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Gatchaman is set in the 21st century, or at least the version that you might find circa 1972. This means that computers still use tape backup drives, gigantic buttons to press, and still fill and entire room. Bell-bottoms are still in fashion as are long side burns, and evil still threatens the Earth . . . . starting with Japan. A diabolic underworld operation known as Galactor is attempting to take over the entire planet, but their lust for power and conquest may be short lived. The International Science Organization has the means to stop them. Their top member, Dr. Nambu, has developed sophisticated weaponry that he has placed into the hands of five young people known collectively as the Science Ninja Team or Gatchaman. Galactor's days could be numbered, but for every scheme the Science Ninja's foil, Galactor has another waiting in the wings. Much like Robotech, or Macross rather, when Gatchaman was original aired in the United States, the episodes weren't quite what you may have seen on television in Japan. They were heavily edited, cut up, and pieced back together to form new episodes that would become Battle of the Planets and G-Force. With the exceptions of third rate fan-subs and shoddy Chinese bootlegs, most in the United States have seen the original versions of the episodes, but even in Japan, retro anime is becoming more and more in demand, and companies are rushing to grant the consumers wishes. Gatchaman though may not be what many of the new school of anime fans are accustomed to seeing. Spoiled by series like Evangelion, Full Metal Alchemist, or anything else that has appeared on television recently, there are some that aren't going to be able to handle the approach of the series, but there are those of us that grew up on similar animation in our youth, and Gatchaman plays itself out just like any of the other superhero cartoons from this era. There are quite a few things about Gatchaman that are hilarious, but unintentionally so. Back in 1972, this certainly would have been all the rage, and I can see young Japanese children, and I'm assuming the audience was predominantly male, racing home to watch the latest episode. But, Science Ninja Team? Is it just me, or does this sound like something that a teacher would come up with to get more students interested in science? Well, I suppose it's better than the Physical Education Samurai Brigade. The team is comprised of five different members, easily identified by name, appearance, and the 1970's style sports numbers they proudly adorn in each episode that shows them in plain clothes. Ken of course is the main character, the standard hotshot that often times is a bit too headstrong for his own good, or to make a comparison, the series equal to Star Blazers' own Derek Wildstar. Ken also is known as Ken the Eagle; a name that he will spout off in any introduction and no one flinches or covers their mouths to shield the laughter. Each of the team members uses a bird in their name however, and even their weapons have some type of aviary association. Jun, the only girl on the team, is the Swan while her younger brother (at least I assume they are related) Jinpei is the Swallow. Also, for those that might get confused, Jinpei might refer to Ken as a big brother, but there's no relation. Joe is the Condor, and also is the one that seems to have mood swings. One episode he's arguing with Ken about how their operation should go, the next he's on the same page. The team is rounded out, quite literally, but Ryu the Owl. He really seems to be the least important of the group, save for the fact that he's the pilot during most missions. We can break the character down into even simpler terms though: Dr. Nambu: the financial backer for the team that doesn't want to get his hands dirty. Ken the Eagle: standard teenage hero who won't give anyone else the limelight and has a tragic past. Jun the Swan: the necessary female team member who is in love with the hero, but he's oblivious to it. Jinpei the Swallow: the child that can be an annoyance but tends to come in handy in the least likely of situations. Joe the Condor: friend and team mate one episode, against everyone the next. Ryu the Owl: the token fat guy. Galactor on the other hand is much like any group of villains. You have elite foot soldiers of the same variety that we have see with Imperial Stormtroopers or anyone that the A-Team ever ran up against . . . . they couldn't shoot anyone if they were a foot in front of them. The organization is led by the mysterious Leader X (kind of like Racer X) who really does nothing more than give orders and never really participates in anything. Second in command is Berg Katse, and while he might get his hands dirty, he's just as much of a failure as his underlings. The real goal in their world conquest plans is to obtain energy sources, much of the time at least, but their plans fall apart as soon as the Science Ninja's get wind of what's going on. It may seem like I'm just poking fun at the show, and I am to a certain degree, but given the decade that the series was created, I expected this. Think about it for a minute with American television. We knew in each episode of The Super Friends that the Legion of Doom was going to have some evil plan up their sleeves to rule the world, and there would be some unforeseeable mishap that would alert the Super Friends who in turn would save the day. On Gilligan's Island, there would be a new idea that might very well give the castaways off the island, but Gilligan was going to ruin it at the last minute. We still love these shows and why? The predictability, and that's what Gatchaman is through and through. It's anime predictability that we accept, it has dialog that was fantastic decades ago, but is simply cheesy today. Sure, we don't want to find this in any modern films of series, but it's completely fine here. It's just like how it was obvious in each episode of Star Trek that the unnamed crewmember we had never seen before would be dead as soon as Kirk and the others beamed down to the planets surface. Gatchaman is formulaic, and in this case, it's completely fine. The schemes of Galactor will change, but the outcome is the same. Ken will rush off to get more information, after the commercial break they will isolate the problem and save the day, at least until Galactor shows up again. Plus, almost every episode has someone in the team wanting to resort to using the Bird Missile, something that must cost a fortune, as it doesn't seem to do anything too spectacular. But, this idea would later be seen in Star Blazers as in almost every episode we saw Wildstar just itching to use the Wave Motion Gun. The animation isn't going to be cutting edge, though it would have been at the time. You'll find plenty of animation loops, characters whose sizes can be drastically different, and even reversed animation sequences, but find me an episode of The Flintstones of Looney Tunes that doesn't have the same techniques used. It's a common way to save money on a tight budget, and back then, it was really the only way to do things. Gatchaman looks like just about any other anime series from this same time period, and the two best comparisons would be the legendary Speed Racer, also one of Tatsunoko Productions anime series, crossed with an American series such as Johnny Quest. There are even a few moments where there is some live action footage included, basically scenes that the creators wanted to look really cool, but had no possible way of doing the animation required. There are a few bonus features included on the first volume, though they are related more towards the dubbed version of the series. Episodes five and six both have commentary included with them. Five included the English voice of Ken, Leraldo Anzaluda and the ADR director Charles Campbell. Campbell returns on episode six along with Brian Jepson, the voice of Joe. There is a clean version of the closing animation, though I am a little surprised that the opening animation wasn’t included here. The best thing however is Gatchaman karaoke, and this isn’t just for the opening and closing of the show. Instead, you can watch the entire first episode with only the sound effects so that you can either try and follow the story or simply make up your own. Fan dubbed episodes, serious or otherwise, probably wouldn’t be a bad contest idea, but that’s just my opinion. This is nostalgia at its finest. For many long time anime fans, if you were to ask them to name classic anime series, you would get answers like Speed Racer, Astroboy, Gigantor, Robotech, and without a doubt, Gatchaman. I may not have had the pleasure of watching the original US release of Battle of the Planets, but with this being my first adventure into the world of Gatchman, it’s got me feeling a little more than nostalgic and honestly, this is a must-own series for those than can appreciate anime beyond the flashy series that are commonly seen these days. If you’re not down with Gatchaman, I’ve got another bird right here for you, and I don’t’ think that we’ll ever be seeing Ken utilize it during the course of the series. Episode 1 - Gatchaman Versus Turtle King A deadly mechanical turtle has been associated with the theft of uranium, and Dr. Nambu knows that there is only one team for the job: Gatchaman. Getting into the behemoth is easy, as is taking out wave after wave of underlings, but with a bomb on board and ready to go off at any minute, getting out may be the real problem. Episode 2 - The Monstrous Aircraft Carrier Appears The Earth Compact, a tape containing the whereabouts of precious energies on Earth (including uranium) has been stolen from a space capsule, and now even its missing with its crew. Gatchaman is called to bring back the vital information, but when Ken goes in to Galactor's secret underwater based, he's in for more trouble than he can handle. Episode 3 - The Giant Mummy That Summons Storms A suspicious storm has been causing airliners to crash and Dr. Nambu wants Ken and the team to look into it. When one of the pilots believed to be dead resurfaces though, it's obvious something isn't quite right, and sure enough, it's another of Galactor's vile schemes, and this time they're using a giant mummy to gain control of the world. Episode 4 - Revenge on the Iron Beast Mechadegon Galactor is trying to steal the world's oil with a giant mechanical centipede; the Iron Beat Mechadegon and Dr. Nambu wants to Ken investigate further. Ken first decidees to get help from a research facility, but when he is killed in another Galactor attack, it's not only Ken that's out for revenge, but the researcher’s daughter as well. But, now the team has to find Galactor's latest weapon. Episode 5 - The Ghost Fleet from Hell The next scheme that Galactor has in mind is to conquer the Seven Seas, but the International Science Organization is standing in their way with their undersea laboratory. Galactor uses the fear to ghost ships to haunt the area, but soon the Science Ninja’s are called in to further investigate, and as always, something just doesn’t seem quite right to Ken. How right he is . . . . and the team meet the mysterious Red Impulse. Episode 6 – The Great Mini-Robot Operation Gold bars have been stolen from the World Bank and with the economy on the brink of collapse; the Science Ninja Team must retrieve them. It’s obvious that Galactor is behind the theft, but the only clue as to their whereabouts is a vast island chain and it’s going to take the teams combined efforts to save the world from economic disaster. -mike-
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