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--- Hats off to Kamo! (http://www.gatchamania.net/threadid.php?threadid=2320)
Posted by Transmute Jun on 19-01-2009 at 17:49:
Hats off to Kamo!
Yes, this is our week to pay tribute to Chief Engineer Saburo Kamo.
Kamo worked for the ISO and helped develop new hand weapons and the Gatcha Spartan. He was introduced to the Science Ninja Team by literally saving their skins from Sosai Z's iron beast by digging out the piece of Earth they were lying on and bringing them inside of his rescue craft. By this time, Director Anderson had died, and Dr. Nambu had taken over his duties. This left Nambu very little time to directly interact with the Science Ninja Team, and more often than not, Kamo was their prime contact during the Fighter series.
The viewers' (and Ken's) first view of Kamo:
I guess the big 
on his hat helped identify him as a good guy. 
Kamo shows the team their new weapons:
Kamo often directed the team on missions:
And in this episode was on hand as Ken responded to an emergency message.
While Kamo usually wore his uniform, in this episode he wears a suit while Jinpei takes him to meet his son. (?? Help, James! In ER it was his grandson, but I *think* it was his son in Gatch.)
Here Kamo relaxes with a cup of coffee, kindly brought to him by Jinpei. Yes, the Swallow wanted something...
One of Kamo's duties later in the series was to help Ken recover from the ill effects of the Hypershoot illness. Here Ken is training while the others are away on a mission. The Eagle is upset that he is unable to go and help them, because of his condition.
And lastly, occasionally Kamo got to leave the ISO/Gatchaman Base. Here he is in one episode jumping out of the Gatchaspartan with Joe to recover some crucial equipment. Jinpei decides to follow, much to the surprise of Jun and Ken.
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Posted by lborgia88 on 19-01-2009 at 18:40:
Thanks for the pictures and the cool animation!
He seems like a good character and it makes sense to introduce someone who clearly has a mechanical/engineering background, but I do sometimes wonder why he was created, as Gatch F could have been written with Dr. Nambu doing more-or-less what Kamo did, and unlike Dr. Pandora in the second half of Gatch II, he doesn't play a key role in the overall story of the fight against Z and Egobossler (or does he? -I could be wrong here)
On an entirely unrelated note, does he remind anyone else of Super Mario?
Posted by amyltrer on 19-01-2009 at 19:51:
OMG, LB, I'm glad I wasn't the only one who thought Kamo looks like Mario!
He was closer to the team than Nambu, but he still didn't had Hakase's backbone nor the strength to keep Ken in check!
I remember I liked him during ER. Unlike Hakase, he helped a lot to the team's moral support!
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It is the tiny spark of humanity that adds blaze to a villain
Posted by Transmute Jun on 19-01-2009 at 20:05:
OMG, you're right, LB! I never thought about the Mario resemblance, but it makes sense...
Does this mean that Ego is a blue Wario? 
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Posted by amyltrer on 19-01-2009 at 20:24:
Actualy Wario looked more like Ego's dad:
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It is the tiny spark of humanity that adds blaze to a villain
Posted by Transmute Jun on 19-01-2009 at 21:18:
Awwww come on! Don't you see the resemblance?
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Posted by lborgia88 on 19-01-2009 at 22:09:
Oh that's great! It looks like Ego's gained some weight -he needs to get some more fencing practice in, and maybe hold off on the wine for awhile!
Posted by gatchgirl on 19-01-2009 at 23:48:
You two are a hoot.
Whoo Hoo, for Kamo!!!
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" No gratitude needs to be voiced, your mind speaks to us!"
Racer by day, Feather Thrower all the time!
Posted by Springie on 20-01-2009 at 01:22:
Bwahahahaha...I think he looks like Mario, too!
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Posted by shamrokchick on 20-01-2009 at 04:20:
So Kamo gave all the orders when Nambu became head of the ISO?
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"They say the Titanic sank because it hit an iceberg, but that must have been Galactor's fault too." 
Posted by Transmute Jun on 20-01-2009 at 05:19:
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Not all. Nambu was still in charge. But Nambu wasn't always able to be there or monitor missions directly. So Kamo had authority over the Team, but Nambu was still the ultimate authority (until he died, when presumably Kamo was the ultimate authority... I'll defer to James here because we are *way* out of my knowledge base.
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Posted by tatsunokofan on 22-01-2009 at 02:01:
Hi all!
I remember when we first saw Kamo. We didn't know who he was, his "G" hat immediately got people calling him a "G-Force Groupie." Of course, when Banpresto later released hats with the "G" logo on them, a bunch of us had to get them. So I guess we shouldn't have made fun of Kamo after all...
I suspect that Kamo's appearance came about because of the deaths of Dr. Pandora, Dr. Raphael, and Director Anderson. With those characters gone, Director Nambu needed someone to talk to! So, we got Kamo, a friendly older man and top-notch engineer. If Director Nambu was the father for the Ninja Team members, Kamo was their grandfather.
Being a series regular from the get-go, Kamo got a write-up in the series Planning Establishment. Sadly, it doesn't say a whole lot. As a matter of fact, all it says is as follows:
"Saburo Kamo (60-years-old)
Under the authority of the ISO's Nambu, he has been placed as the Chief Engineer for the new 'Gatchaman Base.'
He has a droll, though cheerful and bright, personality. All of the Ninja Team affectionately call him by his nickname, 'Jiisama (Old Man).'"
As you can see, not much to draw upon. With that lack of depth, it's no wonder the poor guy didnt get much to do. To be fair, that's about the same level of background they gave to Kempeler and Mekandor, but you really do expect more regarding a series regular.
From the concept drawings and model sheets for Kamo, we see that he smokes a pipe. Fortunately, this was a habit he indulged in infrequently during the series itself (Episode #'s 13, 32, 33).
Most of what we know about Kamo comes from the series itself. Unfortunately, most of what Kamo did was be relegated to the role of supporting character. Kamo only had a single story that centered on him, when he was reunited with his grandson (Episode #32).
Kamo was pretty much retired when Nambu convinced him to come back to work, "for the sake of world peace" (Episode #32). He was placed in charge of Gatchaman Base, the new headquarters of the Science Ninja Team (Episode #2). Though Kamo spent most of his time working out of Gatchaman Base, he was willing to go into the thick of battle in order to save the Science Ninja Team (Episode #2), or to operate equipment necessary to reveal the truth behind the Cosmo Pulse (Episode #'s 32, 39).
It was Kamo who presented the Science Ninja Team with their new G-Mecha and the Gatcha Spartan as a replacement for the destroyed New God Phoenix (Episode #2).
At that time, he also gave them their new personal weapons (Episode #2).
Even though this new equipment was seeing regular use, Kamo worked on methods to improve them. An improvement he accomplished was upgrading the generators of the Gatcha Spartan, allowing the Ninja Team to begin using the Science Ninpo Hyper Shoot. He also created booster rockets and parachutes that allowed the Gatcha 1 to travel to outer space and safely return to Earth. During that time, Kamo acted as Mission Control for Ken's flight (Episode #22).
Later, when the anti-matter planet was being pulled toward the Earth, it was Kamo who figured out how to outfit the Gatcha Spartan with a trio of missiles to destroy the Space Tractors moving the menace through space (Episode #'s 46, 47).
Kamo's talents were also used in decoding the encrypted data for Egobossler's Agrica Operation plans (Episode #'s 9, 10), which had been stolen from a Gallactor facility by Ken and Joe (Episode #8).
Despite efforts by Gallactor to destroy the data (Episode #10), Kamo and his team eventually cracked the encryption code, allowing the I.S.O. to plan countermeasures to Egobossler's invasion of North Agrica (Episode #'s 12, 13).
Kamo knew how to pilot the Mole Mecha, a machine that could drill underground (Episode #2).
He also knew how to fly the Gatcha Spartan using a remote control in Gatchaman Base (Episode #12).
He has only one known living relative, his grandson, Shoichi Kamo.
Shoichi's parents are dead, and Shoichi was left in the care of Kamo's assistant, Shigeru Osada, when Kamo went to work for Nambu.
Shoichi lived in Edo City, though he would rather have been living with his grandfather (Episode #32).
Upon discovering that Ken was suffering from cellular disruption due to the Hyper Shoot, Kamo set to work developing of method of curing him (Episode #37). This preliminary research eventually led to the creation of the Neo-Bio Reactor (Episode #37). Unfortunately, this proved to be just a stopgap measure, and quickly ceased to help Ken's condition (Episode #41).
Following the death of Director Nambu, Kamo inherited the Nambu's responsibilities in coordinating the Science Ninja Team's missions. One of the first things he did discover some of the railroad tracks used by Gallactor to get to Gallatown's hidden location. Using this information, the Science Ninja Team invaded and destroyed their enemy's headquarters (Episode #43). Kamo also developed the plan to attack the anti-matter asteroid by launching the Gatcha Spartan into space and using the Ultra Hyper Shoot to penetrate the barrier protecting their target (Episode #44).
Later, he drafted the plan to attack the Space Tractors bringing the anti-matter planet toward Earth (Episode #'s 46, 47).
Kamo had a knack for survival, managing to escape the destruction of both Gatchaman Base (Episode #41) and the I.S.O. Headquarters (Episode #44).
Before sending the Science Ninja Team on their final mission, Kamo presented Ken with Director Nambu's pendant (Episode #47).
Once the crisis had passed and the Earth saved, the I.S.O. received no contact from the Science Ninja Team. Depending on your interpretation of the last episode, Kamo could be the only regular cast member to survive the series. While some believed that the Ninja Team had been lost, Kamo refused to believe that they had died. Instead, he believed that the Phoenix flew over the Earth (Episode #48).
Kamo was voiced by Hiroo Oikawa. Even though the character made his debut in episode #2 of the series, it took until episode #4 before he received his first on-screen credit. While Mr. Oikawa is best known to Gatchaman fans for his work as Kamo, this was not the first time he worked on Gatchaman. In the first Gatchaman TV series, Mr. Oikawa had provided the voices for guest characters in three episodes, including the Elder in Gatchaman #13, Old Man Mike Mirror in Gatchaman #57, and both Beggar (1) and the Gravekeeper in Gatchaman #81. Sadly, Mr. Oikawa passed away on September 25, 1995.
I hope this fills in some gaps regarding Kamo!
James
Posted by lborgia88 on 22-01-2009 at 02:28:
Thanks for all the information and screencaps, James! Do you still have your "G-Force Groupie" hat?
Looking at all these images, it's just occured to me that Kamo looks a lot like an older version of Ryu (if Ryu decided to grow a mustache) -similar eyes, noses and body types.
Posted by tatsunokofan on 22-01-2009 at 02:44:
Hi all!
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Oh, yeah. Like there was any doubt...
James
Posted by Transmute Jun on 22-01-2009 at 03:14:
Thank you so much, James! I feel like I am missing so much information on Gatchaman Fighter, and you really rounded out a lot of things for me with that posting. It is extremely helpful. Thank yoU! 
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Posted by shamrokchick on 22-01-2009 at 04:11:
Thanks to both of you for providing lots of details (and screen caps) on this character!
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"They say the Titanic sank because it hit an iceberg, but that must have been Galactor's fault too."
Posted by veritas on 22-01-2009 at 09:21:
Did you hear that? That was my jaw hitting my desk.
Once again I am in awe of James' knowledge.
Posted by gatchgirl on 22-01-2009 at 23:43:
James your knowledge once again is quite impressive. Thanks to you and TJ for the screen caps, and trying to give insight to the "old man" !
Also James, would there be any chance to get you to post a piccy of you modeling the hat???
__________________
" No gratitude needs to be voiced, your mind speaks to us!"
Racer by day, Feather Thrower all the time!
Posted by Transmute Jun on 23-01-2009 at 00:53:
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Here he is right here!
Sorry, James.... I couldn't resist.... For everyone else: James looks like John Lithgow. Really! Just younger and far better-looking.
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Posted by lborgia88 on 23-01-2009 at 01:07:
It's a G-Force groupie!
You are lucky, James, to have a celebrity stand-in!
Back in the summer, a couple approached my BF and asked him if he was Senator Joe Biden (?!) but I have no such luck.
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