Mach Go! Go! Go! (Speed Racer) With English Translation

[booksak]

I didn't expect to see the Cartoon Network logo at the end...was this on the network back in the day?

[damsizerooster]

i love it. always have. hikaru chan!! is right. so is miss cin. i was really pissed off with that movie.

[MissCin101]

Anybody who disliked this should be ashamed of themselves. Speed Racer is a Japanese work of art that was butchered with the American movie. Why did we have to screw up such a perfect thing. We should have never made the movie. It's a shame to the amazing, original show.

[Thundernium]

pink elephants!

[shonenarts23]

japan is the first one to animate this march 6

[LandondeeL]

As moving and personal as any 1950's Beat poetry!

[Akira625]

That's funny, I was under the impression that the Speed Racer used the same music for the theme song as the original. The dub team re-scored it completely.

[sparrow44124]

Wow...I really want to watch this anime with English subtitles because I REALLY dislike English dubbed anime, but does anyone know where I can find all the episodes?

[S0ryiu]

@sparrow44124 impossible to really do that legally since there has never been an official sub done.

[RichardDickGrayson]

I love this cartoon! and the original opening, has always kicked the ass of the american opening. But it just makes me laugh though, how the lyrics to the song (both Japanese and American) make no mention at all, of all the bloody thirsty and violent mobsters, biker gangs, pirates, and all the other psychos, that 15-year-old Go Mifune encounters and has to fight during his adventures. The opening makes it seem like its only about racing, when its more about "James Bond" themed action/adventure.

[disneyfan81]

@RichardDickGrayson Actually Go (Speed) was 18 (at least according to the English dub).

[whammy850]

One among countless foreign shows watered down for an American audience... just the theme music shows that in this case. So sharp! So catchy! So EPIC! Our version was alright, but this is so much better.

[Zettogirl2]

oops I meant FLY to the highway of jutice

[Zettogirl2]

This wasn't very accurate.Ship of good fortune? lol

I'll translate

The wind and the moving hairpin curve are very scary,go! go! go!

White body Mach 5,unstoppable drive,his father's honor.Once it runs forward,there is no tuning back.It's waiting to seize the goal!

Mach Go,go Mach Go,go Mach go go go!

Going to the Earth' s end foot on the accelerator.Youthful life,go! go! go!

Number five,Mach go! Everyone can see you latent power.In your chest,a huge fight burns! Highway of justice

[Zettogirl2]

This wasn't very accurate.Ship of good fortune? lol

I'll translate

The wind and the moving hairpin curve are very scary,go! go! go!

White body Mach 5,unstoppable drive,his father's honor.Once it runs forward,there is no tuning back.It's waiting to seize the goal!

Mach Go,go Mach Go,go Mach go go go!

Going to the Earth' s end foot on the accelerator.Youthful life,go! go! go!

Number five,Mach go! Everyone can see you latent power.In your chest,a huge fight burns! Fly tothe justice highway

[Keven19741]

I like the original Japanese intro of Speed Racer better than the abbreviated American version.

[MeronRamune]

I like the English one but, this one is catchy as hell

[yogafan6500]

This version of the Speed Racer theme rocks!!!

[jensenbell]

The drums and rhythm are so exciting! That Augmented chord around 1:06 is HIP! It is pretty funny that the lyrics are so serious.

[VanGoghRothko]

How many bullets do those guns hold?? The rear view mirror gets shot out nearly episode...

[atarunomiko]

Translation, Verse 2 (see previous comment for Verse 1): Until the ends of the earth, step on the accelerator A young life goes, Go go, go! Number 5, the one called Mach 5 Everyone, please look at that reserve power In his chest a great fighting spirit burns Flying on the highway of justice Mach 5, go! Mach 5, go! Mach 5, go, go! * Mach 5: the car's name * Mach Go Go Go & Mach Gou: puns on "go" (Japanese for "five"), "gou" (Japanese for "nickname") & the English word "go."

[pal3456]

@atarunomiko Google translate fails again!

[atarunomiko]

Translation, Verse 1: Mach 5, go, go! Is the hairpin curve where even the wind shakes a scary thing? Go! Go! Go! White body, the one called Mach 5 Indomitable spirit, inherited from his parents When he starts running, he won't be defeated by the rest "I'll keep going until the goal of victory" Mach 5, go! Mach 5, go! Mach 5, go, go! * Mach 5: the car's name * Mach Go Go Go & Mach Gou: puns on "go" (Japanese for "five"), "gou" (Japanese for "nickname") & the English word "go."

[PP114114]

日本の古いアニメですが、ストーリーも音楽も元気でまっすぐな気­持ちを出していたすばらしいアニメです。

スピードレーサーに受け継がれて、今も新しくなっていることは大­変うれしく思います。



[ClearwaterMK2]

10 people can't speak japanese.

[pal3456]

@VanGoghRothko

Good for you! S/C

[VanGoghRothko]

anywhere to watch original Japanese versions? fucking cool.

[Velocity9s]

pal3456 Thanx pal(hehe). I'll check it out, accurate or not.....(nearly an hr, later...)Well, I spent an hour hunting it down...no soap! found some fun sights, tho'!

[Velocity9s]

pal3456 Thanx pal(hehe). I'll check it out, accurate or not.

[pal3456]

@PSIground -

I already did farther down the thread : )

[Johnlindsey289]

Why couldn't they release Speed Racer in subs with Japanese language on DVD? i think they should do that. Back in the 80's when my one of former city's TV stations played Speed Racer it was one of my first anime shows with Voltron, Transformers, Thundercats, G-Force, Mysterious Cities of Gold andm ore.

[deepmelody1991]

@Johnlindsey289, the G1 Transformers TV series was made in America, but the original toyline was from Japan called Diaclone, by Takara, which had the rights purchased by Hasbro. Thundercats it's American too.

[IrisMG]

ichi ni san shi go roku nana hachi kyu jyu: 1-10 in Japanese!

[16mmDJ]

Haha. Nice job with the translation O_O

[pal3456]

@EliroX904 There's two box sets that are out of print, and they are just about the price of a small used car these days.

My last trip to Japan, I picked up the set used in a BOOK OFF...still cost me!

[EliroX904]

@pal3456

Yeah I just found MGGG DVD's off of Play-Asia. They cost me, like, $300!

[deathpickier]

hahah they're nutin close to the original one hahah they're all stereotypical lyrics that any japanese person would say

[ultimatemegadeath]

why cant the music for the speed racer cartoon be on CD? i love the music from "race for revenge!"

[pal3456]

Just to quantify my nearly YEAR OLD remark, here are the true lyrics, copied out from the liner notes of my Japanese MAHA GO DVD set, and translated by me. ENJOY!!

[pal3456]

Even wind shivers at the hair pin curves, young life go, go, go White body Mach series, his Father's pride If it starts running, can't fall behind Mach go, go! Mach go, go! Mach go, go, go! Keep your foot on the accelerator until the ends of the earth, young power go, go, go Number five Mach series, everyone please look at that power His chest swells with the will to fight Let's get on that rightous highway Mach go, go! Mach go, go! Mach go, go, go!

[pal3456]

@pal3456 I would have liked to include the Japanese kana, but I couldn't get them to copy over here for some reason - kept getting an error

[zeroswings2]

anyone notice the sound fx from the elephant is the exact same as what's used on classic Street Fighter II games? LOL

[vz17]

Wow, I remember watching this video on cartoon network like16 years ago!

[zuzanarox]

the giraffes are very realistic, NOT! lol WTF, it's like they are on extacy or something, LMAO

[HistoMagouri]

So If Mifune Go's (Original Speed Racer) last name means 5, then his name would be Mifune Five?

Dude, like...that is so...badass.

[dantaichou]

@HistoMagouri It's actually last name first, so his first name is Gou.

Either way, it's badass!

[hikaruchan16]

I'm actually certain some of those lyrics are correct...but not all of them. The phrasing is incorrect, lol. ^^

Dude, I love the "Speed Racer" Title in Japanese. It's awesome when you break it down:

~Mach 5 ("go" is "five" in Japanese)

~His name is "Go"

~They're telling him "Go!" as in "Go for the gold!"

It's a triple pun! The Japanese are freaking BRILLIANT. X3

[MrReneManuel]

@hikaruchan16 Yes, and he was on the "Go" team. This explains the "G" on his shirt.

[hikaruchan16]

Hm...I always thought the "G" just represented his name.  Go figure. : )

[Taoku]

I don't see any reason why we can't get a subbed release.

[nickstranger999]

It would be nice if someone would do a fansub of an entire episode. Any episode. I have been waiting for some subtitled Speed Racer, but for some reason he seems to be constantly passed by. Kind of ironic.

[pal3456]

Hoo boy.....

Made up translation is fail.

THOSE ARE NOT THE LYRICS!!

[Sprocketman]

Dude, it was 1996, it was just Cartoon Network doing it for laughs.

Hell, if not for them, I wouldn't have even seen the Japanese opening period until the later days of the internet, so flubbed translation or not, it's still cool.

[pal3456]

@Sprocketman Bumping to top for non-reading ingrates

"Dude, it was 1996, it was just Cartoon Network doing it for laughs.

Hell, if not for them, I wouldn't have even seen the Japanese opening period until the later days of the internet, so flubbed translation or not, it's still cool. 6 か月前 "

Thanks for clearing that up ...AGAIN.

[Sprocketman]

@pal3456 Uh...what? I'm a little confused here: you copied my old reply because it was...right? Is that it? I just wanna make sure.

[pal3456]

@Sprocketman Yeah sorry I didn:t see what I:d done until it was too late....but yeah, I was showing mister brain down there what i was talking about. Don:t sweat it hehehe.

[corygunso]

I noticed, one of the first lines is talking about a hairpin curve, not a scarf.

Good thing someone informed me on this, I'll start subbing the intro in a while.

[roygbiv330]

i agree.

[kidicarus2008]

@pal3456 then mister smart ass what are they then

[pal3456]

@kidicarus2008 They're your MOM, retard.

Lern2reed.dim before commenting, as this mystery was already solved.

[Velocity9s]

@pal3456 Please enlighten us to the 'TRUE' Lyrics, won't you?

[pal3456]

@Velocity9s Better than that, I'll give you the tools to do it yerself.

READY?!?

..........

Google.

I'll start you off : 風も触れるヘアピンカーブ

"Like the wind, he moves through the hairpin curve"

[PSIground]

@pal3456 Hey, why don't you just give us the lyrics

As Google translate is hardly legitimate.

[VanGoghRothko]

@pal3456 I don't care, it's still cool.

[specterkev]

@pal3456 LOL thy used to show this video on cartoon network lol

[pal3456]

@specterkev Yeah it was pointed out to me quite awhile agio that this was some joke thing they used to run on MTV...I just thought it was some jackhole fitzin around : )

[KSCrosby]

@pal3456 so.... give us the REAL lyrics.... we're waitiiiing

[pal3456]

@KSCrosby Not able to read thread is fail.

Kidding - I already did farther down.

[BLaiaiprincess]

haha the japanese song is like, more royal and fancy if you sorta get what i mean, while the english version is just very catchy. both good, but the japanese one is more visually interesting :P

[MrReneManuel]

@BLaiaiprincess The anime version the music was military,superstition, and if he did not come in first then he and maybe the car had one way to erase the same of not coming in first place. In the dub version the theme song was considerably shortened, less seriously, and a rock and roll beat. I agree about the japanese version is more visually interesting.

[starfoxhero]

a 2 minute opening cinema???!

so worth it!

[andrewcheadle]

Love the lyrics! "He can not tolerate the shame of defeat" A tiny bit stereotypical from Japan, but we wouldn't have it any other way. Japanamation go Go GO!

[StrifeTide007]

@andrewcheadle i dont understand why thats stereotypical; could you please explain?

[andrewcheadle]

@StrifeTide007 I just meant it was a bit cliche in the whole ninja warrior type of persona. I guess I watched too many of those John Belushi bits on SNL.

[atarunomiko]

@andrewcheadle Yeah, except those aren't the real lyrics. Blame it on the racist folks at Cartoon Network.

Tiny nitpick, you spelled Japanimation wrong (Japan+animation, not Japan+anamation).

[Urmean15]

I think the English flows better. Too many "Go's" in the Japanese.

The Japanese is much prettier though. Many different scenes.

[StolenkissGerbils]

But the "Go" repetition is a pun in Japanese. Look it up on Wikipedia, it's actually pretty clever.

[TheRantingRocker]

Go=5..."Speed's" real first name is Go, and the English word Go!

[KHJEDIMASTER]

much better theme montage than american version

[gatoneko]

Opening video yes much better. But the english opening song, alot more catchier.

[BlackGarnet]

he never seems to die... after all the attempts the bad guy give him... hehehe

[oakandwillow]

Sorry...  My nine year-old daughter loves this.

[junkrabbit]

Sounds great :) I think we should bring old skool cartoons for the youth of today.

[oakandwillow]

My nine year-old daughter loves thia.

[oakandwillow]

Americanized on the outside, pure Samurai inside, eh???

[nancyzeetoo]

That's really the best description I've ever heard of Speed. Except for those few times when he whined and cried like a little bitch.

[crispycritterz]

Somebody told me that some of the lyrics said that his ancestors will rise from the grave and kill him if he doesn't win.

I'm glad that I didn't believe him.

[XYZandTime]

"He cannot tolerate the shame of defeat..."

Well. The American version has rather different lyrics.

[funwithphobias]

He also callously kills someone in the first minute

[ferretyluv]

"His hand sewn scarf flows in the wind"

First of all, that's a safety hazard no racer would risk. Second, he's not wearing one. Wtf?

...pink elephants? Is he drunk?

[hachioshi]

I'm sorry, there's no reference to his scarf in the lyrics, the subtitile of this video translated the line just wrong. He must have took hairpin curb for a scarf.

[fels89]

so you're saying that sukarufu isn't scarf or i get it wrong?

[kuren224]

i love the autojacks sound it also sounds like someone is saying chuok

[oldschoolhero2006]

awesome! what a great theme! thanks for the translation!

[ddayfighter]

did that car speed threw off the track have a bomb straped to it or somting?

[LastCommodore]

Speedracer. Invented by Japanese, exploited by Americans.

[AngryBuddha88]

holy shit! I gotta quit drinkin' I just saw a pink elephant!

[ToruKun1]

It would've been lulzy if Speed had run over a bunch of animals whilst he drove through the African Savanna; after all, the Mach 5's a squirrel-squishing, deer-smacking driving machine~! XDD ;) (Points if any of you get that reference)

[NoodleBrutals]

Canyonero! CanyoneroooOOoooooooh oh oh.

[ToruKun1]

*high-fives* :DD

[crispycritterz]

Happy Tree Friends

<-----that way.

[csbopol]

Where i can find the anime with subs, and if have a manga where i can find?

[wizardz199]

The Japanese version is so much more intense!

[badaudio]

Jumping over elephants, and huge explosions haha, you're right!

[EinsteinTaz]

lol wow...

[Headtheif101]

I love the sound the jump jacks make.

[huzoso]

damn this is a sic intro

[QuasiOdo]

That is.... AWESOME!!!!

Vastly superior to the American version.

[huzoso]

i agree

[fromthesidelines]

Trans-Lux [the original American distributor] wanted a "less intense" version of Koshibe's theme, so Danny Davis (fronting the "Nashville Brass") reworked it, with Peter Fernandez providing new lyrics that stressed "action" over the original Japanese interpretation, 'Gad' {"He cannot tolerate the shame of defeat", "Focus your eyes and behold his stamina and depth of endurance", etc.}.

[daisukefan92]

DUDE THIS KICKED MAJOR ASS!!!

[Srd1126]

Something about the Japanese lyrics just makes this fun tio listen to. However, this clearly shows the meaning of "lost in translation" as the English sometimes makes sense and sometimes not.

[otaku32]

its amazing that this came out 20 years after pearl harbor.

[shalpp]

awesome same melody

[RedwoodTheElf]

The word "Go" in the song is a tripple pun. It's the name of the driver (Go Mifune), the number of the car (The Mach-Go (Go is one pronunciation of the number 'five' in japanese)), and it's also being used in the English sense of cheering someone on (Go! Go!)

[taosma]

I'm just studying Japanese, but I noticed I found no correlation between the "English translation" and what was being sung in Japanese. I'm glad some other commenters with better Japanese skills have confirmed this.

[MasterGojo]

Its because when the original translation company brought it to america way back when they considered the japanese song to sound to military, so they wrote their own theme song in 1 day no less, and then went on to translate the entire series using only 4 voice actors :D Doing each episode in 3 days or less :D

That shows dedication to a deadline

[ClassicTVLover]

I never saw the original Japanese version - that is so wild! I'm surprised any child would be able to sit thru a 2 minute opening like that, but attention spans probably weren't the way they are nowdays. Great clip - thanks for sharing!

[jesusismyhero45]

his handwoven scarf flutters in the wind? that doesnt sound right 2 me. idk, it doesnt sound speed racer 2 me. r u sure u got that right?

[FragMan69]

The lyrics couldn't be more Japanese than this.

[humanedomain]

oh my word!! thankyou SO much for this!! haha

the movie Speed Racer was loved here, but due to puupuu reviews in the states, many didnt bother to go but those that did, loved it & with movie tkts avg $25 a pop in Japan, plus travel/park costs, that also bears into the equation

btw, yall know this anime has little following in Japan?

5 stars ☆　ごごごごご！！（ご　"go" means FIVE for those who might not have caught on to that haha) Thx again

[jothan50000]

speed racer is not at cartoon network

[tigrederd]

tsk tsk, it used to be dumb dumb

[ilikepieverymuch3]

not anymore its not

[specterkev]

@jothan50000 it was on CN like in 1995

[naminosuke]

good job! I have even never tried to do that.

[scot245]

Yes you are right↓

[xxJustADreamxx]

Does "Mach" mean something in Japanese or is it just the name of the car? And by "go" do they mean "go" or "five?"

[sirusfox]

Actually,they mean both. It was a play on the English meaning of Go and the Japanese (five), at the time the manga was being written it was in fashion to have such plays in story titles.

[henshinman]

it is also cheering on Go(speed in the english)

so its the GO(english) GO(5) GO(the main caracter)

[jesusismyhero45]

mach means faster then the speed of light

[RedwoodTheElf]

Er...no. "Mach 1" is the speed of sound...not light.

[ilikepieverymuch3]

well sorry mr techinical :)

[RedwoodTheElf]

Well there IS a pretty big difference between the two...kinda hard to confuse em.

[Srd1126]

yes-only the speed of dark is faster than the speed of light, as no matter where light goes, dark got there first.

[RedwoodTheElf]

I don't think Dark moves, as such, since it is simply the absence of light.

[Srd1126]

I think you need to take life a little less seriously

[RedwoodTheElf]

That is a virtual impossibility. I'm pretty much Monty Python Silly.

[Srd1126]

Well, you missed the joke in "the speed of dark" completely

[RedwoodTheElf]

Actually, I came up with that one MYSELF years ago when I first saw the second "Neverending Story" movie.

[slabwrankle]

Those english lyrics aren't right, since the Japanese is refering to wind shuddering at the hair pin turns not a hand woven scarf fluttering in the wind......

[poughkeepsiejohn]

I wish Cartoon Network would show more good shows like this again. Not everyone gets Boomerang, you know.

[CyDaSnake]

This dosen't even air on Boomerang. Whats nice though is that on the last episode of Speed Racer: The Next Generation 2 of Speeds old rivals came back, the X3 Melange and the Mammoth Car.

[YellowYoshi398]

Cool, but I like the English one better. Are they saying "Mach(-a) Go Go Goooo!" or "Mach Go Go Go Goooo!"?

[urwhiteshadow16]

it sounds waaaaay better than the english version

[striderhiryu2]

ahh,good old times whe anime used to be really original.

[ILUVALEX613]

Speed was my first anime crush. Such fond memories.

[RukiNagisa]

who does this song?

[Charizacus]

So many memories.

Go Speed Racer

Go Speed Racer

Go Speed Racer Go

[KingOfZilla]

ah yes i wasnt around when the cartoon came on. but when my dad showd me that episode i was blown away and always dreamed of haveing that great car the mach 5. sigh good times.

[Aloofbear]

I watched Speed Racer when I was a kid and I just could not wait for the movie to open. I hope they make a sequel. Are they showing Speed Racer Cartoons on TV again?

[MASTERLINKX666]

you do not wanna know kid kid, cuz it would break your heart

[WiiMan25]

i think nickelodeon made this HORRIBLE sequel called "the new generation" about speed's son, speed racer jr. i've seen part of it, and it was PRETTY cheesy

[IhaveApony]

Yeah, they did. It actually just came out. It's called Speed Racer: The Next Generation. The DVD of it was called The Beginning, and apparently it is the launch for a new TV series.

I saw it. It was alright. Not near as good as the original.

[SpeedRacerFiber]

My thoughts exactly. They've included references from the old generation, but not elements of the old generation. Like:

Action

Drama

Comedy

and most important of all, speed.

The Next Generation is more cheesy comedy with 10% action. Speed Jr. doesn't even throw a punch at anyone while the original Speed's a fighter!

[Princerocks2]

American version is WAY better

[berserkley]

I'm sorry, but the original theme is so much better. And I like the American version!

[iSharki]

True that! But this really cool to!

Watch my show.

[RedwoodTheElf]

This IS the original theme...heh

Before it was brought to the USA

[mrc302]

COOL VIDEO!!!

[Allihagle]

Oooh. They say "Number five" in English once, then, don't they?

[SBDolphine]

They did.

'Number Five, Mach Go!' <- this part

[sethisawesome]

yeah...this lyrics seem pretty mistranslater

i think i like the english ones better

[PERRIODEGUACA]

USA OPENING

[fullguth]

LOL at 1:08, sorry guys haha

[Fredryc]

These translations are TOTALLY off! Who decided that "hairpin curve" translates into "hand-woven scarf"?!

[prink]

yeah, I'm trying to figure out if this translation is some kinda satire gone wrong D:

[EdgemanLL2]

Prink--lol, I know what you mean. But the drawback is that 1) euphemisms and figures of speech dotn always translate between cultures, and 2) even if something rhymes beautifully in one language, the translated words can sound utterly disorganized.

[prink]

Yeah, being someone who speaks multiple languages I'm pretty aware. But even with that in mind this translation is just OFF. ^~

[MASTERLINKX666]

why do you think they don't translate the naruto, fma, bleach, blood plus, and inuyasha theme songs, p.s. i can actually pull the fma season 2 theme right off the top off my head in japanese