Oban Star-Racers

 Review

Common Sense Media says

Anime series for tweens is filled with thrills.
greenON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
yellowPAUSE: Know your child; some content
may not be right for some kids.
redOFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
not for kidsNOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age.

Find out more

Quality
 
Sometimes media can be age appropriate but a real waste of time. Our star rating assesses the media's overall quality.

Find out more

Parents say

Not yet rated

Kids say

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that this fun, engaging series occasionally deals with serious themes, such as the death of a parent, a teen's dysfunctional relationship with a parent, and taking dangerous risks for the sake of winning a competition. But the show also presents the main characters as three-dimensional and human (which makes them very approachable and sympathetic), and it focuses on the characters, their emotions, and their relationships almost as much as it does on the entertaining sci-fi action.

  • The show's intent is to entertain rather than educate.
  • While the show sometimes touches on heavy themes for a kids' series -- including family dysfunction and the death of a parent -- overall it promotes teamwork and strong family relationships.
  • The main characters generally show respect for one another and work as
    a team. The series' heroine is a strong female who takes a leadership
    role and makes decisions that could affect the future of the human race.
  • Frequent animated fantasy violence: aliens attack humans, space vehicles crash in a ball of flames, etc. Injury or death is implied but not shown.

What's the story?

OBAN STAR-RACERS, an exciting anime series, follows a team of star-racers from Earth as they compete in the interplanetary Race of Oban, a momentous event that occurs once every 10,000 years. Rebellious teen Molly (voiced by Chiara Zanni) is a pilot prodigy who joins the Earth Team as its mechanic. But when the team reaches the planet Oban and the race begins, an injury to the team's pilot opens up an opportunity for Molly to take the pilot's seat and lead the team to victory. With young gunner Jordan (Sam Vincent) as her race partner, Molly faces many powerful opponents, but none as intense as the Crogs, an aggressive alien race that threatens the Earth. The survival of humankind now depends on the Earth Team's victory in the competition. As a subplot, enchanting alien warrior Prince Aika (Kirby Morrow), a contender in the race, develops an immediate bond with Molly.


Is it any good?

 

Oban Star-Racers combines engaging plotlines and thrilling sci-fi action -- and the pace is moderate enough to make the story easy to follow. The interesting combination of Japanese anime and Western sci-fi helps draw in the viewer.

According to Disney, the target audience is ages 6 to 11, but the show is better suited for ages 8 and up (one episode deals with a parent's death, and some of the violence -- a space vehicle crash resulting in injuries and deaths, for example -- may be slightly disturbing to younger viewers. That aside, as anime series go, this one is decidedly palatable (even for viewers who aren't huge anime fans), with a nice balance of thrilling action and characters you grow to care about. Kids will surely be rooting for the young heroine as she fights to win the big race -- and save the human race.


Sign Up Message
Sign up for our weekly newsletter
Each week we send a customized newsletter to our parent and teen subscribers. Parents can customize their settings to receive recommendations and parent tips based on their kids’ ages. Teens receive a version just for them with the latest reviews and top picks for movies, video games, apps, music, books, and more.
Please enter an email address.
Please check your email address for possible typos.
Sorry, you must be 13 or older to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
Sign me up!

What families can talk about

  • Families can talk about the heroine's motives and how she deals with the challenges and obstacles she faces. How does Molly react when she first encounters her dad? Why does she conceal her real identity from him and the team?

  • What makes Molly so rebellious, and what motivates her to flirt with
    danger? Is she just concerned about helping save the Earth, or is there
    something more she's trying to prove? How does her rebellious attitude
    affect her relationships?

  • How does Molly deal with danger and obstacles
    during the races? Do you think she handles them well? Why or why not?


This review was written by Larisa Wiseman
Kid, 13 years old
April 9, 2008
 
team racers
oban star racers is the best way to learn about teamwork, help and freindship.

Flag as inappropriate 
Teen, 18 years old
April 9, 2008
 
It's Fun To watch
This Show is probly one of the best animed shows i have ever seen! It Is Good with dealing with actual problems. My friends and I all love watching this show because of the action races, the little love triangle, and the intensity of the father/daughter relationship between the main character Molly and her big headed father Don Wei. I would recommend this show to anyone who loves a good race and alittle drama here and there. I Give this show a 5 Star rating.

Flag as inappropriate 
Teen, 16 years old
August 25, 2011
 
Flash back
Wow, this is a flash back. I used to watch it every time I could. But then it was taken of Tv(if I'm not mistaken). I'm 15, and I would watch it again if it were back on tv.

Flag as inappropriate 
Kid, 12 years old
February 11, 2010
 
for all ages(0&up)
The show focuses on racing which is pretty good for all ages including adults.

Flag as inappropriate 
Teen, 17 years old
April 9, 2008
 
For any die-hard anime fan this is not a good pick
if your 9 or so and looking for some thing interesting to watch, this would be good, but if your really into anime take a second look. The Story line is ok but the actual animation is not so good, i mean they don't even have noses!

Flag as inappropriate 
Kid, 10 years old
April 22, 2011
 
WHERE IS IT?!
I love this show, but I'm so sick and tired of shows never airing again! I haven't seen it since I was seven or so on Jetix, and they disappeared online once Disney XD came! Grrr.

Flag as inappropriate 
Teen, 17 years old
April 9, 2008
 
i laughed
laugh,cried

Flag as inappropriate 
Kid, 12 years old
December 20, 2010
 
Fine for boys and girls who are very patient and like racing -
It's not that the show is wrong, but, to me it just has no depth. it takes to long to get to the point - if it even has one - in each episode. Of course I do realize that her boss is her father and he doesn't realize it but still it has to be 'sped up a bit' or else it'll just loose it's audience. And, what it has in between - the racing - I could just flip the channel to ESPN if I wanted to see that. But different people like different things and this is just one of the things that I personally don't enjoy that much. Other than that I can't find anything bad about it... but I can't find anything good either. It just can't captivate younger audiences.

Flag as inappropriate 
Teen, 18 years old
January 23, 2009
 
Pretty good
Notice: This show can have images and characters that might frighten young children.

Flag as inappropriate 

This review was written by Larisa Wiseman
This review was written by Larisa Wiseman
 

Review It

Share your review with others

Hang on! You need to be a member to post your review.
A safe community is important to us. Please observe our guidelines.
About our rating system
ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids.
OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
Learning ratings
BEST: Really engaging, great learning approach.
GOOD: Pretty engaging, good learning approach.
FAIR: Somewhat engaging, OK learning approach.
NOT FOR LEARNING: Not recommended for learning.

 

vote now

Will you see Oban Star-Racers?


Already seen it? What do you think?

 

Been There? Tell us about it