I picked up this older manga series at my local Japanese store. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed them (for a dollar per book - I couldn't go wrong). These were published by Hobunsha Comics and are from the mid 80s to early 90s. Here is the cover from the first manga collection (May 1983): Here are a few of the strips. I picked ones that are understandable even if you don't speak the language.

I'd probably enjoy them too Tim If I'd know Japanese!

Those are cute, Tim! That poor guy doesn't have very much luck, does he?

Amy - I tried to pick strips that didn't require you to know what they were saying to find them funny. Springie - You're right. He doesn't have great luck. Often his bad luck is off his own design (especially if he gets drinking). BTW, the name Otoboke Kachou literally means "Pretending ignorance section chief". This manga was written and drawn by Masashi Ueda. It won an Excellence Award in 1999 from the Japanese Cartoonists' Association. When I get time, I'll post more strips.

Originally posted by Sosai X Amy - I tried to pick strips that didn't require you to know what they were saying to find them funny. When I get time, I'll post more strips.

Yup, I kinda figured what they mean. They are to be watched from top to bottom as in Japanese reading, right? The Japanese do have the sense of humor

Those strips remind me so much of the Beano and Dandy comics I used to read when I was a kid. I had a ton that came from the UK, including a few annuals. Oh my, that was 25 years ago... and I still remember them. I guess if I'm old, at least my mind isn't going.

aww I almost feel sorry for him. We had some good comics over here TJ I used to read tons of them. Now i just have the botp ones

Originally posted by Firebird aww I almost feel sorry for him. We had some good comics over here TJ I used to read tons of them. Now i just have the botp ones

ITA, you did. I'm not sure if I still have my old Dandys and Beanos.... I'll have to dig around...

Tim can you translate this for me please?

Hey, what is with the white pom poms on Nambu's outfit???? Is he taking hints from his OAV counterpart?

I don't know! That's what I want to find out!

It looks like they are teasing about Ken not being able to drink in birdstyle...but I have no idea what is going on with Nambu and Ryu...

Originally posted by Springie It looks like they are teasing about Ken not being able to drink in birdstyle...but I have no idea what is going on with Nambu and Ryu...

Maybe Ryu has the same problem! He's very sensitive about food you know!

You'd think they would have invented the technology of STRAWS....

Ken should use a straw!

Exactly!

Originally posted by amyltrer Tim can you translate this for me please?

I'll show the picture to a friend and see what she says. Here's a quick read... In Panel 2: the red word balloon says, 'Hai, Nambu.' [Yes, Nambu.] The green balloon points to Ken and says 'Dai majime' [literally 'Big Earnest', or 'Very Serious'] In Panel 4: the red word balloon says 'atsu' [hot] and the green word balloon points at Ken's visor and says 'kumotta' [which I'm assuming is a play on the word kumoru - to become cloudy, to fog up]. Notice you can't see Ken's eyes. In panel 5 it looks like Ryu is wondering when his turn is next. The kanji in the first panel and panel 5 are a bit blurry and hard to read. I'll run the picture by my friend but that won't be until Monday night.

Looks like you are doing well Tim. How about trying these two as well?

I'm scared to think about what's going on with all of those naked guys in the water! And RI too! The look on Ryu's face makes me wonder...

Yes that is the one that interests me. And the expressions they all have. They almost tell a story on their own. I want to know if my story is anything near what the real story is.

Originally posted by Sosai X

Originally posted by amyltrer Tim can you translate this for me please?

I'll show the picture to a friend and see what she says. Here's a quick read... In Panel 2: the red word balloon says, 'Hai, Nambu.' [Yes, Nambu.] The green balloon points to Ken and says 'Dai majime' [literally 'Big Earnest', or 'Very Serious'] In Panel 4: the red word balloon says 'atsu' [hot] and the green word balloon points at Ken's visor and says 'kumotta' [which I'm assuming is a play on the word kumoru - to become cloudy, to fog up]. Notice you can't see Ken's eyes. In panel 5 it looks like Ryu is wondering when his turn is next. The kanji in the first panel and panel 5 are a bit blurry and hard to read. I'll run the picture by my friend but that won't be until Monday night.

Thanks Tim.

Hehe, I must admit RI looks good for his age! Maybe that's why Ken looks so shocked!

Originally posted by amyltrer

Originally posted by Sosai X

Originally posted by amyltrer Tim can you translate this for me please?

I'll show the picture to a friend and see what she says. Here's a quick read... In Panel 2: the red word balloon says, 'Hai, Nambu.' [Yes, Nambu.] The green balloon points to Ken and says 'Dai majime' [literally 'Big Earnest', or 'Very Serious'] In Panel 4: the red word balloon says 'atsu' [hot] and the green word balloon points at Ken's visor and says 'kumotta' [which I'm assuming is a play on the word kumoru - to become cloudy, to fog up]. Notice you can't see Ken's eyes. In panel 5 it looks like Ryu is wondering when his turn is next. The kanji in the first panel and panel 5 are a bit blurry and hard to read. I'll run the picture by my friend but that won't be until Monday night.

Thanks Tim.

I get the feeling they're doing a tea ceremony, so 'hot' and 'serious' would seem to fit. I think straws would be considered a big no-no in a tea ceremony! So if the Eagle is having problems doing the tea ceremony properly then Ryu is going to have an even harder time trying to drink as his visor is even closer to his face. So maybe Nambu's pom-poms are part of some ceremonial dress. Or he's just feeling sexy..LOL

Originally posted by clouddancer Looks like you are doing well Tim. How about trying these two as well?

The first one looks like there's some sort of endurance competition...like who can stand sitting in the hot water the longest or who can blow the most bubbles...LOL The second one looks like the boys are impressed by the way RI can hang up his towel without using his hands!

The second one looks like the boys are impressed by the way RI can hang up his towel without using his hands! Animelol

That must be it! Priceless, Kimi!

Originally posted by kimiko

Originally posted by clouddancer Looks like you are doing well Tim. How about trying these two as well?

The first one looks like there's some sort of endurance competition...like who can stand sitting in the hot water the longest or who can blow the most bubbles...LOL The second one looks like the boys are impressed by the way RI can hang up his towel without using his hands!

I like those suggestions Kimi. Even better than what I was thinking.

Kimi, you are a genius!

Oh, Kimi, you are baaaad!

RI just reminded me of a story my dad told when he and my mom were reminising about their days in the Air Force. Apparently there was one well-endowed man who liked to parade around like that in the showers and liked to point the fact out to all the other guys!

Originally posted by kimiko I get the feeling they're doing a tea ceremony, so 'hot' and 'serious' would seem to fit. I think straws would be considered a big no-no in a tea ceremony! So if the Eagle is having problems doing the tea ceremony properly then Ryu is going to have an even harder time trying to drink as his visor is even closer to his face. So maybe Nambu's pom-poms are part of some ceremonial dress. Or he's just feeling sexy..LOL

I got the impression they were trying to eat ramen noodles of some kind. They are served hot (well, most of them) so they would fog up Ken's face shield. I assumed the 'very serious' bit was referring to Ken since he tends to be uptight most of the time. As for the 2nd image with Nambu holding a bag of something... they are eggs (hard boiled eggs?). it looks like both Ken and Joe are trying to see who can lay the most eggs. I see Ken gets labled 'Oo majime' again (very serious / uptight). I hoping to have some much more reliable translations in the next couple of days (depending on when I can talk to my friend). Cheers, Tim

Could be Miso soup, it's more broth-like so you wouldn't need chopsticks...or Sake (I love it warmed up!)...great...now I'm craving sushi!

Originally posted by kimiko Could be Miso soup, it's more broth-like so you wouldn't need chopsticks...or Sake (I love it warmed up!)...great...now I'm craving sushi!

Mmmmmm... miso soup. I think you're right that is is probably soup or something. Ramen would require chopsticks. That looks like a big bowl to be sake. I love sushi (well, mostly vegetarian sushi). I have been known to roll my own sushi but usually I'm lazy and I just buy it. My local Japanese restaurant has a maki sushi that is sweet potato cooked in tempura and then rolled in the rice & seaweed. It is out of this world! Now, I'm craving sushi. I think I'll go and make a bowl of miso soup instead. I'll practice my slurping sounds (in Japan it is good manners to slurp your soup and noodles, but not your rice *grin*). I've sent the three images to my friend asking for her help in translating. I didn't get a chance to talk to her last night but I will be talking to her tonight (tomorrow morning for her due to the time difference *grin*).

You know I never got one thing! Their helmet visor were transparent riiight? So why did Katze bother to find out thier identities when s/he could have a good look at their faces and recognise them later?

Same reason that no one ever figured out the number t-shirt thing.

Some fics explain the fact by saying the visors distorted their faces, made them more angular or something. Or that the tinted visors changed their features/eye colour.

Hmm they seem to be made out of ordinary coloured plastic to me!

Originally posted by kimiko

Originally posted by amyltrer Tim can you translate this for me please?

I get the feeling they're doing a tea ceremony, so 'hot' and 'serious' would seem to fit. I think straws would be considered a big no-no in a tea ceremony! So if the Eagle is having problems doing the tea ceremony properly then Ryu is going to have an even harder time trying to drink as his visor is even closer to his face. So maybe Nambu's pom-poms are part of some ceremonial dress. Or he's just feeling sexy..LOL

You were right Kimiko. They are doing the Tea Ceremony. In Panel 3, the red word panel is the sound of Ken's Visor hitting his cup. And Ryu at the end is basically asking when will he get some (tea). I haven't heard anything about the other two comics. Perhaps we should ask James about them since he has a much better understanding of Japanese.

I know the Japanese take tea ceremonies VERY SERIOUSLY. It is considered one of the greatest honours to be invited to participate in one and a major sacrilege and insult if you screw it up! There's umteen steps ...if I remember correctly many steps have to be done 3 times...3 sips to finish all the tea in the cup, wiping the cup with your fingers on the spot where your lips touched, clock-wise rotation of the cup 3 times so the next person to drink won't drink from the same spot where you drank from..etc.. even where you sit in the room is based on your status and of course you have to wear proper attire...Nambu's pom-poms is where I got the clue...The team's birdstyle would be considered proper attire because it's basically their military rank and file along the lines of samurai warriors & their feudal lord. We all know how the Eagle takes his role as Gatchaman seriously (anal even) so not being able to perform the tea ceremony properly would probably cause him alot of anxiety. And then there's poor Ryu...the comedian..thinking with his stomach...

Here are some more Japanese comics from Sayuri's site...I'd love to know what they are saying...

In the first one, Joe seems to have a bowl of Jun's cooking!

Looks like Joe's come out with his own cereal... CONDOR-O'S...with marshmallow shurikens and bird missiles!

Originally posted by kimiko Looks like Joe's come out with his own cereal... CONDOR-O'S...with marshmallow shurikens and bird missiles!

Kimi, you are just full of great ideas! Now, where can I buy some Condor-Os?

ANd that explains why Ken looks so upset. He is not happy with the Condor-o's while all he gets is..... what is that?

I'm not sure what Ken's eating...rice and ...kinda looks like kalamari... Does Ken have a pet rat? Or is his hair being compared to a rat's nest?

The drawings are good though...mmm

Originally posted by Springie

Originally posted by kimiko I'm not sure what Ken's eating...rice and ...kinda looks like kalamari... Does Ken have a pet rat? Or is his hair being compared to a rat's nest?

Ken has a rat on his head because he fell into sewage. Nambu isn't too impressed with Ken because he uses the rude version of 'you' (omae) that is used when berating inferiors to refer to Ken. The first line at the top says, "sumimasen, Dr Nambu..." which can translate as "excuse me" or even "I'm sorry". If this is the team speaking then it would also be in plural. Edit: Dr Nambu's kanji actually says 'Nambu Doctor'. The next panel (starting right to left): "Ken!!" Joe says, "Uoo." Jun says, "Maa." Jinpei says, "Wa." Rytu says "Ee." These are just sounds each team member is making. Japanese is full of onomatopoeia sounds. I'm still trying to figure out what the full sentence to Ryu's left says. The next panel with Ken and the rat: "Gesui ni ochimashita." (I fell into the sewer) The first kanji to the right represents the word under. The one after it means water. Put them together and you get sewage system. Final panel with Nambu saying: "Omae ga gesui ni..." which I would translate as "You fell into the sewer..." The characters above Nambu's head (parari), I'm not sure about. I haven't started translating the third pic yet but I do know that the word bubble to the right (with the red outline) is saying, "Karai zo! Ken!" (Well, it's spicy!! Ken!) The word "zo" is used to emphasis one's opinions (it can be rude and is used with close friends or with those of lower status). Ken responds by saying, "E" (basically he is saying "ahh"). That's as far as I got so far.

I loved the rat is ken's hair. It matches him well. Thanks for the translations Tim. Now I wonder how ken has fallen into the sewage!

Pssst, Tim, what is Red Impulse saying? Is just me or he has a pinafore on?

The sewer, huh? I'll bet there's a long story behind that....

Originally posted by amyltrer I loved the rat is ken's hair. It matches him well. Thanks for the translations Tim. Now I wonder how ken has fallen into the sewage!

Well Amy feel free to write a fic to go along with the pic.

Oh wow! I wasn't expecting Ken to be a sewer rat... wonder if it has anything to do with the dinosaur episode where he lost his wristband? LOL

I was thinking of the episode. where they found the little boy down in the sewers. The boy who was not affected by Katse's agressive brain wave manipulation, because he was in the sewers, and then led the team to the palace or presidential home. Can not remember the ep. name or number. Sorry, that is probably not much help. It has been a while since I have seen it.

I think it was the Aurora Operation. That was never made into BOTP. It might also be the one with the peacocks.

Originally posted by amyltrer Tim can you translate this for me please?

"But Hakasa you don't understand the design flaw in this Helmet." Ken the Eagle picked up the cup of hot soup to demonstrate what he was trying to get across to the Doctor, it didn't even get near his lips. "See, hot soup everywhere, it just doesn't cut it, and if you think I'm having problems, well Ryu's are worse!" They both looked over at a hungry Owl who didn't eat at all on the last 3 day mission...

Originally posted by Transmute Jun I think it was the Aurora Operation. That was never made into BOTP. It might also be the one with the peacocks.

It was not the one with the peacocks and it did make it as a BOTP ep. I vividly remember it because I remember Mark pinkie swearing with the little boy before Mark gets out of the sewers again. This is the episode I think of when I think how well Mark relates to children. I just looked it up: in BOTP it is called the Duplicate King, (It is one that I want to see again when/if I can get the DVD) In Gatchaman it is episode 77 Berg Katse's Success.

Originally posted by Transmute Jun I think it was the Aurora Operation. That was never made into BOTP. It might also be the one with the peacocks.

In BOTP I don't remember an EP that they were turned into animals...So they didn't re make the Aurora EP..

Originally posted by Springie Oh wow! I wasn't expecting Ken to be a sewer rat... wonder if it has anything to do with the dinosaur episode where he lost his wristband? LOL

lol, Springie this has me ROTFL!

I love when these are found and Tim translates them for us lol. Thank you Tim!