The animation quality was sooo much better later on in the series...I imagine that they had made more money as the series progressed and could afford better production equipment, too...

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

The comparisons with the Condor are rather cool to look at. It does appear that by even episode 9 he has more of a hard line about him.


Which I find to be a wonderful trait.


Will all these wonderful recaps and episode discussions, I find myself wanting to rewatch all of them.

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" No gratitude needs to be voiced, your mind speaks to us!"


Racer by day, Feather Thrower all the time!

There are definitely many instances where the Team makes mistakes, and has to overcome it. There are even a couple of episodes where the Team (gasp) loses! These are the things that make the show more interesting than the average cartoon... at least, for me.

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Rescue of the Astronauts
Battle of the Planets, Episode Sixteen
Gatchaman Episode #2, Monstrous Aircraft Carrier Appears
DVD and Veoh episode #2

Review/Summary: Center Neptune establishing shot. Zark VO: “Here at Center Neptune, where we monitor all activity of a suspicious or alarming nature in our galaxy, you might say, I’m the top dog.” Then we have Zark and Rover in the Nerve Center (or control room, or whatever it’s actually called). “Well, actually, 1-Rover-1 is the top dog. I’m the top robot. Well, actually, I’m the only robot. But I am at the top.” [Line of extras in medieval getup shouting, “Get on with it!”]

He floats over to his favorite console. “I’m at the controls here every minute, day and night, and my only companionship is 1-Rover-1.” Rover whirls his tail and flies the few feet to join Zark.

“Yes, I know, 1-Rover-1: we have an
important mission to monitor right now. Two astronauts are returning today from a space mission extremely vital to the security of our galaxy.” [Galaxy, or solar system? The show could be rather cavalier about the distinction.] Shot of the Phoenix in space. “Today, modern ships like the Phoenix travel millions of light-years into outer space, all in a matter of a day or two. But sometimes, for short flights to the Moon or Mars or something like that, astronauts still use the old-fashioned system. That’s the type of flight and re-entry I’ve got to cover now.”

[The space shuttle was just entering public consciousness at this time. Hard to believe, now, but the hope was that the shuttle would replace the huge, multi-stage rockets that launched satellites and space-station parts into orbit. SF shows already depicted reusable craft to go from place to place. Had things gone as hoped, shuttle flights could have become common, and the fleet would not now consist of the aging, 30-some-year-old originals. And nowadays, we are back to the ‘old-fashioned system.’ Yep, NASA’s bringing back the proven technology of multi-stage rockets.]

Gatchaman footage of a space capsule in orbit. Inside, an astronaut says, “Retro-burners set for re-entry. Give us a wig-wag, and we’ll be happy to head for splashdown.” [How far must I look to find out if this is even remotely similar to real transmissions? Or should I even bother?] He trades an ‘I’m happy to be going home’ look with his comrade. There follows some banter between the capsule and Mission Control that suggests long familiarity with this sort of thing.

Somewhere in the ocean, naval ships move into position.

All goes as usual: the capsule splashes down and releases the marker dye, while helicopters deploy from the recovery vessels – and then Spectran ray-shaped submarines crash the party. They steal the entire capsule by pulling it under the water. [Anyone want to weigh in on the mechanics of that?]

Next we see an underwater complex, and a very large submarine resting on the sea floor. Not good.

Now to Mark, who’s balancing a little turtle on his wrist. Zark in VO: “7-Zark-7 calling G-Force. Red alert.” Close-up of the turtle, which pulls into its shell. “Two astronauts have disappeared.”

Mark removes the turtle and says, “I copy, Zark. What’s up?” [He just told you. Weren’t you listening?]

Apparently, there’s no time to explain. Mark must join G-Force at once. They’re already in flight, and Zark will guide him to them. [The dialogue here is mostly to accommodate the Gatch animation.]

Mark runs out to his plane, takes off, and transmutes.

When he gets to the Phoenix bridge, Jason acidly greets him: “We’re honored you finally decided to join us.” Mark tells him it was his day off. [I think, technically, a unit like G-Force never really has days off.] He calls Chief Anderson.

Anderson tells him that Jason can brief him about the astronauts. But there’s a development that makes matters a good deal worse. While they were orbiting Mars, they discovered alien bases and activity there. [Which implies that this wasn’t the reason for the mission.]

For some reason, Keyop asks, “Under the ocean?” Princess tells him there’s no water on Mars. Except that Keyop’s right. [Okay, that was a badly-handled bit. Why not simply say that Mars was terraformed and given oceans? Now Princess looks stupid.] The base locations were recorded. G-Force must rescue the astronauts and recover the data.

Over footage of the Spectra submarine and its interior, Zark tells us that G-Force is heading for the spot where the astronauts and capsule were taken. For viewers who can’t make the connection, he says that the aliens must have followed the astronauts to Earth to prevent them reporting the base locations. [Because it never occurred to anyone to transmit the data as they collected it.]

A Spectran soldier gets into an old-fashioned cage elevator and descends several levels. He exits, and – Hey, Gorok (aka Kitty-Squid) is back! Well, it looks like him, anyway. The soldier reports that they have the data.

It’s not Gorok. Keye Luke is doing the voice. This is Kitty-Squid II. He wants a look at the data.

A map of what’s supposed to be Mars appears, with glowing red dots. Every base, as the captain notices. He reports to Zoltar: they have the data. It’s all on a single cassette that they took from the astronauts.

What happened to Zoltar? His lips look a little pale today. He orders a readout transmitted.

And the high-tech equipment on Spectra produces – ticker-tape. Okay. Whatever.

After a quick look, Zoltar says he must advise ‘The Most Powerful One’ at once.

Before he can even say a word, the Luminous One starts scolding him: once again, he calls with “good news that is not good news; with victory that is not victory; with great and glorious plans that have not been completed.” [I’d say the LO is a bit peeved, wouldn’t you?] For now, the Earthlings are unaware of Spectra’s presence, but the tape is evidence that Zoltar’s plans are not impervious to detection. [Ouch. That must hurt.] The bases must be made operational without further delay. Only then shall the Luminous One rejoice.

Back to the Phoenix. They’ve arrived at the splash-down point, where the ships and helicopters are still present. On Mark’s orders, Tiny takes her underwater.

It’s rather pretty down there. When Princess comments on it, Mark reminds her that this isn’t a pleasure cruise, and that two astronauts disappeared here. [Lighten up. She hasn’t forgotten. Sheesh.] Princess apologizes. [She doesn’t sound as if she’s being sarcastic or snarky.]

Mark wants everybody serious about finding the astronauts. [Okay, what’s stuck up your ass? Or did you decide to be a dick today?]

They search near the ocean floor. A sudden explosion [which does not send the ship spinning like a leaf in a whirlpool] interrupts them. Princess reports that the ship is going out of control and that they’re off course.

Now the ship is in trouble, as the laws of physics return from the restroom and resume operating. Tiny can’t get them back under control. (For some reason, Keyop is in Mark’s seat, and Mark chases him out.) Mark says they have to use the blast-off system they use for space shots, and follows up with technobabble.

On the count of five: 5 – 4 – 3 – 2 – 1 – 0.

The engines fire, and they break free.

Mark asks Princess for the coordinates Zark sent them. She hands him a spool of ticker-tape. He examines it, and says they’re right where the astronauts vanished. [Uh, we already knew that. The ships and helicopters were a big clue.] They’ll have to go back under, like it or not.

Tiny isn’t too certain about that, after what they just went through. Mark tells him they should be 60 miles from that volcanic eruption by now. [What volcano?]

Keyop worries that they’ll find Zoltar. Mark says Zoltar is no worse than the volcano.

Back under they go.

Commercial break. [Remember the days of the single commercial break in a half-hour show? Neither do I, and I was there for them.]

We have Rover yarping in Zark’s ready room. Zark jerks ‘awake’, yelling about red alerts and contacting G-Force. Then he laughs and tells Rover he was getting his modulators a 10-second rest. But he always keeps one actuator open. No need to worry. He’ll never be caught asleep at the FOSDIC. [Yeah, well your reaction to the yarping says otherwise. Time for a systems check.] FOSDIC stands for Film Optical Sensing Device for Input to Computers.

Susan calls. Zark gets all flustered and admits that he was dreaming – er – thinking about her. [Will not try to imagine his dreams, will not try to imagine his dreams.]

She asks if he has a moment to spare for something really important.

He does. He can meet her in her ready room. Or in his. Or in a hallway somewhere. Just – anywhere. [AGH! Brain bleach, brain bleach!]

Susan says that would be nice, but Chief Anderson wants him to contact G-Force. It seems they’re having trouble locating the alien base. [So why not simply have Anderson call and tell Zark this? Were they so wedded to having Susan around for flirties?]

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Benefits, not features; benefits, not features

Episode 2!!

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Benefits, not features; benefits, not features

This is a series where the changes behind the camera enhance what happens in front of the camera. The animators hit their stride, or the studio got a little more money, or whatever else, so the animation improved.

Add in scripts that don't give the impression that each episode takes place in a vacuum (particularly near the end), and it looks as if the characters aged and changed in response to the events in the series.

Any wonder people still watch? (I'll let those who actually saw the sequel series comment on those.)

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Benefits, not features; benefits, not features

I agree too. I love the way the stories in each episode, over time, revealed more details about the Ninjas' pasts and dropped clues and hints about the bigger mysteries (Katse, Leader X, location of headquarters). And, as UW says, the Ninjas grow and change as the series progresses, and their personalities become more nuanced and enriched. They start out almost as "Hooray, we're the heroes! Let's get the bad guys!" but you can see, as they face victories and defeats, close brushes with death, loss of family (Ken), unsettling truths about their pasts (Joe), etc., that the long war is taking its toll on them even as it's matured and hardened them.

There are definitely reasons why so many of us are hooked on this show, even though it's more than 30 years old!

Tsuneo Ninomiya (Animator)

---- Realistic designs can be a challenge. At the time you saw them, did you think they were remarkable......

Ninomiya: You recklessly think that you'd like the challenge of drawing something like that, though you quickly realize how difficult it will be. With design strength like that, it’s important to approach it saying, "Isn't this easier than I think it is?" From there, I believe that this production made me go through a mental growing process...... After that, I couldn't take random jobs just to keep working in the industry. That's what it taught me. Also, I could vent my moods on the Animation Director. Animation Director Mr. Miyamoto was on the receiving end of those moods. That had to be very difficult. Even more, it wasn’t just me, how many other Animators moods did he have to put up with during that grueling schedule? Therefore I was grateful then, and I still thankful now. All that Mr. Miyamoto taught me at that time is to my fortune now.

---- What kind of person was Animation Director Mr. Miyamoto?

Ninomiya: When it came to the work, he was a hard man. Of course, his ability to create powerful drawings is excellent. He's the kind of person who can draw muscle riding over bones. To be taught various techniques by such a person, it was great for me. Mr. Miyamoto was very genial about everything. But, you can't be taught by a person who works in a scattershot manner. It seems that you have to be a disciplined person to do a job like that. Though I digress, Mr. Miyamoto has the body of a pro-wrestler, yet he said of my wife's home, "It has a gentle charm on the eye." (Laughs)

---- It seems as though when you, Masami Suda, and Shigeru Kogawa (Now Tomonori Kogawa) were Animators on "Gatchaman," you were aware of the appeal you were imbuing in the artwork......

Ninomiya: For me...... Well, I was someone in the midst of learning. I thought my art was inferior to those two men. Since for me they were imaginary rivals, I tried to catch up and surpass those two. Therefore with my work, I honestly could do no less than to try with all my might.

---- But your Joe was fascinating.

Ninomiya: I’m glad you can say so now. But, the starting point was entirely Mr. Miyamoto. When I think about what I added to "Gatchaman," what appeared in the animation was thanks to what Mr. Miyamoto put there. My burning heart was in response to Mr. Miyamoto’s burning heart. In all seriousness, it was truly good. Because of that, I think I was able to draw some good pictures.


Chuichi Iguchi (Animator)

---- After that came "Gatchaman?"

Iguchi: I believe so. When it came to realistic animation, our group was the best at it then. Wasn't that something of a distinctive feature of Tatsunoko at that time? We'd go to extremes drawing hexagonal-shaped eyes and thick eyebrows. Simply put, it was like the eyes of the characters in "Gatchaman," started to become huge. It was refreshing when we first started it, though that feeling eventually faded. It reaches a point where you don't want to draw so you can see the tear gland of the eye. I felt that the realistic drawings of Joe were beyond excessive. (Laughs) With Tatsunoko characters, even the bridge of the nose could be difficult. They’re a little short, and spread out wide, and I just felt like I'd like to do them differently. And the line under the nose, the lips look thick if you add that circle. Therefore the lips kept changing along with the eyes. "Gatchaman" was the last time they got quite that thick.

---- So, you think this was too much for the people who drew the Key Animation in those days.

Iguchi: That’s right. Mr. (Masami) Suda, Mr. (Tsuneo) Ninomiya, or Mr. (Tomonori) Kogawa all imitated the pictures of Mr. Motosuke Takahashi. From among them, Mr. Suda had the best skill in the group, even at the level of the Animators at that time. It was a pleasure to see the advances in Mr. Suda’s Key Animation during that time. His timing for film is beautiful, with different poses for the various people he draws. It adds weight to a picture, a feeling of harmony. The Key Animation for the final episode, I can't forget how impressive it was. As for Mr. Ninomiya, when it came to expressions and timing, he was a skilled man with the flow of movement. Amazingly sharp with movements. With Members of Gallactor, the line of their bodies came out. As a result, the characters drawn by Mr. Suda and the characters drawn by Mr. Ninomiya had different body types. Mr. Suda's were dignified, while Mr. Ninomiya's were quite smart with their solid builds. It's difficult to choose between them, since both are appealing.

---- During the latter half of "Gatchaman," people from within the company, like Koji Nanke or Shigeyuki Ikeda, became Animation Assistants.

Iguchi: With Gatchaman, the amount of lines were very different than in an ordinary production. At the beginning, Animation Director Mr. (Sadao) Miyamoto was doing all the revisions by himself. But then that got to be too time-consuming. It became impossible for him to maintain the quality of the animation all by himself. Because of that, they were chosen part of the way through. Mr. Nanke's drawings showed an eye for composition. A chameleon-type eye. I'd say it came from being a manga artist, he had the skill to copy the characters. Mr. Ikeda was also skilled. He could draw a picture close to Mr. Miyamoto's. Though he was a little weak on movement, his individual drawings were amazingly well done. He was also strong with rough sketches of people.


Koji Sugii (Animator)

---- At Tatsunoko, while it's true that Tatsuo Yoshida and Mr. (Yoshitaka) Amano hadn't graduated from being Animators before they were doing the designs for characters, did you do any character sheets for use in animation?

Sugii: I did not. I didn't do any character sheets, even on "Gatchaman." From piecing together the main Animation Director's animation corrections, a character reference establishment was made. And so, as it kept increasing one after another, Gatchaman became as large as life, as did the other characters, so there was no reason for me to do Character Planning. Tatsuo Yoshida personally drew the original drafts, and they weren't touched after that. As a result, the characters were drawn as a blending from of the approved model sheets and the established reference. The various numbered T-shirts were like splashing a slender mustache across the sheets to give them uniformity. I suspect that came from Amano-chan. However, if it was good enough to be put in a magazine, perhaps some other hands had a part in it. Of course, while Mr. Miyamoto didn't do the character designs, it was Mr. Miyamoto who standardized the work on "Gatchaman." Mr. Miyamoto was the Animation Director, surrounded by outside contractors, he certainly knew those characters. Much later, on "Earth Story," the characters were all created by Amano-chan, and the front of the faces and their profiles were different. Inevitably, Mr. Miyamoto said, "We'll do it somehow," so we kept reworking them, until the characters had been changed somewhat. So, while Amano-chan created the original designs, the actual characters were standardized by Mr. Miyamoto, the Animation Director. There’s the character blueprints, but it may not be reality. Therefore with "Gatchaman," there's the "Gatchaman" drawn by Tatsuo Yoshida, and the "Gatchaman" that appeared on television, and the truth is that they're completely different. What I'm trying to say now is that not everyone can combine the three angles into these characters.


Hisayuki Toriumi (Chief Director)

---- "Gatchaman" also brought up the level of animation.

Toriumi: At the time of "Decision," Animation Director Mr. (Sadao) Miyamoto came to Tatsunoko, and he helped give guidance to the good, young animators at the company. Until that time, most of Tatsunoko's work was supported by Tama Productions. Thanks to Mr. Miyamoto, the animation staff within the company gained a lot of strength.

---- With animation by the likes of Masami Suda and Tsuneo Ninomiya, the animators produced some impressive animation.

Toriumi: Mr. Suda had demonstrated amazing abilities while at Tama Productions, as far back as "Mach Go." He was the best animator, and well liked by Tatsuo. Really, Mr. Suda hung on his words, truly saving them. Animation Director Mr. Miyamoto even said, "That man can draw pictures of such warmth that it can't be taught." In the end, that man's natural talent was recognized at the time, and appreciated. Mr. Ninomiya had come from doing comedies, and his animation carried a light, comedic touch. Therefore, at first there was a lot of uneasy, "How do I do this?" However, he was an eager person, and he might have had a rivalry with Mr. Suda. Long was Mr. Ninomiya’s interest in doing illustrations and action, while Mr. Suda improved in doing detailed drawings. Even in those days, it was said that "Gatchaman" had the luxury of having the best animators.

Ace: “’Kay, here we come. Five…Four…Three…Two…One. Force ‘em!” Hootie and Dirk pull the levers at their positions down hard and fast. The Phoenix’s rear jets kick into gear, the nose points straight up, and they speed to the surface.

Hootie: “That did it! We’re free and clear!” Boy, he looks happy.

Dirk surreptitiously tugs at his collar and breathes a sigh of relief.

Below the ship, we can see waves dispersing from the perimeter of the whirlpool. Ace, looking down, has a shocked look as he realizes just what they’ve escaped.

Commercial break!

Ace asks Aggie to show him the radioactivity record. After looking at it, he surmises that someone set off a nuclear bomb at the bottom of the sea.

Pause button. I have never been able to figure out exactly what Galactor’s people were thinking by setting off an underwater nuke at a site where they were planning to build an uranium mine and processing plant. Was it to clear the area of superfluous material? To break through the first layers of rock and expose the uranium? I don’t get it.

Back to the show…

Hootie asks, “A nuclear blast?” in a are-you-sure tone of voice.

Ace is sure. “Exactly. Underwater nuclear test are strictly prohibited by law, but somebody did it anyway.” What part of ‘Evil Terrorist Organization’ are you not getting, fella? “Back into the sea, Hootie.”

Pewee: “Wha? Ace, you’re not going back there?”

Ace (amused): “Don’t worry. You’ll find it more peaceful than last time.” I love these moments when they’re teasing each other. It shows just how strong the team is.

Underwater, they see the whirlpool again.

“Hey, what do you make of this?” Aggie asks. There’s a glitch in the film right here, so I can’t hear the full reply. As we come out of the glitch, Ace is finishing a sentence: “…filter up on the large screen.” Incidentally, this glitch showed up all three times that I saw this on Cartoon Network, so apparetnly the copy of this episode they had was damaged.

Hootie: “Infrared, coming up.” So it’s an infrared filter. Although the filter would be on the cameras, and the results would be shown on the large screen.
And there’s a really big sub sitting out there, with little ships zipping around.

Pewee comments on ‘the creepy look aircraft carrier’. An aircraft carrier that’s also a submarine. Is that even practical?

Ace surmises –using the word ‘probably’- that Mantel 8 is in the sub, and that the intense radioactivity means that there’s a large vein of uranium there that Galactor’s after.

I get the feeling there was a short clip-out here, because Ace is pushing Hootie’s hand down. Didn’t Ryu want to fire a missile at the sub in the Gatch ep?
G-1 orders G-5 to move the ship to a safe hiding place. G-1 than says that he is going into the aircraft carrier to rescue the ECS and the spacecraft. (Um, what about the astronauts?) Pewee volunteers to go along, but Ace says he’s going alone “so as not to attract attention” and G-4 is staying to await any further orders. Too bad Ace doesn’t specify who’s to give those orders…

Pewee (sulking): “Okay, then don’t take me. You’ll be sorry, Ace Goodheart.” (Yes, we know what the Great and Powerful Leader’s name is, okay? Sheesh!)

Dirk puts his hand on Pewee’s shoulder. “Now, Pewee…” When Pewee looks up at him, Dirk gives him a smile and a knowing expression.

Meanwhile, Ace is descending through a tube. (In later eps, we never see the tube, making it look like that opening in the floor leads straight from the outside into the cockpit.) He makes the arm movement and says, “Transform!”, which kicks him back into civvie gear.

Voice over (again) as he swims, Ace thinks, Now to see if that really is Galactor’s base! Well, it’s not exactly a base yet, but it is a center of operations.

Ace sees the Robot Stegosaur head, takes note of the size of the operation, slips past a goon in dive gear doing some underwater welding, then sneaks into the sub under a crab tank.

Big dramatic music effects.

A platform loaded with metal bars lowers, and once the crab tank is done eating them, Ace rides the platform as it goes back up. As it emerges from the water, he swings, jumps, and runs –in flippers- through a door. After dropping his scuba gear just anyhow in a corner, he –in his dry civvies- pokes around until he finds Mantel 8.

Ace enters Mantel 8, and finds it so wrecked that it’s pretty obvious that Galactor let their frat boys have a part in there after removing the ECS tape. “Gee, what a shame,” he says softly.

Now, someone outside Mantel 8 can only see Ace’s back –which turns out to be a very good thing.
Bright spotlights cut through the darkness of the vehicle bay. The EGCwtSO does the Patented Evil Captain Laugh and says, “Welcome, young man! Those plain clothes don’t fool me. You’re Agent 1 of G-Force and you’ve come here to be captured of your own free will.”

One: Well, duh, who else but G-Force would be called? Especially since they kicked your rear last time. Two: Came to be captured? You saw the team fight last ep. You think that was a one-off?

Ace: I don’t want to reveal my secret identity. But I have no choice. What’s revealed? EGCwtSO can only see your back, so the only new thing he knows is that you have brown hair –like a huge chunk of the other people on the planet. Although it was stupid not to put on your uniform right away.

Smart boy! Transform before turning around. (I doubt they heard the code phrase clearly at that range.) We get a nice silhouette of an eagle, too. Time to kick Galactor goons into next week!

Gatchaman fight music!

Taking out a spotlight, Ace goes: “Boomerang! Do your stuff!” A few minutes later, a boomerang throw takes out a spotlight and the goon behind it! Beating up some more goons, he says, “Don’t mind me, fellas. I was just in the neighborhood and thought I’d drop in!” G-1’s in the spotlight and they still can’t hit him! (And it’s time to hit the GoS scriptwriter with a bag of marshmallows. Because I don’t have a rubber chicken.)

EGCwtSO: “Think you’re so smart, don’t you? Let’s try a little drill!” (Where’s my bag of marshmallows?)

A goon in the control room sends a Very Big Drill after G-1. While dodging it, Ace thinks, Too bad I don’t have a giant toothache; that thing would be great! (Marshmallows…)

So several crab tanks are destroyed and the goons still haven’t nailed Ace. Surprise. Not.

Aagh!! Cardboard box backbeat!

Down comes the Giant Hook.

Up goes the Giant Hook. Ace starts it swinging and slams it into the control room. And he does do a short Tarzan Yell.

EGCwtSO: “Hey G-Force! You better knock it off and give yourself up! ‘Cause if you don’t-“

Pan to the astronauts being held (up) by goons. One goon has a gun to an astronaut’s head. EGCwtSO gives the spiel about G-Force surrendering or dead hostages. Ace coldly says he has no choice.

Get this: G-1 is standing next to two goons, who have guns pointed at him. As far as Ace knows, the astronauts are alive and any hostile move on his part could result in their deaths. Yet NO ONE disarms him or gives the order to do so! Of all the stupid-! With this kind of personnel, Galactor was at a disadvantage from the beginning! Sheesh!

EGCwtSO: “Now that’s a good boy. Or is it good bird?” To the goons: “Throw him in the hold or some place like that. Later he can tell us all about Dr. Brighthead and that G-Force organization.” (Yeah, right.)

Interesting inferences here. Galactor and his captains know about Dr. Brighthead and G-Force, but the way he says, ‘G-Force organization’ implies that it is, or the captain thinks it is, much bigger than just the five team members. Of course, if you count in support personnel devoted to keeping G-Force up and running, I guess technically it is.

The goons holding the astronauts let them go, and they fall to the floor. EGCwtSO natters on about how the astronauts will be all right once ‘the serum wears off’. (Zark-line!)

Ace: “Look, if you harmed those two…”

The EGCwtSO ignores him. EGCwtSO is smart enough to know that the rest of the team is around, and orders his soldiers to find them and pick them up. Sorry, EGCwtSO, but these aren’t some truants hanging out at the local park.

This scene is the last mention of the astronauts in this episode.

Ace is taken down what looks like a cargo elevator. As it reaches bottom and he starts to step off, a pair of red-and-yellow bolos choke a goon. G-1 takes out the other, than grabs the boloed one and orders the ‘masked man’ to take him to his leader right now. Why didn’t Ace just take the two goons out himself? I’ll be charitable and say he was just waiting for the right moment.

Green Goon: “Galactor won’t see you!” (He can’t, except over telescreen, since Galactor’s not even on board.) Ignorant of this little problem, Ace says, “He’s better –for your sake.”

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Candi

Hollywood is a land of money and cowardice.

-Henry A. Lee, Cracked.com columnist

James, thanks a lot ... that's priceless information! The love of the producers in making Gatchaman just transpires through each and every episode we watched during our childhood, and also through every sequel. Now that we can watch the episodes again from an adult point of view we can appreciate much more the work involved and the passion in creating such an awesome series.

I always say that I love the fact that characters and situations changed along with the three wars. Realism is a thing I seek in every story and that's the first thing that has attracted me to Gatchaman in the first place. I just dislike shows that depict heroes as having to deal with their daily challenges with the tiniest effort and afterwards act as if nothing has ever happened. RL is way far from that!

Through Gatchaman's sequels I was never disappointed. Most prominently, I found the swap in character between Ken and Joe in the third series as being rather interesting and, IMHO, very appropriate due to everything they had been through. The subsequent wars also took the toll on all the characters, even on Ryu and Jinpei. Although they still kept their humour, their characters became more serious with time, especially near the end. During Gatch F, I think that there wasn't enough focus on each individual character, Ken being in the limelight most of the time, but, even through the others' actions, one could see the maturity and the changes in their behaviour. Each and every member of the SNT could be seen as having more somber moods, and more thoughtful decisions to deal with, rather than those they used to have when they were the happy-go-lucky youths in the very beginning. All of them had undergone lots of different losses in a short span of time ... enough to change them from their very core.

What I also always admire is the different style in drawing the characters, mainly their facial features, being distinctive from those drawn in those days, and the improvement in the same drawings and animation. The series just never went stale. And, even those small changes in the characters' look just made a difference, such as the change in their uniforms (which, again IMHO, looked better), and small alterations like the different haircut for Jun. One must not forget major changes like those in the vehicles and weapons, which surely made their impact, also leaving each and every one of us with different opinions, like deciding which ship we still may prefer! The first God Phoenix will always stay in our hearts ... for me, the Gatchaspartan has taken the same place beside it!

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To be or not to be a gatchamaniac - that's the dilemma!