Let me try this again... Ok, somehow, I ended up with a crazy smiley face next to Grape Bomber...don't ask me how I managed that... I'm going to give a little explanation of each ep, in case people don't recognize them just by title...

Farewell, Red Impulse (53)-In this episode, Red Impulse finally reveals that he is Ken's father. Ken is distraught when his father pilots a rocket bound for certain destruction. Galactor's Witch Racer (27)- Joe enters a car race with Lucy, who turns out to be a cyborg. Lucy is detroyed by Galactor before she can share Galactor's secrets with Joe. Secret of the Bird Styles (74)- Jun loses a shoe while saving children from a Mammoth mecha. Katse finds the shoe, and uses it to try to find out her secret identity. Jigokillers (39,40)- Jun is captured by woman-eating flowers, and is thought to be dead. Much angst follows as the team grieve and then realize she is still alive. The End of the Crescent Base (92)-Katse finally finds out the location of the Crescent Coral Base and destroys it. The team and Dr. Nambu narrowly escape. The Sniper Group Heavy Cobra (101)- Jun and Ken get trapped aboard a Galactor ship and are taken to a secret base. Joe comes to their rescue and single-handedly takes down a Galactor mecha. Earth's Destruction, 0002 (105)- The grand finale. Joe lies, almost dead, trying to show the team where the Galactor base is. The team say their angsty "good-byes" to him, and then stop Galactor's last evil plot to destroy the earth in the nick of time. Grape Bomber, the Spherical Iron Beast (9- Joe's condition worsens, and he hits a woman with his car. As he is taking care of her, his comrades are fighting against the Grape-bomber mecha. The Plan to Assassinate Dr. Nambu (31)-The Devil Stars attempt to kill Nambu, but are stopped by Joe. Nambu and Ken board a train with Katse in disguise and the team tries to keep Galactor from harming them.

Added it up for you on the portal Should be able to see it. Don't worry about the smilies they like to hijack things

I figured out what happened... 8 and ) are next to each other...and I guess that's the code for ... KEWL! Thanks for putting it up, Cep! You're the best!

Wow, Springie, talk about your tough choices! My vote was for Sniper Group Heavy Cobra. As an unabashed Joe fan, this episode covered most every side of that character using overt and subtle methods. Brilliant! That and it was darn funny seeing Ken and Jun dragged through the swamp. *laughs thoughtfully* Those Gallactor freaks. What sadistic deviltry will this think of next?

Secret of the Birdstyles is my favorite ep, back from the BOTP days when it was Museum of Mystery!

Duel on Galactor island ( #81)- so perfect on so many levels. ....ah sighswoon. the storyline, the background info the character development and in the end?..ah the end that moment of pure anime at its finest with Joe killing his childhood friend Father Alan in the act of protecting Ken from Alans aimed gun....only to find the gun was empty.... Ah sheer anime poetry. , and also the spawn of many an angst filled fanfic. In the same calibre, is the Jigokillers part 1 and 2 as well as the final trilogy of Gatch 1 . I still love da angst..

I had to vote for Not Listed. My fav (at this point - it often changes depending on my mood) is Episode 41: "Murder Music". That's some wild music in that episode. It reminds me of some of my Sonic Youth cds.

I have to say, there are some primo moments in that episode, Sosai! I hope you have watched the English/ADV version, where they have the Battle of the Planets song!

No, I don't have the ADV version - just my Japanese language episode (no subtitles) on vhs. I might get around to getting the ADV dvds.

This is just too hard for me to choose! I'm gonna have to go with Sniper Group Heavy Cobra. Because: A) The Condor saves the day! Yes lots of Condor action and shows his intelligence and craftinessby putting the little tracker thingamajigy in his gun which he lent to the Eagle. And c'mon..the what a way to combine his driving (in extremely wet conditions!) and shooting abilities (shooting the enemies with a bolt action rifle and cutting the ropes on the Eagle & Swan)! Talk about moving targets and he did it by himself! B) That was just one f*cking neato Mecha! The Galactor engineers should have got a pay raise for that one just for the coolness factor!...well if they're still alive since it was blown up. At least Kaste should give them a second chance ..back to the drawing board! C) The angstiness...(is that even a word?) D) The colouring in general in that ep to me is superb! The sunset is gorgeous! E) Did I mention I'm a Condor fan?

Geez, Kimi, you sure are a Condor girl. I voted for the Plan to assasinate Nambster episode. First, I never liked the guy too much, to bad they cut the ep with Ego shooting him from the ERs. And you get nice insights of Bergie. Yep, the mutie is fascinating. I like hir a lot in female form. And there's Condor action in this ep. And Devilstars too!

I have to say, Amy and Kimi both picked good ones!

Hehee..it was hard to narrow down to a handful of episodes to choose from...so I'm wondering if some of the ones with zero votes should be replaced...Murder Music should be there for Tim...any other suggestions? I happen to really like the Koji episode and the shoe episode...but the flowers are still my all time favorite!

The problem is there are so many good episodes to choose from.

The problem is there are so many good episodes to choose from.

Exactly! That's why picking just one as a favorite is essentially impossible for me. Heck, even narrowing it down to a top five or a top ten would be difficult. Going in a different direction, which episodes are your least favorite? Okay, just so people don't jump on the Puppy Episode bandwagon, exclude that one from your choices, and then which episodes are your least favorite? And what is it about them that you don't enjoy? James

Originally posted by Sosai X The problem is there are so many good episodes to choose from.

Which is, of course, why we all love the show so much!

Worst episode... the puppy ep! Oh... wait... Outside of that one, its hard to say. I'm sure people will be jogging my memory with some I want to forget. But just in general, early on I recall a bunch of episodes that all kind of blended into each other for me... the ones I used to see a lot on BOTP that followed the formula: 1) Galactor/Spectra has a new mecha. It destroys some cities. 2) The (God) Phoenix goes out to fight it and fails. 3) Nambu/Anderson figures out something, the team goes back out again and defeats the mecha (usually with the Firebird) 4) Katse/Zoltar escapes again. Darn it! Outside of those, I have to say that there are parts of the Devil's Fashion Show that make me cringe (although there are good parts too) as well as pieces of the Aurora Operation (Nambu as a gorilla... ugh). Neither of these were ever made into BOTO eps. I'm guessinto the combo of these eps and Zark was just too much for Sandy Frank to take... Oh yeah, that early one where Ken beats up that girl for not wanting to shoot the BMs... ugh... that's just a bad ep all around.

Well to be fair, Gatchaman was a 'Monster (Mecha) of the Week' kid's cartoon that occasionally rose above its format and produced some outstanding stuff. Sure Gatchaman help set the formula that later TV shows would depend on (I'm looking at you Voltron and Power Rangers *grin*) but it was still formulaic. My least fav episode is Episode 3: "A Giant Mummy Calls the Storms" (the BOTP version is even worse). Just shut up that annoying brat. Is it wrong that I wished the Mummy Mecha would step on that kid and his guardian as well! I still couldn't get over one line from the kid's guardian who told the kid to behave or else his father would never return home. WTF! Talk about lack of sensitivity but then again if I was the kid's guardian I would probably end up doing the same. For the record... I don't mind the puppy episode. Oh ya, another fav episode of mine is Episode 100: "Gatchaman, 20 Years Later". Cheers, Tim

Originally posted by Sosai X For the record... I don't mind the puppy episode. Oh ya, another fav episode of mine is Episode 100: "Gatchaman, 20 Years Later".

You just like the statue of !

I haven't seen the puppy ep or the Aurora Operation but I must admit my curiosity is piqued (just picturing Nambu as a gorilla) I do have the Devil's Fashion Show (not subtitled).."Bird Roller!" There's just something so NOT RIGHT about it...maybe if they used hockey sticks it would appear more menacing..or a hockey game would break out and then we'd see some real fights... Mind you I do remember that roller-skating back in Tha Day could be quite dangerous. (ie kimiko can't skate or stop to save her life and was usually the end of the "whip" crashing into things! Yes these were my friends doing this to me!) So I did sympathize with poor Ryu trying to learn to skate!

You mean you don't have the ADV sets, Kimi? You must run, run, and buy them!!!!

I dunno...the Roller skating episode is kinda funny...it reminds me of Murder Music because of the glaring 70's vibe...it's just so ridiculous, I like it...and it's cute the way Jun is embarrassed to be caught trying on the dresses... The one I really don't like is the episode that only has Ken in it...the one where he is kidnapped and forced to fly the guy in his plane...and they are tied together in a well and then take on a chameleon mecha... I mean, give me a break, this isn't the "Ken show" people...it's about the whole team! Springie breaks into the Ken sketch song...Ken, Ken,Ken marvelous Ken, wonderful Ken...

Originally posted by Transmute Jun You mean you don't have the ADV sets, Kimi? You must run, run, and buy them!!!!

Oh yes, Kimi, the ADV set is awesome. I highly recommend it!!!

Originally posted by Springie I dunno...the Roller skating episode is kinda funny...it reminds me of Murder Music because of the glaring 70's vibe...it's just so ridiculous, I like it...and it's cute the way Jun is embarrassed to be caught trying on the dresses...

Yeah, but the way she sounds so ditsy and airheaded, going on about dresses and fashion... rubs me the wrong way. It's not the intelligent girl we have come to love and expect, KWIM?

Originally posted by Springie I mean, give me a break, this isn't the "Ken show" people...it's about the whole team! Springie breaks into the Ken sketch song...Ken, Ken,Ken marvelous Ken, wonderful Ken...

A point of order m'lord... Gatchaman refers to both the team *and* Ken. i.e. Eagle Ken is G-1, Gatchaman. The whole team is also known as Gatchaman. Confusing aint it.

Originally posted by Springie

Originally posted by Transmute Jun You mean you don't have the ADV sets, Kimi? You must run, run, and buy them!!!!

Oh yes, Kimi, the ADV set is awesome. I highly recommend it!!!

Oh yes I've been looking online, pricing stuff and I must say that my salary for the next year or so has been spent already! Amazon.ca will be the death of my savings account! Does anyone have any recommandations for buying online? I am a newbie when it comes to shopping online and don't have credit cards (this is a good thing!)

Originally posted by Sosai X

Originally posted by Springie I mean, give me a break, this isn't the "Ken show" people...it's about the whole team! Springie breaks into the Ken sketch song...Ken, Ken,Ken marvelous Ken, wonderful Ken...

A point of order m'lord... Gatchaman refers to both the team *and* Ken. i.e. Eagle Ken is G-1, Gatchaman. The whole team is also known as Gatchaman. Confusing aint it.

Yeah, I know...the invincible Gatchaman...the white shadow...and team Gatchaman...grrrr...marvelous Ken, wonderful Ken... To me, the shows can revolve around one of the team...but I want them to show the other members, too...and I want to see how they react to the situation...

Originally posted by kimiko

Originally posted by Springie

Originally posted by Transmute Jun You mean you don't have the ADV sets, Kimi? You must run, run, and buy them!!!!

Oh yes, Kimi, the ADV set is awesome. I highly recommend it!!!

Oh yes I've been looking online, pricing stuff and I must say that my salary for the next year or so has been spent already! Amazon.ca will be the death of my savings account! Does anyone have any recommandations for buying online? I am a newbie when it comes to shopping online and don't have credit cards (this is a good thing!)

If you do not want to buy online, you could do what I did. I purchased most of the DVD's through HMV, Bestbuy or Future Shop. For the last few DVD's I realized they were slightly cheaper online and purchased from Amazon.ca, but then I have a credit card. I know this does not help you with your problem, but it is a possible solution. I am sure those stores could get copies from other locations if they do not have copies in stock.

Originally posted by Transmute Jun You mean you don't have the ADV sets, Kimi? You must run, run, and buy them!!!!

Don't feel bad Kimi! I don't own the ADV's either. Thank goodness for the online DVD rental stores. If it wasn't for Netflix I wouldn't even be watching the series! I am planning on purchasing them - eventually. Though I've noticed that Amazon only has a few collector sets left. Most are just the ADV's featuring the eps, clean opening/closing, and the interviews with the voice talent. Hinotori

Chapters/Indigo.ca has the box sets listed at $34.99...so roughly $360 for all 9 including tax/free shipping. I can buy a reusable gift card and use it online or just visit one of their stores to see if they will stock it for me. off to check HMV online...

HMV online has them priced at $44.99. FutureShop: doesn't have all of the volumes listed some are $34.99 & otheres are $40.99. So far chapters/indigo seems to be the best bet @ $35.99.

Originally posted by kimiko Does anyone have any recommandations for buying online? I am a newbie when it comes to shopping online and don't have credit cards (this is a good thing!)

I would say open a Paypal account (you can do it with your bank account) and check EBay. There are LOTS of sets on there and if you're patient you could probably find a good deal.

Kimi, Overstock.com has a bunch of the collections for about $20 apiece, and some individual volumes for $10 apiece. http://www.overstock.com/search?keywords=gatchaman&taxonomy=&SearchType=HP_Header Since the $Cdn is at par right now, that's pretty good. They also have a $1 shipping special that ends today. Oh shoot... I just saw that they don't ship to Canada. Tell you what, if you want, you can have them send it to me and I'll re-send it to you, if you'd like. It shouldn't be too bad in terms of shipping cost.

Originally posted by Transmute Jun Kimi, Overstock.com has a bunch of the collections for about $20 apiece, and some individual volumes for $10 apiece. http://www.overstock.com/search?keywords=gatchaman&taxonomy=&SearchType=HP_Header Since the $Cdn is at par right now, that's pretty good. They also have a $1 shipping special that ends today. Oh shoot... I just saw that they don't ship to Canada. Tell you what, if you want, you can have them send it to me and I'll re-send it to you, if you'd like. It shouldn't be too bad in terms of shipping cost.

I have noticed though that even though the $Cdn is at par, some online stores are still not accepting it at par yet. I was upset when something I wanted to order was still listed at 1/3 more expensive in cdn funds. I went elsewhere to purchase. BTW do they have any BOTP at Overstock? Cloud wanders off to look

Thanks for looking anyway TJ! I'm just waiting for payday...digital camera has to come first, next pay i'll be able to afford some DVD's!

N/P Kimi! I've been the mailing point for a few of my Canadian friends before... usually when they want to bid on EBay and the vendor doesn't want to sell to 'foreigners'. Some people are really picky. Sheesh!

A point of order m'lord... Gatchaman refers to both the team *and* Ken. i.e. Eagle Ken is G-1, Gatchaman. The whole team is also known as Gatchaman. Confusing aint it

Well... If you want to get technical, the name of the team is "Science Ninja Team," and "Gatchaman" refers solely to Ken, not to the team as a whole. Yes, there are times in the series when the Science Ninja Team is referred to as Gatchaman, but in the strictest sense, this is an error, blanketing a group of people with the name of an individual. Not a big deal, by any stretch, but one I figured was worth pointing out. James

Originally posted by tatsunokofan Well... If you want to get technical, the name of the team is "Science Ninja Team," and "Gatchaman" refers solely to Ken, not to the team as a whole. Yes, there are times in the series when the Science Ninja Team is referred to as Gatchaman, but in the strictest sense, this is an error, blanketing a group of people with the name of an individual. Not a big deal, by any stretch, but one I figured was worth pointing out. James

I'm not sure if I would call the use of the term Gatchaman towards an individual and a group an "error" per se. Maybe by English language rules but it does fit in with Japanese language rules (as I understand them so far)... many Japanese nouns don't have singular or plural forms (obviously there are a few exceptions). One word is used for both with the meaning being determined by its context. You are right that we're splitting hairs here and it isn't a big deal. I'm turning my pedantic mode off now. To avoid confusion, I usually call the team 'Gatchaman' and Ken 'baka'. (just kidding) *grin*

...many Japanese nouns don't have singular or plural forms (obviously there are a few exceptions). One word is used for both with the meaning being determined by its context.

That can be true with some nouns, but in the case of a proper name, it can be a bit different. In this instance, the difference between a singular person and a group of people is generally determined by the addition of the suffix "tachi" to the name. Literally, the suffix means "and others," implying that there are more people beyond the named person. In the case of Ken showing up with other members of the Science Ninja Team, they could be referenced as "Ken-tachi" or "Gatchaman-tachi," meaning "Ken and the others" or "Gatchaman and the rest," or something similar. In this usage, "Gatchaman" would be one person (I.E. Ken), while "tachi" would be all those with him. If you listen to the Narrator, you will often hear him make reference to "Gatchaman-tachi" when talking about the Ninja Team. If you are referring to the Science Ninja Team by themselves, you would not use "Kagaku Ninja Tai-tachi," because "Tai" (Literally: Team/Corps) implies a group, of which they are all members, so no "tachi" is needed. If you are referring to the Science Ninja Team and some additional people (The guest star of the week, for example), then you could refer to the entire group as "Kagaku Ninja Tai-tachi" to say that you have the "Science Ninja Team and others." Nambu tends to use a more formal designation when addressing the Ninja Team, referring to them as "Kagaku Ninja Tai no Shokun," literally "Ladies and Gentlemen of the Science Ninja Team." Anyway, regarding whether or not "Gatchaman" is the name given just to ken or to the entire Science Ninja Team, I'll reference the series Planning Establishment Notes, essentially the series bible. In the segment titled "'Science Ninja Team Gatchaman' Production Points To Consider", they state: "2. Regarding Gatchaman Of all the members of the Science Ninja Team, the name Gatchaman is given only to the hero, Ken, the Eagle. It is through Ken that this Superman-style hero story is brought together (Both Ken and the God Phoenix)." By that, it's obvious to me that they intended for Ken, and only Ken, to be called "Gatchaman." That it slipped over to being used for the rest of the Science Ninja Team every once in a while is simply an error. Okay, more than you really cared to know. James

Wow James. That's impressive. Where did you come across the Production notes? I would love to see those.

I first came across them in the book that came with the Gatchaman laser disc box set, which reprinted 75~80% of the document. Similarly abridged versions were later printed in the books Tatsunoko Heroes and Gatchaman Graffiti. The first time I saw a complete version of it was in a book published in the mid-1990s by a Japanese fan group, though just a couple of years ago I finally found a copy of the document for myself. I had translated the partial versions when I first saw them, and later translated the missing material so I'd have the whole thing. It has subsequently seen print as part of the first GatchaCon fanzine in 1997, and as part of my section in the Gatchaman APA "Bird Scramble." James

That's cool. I had never heard of the document before so now my interest is peaked. Luckily I have a copy of Gatchaman Graffiti. I'll have to show it to a friend of mine so she can help me translate it (I'm still very new to kanji). I'm sure I'll be able to bribe her in helping me out with a home cooked pasta dinner. *grin*

Actually James you dont give more than we want to know.. Your insights and details add to the depth on the gatch world, so thank you

Originally posted by Firebird Actually James you dont give more than we want to know.. Your insights and details add to the depth on the gatch world, so thank you

I will support this! I always find your posts interesting and informative, James. I really appreciate the insight you offer!

Originally posted by Transmute Jun

Originally posted by Firebird Actually James you dont give more than we want to know.. Your insights and details add to the depth on the gatch world, so thank you

I will support this! I always find your posts interesting and informative, James. I really appreciate the insight you offer!

I third that emotion! Hinotori

Originally posted by Hinotori

Originally posted by Transmute Jun

Originally posted by Firebird Actually James you dont give more than we want to know.. Your insights and details add to the depth on the gatch world, so thank you

I will support this! I always find your posts interesting and informative, James. I really appreciate the insight you offer!

I third that emotion! Hinotori

ITA! As I was a linguistics major in University, I find your input quite interesting. My languages are western Indo-European (French,Spanish and German) though I'll admit I'm extremely rusty! I don't have much exposure to Japanese other than Gatchaman. So it's always great to learn new things!