Take the X Train OVA Review

Take the X Train

Anime like porn can be a slippery slope. It’s like going to your favorite site, typing in your favorite genre, and the next thing you know, your watching futa’s again, wondering where the time went and how in the hell did you get here? Do I have your attention? How you ask? Great!  About two weeks ago, a similar situation arose that had nothing to do with pixelated privates. It involved my recent addiction to nostalgic anime, primarily cyberpunk. I started innocently watching works directed by Yoshiaki Kawajiri and landed on works directed by Rintaro.

If we’re honest, no one accidentally lands on futa’s, and no one accidentally lands on Rintaro. Rintaro, whose real name is  Shigeyuki Hayashi, is one of the co-founders of Madhouse Studios and has directed many notable anime. These include Galaxy Express 999, Space Pirate Captain Harlock, and Metropolis, the latter in 2001 earned him a Best Film (nomination) at the Sitges Film Festival in Spain.

After watching Battle Angel: Alita, take the X Train, a 50 minute OVA, was an anime I accidentally discovered. I was lost in a sea of Cyberpunk goodness, and I gave it a spin because it was a short anime. My initial impression was that it was very different from the anime released at the time. The art and animation put me in the mind of western cartoons, with maybe the closest examples being old Disney cartoons featuring Goofy and Pluto. A more recent example would be Fritz the Cat, the 1972 black comedy animation film based on the Fritz the Cat Comic Strip by R. Crumb.

Take the X Train is a short foray into the life of the protagonist Nishihara, Toru. Toru is an employee of the Japan East Railway Company. He is employed in what seems to be the marketing department under a boss obsessed with trains. He finds himself cast into the spotlight when it is discovered that he is an esper and has an unknown connection to train number EF5861. A decommissioned locomotive scheduled to be scrapped.

Known in Japan as X Densha de Ikou,  Take the X Train is based on the short novel by Koichi Yamano. The short novel is known as “Ghost Train” and follows a similar premise as the OVA. The OVA was written and directed by Rintaro. Produced by Madhouse Studios, Yoshinori Kanemori handled the art and animation.

The film includes the genres Science Fiction,  Avant-Garde, Mystery, and Supernatural. It has an R+17 rating for profanity and violence. The film is unlicensed and possibly out of print; however, Take the X Train can be viewed on Youtube due to a small cult following.

While sometimes influenced by western animation, rarely are anime dedicated to western animators, musicians, or cultural icons. Take the X Train is dedicated to the late African-American jazz musician Duke Ellington. The anime’s title is a nod to “Take the A Train,” a jazz standard composed by Billy Strayhorn. The piece would become a signature tune of the Duke Ellington Orchestra.

X Densha de Ikou presents Toru as your run-of-the-mill nobody. A bit of a gopher for his boss, and at times a clueless idiot, he’s an apparent sex romp for his model girlfriend, who, after a moment of ecstasy, breaks up with him. This would be a low blow; however, Toru is more obsessed with Americana than with women. A passing American-made SUV is all it takes to grab Toro’s attention.

As his status in life, he takes it on the chin, but this is abruptly interrupted when Toro encounters the locomotive known as the “X Train.” A secretly monitored esper, Toru has an unknown connection to the locomotive and can summon its presence but can not bend it to his will. That is the desire of the secret officials of the Japanese government. To harness Toru’s abilities that Japan may dominate the world via its psychic army.

An anime that’s light on substance  X Densha de Ikou makes up for it with the animation and art. Released during a period of experimentalism, Take the X Train toys with conventional anime and creates characters that though animated, are lifelike in their interaction with others. A significant amount of product placement and references throughout the anime present a world obsessed with consumerism.

The character designs handled by Yoshinori Kanemori are reminiscent of western animation in that while set in Japan, characters are presented with different body types and skin tones. As a fun fact, there is a character that is a nod to Raiders of the Lost Ark; I won’t ruin it but let me know if you find it. Because of the age of the film, some elements have not aged well, but the effects are still good for its time.

An anime dedicated to the late jazz legend Duke Ellington, Take the X Train is a jazzy delight. Yosuke Yamashita is credited with much of the musical accompaniment throughout the film. There is no opening intro, but Akiko Yano performed the end credits. Akiko Yano does her version of the Take the A Train during the movie’s closing credits.

Don’t expect much in the way of substance here, as this anime is no Ghost in Shell. Take the X Train is more of an OVA for artists and animators. It’s the type of piece for those who dive into animation history in search of new ideas. Take the X Train was not the first, but it was a forerunner for the large-eyed anime characters we see in anime today. This anime is best avoided for modernists, but for fans of black comedy and nostalgia, at 50 minutes, it won’t break the bank.