Science Ninja Team Gatchaman: The 50th Anniversary

Original series, II, Fighter, movies and more!
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Cure DragonEagle 255
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Science Ninja Team Gatchaman: The 50th Anniversary

Post: # 608Post Cure DragonEagle 255 »

AWESOME. 50 YEARS OF GATCHAMAN. INCREDIBLE.

Chikyuu wa Hitotsu. Chikyuu wa Hitotsu. OH GATCHAMAN. GATCHAMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN.
JabarR
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Re: Science Ninja Team Gatchaman: The 50th Anniversary

Post: # 718Post JabarR »

The 50th anniversary is coming up in 2 days! Who's ready?
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Bobkat
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Re: Science Ninja Team Gatchaman: The 50th Anniversary

Post: # 720Post Bobkat »

Thanks to The Other Jason's encouragement, I'm posting this here too. I'm part of Hawaii Five-O forums and shared this with them. I'll let you guys know if I get any response. :P

Of course, thanks to the magical line in the Pacific called the International Date Line, this post is right on time. :lol:

On October 1, 1972, Kagaku Ninja-tai Gatchaman, better known as Science Ninja Team Gatchaman, aired for the first time on Fuji TV in Japan. Unbeknownst to anyone at the time, the show would take over the world, even if it wasn't in the original form. Its original two year run consisted of 105 eps.

As we know, the series follows a team of five protecting the Earth from some seriously sinister bad guys from the Galactor Organization. The bad guys are led by Berg Katse who takes orders from a mysterious being called Sosai X.
Use The Bad guys2.jpg
Katse conferring with Sosai

The team is made of Ken, Joe, Jun, Jinpei and Ryu. Each represents a different bird with a unique color scheme.

Ken the Eagle, Joe the Condor, Jun the Swan, Jinpei the Swallow, and Ryu the Owl have their own emotional baggage with them and we discover what the issues are as the series goes along.

But first, their fight is with The Turtle King, a giant robot mecha. It's a preview of what's to come. Most of the 'monsters' are in the shape of animals with a corresponding costumed commander. Some are more challenging than others. It would be boring, otherwise, right?
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The Turtle King attacking

At the team's disposable, is their mighty ship, the God Phoenix. It can also take another form to defeat the mechas faster, known as the Hinotori.
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As the Hinotori

Now, that might be the end of the story but it's not even close. In 1978, Tatsunoko Studios, the animators behind the original series began to release two sequel series. Gatchaman II and Gatchaman Fighter. These sequels lasted a year each adding another 100 eps to the total. They weren't the same quality of the original series, but they have their own fans too. Before those, though, was a feature film editing together the original 105 eps.

This anime is unique because it has no less than five, yes FIVE, U.S. versions. It began in 1978 as Battle of the Planets, (US 1). The team members' names were changed and a lot of editing took place to make the series compatible for US broadcast standards. It was this version that went worldwide and most people know. As we know, Battle has a huge presence in Europe.

Another series called G-Force (US 2) was edited from the original anime in 1985. However, a full run didn't air until Cartoon Network launched in the 1990s. In 1995, an Original Animated Video (OAV) was released with new animation. Urban Vision released a subtitled and English dubbed version of the three episodes (US 3). Also in 1995, Saban Entertainment got a hold of the sequels and created Eagle Riders (US 4). In 2006, ADV Films dubbed and subtitled the original anime uncut and uncensored, giving the anime it's first true North American release. Giving us US version #5.

As we know, there's lots more on the InterWebs.

Happy Anniversary, Science Ninja Team Gatchaman!! :D
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The Other Jason
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Re: Science Ninja Team Gatchaman: The 50th Anniversary

Post: # 721Post The Other Jason »

Hi all,

Yeah, it's hard to believe Gatchaman is 50! As of today in Japan, it's already October 1st! :-)

I've been watching for any special posts or mentions from Tatsunoko or anyone else, but I haven't seen anything yet. I was hoping for an announcement or statement or something official. Other than a gathering of the Ninja Team voice actors a few days ago, nothing else has happened. I wish I could have been there for that!

I hope everyone does something fun on the first. I'll help to remember it with the Ninja Team at 50 viewing event, and I hope to see a lot of fans there!

Just for fun, here's a quick version of how I first learned about Gatchaman, if anyone cares to read.
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I saw Battle of the Planets in the US from 1978 - 1980, and even after a move took us to a place where it wasn't airing, I never forgot about it. I used to make drawings of the team and the Phoenix, with my memories and the Western Publishing comic books as my only sources for pictures. Then in 1984, when I attended my first comic book convention, there was a seller with Japanese books who had these on their table:

gatfilmcoms.jpg
"Whoa, Mark!"

What an amazing find! Two books full of Battle of the Planets picture stories! Well... except they weren't. Once I had time to look through them more closely, I found out pretty quickly that there was no 7-Zark-7 and they showed a lot of images I'd never seen!

I took one of the books to a nearby Japanese book store to ask what the title was. So it was probably late 1984 or early 1985 that I first heard the name, "Gatchaman." Thanks to those two books (and a Captain Harlock guide book), I started to learn Japanese so I could figure out what in the world was going on.

Then Voltron and Robotech happened and fueled more interest in Japanese animation. I followed things loosely, and read magazine imports once in a while. I lucked out in late 1990 because I picked up a copy of Animedia magazine that included a full-page ad for the whole, uncut Gatchaman series on LaserDisc. I can still remember where I was when I saw that ad and how surprised I was. I made it my mission to GET THAT SET!

gatldad.jpg
I freaked out when I saw this ad staring back at me (but *gulp* that price!)

Fortunately I was already a LaserDisc fan so I didn't have to buy a whole new setup just to see it - although I probably would have! I did have to find an importer, however. I ended up going through a place that advertised in the US Animag magazine, from San Fransisco, California, called Laser Perceptions. It took a few weeks, but I got the extremely expensive (about $1,600) and *heavy* set delivered in early 1991. Finally! I was able to enjoy the entire series as intended.

It was a long wait, but worth it. What a great series. I loved it as Battle of the Planets, but seeing the original made me an even bigger fan. Gatchaman just seemed to hit all the right notes - plenty of drama, comedy, action and emotion. There were surprises and twists I didn't expect, and that made it that much more enjoyable. I still couldn't fully understand all of what I was hearing (having concentrated more on written Japanese), but I could get enough. It wasn't until I finally met more fans in person and online in 1996 that I was able to broaden my appreciation of the show.

I'm glad I found it, and continue to be a huge fan!
*******************************************************

I'd love to read how anyone else first discovered Gatchaman and what's kept you interested!

Happy 50th anniversary, Gatchaman!!!
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Bobkat
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Re: Science Ninja Team Gatchaman: The 50th Anniversary

Post: # 722Post Bobkat »

1995 or so. Between the shocking GoS run on Cartoon Network and the OAV release, I discovered I wasn't the only fan out there! :lol:

I first heard of Gatchaman when I did an initial Google search. I thought "What's this Gatchaman!?" Shortly afterward, I met fans online and got all the BotP eps on tape. I was over the moon. After 14 years of not seeing it, I watched my favorite team in flight again. I have to confess, I will always be first and foremost, a BotP girl. :)
Stardust
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Re: Science Ninja Team Gatchaman: The 50th Anniversary

Post: # 723Post Stardust »

I stumbled onto BotP in 1978, having already become a huge Star Wars fan, this show caught my attention. And the obsession began. Like Other Jason, I ran home from school everyday to watch it.
It wasn't until I went to college that I found out about Gatchaman. I went to art college and minored in cartooning and hung out with the comic book folks. That's when someone said to me, oh that was originally Gatchaman, you should check it out, it's very different. So I did and it was a whole new world where someone pushed a reset button on me.
I continued to follow the fandom off and on into my adult years, and really got back into it in the 90's or so. There has been a lot of other anime I have enjoyed, but nothing ever held me like this show.
On a personal note, and why I think Gatchaman has stayed with me all this time. My art, and by extension this show, was one of my great escapisms for me during some rough periods in my life. Now, I get to enjoy it for what it is.
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