Speed Racer

Speed Racer, known in Japan as Gō Mifune.

Speed Racer is the title of an English adaptation of the anime Mach Go Go Go which centered around automobile racing. The series is an early example of an anime becoming a successful franchise in America.

Background

Trixie

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Pops Racer

The characters and storylines originated in Japan as the manga and anime series Mach Go Go Go (マッハGoGoGo) from the anime studio Tatsunoko Productions.

Mach Go Go Go was first created by anime pioneer Tatsuo Yoshida (1933–1977) as a manga series in the 1960s and made the jump to TV as an anime series in 1967. The central character in the anime and manga was a young race car driver named Gō Mifune (三船剛 Mifune Gō). Yoshida selected the names and symbolisms in his creation very carefully. The M logo on the hood of his race car and the front of his helmet stood for his family name Mifune, an homage to Japanese film star Toshiro Mifune (and not "Mach 5" as the dub would suggest). His given name Go is also a Japanese homonym for the number 5 (the number on his race car). This is also represented by the letter G embroidered on his shirt.

The English rights to Mach Go Go Go were immediately acquired by American syndicator Trans-Lux. The main character Go Mifune was given the name "Speed Racer" in the English version. A major editing and dubbing effort was undertaken by producer Peter Fernandez, who also voiced many of the characters, including Speed Racer himself. Fernandez was also responsible for a retooling of the theme song's melody and its subsequent English lyrics. When the series emerged before U.S. TV audiences as Speed Racer, fans were quickly drawn to its sophisticated plots involving fiendish conspiracies, violent action, hard-driving racing, and soulful characters with sparkling eyes. In an effort to squeeze the complicated plotlines into existing lip movements, the frenetic pace of the dubbing made Speed Racer famous for its quirky "fast" dialogue.

The car

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Mach 5 Steering Wheel Hub

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Sparky repairing the Mach-5

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Spritle & Chim-Chim

Main article: Mach Five

The Mach Five, the car Speed Racer drove in the series (known as the "Mach Go", or simply the "Mach" in the Japanese version), is a technological marvel containing useful pieces of equipment. These gadgets were easily deployed by pressing buttons marked 'A' through 'G' on the steering wheel hub. The "chyock chyock" sound effect played whenever the car jumped through the air is instantly recognizable to the show's fans.

The Buttons had the following functions:

• Button A: “Releases powerful jacks to boost the car so anyone can quickly make any necessary repairs or adjustments.” Although designed for this function, the auto jacks can also be used to “jump” the car short distances at high speeds.

• Button B: Toggles special grip tires for traction over rough terrain (firm, icy, or unsteady ground, ocean floor, vertical mountainsides). At the same time, 5,000 horsepower is distributed equally to each wheel by auxiliary engines.

• Button C: For use traveling over heavily wooded terrain. Powerful rotary saws protrude from the front of the Mach 5 to cut away many obstacles.

• Button D: Releases a powerful transparent cover which seals the cockpit into an air-tight chamber. The cover is bullet- and crash-proof. The cockpit becomes a water-tight chamber which then allows the car to be completely submerged under water.

• Button E: The controls special illumination lights "which can be controlled singularly or in tandem", and which allows the driver to see more clearly than with ordinary headlights. When used with the “night shades” attached to Speed’s helmet, his vision is enhanced with infrared light.

• Button F: Used when the Mach 5 submerged. An oxygen cannister supplies the cockpit with breathable air. A periscope can then be raised to scan the surface of the water. Everything that is viewed through a relay to a video screen. The 100-pound auxiliary supply of oxygen is enough to last for thirty minutes.

• Button G: Releases a homing robot from under the hood of the car. The homing robot can carry pictures or tape recorded messages to an intended party. The robot also can carry handwritten messages, X-ray film, and other types of code. It has been used as a means of self-defense by flying at adversaries. The bird-like device is operated by a built-in remote control within the cockpit. A separate button sends the robot “home.”

• Note: Button E was later replaced with mini-wings that would slide out from under the car to assist Speed in long jumps.

The characters

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Racer X

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Rex Racer (a.k.a. Racer X)

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Mom Racer

Speed Racer had a younger brother named Spritle (Kurio Mifune, 三船くりお Mifune Kurio) who along with his pet chimpanzee Chim-Chim (Senpei) constantly got into mischief and hid together in the trunk of the car.

Other regular characters included Sparky (Sabu サブ), the company mechanic; Speed's father, Pops (Daisuke Mifune, 三船大介 Mifune Daisuke); and his mother, (Aya Mifune, 三船アヤ Mifune Aya); and also Speed's girlfriend Trixie (Michi Shimura, 志村ミチ Shimura Michi). She flies around in a helicopter during each race and advises Speed Racer via a radio link to the Mach Five.

A frequent recurring character, driving car number nine (the "Shooting Star"), is the enigmatic "Racer X" (覆面レーサー Fukumen (Masked) Racer), a mysterious soldier of fortune whose secret identity is that of Rex Racer (Ken'ichi Mifune), Speed's older brother, who years earlier had a falling out with the family and exiled himself.

The Legacy

Speed Racer was the first truly successful anime franchise in the United States. The pivotal episode in which Racer X reveals his identity to Speed was selected by TV Guide as one of the most memorable moments in TV history. Many real-life race car drivers became fans of the show.

The title character was "interviewed" in a humorous series of promotional ads for auto racing that ran on ESPN. The Speed Racer characters even appeared in an animated commercial for the Volkswagen GTI. In the ad, entitled "Sabotage", Speed drives a GTI to victory after the Mach Five is disabled. The ad also incorporated the Matrix-style rotating freeze frame shot from the cartoon's ending credits, with the GTI replacing the Mach Five in the shot.

Speed, Trixie, Spritle and Chim-Chim currently appear in a North American TV commercial for the car insurance company Geico. The commercial makes use of the show's original footage.

Newer series

• The New Adventures of Speed Racer was an American produced 1993 series by Fred Wolf Films with more new episodes presenting a more contemporary style. The series was soon off the air (after only 13 episodes) as the Americanized character and vehicle designs (especially the jellybean-shaped Mach 5) didn't arouse viewer interest.
• Speed Racer X, was released in 2002 by DiC on Nickelodeon's short-lived action block, Slam. This new series showed enormous promise as it was actually based on a new 1997 Mach Go Go Go anime series created by original Japanese studio Tatsunoko Productions. However, it was discontinued a few weeks after it started, when Nick unceremoniously, and without prior notice, took all Slam programs off the air. Its future is uncertain, as DIC and Santa Monica-based Speed Racer Enterprises became embroiled in a bitter lawsuit for control of the series. Even if the lawsuits between DIC and Speed Racer are cleared up, the anime series will never be complete -- due to production problems, production on this Speed Racer series was halted after 34 episodes, out of a projected 52. [1]

The comics

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Speed Racer:
Born to Race

• Mach Go Go - selected chapters of Tatsuo Yoshida's original Mach Go Go manga series have been reprinted by Now Comics as Speed Racer Classics and by DC Comics/Wildstorm Productions as Speed Racer: The Original Manga (ISBN 1563896869).

• Now Comics launched an American Speed Racer comic series in 1985. The series became an instant hit with the high production values of superstar airbrush artist Ken Steacy. The comics continued for nearly 40 issues and included a spin-off Racer X series and crossovers. A mini-series adapting The New Adventures of Speed Racer was also released.

• Wildstorm Productions released a new Speed Racer comic series in 1999 to widespread acclaim, becoming the #1 pick of industry publication Wizard magazine. The manga style of writer/artist Tommy Yune recaptured the striking look of the original anime which was soon followed by an industry-wide revival of comic adaptations of other classic animated series. The prequel comic storylines were also released as the graphic novel Speed Racer: Born to Race (ISBN 1563896494) and a Racer X miniseries featuring the artwork of Chinese manga star Jo Chen.

The toys

• Hot Wheels produced miniature replicas of the Mach Five called the West Wind and later the Second Wind.

• Johnny Lightning released a wide range of the Speed Racer miniatures, including replicas of the villains' cars and "mini-dioramas." A limited-edition release of the Mach Four from the Wildstorm comic series remains of the hardest-to-find collectibles to this day.

• Toynami is currently releasing a large-scale version of the Speed Racer vehicles, including a Mach Five playset complete with all of its gadgets.

• Polar Lights is currently manufacturing two 1/25-scale model kits in standard "glue" and snap-together variations. These can be built with or without the waterproof bubble canopy at the modeler's discretion. The kits feature a homing robot and separate jacks; since they are "curbside" kits, there is no engine compartment.

Other

The show and its style have been frequently referenced and parodied, including in an episode of a Cartoon Network animated series Dexter's Laboratory, in a TV Funhouse cartoon in which George Clooney is seen dodging paparazzi, more recently in Geico TV commercials, and Nick Gibbons, a cartoonist who used to be part of MTV's Cartoon Sushi staff, worked on a cartoon short called "Fast Driver", which was first shown on Cartoon Sushi's Ultra City 6060, which is a fad about dubbing random anime with comedic speeches.

A parody of the Mach Five also appears in Excel Saga as Nabeshin's "Flying Mitsubishi". It also was parodied in Channel Chasers (the movie of The Fairly Oddparents mocking contemporary and past TV shows). Finally, in the Homestar Runner online cartoon, there was an obvious reference by Stinkoman.

In Thunderbolts #1 (vol. 2), M.A.C.H.-4 comments that if he upgrades to another version, he's going to have to add a compartment for a kid and a chimpanzee.

In 1999, a real life fullscale replica of the Mach 5 was built for the Child Safety Network at a cost of more than $650,000. Afterwards it was used in a national automotive safety tour, and then sold for $180,000.

A live-action movie version of the cartoon is in development at Warner Bros. Vince Vaughn is signed to star in the film, although it's unknown whether he would play Speed Racer, Racer X, or another character. As of early 2006, Hype Williams was the last director attached to the project.

In the Japanese Super GT series (nee JGTC), where Banpresto has been campaigning the Mach Go name since 2002 now sponsors two cars form two different teams. One of them Team Mach's Vemac RD320R is numbered and stickered out to be like the Mach 5. The team (real name Team Kyushu) is renamed in honor to the show and the car is known in entry form as Proµ MACH B-1 320R Team Kyushu. Also the other team Jim Gainer, (known in entry forms as Mach-Go Ferrari Dunlop) has a Ferrari F360 Modena that is also stickered to appear like same car. One of their drivers is Go Mifune, who changed his name in honor of the character and used to drive for the former team.

In addition, the show has been referenced often by many musical artists.

External links

• Mach Go Go Go at IMDb
• Official website
• Toynami - Speed Racer toys
• Slant Magazine DVD review - describes the essence of the show
• Speed Racer at TV.com
• Speed Racer Lawsuit
• Nick Gibbons' Website - where you can buy the "Fast Driver" DVD in the Merchandise section
• Speed Racer Game at Shockwave.com - play a Speed Racer game on 3D.Online, download demo only, or buy the full version