Mahha GoGoGo Online

Katsuji Mori Peter Fernandez Corinne Orr

Original Title :: Mahha GoGoGo
Genre :: TV Series / Animation / Action / Adventure / Comedy / Family / Sci-Fi / Sport
Cast :: Katsuji Mori,Peter Fernandez,Corinne Orr
Type :: TV Series
Time :: 30min
Rating :: 7.1/10

Teenager Gô Mifune aspires to be the world's best race-car champion with the help of his friends, family and his father's high-tech race-car, the Mach 5.

Mahha GoGoGo Online

Teenager Gô Mifune aspires to be the world's best race-car champion with the help of his friends, family and his father's high-tech race-car, the Mach 5.

Complete series cast summary:
	Katsuji Mori	-	Gô Mifune 52 episodes, 1967-1968

	Peter Fernandez	-	Speed Racer / - 52 episodes, 1967-1968

	Corinne Orr	-	Mom Racer / - 52 episodes, 1967-1968

	Jack Grimes	-	Chim-Chim / - 52 episodes, 1967-1968

	Jack Curtis	-	Pops Racer / - 52 episodes, 1967-1968

	Nair Amorim	-	Gorducho 52 episodes, 1967-1968

	Cleonir dos Santos	-	Speed Racer 52 episodes, 1967-1968

	André Filho	-	Corredor X 52 episodes, 1967-1968

	Nelly Valverde	-	Trixie 52 episodes, 1967-1968

	Milton Luiz	-	Inspetor Detetor 33 episodes, 1967-1968

	Allan Lima	-	Narrador 32 episodes, 1967-1968

	Orlando Drummond	-	Pops Racer 29 episodes, 1967

	Paulo Pereira	-	Pops Racer 23 episodes, 1967-1968

In its original Japanese version "Mach Go Go Go," Speed Racer was called Go Mifune, named in honor of legendary Japanese actor Toshirô Mifune. This is why he sports a G on his shirt.

The original Japanese title "Mach GoGoGo", is a rather elaborate pun:

it is the name of the hero Go Mifune (as Speed Racer was known in Japan)
it contains the car's name "Mach-go", or Mach 5 ("Go" is Japanese for the number five)
it contains the English word "go", a staple of racing (multilingual puns were becoming vogue back then)
and "Go-Go-Go" is the Japanese sound effect for the rumbling of tires on a racetrack.

Speed Racer's car the Mach 5 was primarily based on three automobiles: the racecars Ferrari 250 TestaRossa and the Ford GT40, and OO7's weapon-equipped Aston Martin.

For its English redub as "Speed Racer" Peter Fernandez changed the names:

Speed Racer was originally known as Go Mifune
Trixie was was originally known as Michi Shimura
Pops Racer was originally known as Daisuke Mifune
Mom Racer was originally known as Aya Mifune
Spritle was originally known as Kurio Mifune
Chim-Chim was originally known as Sanpei
Sparky was originally known as Sabu
Inspector Detector was originally known as Detective Rokugo
and Racer X was originally known as Kenichi Mifune.

At the beginning of each episode there was a dramatic pause. In the original Japanese version, this pause is where the episode's title appeared; the English dub instead has the episode's title against a red-yellow checkerboard title before the episode begins. The only episode in the English version to have a title in the pause was "The Race Against the Mammoth Car (Part 1)".

The show's creator Tatsuo Yoshida cited Cita en Las Vegas (1964) and James Bond contra Goldfinger (1964) - two extremely popular films in Japan in the 1960s - as the main influences on the show: he used Elvis Presley's racecar-driver image (complete with neckerchief and black pompadour hairstyle), and a gadget-filled car.

The English dub of the show is famous for its racy, fast-paced dialogue. This was due to trying to squeeze the complicated plots into the characters' dialogue, and also because voice director Peter Fernandez only had 2 days to script and record the English dub.

In the manga, Trixie's father owns Shimura Aviation. This is the reason she can afford both a Mercedes Benz convertible and her very own pink helicopter.

In 1993, the series was re-mastered and rebroadcast concurrently with Speed Racer (1993). In this version all references to Trans-Lux (the original syndicator of the series in the 1960s) were removed with the opening titles featuring a recreated logo, as well as the episode titles and closing credits being re-created.

Peter Fernandez simultaneously voiced the main character and wrote scripts for this show and Marine Boy (1968), another anime series; sometimes he would record both shows, the same day in New York City.

In the English dub, voice director Peter Fernandez deliberately cast only his close friends Jack Grimes, Corinne Orr and Jack Curtis.

According to Peter Fernandez, he named Speed Racer's brother Spritle because he was "an energetic sprite."

Throughout the series, the Tatsunoko Productions seahorse logo can be seen on various objects.

In its original Japanese version "Mach Go Go Go," Trixie was was originally known as Michi Shimura. This is why she sports a M on her blouse.

The 'M' on Speed Racer's car and helmet - which in America stands for the Mach 5, is because in Japan, it stands for "Mifune" (Speed Racer's original family name), and in Latin America stands for "Meteoro" (literally meaning "meteor", which moves swiftly and fast).

In the Wildstorm comics, the Mach 4 is shown. It is driven by Rex Racer.

In the NOW comics, the Mach 5's engine is shown in the rear of the car. In the television show, it is very clearly shown to be in the front.

The Shooting Star is Racer X's black and yellow race car. It has the number "9".

The Formula One ( open wheeled ) version of the Mach 5 was used in only one race.

Melange is a black race car with number X-3. The Melange, driven by a mysterious robot driver, may even be faster than the Mach 5.

The Mammoth Car was a gargantuan car that appeared in the No Limits World Race. This massive, beast of a car was over 200 yards long.

A smaller copy of the Formula One ( open wheeled ) version of the Mach 5 was built for Price Jam, and then driven by Spritle.. It was painted red and given the number "1".

A replica of the real Mach 5 was made to frame Speed for robbery. It could also use small wings to fly.

The Black Tiger is Prince Kim Jugger's black race car in "Meteoro: The Desperate Desert Race: Part 1 (1967)" It has the number "4".

When the show was re-released in 1993, the opening title and closing credits were re-created, and also the Trans-Lux logo was removed. The new closing credits sequence also includes three typographical errors: Jack Grimes is misspelled "Jack Crimes", Hiroshi Sasagawa is misspelled "Hiroshi Sasacawa".

In the end credits the first steam car driven by Pops Racer is an 1769 steam car built by Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot. The second steam car driven by Trixie is an 1803 London Steam Carriage, built by Richard Trevithick.

In both the anime and manga comic Speed discovers Racer X is, indeed his brother Rex Racer, but both have very different endings; in the manga version, Rex reveals himself to Speed and the two reunite, while in the anime version, Speed confronts Racer X, and gets knocked out, Racer X deciding to go into full-time espionage and leaving racing (and Speed) behind.

Speed actually lost three races in the show: his first loss came in "Meteoro: The Snake Track (1967)", his second loss was by disqualification in "Meteoro: The Desperate Racer (1968)", and his third loss was through failing to complete the race in "Meteoro: The Dangerous Witness (1968)".

Racer X (Rex Racer) was seen without his mask in four episodes: "Meteoro: Challenge of the Masked Racer: Part 2 (1967)", "Meteoro: The Secret Invaders: Part 2 (1967)", "Meteoro: The Dangerous Witness (1968)" and "Meteoro: The Trick Race (1968)".

This is the only series in the "Speed Racer" saga where Rex Racer runs away from home, and becomes Racer X. All other shows since have stated that Rex Racer was tragically killed in an accident.

User reviews

hardy

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.

Ieslyaenn

Who hasn't seen Speed Racer? One of my all time favorite cartoon shows from when i was growing up...great characters all around. Racer X, Spridal his pet Chim-Chim and Pops Racer all add up to an exciting half hour. The show centers around Speed Racer and his quest to be the fastest racer in the world, with his high tech personalized Mach 5, he saves the world from evil terrorists while still finding time to race in the circuit and see his girlfriend Trixie. Old Japanese animation at its best.

Elildelm

Arguably the greatest of all anime shows, Speed Racer is by far the best combination of the varied qualities of anime - goofy humor, nerve-packed action, and superior character interplay. Many fans' introduction to anime was in viewing of this show in 1970s syndication.

The original version, titled Mach Go! Go! Go!, reflects the greater violence of Japanese anime, violence toned down for the US broadcast of the show but still at times unnerving. Peter Fernandez and Trans-Lux were given the task of "Anglicanizing" Mach Go! Go! Go! and succeeded perhaps beyond their own expectations; the show remains fresh and engaging even as the passage of time has displayed some of the anarchic racing practices portrayed in each episode.

The show betrays some of the Gerry Anderson influences common to anime, influences even better shown by Battle Of The Planets' Thunderbirds-meets-Captain-Scarlet copycatting. The presence of the chimp Chim-Chim as pet for Spritle is a direct copy of the chimp used in Anderson's first Supermarionation show, Supercar, which served as something of a template for Speed Racer overall.

The Racer family is as tightly knit as any family, headed by patriarch, ace motorsports engineer Lionel "Pops" Racer, his loving wife - never named in the show beyond Mom - and his two sons, Greg James "Speed" Racer and toddler Spridle. Pops, however, has an older son, Kenneth Rexford Racer, known as Rex. Years earlier Rex was entered in a major race against Pops' wishes and crashed heavily in winning; a furious Pops refused to let Rex race until he was older, but Rex refused to be pigeonholed and ran out on the family to become a racing champion; he has never been seen again by the family.

This estrangement of Rex from his family, while not part of the show's pilot two-part episode, is nonetheless the real starting point for the series. Pops fears that his second-eldest son Speed will meet the same fate as Rex, but Speed is determined to race, and Pops reluctantly acquiesced to his son's passion. Speed is a special racer, and this draws the wrath of unscrupulous types determined to see that he never becomes a champion. The intervention of these unscrupulous types brings to the fore the mysterious Racer X, aka The Masked Racer - in reality Rex, in disguise, fearing that knowledge of his identity will bring the wrath of his enemies to his family and especially the gifted younger brother he's never known. There is a special chemistry between Racer X and Speed, a chemistry driven by Speed's budding curiousity about Racer X's true identity, and budding suspicion that Racer X is his long-lost brother.

The show gets off to a good start in the first two cliffhanger episodes as well as the two-part "The Secret Engine," but by far the most popular and best episodes are the two that reach the show to its apex - the rousing Mob/racing actioner "Race Against The Mammoth Car" and the show's only three-part episode, the genuinely scary "The Most Dangerous Race."

The Mammoth Car, highlighted by a sharply distinctive echoing whine as well as unforgettable music cue, is a 600-foot-long train-like monster owned by an infamous mobster who is suspected of stealing millions of bars of gold, a theft that Speed and his spunky girlfriend Patricia "Trixie" Shimura get swept into in the course of racing the Mammoth Car.

The Most Dangerous Race is the Great Alpine Race, a race through mountains that becomes even more dangerous when heavy rains collapse weak overhangs and force racers to try a dangerous jump over chasms. Spritle has given Speed a small Mexican doll as a good luck charm, and this leads to the most genuinely terrifying moment of animation - when Speed slides into the chasm, the soundtrack fades into an echo, and we see nothing but tire marks, some debris from destroyed racecars, and finally the small good luck charm half-buried in the mud, seemingly dead - and Speed nowhere to be found. Never has a cliffhanger more effectively frightened a viewer more than this indelible image.

Though the show could never reach the emotional height of these two episodes, excellent stories followed in the harrowing revenge tale "Race For Revenge," and follow-up stories; as the show proceeded stories switched to one-part episodes instead of the two-part cliffhangers used most often but never lost their punch of superb character interplay ("Man On The Lam," "The Car Hater," and "Most Dangerous Race's" one-part late-series sequel are the best of the one-parters), goofy charm (most of the villain names are straight out of Dick Tracy central casting), and the revved-up power of the show's signature mode of transportation, the Mach Five, which went from the enriching Bimmer-esque hum of the first 11 episodes to a pre-1995 NASCAR-flavored growl for "Race For Revenge" to the unsatisfying mixture of high-pitched whine and cheesy growl of the show's balance.

It is this combination that makes Speed Racer a race winner and champion of all time in anime.

Ylonean

Speed Racer aka "Mahha go go go" has been a well known anime since the Vietnam War era.

It's about the adventures and life of a young man named Speed Racer, who's always dreamed in becoming a well known racer someday. He's knowledgeable about history & is a simple minded kind of guy who only uses violence for the last resort. Speed is also a good fighter.

His father Pops Racer has built and designed a custom made race car, called the Mach 5. The most unique racing vehicle of it's kind. Equipped with power jacks, cutting blades, emulating lights, bullet proof glass, underwater travel, and a BM radio. With this car, Speed can be able to accomplish the races and grand pixes that he competes in. The Mach 5 also makes a perfect getaway vehicle and a greater advantage in escaping dangers.

Throughout the series, Speed will be going through many challenging races and adventures. As well as making enemies with Conspiracies, Mafias, Assassins, Thieves, Burglars, Rivals, & Terriosts. With the Mach 5 to drive in, and a group of reliable friends, Speed will be able to get through many hardships.

Despite it being made 40 years ago. This Japanese animated cartoon really shows it's age. And it has one of the oldest dubs to date. Cool thing about the Dub is, it manages to be the first successful Anime franchise to hit the U.S. shores and all the characters are done by 4 voice actors. Which is less than the average number in today's management of voice choices.

The voice acting is good, but very dated for it's era of time. Since this aired back when Anime wasn't highly known as it is today. But since then it has been admired and inspired by many people. I never seen the original version, but hopefully one day I will to see what it was like unedited.

It's not for everyone, but I think it's a classic for a foreign made, American distributed anime. Due to it's sophisticated scenes, cartoon violence, and car crashes. I recommend it for 6 and up.

Marilbine

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!!!

Ynap

I watched this cartoon as a kid and it was one of my favorites. It was aired right after Johnny Sokko & his Flying Robot 4:00pm after school on channel 41 in 1969-79(Kansas City local tv market). Great opening credits and great show A to Z. I like the Alpine Race and the Challenge race with the skull head driver. Snake Oiler is my favorite bad driver & racer X is the coolest of the bunch, even over Speed to a degree, Enjoy....

Karon

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.

Naktilar

The role of economics in the industrialized North American market must have always been theorized in the homelands of the engines creation. Persons and industrialist such as Mercedes Benz and the Bavarian Motor Works (BMW) surely realized the opportunity of the North Ameircan market with the purchase of fuel and number of automobiles purchased per household. This type of economic phenomena sparked the concept of Speed Racer.

After the new constitution of Japan the industrialization of the isolated island nation of Japan must seek opportunity once again via economic partnerships with its global neighbors. This also helped spark the economic opportunities in the European and North American market if not the global market.

Speed is a young avid driver who without knowing any better is driven by his demanding father Pops Racer who has challenged himself his whole life to make a better machine better at winning races. It was in fact Pops Racer who drove his first son Rex Racer to the brink of destruction with his strategy of how to best use the technology he developed. As a mature Racer, Rex, finally realizes his own inherent values and becomes independent but still feels obligated to his younger bother Speed.

The exact relationship of Rex Racer to persons such as the Inspector are never really clear, but put into dramatization. Rex is eventually accused of being a type of agent for a country or organization due to his ability to be in places at times when there is no other explanation to how he would have known Speed was in trouble. Or the fact that the situations involved some types of illegal activity were his secretive knowledge is leveraged against an evil plot. This brings a level of cloak and dagger romance to Speed Racer.

The mixture of Speeds innocence with Trixy, Sprital, and Chim Chim brings a level of comic human nature. This concept is a good form of rhetoric to balance the themes and plots as they are played out from episode to episode. So, instead of a dry detective story the thrill of international race car driving, romance of cloak and dagger, and comedy of human nature is put into one story, Speed Racer.

Yojin

As a kid, I never understood WHY anyone would watch this very crappy show. It was pretty stupid and I always wanted Spridle and Jim-Jim to get in some sort of fatal accident (they were THAT annoying).

Now, almost 40 years later, I have a new attitude about the cartoon. While I still think it was complete crap, this is only in regard to the American version of the show. That's because I was reading a book about anime and found out that the shows we watched growing up were completely different from those originally shown in Japan. You see, the idiots in charge of syndicating the series thought it was too violent so they cut this out of the episodes. That's bad enough, but what else they did is beyond belief--they actually chopped the episodes apart and spliced them together to create shows that were NOTHING like the originals! For example, one episode might be made up of parts of episodes 3, 6, 18 and 27! As a result, I really don't know if the original show really was bad--it might have been brilliant. But who can tell considering all we have to watch is this Americanized mess!?

Modar

it would be a shame if one has yet to watch speed racer, be it dubbed or subbed (i prefer the dubbed version (which is rare) because it was funny...in a good way). what's great about speed racer is that you're never too old to watch it. go red and yellow!! i first saw this when i was around seven and enjoyed hearing the catchy opening. it disappeared for some time then i saw it again a couple of months ago (i'm 19). imagine the feeling of nostalgia surging in, singing "here he comes, here comes speed racer! he's a demon on wheels~~~" over and over again. anyway, the concept of the mach 5 spawned so many 'ultra-multi-function-special-cars' but none were able to surpass its genius in construction. the other cars just seemed too much. and it wasn't just the races or battling different bosses that made it interesting for me. it was racer-x's mystery persona and how the world of speed racer pretty much 'happened' to revolve around it. they did some tweaking to some story lines from the manga, but it all turned out pretty well. though i can't remember if the show actually revealed how racer-x looked like, in the manga, they did.

Eigonn

Before I begin this review, I just want to say that I never heard or watch this anime series because I was more of a 90s kid before other anime shows came out from the late 90s to the early 00s, but my dad told me that he used to watch that show when he was a younger kid and he as born at the 1960s when this came out. He had loved it very much and as a teenager, I totally agree with him. When my little brother had a DVD copy of the first few episodes of that show, I watched along with him and liked it. Three months later, I got a six-disc collection of all 52 episodes of Speed Racer and watched some of it during Christmas time at my mom's house (To those who read my Speed Racer movie review this review has the same stuff I said about the anime) and boy was I speechless I couldn't even believe my eyes.

I totally agree with some of the users on this website that this is indeed a great anime cartoon from a few great decades ago and I officially love it as much as anyone else in today's world. The animation is the epitome of excellence. It has fluid backgrounds and solid colors which makes it much easier to look at, but the strongest aspect is the visuals and the racing sequences throughout each episode. The characters are likable. Speed Racer is a great protagonist and I like his attempts to become a professional racer while protecting his friends and family from the forces of evil. His family, including Spritle and Chim Chim are enjoyable and the interactions between them and Speed are flawless. Rex Racer (Racer X) is also a great character and the villains are excellent and creative in each episode. In fact all of the episodes are great I can't decide which ones I like the most.

The music is what makes this show stand out the most. It has some dramatic melodic rhythms in every episode, but the theme song is what I like the most about the music in the show. It's catchy and memorable to listen to you will end up humming every time you remember it. The voice acting may not be the best in this show, but when it comes to voices in animated shows and movies for kids as of today, the voice acting in this show is great while containing some fast and witty dialog (not to mention some great one-liners) that you'll never forget once you start and finish watching this show.

Overall, Speed Racer is by no means a classic TV show from the classic 60s and the live-action movie adaptation, although not excellent, is a criminally underrated movie that reminded those who grew up with the show. This deserves a solid thumbs up from me!

Tujar

Speed Racer in my opinion, is the best anime series I've ever seen. I first saw the show on DVD from a very young age with my dad. At the time, I didn't care much about the story, and was mostly in it for the races. But just today I watched them again for the first time in 6 years, and realized that the races were just the icing on the cake.

It's always easy to get into the story, and the end races are enjoyable as hell too. So far, I have two personal favorite episodes: The World's Most Dangerous Race, and the Mammoth Car. The Mammoth Car in particular fascinated me so much, it was the only one I'd watch. As a kid, it was surreal seeing something as huge as that, and to this day it still looks impressive.

Coming from the late 1960s, some might call the animation weak by today's standards, but given the time and technology (and maybe some budget issues too), it's understandable that some footage was replayed or that the sprites look a bit off at times. Just like the Spiderman 1960s cartoon, I appreciate that. However reused sprites are used a lot less here than the Spiderman cartoon. As for soundtrack, it's really, really good. Sometimes I actually wish they'd release the soundtrack on a CD, because if they did, I'd be first in line to buy it. With the show, I also appreciate the running gag of Speed's brother and his chimp friend sneaking in the trunk of the Mach 5, Speed's car name. It's funny because as a kid, sometimes I wished I could do the exact same thing.

So as a whole, I find pretty much no negative things to say about this show. The dubbing may not be at its best at times, but I can name a hundred and one shows where its worse. Speed Racer will always have a place in my heart, and I have a permanent cult following towards it.

10/10.

Phalaken

One of the better Japanese imports, SPEED RACER came with drawbacks, including racist caricatures, excessive violence, lousy dubbing, and soap operatic plots (frequently centering around Speed's whiny and helpless girlfriend Trixie, who was always getting into jams when she wasn't yelling "SPEEEEEED!" whenever he wiped out that mondolicious Mach Five coupe.) No matter, Speed Racer was clearly the cartoon of choice as a child of the 70s thanks to its superior animation, cool and evocative sound effects, cheesy yet entertaining music and that same excessive violence which really wasn't a drawback after all except to crotchety over-protective parents and book burning church folk. I can recall several episodes featuring some of the best race footage I've still ever seen, and I'm now almost 38 years old.

Yeah, there was plenty of silly, predictable plotting (all of the angsty Racer X subplot was rather over the top, Sprytle or Chim Chim stowed away in the Mach Five in about half the episodes...Pops was "sick" and in need of medicine in about another quarter of the episodes and Trixie was kidnapped in whatever 'sodes haven't been covered yet), but there was some solid entertainment value in the artwork and editorial sound choices. When they reran it on Cartoon Network a while back I caught some and I found that while the plotting was thin, those race sequences hadn't lost much in the intervening 30 years.

Ghordana

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!

Anardred

I know everyone loves Spritle and his pet chimpanzee Chim-Chim but what they don't know how that is the worse and most dangerous pet you can give your children. They look so cute when their young but when they get older they becomes several times stronger then a human and even more aggressive. There have many stories about pet chimpanzees tearing apart their owners who raised them and loved them as if they were their own children.

Onnell

Vroom! Vroom!.... Get ready! - Get set! - Now! - "Go! Go! Go!" with Speed Racer!!

Written and produced by Japanese cartoonist, Tatsuo Yoshida - Speed Racer (from 1967) is actually a very enjoyable pre-CG Anime series from Tokyo, Japan.

This 6-disc set presents (for your viewing pleasure) all 52, full-colour episodes from this fast and furious TV program which was specifically aimed for the amusement of the young (and the young-at-heart).

With the action always set in high-gear - Speed Racer is the name of a car-crazy 18-year-old boy who dreams of driving his beloved, super-powered, white Mach-5 in professional races all around the world.

When the going gets tough and the menacing villains strive to keep Speed from the finish line - You can be sure - Our youthful hero always finds a way to make it through to the end.

*Note* - In 1977 - (cartoonist) Tatsuo Yoshida (45 at the time) died of liver cancer.

Flarik

Really a great show to watch in childhood. As it shows a teenage race car driver named of course, Speed Racer as he strives to be the best racer while fighting crime on the side. Not only he is a great racer but a martial artists.

His girlfriend Trixie does the same thing a martial artist and also a tough girl herself. But she is also indicates she is a rich girl with her own helicopter and Mercedes.

Rest of the cast rounds out with younger brother troublemaker and pet that comes out in the end, to help him, Speed, and family are Spritle and Chim Chim, his pet monkey.

Ace mechanic Sparky, matriarch Ma Racer, and head of the Racer clan and enterprises, Pops Racer heart of gold despite bad temper.

Still it is a great show if you loved the show as a kid like I did and still do.

Rleyistr

I wanna own the car of this serie! Meteoro (ít was called Meteoro in my country) and his partners lives in the wonderful world of races, competing against his misterious and unknown brothers. One of the firsts animes, and one of the best.

Larosa

I watched this show as a little kid. It's just alright, for me.

I'm not saying that the show isn't legendary, I just think it's pretty cheesy. It's not a bad show, it's certainly better than the crap kid's shows are today, but I'm missing something. Maybe it's supposed to have a deeper meaning that I'm just not picking up, but from what I'm getting, it's just a harmless cartoon.

The main character, Speed Racer (ingenious naming. Almost as creative as "Bob".) is incredibly bland. Seriously, what is up with this guy? He's just a good guy, but he's an annoying good guy. As a little kid, I couldn't stand him; I watched everybody else.

The supporting cast, thankfully, has a little bit of personality. Trixie, Speed's girlfriend, was always fun to watch. She's a stereotyped girl, but she knew how to stand up for herself, which is a great change of pace from shows today where all girls do is fix their hair and smile to the camera.

Sparky, Speed's mechanic, was hilarious when I was a kid, but now, he's just annoying. I don't mind this character, I just wish he didn't have as much screen time. (He's only in about 10 of the episodes, but even that's to many.)

Spritle and Chim Chim... good lord, I've always found them annoying. Unlike Sparky, however, they are in EVERY episode and take up at least 10% of the screen time.

And how could anybody forget Racer X? My God, this guy was cool! He was a bad guy and a good guy at the same time! He had (arguably) the best car in the show, and his voice... that voice. It's almost robotic, but it's just so awesome! Everything about this guy is bad-ass, to say the least. If anything else, watch this show to see him!

The rest of the cast is hit and miss. Pops is just hilarious, even to this day. I realize that he's supposed to be a minor character, but he's just so entertaining to watch that it's impossible to watch a scene with him and not laugh. Mom (who was in two episodes and had ten lines in the entire series run) was bland to. But Speed had to get it from somewhere.

The car races were painfully long to me. They never held my attention as a kid, and they don't hold my attention now. I fast forward through them to this day. The violence is just awesome! There's guns, there's explosions, there's car crashes, it's just cool! Kid's shows today couldn't think of getting away with having people shot or racing off cliffs, but not Speed Racer!

But by far, the most memorable thing about this show was the theme song. Who dosn't love the theme song? As a kid, that's what I would look forward to the most. I would dance to the theme song, and sleep through the episode. It's still catchy now, but I couldn't say that I would ever download it on my Ipod.

The show dosn't hold up as much now as it did then. But maybe that's how it's supposed to be. This show was made for people under the age of 12, and nobody else. Speed Racer has always been just another show to me, and nothing more. Racer X was cool, the explosions were awesome, and the theme song was one of the catchiest in history, but even with all that, it very rarely held my attention for the entire show.

Gorisar

It had its moments, but overall when I watched this cartoon as a child I was bored out of my mind. The only thing that kept me watching was the fact that it was a cartoon, probably my first exposure to anime. It is also one of my least favorite anime's, I remember others one involving a giant ship in space that made no sense, but was more enjoyable because they were in space. I also remember one with these people dressed like birds that was a bit strange, but more entertaining. I do not really like car racing though at all, did not then and still do not so that is probably one of the reasons I did not care for this show even though today I am an avid anime fan. The characters were a bit goofy too, and then there was the horrible scenes where virtually no action was taking place that was probably used to cut down on animation costs and to pad the show. The gadgets in the cars were cool though and provided some entertainment for me back then. Overall, I find this show to be rather unwatchable compared to newer animes and some from the same era, but this is just a personal opinion I am sure many other reviewers love the show which is cool.

Bliss

It seems everyone wants to jump on the bandwagon and say "Maha Go Go Go"....The word is MACHA........Like "Mach".....Pronounced maa - ka"...

I grew up with this series in the early 70's here in LA on the late and VERY lamented channel 56...Before that there was Tetsuwan Atomu (Astro Boy), dating from 1963 on ol' KHJ TV. Astro Boy was the first TV example of anime we got here in the states...I was into anime as a kid and followed it until the late 80's when, by then it'd become a series of badly animated "talking heads", a phenomenon which has only gotten worse. 'Nuff said.

As for "Speed Racer", I really enjoyed the basics there, the POV shots, the cinematic aspects of live action skillfully adopted to animation...That was fairly typical of most Japanese anime back then...Graphics graphics graphics! Take note sometime how obviously the series was inspired by Stanley Kramer's film "Grand Prix" (1966), especially the redone American credits....

Oh yeah, I have the original comics from which the series is based, so I know of which I speak.

What were we doing animation-wise besides crap like Johnny Quest?.....Th' same ol' stuff we'd been doin' since the 20's....Ho-hum!

I guess the real problem I had/have with the way anime was/is shown on American TV is the hatchet job done on the scripts, credits, etc to "sanitize" them for American audiences...I won't go into other programs as we're talking' Speed here.

Look at clowns like Peter Fernandez as one of the culprits here, as he was 99% responsible for the re-writes of the series...Not to mention the voice of Speed, Racer X and others...Between him and the goofs at Trans/Lux ( Think Felix the Cat and the Mighty Hercules - oy vey!) they took a slick, very sophisticated show and dropped it down to the level of Sesame Street. Think "Cruncher Bloch", The "Forthebird Company", "Skull Duggery"...If I go on I'll puke.

This series dates from 40-odd years ago but I, at the time, was keen enough to feel insulted by the dumbing down of this and other Japanese programs...I mean it's obvious when someone's getting' killed but they either remove it or gloss it over........Pleeeeeze!

Good show - originally. Sadly all the more recent incarnations of the series have that CRAPPY "made in Korea" look, not to mention being nauseatingly "pc" in content. Even the Japanese outsource their animation now..

Try watchin' the original Japanese opening on YouTube sometime...It sends chills up my spine.....If only......Oh well. Robert

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