* {{Adorkable}}: Monkey is so awkward and silly that you gotta just love him.
* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: '''ALL OF IT'''. Hell Shirako is nothing ''but'' awesome music. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRS9nxFmpWo Longer versions of all of the songs that have excerpts played in the movies can be found here]].
* CompleteMonster: [[SatanicArchetype Gelorum]] is the [[BigBad leader]] of the Racing Drones, an army of alien robots created by the [[{{Precursors}} Accelerons]] for one express purpose: to race through the realms they created, and to win every race in which they took part. When her creators deem the realms fit only for humans, she rebels against them and gets banished to Earth with the other drones, where they hibernated for thousands of years. In the present day, disguised as a human, she manipulates a young Kurt Wylde to cheat and hurt other drivers during the events of the ''[[WesternAnimation/HotWheelsWorldRace World Race]]''. Once her human disguise fails, she tries to openly kill other drivers, including a young Vert Wheeler, before disappearing. Two years later, she fully assembles the Racing Drones into an effective team, and begins claiming Accelechargers in an attempt to get the chance to race against, and eventually kill, the Accelerons and later TakeOverTheWorld. When the production of the brand-new Sweeper is delayed due to technical issues, she simply [[BadBoss disposes of the Drone]] reporting the situation to her. When faced with human opposition, she captures those trapped in the realms and then tortures them for information, [[UnwillingRoboticization turning them]] into [[ReforgedIntoAMinion mindless cyborg minions]]. During the final phase of her plan, she promises to kill Dr. Peter Tezla while denying him the chance to see the Accelerons, only sparing him so that he can be ForcedToWatch. When she loses the Ultimate Race thanks to failing the Accelerons' SecretTestOfCharacter, she attempts to kill Vert Wheeler, winner of said race, before being banished once more by the Accelerons.
* CreepyAwesome: The T-Rex made of trash from the Junk Realm. If you don't see why the monster is this trope, then read the sentence again. A T-Rex. Made out of trash. It breathes ''fire''.
* CultClassic: This series (along with World Race) is this for quite a few, who are fully aware of how ridiculous the premise is and are equally entertained by how the show takes itself almost completely seriously, with nuanced characters balancing out the more flat ones in a good contrast. It makes for surprisingly entertaining material even to some adults.
* EnsembleDarkhorse:
** [[ThoseTwoGuys Pork Chop and Monkey]] are less important to the plot than their three Metal Maniacs teammates, but their just as popular (if not more so) thanks their hilarious lines and impressive accomplishments, both together and individually.
** Shirako is by far the least important of the ten drivers (having maybe five lines per movie), but his handsome looks and the way he skillfully blends both comedy and awesome moments make him insanely popular.
** Karma is probably the second-least featured of Tezla's drivers. Still, many fans count her as their favorite character due to how she's the one who figures out the purpose of the racing realms and is the only driver from the first race who manages to keep her original car from being wrecked all the way until the last race. What plot prominence Karma does have leaves many fans feeling that she should have been a lead character, on par with Vert, Nolo, the Wylde Brothers and Tork.
** ''TARO. KITANO.'' Between his iconic catchphrase ("I'm gonna pass you."), tendency to be the most consistently high-placing driver from both World Race AND into Acceleracers, and finally his miraculous second run through the Water Realm, it's not uncommon for fans to note him as not just their favorite, but genuinely consider him ''the best overall driver of Tezla's recruits.'' Helps that he typically doesn't lose due to his own failures - but by being screwed by others, which frankly only adds to his badass credentials; Taro generally loses when the universe actively goes against him winning.
** The main Silencerz driver [[spoiler:Major Jack Wheeler]] is pretty well-liked for his CoolCar Iridium, his distinctive armor, and his EnemyMine interactions with the main characters in the final movie. [[spoiler:It also helps that his true identity is someone who's already long established since ''World Race''.]]
* EvenBetterSequel: The films are viewed as having noticeabley cooler characters, more gripping action/racing scenes, better animation, and deeper plot lines and CharacterDevelopment than ''WesternAnimation/HotWheelsWorldRace''.
* FanonDiscontinuity: While ''Acceleracers'' is viewed as being better than ''World Race'', people who actually like ''World Race'' might be tempted to view ''Acceleracers'' as an alternate continuity due to the different creative teams (when the ''World Race'' creators would have done something different), tones, and animation styles.
* FountainOfMemes: Shirako Takamoto is this in spades. He doesn't say many lines, but when he does, everyone in the fanbase ends up quoting it.
* FridgeHorror: In the Storm Realm Markie consider scraping Monkey's car seat off of his car so that the car seat doesn't slow his car down. He was planning to leave one of his own team in the Storm Realm. And, as seen with Kadeem we know what happens to people who get lost. [[spoiler: They die because they get stuck in the realms forever or they get turned into drones.]] Markie didn't know this but still...
** According to series creator Jeff Gomez on a Reddit AMA, the Silencerz would pick up anyone who was lost in the Racing Realms. Hopefully they would have gotten Monkey before the Drones did.
* FridgeLogic:
** When Tork and Nolo and testing the Accelechargers for the first time in ''Speed of Silence'' where are they driving? Why, where they were driving, was part of the track missing? There's no way they could've built an entire track just to test the Swamp Realm Accelecharger.
*** It's somewhat of a testing lab that Tesla probably built himself.
** When Pork Chop's name is called for the Water Realm who does he punch his fists out to? He punches towards the camera but I'm pretty sure no one's there...
*** That's just him being a LargeHam.
* GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff: ''Acceleracers'' is beloved in Brazil, as it was transmitted on the daily morning cartoon block on free-to-air television.
* HarsherInHindsight: In the Cliffside Realm short, Shirako's car get sabotaged by a drone, and if Shirako uses his Nitrox, his car will explode, killing him. 15 years later, Shirako's voice actor, Creator/KirbyMorrow, died in a car accident.
* HesJustHiding: Plenty of fans theorize that Tesla's first three missing drivers (Banjee, Dan and Alec) were rescued by the Silencerz, and might even be the Silencerz drivers who are never unmasked. [[AscendedFanon Jeff Gomez's statement seems to confirm this]].
* ItWasHisSled: Kadeem is lost in the Storm Realm and [[UnwillingRoboticization is turned into a Racing Drone]] by Gelorum, and effectively replaces RD-L1 in the last movie as her [[TheDragon right hand]].
* JerkassWoobie:
** Markie is a cocky hothead who blindly hates his brother and anyone associated with him despite Kurt's CharacterDevelopment, and often treats his fellow Metal Maniacs like dirt. However, hearing about how he spent two years in prison because of a crooked deal that Kurt got him involved with in the first place makes him a lot more sympathetic. The flashback to him joining the Metal Maniacs and brokenly saying he has nowhere else to go and his torture at the hands of the Racing Drones are also pretty humanizing.
** Dr. Tezla is a cold, irritable ManipulativeBastard with some ''very'' SkewedPriorities when it comes to protecting the lives of his drivers. Still, it's hard not to pity him in the scenes where he's left maimed by the Racing Drones, learns that [[spoiler:his RobotBuddy Gig is a traitor and then sees Gig make a HeroicSacrifice in Tezla's place]], and has a haunting nightmare about the Drones wiping out everyone in his headquarters and conquering the world.
* MagnificentBastard:
** [[MysteriousBacker Dr. Peter Tezla]] is the scientist who sends drivers into the racing realms to prevents the evil Racing Drones from gaining the means to destroy humanity. Tezla often prioritizes the technology and knowledge that goes to the winners of the races over the safety of his drivers but does truly care for them, suffering a great deal of stress due to fear that he'll fail to stop the Drones. He constantly lies to his drivers about how much danger they face but also performs well at motivating them when they are demoralized. Tezla also excels at deducing others' plans and intentions. Tezla is willing to enter the realms himself to help the drivers in times of need, despite retaining [[HandicappedBadass severe physical injuries]] from his last encounter with the Racing Drones. When his headquarters is attacked by the Racing Drones, Tezla gives Vert the means to escape while [[IWillOnlySlowYouDown not trying to escape with Vert]]. In the climax, he attempts to destroy himself and the Drones in an explosion while his allies escape and is deeply distraught when his RobotBuddy does so instead.
** [[spoiler:[[MajorlyAwesome Major Jack Wheeler]] is the lead driver for the Silencerz, a group of hi-tech government agents who race, fight, and manipulate Tezla's drivers and the evil Racing Drones alike while trying to claim the prizes of the realms. While refusing to be an ally to the heroes, Jack does advise Vert to quit whatever he is currently dangerous if he fears for his safety, commenting how their jobs force them to choose between things "When both of them mean everything to you." As the series progresses, he and his team start saving their human rivals from the Racing Drones attacks on occasion. They are the victors of many racing realms due to their superior technology and strategies, both before and after the other factions even know they exist. Largely due to his efforts, the Silencerz end the series with all of the potent technology in their hands and Vert as their prisoner whom they attempt to recruit into their gang.]]
** [[spoiler:[[TheMole Gig]] is Dr. Tezla's robotic assistant and confidant in his campaign to unlock the secrets of the racing realms and keep the Racing Drones from triumphing. Gig is secretly a spy for his original creators, the Silencerz, giving them important information and technology without ever being suspected by anyone at Tezla's headquarters. Even when Lani discovers Gig's allegiance to the Silencerz during a meeting between the robot and Major Wheeler, Gig assures her that she's in no danger of being killed as a witness. After being captured by the Racing Drones, he pretends to be a docile coward before incapacitating a guard to help Tezla and Lani escape. He insists [[SomeoneHasToDie on taking Dr. Tezla's place]] when the scientist prepares to commit a HeroicSacrifice, spreads a warning for the humans on both sides to escape the blast radius, and trades some wistful, friendly words with Vert over the radio before carrying out his sacrifice]].
* MemeticMutation:
** REMEMBER KADEEM? [[labelnote:Explanation]] a reference to Taro's [[{{Narm}} Narmtastic]] rebutal to Tezla for not putting an EDR in Kadeem's car. Fans on the Hot Wheels Discord have made it a meme not only for its {{Narm}} value but also how Hypocritical it is for Taro to say that about Kadeem when it was him who left Kadeem at the drones Mercy in the Storm Realm. In fact many of the [[WhatCouldHaveBeen unmade concepts for the unmade Acceleracers spinoffs and media and many falsehoods about these films]] are often referred to on the Discord as "REMEMBER x" and so forth.[[/labelnote]]
** KADEEM IS GONE [[labelnote:Explanation]]A reference to Kadeem's [[{{Narm}} Narmy]] last words in ''The Ultimate Race'' also popularized by the Hot Wheels Discord.[[/labelnote]]
** HOLD IT, SPINEBUSTER'S MY CAR! [[labelnote:Explanation]]The line that Markie was spouting when Tork told Monkey to take Spinebuster-Markie's primary car-into the Metro Realm. This line-like the others-became popular through the Hot Wheels Discord chat after a user made a [[WebOriginal/YoutubePoop Youtube Poop]] and exploited that line.[[/labelnote]]
** Use The MEGABASS Kurt! [[labelnote:Explanation]] It's become common place to replace the Mega-bass scene's music with other music snippets over the original scene, usually bass boosted or ear-rape. [[/labelnote]]
* NarmCharm: Despite the line "[[spoiler:Kadeem]] is gone!" being seen as narmy, a surprising number of fans see it as a genuinely unsettling quote.
** Let's face it, the entire show's premise makes it this trope.
* SidetrackedByTheGoldSaucer: The Realms prevent drivers from doing this by only being open for one hour. Otherwise, what's stopping history-buff drivers from exploring the Ruins Realm? Or mechanics from pirating from the Junk Realm? The Water Realm would solve all of the droughts world-wide if it could be accessed at will. The Metro Realm has the same issue. On top of that, the Neon Pipeline Realm is pretty cool to drive in. And the Cosmic Realm is a veritable joy for astrophysicists... when black holes aren't afoot, that is.
* SignatureScene: Taro being sent back to the start of the water realm and having to finish it in less than half the normal time is a strong contender for the most epic and well-remembered moment in the ''Acceleracers'' films, if not the whole franchise.
* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter: Of the drivers, Shirako lacks any sort of real focus. Kurt and Markie have their family issues. Nolo and Tork have their hangups over Tone's death. Vert has his feelings of failure. Taro has his run ins with the Silencerz. Karma figures out the purpose of the Racing Realms, has some UST with Taro, and advises Nolo not to blame Tork for his brother's death. Pork Chop and Monkey have their friendship, Shirako is largely a FlatCharacter whose main personality trait is his love for music and tends to just vanish at points mid race.
* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot:
** Markie never really interacts with Vert and Lani, who had befriended him during the events of ''World Race'' but are now on better terms with Markie's hated brother. Although Markie is shown to be hostile to Vert in the few parts they interact, teasing him for his outcome in Storm Realm, with Vert being one of the few characters to still refer him as "Markie" instead of "Wylde".
** Similarly, Vert is never shown to interact with Taro despite their prominence in ''World Race'' previously, other than Lava Realm and Taro telling Kurt to trust Vert's abilities.
** The lava, cavern, ice, cliffside, and ruins realms (particularly the first three) are only shown briefly in multi-part two-minute bonus cartoons and feel like they should have gotten the amount of screen time the races in the movies do. This is especially pronounced since events in those races are important to the movies and might confuse viewers who watch the movies but not the bonus cartoons.
* UnintentionallySympathetic: Some fans think Gelorum fits this, at least in The Ultimate Race. While she may seem like a SoreLoser, as [[https://acceleracers.fandom.com/wiki/Gelorum she can only do what she was programmed to do]] which meant winning the race by any means necessary rather than mastering the driving skills necessary to pass the Accelerons' SecretTestOfCharacter.
* WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids: The series has shown violence plenty of times. It has been implied [[spoiler: by the look of Banjee's wrecked car in the Swamp Realm that he didn't make it]]. The same could be said for other drivers from World Race. Not only that, but in Ultimate Race [[spoiler: you can see Markie and Kurt fight with Kadeem, unable to change his ways or even help him in the slightest]]. Think the PowerOfFriendship prevails here? Not in that fight at least. [[spoiler: And it's always possible that Kadeem might've not survived. What's known for sure though is that another drone, Gelorum, got thrown to her apparent death by an Acceleron.]] Maybe teaching all this violence to kids isn't the best idea.
* TheWoobie: [[BrainwashedAndCrazy Brian Kadeem]] is a kindhearted man who wants the best for his people, who has been racing for Tezla since before the events of the series, and possibly [[spoiler: witnessed the loss of Banjee Castillo, Dan Dresden, and Alec Wood before the series begins.]] When the series starts, he meets up with Vert Wheeler, the man who gave him his prize money at the end of Highway 35. However, while things were easygoing at first, Kadeem is lost mid-way through the race into the Storm Realm and captured by the drones, where he is interrogated and tortured by Gelorum before being subject to an UnwillingRoboticization by her hand. Having forgotten the importance of friendship or his people, only fragments of his personality remained, and the drone that remained [[RedemptionRejection chose to ignore Kurt's pleas to return with him]], being lost forever in Hot Wheels City.