The Legend Begins
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The Legend Begins[citation needed], known as Legendary Start!! (伝説・スタート!!, Densetsu・Sutāto!![?]) in Japan, is the first episode of the F-Zero: GP Legend anime.
Plot
The episode begins with the F-Zero racers starting their engines for a test lap of the 2201 Corkscrew Final. During the lap, Jody Summer explains that they have to stop Zoda and his henchmen from winning the prize money and funding their organization. Rick Wheeler gets cocky and boosts ahead before the racers return to the starting line. The race begins and the racers drive off, Rick obtaining his Boost power, followed shortly by Jack Levin, Captain Falcon, and the rest. An explosion occurs at the end of the tunnel, after which their boosts run out. As Rick taunts Jack, Bio Rex comes up and knocks into Rick, pushing him to the side. Rick responds with an attack of his own, sending the Big Fang into a wall. After commenting that Rick handled worse "bums" a hundred fifty years ago, the scene gives a flashback to Rick's time as a racer during that time period.
Now in 2051, after winning the Big Apple Grand Prix for the second year in a row, his girlfriend, Misaki Haruka, comes up to give him flowers and poses with him on his vehicle when she is pulled up. Later, Haruka is waiting for Rick under a bridge and decides to call him. Rick is seen waiting in his police car before his phone loses the signal, and he takes out a ring and fantasizes about proposing to Haruka. A police alarm shifts the scene to Zoda escaping a prison in a armored van, which he soon loses control of and topples over. Police members come out to follow, but Zoda pulls out a machine gun and begins firing. Rick gets the details, drops the ring box on the floor while recognizing Zoda, and speeds off to the encounter. Zoda, now in a different getaway vehicle, drives to evade the cops while shooting at them. They swerve out of the way and Rick comes up from behind and chases Zoda through town. Zoda shoots his car's door off, which goes flying through Rick's windshield and puts him in a coma.
In 2201, John Tanaka is trying to convince Jody that awakening Rick from cold sleep after 150 years is not a good idea. They meet up with Dr. Stewart, who tells them Rick's body is severely damaged and may not survive, but Jody is hopeful that Rick will pull through while John worries about his job, saying the operation is illegal. They send Rick to cryo to begin the revitalization process, which succeeds and Dr. Stewart provides Rick with new clothes. Jody introduces herself as the leader of the Elite Mobile Task Force of the Galaxy Police. She asks Rick how he feels, to which he tentatively responds with saying he is okay. In the pile of new clothes, Rick finds the wedding ring he was going to propose with and remembers Haruka, quickly taking his old clothes and leaving. When trying to navigate the facility, he enters a viewing deck overlooking an unfamiliar city.
While wondering where he is, Jody comes up explaining that the New York City Rick used to know is now called Mute City. She says there have been many changes since Rick's accident, Dr. Stewart adding that the accident was a hundred fifty years ago and that Rick's been in cold sleep since then. After he remembers the events that led up to his coma and wonders how he slept that long, Jack Levin comes up and taunts Rick, Jody introducing him as another member of the Elite Mobile Task Force. Dr. Stewart recommends that Jack takes Rick on a tour of Mute City, which Jack declines before Rick runs past him in disbelief. Rick finds his way to a garage, encountering Dr. Clash working on a new machine: the Dragon Bird. Rick immediately jumps in and investigates the control panel before demanding the key from Dr. Clash. The key is handed to him and Rick figures out the ignition, starting up the vehicle while Dr. Clash tells him he should not do that. Jack steps into the garage and declares that Rick cannot drive the machine as his license expired a hundred-forty-nine years ago. Rick experiences new speeds with the machine before being dropped into a side street, seeing floating buildings and roads. Rick enters a tunnel and enters the city, seeing floating machines and aliens before thinking he might be still in cold sleep. He enters traffic and the Dragon Bird loses power, forcing Rick to take the side streets instead. While there, he recognizes Brooklyn, and goes to where he planned to meet up with Haruka. He looks around for her and notices her, before finding out the woman is not Haruka. While looking at his ring, Jack comes up and teases Rick about the ring, then is confronted by Rick. Jack claims this is a popular area with pretty girls, just like back in Rick's day, which is how he found Rick. During the taunting conversation, Jack claims girls like him because he is an F-Zero superstar and brings Rick to a popular bar to prove it. Upon entering the bar, a trio of girls approach Jack. Rick wants none of it and starts to leave, but the girls take an interest in him and start asking him questions and inviting him to dance. Rick runs off and Jack follows him, taunting him about not having what it takes to be an F-Zero racer. Rick says he has been winning races since before Jack's great-great-grandmother was born, to which Jack challenges Rick to a one-on-one race for the Dragon Bird.
Rick and Jack race through a ravine into the city, reaching a white line and starting the race. Rick, unsure on how to handle the Dragon Bird, has trouble gaining the boost he needs and Jack overtakes him. Determined to win, Rick pulls ahead until Jack drifts on the turn and takes the lead again. Rick activates his Boost power and flies ahead of Jack, but has trouble maintaining the grip on his machine's drifting. He ends up losing control and sliding into a wall, bouncing around and landing upside-down before tumbling back over and coming to a stop. Jack comes up and taunts Rick's driving, to which Rick claims Jack cut him off. Jack tells Rick to fix the Dragon Bird before delivering it to him and leaves, with Rick getting upset and holding an injured arm. Jody is seen watching the race from afar.
The scene transitions back to the facility's garage, where Rick is fixing the Dragon Bird before an alarm goes off. A newscast is playing on a nearby screen, showing an altered Zoda attacking an area. Rick immediately recognizes him and finds his way to a meeting room where Jody is debriefing her troops, consisting of Jack, Dr. Clash, Dr. Stewart, and Mr. EAD. When Dr. Stewart asks where Rick is, Jack explains he is fixing the Dragon Bird and that he was trying to teach Rick how to handle it. After claiming Rick banged it up and gave it to Jack willingly, Rick comes up in his new clothes and states he is going with them. When he says he is taking the Dragon Bird, Jack says they had a bet, but Rick calls it off. Jody sends everyone out and the scene returns to where it left off before the flashback, saying that is when Rick joined the F-Zero team and his new future begins.
Characters
These characters appear in this episode, listed by the order of their appearance. Characters debuting in this episode are in bold.
- Octoman (Japanese version)
Differences between the Japanese and English versions
- In the Japanese version, during the countdown at the start of the 2201 Grand Prix, there is an additional zoom out of the racers in the middle of showing them. In the English dub, this zoom out is removed. The English dub also fixes an error where the middle lights of the signal do not light up in the Japanese version.
- Immediately afterward, in the Japanese version, there are additional camera angles showing the racers ignite their machines before transitioning to the title card. In the English dub, the show immediately transitions to commercial once Rick takes off.
- The styling of the 2051 Grand Prix sign is different between versions, likely to account for Rick's names between regions. The Big Apple Grand Prix is not stated by name in the Japanese version.
- Rick's "No Signal" screen on his phone is different between versions. Additionally, he does not talk while looking at the ring in the Japanese version.
- During Rick's chase with Zoda, the overhead camera angle is displayed twice in the Japanese version. In the English dub, this second usage was removed.
- When Zoda's door is flying through the air, there is Japanese lettering on a sign nearby. This lettering was removed in the English dub, leaving a blank sign.
- When Rick is thinking of Haruka when the door flies through his windshield, Haruka giggles in the English dub.
- When Jody and John approach Dr. Stewart prior to reviving Rick, Dr. Stewart acknowledges both of them in the English dub. In the Japanese version, he only acknowledges Jody. Additionally, while Dr. Stewart tells John to "chill out for a century or two" in the English dub, he only states fifty years in the Japanese version. Immediately afterward, there is an additional frame of animation where some fog in Rick's capsule dissipates in the Japanese version, while there is instead an extra line from Dr. Stewart in the English dub.
- In the Japanese version, after Rick's capsule is closed, there is an additional scene of the present where Rick races against Octoman. This scene is removed in the English dub.
- When Rick awakens from cold sleep and Jody introduces herself, she directly states that Rick is working under her in the Japanese version. This line is not present at any point in the episode for the English dub.
- It takes Rick longer to remember Haruka when he sees the ring again in the Japanese version.
- When Rick enters the viewing deck and sees Mute City for the first time, the Japanese version shows additional scenes of the viewing deck and the city itself.
- When Jody and Dr. Stewart tell Rick he has been in cold sleep since 2051, the English dub adds additional flashback scenes of Rick's accident.
- The control panel graphics of the Dragon Bird differ between versions.
- There are additional scenes of Rick driving the Dragon Bird through the tunnel in the Japanese version. Additionally, the Japanese version has the bridge drop the Dragon Bird into the stream of water, while the English dub extends the bridge to the road.
- In the English dub, there is a sign that points out the passage to the city. This sign does not exist in the Japanese version, nor is the backdrop when Rick enters the passage.
- The vehicles of Mute City differ between versions, appearing more like modern vehicles in the Japanese version and more like F-Zero machines in the English dub.
- Rick accepts that he has been asleep for a hundred fifty years in the Japanese version, while he denies it in the English dub.
- The conversations between Rick and Jack are completely different between versions:
- When Jack finds Rick, he points out that the bridge area is the only place left unchanged in the Japanese version. In the English dub, Jack points out the girls instead.
- Rick points out Jack is part of the Mobile Task Force, to which Jack challenges Rick to a race before taking him to a bar in the Japanese version. In the English dub, Jack is focused on his popularity with the girls and the challenge comes after the bar scene.
- During the bar scene, Jack hopes he has better luck with the girls than Rick after 150 years in the Japanese version. In the English version, Jack says he hopes he has Rick's luck when he is 175, hinting at Rick's age of 25.
- After the bar scene, when Rick and Jack drive off to race, there is an additional scene of them leaving the parking lot in the Japanese version. The scene of them approaching the white line to start the race is also extended in the Japanese version.
- The race between Jack and Rick has different scenes between versions.
- When Rick is fixing the Dragon Bird after the race, the Dragon Bird is visually different between versions.
- When Jody sends out her team, there is an additional graphic showing them running off in the Japanese version.
- In the Japanese version, there is an ending scene with Octoman and Bio Rex, with Jody claiming they are Zoda's men. Rick hits a boost panel and gets away, to be passed by Captain Falcon.
Gallery
The race at the start of the episode
Rick wins the Big Apple Grand Prix
The cryo chamber
The Mobile Task Force building
The dance club
Rick and Jack start their race
The Blue Falcon and the Dragon Bird
| F-Zero: GP Legend anime | ||
| Current episode #1: The Legend Begins |
Next episode #2: The Racer's Edge | |
