I was wondering if anyone can shed some light on what kind of doctor Nambu is. I know "hakase" means something more akin to PhD than Doctor, but do we know what his doctorate is in (or doctorates)? I ask because I am confused about his involvement in the faking of George Asakura's death. It may be because I have dodgy subtitles on my DVDs of the Gatchaman series, but I'm not sure if Dr Nambu signed the death certificate, or whether his name was on some other form of paperwork as a kind of witness or something? Of course if he signed the death certificate he would have to have the relevant medical training and qualifications. I'm just not sure if I have that detail right, if I've misinterpreted the subtitles, or if I've made it up! (Ep 81 when Joe goes back to BC Island. They mention that "a scientist" who turns out to be Nambu found Joe/George - or was at least there at the time?) Answers may help with a fic that's trying hard to form in my head!

Dr. Nambu did sign the death certificate. Apparently, this fact was not included in the report back to Galactor about the execution of the Asakura family. (One of the reasons Katse has several litters of kittens during this ep.) It was never made clear why some of the details of little George's death and burial weren't included in the report or why nobody asked any questions until the spitting image of Giuseppe Asakura showed up a few years later. Now, as far as Dr. Nambu's credentials are concerned...I don't recall any real specifics mentioned. Puppy Episode aside, he seems to have received medical training, plus he seems to have worked in other scientific fields...maybe he's like the Doctor from Doctor Who -- a ""doctor of everything"!

Hi all! The easiest place to find information regarding Nambu's background, education, and the like, and where that information came from, would be this thread from a few years back: http://gatchamania.net/thread.php?threadid=2097&sid= James

Thanks for the tip James. After initially being frustrated by a link that seems to have expired, I found a long reply from you which included this snippet: "You have to go back to the even earlier character concepts to get to much of what we know of Nambu's background. It is there that we are told that Nambu is an unmarried 48-year-old Japanese man who lives in a villa in Kanagawa Prefecture. He graduated from Oxford and Cambridge with degrees in Engineering and Medical Mechanics. Awarded the Mami Scientifiic Prize, he is a Professor Emeritus at the University of Tokyo, and a consultant on the I.S.O.'s Mantle Plan. Completion of the Mantle Plan is his goal in life. He has both a automobile and an air license, and has first degree Judo training" I think I've found what I need. Now I just need to work out what Medical Mechanics is! EW thanks for clearing up the death certificate question for me!

Medical Mechanics is probably what we call Biomedical Engineering. It's the field that would develop giant salad spinners for neurosurgical purposes... as long as the world had gone completely insane, that is. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biomedical_engineering

Hi all!

Originally posted by Katblu42 After initially being frustrated by a link that seems to have expired,

I'm guessing that link is to the GatchOnline site that was run by the sadly late Carolyn Kaufman. It's still hard to believe she's gone. *Sniffle* Anyway, if you want to look at her old site, it can be found archived here: https://web.archive.org/web/20130228050445/http://gatchonline.com/ James

Originally posted by tatsunokofan I'm guessing that link is to the GatchOnline site that was run by the sadly late Carolyn Kaufman. It's still hard to believe she's gone. *Sniffle* James

Ye gods, I've been out of the loop. When did that happen?

Hi all!

Originally posted by GrumpyGhostOwl Ye gods, I've been out of the loop. When did that happen?

Carolyn was felled by a brain aneurysm in September of 2013. You can see her obituary here: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/dispatch/obituary.aspx?pid=166842251 James

Thanks, James.

Wow! Yes, indeed it was the link to GatchOnline that I meant. I hadn't come across that site before, and it's quite a good one. How sad to lose a member of the fan community in such a way. Thanks for the link, James.