Well, I saw the squirrel, so I can see this outcome in two ways, the first way is that he lost because he wasn't used to unexpected obstacles like that in a mountain pass, which is why Ryosuke said Takumi was more experienced in.
The second way I took it is that he did let Takumi win, he had seen what he had made to reach him, the whole crazy bit with the lights off, and once he had learned what his friend wanted to teach him he decided it was best to let Takumi win to not break his spirit, Takumi earned his respect as a racer with that insane trick, and his complete concentration, he said to himself, damn, this is the kind of resourcefulness and risk taking I have been missing from my racing, it's this kind of passion I need to look back into, the need to win whatever means necessary in the field, and once he remembered that, he felt refreshed and decided it was not his job anyway to win that race, he did not pull any punches earlier so he decided to give Takumi the spot so he can continue growing, confident, he told him it had been just luck, but that is just enough for Takumi to say, hey, I'm good, I can do this, that is the other way I can take the result of this race on. As I said before, I did see the squirrel in a split of a second, it's here if you pause, so it could have been indeed, pure luck as well, but I like to think Takumi wasn't really lucky, but that he won the respect of a proracer with his driving, and won the race as a treat from a more professional driver.
Do you think it is lame if he did let Takkumi win? Well, in my opinion, I know that seeing Takumi win could be seen as part of the appeal of the races, but he has reached a ceiling that it is hard to beat, like being with a proracer himself, I think the point of this race was not necessarily that he is always going to win, but that he is always so resourceful and has such an indomitable spirit for racing that you just can't help it but feel inspired.
Obviously, we are not ready for that yet as an audience, so Takumi wins, if he loses, there would be a whole arc where he has to get back up on his feet, a rematch arc, no what a drag for the proracer! If we see it in the eyes of the proracer breaking the spirit of someone he considers a younger version of himself it wouldn't be necessarily a cool thing, there is nothing he gains by proving himself to a kid, and if he wins he then has to wait for Takumi to look for him on a rematch or he will feel defeated as well, it's just not cool, losing to a street racer because of technique or ability is not a good thing, but losing to a street racer due to bad luck is just enough to keep everyone happy, and pat that younger him on the back.
I know I have talked a lot this post, I haven't posted too much or at all with this show since I always watch it before going to sleep, and most of the times I don't have the energy, but today I say it because I feel it is necessary, I feel this show has impressed me with battles and victories that feel genuine, which is something I can't say of shonen anime, in the first season Takumi won with pure skill, in the second season, he lost, he had to make up for what he lacked, a good equipment, in the movie he learned the saw he needed a mentor and now he is working as much as he can doing all sorts of ideas and tactics, I know people have said that now it feels Takumi wins by tricks, but I still feel Takumis skill, like when he took that corner with a tire flying on the air while trying to keep the weight in the rear tires, or right now in this race being able to race at max speed with no lights, no lights. All those corners he took in the first season? They were tricks too, but tricks that require pure and dedicated skill, which is why it's so awesome. Some people think the squirrel part was a bad bit, and Takumi won because a silly Deus ex machina, but no, he didn't win for real, he was just patted ln the back, because he showed he had what it takes to inspire another racer. |