Why Was Speed Racer So Violent And Why Don't You Remember it?

Here's the explanation.
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[@Natendowii]

Here he comes, here comes Speed Racer, and he's here to do some business with a Big Iron on his hip.

[@good__person]

Some said that The Arizona Ranger is less powerful than Speed Racer

[@foxhound1147]

BIG IRON ON HIS HIIIIIIIIP

[@bernardenorth]

Mart8 Robbins

[@mxxd2v]

Arizona Ranger didnt have much to say when Speed Racer rolled into the town

[@fujdjgo]

Is my comment even posting...

[@13thwho]

The character’s original Japanese name was “Gō Mifune”; which explained why he had an “M” on his helmet (for his father’s company, Mifune Motors), and a “G” on his pocket.

[@ZombifiedDuder]

As I kid, I always thought the "M" on his helmet was because he drove the "Mach 5". Like, I assumed the helmet came with his car or something, lol.

[@talesofgore9424]

@@ZombifiedDuder based kid logic

[@GKOBE]

A little curiosity is that 'GO' in Japanese means "FIVE" (5)

[@13thwho]

@@GKOBE The original Japanese title, “マッハGoGoGo”, or “Mahha Go Go Go”, is actually a play on words. Mahha Go is Mach 5, the character’s name is Gō, and Go Go Go is what a race driver does.

[@plawson8577]

@@13thwhoMach Go Go(1967) aired on Nippon TV.

[@JohnnyTyrone77]

As a child I was aware of the violent tendencies of the show but I just looked at it as Speed was the good guy and there was a lot of bad guys trying to stop him.

[@PhilosophicallyAmerican]

I watched John Wayne, Hopalong Cassidy, and Gene Auntry end countless villains with guns. Violence isn't inherently evil.

[@CommodoreFan64]

Same here, and parents never said anything bad about me watching it. I even have DVD box set that's in the shape of the Mach 5

[@TubeRadiosRule]

@@PhilosophicallyAmerican Yup. Violence is never a GOOD thing, but, sadly, it's sometimes a NECESSARY thing, under certain circumstances.

[@JuggoJuggo]

If I not mistaken there were plenty of racers that just went off cliffs, guy just shows up to race and Speed makes his kids orphans.

[@molochi]

@@PhilosophicallyAmerican Yeah my dad took me to see movies like The Enforcer and Enter the Dragon. What that and a more nuanced education taught me was that there was GOOD violence. But what I learned later was not everyone agrees exactly what that is. I respect pacifistic beliefs but I'm also a fan of the Punisher.

[@-AirKat-]

“I just saved a bunch of car insurance” Okay Trixie I see why the bridge is out now

[@rvh1999]

LOL 😆😆

[@Launchpad05]

I hate Geico commercials! They're SO stupid! Speed Racer, and He-Man have no business being associated with that shitty company!

[@tyrant-den884]

I remember when my dad saw that commercial on a restaurant tv, and could remember what all the lines were supposed to be from his childhood.

[@Mendrawza24]

Lol, those commercials used to kill me. The dead air after she said that was priceless! I got in trouble in school one time when my computer typing teacher told us she had good news at the beginning of class. I said the thing, but she didn't find the reference as funny, and sent me out of class for like, 20 minutes.

[@redvillusion9921]

That Speed Racer GEICO commercial awakened a memory in me I didn't realize I had.

[@philosopherkingzant2037]

I seriously don't know if I already have seen it I just feel like I have

[@jairoflores85]

Lmaoooooooooo

[@jairoflores85]

Man that GEICO comercial 😂😂😂

[@LITTLE1994]

Same. It's been a long time.

[@VonDelacroix]

Finding out harmony gold was behind that one makes me feel dirty. Not a fan

[@Probablyabox]

The screams are what get me they sound so... it sounds like they took the voice actors and killed them

[@01Zipang]

Trixie's in Episode 3 or 4 when the house is on fire is the most blood curdling scream I've ever heard in my life.

[@toaster9922]

HES GOING OVER THAT CLIFF

[@Hey_MikeZeroEcho22P]

@@toaster9922 , You know...... that the episode you are referring has those 'goons' with letters on the jumpers. As a former Chemistry instructor......did you notice the abbreviations of these characters! Can you name them???? K - T - make one up C - B - U - P - E - make one up N - S - A - make one up ....but if you put At together you get.... Z - make one up....but I would say Zinc

[@argonwheatbelly637]

They did. I remember working with Corinne at a convention decades ago, and she was incredible!

[@felipecosta-kv2fx]

@@toaster9922 AAAAAAH!!

[@AlottaBoulchit]

"Why is Speed so violent?" The theme song literally calls him a demon so... 🤣

[@VetyBurr]

He's a demon and he's gonna be chasing after someone

[@douglasbagshaw807]

A demon on the track

[@douglasbagshaw807]

Liberals are the problem not guns

[@bitterjames]

@@douglasbagshaw807 why are you bringing up politics? don't you have anything better to do with your time?

[@bitterjames]

@@douglasbagshaw807 oh wait your whole channel is just a political caricature.

[@ThunderHorsePyro]

I mean he does cause somebody to go veering off a cliff and crash and probably die during the theme song. So the indication of how violent the show is going to be is right there.

[@greggeverman5578]

I just mentioned this today!

[@quantumgargoyle3888]

He’s a demon and he’s gonna be CHASING AFTER SOMEONE

[@Mr.Needle-Hamster]

@@quantumgargoyle3888 He's gaining on ya so you better look alive

[@spaceinvader7047]

@@Mr.Needle-Hamster he’s busy revvin’ up the powerful Mach 5.

[@TheGamerZapocalypse]

...The red car actually side swipes Speed first. Why are you making it sound like Speed attacked first??? Get your facts straight. -_-

[@bruakumfd2845]

when bad guys got what was coming to them, not just shake their fist, and come back next week

[@blindedjourneyman]

Well said XD

[@matty6878]

fax

[@matty6878]

@Egg T yes

[@mikescarlett3186]

Remember the great tub of lard

[@planescaped]

Next time Gadget! Next Tiiiiimm- *BLAM* _Gadget standing with a smoking gun_ *BLAM* *BLAM *BLAM*

[@russetwolf13]

Speed Racer was a love letter to 50's and 60's racing, which was absurdly dangerous and deadly. Like Enzo Ferrari was famous for consuming driver's lives like a car based Dracula, jaguar flipped a car into the stands at LeMans, drivers just accepted that they were gonna die at the wheel.

[@50zcarsman]

It was ever such. Top racer Eddie Rickenbacker lost several friends and rivals on the circuit back in the 1910s.

[@DrawciaGleam02]

That explains why Speed Racer's dad disliked his son racing.....

[@AltoonaYourPiano]

Yep and there was a popular game called Chicken, basically a brinkmanship game with cars.

[@RockinRocketScience]

​@@DrawciaGleam02yea, Racer X, when he was with the family, nearly died in an accident

[@classicgunstoday1972]

I remember all of this in the mid 1980s on UHF stations. The “violence” was no big deal to me. I always laughed at the so-called “parent group” complaints about GI Joe or Transformers because I remembered people actually got killed in Speed Racer. I also grew up on B westerns and action and horror movies on VHS that my dad grew up on in the 40s and 50s that were mean’t for kids. Everything from fist fights to bad guys shot to jumping into snake pits to being eaten by giant monsters. It’s how little boys played. Dangerous adventures that spark the imagination. It’s all just as fun and appropriate today as it was then. Let kids have fun.

[@juicebox9465]

Back when I was a young kid, me and friends would play Star Wars and pretend cutting each others hands off, lol. Fun times.

[@classicgunstoday1972]

@@juicebox9465 ahh yes. Those friends that were wanted men and had the death sentence in twelve systems. You tried to buy them a drink but they would rather pull a blaster. ;)

[@hubguy]

It’s weird how adamant parents are on believing kids are dumb and think playing pretend or watching this stuff will lead to them actually doing wrong and committing crimes. Kids need to be given more credit, they can learn to separate reality from fiction

[@poweroffriendship2.0]

@@hubguy And to this day, the stigma is still ongoing.

[@eastcoastpaper3862]

then in turn, when your kids came of age during the 90s... you persecuted them the same... im joking but i can feel you sentiment

[@envisioner007]

for a racer he has some lovely gun skills.

[@DoubeEdged7]

And fighting skills

[@ultraquake7170]

No speed is just one hell of a drug and is a sociopath

[@INFERNO95]

Well that would explain why he so popular.

[@adzisme]

Was Trixie his Sister or his Girlfriend?

[@TheMaypo2]

But we love it ! 😁

[@oliverbrownlow5615]

This video barely scratches the surface of the violent insanity that was *Speed Racer.* Consider the only three-part episode, "The Most Dangerous Race." Speed's opponents are a bizarre cult called the Car Acrobatic Team in a treacherous mountain race where extremely bad weather causes the roads to disintegrate under the drivers' wheels, and a major obstacle is a wide, deep chasm that the racers must jump with their automobiles like four-wheeled Evel Knievals. Car after car crashes into the ravine. But does anyone think to turn back? Hell, no. And in the middle of this madness, Speed *loses his sight.* Does he stop racing and wait to be rescued so he can receive appropriate medical treatment? Of course not. It has to be seen to be believed.

[@hithere5039]

Yeah. I swear every race on that show had at least one person die per episode, though usually multiple. They'd either crash, fall off a cliff, or Speed would have to kill them with a gun while he's dismantling their criminal empire.

[@hithere5039]

@@TheGamerZapocalypse Lol. what?

[@helixator3975]

I remember that very episode from mid 70s! 🇦🇺

[@Studio-62]

I used to watch it all the time, I feel like it was in the 60s. The Acrobatic Team episode is the only one that I remember. He’d go blind or something if he went too fast, and had a special substance in an aerosol spray can which he’d need to spray in his face to fix it. Overall I don’t really recall the violence though.

[@50zcarsman]

Talk about life being cheap! You'd stand a better chance at survival by being mobilized into the Russian Army than by joining the Car Acrobatic Team.

[@TheRX78ONE]

0:43- 0:53 Wow that didn't just get violent, shit went Nuclear!

[@cookieDaXapper]

as a child of the 70's, me, and my friends ALWAYS talked about the "action" in Speed Racer, and Johny Quest, like cops, and robbers, and cowboys, and indians; it's what "little' boys did: explosions, guns, villains with big plans, heroes saving the day, and lots of dying, and mock killing,......play. Simpler times, PEACE family.

[@ManicEightBall]

ditto. It wasn't controversial for us kids.

[@fernarias]

Yes, and kids of the 50s were bringing guns to school and playing with radioactivity and explosive chemistry sets. I feel sorry for kids today that have to wear a mask, can't play outside and can't go to school.

[@cookieDaXapper]

@@fernarias ...yup, we brought "play/toy" guns to school, but if they caught you with 'em, they took 'em 'till the end of the day, or year if the teacher was "mean" enough. WOW, who "bubble-wrapped" our society? Rather than teach Responsibility, they took it from them, a sad commentary. PEACE family, and God bless.

[@merkury06]

So true. And I remember noticing the difference as A-Team and GI Joe came along. I just could not get into it after they toned down the action in the early 80s.

[@cookieDaXapper]

@@merkury06 Naaahhh I still watched, but me and my friends ALWAYS complained about the "last minute" bail outs from plane explosions, and the "lazer shots" from the gun play. Where are the consequences from the villainy? The "bad" guys are supposed to "not make it", at least that's what we learned from Speed, and Johny, and Space Ghost; "he got what he deserved" I guess you can't sell toys of dead folk. PEACE family.

[@Icepacalapse]

The violence in speed racer shows kids that there are consequences. The A-Team undid this 20 years later with burning cars rolling 26 times only to have the occupants crawl out uninjured.

[@BurnRoddy]

My favorite scene from this era is that one from Voltron where a bunch of assasins slash and split in half a mother hugging her children, not to mention descimating her entire village by shreding its people to pieces. Quite a charming lovable scene for a cartoon made for children. It was even more violent that anything from Gatchaman. There's absolutely ZERO filter. When I first saw that scene as a wee lad I had nighmares FOR WEEKS on end.

[@jeraldford3494]

This was the bomb back in the day

[@kevinkinne7119]

Even scarier was the suicidal devotion of said assassins, who carried huge canisters of acid on their backs and flew into the lions with them.

[@dalethelander3781]

King of Beasts Go Lion was very graphically gory in Japan. Jameson Brewer still heavily edited it for Voltron.

[@DimT670]

And this is why we stopped doing that

[@BurnRoddy]

@@DimT670While I did hsve nightmares for a couple of weeks I wasn't mentally scarred or anything. I thought it waa cool. Anorther time, another rules, I guess.

[@Railhog2102]

You have to keep in mind that Speed Racer was made during a different era back when violence didn't cause any concerns.

[@kloa4219]

Speed Racer was made in an era of PG rated wild west films with high bodycounts. Kids loved them. If anything, this was mild.

[@SpeedRacer1235]

Ironically I am named after this and I haven't even watched the video yet it brings warmth to me knowing that people haven't forgotten about this series even if it has violent episodes

[@RoninCatholic]

There were less shootings back when violence was allowed on children's TV and it was easier to legally own a gun and keep one on you. Hmmm.....

[@williamgolden839]

Keep in mind this was made a few years after WW2. The Japanese didn't play nice back then

[@superplushtiman7ti075]

Although there were some controversy around it

[@LatitudeSky]

Peter Fernandez and Corrine Orr were absolutely amazing people to know. I count myself very lucky to have enjoyed this show as a kid and got to meet them as an adult.

[@LITTLE1994]

Wow, lucky!

[@crispycritterz]

Probably the best and worst episode was called “Race for Revenge.” Even for Speed Racer it was REALLY dark.

[@Arcana_XVIII]

Why?

[@Arcana_XVIII]

@TRUMP FOR JAILHOUSE PRESIDENT! Thanks!

[@chriskirk8517]

Melange still races...

[@crispycritterz]

@xLoOnEyOuTcAsTxNo.... a lot of racers were murdered in the episode.

[@merkury06]

Yeah that one left a mark. I saw it again recently, for the first time since I was a little kid. I was surprised by how well I remembered it and how good it was.

[@fotdk1]

biggest things i remember from watching speed racer as a kid: the episode where he snaps and gets violent with trixie and spritle the ending where it showed a bunch of cars from the earliest prototype to futuristic cars .

[@camaradiop3731]

"Speed Racer" was my introduction to anime; as a teenager, I didn't know it was anime at the time; I just knew it was different and not stupid/silly like many Saturday morning cartoon series. Still love the theme song to this day.

[@sbyrstall]

Same here. Also add Kimba to that list.

[@camaradiop3731]

@@sbyrstall I was unfamiliar with Kimba, so I did some research, and I discovered two interesting videos on KZbin: "Kimba & The Lion King - How Similar Are They?" and "The 'Original Story' - The Kimba vs. Simba Controversy". You may find them interesting if you don't already know about this.

[@jubbernaut2054]

Dude I’ve been waiting for this

[@tiger2eye]

I was six when I started watching Speed Racer in 1968. What did I learn? From Episode 12, I saw Jacques-Louis David's painting of Napoleon Crossing the Alps. From Episode 18, I was introduced to the physics of dynamic friction and centrifugal force. In Episode 43, I remember the assassination attempt and later learned that it resembled the assassination attempt on Liu Bang by Xiang Zhuang, at the Feast at Swan Goose Gate, in 206 BC. From the end credits, I remember Pops Racer driving Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot's fardier a vapeur.

[@SatoriSoul]

I remember watching it as a child in the early 70s, I can still hear the sound in my memory of the Mach 5 as it jumped over things. Kind of like the sound of Steve Austin jumping in the 6 million dollar man tv show.

[@curbowman]

choing choing choing choing choing ....

[@leevieira5083]

Speed Racer was dark AF. During the races, it was routine for cars to fly off the track or the course and explode. And no one ever seemed to mention the casualties. 😬

[@recoveringnewyorker2243]

As a child I never even knew this was a Japanese cartoon. I remember rushing home from school so I wouldn’t miss the beginning of “Speed Racer”

[@DinsRune]

I mean, this was also back when toy guns were advertised as "looks and sounds like the real thing". There wasn't as much a concern about encouraging violence among kids: there was concerns about gore and encouraging immoral activities, just ask the Comic's Code Authority, but Speed was only fighting criminals and terrorists. Shooting a bad guy was fair play on TV, it's what the show Gunsmoke was all about.

[@robinday2137]

I always felt that the speed racer scripts were written by a 12 year old just coming into puberty.

[@DaDualityofMan]

Hmm, that's what I always said about Michael Bay movies.

[@aplotholesfiller8827]

Ehhhhh, how? They are basic, yes, but thats all.

[@Sapwolf]

Yep, and that is why it was popular for young boys.

[@loverho5321]

5:49 “I mean it’s nice you switched over to geico but how’s that gonna help me knowing the bridge is still out?”

[@joelellis7035]

"Well, I'm listed as your beneficiary!"

[@aickavon]

I remember these commercials, they were even funnier because there's a three second bit where it's just speed with his mouth open like 'WOT?'

[@georgejungle138]

Left can’t meme

[@aickavon]

@@georgejungle138 What... does that have to do with anything?

[@Launchpad05]

Fuck Geico! I'd rather switch to a company that tells me what they have to offer instead of a lame attempt at mocking a classic cartoon.

[@darkwolf9253]

I remember exactly how violent it was... It's one of the reasons I loved it. Classic show.

[@NIK12787]

Speed Racer is such a classic. I always liked shows and movies that has special cars with gadgets and abilities. I think the Mach 5 was somewhat inspired by the James Bond cars since it does have the gadgets and abilities a spy car would have plus modified engines and other parts to give the car the best performance. Later we also get Herbie from the respected series and then KITT(Knight Industries Two Thousand) from Knight Rider and many others.

[@ARoyalLyon]

As a boy in the early 70s, I LOVED Speed Racer and the Mach 5! My Mom, not so much and she wouldn't let me watch it for a period. I remember the episode The Car Hater airing on TV, the man with his horse and daughter who called him PaPA with strange foreign sounding inflection. We used to run and jump and yell YONT-YONT-YONT-YONT! and really feel like we were the Mach 5 jumping. As a preschooler, I thought the stylized logo at the end said Rans Ux. Also loved the part where he jumps out of the car and freezes and the perspective rotates 90 degrees. I also barely remember Gigantor, but even as a youngster wondered how the little boy could control the giant robot so well by just pumping a joystick back and forth.

[@Y0UT0PIA]

This is like those "movie explained" video essays that give you obvious / totally useless information about a piece of media when you could just watch the actual movie, only for memes.

[@InvidiousIgnoramus]

Weird. My only experience with Speed Racer is from borrowing the complete series from my local library, but I barely remember any guns in it at all.

[@JohnDoe-wq5eu]

I don't think the original unedited episodes ever made it on to even VHS back in the day. Other than the original broadcast or subsequent broadcasts in the years before they were put back up edited I don't think there was ever a release. Sure now you can get it unedited but back in the day I don't think there was an uncut version out there.

[@InvidiousIgnoramus]

@@JohnDoe-wq5eu I refer to the complete series DVD set found here. www.amazon.com/Speed-Racer-Complete-Classic-Collection/dp/B001D11A6I which does appear to have all episodes in it.

[@quentin1326]

Considering the fact that it's been nearly 50 years since I've watched an episode it's amazing that I remember anything at all about it.

[@Trevor_NewJerusalem]

I used to check out Speed Racer VHS's from my library as a little boy. I remember how blown my mind was when I saw the Geiko commercial.

[@Sydney-Casket-Base]

5:44 OHHHHH shiny object.... my crow senses are TINGLING.....

[@woltzwurld6760]

In the 70’s, the full episodes were on local tv all the time. I was 8(ish) and didn’t think twice about it.

[@justdiane5]

Speed was my first crush! Hahaha. I was 5 😁

[@ThePeachtree69]

So violent? Because it was awesome.

[@solvemproblerstudios5889]

Great Vid! Johnny Quest and Speed Racer were a big part of my childhood.

[@darlalathan6143]

Mine, too!

[@promontorium]

Fun fact: In Japan his name was Go Mifune. Go is 5 in Japanese so his car had a big M and the number 5 for his name as a pun. It was also a pun associating "Go" his name with "go" the word. The lyrics "Go Mifune!" and "Go Go go!" Were both puns as well.

[@DerGottDesChaos]

This was the first ever Anime to have been broadcasted in germany in 1971. Needless to say that many parents were not amused and some media outlets even called it the "pure pleasure of a raw killer's mind". Gave anime quite a bad reputation until the production of animes like Heidi or Nils Holgersson that were basing on european tales and novels.

[@Mr_Movie_Fan]

Lol, I've actually seen the "movie" once you brought up the car hater episode I was like, "I remember that. Wait it was seen as violent? I mean there's no blood so..."

[@SpeiderSchneider]

You left out the scene in the episode where they're floating their cars down the Amazon on rafts and one driver falls into the river and is eaten alive by piranhas. I still have nightmares!

[@marzsit9833]

speed racer, marine boy and star blazers were my favorite anime's as a kid in the 70's.

[@kloa4219]

1:19 Bro, that's not a nazi swastika. It's the Buddhist sign of peace. It means something different in the east than in the west

[@invisibleair2156]

Damn nazis destroyed the sign

[@CL-Lynn]

you mean 1:21 ? Yeah that's an auspicious symbol in HINDU Culture

[@SecondMoopzoo]

@@invisibleair2156 Don't you understand that they adopted the wheel of the sun as their symbol because they viewed hindu/buddhist spirituality, being products of aryan culture (and therefore progenitors of european paganism) as european? (hint: anthropologists now call 'aryan' ethnicity 'proto-indo-european' instead.) It's all one continuous idea, don't let public education make arbitrary distinctions like this that ruin your perception of history.

[@worldcomicsreview354]

@@CL-Lynn The swastika was an auspicious symbol in many cultures, not just "eastern" ones. To the ancient Germanic people (Germany, The Netherlands and England) it meant Thunor, their version of Thor. And it was even used in the slanted, "Nazi" fashion.

[@Cythil]

The swastika is not a hard symbol to come up with. Just like a simple cross or circle and so on. So is not that odd that different culture have used the symbol for different purposes. Just before the Nazis co-opted it for their purposes it amounts other things associated with power. The electrical Industry company ASEA (Now ABB group) used to have the swastika as a symbol until 1933. Changed it due to previous mention political party.

[@Hey_MikeZeroEcho22P]

The episodes "I" Remember are the 'Monmouth Car" and the one where a R/C car was stuck on a hill and blew up....( don't remember the title though ).

[@TreadwellJay]

The "movie" also had some footage from Mach Go Go Go that had been removed for the Speed Racer version of those episodes.

[@TK-fk4po]

Growing up in the 70s, I watched all the original speed racers religiously over and over again whenever they were on the television. I remember being freaked out about all of the death, but what really is scary especially to a kid is the screaming that they do. Trixie’s scream as she loses control of the car is absolutely terrifying.

[@1EyeInTheSky]

Still two of my favorite cartoons ever. Love Johnny Quest. They were way ahead of their time with some of the futuristic planes and gadgets. Speed Racer once you got used to the one long breath dialog it was actually pretty good. I was able to find all the episodes of both and they will be in my collection until I pass on.

[@dalethelander3781]

It wasn't just the planes and gadgets. Look at the animation, the shading and texturing uncommon for American cartoons of the time and, especially, Hanna-Barbera.

[@lokisgodhi]

This was my favorite cartoon when I was a child in the early 70s. I was devastated when the show was cancelled.

[@Awfulfeature]

“Speed Racer never started a gunfight, but he sure did finish it.”

[@kwaichangcaine4930]

Because in those times, we were intelligent enough to see the difference between TV and reality. And I remember quite well this TV show that I loved, thank you..!

[@petermgruhn]

Some of that Johnny Quest stuff is graphically sweet. I love the spider robot.

[@Legend42331]

0:38 bruh this must if been terrific to watch as a kid

[@jimredskye7858]

it was...drove my parents nuts racing my ass off in the living room

[@JohnDoe-wq5eu]

Yeah those were the days. It's hard to believe it's been 30 years since they did the whole rating system on shows thing. Things have never been the same since then.

[@DimT670]

More like terrifying

[@kamuishortsgamer3728]

Why did that happen tho

[@carking0138]

I have speed racer on DVD, and some of the episodes I don't remember, like the stranded on a desert island one, but maybe it's because I've forgotten, as I haven't watched it for a while, and only watched some once.

[@jamesmoss3424]

I remember seeing speed racer when I was a kid and I did knowing that he has a gun and he was violent. 😀👍

[@williamgolden839]

How am I not a serial killer after loving this show as a 8 year old

[@joeseeking3572]

As a boy - 6-8 maybe - I loved, loved loved! Speed Racer. Ad yes, I remember the Mr. Trotter episode, guess channel 20 hadn't cut it from the afternoon line-up. Racer X, the Mammoth Car, Inspector Detector, and the creepiest episode of all "The Melange" (X3). Fantastic. My mother absolutely forbad it, so I'd go off to the little girl's house across the back way whose mother was either working or perhaps beginning cocktail hour early - whatever, she didn't care, and they had Color (!) Marine Boy was cool, but Speed was king. I did grow up to drive much too fast - I still think 80 is 60 and touching 100 isn't uncommon - but the violence had no impact at all. Plus, at least it wasn't random; the hero fought defensively.

[@anarquia201]

He did it He finaly explain it

[@aodhganmerrimac]

Speed was one of my first "heros". Cartoon violence isn't the same as real world violence & I think most kids who grew up on that stuff realized that.

[@MatthewTheWolf2029]

Speed Racer is a pretty ballsy show. It's got a lot of weight and tension to it. And that's what makes it so memorable. This show doesn't hold anything back when it comes to its tension, its drama, and its violence. And this show does NOT shy away from death. There's some violence, and characters die here and there. And Speed Racer always survives against impossible odds. This show was not afraid to take risks. But this is why I praise this show and hold it in high regard.

[@vinimodo7212]

Speed wasn't violent. He was handling his business.

[@Voodoomaria]

I remember clearly how violent it was, and I found it more enjoyable than.. say.. G.I. Joe, where a human being is capable of dodging a sidewinder missile, or a laser. Come on, a LASER?? Speed of light anyone? Jonny Quest was fantastic. violence with REAL consequences. I'm not opposed to violence in cartoons, I'm opposed to showing that using guns and bombs will NOT cause any permanant harm. That kind of distorted desensatization is what REALLY does damage to viewers.

[@maureencora1]

That's Why I Love Being a Kid in the 1960s.

[@WillKeaton]

I have that VHS copy of "Speed Racer The Movie." It covers three episodes: "The Car Hater," and the two part "The Mammoth Car." It also has a series of animated commercials placed where one would expect the commercial breaks to be. No one ever talks about this VHS release, so I can't find any info on the origins of these commercials, I just remember them being really odd. I think they're most likely from the 60s, as they feel dated in the same way Speed Racer does, but I can't say for certain.

[@rmeng3]

Oh my gosh, i forgot about that GEICO commercial. That was great, lol

[@chasedavidson2855]

6:52 I want to see that edited in with the red car that explodes in the opening theme song. Send the Mystery Machine over that guard rail

[@bobbuethe1477]

I watched all of these as a kid, but my favorite was 8th Man. It had another problem, though, on top of the violence. He recharged his powers with miniature atomic batteries disguised as cigarettes. This made him the only superhero who had to light up to power up.

[@DaRealKINGKLIPS]

people used to crash and die every episode . I loved it. It gives an aura of excitement like , is he going to survive his next race ? And Racer X was the man. Awesome all around.

[@MESIAS_ROCKET]

6:57 I loved how the LatAm dub made that line: Speed just yells "Don't drive like an animal!".

[@mr.dantastic5073]

I just think about it the same way we think about Tom and Jerry

[@jameshenderson9830]

Loved this as a little kid. Re-introduced to it in the 90's on MTV. Most of the episodes was a lot of driving and no dialogue. That car and racer X's was the bomb

[@mrdeanv4414]

I was born in 63 and I would race home after school 1st, 2nd and 3rd grade just so I could watch it... good times

[@vaasnaad]

I remember that episode in Egypt. Speed jammed the homing robot into the prop of a plane that was strafing them and it zoomed in on the guy's face as he screamed and plowed into the side of a pyramid. Then some bad guys opened up on the Mach 5 with machine guns... Speed dove in and popped the bullet proof roof, then retracted it and sprayed them down with bullets. Then a bunch rushed the front of the Mach 5 and he popped the saws which hit them midsection. DAYUM!

[@DaDualityofMan]

1:50 I was actually thinking it's like "Japanese Johnny Quest" from your other video

[@IRUKANJI]

Goddamnit I remember the Speed Racer geico commercial damn it was a trip.

[@solidwire6359]

I'll never forget the episode when he hit someone in the face with a tire iron. Normally in a cartoon he would start the swing, there would be some kind of "blam" screen and the next scene would show the bad guy knocked out. Not speed racer, they showed him connect with the face and the guy go down.

[@jordanjay1479]

You brought back great memories from the 90s

[@williamhulser7354]

I was born in 1962. Growing up in the '60s, shows like Astro Boy, Gigantor and Speed Racer were known as Japanimation. Even at such an early age, I knew the difference between "cartoon" violence and the real violence I saw on the nightly news.

[@Mitsuraga]

"Japanimation" is still a term that still sees Japanese use to distinguish their cartoons from foreign ones, because "anime" in Japanese is just short for "animation" and is a very broad term referring to any animated production.

[@MrPerson61]

I never got to see the actual show, but I did have a VHS movie of the one with the super long red "car" that turned out to be made of gold, but that is about all I remember

[@MercuryFalcon]

That’s the same vhs I had in the video. Those were the mammoth car episodes of the series

[@CarlosRodriguez-dd4sb]

Speed was a staple of my childhood, along with Ultraman, Spider-Man, Quest and many others

[@jayfredrickson8632]

OMG Ultraman! Incredibly cheesy in retrospect but I loved it.

[@dalethelander3781]

@@jayfredrickson8632Now available on Blu-ray along with other Ultraman variants and Ultra Q.

[@jeremytheoneofdestiny8691]

The real trick was to just draw way less frames. Johnny Quest outdid itself. Speed Racer and many other animes used very few frames per second and sometimes hold the same frame for several seconds.

[@isoldmysoulforanime7163]

Hey man just subbed. Love your in depth analysis. Keep up the hard work. I'm pretty new to the world of anime so content like yours has been fun af to binge.

[@ZeFroz3n0ne907]

Love Johnny Quest, Space Ghost, Speed Racer, ect! Great vid!

[@Sydney-Casket-Base]

I've had a taste of speed racer... I certainly knew it was weird, but not THIS VIOLENT!!!! Yikers bikers!!!!!

[@Deinonuchus]

I saw Speed Racer in it's original runs in the 1970's. I loved it as a kid. I can't stand it now. Some things should be left to your childhood.

[@weswolever7477]

Jonny Quest had a per episode high body count

[@crazedvole]

I think as a kid, watching the opening where the car flies through the air and blows up and all the other cars kept going gave me an idea of what to expect.

[@kicapanmanis1060]

My big reintroduction to Speed Racer was when the live action movie came out in 2007. Went and rewatched the series after that. And despite being critically panned, I really enjoyed the live action movie and thought it was generally faithful despite the future retro skin.

[@Logical_Chronical]

I was apart of the 90s hype of Speed Racer. Wouldn't have known about it had it not been for Cartoon Network.

[@RadioFanBoy]

After Trans-Lux went out of the TV Business, a company named Alan Enterprises picked up distribution of the show for a few years (All the episodes, including The Car Hater) Then, and company bringing Japanese TV Shows to Los Angeles spoiled us even further in the late 1970's; they aired the original Mach Go Go on Saturday nights!!!

[@SomeOrangeCat]

1:55 Oh man! Johnny Quest! Now that was a great show!

[@ThatEEguy2818]

I seem to remember Johnny Sokko and his Flying Robot was quite violent too, with kids shooting guns at the bad guys.

[@junker1192]

"Why Don't You Remember it?" Because I've never watched the show and only learned about it through the memes.

[@Krystalmyth]

I'm just shocked by how clean it looks. That's some high quality conservation. I mean look at it! 0:18

[@BierBart12]

I also love how Johnny Quest showcased some of the most advanced military tech at the time, the E-3 Sentry radar plane.

[@alonelypotato2788]

7:04 "faster speed" 🤣🤣

[@zuntata7860]

youre on my list of vintage anime channels like Kenny lauderdale and TitanGoji man amazing stuff