Science Ninja Team Gatchaman
科学忍者隊ガッチャマン
About
Science Ninja Team Gatchaman is a five-member superhero team that is composed of the main characters in several anime created by Tatsuo Yoshida and originally produced in Japan by Tatsunoko Productions and later adapted into several English-language versions. It is also known by the abbreviated name Gatchaman. The original series, produced in 1972, was eponymously named Kagaku Ninja Tai Gatchaman and is most well known to the English-speaking world as the adaptation titled Battle of the Planets. The series received additional English adaptations with G-Force: Guardians of Space and ADV Films' uncut 2005 release. Tatsunoko also uses the official translation Science Commando Gatchaman, as shown in numerous related products and media. Because the English-language versions are notoriously inconsistent not only with one another but also with the original Japanese series, viewers most familiar with the English versions often experience some confusion upon re-examining the series after a long hiatus. The original 1972 Kagaku Ninja Tai Gatchaman series was followed by an animated film, two sequel series, Gatchaman II, and Gatchaman Fighter. In the 90's, episodes from both series were dubbed into English by Saban as Eagle Riders. In 1994, the original series was remade as a condensed OVA series.
Cast
Katsuji Mori
as Ken Washio, the Eagle (voice)
Isao Sasaki
as Joe Asakura, the Condor (voice)
Kazuko Sugiyama
as Jun, the Swan (voice)
Yoku Shioya
as Jinpei, the Swallow (voice)
Shingo Kanemoto
as Ryu Nakanishi, the Horned Owl (voice)
Nobuo Tanaka
as Leader X (voice)
Hisayoshi Yoshizawa
as Red Impulse (voice)
Tōru Ōhira
as Dr. Kouzaburou Nambu (voice)
Aiko Konoshima
as Female Berg Katze (voice)
Masako Nozawa
as Seiji Nakanishi (voice)
Kyoko Terase
as Joe's mother (voice)
Teiji Ōmiya
as Director Anderson (voice)
Toshiko Sawada
as Female Berg Katze (voice)
Hideo Kinoshita
as
Seasons
Gatchaman
Gatchaman II
Peace has been restored to Earth... but not for long. After two short years, Sosai X announces his return by crashing into and sinking the cruise ship Queen Margaret; kidnapping one of the survivors--a four-year-old girl named Sammie Pandora, and force-growing her into GelSadora, the next general of Gallactor. The Syndicate restores its forces and begins capturing military and scientific experts, leaving the ISO no recourse but to revive its own first line of defense: the Kagaku Ninjatai. But with Condor Joe missing and presumed dead, things aren't quite the same, and even with new weapons and vehicles, the team is at a loss. Dr. Nambu compounds the problem by bringing in a new G-2, Getz the Hawk.
Gatchaman Fighter
A surviving fragment of Sosai X mutates into Sosai Z and recruits megalomaniac Count Egobossler to create an army to conquer the world. To combat this new threat, the Science Ninja Team Gatchaman once again return with newer weapons and a new ship - the Gatchaspartan. But with the new weapons comes a heavy price: the more Ken the Eagle uses his weapon Gatchafencer as part of the Gatchaspartan's ultimate weapon, the weaker he gets as the weapon mysteriously and slowly drains his life force.
Episodes
Gatchaman
Gatchaman Versus Turtle King
A huge turtle-shapes mecha, the "Turtleking" attacks a uranium storage facility. The ISO and the delegates of various countries are very concerned. Nambu, the only person who previously knew of Galactor, now officially anounces the existence of both the criminal organization "Galactor", as well as the Science Ninja Team that has been formed to resist them. The Science Ninja Team receives Nambu's orders, unites in the God Phoenix, and flies off right away to a missile launching base where the mecha was sighted. Ken stops Joe, who's eager to get into his first real fight. Ken takes Jun along and they sneak inside the mecha. With Ken's help the God Phoenix then enters the mecha and Joe, Jinpei and Ryu join the battle against the Galactor members. Elsewhere, the commander of the mecha tells Berg Katse of the Science Ninja Team's existence. Katse then relays the message to Governor X. In accordance with X's instructions, Katse orders the Science Ninja Team to be destroyed. The order is to have the mecha make a suicidal plunge, taking the God Phoenix with it, thus burying the Science Ninja Team. But at the very last moment, the God Phoenix escapes the mecha by using the Firebird Effect.
The Apparition of a Demonic Ghostly Airplane Carrier
A spaceship disappears, along with a device that can report and record the location of the Earth's resources. The Science Ninja Team receives Nambu's instructions and heads towards the bottom of the sea, in the vicinity of the spot where contact with the spaceship was lost. There, prawn-shaped bulldozers leave a huge aircraft carrier located on the sea bottom to build a uranium factory. Ken stops Ryu who wants to fire a Bird Missile, and sneaks into the aircraft carrier alone. Ken discovers the spaceship's capsule inside the aircraft carrier, but the astronauts have been taken hostage. Ken is caught then too. In reality however, the pilots have already been murdered. Showing them as if they were still alive has been a trap. Jinpei has sneaked into the aircraft carrier following Ken on Joe's orders. He is able to rescue Ken as he is being led underground. The two of them collect the device and escape, destroying the computer in the aircraft carrier. The commander of the carrier gets blamed by Katse, and he gets into the head of the Turtleking to hurl himself at the God Phoenix. But due to Ken's quick thinking, the God Phoenix becomes the Firebird and the flames consume everything.
The Giant Mummy that Calls the Storm
Deadly crashes involving passenger planes keep happening. Ken, who's investigating these occurrences, encounters a boy named Makoto. The boy is awaiting the return of his father who was reported missing in one of the accidents. Makoto's father is the younger brother of the inventor of Uranless, Dr. Takahara. The string of plane crashes has been caused by Galactor. They are intent on getting the Uranless, since it is capable of neutralizing the means of propulsion of their giant mummy. Ken has encountered the mummy in his Cessna before, and because of that incident, he has data concerning the propulsion system of the mummy. He contacts Dr. Takahara in order to get the Uranless. He meets Makoto's father, who miraculously survived the crash. But it's Katse in disguise. Katse battles with Ken and escapes. Makoto blames Ken for torturing his father and Ken promises him to bring back his father whereupon he gets the pin hiding the Uranless. The giant mummy appears at the airport and Ken is able to defeat it by firing the Uranless into it. But Makoto watches Katse, still in the guise of his father, flee in an escape rocket. He accuses Ken of breaking his promise to bring his father back. Ken accepts Makoto's hate silently since he lost his father ten years before in a similar way and has had the same thoughts - namely that his father would return some day.
Revenge on the Mecha Mechadegon
During the investigation of an incident, Ken visits the Institute for Earthquake Research. Because of an earthquake caused by a mecha, he falls along with the director of the institute, into a crevice in the earth. Ken transmutes and is saved, but he cannot rescue the director. Ken stands before the director's grave and is attacked by the director's daughter Naomi, who firmly believes he's Galactor. Ken understands her anger at not being able to avenge her father and decides to let her know about his true identity as member of the Science Ninja Team. Consequently, he lets her join the team on the mission. In an investigation it has been calculated which resources the mecha will most likely attack next, and the God Phoenix encounters the mecha there. Inside, Ken wants to let Naomi avenge her father and asks Nambu for permission to fire the bird missiles. Nambu doesn't give permission, but Ken ignores him and tells Naomi to fire the bird missiles anyway. Naomi hesitates to press the firing button, and Ken takes Naomi's hand and makes her fire the missiles. At the director's grave, Ken hands his bracelet to Nambu. He says he wants to take the responsibility for making Naomi press the firing button without permission and resign from the team. However, Nambu says that Ken is needed for world peace and Naomi promises not to reveal his true identity.
Ghost Fleet from Hell
Oceangoing ships from the ISO keep disappearing. It always happens in the vicinity of a place called "Cemetery of the Sea". Director Anderson and Nambu ask the Science Ninja Team to go to a base on the ocean floor which is most likely to be struck next. The Science Ninja Team gets Nambu's message and takes the God Phoenix towards the base at the bottom of the sea. Then they encounter a mysterious submarine, which leads them to the Cemetery of the Sea, where they see countless sunken ships. But when Joe says that all the ships are actually battleships, Ken gets suspicious and has the God Phoenix surface. There's fog everywhere on the surface. From the middle of the fog, a ghost fleet attacks them, but the Science Ninja Team guess correctly that the fog is man-made. They destroy the device creating the fog, but from the ghost fleet appear countless disks which attack them using light rays. The Science Ninja Team has to fight a hard battle. Just when all the missiles are used up and they don't know what to do, three red planes appear and shoot down the enemy machines using superior flying techniques. The commander of the fighter plane unit introduces himself to the baffled Science Ninja Team as "Red Impulse". He then flies away, leaving the words "We'll meet again" behind.
The Big Maneuver of the Mini Robots
Gold bars are stolen from the vault of the World Bank. It is the deed of Galactor's Mini Robots. The Science Ninja Team get their instructions and start a search on the islands in the vicinity of the place where the gold bars seem to have been taken. Joe makes sure that Ken, Jun and Jinpei, in civilian wear, attract the enemy's attention and get taken off to the base. He proposes that if this is the headquarters, it should be destroyed right away. However, Nambu stops him by saying it's not the Science Ninja Team's duty to attack. Joe leaves a bored Ryu behind in the God Phoenix on the bottom of the sea and sneaks into the base in order to prepare for retaking of the gold bars. While Ken and the other create a lot of confusion in the interior of the base, Joe goes looking for the gold bars. He learns that a missile is about to be fired at the God Phoenix when it is detected by the surveillance cameras. He contacts Ryu in the God Phoenix, right away. Ryu, who is always merely on stand-by, is taking a nap, though manages to evade the missile by a hair's breadth. With Joe's guidance they store the stolen gold bars in the God Phoenix's interior. Ken and the others are contacted and escape from the base. The Galactor base and all its inhabitants are blown up because they didn't manage to prevent the gold bars being stolen back.
Galactor's Big Aviation Show
There's a new kind of plane that does not pollute the environment. In the middle of Ken's test flight of this ISO-developed plane, he is attacked by a biplane, piloted by a man who introduces himself as "Katzen Berig". Katzen Berig lashes with his whip at the ISO plane, causing it to crash, but Ken saves himself just in time by deploying a parachute. Nambu suspects from the name that Galactor is involved and orders the God Phoenix to attack immediately, but the God Phoenix's tailfin gets damaged by the whip. Analysis of the material stuck in the hull of the God Phoenix reveals that this kind of metal, called "super metal whisker", is something that has been researched by the ISO, but not manufactured. Nambu is taken aback at the scientific power of Galactor, but when the production factory is discovered, he gives the Science Ninja Team the order to destroy it. While the Science Ninja Team conducts a search with the God Phoenix in a mining area, they detect a huge mine. When they discover that this is where Galactor's secret factory is located, they sneak into it. By the end of the battle, they have succeeded in destroying the computer and the nuclear reactor. They try to make their getaway in the God Phoenix, but are caught by the strong magnetic attraction of the mine. They switch to jet propulsion and escape by a hair's breadth, leaving the exploding factory behind them.
The Secret of Crescent Coral
A secret base. In order to resist their terrible enemy, Nambu thinks about a base for the Science Ninja Team. But fearing enemy intervention, he gives the Ninja Team orders to fly a patrol at Point G in the southern Pacific Ocean. Following orders not to intervene there, the God Phoenix leaves a smoke screen and flees when it encounters a sea anemone mecha. That night, Jinpei is with the other four team members, but he is not tired at all. He takes the G-4 and dives to the bottom of the sea. Children in the park had told him that G-4's popularity is the lowest of all the team members, and he intends on gaining their favour by being the best. Despite the worries of the other team members, he wanders around the sea bottom searching for the mecha. He never notices that he is being tailed by the mecha he seeks. Jinpei finds what seems to be a base under construction, but is caught by the mecha. He contacts Ken, but the base is blown up before his eyes. The mecha is destroyed by the God Phoenix and Katse gets away again. Jinpei wails that the base has been blown up because of his own egoistic actions, but Nambu tells him that the destroyed base was only a decoy. The Science Ninja Team had been the bait to attract the enemy's attention. The God Phoenix is flying high in the sky. Deep below stretches a crescent shaped coral reef. Below the reef hides the base which is capable of changing its location.
Similar Shows
Shows like this one
Recommended for You
Based on this series
