BATTLE OF THE PLANETS was one of the first Japanese anime science fiction shows that made it’s way to American shores during the post STAR WARS boom of the late 1970s. Shows like BATTLE OF THE PLANETS, STAR BLAZERS (Japanese title SPACE BATTLESHIP YAMATO), and ROBOTECH were responsible for ingraining anime upon the impressionable minds of young Americans everywhere, and therefore sparking the massive Anime boom which rules fandom today. BATTLE OF THE PLANETS was really a progressive Japanese TV show called GATCHMAN featuring five young super heroes called The Science Ninja Team. Sandy Frank’s company secured the release rights in 1977, but several changes were made to the episodes to make them more palatable to the parents of America, as GATCHAMAN was full of death and destruction. Frank renamed the identities of the characters, changed the name of the team to G-FORCE, and e-christened the show BATTLE OF THE PLANETS. Frank’s version of the show was a sanitized and watered down version of the original GATCHAMAN, The removal of the offending footage necessitated the addition of new scenes, so Frank introduced the R2D2 wannabe 7-Zark-7 to pad the running time. All these changes to the original Japanese show really hurt the continuity of the episodes and most of them made little sense, and characters were without motivations. Frank did hire some name marquee talent vocal artists to provide some voices including Casey Kassem, Key Luke, and Alan Young. BATTLE OF PLANETS was a big success upon it’s initial U.S. and now Rhino Home Video has released this anime classic on DVD to the delight of nostalgic Generation X’ers everywhere. Rhino’s first volume of BATTLE OF THE PLANETS contains the first two episodes in Dolby Digital 5.1 sound (or DD Mono 2.0).

ATTACK OF THE SPACE TERRAPIN

From G-Force’s underwater base called Center Neptune, 7 Zark 7 detects the presence of a massive robotic menace who steals the Earth’s supply of Vitaluman, a substance that restores the depleted soil of over-mined planets, and is used for farming purposes. 7 Zark 7 is baffled that the leaders of Spectra need to steal the Vitalman since it’s given away for free to any planet that requires it. It’s because Zoltar wants complete control of the substance for Spectra’s use. Mark, Jason, Keyop, Princess, and Tiny must use all their powers and awesome technology to defeat the giant robot and recover the Vitalumin.

RESCUE OF THE ASTRONAUTS

Two astronauts find evidence of an alien base on Mars. On their trip back to Earth, their capsule disappears upon reentry into Earth’s atmosphere. 7 Zark 7 alerts the G-Force, who must rescue the astronauts and secure their taped evidence. But Zoltar has kidnapped the scientist and has no plans to allow them to leave. G Force locates their huge underwater base and Mark transmutes into a diver to gain access to the base. Zoltar’s aliens attack with machine-like precision, and force Mark to surrender or they will kill the hostages. The rest of G-Force set about to rescue Mark, and the only weapon that can get the job done is their ultimate weapon ,the Fiery Phoenix!

BATTLE OF THE PLANETS is presented full frame (1.33.1). Rhino’s DVD presentation is very well done, but it’s not without a few flaws attributable to the age of the video elements. The image is very colorful, but still exhibits plenty of grain. The mecha and ship designs and are impressive and fluidly animated and are clearly superior to any American animation of the same period. At times the picture becomes faded, but overall this is a pleasing transfer considering the vintage. You can choose from Dolby Digital 5.1 or DD Mono 2.0. Stereo enthusiasts will choose the former, but beware the DD 5.1 soundfield is not true stereo, merely the mono signal fed through the soundscape and filtered with some reverb. The dialog, spacey sound effects, and especially the dazzling musical score sound superior in DD 5.1 (compared to the mono mix). Just don’t expect any depth, sound imaging, or bass. There is no distortion in the mix either. From the Special Features menu, you have the option of viewing the first two episodes of the original Japanese version of GATHCHAMAN, fully uncut and with removable English subtitles. These episodes contain all the violence and original storylines that were eliminated for BATTLE OF THE PLANETS. The picture quality of these episodes is better than the English dubbed version. Additionally, there is another incarnation available of the G-FORCE pilot episode called THE ROBOT STEGOSAUR. For this version of GATCHAMAN, you can select from English, Spanish, or Portuguese languages. This episode is more fully translated version which is uncut and without 7 Zark 7 (and the other added foolishness of BATTLE OF THE PLANETS). The only downside to this episode is the electrifying score has been removed and replaced with a generic one.

Rhino’s DVD has much to offer to both the classic anime purist or the nostalgia buff (looking to relive the cheesy glory of days past). While the DVD offers only the first two episodes, it presents both GATCHAMAN and BATTLE OF THE PLANETS uncut and with colorful transfers. They throw in a another reworking of the original episode for further comparison. In this light, Rhino’s disc is very educational in that it gives you an inside look at the "Internationalization" of a hot foreign property. As for the show itself, both GATCHAMAN and BATTLE OF THE PLANETS have their faults. But I feel sorry for today’s children—we had BATTLE OF THE PLANETS, SPEED RACER, STARBLAZERS, etc. They have POKEMON, DIGIMON, and DRAGONBALL. It’s no secret that despite the dated animation techniques of the older shows, they had better stories, more imagination, and were just plain fun for all ages.

BATTLE OF THE PLANETS Volume One is available from DVDEmpire.com

BATTLE OF THE PLANETS ULTIMATE BOX SET is available from DVDEmpire.com

-  Phil Chandler