Speed Racer
Japanese anime that defined anime in the United States.
Speed Racer, known in Japan as Mach GoGoGo, is a Japanese anime television series produced by Tatsunoko Production that aired from April 1967 to March 1968. The series, inspired by Tatsuo Yoshida's earlier manga Pilot Ace, follows the adventures of young race car driver Gō Mifune and became a defining anime in the United States, reaching an estimated 40 million viewers during the 1960s–1970s.
Quick Facts
- Native Name
- マッハ GoGoGo · ゴーゴーゴー
- Genre
- Sports
- Creator
- Tatsuo Yoshida
- Director
- Hiroshi Sasagawa (chief)
- Music
- Nobuyoshi Koshibe
- Company
- Tatsunoko Production
- Network
- Fuji TV
- First Aired
- 1967-04-02
- Last Aired
- 1968-03-31
- Num Episodes
- 52
- List Episodes
- List of Speed Racer episodes
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The series was created by Tatsuo Yoshida, who drew inspiration from his earlier automobile racing manga Pilot Ace and from the films Viva Las Vegas and Goldfinger. Yoshida combined Elvis Presley's race-car driving image with James Bond's gadget-filled Aston Martin DB5 to conceive the story. The central character, Gō Mifune, drives the Mach 5 and is supported by his girlfriend Trixie, little brother Spritle, Spritle's pet chimpanzee Chim-Chim, his father Pops, and his mysterious older brother Racer X. The English-language adaptation, acquired by Trans-Lux, premiered in the United States in summer 1967, with major editing and dubbing by Peter Fernandez, who also wrote and directed the English dialogue and voiced Speed Racer and Racer X.
Reader's Guide
Speed Racer holds significance as one of the first anime to achieve widespread success in the United States, with an estimated 40 million viewers during the 1960s–1970s. Its distinctive 'Japanimation' look, noted in a retrospective review, had an incredible impact on the present-day look of all animation. The series also featured an early example of bullet time in animation, when Speed freezes mid-jump and the camera arcs around him. The manga adaptation, originally serialized in 1966, was later republished in the U.S. in 2008 as a boxed set for the 40th anniversary. Funimation released the series on Blu-ray in 2017, and Shout! Studios took over U.S. distribution rights in 2024. IGN ranked the original series at #29 on its 'Best 100 Animated Series' list.
Did You Know?
- The large red M on the Mach 5's hood and on Gō's helmet is the emblem of Mifune Motors, an homage to Japanese film star Toshiro Mifune.
- Speed's given name Gō is a Japanese homophone for the number 5, represented by the yellow letter G on his shirt.
- The English-language rights were acquired by syndicator Trans-Lux, and Speed Racer premiered on American television in summer 1967.
- A Speed Racer daily comic strip written and drawn by Mort Todd ran in the New York Post from 2000–2001.
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