Search - IGPX, Vol. 2 on DVD

Eight Episodes Deep, and Still Rolling As Fast As Ever

Antonio D. Paolucci | Beaver Falls, PA | 04/18/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"At eight episodes deep, I expected at one point for IGPX to slow a bit, but it's still running at the same breakneck pace it set in the first volume. By the end of volume two, we are deeply entrenched in Satomi's world of race sponsoring and the selling of a product, the teams are five races into their season, and the constant stream of new characters still has yet to end.

In particular, this volume follows the life of the pilots after their defeat against Team Velshtein, who seem to have the edge on IG 1 and have no inclination to give that up. Team Satomi must regroup and get ready for their next opponent, Team Edgeraid, who, like Satomi's Luca, has a pet co-pilot as well, making somewhat of a rivalry between the two teams. Still, though, Satomi is scrambling to get her team back on track after the loss, and the pilots face a lot of personal problems amongst each other as well as in their own lives. By the final episode, Team Satomi is facing off against Team Skylark in a decisive race to decide the future of Team Satomi.

The quick pacing of this series, though, is not always good. I can't even remember the names of the secondary main characters without popping in the DVD or reading the back of the case. In fact, they rush ahead into the series so much that I can't help but feel that this series will hit a wall very soon, probably with a recap episode (I haven't watched this on Cartoon Network, so I don't know what happens beyond episode eight).

Despite that, though, I was unwilling to give this DVD less than a five. If all goes well and the pacing holds up, then this series will be a great one. Plus, IGPX breaks the standards of most anime, with cutting edge animation, CGI, and voice-acting (with two Hollywood actors as proof). The special features on the DVD aren't that bad either, with the original IGPX short and an interview with the beautiful Michelle Rodriguez (who sports a nice zit on her nose in it) as the highlights. For those reasons, I have to recommend this anime. No where else will you find this much quality (except maybe Wolf's Rain or the upcoming Eureka Seven). And if you enjoyed watching IGPX on TV, then I'd also recommend this for you, as it's the uncut version complete with a Japanese track should you desire watching it in the sub version."