Here He Comes...

In the beginning, there was no Anime. Then Japan created their first animated TV show. The date was January 1, 1963. Based on a popular comic it was incredibly successful. So successful, in fact, that it crossed the Pacific and invaded American airwaves, dubbed in English but covered up all evidence of its origin. This show was Tetsuwan Atom, better known as Astro Boy. Thus began the first wave of anime in America. It wasn't limited to Astro Boy. Soon, titles like Kimba The White Lion, Gigantor, and 8 Man appeared as well. In all this foreign goodness was a title that grabbed everyone's attention. That title was Speed Racer. Originally Mach GoGoGo, it was renamed as were all the characters, except the most important one, Speed's racecar, the Mach Five, aka Mach Go in Japanese, where the first two (2) words of the title come from. Speed's name was originally Go Mifune (note the M on his helmet) and is the second "Go" in the titled. The third "Go" is English for "Go" as in "move fast."

I digress. This show was about driving fast and winning races with a racecar that had all sorts of gadgets. Each episode Speed would get in a race and usually had to beat a bad guy who was cheating and running others off tracks (think Sebulba). In the background he was supported by his father, Pops (Daisuke), a brilliant racecar mechanic ; his girlfriend, Trixie (Michi Shimura), advising Speed from the air in her helicopter; and his younger brother, Spritle (Kurio), known for hiding in the Mach 5's trunk to hang with Speed. Don't forget Chim Chim (Senpei), Spritles pet chimp who goes everywhere with him. And, don't forget the most important character, Racer X. A masked racecar driver that tended to help Speed during races more often than not, and then disappear. Speed also swore to beat him in every race, so they were rivals as well. It took some time to determine that Racer X was Speed's older, disowned brother, Rex (Kenichi), who wrecked Pops first racecar and left the family in shame. On his own Rex vowed to be the best driver, ever, but also wanted to look out for Speed, as these races tended to be deadly.

The stories, 52 episodes worth, were full of technology and conspiracies and had their own style distinct from everything else on TV. The most notable thing about the show was the English dub. It should be known that Japanese don't necessarily try to match spoken word with animated lip movement. Close but not perfect. However, the English dub was designed to match those lips, and in doing so made for quirky, high speed dialog. The primary voice actors were Peter Fernandez and Corinne Orr. These two (2) alone should be hailed for bringing Speed, Racer X, Trixie, and Spritle to life. Jack Curtis and Jack Grimes fleshed out the vocal cast. Much like South Park today, this limited number of voice actors spoke for everyone in the series.

On a side note, I was listening to the morning radio show I like on WPLR, last month, when the radio guys started talking about Speed Racer. Normally there is a certain amount of morning sarcasm and wit to start the day, but these guys (the one lady present never saw the show) regressed back to their childhood and started reliving the show on the air. They were remembering their favorite moments and car gadgets and such. They impressed upon me the love of the show they have. Its hard to find people that know about Speed Racer these days. Then, of all things, they put Peter Fernandez on the phone. He now sounds like an older Racer X. As it turns out Fernandez and Orr were appearing at New Yorks first Anime convention since 2001. Apparently a new Speed Racer show is coming and Fernandez will now play an adult Spritle (age 40ish), now a mechanic, but Speed is nowhere to be seen. That's all he said. He humbly played of his role in Anime history but it was awesome just to here on the radio. Thanks WPLR.

I'm not old enough to have seen it first run, but luckily I was an MTV junkie in college, in the early 90s, when the reruns began to air. As a huge anime I couldn't pass it up and became hooked immediately. Regardless of the fact anime had improved in the 25 intervening years, the plots were just as strong. We're not talking Masterpiece Theatre here, but a fun show about a dude with tricked-out, gadget-filled racecar that can beat anyone. I tried to get my friends to watch it too, but it was hit-or-miss. Some liked it, some didn't. If you've never seen it before it can be quite a shock. I think the frame rate is about 10 frames a second. I don't even think they employed inbetweeners back then. Its all hand drawn goodness. I am an Anime purest, though, and I don't like how much the edit (or "kid-ify" as I like to call it) more adult oriented themes. There was one episode about a father who doesn't want his daughter racing for fear she might die. The "Red Shirt" drivers die by the dozen in this show. So he tries whipping her for punishment then sabotages her brakes, before the big race, to prove she can't handle it. Gee, thanks pop. All these elements were edited out to "sanitize" the show, just a little bit. I suppose I can't blame them, but I like to see Anime the way the Japanese intended. I wish some company would release a subtitled version.

One of my favorite episodes is the Volcano race episode. Once everyone bunch of years a passage opens up in a volcano and people can race through it. Why this is a good idea I don't know. All the drivers had like an hour to race through the miles of lava filled tunnels before the passage closed again and you die. Everything is going smoothly but the bad guy starts messing with stuff and suddenly lava is all over the paths killing people left and right. I think more people died in this one than any other. At one point the drivers, including Speed come to a large cave with a statue in the way. The drivers stop to admire it when it suddenly crumbles and crushes half of them. Crazy.

Another A+ about this series is the way to catchy theme song. The music is the same, just the words re-sung in English. How can you not sing the theme when plays. Even the intro is distinctive. Of the many "geek" jobs I've had I did a two (2) year stint at an arcade, working at the Q-Zar arena in the basement. Then one day the Speed Racer video game was placed near the front counter and all day the game played the theme while in demo mode. I miss those days.

Several attempts have been done to re-make the show but none have ever come close to essence of the original. If anything, the only other anime I've seen that reminded me of Speed Racer is Initial D. A very different series, much more serious, and is probably the source of demand for the AE86 model Toyota Trueno. Then of all people, the Matrix brothers decide to make a live action version, their first family film. I've heard the rumor for years but never actually believed someone was going to try to tackle the project. And the people who found a way to combine wire-fu and over-the-top anime styling are the perfect directors for the project. When I find the preview I'll post a link, but locate it and observe it repeatedly. I can't believe they actually made a life size Mach Five and it looks cool. All the gadgets look intact and the hydraulic jump pad things look even better than the show. Okay, they were kind of corny in the show but who doesn't want a car that can jump. I want to know the saw blades are in the movie. Everything looks right down to the colors, with Spridle and Chim Chim hiding in the trunk. And John Goodman as Pops somehow makes sense. Man, the details look awesome, Speed still has the "M" on his helmet. He's a demon on wheels. See you next broadcast.