Review: Speed Racer Limited Edition DVD

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Review: Speed Racer Limited Edition DVD
by Kit

Monday, May 5, 2003

Wow, look at what came in the VGLN.com mailbox. 11 classic episodes, an interactive Mach 5, and the classic theme song all on one DVD.

Released - April 22nd, 2003
Region - 1 (U.S.A., Canada, U.S. Territories)
Studio - Artisan (Fox Video)
Aspect Ratio - Full Screen (Standard) - 1.33:1
Rating - G (General Audience)
Features - Animated, Color, Closed-captioned

Speed Racer is sometimes called the first anime. Although that isn't true, Speed Racer was one of the first popular "japanime" cartoons to be popular in Japan, and the United States. Developed by Tatsunoko Productions, the Speed Racer series went on to encompass 59 episodes, and enjoyed a lengthy popularity that continues until today.

It was a unique experience to go through this DVD, seeing as how the series was a bit before my time. While watching the episodes, it's clear that the state of Japanese Animation has advanced leaps and bounds since the 1960s, but there was a certain familiarity in the art style that is prevalent in today's top-end anime productions.

Speed Racer also went by the name "Racer X" in the series.

That being said, the digitally remastered episodes don't look half bad, and the audio quality is pretty good considering some of these episodes are nearly as old as my parents. Just don't expect Dolby 5.1 quality, but not Radio-Shack microphone quality either.

The menus are pretty intuitive and well done. So no complaints here.

The DVD itself is packed with lots of goodies besides the 11 included episodes. Here's a list and short breakdown of what the "special features" are.

Included Episodes
A list of the included episodes:
Episode 1: The Great Plan (part 1)
Episode 2: The Great Plan (part 2)
Episode 3: Challenge of the Masked Racer (part 1)
Episode 4: Challenge of the Masked Racer (part 2)
Episode 5: The Secret Engine (part 1)
Episode 6: The Secret Engine (part 2)
Episode 7: The Race Against the Mammoth Car (Part 1)
Episode 8: The Race Against the Mammoth Car (Part 2)
Episode 9: The Most Dangerous Race (Part 1)
Episode 10: The Most Dangerous Race (Part 2)
Episode 11: The Most Dangerous Race (Part 3)

Tatsunoko Productions Bio
Fairly brief bio about the company and people behind the Speed Racer series including intriguing facts about the founders.

U.S Translation Notes
Short explaination on the process of transforming Japanese dialouge into English as well as the problems of lip-synching English dialouge to Japanese mouth movements.

Theme Song Lyrics
Lyrics to the theme song as well as candid commentary on the initial problems with the Japanese version of the song.

U.S Cast
Short mini-bios on the people who voiced the characters for the U.S version of the show.

Interactive Mach 5
Amusing feature that lets the viewer tinker with the Mach 5 and its many gadgets.

Villains Gallery
A list of all of Speed Racer's numerous enemies and short clips of them in situations involving Speed Racer.

Clip from "The New Adventures of Speed Racer
Supposedly this show came out in 1993 with 13 episodes. Sadly, I never noticed it.

Speed Racer Merchandise Gallery
A look at various, and unique products associated with the Speed Racer Series.

All in all the Speed Racer Limited Edition DVD is a great buy if you're a fan of the series. Lots of special features and a "rubber-tire" material DVD case make this a good purchase at around $20-$25 (depending on your local DVD retailer).

--- Kit

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