#me when the young teams get destroyed by the older superteams: ����

[jrueships]

Antkat cuddle time <3!! Cuddle time!!!

[tokupedia]

SPECIAL SAIKOU!: Superhero Showcase: Gatchaman Pt. 1: Introduction

“Sometimes we are one...sometimes we are five....the white shadow that slips through unseen ! Science Ninja Team GATCHAMAN!”

Tatsuo Yoshida had loved the concept of superheroes from the very beginning. As a young boy after the US occupied Japan at the end of WWII, he and his two brothers often interacted with American GIs. Some of them were polite and respectful to young Japanese kids and gave away their old comics they weren’t reading anymore to them so they would have something to enjoy.

While none of the Yoshida boys could understand the English text, there was a resonance of appreciation that transcended language in the artwork of the comics. Then again, seeing mighty beings with powers and abilities far beyond mortal man or skilled costumed athletes showing the best of humanity’s good nature resonates with humanity no matter what side of the map you are on. Their favorite of course was Superman, though given the design of the superheroes we are going to talk about, it wouldn’t surprise me if they had a love for the other half of the World’s Finest as well.

These costumes were bright and colorful, so the boys started drawing them and eventually became very good at it.

Superman is the one hero who inspires other ideas in many people, especially since he helped bring the superhero concept to the mainstream masses. This would follow Tatuso as he would again intertwine with the hero of his youth.

In 1959 or 1960 Tasuo was working in a manga studio and was asked to do a manga on Superman!

Yes, this was more or less a manga made to capitalize on the 1957 George Reeves TV show, which had been brought over to Japan in 1958.

While a few Japanese citizens saw US superheroes and scoffed them as propaganda, Tatsuo looked past that. He saw the very core of what made superheroes great, that they are willing to do the right thing and selflessly help others.

In 1962, after a good career in the manga industry, Tatsuo opened Tatsunoko Productions with the help of his brothers. After the first series about modern super spy ninjas and an Astro Boy clone called Space Ace in 1965 (no relation to the Don Bluth animated video game), Tatsunoko hit the really big time on TV in 1967. Debuting a high octane action show that would eventually make waves around the world....Mach GoGoGo! 

The series made it to American airwaves in the fall of that year as Speed Racer, which was one of several old school anime would set off a slow chain reaction that would later explode into our modern western otaku culture.

Then came one of the pillars that held it in place....

In 1969, its codemane was Production 21 and later it went by many names: Science Ninja Squad 5 and even Birdman until Tatsunoko presumably found out there was a Hanna-Barbera character with that name. Finally, the advertisers chose a name...Gatchaman, which premiered on October 1, 1972. The series was partially influenced not only by Shotaro Ishinomori’s Henshin Hero Boom from the popularity of Kamen Rider, but also the spark of love Tatsuo had for heroes like Superman.

The reason so many in the comics industry love Gatchaman such as Alex Ross is because out of all Japanese superheroes, this one takes the rawest form of its rooted American concept. One can simply observe the look of the original  costumes and see aspects of Adams, Giordano, Swan and many other Silver and Bronze Age artists in the aesthetic. The same can be said for the evolving costumes later on as they borrow elements of popular western media and comics of the specific period.

Now you have to be asking, what the heck is a “Gatcha”?

Gatcha, at least in one translation, is the Japanese onomatopoeia sound of machinery such as a loom. This is more or less a reference to the fact this superteam uses machines to stop evil in its tracks.

If you wanna know more on the process of this series coming to be, check out this page:

http://www.battleoftheplanets.info/whatwas.html

Overview

The Original Series (1972-1974)

The International Science Organization and the world are under attack by a terrorist organization known as Galactor, overseen by the evil Sosai X, who want to control Earth’s resources for themselves. Dr. Kōzaburō Nambu, who knew of Galactor’s schemes, deploys a special task force to deal with them: The Science Ninja Team...Gatchaman!

The Sequels (1978-1980)

Gatchaman II (1978-1979)

After the destruction of his army, Sosai X tried yet again to attack the Earth with the help of an abducted child mutated into an adult Commander named Gel Sadora. The Science Ninja Team head out again with new weapons, vehicles and a revived comrade to do battle with Galactor yet again!

Gatchaman Fighter aka Gatchaman F (1979-1980)

After seemingly being destroyed by the Gatchaman, Sosai X’s remains mutate and he revives into the more devious Sosai Z. He recruits the cruel European dictator Count Erun Egobossler to make his Galactor organization even deadlier than ever before. Their first attack completely obliterates the Gatchaman’s gear and ship from the last season and defeats them. The team manage to get rescued before they are killed by an engineer, who shows Dr. Nambu’s latest mechas and gear for the team. This season gets darker than previous one towards the end and features the death of Dr. Nambu.

If the energy charged sword called the Gatchafencer and the Gatchaspartan ship weren’t dead giveaways, this was when Star Wars was a pop culture cult phenomenon in Japan. Every studio tried to duplicate the George Lucas magic in one way or another or at least ride its coattails.

The OVAs (1994)

In the 90s, Tatsunoko tried to revive their old heroes with polished new looks and retooled the characters for a modern audience. The story for the most part is derived from various episodes of the first series, but mostly the first episode and a few plots from others.

Gatchaman ‘98 (Unmade)

Tatsunoko was going to revive their characters again full time in a new set of TV shows, including Gatchaman.

However, one of the main problems that prevented this was their poor choice of a starting show: A Mach GoGoGo reboot. While the classic show celebrated its 30th anniversary in 1997, times had changed in the anime landscape. A guy with a cool gadget-laden car racing around a track was a bit pedestrian in a realm of Kamehamehas, Dragon Slaves and Moon Healing Escalations. Going big and loud for spectacle or subliminally selling tons of toys/video games/merchandise was the norm in the 90s for anime.

The Mach GoGoGo show cost a lot to make as it used CGI in parts of its animation and it was cancelled over halfway through due to low ratings. Another roadblock (no pun intended) for Gatchaman reviving in the late 90s was no sponsor wanted to back it despite the shows legendary status in pop culture (Possibly due to the debacle investment in the new Mach GoGoGo.)

NTT (2000)

http://gatchaman.wikia.com/wiki/NTT_Gatchaman

The Gatchaman Team vanished for 3 years until NTT East approached Tatsunoko with a proposal for a set of internet service provider commercials starring SMAP and brand new animation and costumes of the science ninjas in action. 

The Imagi Disaster (2011 aborted animated film)

Already talked about this one:

http://tokupedia.tumblr.com/post/147082771026/special-saikou-examples-of-toku-projects-that

Live action film (2013)

This is the film that, at the very least, made the older, traditional version of the superheroes limp on life support. This movie did what many revisionists do to any beloved superhero, find faults in ideas where there are none and make beloved aspects disappear and be replaced by something near unrecognizable.

Gone were the bird motifs and chest emblems, no mecha aside from the God Phoenix, no Sosai X and no Galactor (unless you count the in-name only reference). What was added was unnecessary, the Gatchaman all had superpowers and weapons given by shiny McGuffin stones and something about a virus that creates energy shields.

They didn’t even get to be ninjas too much in this movie. The saddest part is the complete waste of Tori Matsuzaka and this could have worked as a tokusatsu given the show’s legacy in the form of Super Sentai.

Gatchaman Crowds (2013-2015)

Sometimes derided by a few older purists as “Gatchaman for Millennials” or “Facebook: The Anime”, this reboot series departed from capes and costumes for neon Tony Stark armor by way of Akihabara, new characters and notebook souls. Lots of newcomers gravitated towards this season and it was considered as the sleeper hit of 2013 and 2015. So despite critics, it acted as its own entity. Crowds was also was the first new, full fledged Gatchaman TV show in over 30 years.

The show’s core philosophical focus was to examine how the internet and social media have affected society in both positive and negative ways and in rare cases, the relevancy of superheroes in the digital age. The second season insight focused on how hive mentality and politics associated with it on the internet could have very bad consequences or be distorted even in cases where the intentions are originally noble. 

A creative sort of re-imagining, this series examined how our future could be shaped for good or for ill by digital media before finally taking a neutral perspective as that is the choice we humans will have to make for ourselves.

Good Morning Ninja Team Gatchaman

There was a morning comedy Flash animation series of shorts featuring the original Gatchaman, but it is not worth the time examining as its is just gag sketches with no action.

Battle of the Planets/G-Force/Eagle Riders (1978, 1986, 1996)

The various edited dubs of the original trio of shows, which served as a gateway series to about 2 or 3 generations worth of future anime fans in the west. The content in some cases was heavily edited or censored as most anime were known for doing at the time.

Due to the various companies who hold the rights to these adaptations, it is impossible at the moment for the original Japanese Gatchaman Trilogy to be completely on DVD or Blu-Ray. But Sandy Frank Productions did relinquish their rights to the first series to Funimation for a release..so there’s that.

Up next....The leader of the ninja flock!