Speed Racer

When I was a kid, Speed Racer was the show I would never miss when I came home from school. Sure it was violent, but the action was what made this show what it was. Also, the variety of villians gave the show some color that was lacking from the American cartoons that came out at the same time. The action and the characters of Speed, Trixie, Sparky, Sprytle and Chim Chim that made this show a classic.

Speed Racer "Mahha Go Go Go" (1967) is arguably the seminal anime of all time. The only thing in the states that predates it, aside from a feature film like, Alakazam The Great "Saiyu-Ki" (1960-61)and other Peter Fenadez efforts like Asto Boy, Marine Boy, Gigantor etc . . . is a series called 8-MAN "Eitoman" (1963). It was an excellent series about an android, who looks strangely similar to Racer X, that "powers-up" by reaching behind the 8 into his chest and smoking a "Power Cigarette". You can see why that series didn't make it out of the 60's. Speed Racer, however, is and remains a timeless classic. Everything is so over the top, on has to wonder if Peter Fenandez and crew even had a proper translation to work from. Maybe they didn't, but it doesn't matter. The have one of the coolest cars in the world! Right up there with the Batmobile, The Green Hornet's Black Beauty and Mad Max's Interceptor is the Mach 5. You can's drive it and not look cool in doing it, especially with Trixie by your side, not to mention Spridle and Chim Chim hiding in the trunk.

But Speed is impetuous. Always trying to win the race by leaping before he looks. But, luckily for him Kabala of Ka-pe-ta-pek (You have to say it that way or it's just not funny) is really Racer X, who is really Speed'solderbrotherRexwhoranawayfromhomeyearsago. (You have to say it that way too. In fact the stilted and slurred together English as the voice actors try to match the story elements to the Japanese lip movements is part of it's charm. That and the fact that the Mach 5 can drive straight up the side of a mountain with little or no problem at all.

And you can never get enough of all the "Joke Names", like Snake Oiler of the Car Acrobatic Team. Speed Racer maybe one of the few anime that's actually better than the original Japanese. As well as the most violent cartoons since the original Johnny Quest (1964). But only the baddies get killed in them. So there's always that rewarding sense of poetic justice, so it's okay. Sure, The Malange or anything equipped with the GR-X engine may be faster, but they're just too dangerous to drive. So strap yourself into the Mach 5 and hold on! OOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

Nobody in my group of friends watched it but I loved it. It was on UHF so it was obscure for sure. Kimba the white lion, the three stooges were all on Channel 52 on California.

Imagine that you're 17 years of age,had the cutest girlfriend and drove a car that could vault over a bridge and land on a pile of rubble without suffering a scratch---also his car was equipped with gadgets no one ever heard of including flying through the air and submerging underwater while winning ever race he was ever in.

The show was called "Speed Racer" and what kid during the mid-1960's and throughout the 1970's didn't yearn to be like him? Having all the fun while taking control of his state of the art car---the Mach V(Five) along with Pops Racer,girlfriend Trixie,and mischief tag alongs Spiral and pet monkey Chim-Chim and mechanic Sparky. Lets not forget Speed's mysterious brother who helps out too---Racer X.

Its original title was called Mach A Go-Go,and this show was on every kids mind when it came on every weekday afternoon and especially on Saturday mornings when you tuned in to the adventures of Speed Racer and his friends to see what exciting thrills to expect next,and with this show you'll never know what to expect or expect the unexpected.

Speed was the ideal high-velocity hero,a morally just teen who knew a karate chop from a judo kick and settled his battles behind the wheel of the world's coolest car which was the main feature of this show,and it was something to watch. No one it is one of the greatest Japanese cartoons ever made and set the standard for the rest of competition for the next three decades. It all started in 1967,and after 35 years later its continues its reign to this day.

Though animated by artists at Tatsunoko Production Co.,(which produced other Japanese cartoons like "Kimba The White Lion","Marine Boy",and "Belle and Sebastian" and this series)there is a gung-ho American sensibility to this Japanimation hit that has made the toon's U.S. dubbed version a success story that was repeated in 1994 as "The New Adventures Of Speed Racer"(which was absolute failure with the main stream audience: mostly children) as well as a upcoming theatrical live action feature that is coming to theatres very soon. An inspiring favorite that inclues real-life Speed Racers Michael Andretti and NASCAR's Jeff Gordon and actors Tom Cruise and Matt Damon. Speed Rules! Go Speed Go!

One of the most complex early anime series to be dubbed for American audiences. Speed Racer is the teenaged son of a car designer, whose Mach 5 can jump, go underwater, clear a path of trees and do other tricks. Besides winning various races, Speed and his family (girlfriend Trixie, kid brother Spritle and pet monkey Chim-Chim) run into spies, saboteurs, criminals and other bad-guy types.

What raises the show above simple adventure is the family background. Speed's brother Rex, suffering dishonor and shame, adopts the identity of Racer X, secretly aiding his brother and goading him into becoming the world's best racer. The series has its dark moments, and the use of gunfire and explosives kept it off American TV for years ("too violent for kids").

The show is far better than the 1994 version, a simple licensing of the character for a "kid-friendly" racing show. However, a new anime version (under the Japanese title "Mach A Go Go") has been made; it may surface in a well-dubbed English version in a few years.