Kagaku ninja tai Gatchaman

Gatchaman is a classic 1970s anime you will really enjoy, it has lots of action and great character designs. I really liked this series.

8/10 stars.

Like most of the other reviewers here I initially watched Battle of the Planets when I was a kid. It was my favourite cartoon, but when I tried to watch it again as an adult I found it to be quite incoherent. I was never a fan of 7Zark7 anyway (was anyone?) but the way the action was constantly interrupted by cutaways to him assuring the viewers that no one ever got hurt were quite jarring.

I first heard about Gatchaman about ten years ago but I didn't think I could watch it because the characters have different names to those in BOTP. But earlier this year I watched a few episodes online and after I'd seen about 20 of them I was so hooked I coughed up for the collectors edition blu ray. It turned out to be one of the best purchases I've made.

If you can get past the first 15 episodes the quality of the show really improves. The animation and the storylines really crank up a notch. There are a few duff episodes, but out of 105 in total that is to be expected. I quickly realised that BOTP was actually a very poor imitation of Gatchaman. BOTP cut out all of the violence (of which there is a lot) and it also ditched the storylines that ran all the way through the 105 episodes.

From about the halfway mark the story becomes a real cat and mouse affair between Gatchaman and the bad guys, Galactor. The race to catch Berg Katse (formerly Zoltar in BOTP) really hots up. I was particularly impressed by some of the darker storylines, many of which look like they were a big influence on many of the big Hollywood movies that followed (Star Wars, Indiana Jones etc). There is also some great humour in here. Katse has henchmen called Willis and Daltrey, and I'm certain it's just so the writers could make him say lines like "What you talking about Willis?" and "Roger, Daltrey"

Also, unlike BOTP a lot of people die in Gatchaman. The Galactor henchmen get burned alive on numerous occasions, but also the good guys don't always make it out alive. There are a few significant deaths that were never shown in BOTP which omitted to show about 25 of the Gatchaman episodes (usually the best ones). I also liked the fact that the good guys didn't win every time. There are many episodes where the bad guys triumph or kill someone important.

When I was finished watching this (I did one episode a day for 105 days) I was genuinely sad as I'd become very attached to the show and its characters, which is something I never imagined possible all these decades after I first watched BOTP. If you were a fan of BOTP and you were thinking of watching Gatchaman, I would recommend you get right on it. I thought it was brilliant and light years ahead of its time.

I remember being 10 and seeing the first episode of "Battle of the Planets" on TV. The very next day at school it was all kids could talk about. This was something new and exciting and never before seen. We accepted the fact that nobody ever died. That all the explosions and people getting blown up were just robots. And that the bad guys were polite enough to warn of their attack so everybody could evacuate the city. And nobody really minded the shoddy animation that had been added to the show to pad out the run time after all the cuts. We were kids. It happens.

And then, years later, I discovered it had been cobbled together from this show "Gatchaman" and I was interested in seeing how the show differed. And let me tell you it was like night and day. Here there were consequences. People died. Bad guys were killed as well as innocent civilians. And best of all, no 7-Zark-7 and forcing a space opera theme on it. And yes while I loved Keyop when I was 10, I seriously have a problem with him now. What were they thinking?

This is a much more mature story. Instead of them being five orphans raised from birth to fight baddies with their "cerebonic implants", they're five highly trained and capable individuals who fight for freedom against a group of terrorists. These people have actual lives outside of being the Science Ninja Team and don't just chill in their underwater base while waiting for the next attack. They have real lives and real issues.

There are several English versions of this out there from the original "Battle of the Planets" which is a decent dub even with the inclusion of Keyop to the bad G-Force which added a lot of unnecessary dialogue and focused on them being able to fly for some reason. There was another one called "Eagle Riders" out there but I've never actually seen it but I've heard it's the worst of the bunch.

If you can find it I would recommend the ADV dub which is the closest to the original Japanese in terms of dialogue. Or just stick the Japanese audio in and watch the subtitles.

In 1978, I was seven years old when "Battle of the Planets" hit the networks. On the heel of "Star Wars", and along my favorite TV show at the time, "Battlestar Galactica," it was a show that was right up my alley! Five super-teens in an awesome spacecraft flying around and battling Zoltar from Planet Spectra.

It would be years later that I would realize how much I'd missed. 7-Zark-7 is cool when you're seven. Not so much when you're 47. When I delved into Gatchaman, I was immediately enamored all over again, and frankly, I don't care if I never see another episode of "Battle of the Planets."

For 1972, Gatchaman was cutting-edge. In the uncut Japanese version, you had fist-fights (non-existent in 1972 American cartoons unless it was re-runs of Popeye), and civilians being slaughtered by Galactor's newest terror! You also had some mild language.

There is no planet Spectra. Instead, you have a terrorist organization hell-bent on destroying the world and taking over. Ironically, most of these attacks are against the environment, and the Science Ninja Team, spear-headed by the brilliant Dr. Nambu, and led by Ken, are sent to deal with the latest attack.

Things aren't all sunshine and rainbows on the team either. They frequently argue and fight with each other. Joe (Jason) frequently disagrees with Ken's (Mark) decisions, especially when they don't involve taking direct action. Jun (Princess) only has eyes for Ken, but he does not reciprocate her feelings, as he's more wrapped up in the mission and working as a pilot. Jinpei (Keyop) is funny and annoying, as any young boy would be. And no, there is no speech impediment either!

There is a lot of scientific knowledge that is put into the show, and why it is important to preserve the environment...messages that are still very relative even today.

Every Gatchaman episode is full of action, and each delves much deeper into the characters of the team than BOTP did.

The animation for the time period is still extraordinary, with so much attention to detail. I highly recommend watching Alex Ross's youtube video (an American artist) regarding this.

I only wish that more than the first series was available. I purchased the first 48 episodes on itunes, and I'm already anxious for more! You can't go wrong whether you're my age and re-living some great memories or even as a kid getting into it for the first time! Go! Go! Go! Gatchaman!!!

How could you not like this cool as hell show ? Martial arts, giant monsters, and the unforgetable fiery phoneix.Gatchaman had everything forget the horrible Battle of the Planets, and watch this show uncut. Episode after episode these kids rack up a body count the size of Europe. And Ken and Joe are always arguing, usually over who to kill and who not. The last two episodes were my favorites.