Art differences between series

[LadyMallanox]

So, I honestly only just noticed this after comparing images of the first and second series, but the color saturation difference between Science Ninja Team Gatchaman and Gatchaman II/Fighter is crazy


First Series

Second Series

I know they technically are— but dang, they look like two different shows side by side… I mean I noticed a difference but I just didn’t realize how dramatic it was well, that image is from earlier in the first show, so that might not help the difference (the character models themselves definitely took shape more later on)

The color could also be the particular uploads I’ve been watching, their from different sources. But the art itself also looks a bit different, so I could believe that different people were doing the art and just used WAYY more saturated colors.

That and the DVD I pulled II off of may or may not have been a knockoff

Anyway I just thought that was kind of interesting, what do you all think?

[SparklingNeon]

If I remember correctly, by the time II was made, Tatsunoko had switched to different cel paints or the old ones could no longer be reproduced. Some character palettes were more obviously changed up than others; Joe's hair out of Bird Style even borders on looking green sometimes (II ep.39), but then there's also how filming or the quality of the master can affect some colors.

One person I know wonders if II and Fighter should be thought of as something more like the 80s Jetsons and Jonny Quest series, in being such later sequels with the different style (in the Gatchaman sequels' case, the thinner lineart especially in II and those bolder colors).

When it comes to the first series, there's also a case where there were older masters that were awfully dark and a lot of "blue" cast that made Ken and Jun's hair colors look more blackish, which also affected some fans' perceptions of the original colors although some would know that's not how they were meant to be.

[LadyMallanox]

If I remember correctly, by the time II was made, Tatsunoko had switched to different cel paints or the old ones could no longer be reproduced. Some character palettes were more obviously changed up than others; Joe's hair out of Bird Style even borders on looking green sometimes (II ep.39), but then there's also how filming or the quality of the master can affect some colors.

One person I know wonders if II and Fighter should be thought of as something more like the 80s Jetsons and Jonny Quest series, in being such later sequels with the different style (in the Gatchaman sequels' case, the thinner lineart especially in II and those bolder colors).

When it comes to the first series, there's also a case where there were older masters that were awfully dark and a lot of "blue" cast that made Ken and Jun's hair colors look more blackish, which also affected some fans' perceptions of the original colors although some would know that's not how they were meant to be.

Thank you for answering! it didn’t actually occur to me that it would have been the Cel Paint they were using being different but that makes a lot of sense!

Gatchaman II and Fighter are a strange case, they were made so close in tandem with the first series, and are obviously trying to continue the story. So I can’t really blame anyone who considers them like a “season 2 and 3”, but at the same time their so different from SNTG in art and design that your friends comparison to the 80’s jetsons and Johnny quest series is also apt… I also had 0 idea those existed until now! My grandpa would love to hear about Johnny Quest if he didn’t know about that already, and now I wonder if the Jetsons episodes I watched on boomerang when I was younger were from the 60’s or the 80’s.

I did notice the darker colored masters of Gatchaman in a few pictures online, and particularly an upload of battle of the planets on YouTube, I was actually very confused about jun’s green hair because I had watched that then moved to the Japanese series

[SparklingNeon]

Heh, well with 80s Jetsons, if Rosie is doing more in the plot or you see a little guy named Orbitty, they're from the 80s. The syndication prints all give title cards including Orbitty though, which confused me so much as a kid watching CN (the animation differences of course, a whole other thing; they also ran Pound Puppies out of order I think and that had major changes due to focus groups).

The sequels for Gatchaman unfortunately came at a time when you had more shows kicking off in the late 70s but a shortage of animators for Tatsunoko, and a lot more outsourcing going on. Outsourcing can be really helpful, but also have its own issues. Strangely, some Korean bootleg movie of II had colors in some scenes that looked more fitting to the '72 Gatchaman than the bolder palette II had, and sometimes drawing quality that looked like they studied the old series more (of course, its actual animation was more limited and it had its own quirks involved).

[LadyMallanox]

Heh, well with 80s Jetsons, if Rosie is doing more in the plot or you see a little guy named Orbitty, they're from the 80s. The syndication prints all give title cards including Orbitty though, which confused me so much as a kid watching CN (the animation differences of course, a whole other thing; they also ran Pound Puppies out of order I think and that had major changes due to focus groups).

The sequels for Gatchaman unfortunately came at a time when you had more shows kicking off in the late 70s but a shortage of animators for Tatsunoko, and a lot more outsourcing going on. Outsourcing can be really helpful, but also have its own issues. Strangely, some Korean bootleg movie of II had colors in some scenes that looked more fitting to the '72 Gatchaman than the bolder palette II had, and sometimes drawing quality that looked like they studied the old series more (of course, its actual animation was more limited and it had its own quirks involved).

Korean bootleg films are a strange thing, I’ll say I got a kick out of showing a Mobile Suit Gundam fan this really terrible one where they made the bad guy the main character and made his appearance under the mask the appearance of the original main character

I’d wager to believe enough of the original series was also outsourced that the Korean animators had enough left over to copy it just a little better, however I can’t say that confidently of course.

[Cure DragonEagle 255]

While the sequel series seem to have more moments of fluidity than the first, the first series realism and outright beautiful artwork is unparalleled. And it still had the first "Sakuga" moments where each animator stood out so to speak. Or at least industry defining animation quality all around.

Great topic!

[LadyMallanox]

While the sequel series seem to have more moments of fluidity than the first, the first series realism and outright beautiful artwork is unparalleled. And it still had the first "Sakuga" moments where each animator stood out so to speak. Or at least industry defining animation quality all around.

Great topic!

Tatsunoko’s earlier artwork is the exact thing that drew me to Gatchaman to begin with (sorry if I’ve said this enough but I didn’t grow up with Battle of the Planets so I didn’t get into it that way like most fans did)

It’s such a unique style even for its era, and not in a bad way either! It’s got clear influence from the American comics that Tatsuo Yoshida and his brothers grew up on while still being identifiable as a Japanese anime. It’s sad that from the looks of it they kind of abandoned it for a more mainstream style after the 80’s, the 2008 Yatterman series did a really good job at modernizing it though. I need to watch that one but I haven’t got to looking for it yet.

[Bobkat]

It's all right. We tend to have a mix of fans here. While some grew up with Battle, they then later discovered Gatchaman. I, personally, will always be a Battle girl Also, there are the other versions too that people know - especially kids growing up in the 1990s. their first exposure was G-Force on Cartoon Network or Eagle Riders on Fox Kids.

As far as the change in the 1980s, that could be explained by Tatsuo Yoshida's passing years earlier. The studio was also under the influence of their sponsors I'm sure and that had something to do with how things transpired.

[Stardust]

I started with Battle, and yes the art style was the big draw in for me.
Later when I went to college, an art college, I met other fans and that's when I was told about Gatchaman. I remember being told I need to watch it, it's very different from Battle. So I did.
I was already drawn to the villain Zoltar on Battle but then I saw how very different he was from Katse. Not to mention the amounts of violence.
In the end, I don't choose between the two. I love them both (Okay honestly Zark can be annoying.) But it's fun to watch the same episode side by side and compare the differences.

[LadyMallanox]

I actually started with a couple episodes of battle but switched over when I found the original series. I also like observing the differences between the two, I did the same with Speed Racer/Mach GoGoGo and Mazinger Z/Tranzor Z. Sometimes the things they decide to change or not change in that era are just plain shocking!

Spectra goons can’t get their faces clocked in, but they surely can smoke cigarettes and drink alcohol. Speed can carry a shotgun and run people of the roadway but no no, they can’t show Racer X crying. Tranzor Z’s censorship is fairly reasonable until they decided to refer to poor devleen as something not very nice, which wasn’t even in the original show!

I like the space adventure aspect that battle has, I’d die for more information about planet Selectol and the planet it’s fighting (Fueless? Or “Planet 013,001 of the Proxima System”) and Spectra kind of scratches that itch for more crazy alien stuff

And as for the sponsors probably convincing Tatsunoko to use a more standard artstyle after Tatsuo passed? Yeah that’s a safe bet. They do have some good stuff post 70’s, I like the 90’s OVA series and Shin Mach GoGoGo, they also have this really cute looking alien romance from the 80’s— it’s not in sub or dub though so i probably won’t end up watching that.