Customer Reviews

Speed Racer, Vol. 4 - Episodes 37-44

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

If the reports are correct, this volume should contain only 8 episodes of Speed Racer from the original series. This means you'll be seeing:

The Terrifying Gambler
The Secret Invaders (Part 1)
The Secret Invaders (Part 2)
Man Behind the Mask
The Car Destroyer
The Desperate Racer
The Dangerous Witness
Race the Laser Tank

So it appearsLionsgate will stretch this out one more year by since there's still the final 8 episodes left to be release. At least they're making up the lack of episodes (since Vol. 3 had 13 episodes) by including a Mach 5 car - which is a better gimmick than the theme song cover that had the battery die after six months.

As for the show, it's always amazing. Before my cousin shipped out to Iraq, we spent an afternoon watching Vol. 2. It was like we were back to being in elementary school - except we didn't need a fake ID to buy our beer. The limited animation techniques in the series don't detract from the story.

The collectible die-cast Mach 5 is a definite improvement over the round tin case from volume 3. It is pretty durable and measures 3 3/8" long x 1 3/8" wide x 3/4"high. The only moving parts are the wheels/tires. It rolls forward very easily but has trouble rolling backwards. The interior is painted red (as it should be), and you can see the steering wheel, two seats, and stick shift. The steering wheel, however, has no buttons (too small). In addition to the headlights, you can also see the outlines of the two doors, trunk, homing bird hatch, and periscope hatch.

The height and width of the outer box matches the same dimensions of a standard DVD case but is almost 1 1/2" deep to accommodate the die-cast toy.

The DVD begins with four previews, which you can just skip (run times in minutes:seconds):
Ultimate Avengers The Movie 1:55
Dragons Metal Ages 1:47
Inspector Gadget's Biggest Caper Ever 1:13
Pinocchio 3000 1:59

All four are either 2D or 3D animation. Beyond the previews, I found no other DVD extras, which is why I gave it four stars instead of five.

Only 8 episodes not in order as the Tv broadcasted,the last one compressed and fast paced.Only the die cast collectible makes the set worth.I hope Lions Gate learn the lesson and the last release of the series can be better.I'll be waiting.

I really looked forward to this release, since it featured my favourite episode Race The Laser Tank. Unfortuantely this episode has been "time compressed" in other words they sped it up. It flys by at a frustratingly fast pace. It is completely annoying and it sucks. Lions Gate
sucks for doing this (but then what can you expect from a company that creates a logo that is so dark you can barely see it.) I am not a gerbil. I really want to see these episodes the way they were originally shown.

I loved Speed Racer as a little Girl, and my daughter, age 6, loves the series as well. A lot of reviews have already been written about this vol., but I wanted to make a few points.

First of all, of the first 1-4 volumes, this is the most violent. Again, it's cartoon violence and doesn't seem particularly gratuitous, but I waited a full year until my daughter was 6 before letting her watch these. Older kids, I'm sure, will have no trouble with the material.

Second, one of the series is very much like a previous episode "Car Hater", but it's still a good story.

Finally, I have to say that there are more twists and turns in this one than I remember in the First Two sets of Speed Racers. One of them, "The Man in the Mask", actually left me and my daughter gasping with shock at the end!

Very exciting stories; and, I think they have a good message, too, of Right Vs. Wrong, Good Vs. Evil, etc.

Great series, and this is sure to be one that you'd like to include if you liked the previous three volumes.

I agree with the other reviews regarding the limited number of episodes, but rather than give us 16 episodes on the last disk, they decided to stretch it out a fifth and last year. They should have reduced the price. The die-cast Mach V was a nice touch and I do wish I had it when I was a kid and the show was on TV, and I could really enjoy it. But to another reviewer's point, the back wheels do not move as easily because it is a pull-back car....you pull back on the car, the wheels wind up, and then you let go...the car moves on its own.

I also am giving the DVD 4 stars due to the limited number of episodes, but like all Speed Racer episodes, the content rates 5 stars.

Go Speed Racer, Go !!

When I order, the item description said "Includes Collectible Die-Cast Toy", but I didn't received this.

Amazon is no longer including the die-cast Mach 5, which if you read the other reviews is a selling point of this package.

Speed Racer Volume 4 includes episodes thirty-seven through forty-four of the series. There are only eight episodes on the disc, and no special features were included. I managed to purchase the limited edition that came with the diecast Mach 5. However, the little Mach 5 doesn't make up for the fact that the disc could have had more episodes and it didn't make up for the lack of special features on the disc itself.

However, I have to give kudos for the fact that Lions Gate actually put chapter marks on the DVD that the viewer can actually use to skip over the beginning and ending credits if the viewer so desires. However, I do have to complain about how many trailers were tacked on at the beginning of the disc, as well as the fact that you can't skip over the trailers (even if you fast forward, the disc will start playing again when it hits the next trailer).

Any die-hard fan of the Speed Racer anime series needs to get this disc if they want all the episodes on DVD.

The other day I walked past my tv and saw my 7 year old son watching The new speed racer. I informed him that there was a speed racer before that one, the original speed racer that had no computer generated effect like the one in the movie or wild looking machine like on the next generation. I bought a few of the DVD's and he viewed them. He loved the show and can't get enough. No fancy computer generated graphics just simple plain animation. Now I have to purchase the remaining two DVD's and yes I enjoyed them also, it was a blast from the past.