In order to celebrate New Balance’s latest running shoe, the Hanzo S v2, the footwear brand created an original manga depicting how the shoe came about.
Set in a dystopian future in the fictional city of Neo-Saigo, Japan, “The Greatest Race” tells the story of runner Daichi Kamino who is destined to stop an evil alien overlord from suddenly wiping out all of humanity. Nocte, as the being calls himself, descends upon Earth with an army of inhuman warriors called “Servorum” that make quick work of any nation that stand in its way.
All but one country is left, and Kamino is determined to stop Nocte before his army destroys Japan and ends human civilization forever. Knowing he’s outmatched and outnumbered, Kamino challenges Nocte to the one thing he’s known all his life—a race. Kamino’s proposition of an epic two-day relay race against ten Servorum gets laughed at until they realize he’s actually serious.
Unable to attract any volunteers for this noble cause, Kamino promises to race all ten Servorum alone, but in order to do so he’ll need a bit of help. He sets out on a quest to find master craftsman Hitoshi Mimura, the man known as “The God of Shoes,” to create the Hanzo v2, the ultimate running shoe that’ll hopefully turn the tide in humanity's favor.
Armed with this new weapon, Kamino sets off on a race that’ll determine the fate of his country and the planet. Read “The Greatest Race” now to see how the manga ends and check out the New Balance Hanzo v2 available now.
