Anime / Future GPX Cyber Formula

Hayato, Asuka and the Super Asurada 01

A computer-based navigation system race machine: the Cyber Formula. It has taken the place of F1 as the new race machine of the 21st century, bringing excitement to people all over the world.

—Opening Narration of the TV series

Future GPX Cyber Formula is a 1991 anime TV series produced by Sunrise. It is an anime series about Formula racing in the future, a time when race cars are equipped with computer support systems called "Cyber Systems." The beginning of the series takes place in 2015, and continues on to 2022 in the OVAs.

The story focuses on a 14-year-old named Hayato Kazami, who one day becomes the driver of a car named Asurada. While on a delivery to the Fujioka track, the machine is attacked by thieves to try to steal the machine. He manages to escape and retrieves it to the Sugo team, but there's only one problem: Asurada is an AI supercomputer with a unique security feature equipped within a car, which is programmed to only one person per driver. Hayato's data is locked into the system, so the Sugo team has no choice but to make Hayato the main driver of the team. After obtaining the "Super License" to compete in the Grand Prix, he becomes the youngest racer in the history of Cyber Formula. Hayato now must struggle with being on top of his game and overcoming all obstacles both on and off the racetrack, while meeting rivals, friends and enemies along the way.

The 37 episode Cyber Formula anime was eventually given 4 Original Video Animation sequels (and 1 extra OVA):

• 11^note pronounced Double-One (1992-93) — 6 episodes
• ZERO (1994-95) — 8 episodes
• Early Days Renewal — 2 episodes, a compilation of the TV series with redone voice acting and newly animated scenes.
• SAGA (1996-97) — 8 episodes
• SIN (1998-2000) — 5 episodes, which focuses on Bleed Kaga rather than Hayato as the main character.

There are a number of drama CDs and games based on this series only in Japan, although the SNES game based on the TV anime was brought into the West as Cyber Spin, albeit with most of the references to the anime removed. SIN Vier, a Doujin Game based on SIN, has also made its way overseas through Steam.

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This series contains examples of:

• The Ace: Shinjyo, who is a 2-time European F-3 champion, and Randoll, who excels at every sport he competes in.
• Accidental Athlete: While Hayato is already a motorbike racer, he nevertheless is chosen by Sugo Asurada to drive Asurada because of his racing talent, even though he has no experience in motorsports prior to that.
• Accidental Pervert: In episode 32 of the TV series, Asuka is taking a shower when Hayato opens the trailer door and asks her to help for dinner, not realizing that she is wearing a towel. Then her towel falls off and Asuka lets out a big scream, and enters Pervert Revenge Mode where she starts throwing stuff at him and hits him with a pot.
• A.I. Is a Crapshoot: Al-Zard. Al-Zard is a bio-computer in which the computer interfaces with the pilot and decides the best route for the race. Phill uses it in SAGA and it controls him like a puppet.
• All in a Row: The formation laps before the start of the race.
• Always Someone Better: Several of Hayato's rivals are shown to be this; Shinjyo, Randoll, Osamu and Kaga. Hayato himself becomes this to a lot of racers when they try to beat him.
• Americans Are Cowboys: Gudelhian. He wears a cowboy hat, and he's from Kentucky.
• An Arm and a Leg:
  • Bootsvorz's backstory involves him losing his left arm and left eye in a test drive accident while racing with Osamu, though he was given cybernetic replacments.
  • A former racer named John Cleeve also went through this when he lost his leg in an accident when he returns home from test driving.
• Animal Motifs: Some of the racing teams have this, the Sugo team has the winged mystical creature Pegasus as their logo, and Albatross has the...albatross as its logo.
• And the Adventure Continues: The extra ending of Sin, as Hayato and most of the racers continue on with their careers for another racing season.
• Arc Number: The number 11, which in the series is called Double-One. The story takes place at the 11th CF World Grand Prix, Asurada is upgraded into the Super Asurada AKF-11 and it's the title for 2 consecutive championship wins.
• Art Evolution: The car and character designs improves significantly in the OVAs, though in the OVAs case, they changed character designers
  • Art Shift: The last 2 OVAs. flashbacks keep the old art style, so it can be a bit confusing for some audiences.
• Artificial Intelligence: The race cars are equipped with AI supercomputer systems, which are used for navigation, diagnostics and among other things.
• Artificial Limbs: Bootsvorz gained a cybernetic arm and modular eye after he lost his left arm and eye in a crash during a test run. Later in the series, he has natural-looking implants.
• Badass Driver: Naturally, being a series about racing, there are more than a few share of these:
  • Knight Shoemach, who is regarded in-series as the best driver (up until SAGA).
  • Bleed Kaga. Being a Crash Racer in the past, he can drive like no one's business.
  • Other racers have their moments of badass as well. For instance, Shinjyo's Character Development, and Hayato and Randoll in the 8th race in Spain.
• Banana Peel: Leon slips into Henri's banana peel traps in EP 3 of SAGA.
• Beach Episode: Sort of, in episode 4 of SAGA. It's here that Hayato and Asuka have a bit of an argument during vacation, and they find each other again at a beach at late night.
• Beta Couple:
  • Shinjyo & Miki, Osamu & Clair and to some extent Shiba & Rena from the PlayStation video game are the Beta Couples to series Alpha Couple Hayato and Asuka.
  • If there's anything to add about Shiba & Rena, they are alpha couple in their game. The rest are secondary characters and are already lovey-dovey couples.
• Bifauxnen: Sera Gallagher, who been mistaken for a boy when she's first introduced.
• Big Brother Mentor: Kaga, Osamu and Johji all serve as this to Hayato. Also, Lope to Hiyoshi.
• Big Fancy House: Randoll's house is like this, complete with extensive grounds and it even has its own racing track.
• Big Ol' Eyebrows: Johji, Randoll and Bootsvortz, but Randoll's eyebrows are more noticeable and pronounced than most of the cast's.
• The Big Race: The series in general takes place in this, and TV series has insane courses.
• Bittersweet Ending: Sin's ending. Kaga wins his first and only championship (so far), but he then retires from Cyber Formula and leaves for the United States. Kyoko resigns from her position as team owner, although it's been hinted that it will be a temporary retirement.
• "Blind Idiot" Translation:
  • The English subtitles for the US release have several grammatical errors (like "loosing control of the car").
  • Think that was bad enough? Just wait until you see the HK subs of the last 2 OVAs, which the subtitles looks like as if those translators are doing their jobs while having a hangover. This is probably because the fan translator for the previous 2 OVAs left after the completion of the fansubbing of ZERO.
• Blood Sport: The Fireball race. There's also episode 13 where Bleed and Hayato participated in a crash race.
• Blue Blood: Randoll. He is from a extremely wealthy family in his native Austria.
• Boisterous Bruiser: Kaga and Gudelhian, but Kaga's trait is toned down in the last 2 OVAs when he gets more serious.
• Brain/Computer Interface: The Al-Zard NP-1 is a bio-computer that helps its pilot drive better by basically controlling his every action.
• Break the Haughty: Happens to several characters during the series. The most notable is Shinjyo, who goes through this three times — The first is his defeat at the British Grand Prix and the the other 2 is when Miki calls him out on his attitude twice towards the new staff on his team.
• Brought to You by the Letter "S":
  • The "S" in later Asurada models stands for "Sugo", the racing team the main character, Hayato is in. Shoemach/Osamu in 11, also has the letter "S" in his racing suit. And Kaga's racing suit has the letter "Z" in it, as he belonged to Aoi ZIP formula.
  • The team logos also has letters, like the "S" for Sugo and "Z" for Aoi ZIP.
• But Not Too Foreign: Bleed Kaga (half-Spanish) and Aya Stanford (half-American).
• Calling Your Attacks: More like calling your car commands, like Hayato's "BOOST ON!/SPIRAL!", Shinjyo's "PEACOCK/PHOENIX/ICARUS WING!" and Randoll's "MESSER WING!"
• The Cameo: The 2 people that appeared from the cheering crowd in the last 2 episodes in the TV series are from another Sunrise series called Mado King Granzort.
• Can't Catch Up: Compared to Hayato and Kaga, most of the racers (especially Randoll and Shinjyo) are clearly at a disadvantage.
• Canon Immigrant:
  • Seiichirou Shiba, Rena Yuuki and Sera Gallagher from the PS1 game later appears in the final ending credits of Sin.
  • Aya Stanford first appears in the first Saga Drama CD, she was later is put into the final OVA, Sin.
• Car Fu:
  • Bootsvorz does this with his Missioner VR-4 to ram through Smith's helicopter in episode 21, following Asurada, with Hayato driving, hitting said chopper.
  • In the last minutes of the Fireball Race, Kaga does this to a driver who was about to cross the finish line by crashing his car with the driver's car, allowing Hayato to get the victory in that race.
• Celibate Hero: Kaga. Although he cares for Kyoko (as evidenced in EP 5 in SIN), he is too much focused on his rivalry with Hayato.
• Cerebus Syndrome: The TV series has some dramatic parts to the show, but remains fairly lighthearted, but by the time the OVAs were released, the series gets more and more dramatic.
• Cheaters Never Prosper:
  • Bootsvorz (pre-Heel–Face Turn), under Smith's orders, tries to crash Asurada to obtain the computer system. Obviously, it doesn’t work.
  • Also happens to Phill in SAGA, as Kyoko and her team exposes the truth of Nagumo's schemes.
• Childhood Friends: Hiroyuki and Kojiro, who are Hayato and Asuka & Osamu's fathers respectively.
• Childhood Friend Romance:
  • Hayato and Asuka, in which their relationship eventually evolves into engagement, and they get married at the end of the final OVA.
  • Rena's relationship with Shiba is this as well in the PlayStation game. They got together in the game's ending.
• Combat Clairvoyance: This is what the Zero Realm essentially boils down to.
• Combat Commentator: Checker Sugimoto provides commentary throughout ZERO along with Jun Nakazawa and Dave Lombard provides it from SAGA onwards.
• Cool Car:
  • EVERY. SINGLE. ONE OF THEM. The most notable ones, though, are the Asurada series and Ogre AN-21. See the entry for more info on this.
  • Other cool cars graced the series, such as the Garland series, the Steel/Stil series, the Misssionel series, the Superion series, the Issuxark series, the Spiegel HP-022, and so on.
• Cool Helmet: The racers wear those, complete with cool-looking designs.
• Cool Shades: Osamu, Randoll and Shinjyo, Osamu in particular, which inspires the latter two to wear those when they return to racing.
• Corrupt Corporate Executive: Kyoshiro Nagumo in Saga. As the team president of Aoi ZIP Formula, he used unethical practices which includes putting a bio-computer on Phill Fritz's car Al-Zard NP-1, which can make the driver's own judgment, using an illegal drug on Fritz to suppress those responses, having his thugs kidnap Hayato and drugging him so he wouldn't compete in the 11th race in Japan and trying to kill him in said race by taking over the Al-Zard's computer unit. These events resulted in Phill turning against Nagumo, him receiving a one-year prison sentence for violations of drug laws and kidnapping and Aoi ZIP Formula having their Super License revoked for a year for cheating.
  • Smith also uses unethical practices during his tenure as owner of Missing Link. Predictably, his actions led to his death.
• Cyborg: Bootsvorz. After all, he has a cybernetic left arm and eye.
• A Day in the Limelight: Some of the episodes (in both TV and OVAs) will focus on a character (like Shinjyo, Osamu and the others). The final OVA, SIN, focuses on Kaga.
• Defeat Means Friendship: Hayato has made friends with Kaga, Shinjyo, Osamu and some others after he defeats them several times.
• Defrosting Ice Queen: Kyoko, later in the series, especially when Kaga wins his championship.
• Delicate and Sickly: There are a few instances in the series:
  • The first is Lita, a girl in a wheelchair who appears in 2 episodes in the TV series. Even though her legs have been healed, she is afraid to walk. She overcomes her fear after Hayato finishes the race.
  • The second is Elena (also appearing in 2 episodes of the TV series), ill from a weak heart since birth. In episode 30, she is struck down by a seizure during the Fireball race, but she gets better thanks to Hayato and HSR-III.
• Demoted to Extra: Most of the characters are hit with this throughout the series, but especially Randoll in the last 2 OVAs and SAGA drama CDs and Johji in the second half of the TV series.
• Determinator:
  • Some of the racers are like this, but Hayato is the best example of the trope in the series, where his inability to give up helps him get out in most situations.
  • Shinjyo. His Fire Superion's engine slows down and ran out of gas in the very near end of the African Grand Prix in episode 32 in the TV series, and then he pushes the car into the finish line. He also once did the same in his F-3 era.
• Disappeared Dad: Hayato's father, Hiroyuki. He was killed by Smith, who wanted to use Asurada as a military weapon.
• Down to the Last Play: Hayato does this a lot (in the first three series) with his last-minute "winning runs" in races.
• Dramatic Thunder: Happens in episode 27 of the TV series with Hayato and Randoll in a test drive during a thunderstorm and a verbal confrontation that follows afterwards.
• Dub Name Change: Some characters' names were changed in the Korean dub. For example, the main character Hayato has several name changes, first known as Chang Min-ho,^note original video release of TV series then as Cha Hye-seong,^note KBS dub of TV series and finally as Kang Jin-woo.^note SBS and Tooniverse dub of OVA series (who, coincidentally, happens to share the same name of his voice actor; except his name has Su in it).
• Eagleland: Jackie Gudelhian, as he is a mix between both types.
• Epic Race: The Peruvian and Japanese GP in the TV series and Extreme Speed in the PlayStation game.
• Every Year They Fizzle Out: Some of the racers (like Henri, Gudelhian and Shinjyo) win their championships, then they never win another one again.
• Expository Hairstyle Change: Asuka starts out in the series as a long-haired Moe girl, but after feeling the aftereffects of breaking off her engagement to Hayato (and getting back together again with him) in Zero, she cuts her hair to a boyish look. In Saga and Sin, Her hair grows a bit longer and has kept it that way ever since. This image shows her side-by-side comparisons by seven years.◊
• Expy: Character designs from the games are very clearly used again in My-HiME and My-Otome. This is because Hirokazu Hisayuki is the character designer for both the Mai series as well as the games and last 2 OVAs for Cyber Formula.
• Eye Scream: Bootsvorz. See Artificual Limbs.
• Falling into the Cockpit: During a delivery en route to the Fujioka circuit, the truck carrying Asurada GSX is atttacked and Hayato has to drive Asurada to the Sugo Asurada team and get himself out of the mess. Unfortunately, the system locks Hayato's driver data and Hiyoshi, the original pilot can't get himself to drive it because of that, which led to him quitting the team and Hayato being the main driver of Sugo Asurada.
• Fun with Acronyms:
  • The governing body of FICCY, or the Federation International Cruise of Cyber Formula.
  • The letters "AKF" in later versions of Asurada stands for the initials of Asurada, Kazami, and Fortran.
  • "HG" in Steel/Stil's (and later Spiegel's) models is taken from the initials of Heinel and Gudelhian.
• Genki Girl:
  • Asuka, who is a girl with tons of enthusiasm and cheer before her genki-ness is toned down in the OVAS.
  • Johji, Gudelhian and Kaga are male versions of the trope, Gudelhian even more so as he is seen to be more cheerful than most racers. Kaga loses it in ZERO.
• Get A Hold Of Yourself Man:
  • Asuka does this to Hayato in episode 35 in the TV series after he gets into a fight with Ryohei stemming from Hayato wanting to destroy Asurada for making Ohtomo retire early from racing after Ohtomo's accident in the 9th race. Then Hayato realizes that he has no one to blame.
  • Kurumada also does this to Miki in episode 7 when Miki is angry about rescue efforts for Ryohei are stopped due to a typhoon. Also, to Hayato more than once, albeit verbally.
  • Osamu does this to Henri in the final episode of Zero, when Henri tries to quit his chances of being world champion. He would win that championship later.
  • Osamu himself gets slapped by his father in a backflash of the TV show before he leaves his home to England. To think about it, this series have a lot of slapping for shonen anime.
• Go-Karting with Bowser: Hayato has this with some of his rivals. One minute they are competing against each other, the next they have a bit of conversation and fun, and it's back to the tracks again.
• Good Scars, Evil Scars: Kaga has his trademark crescent-shaped scar on his forehead. He got that scar as the result of his failed rescue attempt on his best friend Eiji from the car he was trapped in when the car exploded and the a piece of the pipe cut his forehead. Randoll has one on his left cheek since ZERO due to the accident with Hayato in the English Grand Prix.
• Gratuitous English:
  • Gudelhian sprouts out a bit a this throughout the series.
  • Hayato's seiyuu, Junichi Kanemaru, works part-time in an Eikaiwa school (a type of school where students can use English language conversations) as an instructor.
  • The ending song for Double-One (for the first 5 episodes) is full of this.
• Handsome Lech: Gudelhian again, and Leon.
• Heel–Face Turn: Bootsvorz. He does this when he drove his car, leaped out of it and the car rammed it into his evil boss Smith's helicopter after Smith attempted to kill both Shoemach (Osamu in disguise) and Bootsvorz, killing Smith in the process. Both he and Osamu got better.
• He Knows Too Much: Osamu (disguised as Shoemach) knew Hayato's father when he was building Asurada and Smith's malicious intents to use Asurada other than for racing purposes. Smith tried to kill him for exposing said secret by shooting a missile behind his car, but failed. Osamu survived, however, the incident also resulted in injuring his eye, setting up for the storyline for 11.
• Heroic BSoD: Hayato has this more than once, particularly in episode 22 of the TV series, where he is found out by his mother that his father, the person who created Asurada, was killed by his former boss, who wanted to use the computer as a weapon.
• Hospital Hottie: Asuka is one in training, as she is a medical student at Columbia University.
• Hot-Blooded: Hayato, as well as Shinjyo and Leon. Hayato stands out for his sheer determination.
• Idiosyncratic Episode Naming: The last 2 OVAs and the previews for ZERO uses the word "Round", referring to stages of a sports competition.
• Improbable Age:
  • Not only Hayato becomes a Cyber Formula Racer at the age of 14, he wins his first championship at that age as well.
  • Randoll also enters the Cyber Formula world at age 14.
• Injured Limb Episode: In episode 9, Ryohei badly injures his leg which causes serious blood loss, and he needs a blood transfusion to save him. Complicating matters is that he has a rare blood type and a typhoon makes it more difficult to transport him to a hospital. He eventually recovers after he arrives to land on time with Hayato and Asurada.
• Intrepid Reporter: Aya Stanford, a reporter and camerawoman for a sport magazine.
• Karmic Death: Smith, which overlaps with Hoist by His Own Petard, as he used his helicopter's missiles.
• Large-Ham Announcer: Checker Sugimoto and Dave Lombard, since they tend to shout when racers cross the finish line.
• Last-Name Basis: Except for a few, most of the racers are rarely called by their first names.
• Lethal Chef: Asuka, as evidenced by V8's expression in episode 33 of the TV series. Parsley and durian juice, anyone?
• Love Triangle: Asuka and Hayato are a couple, and Randoll also fancies Asuka, but ends up being a Hopeless Suitor.
• Luke, I Am Your Father: Knight Shoemach is Asuka's older brother, Osamu, who left home 5 years ago to become a racer in England. He uses his disguise to keep an eye on Hayato, as well as Smith, who attempts to steal Asurada's Cyber System.
• Make It Look Like an Accident: How Smith does this to Hayato's father, Hiroyuki when he made the car crash into the tree, so he can get the briefcase that contains the prints of Asurada.
• Manipulative Bastard: Henri in ZERO and Nagumo in SAGA. Notable in episode 5 of ZERO when Henri swindles Shinjyo, Gudelhian and Heinel into thinking that Hayato was driving recklessly to get ahead.
• Mecha Expansion Pack: Technically a Car Exapansion Pack, but the Asurada GSX receives two: In the second race it is modified for rally conditions on a rocky mountain course. In the third race it is modified again for high speeds in a city course with high winds.
• Mid-Season Upgrade: Most of the cars get upgrades with each entry in the series.
• Mood Whiplash: The series have these from time to time, although much less in the OVAs.
• My Hero, Zero:
  • Hayato uses the Zero Realm (along with Kaga and Shinjyo), in which is the main plot point in Zero.
  • In SAGA and SIN, Hayato drives the v-Asurada AKF-0 and in the PlayStation game, Shiba drives the AKF-0/1B Nemesis, a variation of Asurada which has the same chassis, but it has a different Cyber System.
• My Sensors Indicate You Want to Tap That: Before the start of the Spanish GP, Asurada asked Hayato what a kiss is and detects his heart rate, which has increased by 1.2 times.
• Nitro Boost: The cars, specifically Asurada, uses quite a lot throughout the series, including the car's Spiral Boost in SAGA and SIN.
• No Celebrities Were Harmed: Some of the characters were actually modeled after real-life Formula One racers. The most notable is Knight Shoemach, who is modeled after Michael Schumacher, as well as Leon Earnhardt, whose last name is taken after NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt, Sr. There’s also a Shout-Out. In the final 2 episodes of the TV series, Osamu wears a racing suit that greatly resembles that of the Benetton Formula racing suit, the team Michael Schumacher was in at the time of the TV series' production.
• No One Could Survive That!: Hayato surviving a near-fatal accident when his Asurada when of the track banking seconds after he collided with Randoll while discovering the Zero Zone during the fifth race in England on the first episode of Zero. This also happened to him in the TV series as well when the GSX was totally destroyed.
• Oddly Named Sequel 2: Electric Boogaloo: The names of the sequels after the TV series ended are as it follows: 11 (Double One), Zero, Saga and Sin.
• Only I Can Make It Go: Hayato is the only one who can drive Asurada, since the system has a unique security feature.
• "On the Next Episode of..." Catch-Phrase:
  • "The fun level is in the red zone!" (TV series)
  • In Zero, "I'll be waiting for you in the Zero Zone."
• Opposing Sports Team: More like Opposing Racing Teams, for that matter. Although this is somewhat an aversion of this, as most of the teams are fairly sympathetic.
• The Only One Allowed to Defeat You: Kaga, towards Hayato, especially in Zero and Sin, in which their rivalry comes to a boil.
• Ordered to Cheat:
  • In the TV series, Bootsvorz was ordered by Smith to crash Asurada. However, it's a subversion: he was ordered to crash Asurada to steal its system.
  • Played straight in SAGA, when Al-Zard's bio computer ordered Phill to cheat in several races to win.
• Paper-Thin Disguise:
  • Randoll in Zero, under his alias "Prince Rosenkreuz", and Shinjyo and Miki in episode 6 of Saga.
  • Osamu (as Knight Shoemach) was initially this, but once the sunglasses broke apart, it's been revealed it is him.
• Pinky Swear: Hayato does this to a girl in a wheelchair named Lita. Her legs have been cured, but she's afraid to walk, so Hayato does a pinky swear that if he gets third place, she will stand up. He didn't get 3rd place (he got 5th place instead), but Lita stood up and walked thanks to Hayato.
• Phenotype Stereotype:
  • The British Clair, who has light blonde hair, blue eyes and is fair-skinned.
  • The American Gudelhian, who has dark blonde hair and blue eyes.
  • Randoll, who is Austrian, has light blonde hair, green eyes and is fair-skinned.
• Pit Girls: Asuka, who doubles as the general agent for the Sugo team. Later in the series, Megumi and Satsuki fills her role, and Rena from the games as well.
• Pose of Supplication: There are at least 4 instances of these in the series:
  • In episode 14, Miki and then Ryohei does this in front of Hayato when they apologize to him for not checking close enough to find the cause of Asurada's understeer (it was caused by a dust on the lens).
  • In the same episode, a young Kurumada does this after the test drive accident when he found out that he made a mistake in changing gear which caused the accident.
  • Episode 32 features Shinjyo doing this to Katagiri after he apologizes for mistreating Katagiri and the other Aoi mechanical staff.
  • In episode 35, Hayato himself does this when he realized that it wasn't Asurada's fault for causing Ohtomo's crash at the German GP.
• The Power of Love: Asuka helps Hayato to overcome his "Zero Realm" fear in episode 4 of ZERO and that helps them get them back together by the next episode.
• Precious Puppy: V8's puppies starts out as these in ZERO.
• Pretty Boy: Most of the male racers, specially in the later series, in which the character designs makes them 3 times more pretty-looking than they already are.
• Product Placement: A Mitsubishi HSR-III^note HSR is a series of concept cars first made in the late 80's appears in episode 29 and 30. The car is different from the actual one, in which HSR-III is portrayed in the show as a talking driver-less car.
• Psycho Serum: Alpha-Neuro in SAGA, a stimulant that it said to helps the driver get improved reflexes and better performances in races. However, it’s true purpose is to help Al-Zard’s biocomputer to aid the driver. This causes horrible side effects (like hallucinations) and withdrawal symptoms for the driver and is banned in races for these reasons.
• Ramp Jump: Episode 29 of the TV series, where Hayato uses a truck containing a ramp to escape from a Weaponized Car trying to attack him.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: Hayato and Kaga, at first, but they have both traits of the trope as the series goes on.
• Rich Bitch: Kyoko in the TV series, who is willing to use her money to get the best drivers to put in her team.
• The Rival: By the truckload. Notable are Kaga, Osamu (as Knight Shoemach), Shinjyo and Randoll.
• Rousseau Was Right: Other than Smith and Nagumo (the latter became somewhat of an ambiguous character in Sin), there are no real villains in this series.
• Say My Name: "HAYATOOOOOOO!!!", courtesy of Asuka.
• Second Place Is for Winners: Even if Hayato finishes third of fourth, his team seems to be happy that he does his best. To his credit, he's a rookie with no car racing experience at the beginning.
• Sentient Vehicle: Asurada has an AI supercomputer built into the car which can help the drivers communicate with the system and help grow with them.
• Serious Business: Racing, even though racing is already Serious Business in real life, so not much has changed.
• Shout-Out: Asides from the aforementioned No Celebrities Were Harmed example, the series has some shout-outs:
  • Asurada's cars (especially in its later incarnations) have the same 6WD as the Tyrrell P34, a formula car made in the 70's.
  • In EP 5 of Double One, a 1:24 scale model of the Ferrari 126C with the number 27 (famously driven by Gilles Villeneuve) can be seen in Hayato's room.
  • In the preview for episode 2 of SIN, Asuka refers to the upcoming episode as "Nagumo's Counterattack", a nod to the most famous role of Nagumo's voice actor Shūichi Ikeda.
• Sibling Yin-Yang: Osamu & Asuka and Heinel & Lisa. Osamu & Heinel are levelheaded and calm individuals and Asuka & Lisa are lively and energetic.
• So Last Season: In Double-One the Super Asurada 01 can't catch up to the other cars' upgrades due to Sugo not having enough money to do a proper upgrade. A similar thing happens to the Super Asurada AKF-11 in SAGA, in which the aging of the machine causes him to lose the title and forces him to use the less powerful Garland SF-03.
• Something about a Rose: Randoll. He first does this when he threw a white rose at Asuka in episode 28 in the TV series.
• Spanner in the Works: Smith and Bootsvorz's plans to steal Asurada has been spoiled by various characters many times.
• Speed Stripes: Especially when the cars goes into boost modes.
• Spoiler Ending: The final shot in the ED of the TV series shows a photo of the Sugo team with a winner's wreath and a diamond-shaped trophy, the same one Hayato received after winning the 10th Cyber Formula GPX.
• Stock Footage: Clearly uses it a lot, especially when the cars go into boost modes.
• Super Mode: The Zero Realm is the state where a driver can read other drivers' minds, in which the user can see a bit of the future and predict their movements. However, going beyond the limit of power can be an mental burden. Make one mistake and you are either dead or crippled for life. Hayato learned this all too well when he first discovered the Zero Realm and nearly got killed. In the games, it acts as Bullet Time similar to the Speedbreaker in the Need for Speed franchise.
  • Kaga was first one to go Zero and his friend Eiji died from the accident that was caused by it.
• Super Prototype: The Ogre AN-21, the prototype to the Al-Zard in Sin.
• Team Pet: V-8, for the Sugo Asurada team.
• Technician Versus Performer: Shinjyo and Randoll are the technicians to Hayato's performer. In episode 33 of the TV series, this was lampshaded by Asuka when she had a conversation with Randoll.
• 10-Minute Retirement: Hayato, more than once, especially in Zero, after he nearly got killed when he discovered the effects of the Zero Zone. That didn't last long though, as he returned to racing by episode 3, but he didn't fully recover from the fear of the Zero Zone until episode 4.
• Theme Music Power-Up: When something exciting happens near the end of the race, expect the insert songs I've Got to Ride and Be Tough! (in ZERO) to be played.
• To Be a Master: After all, this is a racing anime...
• Tournament Arc: What the races have become in practice.
• Training from Hell: Hayato goes through this in episode 13 in a crash race to improve his racing skills.
• True Companions: Some of the racing teams, but especially the Sugo team, in which they are very much so in the TV series.
• Tsundere: Asuka is a Sweet Tsundere (meaning that she's usually a really nice girl unless something gets her angry), at least in the TV series.
• 20 Minutes into the Future: The TV series takes place in 2015, and continues from 2016 to 2022 in the OVAs.
• Unwanted Assistance: At first, Hayato gets annoyed by Asurada's nagging voice, even though the computer is trying to help him how to drive properly.
• Voice with an Internet Connection: Radio communications connects from the computer to the driver. Justified, as it can establish or break their mentality.
• Vomit Discretion Shot:
  • Hayato throws up with half of his face covered up while Asuka held him in EP 3 of Double One after he drove recklessly on the test course.
  • And in EP 9 the TV series, Asuka gets seasick on a ship and she throws up off the ship's deck.
• Wacky Racing: In the TV series, the courses are ridiculously wild, including a course set on ice and a course surrounded by an ocean. This aspect, however, was largely abandoned in the OVAs.
• Wham Line:
  • In EP 21 of the TV series, Asuka said this to Hayato while reflecting on her thoughts:
  Asuka: "I have this feeling that Knight Shoemach is my brother!"
  • And another one followed in EP 22 when his mother revealed what happened to his father:
  Junko: "Hayato, listen to me well...your father is dead."
• "Where Are They Now?" Epilogue: The final ending included in the DVD release of EP 5 of Sin takes place a year after the 2022 season. The 2023 season starts, Henri and Bootsvorz switched to Missing Link and Sugo GIO Grand Prix teams, respectively, Sera Gallagher joins the Union Saviour team, Shinjyo & Miki returns to Aoi ZIP Formula and Seiichiro joins the same team, Rena is now the campaign girl for FICCY, Kaga visits his friend's grave and meets his wife and child and finally, Hayato and Asuka tie the knot.
• Weaponized Car: The cars on the Fireball race.
• White Hair, Black Heart: Henri. He gets better towards the end of ZERO.
• With Friends Like These...: Gudelhian and Heinel, who seems to be close friends despite their constant fighting. In fact, in 11 they form a new team together and develop a brand new racing machine. And they still fight constantly.
• The Worf Effect: By the end of the TV series, Super Asurada 01 is the most advanced and powerful racing car in the series. Come 11, and the car is easily beaten by other newer cars and Hayato failed to pick up points, which led the creation of Super Asurada AKF-11. This also happens to Hayato and his car at the beginning of SAGA.
• Wrench Wench: Miki, who is the chief mechanic in her teams.