Peter Fernandez already had a few years' experience dubbing Japanese movies and cartoons into English when he was hired to write and direct an American version of the animated series Mach Go Go Go in 1967. The U.S. edition was called Speed Racer, and in spite of clumsy, rapid-fire dialogue (timed to the movements of the characters' mouths) and disjointed editing (necessitated by hard-to-translate cultural references), its 52-episode run became a respectable syndicated hit, and marked a generation's first exposure to Japanese animation, for better and for worse. Worse, because fans of the genre have long had to suffer the mockery of friends who strike dynamic poses and gasp, Speed Racer-style. But even devotees of more sophisticated contemporary anime have no reason to be embarrassed by Speed Racer. The show is crude, and hampered by inconsistent character modeling, but it's also an energetic concoction of mod kitsch, teenage kicks, and a sense of design that rivals the work of American superhero artists like Jim Steranko and Steve Ditko. The 11 episodes on this new DVD edition each follow the titular hero as he enters a cross-country race over the objections of his father, only to be hassled by varying gangs of crooks who compete as a cover for some criminal activity. Speed chases down the bad guys in his tricked-out push-button racecar "the Mach 5," ducking the fiery crashes of other racers and going off-road before inevitably being saved at the last minute by the mysterious, masked Racer X, who is actually Speed's runaway older brother. The stories stretch on a little too long, and the virtual absence of any Japanese signifiers beyond the occasional noodle bowl is disappointing (as is the absence of the original language tracks or deleted-in-America scenes on the DVD), but Speed Racer's visual layout remains impressive. It's so clean, stylish, and exciting that the plots could be followed with the sound off. The one-sided, single-disc DVD contains more than four hours of the series rather than the two hours promised on the back of the box, which means ample opportunities to wallow in the Racer family troubles, steeped as they are in guilt, shame, and obligation. That subtext has connected with generations of Japanese and American boys, who've also spent 30-odd years killing time in class by sketching their own versions of the Mach 5–the real star of Speed Racer. Sure, the series looks good and has action-packed stories, but its long-term success also taps into the timeless desire of young men to have a cool, fast car with a button for everything.