Why the absence of the Black Birds?

Science Ninja Team Gatchaman II - 1978 sequel series
Post Reply
KenTheEagle

Why the absence of the Black Birds?

Post: # 134Post KenTheEagle »

This would be a good post for me to make since Gatcha II on this forum hasn't any post here. Since I am towards episode 20 now for this season, and finished the original all in Japanese with subtitles. I habitability consider this series as a alternative universe to how strange, and different it takes off from it's original processor, but love it equally, and I must admit I also like the weirdness of Fighter.

But to get to the point, and what was established from the first series of 105 episodes: What happen to the Black Birds???

Since they are considered a carbon rival of the original Science Ninja Team, arming themselves with very similar wear and stylized fighting techniques, they were the premise of what Galactor also had under their belt. After watching more than half of the second season in Gatcha II, these opponents were nowhere to be seen, in case I am wrong and they appear somewhere much later. So my regards to this, why take something away that made it interesting in the first place? While I don't mind the generic Galactor grunts from time to time, I really miss the Black Birds. (Blame they resemble Spy VS Spy characters, and I am such a sucker for the designs.)

Of course they return in the 1994 OVA which is a suffice to me. Just them being gone for that long after the first season established them is a bit uncanny for me.

Hopefully this is a good input, I tried my best to give this sub forum a little start with something interesting.
User avatar
The Other Jason
Site Admin
Posts: 358
Joined: Sun Sep 06, 2020 5:05 pm

Re: Why the absence of the Black Birds?

Post: # 138Post The Other Jason »

Hi Ken!
KenTheEagle wrote: Sun Jan 17, 2021 7:10 am
But to get to the point, and what was established from the first series of 105 episodes: What happen to the Black Birds???

Since they are considered a carbon rival of the original Science Ninja Team, arming themselves with very similar wear and stylized fighting techniques, they were the premise of what Galactor also had under their belt. After watching more than half of the second season in Gatcha II, these opponents were nowhere to be seen, in case I am wrong and they appear somewhere much later. So my regards to this, why take something away that made it interesting in the first place? While I don't mind the generic Galactor grunts from time to time, I really miss the Black Birds. (Blame they resemble Spy VS Spy characters, and I am such a sucker for the designs.)

Of course they return in the 1994 OVA which is a suffice to me. Just them being gone for that long after the first season established them is a bit uncanny for me.

Hopefully this is a good input, I tried my best to give this sub forum a little start with something interesting.
Maybe Galactor wised up for once and realized after several tries that one of their tactics wasn't working? ;-)

Really though, only the main characters and entities from the original series made it through to the sequels. The Ninja Team, Dr. Nambu, X (or Z) and the ISO and Galactor organizations. I think the only special team to transition from the original series to II were the Devil Stars. That's about it.

There was a rich field of characters and story lines that could have been re-visited or fleshed-out from the first series, but rarely were. The most likely reason was that much of the creative staff for II was new and probably wanted to do their own things. They just didn't seem to want to look backward too often. There was the occasional flashback or story involving something from the first series, but not very often.

Sponsors could also have gotten involved, too. Although they had a say in the stories, they probably weren't as direct a reason for ideas like the Black Birds not returning (they were more responsible for things like the new machine and weapon designs for the Ninja Team). But it's possible.

I enjoyed seeing the Black Birds in the OAVs. They were a good fit for the quick cuts and flashy animation!
KenTheEagle

Re: Why the absence of the Black Birds?

Post: # 142Post KenTheEagle »

Ahh, and yes, even when I first watched Gatcha II, I noticed the team began with Joe's face being inconsistent in comparison to the first season, then slowly improving towards the end. (Always a thing I noticed when you can tell it is a new staff.)

One thing I do enjoy that this show gives, minus removing some stuff; the hand painted artwork. Glorious. Some of my favorite episodes have me stopping to look at all the intricate details, and the back lights used in the cels. This is what I truly miss from hand drawn animation, let alone stuff like this got me squealing due to my artist side being a bit of a geek for such:
 
20210116_182721.jpg
20210116_182409.jpg
Post Reply