Sunday, September 24, 2006

Cars With Saws And Nose Hairs

So when I was young, I was glued to the television watching a Japanese cartoon I'm sure you all know, Speed Racer. Every afternoon I would rush home after school in anticipation of Speed's daring do's (a little clarification here...this would be early in elementary!) I dreamed of driving the amazing Mach Five at speeds that would make my mom nervous and the neighborhood kids envious.

Now looking back on it...hmmm...those races seem kind of wacky. For example:
  • Episode 7 and 8, The Race Against The Mammoth Car - A huge truck is allowed to enter a race next to all these puny little cars. This truck looks like a BART train on steroids. And at the end...it was made of gold!!! Who knew?!
  • Episodes 9-11, The Most Dangerous Race - It is a really smart thing to have a race where the contestants must jump their cars over ravines, over and over and over. Lose your eyesight? Hey no problem...someone will jump in your car and tell you when to turn!
  • Episode 12 and 13, Race For Revenge - Hey...build a remote control car...enter it into a race to exact revenge against those who betrayed one's father. Kill a few racers?...nah no one will notice...
  • Episode 24 and 25, The Royal Racer - Cool! Even eight-year-olds get to drive cool race cars at blistering speeds! Crash and die?...hey no one said this was for seven-year-olds!
I remember one episode where the evil guy dupes a genious and his daughter. When the daughter figures it out she grabs a gun and threatens to shoot mr. evil. Little to her knowledge he has guns built into his disguise and he shoots her...she dies...Speed, you just weren't quick enough!

I guess I'm just glad that this stuff didn't warp me too much...I could have ended up like this guy!


So all this discussion brings me to what I really wanted to talk about. A cartoon my kids are mesmerized by...Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo...

I don't get it. This is truly a demented cartoon from the land of the rising sun. A hero with a blonde natural, whose main "super power" is his amazing nose hairs. NOSE HAIRS?!!! Who comes up with this stuff?!!!

As Bo-bobo battles evil-doers he is helped by his pals. One guy is made out of jelly, another is a miniature sun. There is another sidekick who looks like a tiny version of the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man from Ghostbusters. Oh look there's a guy with an enormously elongated Elvis hair-do!

What the Hell were the animators in Japan thinking when they created this mess? Or more importantly how many bottles of sake or Asahi were being consumed during the brainstorming of this cartoon opus?

I now don't feel so silly worshipping Speed Racer in my youth...

posted by LoneCactus @ 8:56 PM Comments: 0