| Originally a Japanese manga series in the late 1950s by manga and anime artist Tatsuo Yoshida, Mach GoGoGo was developed into an animated series in the late 60s. The story of teenage race-car driver Gô Mifune (known as "Speed Racer" in the American version) who aspires to be the world's best with the help of his friends, family and his father's high-tech race-car, the Mach 5. The series was originally syndicated to the United States, and ran for 2 seasons, totalling 52 episodes. With some of the violence of the Japanese animation cut, and redubbed it became an instant cult classic, that inspired an over-the-top colour saturated CGI movie in 2008. |
Along with the Japanese animations Astro-Boy and Gigantor, Speed Racer was one of the earliest examples of anime to find success outside of Japan. The animation for Speed Racer utilized a lot of stock repeat footage, as many animations of the era did, but stood out in its stylistic dynamic design. Using a framing and style directly lifted from the manga series, the animation gave viewers the feeling of speed through fast pans, off-centre angles, and extreme close-ups. All edited at frenetic break-neck speed.
| His often repetitive adventures centered around Speed's car built by his Pops (the Mach 5), his girlfriend Trixie, his little brother Spritle (with his pet chimp Chim-Chim), and his mysterious brooding older brother, Racer X. The show's success in the United States spawned a whole Speed Racer franchise, ranging from comics, video releases, merchandise, the live-action film, and new animations in the 1990s and 2000s. | |
