Kagaku Ninjatai Gatchaman
Episode 81: "Duel on Galactor Island"
Translation by Wendy Dinsmore
Joe enters a graveyard and kneels at a grave.JOE (Reading aloud): "Giuseppe Asakura and his wife, Katarina, lie here in eternal rest..."
A Graveskeeper approaches. He takes a photograph of Joe with a camera concealed in his cane.
GRAVESKEEPER: Are you related to those in the grave?
JOE: No, I was looking for a different grave.
GRAVESKEEPER: The poor man... Before, he used to run BC Island as a major boss within Galactor.... It's said he was assassinated ten years ago.... This major boss who has suffered a miserable fate. For ten years, not one person has left flowers at the grave. If you're related, why don't you leave some flowers?
JOE: That's none of my concern.
Joe leaves. The Graveskeeper opens a receiver in his cane.
GRAVESKEEPER: This is BC Island Agent 707. I've encountered a suspicious man in the cemetery.
MAN'S VOICE: All right. Transmit his photograph to headquarters immediately.
GRAVESKEEPER: Yes. We've put a tracer on his car. What else should we do?
MAN'S VOICE: Follow the signal and wait for your chance. Over.
GRAVESKEEPER: Who is that guy?
Berg Katse's chambers, inside Galactor Headquarters:
NARRATOR: The microfilm from the graveyard is sent directly to Berg Katse.
KATSE: What? A mysterious man?
SOLDIER: Yes. Agent 707 on BC Island transmitted the photograph. (Hands Katse the photo.)
KATSE: Hmm. Looks just like him. He could be Giuseppe Asakura's twin.
SOLDIER: Eh? But Giuseppe Asakura isn't supposed to have any relatives left.
KATSE: He doesn't. Ten years ago, he, his wife and child were disposed of at Galactor's hands.
SOLDIER: Then the man was just a tourist passing through.
KATSE: No, wrong.... The man was clearly in disguise, and a lousy disguise at that.
SOLDIER: How did you--?
KATSE: Disguise is my specialty, fool. How could I not notice? (Walks onto balcony.) Interesting... I confirmed the death of the Asakura couple, but I didn't see the body of the child.
SOLDIER: Yes. Perhaps Agent 705, who's mayor of BC Island can check on the child's remains.
KATSE: Hmm. All right, I'll go to BC Island to check this out personally. I want to hear the account from 705 in detail.
BC Island: Katse's car pulls up to the mayor's office, and officials bow as Katse enters the building.
NARRATOR: BC Island is small enough to be circled by car in only three hours. Southern countries such as this are famous for their summer resort atmosphere, but beneath the surface, Galactor is in complete control here. This island of evil has a nickname: Galactor Island.
MAYOR: Welcome, Lord Katse. We're honored by your visit.
KATSE: Mayor, you were the one who reported the death of Giuseppe Asakura's child, weren't you?
MAYOR: Yes, Lord Katse.
KATSE: Then there's no mistake?
MAYOR: There was no mistake. A doctor confirmed the death and filed a report.
KATSE: A doctor? So you're saying the boy died in a hospital?
MAYOR: Yes. For betraying Galactor, Giuseppe Asakura and his family were executed by your order. Giuseppe and his wife were shot to death on the beach, and their child, George, was blown away by a bomb. At that time, the child still showed signs of life, and before the final blow could be delivered, a crowd gathered because of the noise. Then a qualified doctor appeared; it was said he was a traveling scientist. He took George to a hospital.
KATSE: So he was the one responsible for the diagnosis?
MAYOR: Yes. George died a week later.
KATSE: Hmm. Was the traveling doctor identified?
MAYOR: Er, that was ten years ago... Just a moment. The record may still be here.... Ah, here it is. The doctor's name was Nambu.
KATSE: What?
MAYOR: Kozaburou Nambu. His signature's here as well.
KATSE: N-Nambu? You idiot, why have you concealed this from me until now?
MAYOR: What? Is there something about this Dr. Nambu...?
KATSE: It's the International Science Organization's Nambu! The one who commands the Science Ninja Team--that Kozaburou Nambu!
Nambu's office inside Crescent Base:
NAMBU: What's wrong? You haven't yet gone on patrol?
KEN: Joe's missing.
NAMBU: What?
JUN: We can't find him no matter how much we've searched.
RYU: We've called him on his bracelet, but he hasn't answered.
NAMBU: What about his car?
KEN: The G-2 is in its place on the Godphoenix. That by itself worries me.
NAMBU: Jinpei....
JINPEI: I don't know anything!
NAMBU: Is that so? You're the only one who doesn't seem to be worried about Joe.
JINPEI: R-really? No, that's not true. I'm worried.
RYU: Dammit, you'd better quit playing dumb!
JINPEI: I said I don't know!
The graveyard on BC Island: Katse and the Mayor watch as the Graveskeeper and other workmen dig up George Asakura's casket.
KATSE: Don't you find it strange? Why was he buried so far from his parents' grave?
MAYOR: Yes, but Nambu assumed full responsibility, so....
The casket is unearthed.
KATSE: Open it!
The lid is removed to reveal a casket filled with stones.
MAYOR: Oh!
KATSE (Throws dirt at the casket): I knew it--George is alive! Rescued by Dr. Nambu! Could he, by some chance, be a member of the Science Ninja Team...? Mayor, find that traveler who visited Giuseppe Asakura's grave and do not let him off the island!
MAYOR: Yessir!
KATSE: Capture him! Or if capturing him is impossible, kill him! I don't care!
Nambu's office inside Crescent Base:
JUN: So you were the last one to see Joe, Jinpei!
KEN: Jinpei!
JINPEI: ...
JUN: Why won't you say anything?
RYU: Aren't you gonna tell us?
JINPEI: ...
NAMBU: I see... Don't blame Jinpei, everyone. Jinpei has probably made a promise with Joe (1).
JINPEI: Huh?
NAMBU: I think I know Joe's whereabouts. Today is the anniversary of the deaths of Joe's parents.
KEN: Then Joe is...?
NAMBU: Perhaps... he's gone to visit their grave. Joe hasn't told you all of his grief, but rather holds it inside to fuel his battles with Galactor. Maybe he's gone to confront his pain at his parents' grave.
JUN: He's never told us about this... Ken, did you know?
KEN: Huh? Aa, kinda.
NAMBU: Still, after ten years, why would he suddenly take an interest in visiting their grave?
Outside a cathedral on BC Island, Father Alan approaches a trio of beggars at the bottom of the stairs.
BEGGARS: Please take pity on the hungry.... Please have kindness on us, Father....
Alan notices an expensive ring on one beggar's finger.
ALAN: My church is not far from here. If you are troubled, feel free to visit.
BEGGARS: Thank you so much, kind Father.
Alan notices Joe at the top of the stairs. As the two pass:
ALAN: (Whispering) Be careful of the three beggars at the foot of the stairs.
Joe stops before the beggars.
BEGGARS: Please take pity on the hungry.... Please have kindness on us, sir....
The beggars reveal themselves to be Galactors. They attack Joe, who takes them down, then flees and takes shelter in an old building. He watches the Galactors run past and moves deeper into the building. He goes to the punching bag hanging in the center of the room and grabs the chain.
JOE: It hasn't changed. Somehow, it's remained the same for the past ten years.
He jabs at the bag.
ALAN: I knew you'd come here. George Asakura, also known as "Bad Boy Joe." I've been waiting for you. Don't you understand? It's me! The boy you hit that sandbag with; who you played with long ago--Alan! How I've wanted to see you again! Supposedly you'd died--you also have a grave in the community graveyard--but I'd always believed you were alive somewhere. Your grave was opened recently by Galactor, and all that was inside were stones.
Joe removes his disguise.
ALAN: George!
JOE: Alan!
Alan and Joe leave the building.
ALAN: These flowers bloom only every fifty years--they're known as Century flowers. They're blooming now, and I had to take that as a bad sign.
JOE: Even without them, this is little more than an evil place. An island of the devil.
ALAN: After you disappeared, I was rescued by a priest and taken in by the local school. After that I became a priest.
JOE: That's impressive, Alan.
ALAN: I want to keep children on this island from growing up like we did long ago. Stealing, arson, fighting... all I can recall from that time are embarrassing things.
JOE: It was pretty rough in those days.
ALAN: And this broken down building was our stronghold.
Program Eyecatcher
ALAN: George, why did you return?JOE: To visit my mom and dad's grave.
ALAN: Only that?
JOE: ....
ALAN: You're not here to avenge your parents, are you?
JOE: ....
ALAN: If you are, stop it. Leave the island right now.
Joe says nothing, notices the guards approaching.
ALAN: I don't know what you've been doing up until now, but it's useless to fight Galactor in this village. The mayor and the police are all Berg Katse's pawns.
JOE: It's too late. They don't plan to let me leave this island.
Joe skids down the hill and battles the Galactors.
ALAN: George! (He races after Joe to see the end of the fight.)
JOE: Alan, it was good to see you, Take care!
ALAN: Come to the church if things get too rough.
Nambu's office inside Crescent Base:
NARRATOR: Meanwhile, at Crescent Base, Ken tells Dr. Nambu and the others of the events aboard the Marine Saturn and what he learned of Joe's past (2).
NAMBU: I see. So that's what happened.
JINPEI: So Joe's the child of Galactors, huh?
KEN: Jinpei, Joe is one of us! His parents were his parents. Joe is Joe!
JINPEI: I know! I didn't mean it like that!
RYU: Damn, that's gotta be rough on Joe.
NAMBU: Ten years ago, on the way back from an alumni meeting, I stopped on BC Island. It was there I learned of the organization called Galactor. After they attacked Joe, I secretly removed him from the island.
JUN: If we don't do something, Joe....
KEN: Exactly--I agree... Doctor!
NAMBU: Hmm. It's important for Galactor to control BC Island as a training facility. All right, the Science Ninja Team goes out--launch the Godphoenix!
TEAM: Roger!
On BC Island, Joe is battling Galactors in the streets. He pauses behind a wall and checks his gun. There is one round left.
JOE: Hah. Wonder who I'll hit with this last bullet?
Joe tucks the gun in the waist of his jeans and strides into the marketplace.
NARRATOR: Joe never thought he could counter the organization on BC Island singlehandedly. But Joe realizes he is destined to continue fighting until the day his recollection of his loathesome past fades.
Almost immediately the attacks begin again.
JOE: Shit...
GALACTORS: There he is! Over there! Get him!
Joe fights a seemingly endless stream of solders.
Alan prays at the church. The door bursts open to reveal an exhausted Joe.
ALAN: George!
JOE (Out of breath): Hide me, A-Alan. P-please.
Inside Alan's room:
ALAN: Do you understand, George? Here is not an enemy you can take on alone. It's useless no matter how much violence you use. Leave Galactor to me and get off this island quickly.
JOE: That's fine, but when do you expect to defeat Galactor? Tomorrow? A year from now? A hundred years from now?
ALAN: That is the will of God.
Joe notices the picture.
JOE: Who's this?
ALAN: That was my fiancee.
JOE: Was?
ALAN: She is no longer with us. She was killed by Condor Joe.
JOE: What?
ALAN: Poor girl... Her siblings, her parents, were all in Galactor, and the Syndicate wouldn't let her out. In the end, on her last mission, she was done in by Condor Joe.
Joe remembers her death(3) and drops the photo.
ALAN: What's wrong, George? You don't look well.
JOE: No, I'm all right. (He replaces the photo.)
ALAN: Here's some coffee.
JOE: Aa, thanks. (He takes the cup) With that kind of grief, you plan to leave Galactor to the will of God?
ALAN: George, it hurts me too. I'm tempted to set God aside and pick up a gun. But Galactor is not the only one I despise. I despise the Science Ninja Team as well. Common opinion is that the Science Ninja Team battles Galactor for the sake of justice. But to me, both Galactor and the Science Ninja Team are enemies who took my fiancee from me.
JOE: So, you plan to kill this Condor Joe?
ALAN: What would that accomplish? George, what does revenge accomplish? The dead don't come back. It's an exercise in futility! Please, give this up! Quietly leave this island! Please!
JOE: Please let me rest. I'm tired.
ALAN: (Sighs) That's all right I guess. Sleep, and think well on this. I'm going to the school now. I'll be back in the morning.
JOE: A school?
ALAN: I collect needy, abandoned children and teach them to study. So that no other children like us have to grow up on the island.
In the Mayor's office, the Mayor is on the phone.
MAYOR: Yes, Lord Katse. George Asakura's location has been uncovered. This is almost over. No, he's in some church that doesn't suit this island anyway. Yes, I'll talk to you later.... (Bows to phone.)
Inside the church, the Galactors confront Joe and the battle is rejoined. Joe runs into the chapel and is gunned down. He lies at the bottom of a cross of sunlight, bleeding.
JOE: Why... why didn't you just kill me right off?
SOLDIER: You've decimated a lot of our people. It's more fitting that you painfully bleed to death.
JOE: (Chuckles bitterly) A fitting end for me, huh?
SOLDIER: Your grave has waited for you ten years. This time we'll make sure you fill it.
KEN: (Off screen) We won't let that happen, Galactor!
SOLDIER: Who--?
KEN: Science Ninja Team Gatchaman!
SOLDIER: What?
KEN: Wherever Galactor exists in this world, the five wings move unseen....(4)
Jun, Jinpei and Ryu burst through the church doors and the team proceeds to thrash all the Galactors in the church. After the fight, the team gathers around Joe.
JUN: You're bleeding terribly! If you don't get treatment soon--
JOE: Let it go. It's all old Galactor blood... washing out of my body, coming clean...
JINPEI: Joe!
Father Alan appears at the entrance.
ALAN (picking up rifle): Who is the one called Joe?
JUN: Huh?
ALAN: You're the Science Ninja Team, right? Which one of you is the one named Condor Joe? Tell me now! I want to know which of you is the Condor Joe who killed my beloved fiancee!
JOE: A-alan!
ALAN: George, you have driven me mad. Your thirst for revenge has set my hatred on fire!
JOE: Alan!
KEN: I'm Condor Joe. What do you plan to do?
ALAN: Kill you! (He raises the rifle.)
JOE: Stop it, Alan!
Joe fires and Alan falls.
JOE: Impossible... why--why did my last bullet have to be the one that kills you?
Ken walks to the priest's body and picks up the rifle.
KEN: Joe, it looks like the priest knew you were Condor Joe. There are no bullets in this gun.
Joe drops the pistol.
JOE: Damn you! What does your death accomplish? You are such an important person to this island! Not like me! Until you--you threw away your own life, weren't you the one who told me to forget my revenge?
At the funeral, the team watches the villagers carry Alan's coffin to its final resting place.
NARRATOR: Father Alan's funeral service is attended by children from all over the island. Until then, the people were afraid of the Galactor organization, but their bravery rises up within them and they continue to go to the church.
KEN: Look, Joe. Father Alan's ten years of work were not for nothing. By the time those children become adults, Galactor will no longer be a presence on this island.
JOE: Why, Alan? Why did you pick up that gun?
KEN: I don't know. The priest died without a word. Perhaps it was a reaction from learning that his childhood friend George Asakura was the Condor Joe who killed his fiancee. Or maybe he wanted to say that our so-called battle for justice is useless and unforgivable....
Mayor's office: The Mayor is back on the phone.
MAYOR: Yes, Lord Katse. We're terribly sorry. I take full responsibility.
The Godphoenix departs.
Cut to Mayor's office. The Mayor lies dead at his desk, a pistol still clutched in one hand.
The Godphoenix is shown flying into the sunset.
NARRATOR: Father Alan's death had an undeniable impact on the Science Ninja Team, bringing home the futility of their battle in the name of justice. And the futility of Joe's battle for revenge...
Notes
1. Literally, otoko no yakusoku, or "a man's promise." Evidently a very stringent vow that Jinpei did not want to break.
2. Three episodes ago (Episode 78) Joe was suffering headaches and nausea triggered by bright light as well as nightmares and flashbacks of his parents' assassination. While on a mission with Joe aboard the submarine, Marine Saturn, Ken attributed Joe's symptoms to some form of avoidance, and forced Joe to face his old memories. It was then that Joe recalled that his parents had been Galactors.
3. In Episode 31, "Plot to Assassinate Dr. Nambu," Joe meets a young woman after she crashes her car on the racetrack. He rescues her and takes her home, and offers to meet her to race the next day. Later, he finds himself in a showdown with a Devil Star agent, and he kills her by pinning her own rose bomb to her chest with a shuriken. Little does he know she's the same woman he'd rescued earlier and challenged to a race the day after the battle.
4. Never mind that one of the five is currently bleeding to death on the floor. This is a modification to Ken's usual announcement: "Sometimes one, sometimes five, the white shadow that moves unseen...."
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