Transmute Jun
Queen of the Bird Missiles
I am a Swan.
40 fics uploaded
Registration Date: 04-04-2007
Posts: 20978
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I got the redone OAVs for Christmas, but due to family visiting this afternoon was the first time I had a chance to sit down and watch it. It's been a couple of years since I had seen the original OAVs, so my memory may be a bit faulty, but overall I found this new version to be a vast improvement.
They had the original cast from the ADVs, for the entire Science Ninja Team and Nambu and Katse (not sure about Red Impulse). Even better, you could tell from the voices that the cast had matured. Jun and Ken in particular didn't sound so 'young' and 'immature' in their roles, and they all sounded good. The only voice I felt that was 'worse' was Edwin Neal, as he did not give Katse that 'madness' in his acting that I had come to expect and love from the ADV versions. However they had a female voice for Katse in female/hermaphroditic form, which IMHO really enhanced that aspect of the character. I believe they did this as well in the Japanese version of the original OAVs? But now the English version has it too.
It was clear that they made an effort to link the OAVs more to the original Gatchaman series, using a bit more of the original series music than I recalled, and calling the characters by their original names (no more 'Jimmy', 'Rocky' or 'Solaris'). Also, they used 'BC Island' (where the second-in-command of the island was named 'Alan') for the power generator island, and 'Cross Karakorum' for the main headquarters, which I do not recall from the original OAVs. I really appreciate these nods to the fans of the original series!
Now I know there are those out there who turn up their noses at the ADV dubs, but I enjoy them (for the most part - like all animation, the voices have their ups and downs). For fans of the ADV dubs, they threw in a couple of lines, such as 'Cool your jets!' and 'What the cheese?' which had me giggling.
Overall, I truly enjoyed watching the OAVs again, and they seemed all new to me with the 'familiar' voices - more like an extension of the original series than something totally different. So I would give them a big thumbs up!
So yeah, IMHO the redone OAVs are well worth buying, even if you already have the first version.
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This post has been edited 2 time(s), it was last edited by Transmute Jun on 29-12-2013 at 03:30.
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29-12-2013 03:26
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tatsunokofan
Gatch Guru
0 fics uploaded
Registration Date: 03-12-2006
Posts: 1513
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Hi all!
It's nice to see a review of this. I've had my copy of them for several weeks now, but haven't had any time to watch them.
quote: | Originally posted by Transmute Jun
However they had a female voice for Katse in female/hermaphroditic form, which IMHO really enhanced that aspect of the character. I believe they did this as well in the Japanese version of the original OAVs? But now the English version has it too. |
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Yes, this was how it was handled in the Japanese version as well. The male Katse was voiced by Kaneto Shiozawa, and the Lady Katse seen in Volume 2 of the OAVs was voiced by Ai Origasa.
quote: | Originally posted by Transmute Jun
It was clear that they made an effort to link the OAVs more to the original Gatchaman series, using a bit more of the original series music than I recalled, and calling the characters by their original names (no more 'Jimmy', 'Rocky' or 'Solaris'). Also, they used 'BC Island' (where the second-in-command of the island was named 'Alan') for the power generator island, and 'Cross Karakorum' for the main headquarters, which I do not recall from the original OAVs. I really appreciate these nods to the fans of the original series! |
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Names such as Alan, BC Island, and Cross Karakorum were used in the Japanese versions of the OAVs, and were not an addition made by Sentai. Keeping the original names for characters like Jinpei, Ryu, and Katse, though, was a wise decision. Urban Vision never should have changed them, but they were insistent upon putting their own stamp on their productions.
Having not watched them yet, I obviously can't say for certain, but it seems unlikely that Sentai added any additonal music than what appeared in the original OAVs. In the originals, Volume 1 stuck strictly to the new music created by Maurice White and Bill Meyers, but Volumes 2 and 3 added music from both the first Gatchaman TV series and the Gatchaman movie. While generally forgotten now, the reasons for the use of this existing music were neither for nostalgic nor artistic. Instead, they were included strictly for commercial reasons.
You see, the OAVs were released by Nippon Columbia, who had handled the release of all Gatchaman-related songs and music since the TV series went on the air in 1972. With the release of the OAVs, Nippon Columbia decided that the time was ripe to reissue on CD the Gatchaman BGM Collection (With music from the TV series), the Gatchaman Symphonic Suite (With music from the Gatchaman movie), and the Gatchaman Original Soundtrack (A drama album taking audio segments from the TV series to highlight important moments from the show), all of which had been originally released in LP record format in the 1970s and early 1980s. To help promote the sale of these CDs, the OAVs used music from the TV series and the movie, rather than relying entirely on new music from White and Meyers.
James
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30-12-2013 18:28
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