Gatchaman

Gatchaman is that timeless Japanese animation series made in the early Seventies by Tatsunoko productions. It follows the adventures of five young people fighting to save the Earth from the threat of the forces of Galactor, and they do it all in birdstyle too! Various versions of it exist in English, including Battle of the Planets, GForce Guardians of Space and Eagle Riders.

I was one of those children who got hooked on that seventies classic Battle of the Planets, Sandy Frank's rather infamous translation of the first Gatchaman series. My love of Gatchaman was then rekindled by seeing Eagle Riders (Saban's translation of the second and third series) and by all those wondeful internet sites out there devoted to Gatchaman in its various forms.

My favourite character has always been Jun (Princess/ Aggie/ Kelly in English versions). This quietly beautiful, logical technowhiz was a real role model for me when I was growing up, showing me that girls can do anything.

She is a highly competent member of the Gatchaman team, fighting Gallactors with the best of 'em yet detests killing. Somehow she even manages to find the time to also run a restaraunt, the Snack Jun, with the help of Jinpei (Keyop/ PeeWee/ Mickey).

The team is her family, and she does all she can to keep it together. Who cannot identify with the unrequited love she feels for Ken or the sisterly affection for Jinpei.

As for the guys, I liked Ken (Mark/ Ace/ Hunter) when I was growing up but now I'm much more of a Jo (Jason/ Dirk/ Joe) fan. Mark appealed to me when I was younger, as the clean-cut dashing leader. Now that I see more of Ken's flaws (a tendency to long self-righteous speeches and heroics, and an indifference to women among them) and Jo's good qualities (the all too human feelings he has about being different when he becomes a cyborg in the second series, his extraordinary bravery and fighting ability). Perhaps that Battle of the Planets presented Ken as the ultimate good guy and Jo as being highly irrational also influenced this.

I won't go into great detail about the characters and series synopisis, as this has already been beautifully done on some of the other sites. If you wish to find out further information about the series, visit some of the other fantastic sites in the Gatchaman Web Ring.