Made over the course of two years by Picograph a team of just four incredibly talented peoplehttps://ja.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/E38394E382B3E382B0E383A9E38395 Tailenders is a short yet surprisingly stylish and warm story about two things the way people resonate with each other and the way people change or rather adapt. And how constant that change is how we cope with it and whatnot. Set on a planet vastly different from ours most of which consists of a scarcely populated desert wasteland the Wheeled Cities populated with immigrant pioneers travel across the planet with their goal always being the same getting away from Stampede a natural phenomenon caused by a machine that humanity once tried to use to terraform the planet into a less hostile environment indeed its not just a regular animalinduced stampede but a gigantic earthquake that destroys entire cities and leaves pure chaos and ruin in its wake. Unfortunately it occurs during a race which our protags attend one of them Tomoe happens to be watching the event together with her pushover sidekick assistant and Shiro an ambitious racer well drives right into the Stampedes epicenter together with his lifelong rival Goodspeed the two trying to beat the mythical Loser Kings record and ultimately falling to their doom in pursuit of their dreams sustaining lifethreatening injuries. https://files.catbox.moe/nhwe76.png Tomoe however sees this as a perfect opportunity the time has come for her to test out the Tomoe Drive an experimental halfheart implant halfengine thingamajig. Interrupting Shiros emergency medical procedure she asserts dominance using her vixen charms and Chad Stride gives him a onceinalifetime quite literally opportunity either he stays here and dies on the operating table hes laying on or she gets to save his life and in the process fulfill her vision of being the perfect candidate to make use of her latest invention. https://files.catbox.moe/bqi0ej.png https://files.catbox.moe/mlbgpe.png https://files.catbox.moe/b6x4y3.png All he has to do in return if he accepts is to take part in the Planet ReDevelopment Race an annual event that brings together criminals artisocrats madmen TV personalities explorers pizza delivery guys and everything inbetween no seriously every single racer has a full name and bio on the official websitehttp://tailenders.com/chara/character.htm and they range from a parody of The Stig to a prisoner on death row who rides in her own exeuction room on wheels hoping to get pardoned for her streak of murders if she wins I find it incredible how even background characters with 5 seconds of screentime have entire backstories goals and gimmicks however brief their appearances and how minor their roles might be. On top of that its said Loser King will be there too as mysterious and unexplained as his sightings are. Naturally this tempts Shiro enough to sell his soul to this devil of a woman and the two embark on whats not just a race but a test of their resolve ambitions and ideals alike. https://files.catbox.moe/zkktt8.webp As for how the race goes and what the two get from it Ill leave that for you to explore. There are a few things of note that Id like to direct your attention towards though. 1 The art direction in general. TAILENDERS is not just profoundly stylish and overthetop but uniquely charming in both its aesthetics and vibe. Part of me wants to say it feels like a mix of several different 90s2000s aesthetics: you have the stylish urban punk look that evokes something like the Jet Set Radio series No More Heroes or Dead Leaves you have the overthetop cogs piping and machinery that call forth the vibes of Tim Burtons works American McGees Alice series or even obscure tabletop RPGs of that era such as Malifaux. I wouldnt say they were 100 directly inspired but rather that Tailenders feels VERY MUCH like something made in the late 2000s in the best way possible. Funnily enough though I cant help but notice a similarity between the Planet ReDevelopment Races logo and the Desire Grand Prix logo from 2022s Kamen Rider Geats. Goes to show some aesthetics are eternally charming and liked by artists and graphic designers alike I think. 349https://files.catbox.moe/r2he2v.png 200https://files.catbox.moe/mjalh7.jpg Ive seen some comparisons being made to REDLINE and frankly much as I agree with that sentiment I wouldnt call it a better/worse/discount REDLINE by any means. Rather they are two pieces of media that embody the time period they were made in and it just so happens both of them tell the story of a race taking place on an alien planet where all sorts of freaks and weirdos compete Id say the similarities just show us that things like racing alien planets and cheering on for candidates of a competition are something so widely appreciated and deemed cool that its no surprise many different artists would make use of them. If anything its interesting how vastly different two movies made with a very similar idea in mind manage to be and how distinct their respective focus is what different themes they explore. I will say though if you loved REDLINE youll most likely love TAILENDERS and vice versa. Even if they were inspired by each other I think its very much a two cakeshttps://knowyourmeme.com/memes/holyshittwocakes type deal. On top of that I cant help but notice how much of a role colors play scenes full of hype and action are kept in warm colorschemes ones with a more relaxed or mysterious atmosphere are kept in a variety of colder ones and the desert keeps treating us to an array of yellows blacks and grays often complimenting the wide plethora of colors and aesthetics each different racer adopts. https://files.catbox.moe/9cy9jo.png https://files.catbox.moe/rd3d06.png https://files.catbox.moe/5d8p03.png The vehicles all look like they were either Lego Racers rejects or a Transformers character from Japans Superlink series. In fact the car Tomoe and Shiro drive together instantly made me think of Red Alert from that line I cant help but wonder if the creators were influenced by him... https://3.bp.blogspot.com/UHUx0qxN5A/ULiqmG6RI/AAAAAAAAZGs/5rWMeca9g/s1600/SC112BRed2BAlert28Super2BLink292BF12Bmode.JPG 2 The characters. As Ive said I already find it nice that even 5second Literal Whos get a little bio and writeup on the official site even if we disregard that the movie itselfs cast is nothing to sneeze at either. Neither Tomoe nor Shiro feel like the true main character nor are they accessories for one another it feels like theyre both given equal importance making for a remarkably fun experience as were given insights into the personality goals and inner thoughts of our male and female lead in equal amounts. You can interpret it as the hotblooded protagonist and his manic pixie engineer girlfriend just as much as you can interpret it as this stylish dominant genius woman and her musclebrained himbo boyfriend going on a ride that blends their ambitions and circumstances into a grand adventure. Their personalities bounce off each other extraordinarily well making for a fun dynamic that I cant get enough of. https://files.catbox.moe/hkfbfd.png As Ive mentioned while I wouldnt compare Shiro to Sweet from REDLINE and rather say that hes an embodiment of many 90s2000s protag vibes that permeated the era I do have to admit Tomoe reminded me heavily of another extraordinarily wellwritten female character Devonea Dr Necro Violet from KEYMAN. Without going into spoilers for either work I just think its interesting how theyre both geniuses with insane amounts of charm but also a bit of regrets stemming from their creatorial perhaps equally motherly even links to their settings respective antagonists as well as the issues and vices that come with an intellect and passion held back by inherently human parts of themselves and embodied by their lifelong regrets. Oh and they smirk the same. https://files.catbox.moe/flhe7t.png Loser King and Goodspeed are inherently fascinating too with Loser King being not just a character but rather an embodiment of an unattainable goal for many as well as a haunting reminder of many peoples past mistakes and dreams and Goodspeed being more of a simple man that never loses track of whats important in life no matter how much he changes or what new records he beats. Hes also a very honorable man playfully having a little backandforth with Shiro rather than openly mocking him and treating him like hes any worse than him for challenging something unbeatable and insane to try and fathom. 3 The worldbuilding and narrative. Despite being just 27 minutes were given more than enough info on how the world works unique concepts like the Wheeled Cities Stampedes and the Terraformer and none of it feels inserted randomly or tacked on last minute it all feels so awesomely planned out that I feel like the four creators truly had not just a vision but unbridled creativity that thankfully found an outlet in the form of this short flick. On top of that its not just purely focused on its inherent stylishness theres also a story being told and one hell of a story at that a philosophical rant about how things change how people resonate with each other and how humanity adapts to anything life throws at it and will continue to do so however long even a single humans left alive no matter how much theyre told oh its pointless oh youre insane oh nothing will ever change and so on. In a way this whole movie feels like an adaptation of Insane Clown Posses song Forever:https://www..com/watch?v=vu0OEcj9uBQ This life is tricky mean and strange You can only be sure about one thing: change For worse or for better... Maintain Catch wisdom try to gain brains Mix a melancholic yet profoundly warm life lesson with a quartet of thoroughly dedicated and unique artists and you have a winning combination a story that not only manages to be a perfect product of its time in the best way possible but also have an identity of its own that I cant help but love anytime I come back to it. In just 27 minutes you get all the 2000s energy you could wish for as well as a really sweet story of two people and a third wheel understanding how change is an inherent part of life and nothing feels quite as satisfying as finding somebody who shares your ideals in an everchanging world and never abandons their dreams.