t's the year 2048 and the world's biggest sporting event is the Immortal Grand Prix (IGPX), a racing competition that pits two teams of three against each other, each outfitted in a sophisticated fighting machine called a mech. Each mech is more than 50 feet tall and is run by a human pilot who, with the flip of a switch, can change the mech from a racing to a fighting machine. As each team member battles the opposing team over the 60-mile track at speeds up to 350 mph, they have only one goal in mind: to reach the finish line with as many of their team members as possible finishing in the top three spots.
When the novice Team Satomi wins the minor-league championship of the IGPX, they are thrust into the IG-1 to battle five other seasoned teams for the title. Satomi's most gifted pilot, Takeshi Jin (voiced by Osment) unfortunately doesn't know what it means to be a team player. While the team can't win without him, they may not be able to win with him, either. Takeshi regularly clashes with his teammates, especially Liz Ricarro (voiced by Rodriguez), a talented pilot in her own right who doesn't understand his lack of interest in being a team player.
The other member of the team, Amy Stapleton, just wants everyone to get along. She's a child prodigy and the team's battle tactician, who, with her cybernetic cat, synchronizes into a composite personality during races. And then there's River, the substitute pilot who wants nothing more than a chance to race.
On the eve of their first big match against Team Sledge Mamma, an aggressively ruthless team that will do anything to win, Team Satomi appears to be up against impossible odds, especially considering that they are spending as much time fighting each other as they are thinking about the upcoming battle. Despite problems with sponsorship, the dissension on the team and their lack of organization, Team Satomi has one advantage ... Takeshi knows he can win.
East meets—and races—West
In an effort to blend Japanese animation with a Western style of storytelling, the Cartoon Network has partnered with the acclaimed Japanese animation studio Production I.G. and Bandai Entertainment to create its first original anime series produced for Toonami. Using an original mix of animation and music, not to mention some appealing and real characterizations, IGPX takes us into a world filled with competition and teenage problems.
While we don't get a sense of who the main characters are in the opening race sequence, it is exciting and it gives us a taste of what this series is about. The story quickly shifts to Team Satomi's talented pilots, and we meet the typical teenagers who also happen to be brilliant in their sport. In a short amount of screen time, "Time to Shine" somehow manages to define the main characters and turns Takeshi, who comes off as unsympathetic at first, into a sympathetic character we root for, especially when Yamma (voiced by Mark Hamill) threatens him. There's a moment after the confrontation when Takeshi struts casually away, then stops where no one can see him letting relief overtake his body. In that one moment we know this kid isn't as tough or as carefree as he wants the world to believe.
Beyond the main team there are so many characters introduced that it will take a few episodes to really get a sense of who's who in this world. While the story and characters have the complexity to sustain an ongoing series, "Time to Shine" has no conclusion. It's basically a setup for the second episode, "Win or Lose." And viewers will want to read a bit about the show before watching it. The episode begins as if we already know all about the IGPX and its rules.
IGPX is defined by its wonderfully drawn world, filled with distinctive animation of the colorful races and the citywide racetrack's expansive views. Mix in fighting robots that have absolutely nothing to do with saving the world and a story about the competitive nature of sports and you have something that is truly unique.
