Overtake! Review

Overall Rating 6.3 out of 10 - Good for F1 fans despite various drawbacks and distractions.

I can recommend it for Formula Racing fans.

I watched it because I like Formula one. This is a very strange shows that does few certain things very well and many others very wrong. I think it's an attempt to sell wokism and virtue signaling with the help of racing and anime. On the other hand, it has enough racing to make it interesting enough.

I will begin with the good part: racing. F4 is a real sport that fits between carting and F3. Not the kind of go-karting where you pay some money to ride a cart 5 minutes but rather karting where you buy your own cart for around $3000, plus other parts but below $10 000 total and then enter amateur local competition with other enthusiasts just like yourself. Many actual F1 racers begun just like that and sometimes you can even see them going back to these roots. Learning how to tweak these carts to edge out some extra performance would later help one tweak more advanced cars, even F1. If you do well with carts you can be signed up to F4 next. This show is about this stage. 

Technical details of racing life for the most part is very well done. You can see creators really spend some time to understand how Formula racing operates. Practice, quali, tyre wear, spare parts, money all of that costs and sponsors. All of that replicated with great details, even better than some people who comment on F1 on youtube. There are but few things left unexplored. Its 95% correct and very pleasant to watch for a formula fan.

That was the good, now the bad. Alas its numerous. Part of the story is dedicated to a photographer who lost ability to take photos because he witnesses a hurricane, no srs. On top of that he is being "cancelled" because some claimed he needed to help a girl to escape hurricane instead of snapping photos of her. Typical woke idiotism. The photographer himself feels guilt instead of anger at woke idiots who cancelled him. This show dedicates several episodes for that sub plot. Also, a photographer has an unpleasant hard ass ex-wife who still hangs out with him due to cognitive dissonance or something.

Detours do not end here, one whole episode is dedicated to a running marathon, srs.

Back to racing protagonist, he is part of the very poor team that struggles to afford racing. However instead of underdog beating everyone type of story, like in Girls und Panzer, here they instead keep wallowing it that poverty, trying to find some purpose in it or something. Rich rival team Bersollizo offered the protagonist to switch to them, but he refused because of some emotional thing.

In general show is full of irrational actions based on emotions and so on. It's not that accurate at that either. Well perhaps some people are like that, but that just makes it a closed show for the in-group. Not just the photographer but pretty much every other character drowns in all sorts and forms of guilt. It's a guilt galore.

Aesthetics and ethics wise they are on some poverty and retro glorification. Protagonist team, Komaki Motors are notoriously poor, with ugly walls, rusty signs and so on. Unlike Oorai that is pristine and friendly and fun despite claims of financial shortages, here is doom and gloom throughout. Even well off Bersoliso does not give enjoyable vibe despite their money. Bersoliso leader seem to dislike nice things. Creators of this show as well, they wallow in misery far too much simply to make a statement or an exposition. They seem to enjoy privation. 

Feminism and SJW glorification spree here as well. Grid girls for some reason cannot be dressed in clothes that are actually sexy. Guys looking feminine and weak. Authoritarian hard ass women in coats too. Alas neither of these things appeal to viewers unless they are SJW. There are good reasons why guys like soft girls like Hyūga Hinata and Yin, creators of this show either fail to understand that or just try to force their views on viewers.

Overall, it's a mixed experience. It's actually possible to focus on racing and overlook other parts. If you do that you can somewhat enjoy this show.