Shout! Studios has unexpectedly announced that it has acquired the streaming rights to the iconic 1963 Speed Racer TV anime and will launch the series across various streaming services beginning on June 1. This also marks the first time ever that both the Japanese version known as Mach Go Go Go and 1967 English-language adaptation will be made available on streaming services at the same time with all 52 episodes of each series available simultaneously.
Prior to this announcement, the only way to watch both Mach Go Go Go and Speed Racer was through the purchase of a Funimation-produced and licensed home video release, best known for the collector’s edition being awkwardly shaped like main character Speed Racer seen above.
For those that may not be familiar or have forgotten after so long, Mach GoGoGo, nee Speed Racer, was first created and designed by anime pioneer Tatsuo Yoshida as a manga in the early 1960s and was adapted as a TV anime series in 1967 by animation studio Tatsunoko Productions.
When the series was first brought to America through the effort of still extant manufacturing conglomerate Trans-Lux, which was looking to expand its business holdings at the time, it called upon dubbing studio Titra Studios and Peter Fernandez to adapt the series to American tastes, and the rest is history.
With the forthcoming release on streaming services, Shout! Studios has managed to revive Speed Racer in the consciousness of those who have loved the series, an anime series that laid the foundation for American exposure to anime, and now new generations can see the series that laid the groundwork for the first generation of anime fans without relying on an expensive and out-of-print home video release.
Shout! Studios describes the series:
Speed Racer is a young and upcoming racer who dreams of winning with his family. His car, the Mach 5, contains features that enable him to race around the world. The adventures of Speed in exotic settings around the globe prove that quick wits and fair play are always sure winners!
Source: Press Release
Just a couple things, Mach GoGoGo came out in 1967 not 1963 and it sold have been “Speed Racer, nee Mach GoGoGo.”
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