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 Toppu GP, 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.
=========================================================
Season 1 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?
Season 2 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?
Season 3 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?
Season 4 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.
Season 5 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?
Season 6 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”.
Season 7 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?
Season 8 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.
=========================================================
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?