Speed Racer facts for kids
| Speed Racer | |
Gō Mifune, also known as Speed Racer
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Quick facts for kids マッハGoGoGo(Mahha GōGōGō) |
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| Genre | Sports |
| Manga | |
| Written by | Tatsuo Yoshida |
| Published by | Shueisha Sun Wide Comics Fusosha |
| English publisher | |
| Demographic | Shōnen |
| Magazine | Shōnen Book |
| Original run | June 1966 – May 1968 |
| Volumes | 2 |
| Anime television series | |
| Directed by | Hiroshi Sasagawa Peter Fernandez (adaptation) |
| Produced by | Tatsuo Yoshida Peter Fernandez (adaptation) |
| Written by | Jinzō Toriumi Peter Fernandez (adaptation) |
| Music by | Nobuyoshi Koshibe |
| Studio | Tatsunoko Productions |
| Licensed by | |
| Network | Fuji TV |
| English network | |
| Original run | April 2, 1967 – March 31, 1968 |
| Episodes | 52 |
| Anime television series | |
| Speed Racer X Mach Go Go Go: Restart |
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| Directed by | Hiroshi Sasagawa Hiroyuki Fukushima |
| Produced by | Kenji Yoshida Makiko Iwata Masatoshi Yui Minoru Ohno Yumi Murase |
| Written by | Masaaki Sakurai |
| Music by | Michiru Oshima |
| Studio | Tatsunoko Productions |
| Licensed by | |
| Network | TV Tokyo |
| English network | |
| Original run | January 9, 1997 – September 25, 1997 |
| Episodes | 34 |
| Manga | |
| Mach GoGoGo! | |
| Written by | Toshio Tanigami |
| Published by | Shogakukan |
| Demographic | Children |
| Magazine | CoroCoro Comic |
| Original run | January 1997 – October 1997 |
| Volumes | 2 |
| Related works | |
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Speed Racer, also known as Mach GoGoGo (マッハGoGoGo), is a cool Japanese story about car racing. It started as a comic book (manga) in 1966. Later, it became an anime TV show with 52 episodes. The show aired in Japan from April 1967 to March 1968.
Speed Racer became super popular in the United States. It was one of the first Japanese anime shows to become a big hit there. Many new comics and TV shows were made because of its success. About 40 million people watched the show in the U.S. during the 1960s and 1970s!
Contents
Exploring the World of Speed Racer
The Original Comics (Manga)
The Mach GoGoGo story was first created by a Japanese artist named Tatsuo Yoshida. He started it as a manga (comic book) series in the 1960s. Yoshida got his ideas from popular movies like Viva Las Vegas and Goldfinger. He combined the cool look of Elvis Presley's race car driver style with James Bond's gadget-filled car.
The main character is a young race car driver named Gō Mifune. In the American version, he is known as Speed Racer. The name of the series, Mach GoGoGo, has a few meanings. "Mahha-gō" is the name of the car. Gō is the main character's name. And "go" is also an English word! In Japanese, "go" (五) means the number 5, which is on Speed's car.
The manga has exciting stories like "The Great Plan" and "Race for Revenge." These stories were later turned into episodes for the anime TV show.
The Anime TV Show
The manga became an anime TV show, which was even more successful! The original show had 52 episodes. In 1997, a newer version called Mach GoGoGo: Restart was made in Japan. It was later adapted into English as Speed Racer X.
How Speed Racer Came to America
The Mach GoGoGo show came to American TV in 1967. The main character, Gō Mifune, was renamed Speed Racer. His amazing car became the Mach 5. Speed's adventures often involved his girlfriend Trixie, his little brother Spritle, and Spritle's pet chimpanzee, Chim-Chim. There was also his mysterious older brother, Racer X.
A producer named Peter Fernandez worked on the English version. He wrote the dialogue and even voiced many characters, including Speed Racer and Racer X! He also changed the theme song to the one many people know today.
Meet the Characters
The Racer Family
Speed Racer / Gō Mifune
- Speed Racer is the main hero of the story. He loves racing and cares a lot about his family. He drives the awesome Mach 5 car. Speed often finds himself in danger, but he always manages to get out of it. He misses his older brother, Rex, who is secretly Racer X. Speed is 18 years old and has a cool hairstyle called a pompadour.
Spritle Racer / Kurio Mifune and Chim-Chim
- Spritle is Speed's younger brother. He has a pet chimpanzee named Chim-Chim. These two are always getting into mischief, but they often accidentally help Speed out of trouble. They wear matching outfits and love candy! They even use a slingshot to fight bad guys.
Pops Racer / Daisuke Mifune
- Pops is Speed's dad. He used to be a wrestler and now he builds race cars. He started his own company called Mifune Motors (or Racer Motors in America). Pops can be a bit hot-headed and very protective of his family. He's also a super strong fighter and a brilliant car designer.
Mom Racer / Aya Mifune
- Mom Racer is Speed's mother. She doesn't appear much in the original show, but in the 2008 movie, she is a very supportive parent.
Racer X (The Masked Racer)
- Racer X is a mysterious character who drives car number 9, the "Shooting Star." He is actually Speed's older brother, Rex Racer. Rex left home after a big argument with Pops about a wrecked race car. He promised to become the best racer in the world. Racer X often helps Speed during races, even sacrificing his own win to protect him. Speed often wonders who this masked racer really is.
Friends and Rivals
Trixie / Michi Shimura
- Trixie is Speed's girlfriend. She often flies in her helicopter during races to help Speed as his spotter. Trixie is very brave and smart. She's not a helpless character; she can stand up for herself and even rescue others! She wears a pink blouse with an "M" on it, which stands for Michi, her Japanese name.
Sparky / Sabu
- Sparky is the team's mechanic. He's a quirky young man who knows everything about cars. He's Speed's close friend. In the live-action movie, he's older than Speed but still his best buddy.
The Car Acrobatic Team
- This team of 16 racers wears uniforms with letters of the English alphabet. Their cars can even sprout wings to jump over big gaps! The most famous members are Captain Terror and Snake Oiler.
- Captain Terror is the arrogant leader of the team. He tries to cheat in races.
- Snake Oiler is a hot-headed driver who appears mostly in the anime. He drives car number 12. In the 2008 movie, he leads his own team called "Hydra-Cell."
Amazing Vehicles
Many cars in Speed Racer have special powers!
The Mach 5
The Mach 5 is Speed Racer's incredible car. It's packed with cool gadgets that Speed can use by pressing buttons on the steering wheel. The car is white with a big "M" on the hood, which stands for Mifune Motors (Speed's family business). It has the number 5 on its doors. Even though other cars might be faster, the Mach 5 usually wins because of Speed's amazing driving skills.
The Shooting Star
The Shooting Star is Racer X's car. It's bright yellow with a black front and the number 9. This car is super agile and has high-tech features. Racer X uses it to keep an eye on Speed. In some comics, Rex (Racer X) gets this car from a prince and names it "Shooting Star" because he was the ninth student of the prince.
The Mammoth Car
This huge racing vehicle only appears in the anime. It looks like a super long truck and is mostly red. It was built by a villain named Cruncher Block using stolen gold bars! The Mammoth Car is incredibly powerful and can travel very fast on any road. It makes a loud, screeching sound. In the 2008 movie, it makes a small appearance and even fires missiles!
The Melange and the X3
The Melange was a racing car driven by Flash Marker. It was destroyed in a crash. Later, Flash's son, Flash Marker Jr., built a new car called the X3 to get revenge. The X3 could be controlled remotely and looked like the original Melange.
The GRX
The GRX was originally a super-fast engine that caused many crashes. It was so powerful that its inventor died trying to control it. Later, the engine was put into a sleek, golden car. Speed Racer even test drove it! In the 2008 movie, the GRX is a car driven by Jack "Cannonball" Taylor. It has an illegal "spear-hook" weapon!
Differences Between Comics and TV
Like many stories that become TV shows, Speed Racer has some differences between the manga (comics) and the anime (TV show).
- Story Changes: Some manga stories were changed a bit for the anime. Also, some manga stories were never made into anime episodes.
- Outfits: In the manga, Speed always wears his regular outfit. But in the anime, he has a special outfit for fancy events. Trixie also has different outfits.
- Ending: The manga has a very different ending. In the manga, Rex Racer (Racer X) finally tells Speed that he is his older brother. In the anime, this big reveal doesn't happen in the same way.
Speed Racer Beyond the Screen
The success of Speed Racer led to many other things like comics, toys, and even movies!
American Comics
Speed Racer comic books were made in America starting in 1987. They were very popular and even had spin-off comics about Racer X.
American TV Shows
- In 1993, a new American show called The New Adventures of Speed Racer was released. It had a more modern style and added science fiction elements like robots.
- For the show's 40th anniversary in 2006, short online videos called Speed Racer Lives were released.
- In 2008, a new series called Speed Racer: The Next Generation came out. It's about the sons of the original Speed Racer.
Movies and Plays
- In 1993, some original TV episodes were combined into a movie called Speed Racer: The Movie.
- A big live-action movie of Speed Racer was made in 2008 by The Wachowskis. It starred Emile Hirsch as Speed and Christina Ricci as Trixie.
- In 1994, a play called Spritle: A One Man Show was performed. It imagined what happened to the characters after the show ended.
Cool Merchandise
Lots of Speed Racer toys have been made over the years!
- Lego made Speed Racer building sets based on the movie.
- Mattel made action figures and toy cars, including the Mach 5.
- Jada Toys made cool die-cast replicas of the Mach 5.
- Playing Mantis made miniature cars and dioramas.
- Resaurus made action figures and a full-sized Mach 5 toy.
Video Games
Many Speed Racer video games have been released:
- Speed Racer in The Challenge of Racer X (1992) for computers.
- Speed Racer in My Most Dangerous Adventures (1994) for SNES.
- An arcade game (1995).
- A Speed Racer game for PlayStation.
- A game based on the 1997 series for Game Boy.
- A web browser game called Speed Racer — The Great Plan (2006).
- A game based on the 2008 movie for Wii, Nintendo DS, and PlayStation 2.
DVD Releases
The original Speed Racer anime series has been released on DVD many times. In 2017, Funimation released the English and Japanese versions on Blu-ray and DVD.
See also
In Spanish: Mach GoGoGo para niños
