Oval x Over

Released in 2005 to promote the Indy Racing League, Oval x Over remains an overlooked gem in Hiroyuki Imaishi's resume. That's mostly due to the fact this short has remained untranslated until 2019 when distributor Anime Unlimited included it in a short film compilation. It took over a decade but fans finally understand what this short was about.

The story is that a racing tournament is being heldnto determine who's the fastest in the world. A man named Arth is a longtime champion of this race and two fearsome competitors, Glavis and Bern, fervently want to rob him of this title. That's honestly all there ... is to it. Most of the enjoyment comes from the insane visual and off kilter animation. Oval x Over uses the same art direction as the then recent Dead Leaves movie which means lots of heavy shading and an underground comic-book aesthetic. I really loved Imaishi's old style since nothing he's produced afterwards has the same look to it.

This was also the last time Imaishi collaborated with Imaitoonz which is shame cause the two have a string synergy together. His advant garde style meshes perfectly with Imaishi's frantic energy. There's never a dull moment on screen with this high octane visual feast.