Speed Racer, Vol. 2 (Episodes 12-23)

These are the next installment of six episodes [two half-hour segments a piece]. Included are some of my all-time Speed Racer episodes: "The Fire Race" (with the mysterious Kabala), "The Dangerous Desert Race", and probably my all-time favorite Speed Racer episode: "The Fastest Car on Earth" (where Speed must race against a car so fast and dangerous that no man can drive it).

Speed Racer is a highly original and unique series that never got the recognition it deserved. It's high quality animation for all ages. I loved Speed Racer as a child growing up in the 1970s. They don't make cartoons this cool anymore.

I highly recommend this DVD for fans. There's a few extras too. But overall, the original episodes are presented in decent quality with good sound quality as well. You won't be disappointed. At a low cost, this set can be considered a "volumne two" to complement last year's Speed Racer DVD package.

Oh, the box comes in a cool carton that lights up and plays a snipplet of the theme song. Pretty cool!

Now, at last, volume 2 in the series has come out, featuring "Episodes 12-24" -- and I put that last phrase in quotes because it is slightly misleading:

See, the first volume, episodes 1-11, really only 5 shows from the first season. Anyone who's watched "Speed Racer" knows that most of the shows came in 2 parts, much like "Batman," the first half-hour ending in a cliffhanger that would make you watch part 2 when it aired.

Well, for the purposes of the DVD company, they called each half-hour an "episode" (which, tehcnically, it is), making you think you got 11 shows on volume 1 -- when what you actually got were 5 SHOWS DIVIDED UP INTO 11 HALF-HOUR SEGMENTS!

So, assuming they are doing the same thing here, and that we're really going to get maybe 6 shows divided into 13 episodes, here are the shows that should be on the disk:

6. "Race for Revenge" -- One of the coolest shows, with a car emblazoned with the number "X3" on its hood exacts its revenge on race car drivers, chanting the erie "Melange still races ..."

7. "The Desperate Desert Race" -- A trip to the Arabian country of Sandoland gets Speed and company framed as spies when the Black Tiger car is blown up before the race.

8. The Fire Race" -- A race in the country of Kapetepek during the Fire Festival features part of the course running through an active volcano that has a cave that opens only every hundred years -- and the winner of the reace promised in marriage to the princess of Kapetepek!

9. "Girl Daredevil" -- Speed helps an acrobat name Twinkle Banks, when the circus she's a part of suffers from a string of sabotaging "accidents" ...

10. "The Fastest Car on Earth" -- The episode with the GRX, the car that goes so fast it breaks the speed of light ... and drives its driver insane.

11. "Mach V vs. Mach V" -- Perhaps my favorite episode (and, if I remember right, the three-parter), finds Speed under arrest when a duplicate Mach V is used to commit a string of robberies. AWESOME episode!!

For the show itself... and for content and the quality of the DVD transfer (assuming it's like the first set): 5 stars. I rated it 4 because of the lack of shows in the set. Beautifully packaged and priced, I would rather pay more for a 2 or 3-disk set that encompassed a full season (season one alone contains 17 different shows, and we only have 11 so far on two disks?).

It's just that, at 34 shows total, meaning AT LEAST 68 "episodes" total, it's going to be awhile before any true lover of the show is going to have the whole series. But hey, maybe it's a small price to pay for the small price we pay ... and after all, the important thing is quality, and these shows look clearer and more colorful than when I saw them as a kid.

Go Speed Racer, Go!! I'll buy mine the day of release!