Capeta

Capeta
Cover of Capeta volume 1 as published by Kodansha
カペタ (Kapeta)
Genre	Sport
Manga
Written by	Masahito Soda
Published by	Kodansha
Demographic	Shōnen
Magazine	Monthly Shōnen Magazine
Original run	March 2003 – March 2013
Volumes	32
Anime television series
Directed by	Shin Misawa
Music by	Toshihiko Sahashi
Studio	Studio Comet
Original network	TXN (TV Tokyo)
Original run	October 4, 2005 – September 26, 2006
Episodes	52

Capeta (Japanese: カペタ, Hepburn: Kapeta^?) is a Japanese sports manga and anime about kart racing by Masahito Soda. The manga won the Kodansha Manga Award for shōnen in 2005.

The series consists of three separate arcs. The first is about Capeta's first experiences with kart racing at the age of 10. The next arc, which starts four years later, deals with Capeta trying to handle his growing financial issues due to the high cost involved in kart racing. The third is about Capeta trying to realize his dream of beating his rival and becoming a professional racer, venturing through into a more senior category: Formula Three. Both the anime and manga features numerous references and homages to Initial D and Best Motoring International, as well as Formula One. In addition to this, there are many karting and racing references that not only add flesh to the story, but are also factual (such as comments about racing lines, tire usage, slip streaming and general commentary on the world of four-wheel racing).

Kappeita Taira (平 勝平太, Taira Kappeita^?), otherwise known as "Capeta" (カペタ, Kapeta^?), is a ten-year-old boy whose single-parent father, Shigei Taira (平 茂雄, Taira Shigei^?), works for a paving company. While completing a paving job at a go-kart track, his father sees a young boy racing at the track and is amazed at the speed and seeming thrill of the sport. Realizing that his young son has an interest in racing cars (particularly Formula One), Shigei asks the circuit steward as to whether he is able to take some old worn-down parts out of the circuit's trash pile. Taking these back to his workplace, he manages to construct a rundown yet drivable kart. Shigei's boss, Mr. Ikari, (initially begrudgingly) supplies a 4-stroke generator engine to power the kart.