Go Speed Racer Go!
Yo Joe! He'll fight for freedom wherever there's trouble, G.I. Joe is there. Every time I heard that theme song I knew it was time sit back and watch the Joes stop Cobra from taking over the world. G.I. Joe was the best cartoon I had ever watched, and I had most of the shows memorized by the time it was canceled. When cancellation struck my favorite television show my world was turned asunder. Sure I could watch the reruns of all the old shows and pretend that nothing had ever happened, but that was not enough for me I needed something new to experience. That new experience came to me one day as I was surfing the channels on my TV and I happened on Speed Racer, a cartoon which had been in reruns for years, but was brand new to me. I watched that show with all the intense concentration a child of nine could muster.
Racer X, with Rex Racer's unmasked face exposed.
Screenshot from Speed Racer
Racer X.Speed's adventure in that episode hooked me and from that point on I have loved Speed Racer and consider it my favorite cartoon. If you will bear with me for a few moments I hope to prove that Speed Racer is a better cartoon than G.I. Joe because it has a lighter subject matter, the good guys have the cool vehicles, and it has a more realistic treatment of weapons.
First of all, the plot of G.I. Joe was simple and to the point: the Joes kept Cobra from taking over the world while, Cobra kept trying time after time. As a child I questioned why Cobra would keep trying when every plan they set up fell at the hands of the Joes. I feel now that the subject of world domination was probably a little over my...