Chances are if your parents didn’t bother to sign you up for sports, that you spent your youth in front of the tube after school watching programs like STAR BLAZERS, TRANSFORMERS,  or BATTLE OF THE PLANETS. GATCHAMAN is the original violent super hero series that was created by Tatsunoko Productions back in 1972. GATCHAMAN was eventually picked up for US distribution, and was heavily re-cut and edited into the kid-friendly show known as BATTLE OF THE PLANETS. Every day the winged heroes and their awesome space ship, the Phoenix, braved a new robotic challenge from outer space. This premise caught the imagination of America’s reckless youth who had only been exposed to SCOOBY DOO, JOHNNY QUEST, or JOSIE AND THE PUSSYCATS. GATCHAMAN resurfaced again over the years in various incarnations, the latest one of which is the 1994 OVA (Original Video Animation). Urban Vision previously released the OVA (which consists of three 45-minute episodes) on a VHS three pack, but they compiled the entire series into one DVD dubbed GATCHAMAN: THE COLLECTION.

In 2066, the Earth’s united government is the threatened by two major opponents, an advanced alien race called the Galactor, and the country of Hontwall with it’s dictatorial leader. When important scientific figures begin disappearing, a secret branch of the Earth government called the International Science Organization (led by Dr. Kozaburo Nambu) sends their secret weapon, called the Science Ninja Squadron to recover the missing scientists. This super-secret team of bird-like Ninja are comprised of Eagle Ken, Condor Joe, Swan Jun, Swallow Jinpei, and Owl Ryu. As the Science Ninja Team and their advanced weaponry get closer to resolving the mystery, the Galactors unleash the robotic terror known as the Dragon King to destroy the team and their magnificent ship, the Pheonix. Things get even tougher for the Science Ninja Squadron when the Galactors kidnap Dr. Nambu!

The Galactor army, commanded by the androgynous Solaris, gains a foothold in their takeover of Earth. They establish a doomsday weapon on an abandoned island that they use to threaten the Earth forces. Solaris assigns the destruction of the Science Ninja Squadron to Dr. Donaldson. The Galactors lure the Science Ninja Squadron to the island, so they can be beat by the aliens’ own team of super fighters called the Jupiter Death Brigade. The Science Ninja Squadron fall right into Dr. Donaldson’s trap, and things don’t look to good for our heroes, until another secret organization shows up called the Red Specter. The Galactors must overcome the combined forces of the Science Ninja Squadron and the Red Specter!

When Galactor assassins track down Science Ninja Squadron member, Condor Joe, he defeats the assassins and poses as one of them, hoping to penetrate the Galactor’s security. Meanwhile, Solaris has ordered the Galactors deploy their doomsday device to encourage Earth to surrender. Dr. Nambu dispatches the Science Ninja Squadron to save the day, but the team’s effectiveness is severely hampered with the disappearance of Condor Joe. The Galactor order their mechanical monster called the DevilSnake to engage the Science Ninja Team. During the battle, our heroes fake their own deaths, and sneak aboard the DevilSnake as it returns to the Galactors’ secret base in the mountains. Condor Joe has successfully infiltrated the same base, but Solaris is aware of his presence. Though they are heavily outnumbered, the Science Ninja Team must fight through the Galactor forces to save the Earth and their comrade, Condor Joe!

This OVA version of GATCHAMAN updates the characters, ships, weapons, and enemies, and presents it in such way as to generate nostalgic memories. The scripts are basically rehashes of the original series, with new twists and a bigger canvas. The OVA breaks no new ground however, nor is there any additional depth to the characters. As the creators only had three 45 minutes episodes to work with, the pacing is fast and doesn’t allow for any characterization. This version of GATCHAMAN is fast and flashy, and hardcore fans may be disappointed with the lack of depth in the trite storylines. The OVA has its share of posturing, such as when during a battle, the members of the Science Ninja Squadron introduces themselves as they fight the Galactor soldiers. Also, whey they deploy their powers, they have a tendency to shout the name of their power or weapon, so you’ll hear lines like "Eagles Claw!". This dialog may appeal to the kiddies perhaps, but to an adult it’s just unadulterated cheese.

Urban Vision’s internationalization of GATCHAMAN includes new identities for the characters, even though they look the same as the original characters. The music score consists of songs from Earth, Wind, and Fire. The original Japanese subtitled version uses the original character names and original music only. Another difference is that in the Japanese version, the Jupiter Death Brigade is described as androids, and they talk with a metallic voice. On the English dub, no references to robots are made and the voices are clearly human. But even in the Japanese version, when the Death Brigade members get slashed, they bleed, so I don’t understand why they are described as androids to begin with. This GATCHAMAN OVA contains some cool sci-fi elements that border on cerebral science fiction, but the action is presented in such an immature manner that it can only appeal to kids. But the members of Science Ninja Squadron are so violent, killing and dismembering their opponents in an oh-so-bloody-fashion that should NOT be viewed by children. So it’s hard to gauge the audience that they were shooting for.

After the end of the third episode, a Japanese music video for the GATCHAMAN series plays. This music video is full frame and Dolby Digital 2.0; you cannot play this video from the Special Features menu, but you can select it from the Chapter Stops area. From the Special Features menu, you can access Urban Vision’s Website, or play any of these trailers:

• FINAL FANTASY (FF, DD 2.0, 1:08)
• THE COCKPIT (FF, DD 2.0, 1:31)
• BIO HUNTER (FF, DD 2.0, :44)
• PSYCHO DIVER (FF, DD 2.0, :36)
• GOKU MIDNIGHT EYE (FF, DD 2.0, 1:02)
• DRAGON SLAYER (FF, DD 2.0, :43)
• WILD 7 (FF, DD 2.0, 1:29)
• GATCHAMAN (FF, DD 2.0, 1:01)
• PETER’S SHOP OF HORRORS (FF, DD 2.0, 1:30)
• THE PROFESSIONAL: GOLGO 13 (FF, DD 2.0, 1:38)

-  Darren Collette

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