The first step in unique direction is always accompanied with unknown hardships, but like any true adventurers with all kinds of experiences under their belt would tell you, “It’s all worth it.”
It is now 2017 Fall Anime Season, and Silver Link. is taking that very step to…
Alright, I am back from watching the first episode of Haikyuu!! and I am ready to talk more nonsense.
Before you make any weird assumptions on what kind of a weirdo does it take to create an anime based on… a real and long-existing sport…
Actually, never mind any of that. This is Japan we are talking about.
But allow me to share you a sight of REAL sidecar racing, done on planet Earth.
That person is without a doubt a weirdo but for completely different reasons. Please do watch the seven-minutes National Geographic video above as I am about to cross the line and may actually trigger some feminists along the way.
Did you catch the first sentence of the video?
I welcome you to 2017, where females are now well accepted into all kinds of sports for lunatics. However, you know this as much as I do; if we really want to watch any extremely, physically demanding sport for the ‘game’ and everything it has to offer, we would without a doubt watch the men’s game. While my opinion does not help gender equality in any way, current events regarding female athletes being paid lower than men in mainstream sports are the work of people whom are probably on the same boat.
It is then I think about some of the sports where females absolutely dominate in numbers. I would really love your additions to the talk while all I can really think of are sports that allow females to compete in much less than full clothing.
Taken from the London Olympics Beach Volleyball Semi-Finals, the little difference of audience between a men’s and a women’s game when both are at half time. It’s just a little weird but understandable when people attend the men’s game to watch the ‘play’, not much of the ‘players’. You are welcome to find the videos and look at the sheer difference between the two games at beginning.
Men’s is on the left.
So, what is the news for sports where women compete in the exact same amount of clothes as men?
I have been staring at the official Olympic’s YouTube channel, specifically at Football and Basketball games where the criteria above is met. I really wish that I hadn’t, because among the comments are just downright appalling voices of people who I wouldn’t hesitate to knock-out at point blank should I meet any of them. Oh and these comments clearly garnered ten times more replies than any other ones, guaranteed.
It gets worse; the replies are actually encouraging the flame.
- “haha women doing sports is so funny”
- “So slow men’s football is better”
- “Lack of women soccer: fans…”
- “women’s football promotes lesbians! I don’t like it”
- “That’s a weird looking kitchen”
- “i rather watch a free throw compilation”
- “but there has only been less than 20 dunks in women’s basketball history” — this is really sad but most likely the case as of 2014.
On the other side of the fence where sports such as (beach) volleyball, tennis and American football, creepy comments involving the female body, ___ tits and ___ ass pop up more often than anything else. While I’d no doubt add my thumbs up into those comments, I still find it appalling that majority of men can appreciate ‘fan service’ (both in anime and in real life) yet they have just as much time to violently degrade things that clearly do not comply with their expectations.
And now we are at Two Car, a show that we all can assume is based on female version of sidecar racing. There is absolutely no detailed difference in the gears both males and females wear to compete, which automatically puts women’s sidecar racing into the same category as women’s football and basketball.
If that is legitimately why the show’s rating is ridiculously low then I am disappointed at best. Otherwise there are still some issues this anime show is facing as of the current week’s airing–third episode.
Sorry but I will talk about the show’s problems in the next part because Two Car has this hidden requirement for you to remotely enjoy a show. This is by default, the show’s very first demerit.
Sidecar Racing
It’s a sport made up by some lunatic men probably, completely smashed while on it. It is one of the most dangerous functioning sports in history, arguably even on par with anything in X Games. The only safety feature competitors will ever have is on them–the protective leather clothes. No seat belts, no roll bars, just a few hand rails and your courage.
Usually taken as a sub-sport of motorcycle racing, the emphasis on the passenger is HUGE in sidecar racing. They are not just some extra weight that make your travels slower, instead they are what allows ‘kneelers’ (sidecar racers) to perform insane maneuvers in which a single man cannot do just as well on a motorcycle, such as doing turns at above 150 km/h in time trials.
And having come off motorcycles, there are naturally other things people do with the combination.
If there is motocross, you guessed it, there is also sidecarcross!
I suggest you spend 1-2 minutes watching all the of videos below; skip to the racing part, of course.
Then there is the round speedway, same deal with the competition involving just motorcycles.
However, the type of sidecar racing Two Car chose to adapt, and probably is the wisest choice out of all, is the time trial–track racing.
The passenger gets special attention for sure because he needs to have balls of steel, each weighting probably at least ten thousand tons. However, the Australians dug some humor out of the change in trend where females are now also part of sidecar racing. This particular team caught my attention because its name is “No Balls Racing“, named so because…
Hopefully after having spent a few minutes on each video, you now have some idea about sidecar racing, at least more than before you watched Two Car and coming out as confused as a cute duckling.
Silver Link. is definitely attempting to reach out for the untapped potential of ‘entertainment’ in the human mind. Anime is their forte, and anime shall be their method of doing so. Sidecar racing was actually much more popular in the past and it is understandable why people are quick to bat an eye on this particular attempt to show the transverse between a sport and anime.
It’s a sports anime in a nutshell. While I initially had Haikyuu!! in mind, now I am starting to think that maybe Two Car leans much closer towards Initial D, not because of how both of them are racing sports show but rather the way their stories progress.
Shokamoka's Blog of Wonders 
Well, after reading this I am almost ashamed to be a man that is going to giving a first comment ont this post. But then again, I have heard it said that I am not your typical man anyway, so I guess I am going to take the risk in doing so anyway. As one of the few people left watching this show (and I have to say that episode 3 was at least a bit of an improvement over the previous two), I don’t think I have ever even seen this as strange that women are riding these bikes. I always hate labels, and I think that there is absolutely no reason whatsoever why a woman could not do anything a man can do. It’s always been insulting to me, and reading through the comments you provided in your post for the YouTube videos, I can only shake my head and sigh. Sometimes men can be real idiots.
The same can be said, at least for me that is, in fanservice. Not a fan (pun intended). Case in point Highschool of the Dead. I love zombiemovies/shows, but that series was more interested in showing women in utterly degrading positions, instead of focussing itself on the actual zombie goodness. Shame really, because somewhere in there, a pretty good series was hidden.
All I can say about it, is that I hope in the future things will change. I can’t day it ever will, because looking at the world we are loving in today that would be a miracle at times. But luckily there are a lot of men who don’t think like all the others.
As for this post: I loved it. I really think it’s great the amount of research you did for this and providing all those videos. I will be looking at the show with new eyes now, and that’s definitely because of your post 😀 Well done 😊
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Actually, it’s fantastic that a man has an opinion and takes the time to express it. Thank you both. Great post Shoka. I actually really enjoyed the lesson on sidecar racing, it was a geart way to frame your thesis.
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Wow, thanks for these very kind words 😊
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Yes! I really do want to write about the third episode in particular because like you said, there have definitely been improvements. It’s a good thing too due to the fact that the third episode usually settles a continuation or a drop. For me it’s going to be a continuation.
The whole thing about females being underrepresented is so freaking ancient, I’m appalled to see it is still happening as recent as a few years ago. And it also definitely makes up a tiny part of Two Car’s lower rating which says quite a lot about the fandom.
Absolutely, women can do anything (not physically ‘sex’ restricted) a man can, though I do keep in my own mind that in most cases, they are not optimal to the exact same level as men. That is all fine, I am supposed to treat this with respect. Women are not men and regarding the comment about women’s football being worse off than men’s; derp!
I would like to mention a certain sport that’s escaped this very shitty loop and that is gymnastics, where both men and women wear little yet people adore both for their performances instead of their ‘looks’.
Why can’t people look at other sports the same way?
I am also hoping that things would change quicker. It has been changing, though too slow! Even today, women sidecar racing is barely noticeable and what Silver Link. is doing here shows a real attempt at ‘male’ sport where females dominate instead. Anime is one of the last few mediums where imagination and creativity are both potent weapons. I love seeing shows that takes reality for a spin!
Two Car will not be perfect but it’s definitely a start.
As always, thanks for reading and keeping me company with this sensitive subject!
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I’m going to stick with it myself as well. I’m not one to drop series anyway (even the bad ones), but if it continues on in the way it is doing now, it might become an interesting watch 😊
Some things just for some reason or another never seem to change. While I think there are luckily definitely some improvements over his things were in the past, all is still not as it should be unfortunately. Still, I like to stay optimistic ( I usually am that way), and hope that there will be more respect for women in the future. And that is how it should be in my opinion anyway 😊
You are welcome: and sensitive subject or not: it is one that should be adressed and you did that in a very respectful and perfect way 😀 Let’s hope Two Car will stay on the road it’s taken now 😊
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Let me just say that I am very very far from an expert on the subject but there is a certain thesis out there that suggests that some sports are akin to the old coliseum entertainment and a certain amount of aggressively is part of the whole. Essentially, it’s a redressing of gladiator sports and we enjoy the premise of people hurting each other without running the risk of getting hurt ourselves. This holds true in racing if you consider how many poor drivers have lost their lives on the track.
If you take this to be true, then there’s also very deep rooted societal (arguable even biological) biases against watching women get hurt. This in part explains why the ultimate expression of sports such as rugby, soccer or even tennis, tend to be different whether male or female athletes are competing, and if you’re there for the primal aggressivity(?) (There’s a much better way to say this…), then the male version will be more compelling.
I’m not entirely certain how much weight this argument holds but I do believe it does account for the difference in reception among some fans at least.
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That is an extremely strong argument to my comment regarding gymnastics. I guess I’m too much of a pussy to lay truth cards out on the mat haha!
That said, it is also among many ways I see sports in the past, Now I’m all for anyone getting hurt if they are idiots, male or female. 😀
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If they can make an anime about any sport I imagine sidecar racing is fair game… I’m not much into sports anime anymore mostly because the whole idea of fighting spirit and doing your best does not appeal to me (I give up easily on things). Also I blame Major for having the most whacked out storyline ever.
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I guess this is where the second part will be more rants. Because I want to talk about some of the things you mentioned here. It’s one of the main reasons why this show’s getting a bad reception for sure!
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