HOME | DD

Description
Believe it or not, after the 1967 series and before the 2008 live action movie adaptation, there was a 1997 reboot of Speed Racer produced by the same studio who did the original anime. Mach GoGoGo: Restart. It was set in a new universe where Go Hibiki (Speed Racer) has to become the world champion along with his trusty racecar, the Mach 5. The show was slated to have 52 episodes, but unfortunately due to low ratings, it was cut down to 34 episodes. The first 21 episodes of Restart had Go training himself to become a professional racer in order to win the Earth Grand Prix. After the Earth Grand Prix episode, Tatsunoko decided to change genres by turning a racing anime grounded in realism into a sci-fi show where they made the Mach 5 into a time machine. I'm not kidding.

The second arc of Restart involves Go, Mai (Trixie), Wataru (Spritle), Rocky (Chim-Chim), and Takumi (Sparky) having to use the Mach 5 to travel back in time to collect an energy source called Ezekiel Wheel to prevent an evil alien leader named Handler from taking over the universe.

The show still underperformed as after the 34th episode AKA the series finale, the show would be cancelled. Which is a real shame since I really do enjoy that show, well the first arc at least.

There were several attempts to bring Restart to the US for Speed Racer fans. One is a pilot dub which is an English version of the 3rd episode which didn't go far from greenlight. The second attempt was from DIC Entertainment who did their own dub much like what they did with their own dub of Sailor Moon titled "Speed Racer X". The DIC dub did get released but it was more of an edited dub as the violence was toned down, music being changed, and storylines being mushed together. There's even episodes that were never dubbed by DIC such as one episode involving Speed/Go having to deal with a ninja thief called Shadow. Another episode involving Speed/Go having to stop a mad bomber who rigged up cars that have explosives planted in them. The bomb part is most likely due to the DIC dub being aired almost a year after 9/11, so mad bombers are still a touchy subject in television. The DIC dub was put on hold after Speed Racer Enterprises sued DIC for dubbing the show despite SRE being the US distributors for the Speed Racer/Mach GoGoGo franchise until Tatsunoko retained the rights back in 2014.

As for if I want the show to continue. I'd like to have Speed/Go continue testing his racing skills despite (SPOILER ALERT) winning the Earth Grand Prix in episode 21. I'd love to see more elements from the classic anime being reincarnated in the Restart universe. Stuff like the GRX, the Mammoth Car, and the Car Acrobatic Team. I'd also like to see Speed and family deactivate the time circuits in the Mach 5, so that the show can go back to its grounded roots while still acknowledging the sci-fi era episodes. I'd definitely love Restart to come back.

Also, I'd love to see Restart Speed team up with Classic Speed in a multiversal teamup.

Mach GoGoGo: Restart/Speed Racer X © Tatsunoko Productions

What if story (Anime, manga, show...) continued? template belongs to

Description
Believe it or not, after the 1967 series and before the 2008 live action movie adaptation, there was a 1997 reboot of Speed Racer produced by the same studio who did the original anime. Mach GoGoGo: Restart. It was set in a new universe where Go Hibiki (Speed Racer) has to become the world champion along with his trusty racecar, the Mach 5. The show was slated to have 52 episodes, but unfortunately due to low ratings, it was cut down to 34 episodes. The first 21 episodes of Restart had Go training himself to become a professional racer in order to win the Earth Grand Prix. After the Earth Grand Prix episode, Tatsunoko decided to change genres by turning a racing anime grounded in realism into a sci-fi show where they made the Mach 5 into a time machine. I'm not kidding.

The second arc of Restart involves Go, Mai (Trixie), Wataru (Spritle), Rocky (Chim-Chim), and Takumi (Sparky) having to use the Mach 5 to travel back in time to collect an energy source called Ezekiel Wheel to prevent an evil alien leader named Handler from taking over the universe.

The show still underperformed as after the 34th episode AKA the series finale, the show would be cancelled. Which is a real shame since I really do enjoy that show, well the first arc at least.

There were several attempts to bring Restart to the US for Speed Racer fans. One is a pilot dub which is an English version of the 3rd episode which didn't go far from greenlight. The second attempt was from DIC Entertainment who did their own dub much like what they did with their own dub of Sailor Moon titled "Speed Racer X". The DIC dub did get released but it was more of an edited dub as the violence was toned down, music being changed, and storylines being mushed together. There's even episodes that were never dubbed by DIC such as one episode involving Speed/Go having to deal with a ninja thief called Shadow. Another episode involving Speed/Go having to stop a mad bomber who rigged up cars that have explosives planted in them. The bomb part is most likely due to the DIC dub being aired almost a year after 9/11, so mad bombers are still a touchy subject in television. The DIC dub was put on hold after Speed Racer Enterprises sued DIC for dubbing the show despite SRE being the US distributors for the Speed Racer/Mach GoGoGo franchise until Tatsunoko retained the rights back in 2014.

As for if I want the show to continue. I'd like to have Speed/Go continue testing his racing skills despite (SPOILER ALERT) winning the Earth Grand Prix in episode 21. I'd love to see more elements from the classic anime being reincarnated in the Restart universe. Stuff like the GRX, the Mammoth Car, and the Car Acrobatic Team. I'd also like to see Speed and family deactivate the time circuits in the Mach 5, so that the show can go back to its grounded roots while still acknowledging the sci-fi era episodes. I'd definitely love Restart to come back.

Also, I'd love to see Restart Speed team up with Classic Speed in a multiversal teamup.

Mach GoGoGo: Restart/Speed Racer X © Tatsunoko Productions

What if story (Anime, manga, show...) continued? template belongs to