The anime series shows off the Type S lineup, introduces us to a cast of characters, and takes us on a high-performance journey set against the backdrop of Southern California, the birthplace of Acura. The story centers on our underdog heroine, Chiaki, a young, strong-willed driving protégé, and her wise uncle Noboru, a former driving champion. When emotions heat up between Chiaki and her nemesis, Erich, at the local racetrack, Noboru must step in before things get dangerous. After a heart to heart, Noboru reveals his ace up the sleeve–the NSX Type S supercar. After agreeing to come out of retirement to mentor Chiaki, Noboru takes her to the family proving grounds to elevate her driving prowess. After training, Erich shows up uninvited to settle unfinished business. They agree to a winner-takes-all night race with Erich’s reputation and Chiaki’s family legacy on the line.

Japanese car culture and anime are intrinsically tied. Initial D, the most iconic car anime series, has sold over 48 million copies globally, turned countless people into Japanese car enthusiasts, and has a cult-like following to this day. We took inspiration from Initial D and other relevant animes like Akira, Wangan Midnight, Cowboy Bebop and Redline. We also used real brands, locations and people throughout the series: The first race and final showdown both take place at the Long Beach Grand Prix, using actual turns from the track. Noboru’s private driving road is modeled after the famous Angeles Crest Hwy. The sequence is inspired by touge driving, a type of mountain-pass driving that’s a staple in Japanese car culture. Noboru is based on a drift instructor who lives above his garage at Willow Springs Raceway in California. We collaborated with enthusiast car brands, like The Chronicles, Vtec Club, Recaro, Greddy.

Every character was animated digitally by hand in 2D software called TVPaint. Backgrounds were drafted using a combination of hand-drawn layouts and 3D models created in Blender, which were then uniquely hand painted in Photoshop. The vehicles were then taken into rough animation in 2D before being fully animated in 3D, allowing for dynamic action sequences in which cars could stretch in motion, imitating the 2D motion. The animation studio, The Line, developed its own 3D tool that rendered every single frame of the Acura vehicles individually. This system helped the studio achieve a non-photorealistic but highly detailed 2D shaded look that provided a dynamic and integrated stage for the 2D characters.