ran-san

After the first episode bogged down in plot exposition and defining characters already defined in the TV Movie, this episode was more in line with something out of the classic series. With a basic plot that could of worked with the original series (Street Racers doing smuggling), this managed to turn into a fairly decent episode, and has given me a little more hope for this series - enough to keep it on my DVR, at any rate.

Also, Val Kilmer seems to be doing slightly better as KITT. Not up to the original voice, but better than the "HAL mode" he was in the movie. I think someone may have set him down with the DVD collection of the first season of original Knight Rider, and let him re-envision the character.

Turbo Boost was done better in this episode than the Premiere, but the "KR" under the car is pointless, and slightly breaks the fourth wall.

Comparing this movie to the original series, it's obvious that what this movie lacked was action, both off and on the road.

First off: Michael Knight was a very physical character, and would get in fights quite often in the original show. Mike Traceur on the other hand, got into a grand total of three fights, and none of them more than few seconds. For a Military Trained professional, he seems to be a bit of a lightweight in that department.

Second off: How many scenes of the desert do we need? Yes, we know it's there. The flowers are lovely. Skip it and get on with things.

Third off: Where's the cool car gadgets? Turbo boost, for example? All the car did was heal itself and chameleon itself a few times. I thought this was supposed to be "Knight Rider", not "Viper".

Val Kilmer's KITT is a little to much HAL for my tastes. Any more, and the main character would have to be a "Dave". KITT has a personality, that was the purpose of the car. To be a companion.

Other than that, the plot was pretty much Knight Rider, right out of the 80s. This has both good and bad connotations. 80's KR plots weren't exactly the most subtle or well written...let's face it, it was about the car.

This is a great series. Anyone who loves mysteries should see this series, subbed or dubbed. As a mystery fan, Detective Conan is truly great. As an anime fan, however, the dub leaves a bit to be desired. The voices are strong and they play their parts well (this does put it above other dub jobs I've seen), but my key gripe is the pointless Americanization of every name and location ever mentioned in the series. And I'm talking POINTLESS. I could see them renaming SOME people to keep younger American audiences from getting lost in them, but places? They call it Tokyo in the commercials, then rename Mt. Fuji to Mt. FREDERICK?!? IS this really necessary, FUNimation?

If you don't mind the pointless Americanization, the CN dub is fine. As for me, I can't wait for the Japanese language version to hit DVD.