Move Over Trixie, Mach Girl is On the Way
The US may be going a bitSpeed Racer-crazy– the new movie, the new sequel cartoon series, the various western comic books and merchandise –but Japan is having its own response. SaiAni reports that a new spinoff project is in the works, and it’s titled Mach Girl.
As you can see from the above image, it’s a bit more Barbie-meets-Powerpuff Girls than classic-style Speed Racer (or, as you should remember it’s called in Japan, Mach Go Go Go!), but it looks like it’ll be fun times. Here’s as much of the staff list as I could work out:
- Animation production: Studio Rong
- Character designer: Suzuka Yoshida (Vampiyan Kids, Akubi-chan)
- Series Composition: Takashi Yamada (a LONG list of scripts and composition in anime, including Shion no Ou, Zatch Bell, and InuYasha)
- Art Director: Miyako Yatsu (key animation for Blood: The Last Vampire, Ghost in the Shell, Fullmetal Alchemist)
- Layout: Masatsugu Arakawa (key animation for Macross Plus OVA and movie, director for Time Stranger Kyoko OVA)
- Mech design: Kenji Masuda (OP composer, Psychic Academy; prop design, Vampiyan Kids)
- Painting: Aiko Mizuno (Color and painting for Fullmetal Alchemist: Conqueror of Shambala, Honey and Clover, Kamisama Kazoku)
- Director of Photography: Akira Iribe (2D composites for Gundam Evolve and digital composites for Le Chevalier d’Eon)
And then there’s the main cast…
- Rip: (the titular “Mach Girl”) Marika Matsumoto (Paradise Kiss‘ Miwako Sakurada)
- Nattsu: Yuji Ueda (Di Gi Charat’s Abarenbou, Victorian Romance Emma’s Hakim, Honey and Clover’s Morita)
- John Wayne(!): Shozo Iizuka (Gundam MS Igloo’s Martin, Original Gundam’s Ryu Jose)
- Narrator: Hozumi GouDA (D.Gray-Man’s Suman Dark, Hunter x Hunter’s Leorio, Tower of Druaga’s Melt)
There are a couple of names I couldn’t get real romanizations for, so I decided not to just guess on them this time– but the producer was also involved in the Time Bokan series (e.g. Yatterman, Zenderman, etc), so definitely expect a classic tone to this updated spinoff.
The series is going to air on the (Japanese) Cartoon Network starting in July, and it looks like either the first episode (if they’re shorts) or else a trailer is already online.
Tags: mach girl, Speed-Racer
July 13th, 2008 at 4:36 pm
I’m not the only one who’s reminded of Penelope Pitstop, right?
July 14th, 2008 at 8:33 am
Nice to see CN Japan creating more adaptations that will never, ever air on its US cousin because of an overabundance of fan service.
Is that a… “personal massager” she’s driving? @_@;
July 14th, 2008 at 8:36 am
Simon: Oh, god, I hope so. ♥