Midori no Makibao

Unlike cartoons we've seen on TV's, this anime show is quite unusual and attempted to show a sport that should never seen by children at early age - horse racing. An example of horse racing-theme anime was Midori no Makibao. The show is called Green Makibao, the Incredible Race Horse in English title. In the Philippines, the show is called Makibaoh with "h" as pronounce. It's manga version was created by Tsunomaru back in 1996 until 1997 in Shonen Jump magazine and made into anime by Studio Pierrot at the same year. Probably based on Tsunomaru's childhood or teenage experiences in the world of horse racing.

That doesn't mean that Makibao is a bad-influence like any anime shows (or manga) but instead it tells the tale of a young horse who dreams to become a champion. A young white horse named Makibao has an unusual appearance compare to young horses at his age - huge nostrils, big bucked teeth and the size of a large dog. I was thinking Makibao's stereotype was meant to be a joke but somehow to be cute. In early episodes, Makibao is the son of Midori who was one of the greatest race horses in Japan (Midori is a female horse, by the way). Because of his apperance, many other horses he met including his mother underestimated him but that doesn't stop him to be a champion. Makibao has an incredible skill and determination in order to payback his mother's debts and being a race horse champion. With every tests and hardships, Makibao must overcome his fears and challenges in order to pursue his dream.

Makes sense right? First of all, anime shows with horse racing like Midori no Makibao is not really intend for children to be amuse to that kind of sport much, but instead it shows of a character who was born ugly and overcome obstacles along the way. It was really meant to illustrate children about the characters of the show including the moral values about determination and hardwork. When I first saw this show, at first I really doubt I must watch the rest of the episodes because of the character' s appearances. Judging from the picture you see above, the human characters have sort of caricaturisation faces like small eyes, huge nose and thick lips because of the creator's own style. The only thing I really impress about the character design is the race horses in the show especially we really question if Makibao looks like a horse (or a donkey, or dog, or baby hippopotamus?). Another thing I notice was their physical gag which you can even tell what they're meant. An example of the show's physical gag is Makibao releases poo in every episode because of his reaction like crying or excitement. The animation is fine because it was created in mid-1990's and there are few of it's anime's cel animation pictures scattered around the 'net in the present. Too bad it's too late to buy because somebody bought those a time long ago. In this website here, tons of Makibao-related pictures including manga covers are available to see.

I really like their opening theme song here because it express about a certain main protagonist like Makibao never give up to his dream thanks to his dedication of his friends and family. I recently found out that the ending theme song called "Tottemo Umanami" was sung by MEN'S 5. At the end, Midori no Makibao is an enjoyable anime to watch especially to cheer up if you want to see Makibao. And hey, even Japanese people today know Makibao.