Underated Manga: Mach GoGoGo! by Tatsuo Yoshida

[Angelcake the Fox]

One of the odd things about anime and manga is that sometimes, a franchise can actually become more popular overseas then in its own country of origin. In the case of this particular work, it would become more popular in the United States.......not as Mach GoGoGo!, but as Speed Racer.


Now, a little background information...

The pioneering geninus behind both the manga and anime of this particular series was Tatsuo Yoshida. A contemporary of Osamu Tezuka, Yoshida began his career as a manga artist sometime in the late 40s/early 50s. Having grown up in War torn Japan, he often had a social message behind his works, much like Tezuka. After finding success as a manga artist with his popular serial, Mach GoGoGo!, he realized that the future of Japanese entertainment was animation. So, in the late 50s, he founded Tatsunoko Productions with his two brothers, Kenji and Toyoharu (who were collectively credited under the nickname Ippei Kuri). During his lifetime, Yoshida created such innovative and pioneering anime as the pioneering sentai (super team) animeGatchaman (also known as Battle of the Planets and G-Force), and the dystopian sci-fi action series Casshan. Sadly, Yoshida's brilliant career was cut short when he died of liver cancer in 1977. However, this pioneering genius still lives on with the continued popularity of his creations, and the popular series still put out by the company he helped found, who would help create such popular anime as Superbook, Neon Genesis Evangelion, and all of the anime that would collectively become the Robotech saga.

Now, on to the manga.


The manga itself is unique in that it reveled in Yoshida's love of American culture. American cars, American food, American fashions are all plentiful throughout the series. As for plots, this is your basic adventure serial. However, because of the uniqueness of the characters, and the genuine excitement from the various races, the original manga is unusually entertaining. The artwork is nice, to. Yoshida has a unique clear line style that he mixed with what would become common manga characteristics. Furthermore, those who read the manga will recognize some of the plots, as many of these stories would become animated in the Mach GoGoGo! anime. This, of course, would become Speed Racer, and become one of the most popular anime in the U.S.

All in all, this series is an important piece of manga/anime history. It shows the abilities of a true renaissance man in Japanese popular entertainment, who sadly passed on before his true greatness could blossom. I highly reccomend it.