Gatchaman Blu Ray thoughts

Gatchaman Complete   Collection

Sentai

• Language: English, Japanese with English Subtitles
• Runtime: 2880 min.
• Release Date: September 26, 2023
• Extras: Clean Opening Animation; Clean Closing Animations (x2); Character Profiles; Character Sketches; Episode Sketches; Galleries; Music; Interviews; Audition Footage; Episode Commentaries (x19); OVAs (x3); Movie
• Rating: TV-PG (V)
• You Pay: $ 96.99 Retail: $ 149.98

Tatsunoko Pro

Tatsunoko Productions sure made some great cartoons.  They even got two brought over to the US which is pretty great.  They also made a bunch of other cartoons that were never seen over here, like Yatterman, Hurricane Polimer and Casshan.  I guess they were actually heard of in the genre magazines and books, since that is where I had read about them.  By the time anime (AKA Japanese cartoons) got popular in the States, these older cartoons generally got ignored.  How many times could they write about giant Gundam style robots anyway?

Gatchaman (2013)

Look at that title, taking up the screen like it was proud of the source material (I won't mention other movies that have tiny little title screens, lame).  So I'm not a huge Gatchaman fan, but I do quite enjoy the original series.  I can even watch Battle of the Planets occasionally.  But I don't care if they make changes in the source material for a live action adaption.

Battle of the Planets intro

Today's post is in honor of the passing of Casey Kasem.  I'll have more on that later on tonight.  This show was the first US import of Science Ninja Team Gatchaman, which showed up on US airwaves shortly after Star Wars was a huge hit.  I knew by then it was of Japanese origin, but knew nothing about the original show.  It was only aired sporadically in my area, around noon on Saturdays.  I really wanted to like it more than I did, but the addition of 7-Zark-7 was such a drag.  The articles about how it was edited appeared later, and then it made sense,  though there were some fight scenes left in here and there, which did make it much better than most of the sanitized cartoons airing in that time period.

Gatchaman Intro/Outro

still slowly making my way through the 105 or so episodes of the original (and best) Gatchaman series. I really like the music of the show, and especially the closing theme song. usually I like the opening one more, but not this time.

Gatchaman 6 and 7

 6. The Great Mini-Robot Operation:

Galactor creates a lot of these cute little robots to steal gold bullion from around the world.  that must be how they afford all the nifty gadgets and henchmen.

5. The Ghost Fleet From Hell

 Galactor wants to conquer the seven seas before it conquers the planet.  to do this they use the old "ghost ship" routine in the Graveyard of Ships.

Gatchaman #4- Revenge on the Iron Beast Mechadegon

Galactor sends a new robot in the shape of a giant centipede to start taking the Earth's interior treasures and fuels.  this means oil and coal, I think.  no one uses the word "Oriental" anymore, Ken.  it's now "Eastern" (since that's what it means anyway).

 here's his "henshin".  definitely one of the cooler ones around, even to this day.

Gatchaman #3

I am usually very lenient towards kids in most stuff.

well not this time.  the kid Makoto is, by his father's admission, a brat.  he justifies this because his mother is gone and the father spoils him.

the giant robot Galactor sends out this time is first disguised as a mummy, but then it's bandages get blasted off.  they are after a new element which Makoto's uncle has developed.  the mummy is pretty indestructable but our heroes find a way to destroy it.  guess what they use?

that new element really works on giant mummy robots!

never wear a ring in front of an older brother, it will give you away as a Galactor agent, or in this case, Berg Kattse himself.

Gatchaman 1 and 2

decided I should watch this show all the way through.  I've seen the first 12 episodes about four times as I keep forgetting where I stopped, but this will help if I can keep track.

laying the groundwork for the vastly popular sentai series in a few years is this vastly popular cartoon- Science Ninja Team Gatchaman (科学忍者隊ガッチャマン Kagaku Ninjatai Gatchaman).  and it really is worth all the praise it gets. 

made by Tatsunoko Productions, of "Speed Racer" fame, it's got some really great designs going for it.  sleep spaceships, cool monsters and neat vehicles.

the characters are all well done as well, including our heroes and the villains. Eagle Ken and Condor Joe are the two heroic leads, one the "follow the rules" type and Joe, who butts heads with him constantly.  Jun is the sexy girl, her brother Jinpei and Ryu are the comic relief for the show, but all get their chance to shine.

Berg Katse is one of the best villains ever, and a lot of the Galactor commanders get real personalities.  you don't feel sorry for them, really, but they are people.

anyway, these first two episodes really set the tone of the show.

• "Gatchaman Versus Turtle King" a large turtle robot is stealing uranium.  Ken follows orders despite Joe riding him for not stopping the robbery.  we see many of their cool toys and some neat powers.
• "The Monstrous Aircraft Carrier Appears" Joe gets found out by Galactor while trying to find out their latest scheme.  where does Galactor get all the money for these giant robots and ships?

this is going to be fun, to watch 105 episodes!  the DVD releases are really nice, as well, despite the new dubs.