Hi all! Just a quick note to point out that today marks the 40th Anniversary of the finale of the original Gatchaman. Two years and 105 episodes -- not too shabby for a series that was initially figured to run 26 episodes, 52 at the most. James

So glad that this series took off and became what it did. Thanks for the reminder!

I agree, not too shabby at all. Very glad people are still enjoying the show, even many years later. Yuke, yuke, yuke, Gatchaman!

Raise a glass to mark the day! (And here's to the hope of a new beginning someday...)

Kind of a sad anniversary, but at least we know that it did spawn two spinoff series (three, if you count the Zip TV shorts), a radio drama, OAVs and 2 movies. (Yeah, I'm not counting Crowds, since it has nothing to do with Gatchaman.) And I'm sure James will chime in with many other things I've forgotten. And then we could go on about the 'adaptations', like BOTP, GoS, Eagle Riders, Heros del Espacio, etc.....

Yes, it's one of the most popular anime. How many others have multiple adaptions?

I'm so glad that we got as many episodes as we did! I would have loved for it to continue on forever!

Originally posted by Transmute Jun Kind of a sad anniversary, but at least we know that it did spawn two spinoff series (three, if you count the Zip TV shorts), a radio drama, OAVs and 2 movies. (Yeah, I'm not counting Crowds, since it has nothing to do with Gatchaman.) And I'm sure James will chime in with many other things I've forgotten. And then we could go on about the 'adaptations', like BOTP, GoS, Eagle Riders, Heros del Espacio, etc.....

What were the Zip TV shorts about anyhow? I've seen the DVD's available for purchase, but...what are they? LOL. And the radio drama is not available anywhere correct?

I'm not sure about the radio drama, but it is only in Japanese, James would be a good source for locating it, if you would like to listen. The Zip TV shorts were part of a Japanese morning show. They are all silly little shorts (unfortunately, entirely in Japanese, so some of them can be very frustrating to watch). They generally had humorous plots, such as: Ken needs to use the bathroom, so Berg Katse sends all of his goons in to take up the stalls so he can't 'go'. Berg Katse wants to take over France, but can't get anywhere since the locals are correcting his pronunciation of 'Je veux conquerer ce pays.' Joe wants to shoot a Bird Missile, but is delayed because of a number of security measures, asking him various ridiculous questions. The team keeps being interrupted during the Tornado Fighter because Joe's cell phone keeps going off. Etc. etc. etc. You can see the first 10 episodes here. http://www.veoh.com/watch/v21051599H3SDbh3X?h1=Good+Morning+Ninja+Team+Gatchaman%2C+parts+1-10

Those plots sound pretty funny at least.

Thanks, TJ. That's exactly what I was looking for!