a different photoshoot. He was taking pictures of the people who lived in the town going about their days. I guess the goal of these photos was to highlight some of the less-traveled parts of Japan.

It was during this assignment that Kouya met Shouzou and his granddaughter, Momo. Shouzou appears to be the mayor of the town — or just the old guy who’s in charge because he’s lived there forever. Either way, he didn’t care much for Kouya at first. But, once Shouzou saw Kouya’s pictures, his opinion changed.

Fast-forward to the day of the disaster, and tsunami warning sirens were blaring while everyone was trying to escape to higher ground. Kouya wanted to go back down into the town to help people evacuate but was told it was too dangerous.

He then used the viewfinder on his camera to see if he could spot anyone in need. And, that’s when he spotted Momo on her own. He didn’t intend to take that picture of her. He just happened to spot her and snapped the photo by accident. So, the picture doesn’t tell the whole story.

Nice Photo

Before the disaster, Shouzou had Kouya take a picture with him and Momo. Rather than Kouya taking a photo of the two of them with his camera, he took a group selfie on Shouzou’s phone.

10 years later, Shouzou still has that photo. It’s obvious that it means a lot to him, as it’s probably the last photo of Momo smiling. And, it also includes Kouya, someone Shouzou believes did a lot for the town. Unlike most others in his family, Shouzou doesn’t blame Kouya for what happened to Momo.

In fact, he agrees with Kouya that the photo should have been published. But, why? Why would Shouzou want that picture of his granddaughter out there for all to see? It’s because it’s an important photo. It showed the people of Japan what happened to the town. It made the disaster real for those not affected by it.

Hearing about a tsunami destroying a coastal town is one thing. But, seeing the crying face of a child before the tsunami swept them away is another. It makes people want to act — to donate their time and money to the town’s recovery.

Shouzou knows there’s nothing Kouya could have done to save Momo. So, at the very least, he’s glad that Kouya was able to help the town with this photo. And, that’s exactly the kind of thing that made Shouzou like Kouya, to begin with. He liked how Kouya’s photos brought attention to the town and its people.

I guess I should also mention why Kouya returned to the town now. He wasn’t running away. He was going back to visit Shouzou one last time before his death. And, he was able to. Hopefully, that gave Kouya some closure.

Final Thoughts

What do you think of Overtake! Episode 9? Do you agree with me that it was the best episode of the series? Do you think Kouya should have released the photo of Momo? And, would the series be better if it just dropped the racing content? Let me know in the comments.

If you enjoyed this review, remember to share it with everyone you know. Also, follow me on your social media of choice so you don’t miss out on any future articles — links are in the footer.

Finally, I’d like to thank Roman and JasonHK for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika tier this month. To learn more about supporting this blog, check out DoubleSama.com/support.

My review of Episode 10 is available now.