Speed Racer: The Complete Series

The Blu-ray debut of one of Japanese animation's most popular syndicated TV shows (bowing on its 50th anniversary) gets the checkered flag, even if this bare-bones release only presents the 1966-68 production in the English-dubbed edition, not the original Japanese version (which was called Mach GoGoGo and featured motorsports hero Go Mifune). Compiling all 52 episodes in the original order of broadcast, Speed Racer introduces 18-year-old Speed, the middle-son in the Racer family, who—after his engineer father quits his automotive corporation job to open an independent garage—competes in perilous races and fights villains around the world. The storylines (the majority of which are divided into two-part cliffhangers) aren't especially complicated (it's ridiculous that nobody can figure out that nameless “Masked Racer/Racer X” is Speed's exiled elder brother Rex), and the globetrotting plots that put Speed in different settings sometimes bring out discomfiting ethnic stereotypes. Still, this classic series—rated TV-PG—with kinetic race-car action is a landmark in the history of anime. Highly recommended. Editor's Choice. (C. Cassady)