Speed Racer: Volume 1

-F.H.E. (1966)

Summary:

Speed Racer goes.

My Thoughts:

I was never a fan of Speed Racer when I was young. I couldn’t see the appeal of the show and thought it was rather boring. I had never even watched a full episode until I started viewing this DVD. Over the years many shows and commercials have made reference or poked fun at the show. It was all of that that made me want to check it out again. Even though I didn’t like it when I was young, maybe I’d appreciate it more being much older. And I do. This is a great show.

Speed Racer is about a young racer named, well, Speed Racer, and his adventures in the surprisingly dangerous world of auto racing. He drives the Mach 5, a car designed by his father, Pops, which has tons of gadgets to help Speed get out of danger. Speed is sometimes unknowingly accompanied by his younger brother Spritle and monkey Chim Chim who like to stow away in the trunk. Speed’s girlfriend Trixie helps him out of danger in her helicopter and sometimes gets herself into some trouble of her own with the show’s many villains. The villains and supporting characters have terrific names such as Cruncher Block, Inspector Detector, and Captain Terror.

Although it’s about racing, the show has a slower pace to it. Sometimes the driving sequences are very long and we just watch the Mach 5 and other cars driving along the road. That contributes to the show being a little boring at times. The animation can get pretty choppy and cars will randomly change color. Plus, we get to see many of the same clips used over and over. You just have to love early Japanese animation. The absolute best thing about the show though is that everyone talks like they’re on speed. There are no discernable breaks in individuals’ dialogue; it’s just one long, rapidly spoken, run-on sentence. There are also plenty of random moans and ohs. If you’ve ever heard the Speed Racer techno porn song you can see why it was made.

Speed Racer Volume 1 contains eleven episodes, but there are only five storylines as each story is a two or three part racing opus. The first is “The Great Plan” where we learn that secret plans are on the Mach 5’s windshield (in invisible ink, of course). A race battle ensues for the windshield. Pops already has them memorized, but doesn’t tell anyone until the race is over and the windshield has been broken.

In “Challenge of the Masked Racer” we are introduced to Racer X. From this point on, almost every time we see Racer X the narrator chimes in and tells us that “unbeknownst to Speed, he is indeed Speed’s older brother Rex that left home years ago.” How many times do we need to be told that Racer X is Speed’s older brother? We are told that at least once per episode and two or three times in many of them. In “The Secret Engine” a bunch of mean guys are searching for a car engine with a specific serial number. Speed gets involved, impresses an old man with the Mach 5, and saves the day.

“The Race against the Mammoth Car” is about Speed racing a car that is 200 yards long. How in the world could this car possibly drive anywhere? It’s so long that it would require a special road for itself like trains have tracks. The mammoth car is basically a big train anyway. Plus the car is made out of gold, which we’re told was stolen approximately fifty times throughout the two episodes. In the three part story arc “The Most Dangerous Race,” Speed races against Snake Oiler and his group of acrobatic racers. No, Speed Racer hasn’t stepped into amateur porn, Snake is just another of the oddly named characters.

There are many other questions that get brought up as I viewed the show. Why didn’t Speed close the Mach 5’s canopy when it rained? Wouldn’t it be easier to race without rain hitting him in the face? With all the dangerous driving that Speed does driving off cliffs and ramming into things, how do Spritle and Chim Chim survive in the trunk? You would think the two would be turned into bloody sacks of flesh by the time the race was over, but somehow they survive unscathed. Speed does many things during the race that does not include racing. He stops for lunch, jumps in a volcano, gets the Mach 5 hijacked, is shot at, goes unconscious, gets into fisticuffs, and takes a nap. Yet somehow he is able to catch up to the other racers and win the race. Well, go Speed, go.

The episodes are presented in incredible Dolby monaural audio. Isn’t “Dolby monaural” an oxymoron? It would have been nice to have the original Japanese audio included, but I’m sure it wouldn’t be nearly as funny as the hyper hurried English. The original Japanese lyrics are included on the little booklet, though. The episodes have been cleaned up a bit and look probably as good as they ever will.

Even with all its problems, but because of them, Speed Racer is great.

Extras:

The coolest thing about this edition is the DVD case. The first release editions of volume 1 feature a rubber tire tread across the front of the slipcover. Not only does it look cool, but it also smells great.

Under “Production” you’ll find a history of Tatsunoko Productions, the translation of the show to English, the lyrics and a sing along for the theme song, and info on the U.S. cast. Some of the history is an interesting read.

“Mach 5” has a control setup for the Mach 5 and all its wonderful gadgetry. There is an explanation for each taken from the first episode. You can also see the device in action where it takes you to a clip from the show. “Villains Gallery” has a very brief description of each villain and also lets you see the villain in action like the Mach 5.

In the “Speed Lives On” section there is the opening of The New Adventures of Speed Racer from 1993. From the looks of it the characters were Americanized and Speed races against aliens. It must not have been very good since it only lasted for thirteen episodes. The Volkswagen Commercial Campaign pretty much only says that it happened. You don’t get to see the actual commercials.

The merchandise section only shows pictures of five pieces of Speed Racer merchandise. I’m sure there is a ton of stuff out there, not just these few items.

Score:

Program: 7.5

Extras: 3.5

Edition: 6.0 (this gets an extra point for the rubber front)

-Shawn