Speed Racer: Mach Go Go Go Box Set

Speed Racer: Mach Go Go Go Box Set by Tatsuo Yoshida
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Speed Racer: Mach Go Go Go Box Set contains two sweet ass hard cover collections of the original Speed Racer manga.

Back in the day, most of my exposure to manga/anime were cartoons sanitized for the American market. When NOW got the Speed Racer license, I read a few of their works but was way more interested in the Speed Racer Classics series they issued. Now, years later, I have the complete run of Mach Go Go Go, the manga that was the basis for Speed Racer.

The Great Plan: Speed Racer enters a race despite his father's wishes so Pops can afford to build a new engine and start his own company. But other people have their eyes on Pops' new engine design and the prize money.

This is where it all starts. Was auto racing a big deal in Japan in the 1960s? All the characters are here. The story is fairly basic but how complex can you get when all the stories revolve around racing? Also, invisible ink is hokey but not any hokier than stuff that was going on over at Marvel during the same time period.

Speed being torn between wanting to obey his father and wanting to a race car driver spurs on the story, as I'm sure it will in the subsequent ones. The art is surprisingly good for the time period, with extremely detailed backgrounds at times.

Challenge of the Masked Racer: The Masked Racer brings bad luck to any race he's in. But why is he warning off Speed from taking part in the Alpine race?

This story featured Racer X, the masked racer with some connection to the Racer family. I already know the connection from Speed Racer Classics. There were a lot more colorful racers in this one, namely Racer X, the Car Acrobatic Team, and Captain Terror. Speed racing blind was a little far-fetched but, again, it was the 1960s. The art was great but I'm ready for Speed to race somewhere that isn't in the mountains.

Race for Revenge: The car with X3 on the hood has been mowing down race officials. Who is behind the wheel and what do they want? That's what Speed aims to find out!

This one goes off the beaten track. While it prominently features racing, of course, it's a murder mystery. Who is behind the ghost car, the Melange? This is the first story in the collection that was also in the volume of Speed Racer Classics I read but the differences in the translation were interesting.

It was a pretty satisfying tale, though I doubt anything that happened at the end of the story came to fruition. It's hard to believe Yoshida only did ten Speed Racer stories.

The Fire Race: Speed Racer is invited to compete in the Fire Race in the tiny country of Kapetepek. But what of Kabala, the mysterious racer that brings death to those who challenge him?

There's only so much you can do with a racing story. On the other hand, racing inside an active volcano and unleashing a monster are pretty cool. The monster looked like something out of Space Ghost, which I found very cool. Side note: I want to track down some old Space Ghost. Spritle and Chim-Chim stow away in the Mach 5, making for some annoyances later.

The True Spirit of a Racer: Speed Racer goes up against Racer X a second time, this time in the Trans-Country race. But what is Racer X's secret?

I read this story in Speed Racer Classics back in the day. Again, the differences in translation were interesting. Parts of the story were directly lifted from Challenge of the Masked Racer. I think some of the panels were even copied.

Anyway, it was good. Racer X's identity is revealed to the audience, though only Mom Racer has an inkling who it is.

The Desperate Desert Race: It's the Mach 5 versus the Black Tiger when Speed and company go to a desert country to race and wind up in the middle of a military coup.

This story was another I read in Speed Racer Classics. The translation differences are interesting and amusing. Kim Jugger was called Kimba in the other version I read and was a prince rather than the son of a general. The rest still plays the same, though. Kim is a prick until the very end, even after Speed saves his life. There was a lot of gunplay in this one. I'm wondering if Kim and his Black Tiger make another appearance.

The Secret Engine: Tongue Blaggard has escaped jail and is gathering Model T Fords, looking for the one that holds the secret to Henry Ford's dream car.

This was the fourth story I read in Speed Racer Classics. As with the others, the names are different but the story is the same. The plans concealed in the Model T leads to some interesting situations, even some dissension in the gangster ranks. There's some car chases, of course. I wonder if Tatsuo Yoshida was running out of steam at this point.

The Secret of the Golden Arrow: The newly discovered element Protonium is stolen and fingers point to QQQ, a criminal syndicate that uses race cars to smuggle stolen goods. Of course they do. Can Speed Racer and the Mach 5 stop the criminals and their car, the Golden Arrow?

The FBI recruit Speed to find the stolen Protonium, leading him to a desert race in Mexico. Throw in Racer X and you pretty much have it. Tatsuo Yoshida kinda broke from the formula in this one, although there was still a race in the story, of course. There's adventure, fisticuffs, and more Racer X action.

The Black Test Care: The ER-X is a small electrical engine that could revolutionize the auto industry and criminals are conspiring to get their hands on it. Can Speed Racer and company help save the company that created it?

This story shows off all the gadgetry built into the Mach 5. Speed battles the criminals and comes out on top. In some ways, it's the epitome of Speed Racer story. Too bad there's only one left. Yoshida's art has matured quite a bit from the first story in the collection.

Race to Fire Island: The elder prince of Liberaul is injured in a crash and Speed Racer takes his place in the Fire Island Race for the crown. But can Speed withstand the second prince, Sauna, and The Reaper, the deadly racer brought in as a ringer?

Racer X and Speed have their work cut out for them in this one. This time, it's a track between islands that's only above the sea at certain times of year. By the end, Racer X's identity is revealed and there's a promise of new adventures, which I don't think ever happened. As a swan song for the series, it was kind of a letdown.

Conclusion: As a piece of manga history, this was a very good read, easily on par with a lot of Marvel stories from the same time period in terms of story content and the art is top notch for the 1960s. However, I think Speed Racer being a race car driver limited the stories Tatsuo Yoshida could tell using the character so things get a little repetitive. While it was enjoyable, I don't think it holds up as well as Astro Boy stories from the same era. Still, it's a lot of fun. I'm rating it a four, partly for historical significance.

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