Gatchaman '94 in English... The Reviews

For its first mission, this team must face the monstrous Dragon King, its fanatical captain and the deadly Gallactor Blackbirds, but they risk losing their mentor when Dr. Nambu falls into Galacter's hands.

Changes from the Original OAV: There are no cuts to video footage. The name of the Turtle King has been changed to the Dragon King. The character names were changed: Jinpei is now "Jimmy," Ryu is "Rocky" and Berg Katse is now "Solaris." Jinpei's teasing Jun about her relationship with Ken is gone, as is most of the tension between Ken and Joe on this first mission.
NOTE: The subtitled version retains original names and plot premises. Even though the cover copy lists the title as "Gatchaman Vs. Dragon King," the subbed title is "Gatchaman vs Turtle King."

Diinzumo's Perspective: I have mixed feelings about the dub. It's not bad as dubs go, and can pass on the general market. Urban Vision sticks to most of the plot and dialogue most of the time. I don't care for the name changes--how many name changes have the Gatchaman characters suffered already?--but can live with them. The only two things I really didn't like were the cutting of Jinpei's jokes with Jun, and the voice of Solaris (Berg Katse). Although Urban Vision tried to stick with the original story premise of Katse being an androgynous mutant, and the voice was evil and slithery, it was far from threatening.
When I reviewed the sub, I found it to be almost completely faithful to the original save for a joke Jinpei made about the Galacters being aliens. The wording in the sub could have been more polished--a common problem when trying to create a faithful translation. If you want to see a close version of the original Japanese, I highly recommend the subtitled video.

The Story:In the space of a few months, Galacter has taken the lead and their insidious, yet unknown plan is quickly progressing. Four Galacter bases house special energy generators capable of creating more damage than several nuclear bombs at once. In order to ensure the success of three of these bases, Solaris assigns his secondary officer, Dr. Donaldson, to guard the BC Island base and trap the Science Ninjas. But Donaldson and his Jupiter Death Brigade hadn't quite accounted for another piece in the puzzle: the activities of the Red Specter.

Changes from the Original OAV: There are some cuts made to dialog between characters (see below), but no footage cuts.

Diinzumo's Perspective: I liked this version less than Volume 1. There was much more by way of silly dialog. There is no plausible way to translate "Jittai wo misezu ni shinobiyoru shiroi kage" ("The White Shadow that arrives unseen") or the names of the fighting techniques (a classic Japanese element) without drawing snickers. During the screening, the audience giggled whenever the team announced themselves. The "Jupiter Death Brigade" were introduced as androids, complete with processed voices, but somehow, later in the video, UV forgot they were androids and the voices changed. And speaking of voices, Richard Cansino (Hunter Harris in Eagle Riders ) played Joe in this version. The voice was mismatched, especially in this volume, where Cansino acquires an annoying nasal drone. Joe fans were outraged by one of the final quotes in the episode. After Joe shot down Dr. Donaldson's Destruct Wave Machine with an especially difficult missile shot, Ken turned to him and said, "I know you pulled that shot, but not bad for a beginner." What brought that on?
I didn't have the chance to see the subtitled version, but after seeing Volume 1, I have high hopes for Volume 2.

The Story: The battle for Earth reaches final showdown stage with the introduction of a series of field generators designed to disrupt the Earth's natural patterns and "wipe the slate clean" of all civilization (Think Star Trek movie's "Genesis Project"). At the same time, Red Impulse operatives try to find and sabotage their motherbase while Galacter operatives comb the world's cities in search of the Kagaku Ninjatai. They find one when Condor Joe runs out of patience and breaks radio silence with his team, polishes off his attackers, rides with the troops back to Galacter's motherbase in Cross Karakorum... and is promptly busted by Katse.

The Kagaku Ninjatai are then dispatched to do something about the Galacter machines--the best method of which is to find the motherbase by sneaking aboard one of the enemy's latest monstermechs, the Devil Snake. This proves to be time consuming if not difficult, especially with one member missing.

Changes from Original OAV: No major changes.

Diinzumo's Perspective: I saw the dub in San Diego this August. With only minor changes, the dub runs true to the original and isn't anywhere near as hokey as Part 2. The Part 3 dub also includes the "Cyber Mix" video at the end of the tape.

As for the subbed version, here's a warning from Jason Hofius as sent through the Gatchaman Mailing List:

"The timing of the subtitles does not match the action on the screen. The subtitles appear to be starting about 2, 2-1/2 seconds in advance of the audio. This is uniform throughout the tape, and does not get better as things go along. If you're not familiar with the action, it makes for a very tough time when trying to follow who says what.

"If you can overlook this "little" problem, the translation appears to be fairly accurate. There are only a few minor, minor instances of things being changed/deleted. It is a much better rendition than the second subtitled volume.

"Finally, the 'Gatchaman '94' music video is included ONLY on the dubbed version of Volume 3. It is not on the subtitled version."

"[Urban Vision] has realized that there was a problem with the timing and they have corrected it.

"If you have received a copy of "The Final Countdown" with mis-timed subtitles, Urban Vision is offering to replace it with a corrected version free of charge (beyond your postage costs to get it to them). Please send it to:

Urban Vision Entertainment
5120 West Goldleaf Circle Suite 280
Los Angeles, CA 90056

For a list of complete credits, ad copy and information on the videos, visit the Urban Vision Website.