BURN | Brilliant Ultimate Riding Nation, my pitch for a new anime about MotoGP

"Wheelerguy" (wheelerguy)
04/12/2019 at 20:30 • Filed to: Anime, animelopnik, MotoGP, Pitch, NetFlix, Toppu GP, BURN, Brilliant Ultimate Riding Nation

I have since updated my season pitch to include two extra seasons (more below), which means two new posters—denoted by the Aprilia and KTM bikes seen in the second row. I’ll share these posters on social media with additional disclaimers. Posters are OC; photos of bikes from the media archives of the teams shown.

BURN chronicles the interconnected stories of world-class Grand Prix motorcycle riders at the top of their game, as they face each other, themselves, external realities and the dangers of superbike racing in a globe-spanning championship broadcast all over the world.

Sixteen unique riders from fourteen nations face real-life legends and rivals of the sport, crossing over 200mph at some of the most famous racing tracks, in front of millions of fans. Detailing their past and previewing their future, the riders and their teams will be tested in a myriad of ways and face immense challenges from engineering to racing, one that can make or break a Grand Prix weekend, a season, a career.

For the first time ever, MotoGP racing will be presented in gorgeous hand-drawn animation, with detailed illustrations of bikes and environments, all while providing audiences a new, clearer perspective of the sport through a concise exploration of key concepts and fully-realized demonstrations of them throughout the series.

With endorsement from Dorna and the direct support of every MotoGP and WSBK manufacturer, BURN , co-produced by Sunrise and Avex, is an adaptation of !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , combined with an original continuation story, created to thrill its audiences with a whole new anime saga for all ages, catering to die-hard MotoGP fans and casual anime fans alike.

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

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!!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! revolves around siblings Toppu and Myrne Uno , and their journey to reach the highest echelons of the sport. With Toppu’s uncanny ability to know exactly how fast he laps and Myrne’s impeccable racecraft, the two are destined for greatness, but in their way are tough opposition from rivals as well as GP legends and, as they will soon discover, each other. Can they stay together to work as a team and win it all, or will the heat of competition drive them apart?

!!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! tells the story of Isabel Flores , a Mexican motor-racing star and the first woman to win three straight MotoGP titles, as she begins her quest to gain a fourth in a row—her fifth overall . But she is riding against Roshanee Bijalee , a daring, mercurial challenger rising from the slums of India, out to prove that her ragged-edge road racing style will lead her to victory. Their battle will push the limits of the sport—and both riders—to unheard-of levels, so how will they respond if they finally see the consequences of the risks they take in racing to the top?

!!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! features two close friends at the crossroads of their careers. Jettrin Kattiya of Thailand makes his triumphant return to the track as the first amputee rider at the GP level, but his comeback journey has been fraught with hardship. Seasoned veteran Felix Hidalgo Jr ., meanwhile, is leading a young all-Filipino team, riding a world-first turbine bike, but is now at the twilight of his career with no title to his name. There can only be one success story, but whose legacy will be cemented, and who will fall to infamy?

!!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! covers the exploits of Georgia Livingston , an American endurance motorcycling veteran trying her hand at the cutthroat world of GP riding after a prime opportunity came her way, and Arjen “ The Bastard” Warner , a Dutch-German hotshot whose on-track brilliance is contrasted by his off-track controversy. When one of his silly antics goes too far, Georgia vows to knock Arjen down a peg, but it will be a tough job against a cunning rider like him.

!!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! will shed a spotlight on two rookie riders and their never-before seen motorcycles: star rider Suzaku Kiriyama with his hydrogen hybrid-electric Suzuki superbike, and road-racing journeyman Agostino Nannini , riding MV Agusta’s all-new turbine GP bike. Both riders and their respective factory teams have lofty ambitions and unwavering resolve to rise above trials and tribulations, but can they survive—even thrive—in the tightly-contested competition that MotoGP is known for, or will they be left in the dirt?

!!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! opens with a massive last-lap crash between two riders: Canadian Buell stalwart Andrew Cassell and Joanna Magmu Wilson , an Aboriginal Australian racing superstar who has already made her name as the youngest woman to be MotoGP champion. This is awkward, as they are engaged to each other, but the crash also revealed a dark, long-withheld secret that can potentially tear into the very fabric of MotoGP itself; a scandalous web of lies involving their families, the owners of the teams they’re riding for, and a mysterious man only known as “The Puppeteer”.

!!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! focuses on two differing journeys to the top of the MotoGP podium, and the struggles they face in doing so. On one side is Tracy Whitcomb , an Irish street rat and Roshanee’s friend, whose racing career was sorely held back after an accident, and is forced to start from the bottom rungs of the sport again. On the other, higher end, Bruno Bellikov is Russia’s golden boy, the nation’s top rider, out to prove that he is better than his critics—and family—give him credit for. They have been rivals from the beginning, and Tracy blames Bruno for what happened to him, so how will both men respond when they find out that they’ll be riding for the same team?

!!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! chronicles the road to glory of the NIO electric factory GP bike team, their riders Juan Rolando Sanchez and Chinese rookie Samantha Chang , and the quest to turn a struggling team around and bring them to ultimate glory. But old problems haunt the team, from conflicts of interests, tight budgets to massive crashes and even a fire. With almost everything going against them, it’s up to Sanchez and Chang to prove that talent, teamwork and force of will can overcome the odds that are stacked ever higher against them.

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UPDATE 8:30pm EST — I added two extra seasons and their accompanying posters. I am also re-posting this so some of the night folk can see this.

There you have it: my first ever series pitch, done over the course of a week, even if the idea of a MotoGP anime has been lodged in my brain since late 2017. This definitely needs so many rewrites before I can flesh each individual season out, but for now, what do you think?

DISCUSSION (34)

Snuze: Needs another Swede > Wheelerguy
04/11/2019 at 11:21

I was sad to get to the bottom and learn this is not a thing :(

I would watch the shit out of this.

bob and john > Wheelerguy
04/11/2019 at 11:24

FFS, i thought this was real and got really excited to have something to watch when i got home :(

Wheelerguy > Snuze: Needs another Swede
04/11/2019 at 11:41

Well before all this can happen, I have to know if the manga I’m basing this shown on still continues, if the author is okay with a continuation that is far different from what he has in mind, and pitch this to both Dorna and Netflix for US$10M per season. Believe me: even I want this to be real.

Wheelerguy > bob and john
04/11/2019 at 11:43

Holy crap, I didn't expect this to be effective. This was all done on Canva for a bit of time and the story itself is far different from my initial drafts. The fact that you thought this was a thing kinda stuns me.

bob and john > Wheelerguy
04/11/2019 at 11:44

I kinda got a feeling it wasnt due to a SHOCKING lack of Baggi, stoner, Rossi and Marcez....but the concept is solid (esp after the F1 thing on netflix)

Snuze: Needs another Swede > Wheelerguy
04/11/2019 at 11:48

Can it be it’s own thing? Tbh I’m super casual when it comes to manga/anime, so I don’t know if BURN (is that what you’re basing it on, or is that what you’d call it?) is real.

I mean if it’s so different from the original authors intentions, is it something new?

Mini Guy- Now has a 4Runner > bob and john
04/11/2019 at 11:52

Biaggi*

Wheelerguy > Snuze: Needs another Swede
04/11/2019 at 11:55

The thing is that I really love the manga I based it on, Toppu GP (linked in paragraph 4) and the author has full support of the Japanese factory teams, so I wanted to build on the story and world. But I did write all the synopses you read such that I wouldn’t need the manga at all and BURN (the name of my show) can stand on its own.

Snuze: Needs another Swede > Wheelerguy
04/11/2019 at 12:06

Sorry, I’m dumb and completely missed that part. I’ll check out Toppu GP. I think you’re in a good position though, that you could be a continuation/spinoff or whatever from the manga, but you could also stand on your own.

Mercedes Streeter > bob and john
04/11/2019 at 13:14

The name also works considering they also just released a movie called “Burn Out” featuring some dude who wanted to be a racer. I was “oh, it’s a tie in?”

Mercedes Streeter > Wheelerguy
04/11/2019 at 13:14

I am disappoint! I thought this was somehow a bizarre tie-in to Burn Out and was going to watch it. D:

Wheelerguy > Mercedes Streeter
04/11/2019 at 13:21

Oh? Huh. Never see that before. Hit me up with a trailer.

Wheelerguy > Mercedes Streeter
04/11/2019 at 13:24

Not at all! This is mostly OC.

Mercedes Streeter > Wheelerguy
04/11/2019 at 13:27

Not sure about trailers, but it’s a Netflix original movie that almost seems like it could totally be a spin-off or tie in to this OC you thought up. :)

Satoshi "Zipang" Katsura > Wheelerguy
04/11/2019 at 13:47

10 points for One Ok ROCK and My First Story.

Wheelerguy > Satoshi "Zipang" Katsura
04/11/2019 at 13:54

Thank this YouTube channel for that.

Those edits were what sparked my imagination. I implore you to fall in that rabbit hole—many more users do these [ MAD] edits for cars as well as bikes.

NEUROSE, meanwhile, was from a different channel.

That was the last song I needed to complete the season intro songs.

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > Wheelerguy
04/12/2019 at 20:42

I demand at least one cameo from the girls of Bakuon!! or this series is trash before it even starts.

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > bob and john
04/12/2019 at 20:45

I’m hoenstly surprised it’s been this long and there’s still no real motorcycle racing anime. We’ve had a rally anime, multiple street racing anime, a go-karting/open wheel racing anime, and motorcycle sidecar racing anime (all about cute girls doing cute things, and not about an actual organized sport).

....We are kinda due for one soon, I think.

bob and john > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles
04/12/2019 at 20:51

there have been a couple. Bakuon was a okay one.

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > bob and john
04/12/2019 at 20:53

And the creator of Initial D comes to save us with something from..... the 80s

It’s full of cheese, 80s charcter designs, and legitimate 80s aesthetic music for the soundtrack.

I love it and I just started.

itranthelasttimeiparkedit > Wheelerguy
04/12/2019 at 22:29

those posters are fucking great

Wheelerguy > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles
04/13/2019 at 01:20

and motorcycle sidecar racing anime (all about cute girls doing cute things, and not about an actual organized sport)

Hey, I know that! Unfortunately.

It’s yuri bait trash and has zero life-or-death stakes , but eh, I can’t be a true weeb without watching one of these, can I?

Fortunately, part of Season 2 is set on the Isle of Man (Roshanee won the TT twice before going to MotoGP). And those girls are some of the side characters who will have to deal with one of their own dying on track.

Wheelerguy > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles
04/13/2019 at 01:21

It’ll come, it’ll come. No anime is complete without pure, undistilled mo e.

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > Wheelerguy
04/13/2019 at 01:31

I watched the first episode and can’t stomach any more. I actually enjoyed the yuri bait trash of Harukana Receive. Writing was good in terms of short quips and jokes and the production values were good. Two-car made me want to punch myself. Repeatedly.

Wheelerguy > itranthelasttimeiparkedit
04/13/2019 at 01:33

Thank you! But this isn’t enough; they have to be turned into key visuals for some extra legitimacy. Certainly I have the image in my head of one of the two main characters walking towards the bike...but I ain’t got no money to commission art.

Wheelerguy > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles
04/13/2019 at 01:43

Oh shit that looks hella old. But so far, it looks like a nice trip. Seems ripe for a remake, too. A more relaxed kind of show.

Wheelerguy > bob and john
04/13/2019 at 01:43

Yeah, Bakuon!! works at a level, and no further than that.

Wheelerguy > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles
04/13/2019 at 01:52

Harukana Receive

God help us , we who live in dumpsters. (Actually, your take is valid .)

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > Wheelerguy
04/13/2019 at 02:11

You know there’s a part of you that enjoys this wonderful bit of fluff:

I almost called it “camp” and that made me think of yuru*camp and yuru*camp is an actual great anime.

Wheelerguy > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles
07/04/2019 at 02:09

I...

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > Wheelerguy
07/04/2019 at 05:35

Yeah. You enjoyed it ;)

Ad hopefully you enjoyed yuru *camp too. That was one of the best anime I've seen in a long time.

Wheelerguy > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles
07/04/2019 at 06:45

Yuru Camp was enjoyable, brilliant, and rewatchable.

But not the other one. I watched it once, slammed the gates, bursted sick all over the yard, and now wish to burn in hell because I watched that show and feel too unclean for holy magic or plenary indulgences.

On the other hand, I now empathize with Gigguk when he watched Eromanga Sensei , a show that I vow I would never touch unless they use it to kill me.

Wheelerguy > Mercedes Streeter
02/21/2020 at 09:07

Somehow only got round to watching the movie you’re talking about. Fun, kinda nice, if a bit dry for a heist/crime action flick. Definitely not gonna fit the world I want to create.

Wheelerguy > Snuze: Needs another Swede
02/21/2020 at 09:09

All part of the design.