Tailenders

The movie Redline, this is not.

Around 20 minutes for a short that swirls around the idea of "racing", but doesn't provide much in that department and leaves one disappointed. While the art style is somewhat appealing, there's no memorable moment in its animation to truly celebrate. Add to that a story that barely starts and doesn't really end, simplistic designs, shallow characters, hollow aspirations and world building that is as scarce as its length.

It isn't particularly annoying or bad in any of its elements, just generic and utterly harmless. Can't really recommend something I barely feel like I watched.

Tailenders is one of those artsy, outre shows you either love or wonder in bafflement what you just watched after you finish. It's unfortunately sabotaged by its short runtime and doesn't have enough room to really dig into the fascinating concepts it introduces, paring its story down to the absolute bare essentials...but sometimes that's enough.

Tailenders isn't a racing story in the typical sense, but the goals they do have and the world these characters inhabit is tantalizing out of proportion to the revelations you're actually given about it. It's a show that leaves you musing over the tidbits it doles out for quite some time afterwards. It's a story you have not seen before, and that's a rarity these days.

Could it have been amazing if given a six-episode half-season run like many other specialty anime? Absolutely. It could also have tripped over its own feet, failed to stick the landing, and doused its own spark as so many shows end up doing. As it is, Tailenders is too thin to be truly amazing, but it's provocative in a way I haven't encountered since FLCL and doesn't give itself enough time to ruin its own mystique.

It'll take twenty-five whole minutes out of your life to find out for yourself. If you're a fan of intriguing, atypical sci-fi, wacky side characters, confidently bossy girls, and filling in the blanks with your own imagination? You won't regret those twenty-five minutes.