Speed Racer - Episodes 12-23 Reviews

• Super DVD of a Super Cartoon Series

  
  By AH0K6KAO3N1RH on 2004-05-13
  At a low price, you get some of the better Speed Racer episodes from the 1960s cartton series. This isn't any recent Speed Racer movies or any further cheapening of the original, this is the original featured in its original form.

  These are the next installment of six episodes [two half-hour segments a piece]. Included are some of my all-time Speed Racer episodes: "The Fire Race" (with the mysterious Kabala), "The Dangerous Desert Race", and probably my all-time favorite Speed Racer episode: "The Fastest Car on Earth" (where Speed must race against a car so fast and dangerous that no man can drive it).

  Speed Racer is a highly original and unique series that never got the recognition it deserved. It's high quality animation for all ages. I loved Speed Racer as a child growing up in the 1970s. They don't make cartoons this cool anymore.

  I highly recommend this DVD for fans. There's a few extras too. But overall, the original episodes are presented in decent quality with good sound quality as well. You won't be disappointed. At a low cost, this set can be considered a "volumne two" to complement last year's Speed Racer DVD package.

  Oh, the box comes in a cool carton that lights up and plays a snipplet of the theme song. Pretty cool!
  
  

• Speed Racer Just Gets Better and Better

  
  By A84Z6XUMGRMJ1 on 2005-10-05
  This second of a projected 4-volume set collecting the entirety of the 1960s Speed Racer features several solid adventures and two of the character's very best. Speed Racer episodes are about evenly split between one- and two-parters. All the stuff here is two-parters: 12 eps, six stories.
  
  "Race for Revenge" pits Speed against the radio controlled "ghost car," number X3, the Melange. A decent story but the weakest here, in my opinion.
  
  In "The Dangerous Desert Race" Speed travels to the Middle Eastern country of Sandoland, there to race against the arrogant Kim Jugger and his Black Tiger. Unfortunately Part 1 of "TDDR" is a noticeable example of a problem that would haunt the middle episodes of Speed Racer: its artwork is much more simplistic and the animation quite limited versus the series' better eps. The good news is that in Part 2 things improve immensely.
  
  "The Fire Race", though it doesn't have the aclaim of, say, "The Mammoth Car" is one of the best Speed Racers. The artwork and animation are among the finest we'll see in the series. It's also one of the most inventive storylines, complete with an entire underground (under-volcano) deserted ancient city, whirlpools hiding huge statues, a giant flesh eating plant, a pirahna-filled river and some fairly graphic - for a cartoon of its vintage - scenes of them stripping a leopard and man, corridor walls studded with a king's ransom in diamonds, the Mach 5 racing through the ribcage of a brontosaurus skeleton, and so on. It co-stars Racer X.
  
  "The Girl Daredevil" is one of the most frustrating Speed Racers. The "girl daredevil," Twinkle Banks, is in many respects the perfect match for Speed. Not only is she drop dead gorgeous, she matches him in driving skill and overall guts. Twinkle makes Trixie look pale indeed. It may be silly to speak of "chemistry" between cartoon characters, but every moment Twinkle and Speed are together you get the feeling these two were made for each other. What's irks me about this story is it's the premier example of one of the few real problems I have with the Speed Racer series, its underlying sexism. It's one thing to have Speed's occasional comments on what are and aren't appropriate actions for a "girl" (never a woman); at least they never really affect the storyline. In "The Girl Daredevil" however I found it absolutely unbelievable that Twinkle, who introduces herself by leaping off a skyscraper as a publicity stunt, would faint under stress while driving, requiring rescue by Speed. Even as a kid I said, "Oh, come ON."
  
  "The Girl Daredevil" also has the most glaring example of a story point changed in the translation from Japanese to English. Twinkle says her lion tamer father's circus went bankrupt because he loved the animals so much he fed them only the best, most expensive food. (Blech!) Watching the pictures that go with the words, it's obvious he lost his nerve after being mauled by the big cats. This makes it far more dramatic when, late in the story, he must overcome that fear to save his life. Perhaps the English language crew thought the whole "mauled by lions" thing a bit too high octane for kiddies in 1967. Puzzling that, considering the scenes throughout the entire series of people being shot to death, crushed, beaten, killed in explosions, etc. but there it is.
  
  "The Fastest Car On Earth" is one of the series' most fondly remembered adventures, in which Speed finds himself both behind the wheel of and also racing against the GRX, a car so fast it breaks the mind of anyone trying to drive it. As a kid I loathed the idea there could be any car faster than the Mach 5. But I have to admit I loved it when, late in the story, Speed, totally strung out and terror-stricken from the effects of drugs he's been given that allowed him to drive the GRX, has to overcome his fear and push the Mach 5 to the limit in a race. Not simply to win, but to prove to himself he's not a coward, that NOTHING can break him, not even the GRX. This story really highlighted what made Speed Racer, the character and the show, special.
  
  In "Mach 5 Vs. Mach 5" Speed's opponent is armed with his own version of the Mach 5 - only instead of the homing robot it has a destructive ray beam, and it can fly. The whole ray beam thing was like, eh, okay, but the idea of a flying Mach 5....well let's just say I hated to admit it but I thought Mr. Cumulus' car was (gasp) even better than Speed's. Sacrilege, I know. Worth noting: in the 1997 Japanese revamp of the show, Speed's Mach 5 could fly, too. Obviously the makers of the '97 Mach Go, Go, Go remembered Mr. Cumulus' flying Mach 5 and how utterly cool it was.
  
  Each new volume in the Speed Racer "Limited Collector's Edition" series has its own "gimmick packaging." Volume 1 had the rubber tire tread slipcover. For volume 2, when you press a certain spot on the slipcover, the Mach 5's headlights glow and part of the theme song plays. When I first heard about that, before I actually saw it, I thought it sounded cheesy as hell. Having now tried it, I think it's wonderfully fun. Every time I press that "secret spot," the Mach 5's headlights come on and I hear "Go Speed Racer, go Speed Racer, go Speed Racer go...." I can't help but smile. And that's pretty darn sweet.
  
  

• More Speed

  
  By A37PV5GMP2ILJC on 2008-05-23
  "I've never driven so fast in my life. This speed is taking me into another dimension. It's fantastic!" - Speed Racer
  
  
  This is the second volume of a five volume series, and contains episodes 12 to 23 of the famous cartoon series of the sixties.
  
  It starts off with "Race for Revenge (Part 1)" and "Race for Revenge (Part 2)". In these episodes, Speed works with Inspector Detector to track down a mysterious black car known as the X3. The main clue is the phrase "Melange still races", which leads them to a brother/sister team named Slash and Lilly Marker.
  
  The next two episodes are titled "The Desperate Desert Race" (Parts 1 & 2). Characters named Kim Jugger and Ali Ben Schemer co-star, and things get hot for the Mach 5. Schemer is a trusted member of the Flathill rebel forces, until he "rebels against the rebels."
  
  Next come "The Fire Race" (Parts 1 & 2), and the return of Racer X in a fast paced politically oriented thriller.
  
  Quote from Racer X:
  
  "I've risked my life to save your treasure. Now, you gentlemen must come to some agreement. Compromise. Open your borders to the world some of the time."
  
  "The Girl Daredevil" (Parts 1 & 2) introduces the skilful Twinkle Banks, black panthers, a bad guy named Cornpone Brotch and a circus full of tricks.
  
  `The Fastest Car on Earth" (Parts 1 & 2) follows, with the theft of a powerful engine named the GRX and a villainess named Oriana Flub.
  
  The grand finale is "The Mach-5 vs. the Mach-5 (Parts 1 & 2) with Dr. Nightcall making a copy of the Mach 5 for the evil Professor Cumulus.
  
  There aren't any extras listed, but each pair of episodes has links to some hidden information and clips.
  
  Recommended for all new Speed racer fans with one comment - make sure you tell your kids that hiding in car trunks only works in cartoons, and they should never try it for themselves.
  
  
  Amanda Richards, May 22, 2008
  
  
  

• The wait of over ...again.

  
  By A2R6BZAS7V9JYG on 2004-04-11
  Finally, episodes 12 to 24 have arrived.

  Im only giving it 4 stars because it doesnt come in the same cool 'rubber tire' slipcase like volume 1.

  Instead we get cover art with a sticker that points to a secret button that makes the Mach 5's headlights actually 'light up' while a microspeaker plays the Speed Racer theme song!

  Hahaha! I think I liked the rubber tire package gimmick better! :P

  Oh well... 4 stars for you!
  
  

• More Speed

  
  By on 2004-04-30
  When I saw the title of this DVD I wondered 12-24 So I went to the Speed Racer Episode Guide and saw that episode 24 was part 1 of The Royal Racer So why would they put one part on 1 disc and have to wait for the next series to see part 2 Now the title says 12-23 which makes more sense so it has to be 6 shows divided into 12 episodes (all 2 Parters) FYI the only 3 parter is episodes 9,10,11 The Most Dangerous Race.
  
  
• Still an all time favorite!
  By A2VDAB18S3SZGN on 2005-12-03
  For some reason, Speed Racer stands out as one of my all time favorite cartoons from the 70's. Catchy theme music, simple adventurous story lines made it an all time favorite. Very enjoyable to view as an adult!
  
  
• Speed Racer -Episodes 12-23
  By A1EYV4684QN8G2 on 2006-12-07
  The DVD I got did not have the light up or music feature as advertised and reviewed. I was very disappointed after already knowing that there was a sub par duplicate copy and expected the orignial as reviewed and advertised. This item should say not as orignally produced
  
  
• Great Series
  By A5UI167UZKO2W on 2007-03-09
  What a great series this was. It brings back allot of happy memories. I used to watch Speed Racer every day when I came home from elementary school in the 70's.
  
  It's interesting to compare cartoons from this period to those of today. People were actually hurt and killed in these old cartoons, though over-all there was less violence. Perhaps it was better to show the consequences of violent actions? Anyway, the stories continue to be entertaining to me even today.
  
  
• Speed Racer - Episodes 12-23...
  By A36NUDST4Y5JBA on 2007-06-02
  I'm a Speed Racer fan - what can I say? - I rate the disc 5 stars!
  
  
• A true classic that is truly fun
  By A19M4FCG4AFEGD on 2007-09-10
  Speed Racer is just plain fun animation for all ages. The storylines are pretty complex considering it's a kids' cartoon and the animation is just good fun to watch. Whether it's parents who remember watching Speed, Trixie & Co. firsthand or the kids who are just now getting introduced to this series, it's really a lot of fun.
  
  
• here he comes , again and speed looks better than ever
  By A1KP0IVWU0RQ0A on 2006-04-25
  this second set of the speed racer cartoons is a fans dream and the transfers are top notche. i watch these shows with my kids and the love speed as much as i do so i give these transfers a 5. go speed racer, go speed racer go!!!!!!!!!!
  
  
• Great experience
  By A1BPTWT5O45MVX on 2006-07-10
  This is a great experience for children to have a good, clean fun experience with well-rounded entertaining characters.
  Thanks for the old cartoon experiences.
  
  
• Very good, as ever!!
  By A331OF34UX4Y1K on 2007-01-05
  One of the great selling points of this package is the low price.
  
  In my opinion, there is an episode in this set that is so much better than the others (which are very good, also), that makes watching the others a little less pleasure. The episode I'm talking about is "The Fire Race". This episode is so full of action, the race itself so absurdly dangerous and fatal, that you are at the edge of your seta for the most part of the episode. 96 drivers entered the race and only two survived!!
  
  
• Great Series
  By A3SICX905K9XJM on 2007-09-11
  This DVD is just as good as the first. Really enjoy the series. Will be purchasing the remaining discs soon. Unfortunately, the special edition light up/theme song DVD case did not work. The batteries were probably dead by the time it arrived.
  
  
• Speed Racer
  By A1HM54JF7KKL3N on 2008-04-02
  With the new movie coming out in May, I thought it was time to renew my love of Speed Racer.
  
  This dvd brought back all the great memories as a child.
  
  
  
• I must not be too smart!!!
  By A1R75GXPR31LQ9 on 2007-08-03
  I dunno! I felt a bit compelled to write this review only in response to some other reviews I'm reading on this series. People praise this show as "good family viewing" with "entertaining characters", but there are a few things about this show that elude me. Although I am aware this is mainly a children's show (though I heavily doubt that a great number of today's children would watch it), I still find myself questioning certain things about it... Things most people hardly pay attention to...
  
  For starters, how can one call the characters featured on this show interesting or entertaining when they are vurtually invulnerable? Like, nothin hurts any of them!!! Not even a fall off a cliff!
  
  Then, what fun is there in watching a show about someone who wins all of the time? Can't Speed Racer occasionally lose? Then there's this Spritle Character who's supposed to be a kid right?--more like a midget that looks like a kid. His parents hardly watch him. He goes off on his own all the time, with that monkey, to follow Speed (his older brother) by hitching rides in car trunks and sometimes airplanes or other vehicles--did I mention virtually invulnerable?--then at the same time, he goes around commiting murder constantly: his prime victims usually being sub-intelligent adults with IQ's lower than even mine!!! I wonder if this is actually so good for kids to watch at all...
  
  Maybe we should be thankful that most of the people who watch this are yesterday's kids, who would know better than to take these things seriously. But anyway, I just wrote this to get it off my chest because I'm too dumb to understand this cartoon's psychology--not that I still don't enjoy it at times--but I fully welcome ANY comments someone may have explaining the derrogatory psychology of this show.
  
  
• He's off and flying as he guns his car around the track.....
  By A2P2JXU9JEYNV3 on 2008-05-09
  The second installment of this enigmatic race car driver continues his exploits in classical Japanese animation. The slipcover to the DVD box has a pretty cool feature- push down on a specific point, and the headlights to the Mach 5 light up and the theme song plays! Pretty neat!!
  
  The continuing episodes are as follows:
  
  Race For Revenge (part 1)
  
  Race For Revenge (part 2)
  
  The Desperate Desert Race (part 1)
  
  The Desperate Desert Race (part 2)
  
  The Fire Race (part 1)
  
  The Fire Race (part 2)
  
  The Girl Daredevil (part 1)
  
  The Girl Daredevil (part 2)
  
  The Fastest Car on Earth (part 1)
  
  The Fastest Car on Earth (part 2)
  
  The Mach-5 vs The Mach-5 (part 1)
  
  The Mach-5 Vs The Mach-5 (part 2)
  
  So, the ongoing exploits of Speed Racer continue! On to volume 3!!
  
  
  
  
• Wonderful
  By A3L031S6LBSCA0 on 2008-05-11
  I am happy with this set. Too bad they didn't put them all in one set instead of breaking it up.
  
  
• Speed Racer Back in the day
  By A32CGZPC1N4ORJ on 2008-05-31
  I grew up with this Speed Racer. Love the action and the characters and the Mach five was the first sports car that we fell in love with as kids. You will love the action.
  
  
• Memories to Share
  By A2CB0MY79G5RC9 on 2008-06-13
  I bought episodes 1-11 and 12-23 shortly after the recent movie premier to watch with my son. He thought it was pretty cool to watch a cartoon that his daddy used to watch when he was a little boy. I had not seen speed racer at least since the seventies. I forgot how campy and dark it was.
  
  Completely enjoyable.
  
  

• Speed Racer - Episodes 1-11
• Speed Racer , Vol. 3 - Episodes 24-36
• Speed Racer, Vol. 4
• Speed Racer, Vol. 5
• Jonny Quest - The Complete First Season