Kentauros no Densetsu

There hasn't been a review yet of this anime, so I'll give it a shot. "Kentauros no Densetsu" is a somewhat obscure 80s OVA about bikers and motorcycle racing. While it does have some decent moments and ideas, it also has a lot of flaws weighing it down.

Starting off with the animation, it's mostly a mixed bag. For the 80s some of the scenes are very well done, especially some of the racing scenes which have the camera floating around giving the illusion of 3D space even though the art is always 2D. The background art is a little bland by today's standards, the notable ... issue were some of the character's faces and body proportions, especially for the characters of Lady and Arthur, to the point it was a bit uncanny. The music is also fine I guess, there's this cheesy song they keep playing called "Venus! Jesus!" that is okay the first time but after the fourth or fifth time in the film it gets downright annoying.

The main issue in Kentauros is the "protagonist" Ken Shinozaki. I put protagonist in quotation marks because despite being the main character Ken has literally no redemptive features or development across the runtime. His only motivations are that he is infatuated with Lady and he hates losing in motorcycle races. He is extremely rude, even to characters that do nothing but help him like motorcycle mechanic and the fast-food waitress Akane. The character Lady is also frustrating, she shows no real purpose other than fanservice and the film takes every opportunity to show her naked (including the opening scene). Multiple times in Kentauros she makes clear that she has no romantic interest in any of the guys, despite the fact that Ken never gets the message. He even tries to assault her on an occasion, and for no reason towards the end of the film they have sex, even though Lady makes clear she still has no feelings for him.

Ironically the best character is the one who is initially played up to be the antagonist. Arthur, despite being Ken's rival for Lady (she doesn't care for him either) actually manages to add something to the scenes he's in, has a somewhat compelling backstory, and whose motivations make sense. Whether intentional or not, I found myself rooting for Arthur in the final race rather than Ken.

Overall "Kentaouros no Densetsu" is a decent 80s anime which is neither overly bad or good. Personally I thought it was a bit mediocre with the frustrating caste weighing it down, but I've also seen a lot worse, and if you're into retro or racing then this might be the anime for you.