Mach Go Go Go

This rare anime from 1997 is a great re-telling of the Speed Racer tale, with really excellent, beautiful animation and a lot of style. The villains are more evil this time around, and the Mach 5 never looked better! The animation is classic 90's Japanese style, and everyone has those big, wet looking eyes. Go Mifune is an even more handsome bastard now than he was in the 67 version, but I wish they didn't update the look of the 60's Trixie so much; she was a bit cuter before. And Spritle looks like a little demon now, instead of a chubby brat. I can't imagine any fan of the original not having an absolute blast with this 90's remake. I only wish it wasn't so hard to find. There is no excuse for that, especially considering that the wretched "Speed Racer: Next Generation" is so readily available. So far I have tracked down only 13 episodes. Excellent anime that will please fans of the classic show, mainly because it is so respectful of the source material. All "Mach GoGoGo" junkies need to track this one down.

This review is just me commenting about the remake's animation because it's rare to even find the whole show, even in Japan. The detail of the show is pretty impressive, especially the Mach.

The Mach looks cool and it looks more street legal. The Mach has vents, back lights with brake lights with turn signals. The Mach even come with updates, including the Aero Jack that allows the car to fly just like in the original manga, Balloon Tires makes the car into a monster truck. This anime is modernized, compared to the 1967 anime and that unfaithful movie or Next Generation. Cutter Blade are laser beams that still capable of cutting. Emergency Wire replaces the Evening Eye, which are now grappling hooks, the car can be turned into a submarine, and the G function is still the same, still a navigator. The show is all hand drawn with anime cels, that's what make shows just ahead of their time.

There a fair number of changes; Go's family are now renamed to Hibiki instead of Mifune. Go Hibiki hasn't look that handsome since other American adaptations. Trixie (Mai) is a race reporter, Spritle (Wataru) is based on Go's little brother, who is now Trixie's. Wataru looks ugly with his eyes spaced from his nose, but he looks better with his eyes closed. Sparky wears glasses, which makes him a little bit of a nerd. Racer X looks dark in comparison, at least it's better than how he appeared in the movie.

This anime deserves to be seen by some Mach Go Go Go and anime fans.