Gatchaman Episode 85- That's G-4!

TJ is still out of town...so I'm posting the latest ep review for her. This is one of my favs...I love seeing all of the "off duty" moments!



Title: Gatchaman Episode 85 – That’s G-4!

Subtitle: BOTP N/A/G-Force Episode 84

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Gatchaman Episode 85 – That’s G-4!



Three Blackbirds are racing on motorcycles.



Two of them jump off of ramps, landing on the third.



Once the three are stacked, metal plates surround them, and the mecha is created around their bikes! It’s a… scary… horrifying….

Chess piece of death!



Yep, the mecha of the week is a chess knight. I think they were digging the bottom of the barrel on this one. But it’s interesting to note that even though former Blackbird Captain Koji Yabane betrayed Galactor, the team he left behind is still using motorcycles that transform into mecha.

The Chess Piece of Death approaches a familiar plane at the end of its ‘runway’.



Its tentacles (Yep, didn’t you know that chess knights have tentacles?) lash around the G-3 and G-4 bays, tearing off the ends of the God Phoenix’s wings. The mecha then slices through the God Phoenix, using its mane as the knife. Ooh, maybe this is where Kamo got the inspiration for the Hypershoot!

And all that’s left of the God Phoenix is rubble.



But hey, doesn’t the inside look awfully empty?

“Ah, splendid!” Katse says to himself, watching the whole thing on his monitors.

“So, Berg Katse,” X asks, “what do you think of Galactor’s great acrobat riders?”

“Sire, were those GCIA combat mecha-training exercises?” Katse asks.



I wonder what GCIA stands for… Galactor Chumps In Action?

“Yes they were.” X confirms. “We’ve sent out over 80 mecha beasts thus far, only to be defeated by the Science Ninja Team! I’ve had to endlessly re-evaluate our strategies because of this.”



Okay, this had me curious. Have there been 80 mecha in the first 84 episodes of the show? Naturally, I had to pose this question to our Gatch Guru, James, and here’s what he had to say:

I don't have an exact count, but it all depends on what you wish to classify as a Gallactor Iron Beast. Does this include mecha that are not animal-shaped, such as the Undersea Aircraft Carrier and Archaeo's airplanes? If you count all Gallactor mecha, then by a quick count, it looks like you'd have 95 mecha (Not including repeat appearances by some mecha, such as the Crab Tanks, Thundersaurus, King Dragon, and the like). If you count only those that you might think of as Iron Beasts (The animal-shaped mecha, as well as things like Mechaball, Gallack X, the Sonic Mecha, and non-mechanical monsters like Jigokiller and Super Bem), you've got 84 of them. If you go strictly by animal-shaped mechanical objects (Including humanoids), then you've got 66. That number would drop further if you only count animal-shaped vehicles and eliminate things like the mechanical animals from episode #27, the squid torpedos from episode #36, and cyborgs like Gallack X and the mannequins from #70. I did not include Lucy in the count, because she wasn't working strictly for Gallactor. Of course, this is just a quick count, and I could have missed a couple. It also does not include the mecha that appeared in episode #85 itself.

So, not an exact count, but still a wealth of information. James!

“My deepest apologies, Sire!” Katse replies, sweating bullets.



“There’s no time for apologies! We must defeat the Science Ninja Team so we can further our plans!” X snaps.



“If we just had some way of knowing where they’re hiding, we could attack before they transform…” Katse suggests.

“Perhaps we do.” X interrupts as Katse gasps. “According to our computer analysis, I believe they may reside in the town of Jutland.” Yep, he said Jutland. So do the subs. So I guess Jutland is a part of Utoland? (FTR, James has clarified already that Jutland is an ADVism, and it’ supposed to be Utoland.)

“Are you sure about this?” Katse asks doubtfully.



“It will be your job to confirm it, using the GCIA. Confirm it, and then destroy the Science Ninja Team!” X’s orders are clear.

“Sire!” Katse bows with a flourish, even as the Daily Fish Parade (tm) takes place at our friendly neighborhood Crescent Base.

So what’s happening in Dr. Nambu’s neighborhood today? Well, he’s analyzing that oh-so-high tech data tape… the kind with holes in it…



“The ISO received information that the GCIA, Galactor’s Intelligence Gathering Association, was going to infiltrate Jutland to find the Science Ninja Team, and immediately informed Dr. Nambu.” the narrator informs us.

Oh! So GCIA stands for ‘Galactor Central Intelligence Agency’? Isn’t that an oxymoron?

Jun and Jinpei seem to be just standing around.



While Joe and Ryu are hard at work, inspecting the God Phoenix.





Ken is getting the message.



“Loud and clear, Doctor. I’ll bet you anything they’re going to try to sneak across along the border somewhere.” Ken says. “All right, then. We’ll have to unmask them first.”



Now we see three nastily-smirking men riding motorcycles. Hey, weren’t there three Blackbirds who made up the Chess Piece of Death? Suspicious…

But when they arrive at the border crossing, someone is there to meet them.



“Well, it’s Gatchaman!” Sneers the lead biker. Yeah. Let’s just ignore the other two people with him…

“Judging by your reaction, you must be from Galactor, huh, punk?” Ken asks smugly.

“Get them!” the lead biker snarls, raising his hand. “Attack!”



They charge at the border crossing, but Ken, Jun and Jinpei jump/fly/drive away. The men smash through the wooden barrier.

But look who’s ready to greet them again just a little bit down the road!



Yep, Ken is leaping onto the back of Jun’s bike.



“Be careful, Jun!” Ken cautions her.

“I can handle them!” Jun replies confidently.

The motorcycles open up in a similar fashion to the G-3, shooting missiles from their fronts. But the G-3 and G-4 avoid their explosions.



Ken throws his boomerang…



…taking out the three Galactors, who are now dressed as Blackbirds on Blackbird bikes. I guess they did their own transformation.

Jun launches her yo-yo…



She wraps it around a pole, using its leverage to pull her bike (with Ken still her passenger) onto a higher roadway.

The G-4 is perched on a cliff, and as the Blackbirds approach, it opens its mouth. Inside, Jinpei is preparing an attack…



But the Blackbirds have picked up a few of Gatchaman’s tricks, and their bikes literally leap into the air to avoid that explosion. When they land, they’re doing their creepy cackle-laughs that they did in the Bitter Bird Missile ep (when they were ganging up on Jun in the beginning of the episode) and they start driving quickly in a circle, so fast that they’re just blurs.

This doesn’t deter Jun, who launches a Swan Rocket.



“You did it!” Jinpei cries as the missile hits. “That was a totally far out rocket, Sis!”



Except… all that remains is a big hole. There’s no sign of the bikers or their bikes… no wreckage of any kind. Ken studies the hole.



“Those bikers are just as good as you’d expect.” he says to himself. “We can’t let our guard down around them.”



“Big Bro, they couldn’t have gone far, yet!” Jinpei says, emerging from his vehicle. “Let’s finish them off!”



“We’re going to let them go.” Ken announces.

“Say what?” Jinpei is surprised.

__________________

There is no problem that cannot be solved with time, patience, and a judicious amount of high explosives.

“Sire, I was able to infiltrate the town.” Dave says. “I’m at a stakeout at a place where a lot of young people come. I’ll find the ones you’re after for sure.”

“Well, if you succeed at this task, I’ll make you a Galactor Captain.” Katse promises. Of course, that doesn’t mean much. Being promoted to a Galactor Captain is practically a death sentence!



“They have bracelets on their wrists, and they each have their own mechas, so be on the lookout for their mecha too.” Katse advises.

“Yes, Sire! I’m prepared. I’ll report in again later.” Dave assures him.

But Dave hears a sound, and barely manages to get his pipe back together before someone opens the garage door.



“Heh… pretty far out wheels you have there.” Dave comments, seeing Joe’s car parked on the street. “Modified for racing, right? Rock ‘n roll…” He wanders off.

Joe looks on smugly as Dave goes back into the J.



“He sure seemed sure of himself.” Dave thinks. “I heard one of the Science Ninja Team was a race car driver.”

So let me get this straight. Dave is suspicious of Jinpei and Joe, at least. He’s figuring stuff out like vehicles. And he can’t figure out the numbered t-shirts????? Sigh…

While driving, Jinpei comes to a stop at a red light. A number of motorcycle cops pull up next to him.



“Hey, you look underage.” one of the cops notes. “Should you really be driving this vehicle around, young man?”

“It’s all right, Officer!” Jinpei assures him. “You see, I have a special license for it.”



“A special license, huh?” The cop isn’t buying it.

“That’s right!” Jinpei grins. “It’s from the IS….” He claps his hands over his mouth before he can finish.



“You don’t have a special license after all, do you now, boy?” asks another cop. He sounds like middle-aged Elvis.

“He’s trying to trick us!” agrees the first cop.

“I’m in trouble!” Jinpei thinks to himself. “I can’t let them find out who I really am! One, two three… I know! They’re Galactor riders!” He grins with an idea.

“Look! The Science Ninja Team!” he shouts, pointing into the air. The cops look up to see… a flock of five birds.

Meanwhile, Jinpei is zooming away.



“Hold it!” call the cops.

“Damn it! I can’t transform here!” Jinpei thinks, as the cops give chase.

“It’s no use! They’re right on my tail!” he cries.



So what does he do? He crashes into a pole. One of the G-4’s tires goes flying. Passersby gasp.

“That’s one way to stop.” says policeman Elvis.

And we see… blood. Bona fide, honest-to-goodness blood. And not just a little, either.



“Call an ambulance!” someone yells.

Next thing you know, Jinpei is in bed at home. His bed seems to be in the middle of the room.



“You nimrod!” Jun lectures. “This is what you get for not listening to me, and cruising around. But hey, you hung in there. Your brothers and I are kind of proud of you, tough guy.”



“What do they expect? I’m the great Jinpei! Little scratches like this can’t make me…” He groans in pain as he waves his arm around.

Jun soothes him. I’m wondering what she was doing the previous night, though, as she seems to be wearing Joe’s shirt!



“There, there, don’t over do it!” Jun says.

“Sis, what about the Joint, then?” Jinpei asks.

“It’s okay. Dave’s got it under control.” Jun reassures him. She’s back in her own shirt, too.



“I’ve got to go help too, now.” she adds, handing him a comic book. “Here. Get some rest, okay?”

“All right!” Jinpei settles in to read.



“Aw… Sis really can be nice after all!” he says to himself.



And on that deep note, we catch our mid-episode glimpse of Sold Gold Ken. I guess he’s ready to disco at the Snack.

When we return, it’s night, and Jinpei is eating spaghetti in bed.



“Let me feed you.” Dave offers, when he sees Jinpei is having trouble. “Here you go. Eat up!”



“Here, have another one!” Dave shoves another forkful into Jinpei’s mouth.

“Hey, this is pretty good!” Jinpei thinks in surprise.

“So somebody thought you were a Science Ninja dude and you got banged up, huh?” Dave asks.

“Yeah, they were pretty rough!” Jinpei lies.

“Poor kid. If you’re one of the Science Ninja Team, then I’m a Galactor Agent!” Dave laughs. Jinpei laughs too.

“You’re really funny!” Jinpei notes. “Hey, Mister, Sis says you’ll stay in town until my wounds heal.”

“Heh, sure thing.” Dave agrees. “You helped me out a lot, so I’ll be happy to help you in turn.” He notices his pipe lighting up and gets nervous.



“Oh, uh, if I keep goofing around, I’ll get fired! Now make sure you eat well, okay?” Dave beats a hasty exit.

“Wait! You don’t have to go yet, do you?” Jinpei asks. “Stay a bit!”



“Yeah, I’ll be back, man!” Dave says, as he heads out the door.

“Shoot, I’m bored.” Jinpei moans.

Dave brings the trash into the garage, then sits down and opens up his pipe.

“This is Agent V calling. Come in, Lord Katse!” he says. “Agent V reporting in!”

“What’s taking you so long?” Katse rants. “Haven’t you found them yet?”



“Oh, my apologies, Sire!” Dave replies, jumping back as if the pipe will bite him. “I have my eye on one guy. I’ll confirm immediately and report back to you soon.”



“Hurry it up!” Katse orders. “If they find out who you are, then this entire mission will be blown! And if that happens, you might as well consider yourself dead! You got that?”



“Oh, yeah… loud and clear, Sire.” Dave replies. He doesn’t sound very happy. He leaves the garage.

But guess who was in there listening to the entire conversation?



“Well it looks like it’s just as Joe called it.” Ken says. “There’s no doubt he’s a spy sent by Galactor.”



“You know, I could tell from the look in his eyes there was something going on there.” Ryu bluffs.



“Recruiter Jinpei sure picked a winner to drag in, didn’t he?” Joe notes. “Sheesh!”



“If we were taken for a ride, it’s no wonder he was too.” Jun points out. “I don’t think it’s fair to put all the blame on Jinpei for this one, you know?”

“Jinpei still screwed up, though.” Ken insists. “He’s never going to learn if we always go soft on him.”

“Look, all I’m trying to say is Jinpei wanted someone whom he could talk with, man to man!” Jun defends Jinpei.

“What the hell do you mean by that?” Ken is offended. “He has me to talk to!”

“This is different. I mean someone like a father, Ken.” Jun bows her head.



Hey, she’s sitting awfully close to Ken…



“I can still remember when I was around his age.” Ryu comments, as if he were 80 instead of 18. “I still depended on my Dad a lot.”



“Well, he is still a kid, I guess.” Joe cuts Jinpei some slack.

“Look, now that we know that guy’s a spy, we can’t just let him go.” Ken says. “We have to fix this before he finds out who we are.”



“What about Jinpei?” Jun asks.

“We’ve got to keep a lid on this for now, all right?” Ken decides. “It would be too hard on him, in the condition he’s in. But I think I have an idea.”

Now we cut to Dave in the garage. He’s getting into the G-2!



He reaches into the glove compartments and pulls out… a bracelet!

“Hey, this must be one of the Ninja Team bracelets!” he says. “So, he really is one!”

“Not necessarily one of the Science Ninja Team.” Joe says, shining a flashlight onto Dave’s face.

__________________

There is no problem that cannot be solved with time, patience, and a judicious amount of high explosives.

“Uh uh!” Katse laughs, descending into his mecha. He’s protected by a clear dome.

“Come back here, you coward!” Ken yells, as the Devilstar pulls away.



“Damn!” Joe swears. Ken turns to see what he means.





The Chess Piece of Death has knocked the G-4 off of the bridge. Jun is still inside, trying to rescue Jinpei.



“Hey, Jinpei, hang in there, man!” Dave shouts. Yep, in case you forgot, he’s still on the scene, watching the whole thing.

Jun throws her yo-yo, pulling both her and Jinpei to safety as the G-4 tumbles into the water.





Dave helps Jinpei back onto the bridge.



“I got you.” Dave huffs.

“Thank you, Dave.” Jun says.



“What are you talking about?” Dave mutters. “Jinpei, I’m sorry for tricking you.”



“I don’t hold any grudge against you.” Jinpei forgives easily. “Anyway, I was tricking you too, so I guess we’re even.”

“I guess so.” Dave mutters. But both of them gasp as the see the… dun dun dun… Chess Piece of Death coming at them!

“Jinpei, get on, hurry!” Jun calls, from the back of her bike.



“But…” Jinpei protests.

“Hey, stupid kid, do what she tells you!” Dave says, shoving Jinpei toward the bike. He grabs clumsily onto Jun’s waist.



“But Dave!” Jinpei cries plaintively.

“Oh, they’re all nothing but failures! “ Katse rants from his view high above in his Devilstar. “All of them!”



“Agent V! Agent V!” Katse calls into his communications system. “How dare you betray me! I ought to shoot you where you stand. Bu if you tell me the Science Ninja Team’s true identities, I might just spare you.”

“Yes, Lord Katse.” Dave bows his head.



“Out with it, or else, lardass!” Katse threatens.

“The Science Ninja Team is…” Dave hesitates.

“Give me their identities, or I’ll press the mecha’s self-destruct and blow the bridge sky high!” Katse demands. “And you, and your new friends, right along with it!”

Of course, there’s no guarantee that Katse won’t do just that anyway, after Dave is finished talking, but hey, he’ll just have to trust Katse on that one.

Dave turns to look at Jun and Jinpei zooming across the bridge.



“Now tell me, unless you want to die!” Katse cries. “Out with it, worm bait!”

But Dave’s response is to light his pipe. He casually smokes, and Katse pounds his control panel in disgust.

“Oh, you idiot! So die!”



The Devilstar flies away, and the mecha explodes, and Jinpei notices what’s happening.



“No!” Joe screams.



But Jun and Jinpei are safe. The bike zooms away.

Dave, however, simply stands where he is, until the explosion reaches him.

The bridge cracks in two, and Jun barely manages to stay ahead of disaster!



“Watch out, Sis!” Jinpei calls.



“Hurry, Jun!” Ken shouts frantically.

“Go, Jinpei…” Joe whispers.



But Jun is sliding backward, because the damaged bridge has fallen at a steep angle. Joe takes matters into his own hands and fires his cablegun.



It attaches to the edge of the bike, just as it slips off the edge. But Ken and Joe are trying to keep it up!



And just as Jun and Jinpei are about to fall, they are picked up by a familiar platform…



Yep, it’s Ryu in the God Phoenix!

“Sorry I’m late there, guys! I just had to stop for some double cheeseburgers.” Ryu grins. “I guess that was pretty close, huh?”



Now it is morning, and the Science Ninja Team stands sadly at the side of the mangled remnants of the bridge. Jinpei is crying.



We see Dave’s pipe floating on the water.

“Jinpei, don’t let it get you down.” Jun tells him. “It’s all right.”



“Don’t worry, kid. I’m sure there’ll be other men you can talk with.” Ken says.



“Jun’s Joint’s lost a heck of a waiter.” Ryu says. “I’m sure going to miss his magic brownies.”



“Well, I still have my hard-working Jinpei!” Jun smiles.

The God Phoenix heads home, and Joe, Jun and Jinpei ride back on their individual vehicles.

Galactor left the town of Jutland for the time being. But the hand of evil is tenaciously closing in on the identities of the Science Ninja Team. Can peace come to the world, even if they are exposed?

And this time, we see everyone riding off into the sunrise, rather than the sunset.






This episode was not used in BOTP.

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There is no problem that cannot be solved with time, patience, and a judicious amount of high explosives.

I think they're all drawn so much better toward the end of the series...and yeah...ITA about Ken...I need to go back and have another look at those screen shots...*swoon*

__________________

There is no problem that cannot be solved with time, patience, and a judicious amount of high explosives.

I couldn't find the original from the Japanese fan site, but they pointed out that the Jigokillers not only met an untimely end, but some of them were fermented and put onto Jun's shelf behind the bar! LOL

__________________

There is no problem that cannot be solved with time, patience, and a judicious amount of high explosives.

Hi all!

Magic brownies and jigokiller wine.

Grooovvvvyyy.....

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Benefits, not features; benefits, not features