Title: Kagaku Ninjatai Gatchaman (Science Ninja Squad Gatchaman) Air Dates: October 1972 - September 1974 Number of Episodes: 105 Released By: Tatsunoko Productions and Fuji Television Current Commercial Availability: Rhino Video has included English-subtitled Gatchaman episodes as part of their Battle of the Planets DVD release. In June, 2005, ADV is releasing Gatchaman, both dubbed and subtitled. Available through Amazon.com.

Left to right: Ken, Jun, Ryu, Jinpei, Dr. Nambu and Joe

Inspired by American comic book heroes, Gatchaman not only became Tatsunoko's most successful superhero show, but also set a number of precedents in the SF anime genre. It was the first to introduce the concept of a "team show," where there were five basic character types (hero, loner, big guy, token kid and female) and five colors (red, blue, pink, yellow and green), and the cooperation of all the members of a team was necessary to use their secret weapons. This was later adopted for use in the Giant Robot anime genre and the popular "spandex and latex" live-action hero shows. Compared to other anime shows of the age, Gatchaman was painfully realistic, depicting grief and death in a way that had rarely been explored in commercial animation--a medium considered "just for kids." Certain episodes were more than capable of terrifying the average seven or eight-year-old--Gatchaman's target audience.

Two of the Red Impulse Squadron are gunned down in one of the most violent scenes in Gatchaman. This episode (#104) was never aired in the United States

For its time, Gatchaman was a very successful series. The first season (October, 1972 to Spring, 1973) saw the first series climax at episode 53, with the discovery and self-sacrifice of Ken's father. The second season, which lasted until autumn of 1974, stunned viewers with the final showdown with Berg Katse and the death of Condor Joe in episode 105. In summer of 1978, a these episode highlights were re-dubbed (in Japanese) and compiled into a theatrical release to lead into the airing of Gatchaman II. To this day, Gatchaman has been through four dubbings in English and other foreign languages; two sequels, one remake OAV series, and a special re-design for an animated/live action commercial campaign featuring the Japanese boy-band, SMAP.

Diinzumo's Comments: Until this series came along, I'd never heard of a character dying on a cartoon. And I was definitely not prepared for the death of my favorite character in a cartoon! Back in 1983, when I first saw the original series... in the form of the Gatchaman theatrical release, I had to pick my jaw up off the carpet. The emotions that ran rampant during the death of Ken's long-lost father... I'd seen it in Battle of the Planets, but the reaction of the original Ken... wow. The war between the ISO and Gallactor was truly nasty, and the good guys didn't always win--as a matter of fact, the episodes often ended in a stalemate, with the good guys barely breaking even. And then there was Joe. Gatchaman often will not show blood or bloody wounds, unlike modern anime, where blood gushes by the gallon. However, you know those wounds are there, and the sheer brutality of Joe's last stand left me stunned.

The Mecha Dragon wraps itself around the ISO's Crescent Base.

On the other hand, this is also a silly show; a fun show, an adventure show with topical references that you'll find interesting if you like history. There are times to hang on the edge of your seat, times to laugh and times to groan. There are loads of hokey one-liners, classic Star Trek style line delivery ("She's gonna blow, Cap'n!") and some of the silliest monstermechs ever to stomp on a city. There are tributes paid to classic Hollywood movies and TV series of the 70's (see if you can find the reference to The Poseidon Adventure, for example), and there are some honest, topical science fiction ideas being introduced. Some, like the maglev super express train, haven't made it into real life yet. Others, like advancements in the space program, have.

Gatchaman is an old show, but it's a classic, and I don't think there's another show anywhere that I enjoy as much. I hope you'll enjoy my efforts to tell you about it.

Voice Cast:

• Ken: Katsuji Mori
• Joe: Isao Sasaki
• Jun: Kazuko Sugiyama
• Jinpei: Yoku Shioya
• Ryu: Shingo Kanemoto
• Dr. Nambu: Tohru Oohira
• Berg Katse: Mikio Terashima
• Sosai X: Nobuo Tanaka