Ranked #3665

Bakusou Kyoudai Let's & Go

As I sit here writing this review, my heart is split in two; should I write a favorable review? Or not?

This anime is one of the first I've encountered; in fact, some of my earliest memories involves this anime. I remember the days I used to stroll through the flee markets with my mom, looking at toy race cars, wanting one but never having enough money. It definitely will have its place in my heart forever.

That said, I wouldn't recommend this anime to everyone. It isn't a great anime, something everyone would enjoy. It's more of a kids' anime. The themes and storyline is simple and repetitive, easy for kids to understand. Yet it doesn't lose its excitement (from a child's perspective), though all 100+ episodes are basically the same (including the other seasons). Perhaps teens would think that this anime is too predictable or childish, but as a child, I really truly enjoyed it. Unfortunately, I assume not many children under 12 are viewing this forum.

In the end, I am writing this review because I want people to know about this anime, as it has shaped parts of my childhood; at the same time, I know that it won't do the same for you, especially if you live in North America (I've not seen one toy racecar here...). read more

PROLOGUE
Following the tradition of all game-based series, Bakusou Kyoudai Let's & Go is a title made solely for promoting a toy. Pokemon promoted a video game, Yu-Gi-Oh promoted a card game, Bayblade promoted spinning tops. This one is (no surprisingly) promoting toy cars.

ANIMATION & SOUND SECTION: 5/10 [Cars! Cars everywhere!]
- The toy cars are the only things the animators were paid to give any attention. They have detailed drawings and animation, with accompanying roaring engine sounds to make them interesting to watch.
- The rest of the drawings and sounds range from mediocre to lame. Character figures, voice acting and background graphics are plain and uninteresting to look at for long. The main characters may say and do some cool stuff in a few occasions but that is not enough to change the general impression of shallowness.

STORY SECTION: 3/10 [I will become the best kid with a mini car in the world!]
- Two brothers named Let’s and Go (duh!) plan to become the best players in the fad of toy car races. Each episode is a challenge with another player, another race and another competition for the first place.
- You expect more? Well, there isn’t any. You are supposed to brainlessly look at the mini cars and care for nothing else.

CHARACTERS SECTION: 4/10 [Cars playing with kids… Not the other way around.]
- All characters are just stunts to be used as crowd for the races. They have no hint of personality, much less character development.
- A little plus in this whole bunch of shallowness is that the two brothers don’t want to bite each other’s head off. In any anime that features brothers in, the two are always bitter enemies and opposite poles of the same axis. But here, the two of them actually help each other in times of need. They compete each other but don’t go as far as to kill one another over a stupid game. That IS original.

VALUE SECTION: 2/10 [The toy company that produces them will definitely value your money.]
Anime based on some product are made solely to advertise it and start an addiction to its possible consumers (usually nerdy kids with loaded parents). As such, game –based anime are quite lame, with childish scenario and carton characters being just an excuse to shovel us flashy techniques or strategies of the soon-to-follow game. There can be no value in series with such premises.

ENJOYMENT SECTION: 5/10 [Caremon! Got to buy them all!]
Unlike in other such series, the players actually take part in the race instead of being just spectators. The racing arenas are very big and there is a lot of running and even a few acrobatics, making the action scenes a bit enjoying. But beyond that, there is nothing really good to see here.

VERDICT: 4/10
The accused is found … GUILTY! … For selling us a pretty box with nothing inside.

SUGGESTION LIST
This series is better than:
Bedaman and Duel Masters. The kings of lameness.
This series is better than or equal to:
Medarot, Pokemon, YuGiOh, Beyblade. These series also advertise games. read more