F (manga)


F is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Noboru Rokuda about a country boy who fulfills his dream by racing in a Formula One car. It was serialized in Big Comic Spirits between June 15, 1985 and 1992 in the fourteenth to thirty-fifth issue of the magazine. F received the Shogakukan Manga Award in 1991 for seinen/general manga.
It has been adapted into an anime series by Fuji TV and Kitty Film and was broadcast on Fuji TV between March 9, 1988 and December 23, 1988. Atsuko Nakajima of Ranma 1/2 fame was an animation director on the series. The anime series was also telecast in Italy under the title F - Motori in pista; the protagonist, Gunma Akagi, was renamed "Patrick" in this version. The anime version of Rokuda's earlier manga Dash Kappei, made by Tatsunoko Production in 1981–1982, had also been successful in Italy.
The sequel, F Regeneration Ruri, was published by Shueisha in 12 bunkobon volumes from 2002 and June 2006.

Anime

Cast

The series uses four pieces of theme songs. The first theme opening theme is "F" by The Burst, which was used for episodes one to twenty-one; the second opening theme is "Love Affair" by Kojiro Shimizu, which was used for episodes twenty-two to thirty-one. The first ending theme is "Jama wa Sasenai" by Hiroshi, which was used for episodes one to twenty-one; the second ending theme is "You Are My Energy" by Shinji Harada, which was used for episodes twenty-two to thirty-one.