"Over Drive" is a currently ongoing Japanese anime series directed by Takao Kato and produced by "XEBEC." It’s currently airing on "AT-X," "TV Aichi," "TV Osaka," and "TV Tokyo." Up to twenty-six episodes of Over Drive is supposed to be aired on those four respective TV channels in Japan. There is a manga that is ongoing as well since November of 2005. The manga is authored by Yasuda Tsuyoshi and published by "Kodansha." The premise of Over Drive revolves around the sport of bicycle racing or "cycling" which is somewhat a popular sport but not as popular as the sport of soccer. The Tour de France which is the biggest and most popular cycling rage plays a big role in the series.
It begins with the life of a mild-mannered high school student going to the Cherry Tree Hill High School. His name is Mikoto Shinozaki who ends up being the first Japanese champion in the Tour de France. For the first few moments, it takes place in present time. Then, Over Drive immediately goes into the past where Mikoto is a normal high school student who somewhat looks and dresses like a "loser." His life was pretty normal like most of us. However, he gets dragged into the cycling club because his crush Yuki Fukuzawa made him do it. It turns out her brother is the captain of the cycling club.
Her brother Yousuke would give her money for any new members of the club. From there, Mikoto joins the cycling club and works his way through hard work and determination. It can be considered a true underdog story as Mikoto is very well the embodiment of one. The story of Over Drive shows everybody that someone like Mikoto can be something in the future. Over Drive is one series that makes cyclists feel very loved and appreciated it. It is a true sports theme series that has valuable lessons that everybody can learn from.
This is like "The Prince of Tennis" but revolves around the sport of cycling. This is a nice down to earth series that one can watch to wind down from watching a more intense series of anime. No matter what your tastes in anime are, Over Drive has something that could appeal to just everybody. The series is still airing in Japan and probably will not be released to North America yet.
It may be a few months before the license for North America is acquired. But with a license, it takes a bit longer than that. Once a license is obtained, there are auditions for voice actors. Then the voice actors are announced at a press released usually at some big anime convention. There’s the screening for directors and producers responsible for the dubbing. After that, there is the voice acting part itself. If and when Over Drive is licensed in North America, it might not be available for at least a year or two. But, Over Drive is one series that is worth hanging tight for.