If you are a fan of Speed Racer, you will want to read this article to know these 3 surprising facts. As you probably know, the characters and the story of Speed Racer originated in the manga and anime series. “Mach GoGoGo“Developed by the Japanese anime studio Tasunoko Productions. What may surprise you is the carefully crafted symbolism, story, and characterization of the original series. The series is far from being such a typical nonsense cartoon today. After Read this article, you’ll get the scoop on Speed Racer.
Anime Pioneer Tatsuo Yoshida created Mach GoGoGo as a manga series in the 1960s and was turned into an anime series in 1967. While Speed Racer fans assume that the M on the Mach 5’s hood stands for Mach 5 , is actually an emblem of Mifune Motors Company, the family business of the central character from the original manga and anime called Go Mifune. This same emblem is found on Go’s helmet. The name Mifune was a tribute to the Japanese movie star Toshiro Mifune. Also, his first name, Go, is a homophone for “5”, the same number found on his racing car. The final piece of this pun is that Go in Mach GoGoGo also obviously means “to go” in English. Therefore, the name of the series has a triple meaning that can be translated as Mach 5, Go Mifune, Go!
The origin of the story in Mach GoGoGo is surprising. The history of Mach GoGoGo has its roots in the western culture of Elvis Presley and James Bond. Young Go sports a black pompadour and neckerchief like Elvis Presley’s stylish race car driving image in Viva Las Vegas. The Mach 5 car was inspired by James Bond’s gadget-laden Aston Martin in the movie Goldfinger. While traditional Japanese anime generally involves a teenager passing tests, Speed Racer’s roots have a more decidedly Western influence.
More than the history of Speed Racer it was influenced by western culture. The appearance of the characters is also surprisingly Western. The characters have light complexions and wear Western clothing. While this westernization of the characters in Speed Racer was not uncommon in anime at the time, Tatsuo Yoshida used the concept of mukokuseki (having no nation) a little differently than other producers. This surprising complexity is what sets Speed Racer apart from other cartoons of its time.
Now that you have learned the 3 amazing facts about Speed Racer and Mach GoGoGo, you are ready to see the new Speed Racer movie with a different perspective. While you might be dazzled by the high-definition green screen effects, you’ll learn about the film’s roots in Japanese manga and anime, and the thought-provoking symbolism of Tatsuo Yoshida. Speed Racer, GoGoGo!
