Speed Racer

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.
• The tradition of symbolism on characters' shirts was also used on Michi (Trixie) and Sabu (Sparky), who had the letters M and S on their shirts.

Media

The series was inspired by Tatsuo Yoshida's earlier automobile racing comic Pilot Ace, whose main storyline formed the structure for Mach GoGoGo. Yoshida conceived the idea after seeing the films Viva Las Vegas and Goldfinger, combining Elvis Presley's race-car driving image with James Bond's gadget-filled Aston Martin DB5. The central character was a young race car driver named Gō Mifune. Fifty-two episodes were produced from 1967 to 1968. In 1997, Tatsunoko produced a modernized version that aired on TV Tokyo for 34 episodes; an English adaptation by DiC titled Speed Racer X aired in 2002 on Nickelodeon, but only the first 13 episodes were adapted due to licensing disputes. Mach Girl was a web-based series created by Tatsuo Yoshida's daughter, Suzuka. The title sequence features an early anime example of bullet time: as Speed leaps from the Mach 5, he freezes in mid-jump and the camera arcs from front to sideways. The English-language rights were acquired by Trans-Lux, and Speed Racer premiered on American television in summer 1967. Major editing and dubbing were done by Peter Fernandez, who wrote and directed the English dialogue and voiced many characters, including Racer X and Speed Racer. Fernandez also rearranged the theme song's melody and wrote its English lyrics.

Characters

Speed Racer, originally Gō Mifune, is the protagonist known for his love of racing and valuing his family. He drives the Mach 5 and often faces danger with his younger brother or girlfriend Trixie. Off the track, he wears a blue shirt with an orange G, a red racing bandanna, white pants, red socks, brown loafers, and yellow gloves. He is 18 years old with a brown pompadour. In racing, he wears a white open-face helmet with an M on top. His red socks were considered lucky socks to strengthen back-story continuity with his older brother Rex. Spritle Racer (Kurio Mifune) is Speed's younger brother who has a pet chimpanzee named Chim-Chim (Sanpei in Japanese). They dress in identical jumpsuits and striped hats, often perform identical actions, have an extreme appetite for candy, and use a slingshot to combat threats. According to Peter Fernandez's introduction in the American manga release, Spritle got his name for being an energetic sprite, and Chim-Chim for being a chimpanzee. Pops Racer is Daisuke Mifune in the Japanese original.

Vehicles

The Mach 5, Speed Racer's car, is a technological marvel with gadgets deployed by pressing buttons marked A through G on the steering wheel hub. It has a white exterior with a large M on the hood, a red interior, and the number 5 on both side doors. In the manga and anime, the number is the car's racing number; in the film, it indicates the fifth car built in Pops' Mach series. Despite being technically inferior to vehicles like the Mammoth Car and the GRX, the Mach 5 wins most races due to Speed's driving skills. The car has been stolen a few times, including by Cornpone Blotch in the Girl Daredevil saga, but Speed always retrieves it. A replica built by Dr. Nightcall included new abilities that inspired later functions in remakes, such as the Aero-Jacks used in Speed Racer X. In manga continuity, the Mach 5 was destroyed and rebuilt. The Shooting Star is Racer X's car, colored bright yellow with a black front bumper and numbered 9. Its engine is in the back, and it is very agile, often displaying abilities akin to or above those of the Mach 5, allowing Racer X to keep an eye on his younger brother Speed.

Speed Racer Enterprises

The mainstream success of Speed Racer in the United States spawned a franchise including comics, video releases, merchandise, a live-action film, and newer series. The franchise began in the early 1990s when Speed Racer Enterprises acquired rights to the original series. The company created merchandise such as die-cast cars and action figures, and produced original American takes like The New Adventures of Speed Racer and Speed Racer: The Next Generation. Due to Speed Racer Enterprises, the original series returned via reruns on MTV in the early morning hours, and in 1993 it was rebroadcast in syndication with a new American-created remake. All references to Trans-Lux were removed, and the opening sequence included a recreated logo. In October 2002, DIC Entertainment acquired worldwide entertainment rights for broadcast, merchandising and licensing. In December 2013, Tatsunoko gained all rights to the Speed Racer franchise retroactively to May 2011 as part of a settlement of lawsuits between Speed Racer Enterprises and the animation studio, with Tatsunoko claiming that SRE had exceeded its contractual rights after 2011.