July 18, 2014 — Yamaha Motor has released the fourth and final episode of its original short anime series, “Master of Torque.” This project represents a new endeavor by Yamaha to communicate the motorcycling lifestyle through a story set in a semi-fictional Tokyo, Japan. All four episodes can be viewed on the official YouTube channel and the anime’s special site.
Yamaha Motor is always working to find original and interesting ways to communicate not only the features of its products but also the fulfilling lifestyles they can bring to the people that use them. Anime is a form of Japanese culture that has become popular all around the world, and many Japanese manufacturers and companies use it as a corporate communication medium with TV commercials and the like. The reason Yamaha Motor has decided to produce an anime is same, but the company is taking on a new challenge by making it an episodic, fully subtitled series with a global audience in mind. At the end of 2013, Yamaha Motor began its first foray into the field with the teaser trailer for Master of Torque shown at the Tokyo Motor Show. In the spring of 2014, the first episodes of Master of Torque were released online as Yamaha Motor’s first-ever anime series, seeking to convey to riders and non-riders alike the fun that lies in owning and riding a motorcycle by taking viewers through animated versions of some of Tokyo’s most iconic districts and through the anime’s story, characters and Japan-centric themes.
Master of Torque Teaser Trailer
Setting and Story Summary
It is the year 2017 in Tokyo, Japan. The 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games are only three years away and the city is working at an unprecedented pace to prepare the various facilities and infrastructure to host the event.
Dan Amo works in the General Affairs department of the Hyuga Corporation—a massive firm specializing in artificial muscle fiber technology—while living with his aunt, Sanae. By day, he is a nondescript salaryman, but at night, he sheds this persona for the rider he is at heart and takes off onto Route 246 from Sanae’s Genesis Café to deliver packages for her. His natural-born riding talent has won him the nickname of the “Zebra.”
While out on a delivery, Dan is chased by Kotaro Hyuga, the young and elite heir to the Hyuga Corporation. Kotaro wears an advanced rider suit under development, and he seeks only to outride the Zebra as the suit’s finishing touch.
Despite losing Kotaro and his pursuers, Dan returns to the Café, but is tailed by motorcycle-riding freelance journalist Makina Mikage… Things escalate quickly and Dan’s stress-free after-work routine turns into a high-rev escapade through nighttime Tokyo.
Click the links below to watch all four episodes of “Master of Torque.”
Episode 1
Episode 2
Episode 3
Episode 4
For more “Master of Torque” content please visit http://global.yamaha-motor.com/showroom/mt/
