is a Japanese motorcycle racing

Motorcycle racing

Motorcycle sport is a broad field that encompasses all sporting aspects of motorcycling. The disciplines are not all "races" or timed-speed events, as several disciplines test a competitor's various riding skills.-Motorcycle racing:...

 manga

Manga

Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...

 written and illustrated by Kaoru Shintani

Kaoru Shintani

is a Japanese manga artist. Shintani is best known for his series Area 88, which is widely recognized as one of the finest aviator comic titles in the history of manga. In addition to his very popular pilot comics, Shintani has successfully ventured into science fiction, fantasy, comedy, and hentai...

. It received the 1984 Shogakukan Manga Award

Shogakukan Manga Award

The is one of Japan's major manga awards, sponsored by Shogakukan Publishing. It has been awarded annually for serialized manga since 1955 and features candidates from a number of publishers.The current award categories are:...

 for shōnen manga. The series focuses on Sawatari Taka and Toujou Taka as they compete with each other and other competitors in motorcycle racing

Motorcycle racing

Motorcycle sport is a broad field that encompasses all sporting aspects of motorcycling. The disciplines are not all "races" or timed-speed events, as several disciplines test a competitor's various riding skills.-Motorcycle racing:...

. Their names means "hawk" and "falcon", respectively.

The manga was adapted as an 36 episode anime

Anime

is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....

 series broadcast on Fuji TV between September 20, 1984 and June 21, 1985. The anime premiered in France on March 11, 1990 and was released on La 5 and Mangas. Only 32 were aired in France.

Plot

When Taka Sawatari and his mother were heading home after having dinner,they were attacked by a motorcycle gang. They got saved by a mysterious young man. The next day, Sawatari learned that that young man was a professional racer who has the same name first name, Taka Toujou. In a race, Sawatari loses control when entering a curve, nearly killing Toujou. After the event, the two become rivals as they compete against each other with their racing skills.

Characters

Anime

The opening theme for the series was and the ending theme was , both performed by Aki Hiro. Music for the series was composed by Joe Hisaishi

Joe Hisaishi

, known professionally as , is a composer and director known for over 100 film scores and solo albums dating back to 1981.While possessing a stylistically distinct sound, Hisaishi's music has been known to explore and incorporate different genres, including minimalist, experimental electronic,...

.