FOR THE LOVE OF SPEED RACER

17. May 2008 by Ria.

Every anime freak out there should know about Speed Racer, the first Japanese anime show to successfully cross over to American audiences. You can also say that Speed Racer paved the way for shows like Naruto, and Death Note to come into fruition and flourish. If you are an anime fan, you should know who Speed Racer is, and what the show is about. If not, YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF YOURSELVES!

But there is hope, now if you like anime, and you’re under the age of 18, just go to your parents and say, “Mom, Dad, forget about the birds and the bees, can you give me the 411 on Speed Racer?”

Speed Racer is an amazing guy, and extremely multi-talented. He uses cool wrestling moves on his worst enemies, a talent he acquired from his dad, Papa Racer, who designed and built the Mach 5, Speed’s kick ass ride. Now if you’re watching the series, you’ll usually see Speed pressing a lot of buttons on the Mach 5’s steering wheel, so let’s talk about them.

Button A- Releases jacks to boost the car for repairs, even though I’ve seen Speed use  that button to jump over rocks, and other rough surfaces.

Button B- Sprouts special grip tires for traction over any type of terrain.

Button C- A powerful saw that is used when Speed travels over heavily wooded terrain.

Button D-Releases a powerful deflector which seals the cockpit into an air-conditioned, and bulletproof chamber.

Button E-Special headlights that enables speed to see much further than regular headlights.

Button F- For driving underwater (cool, isn’t it) The cockpit is supplied with oxygen, and a periscope is used above the surface.

Button G-Releases a homing robot from in front the car that carrry voice messages.

Now I’ve read that there is an H button, but I don’t ever remember Speed mentioning it, so I won’t either. I’m telling you right now, this is truly an awesome car, but I wonder if its good on gas?

You know, Speed is a cute guy, and he loves to help people, but face it, he’s a race car driver, which means that he posseses a huge ego which gets on my nerves from time to time. Speed also has a girlfriend Trixie, but since she’s nothing to look at, Speed is still up for grabs as far as I’m concerned.

Well, Trixie can do something that I can’t, like fly helicopters, and small planes, but it seems like she only uses them to follow Speed around when he participates in one of his big races. Damn, does this chick have a job? Maybe she’s an undercover cop, ’cause whenever Speed gets into trouble, Trixie is the first one he calls, and I don’t understand why, if she doesn’t have a gun, what in the hell can she do?

Now we have Speed’s younger brother Spritle who’s really a pain in the ass. He has a pet chimp called Chim-Chim, and they actually dress alike (okay, now that’s scary). Anyway, the two of them are always getting into trouble while chasing Speed on one of his amazing adventures. Well, that’s nice, but Spritle needs to get his fat head into a schoolbook and leave Speed alone.

Speed also has an older brother Rex, who ran away from home at 18  because he wanted to keep racing, and Papa Racer said no. He went on to become a successful car racer, but won’t come home until he becomes the best racer of all time. Rex goes by the name Racer X, and wears this crazy get-up in order to conceal his identity. He pops up in several episodes, so make sure you watch the one when he and Speed race each other in a bad storm while going through the mountains, what excitement!

Speed Racer is full of drama and non-stop action. Did you know that Speed was also a stuntman? Who needs to race when he can just climb mountains, and fight enemies while on a motorcycle? This series is a must-see for all anime fans out there, so put this DVD on your list!

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