Oban Star-Racers

Theatrical-quality animation, beautiful design and fun, engaging characters make this a must-watch for anyone interested in this art form. The story, an unexceptionable coming-of-age adventure framed around a series of contests, is consistently enlightened by great dialog and well-rounded characters who grow and change. A myriad of small details--of dress, speech, professions, weather--make for an imagined science fiction world of great richness and charm. The violence is of the cartoon action type, with a fair amount of gunplay but no excessive gore. The animation, by a co-partnership of French and Japanese studios, is simply excellent. This show is too good to be compared with the normal run of United States cartoons.