Finally watched Oban Star-Racers properly... actually finished it like a week ago, but it kind of left me speechless.

Seriously, this show needs a fucking warning label. You think it's about a cute chick MC in a bunch of CG alien races? HAHAHAHAHA IT'S ACTUALLY RAW EMOTIONAL PAIN FROM BEGINNING TO END

I should hate you guys for hyping up this show, as it's pretty mediocre in almost every area. Plot - pretty basic, though I do wonder if Mystery Incorporated ripped this off (only those of you who've seen the entirety of both will know what I'm talking about). The dialogue and voice acting constantly reminded me of the Cardcaptors dub - not that that's necessarily a bad thing, mind you. The characterization ranged from pretty good to incredibly annoying, with the characters repeatedly making incredibly stupid decisions in the earlier episodes. The music... what music? Was it even there? The OP/ED are quite catchy, but why aren't there full English versions of the songs (apparently you can find the OP in French but not English)?

I could talk about how even without reading behind-the-scenes info it's incredibly obvious this was a pure passion project. The worldbuilding is the other highlight of the show, besides the emotional impact - it's on another level, whether it's the actual worlds, the creatures inhabiting them, or even the races themselves.

And yet all I can really say is that I'm so glad this is anime. Because if it weren't, I'd be forced to admit that there's a cartoon out there that has *more* SOUL than W.I.T.C.H.