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--- Gatchaman Episode 26: "The God Phoenix Reborn" (http://www.gatchamania.net/threadid.php?threadid=2588)
Posted by lborgia88 on 02-07-2009 at 19:22:
Gatchaman Episode 26: "The God Phoenix Reborn"
Gatchaman Episode 26: "The God Phoenix Reborn"
BOTP Episode: “The Bat Ray Bombersâ€
The episode begins with Ryu’s bracelet sitting on a console. Ken is trying to contact Ryu, but he’s having no success because although Ryu is right there, he’s sleeping soundly in his chair on the bridge of the God Phoenix, hearing nothing.
Ryu is in birdstyle, which gives me pause for thought; shouldn’t removing his bracelet have de-transmuted him? In episode 103, that’s what happens to Joe when his bracelet gets shot off his wrist. But then, his bracelet got damaged, and here, Ryu’s is just fine, and its clasp is closed too (if that matters). I guess there are no clear rules on how they, or their vehicles, de-transmute. I’m having trouble remembering any time anyone’s been shown doing it (voluntarily).
But I digress –on with the recap.
Ken is still calling urgently for Ryu, saying “We can’t combine without G-5!†Now we can see that the God Phoenix is parked on the sea floor in a sort of underwater carport, and minus Joe’s car to form its nose. This is very interesting. Is this underwater at the marina where Ryu works? Is this underwater at Dr. Nambu’s house?
I must say, as he’s already in birdstyle and on board the God Phoenix, that it’s pretty slack of Ryu to have fallen asleep. Unless he’s been sitting there waiting for a very long time while the others investigate some vague report of possible trouble, and has legitimate reason to think that nothing exciting is going to happen today.
But something exciting has happened. Ken’s in the air in his jet, as is Jinpei in his helico buggy.
Joe’s zooming along the ground in his car, and Jun’s speeding over the water’s surface on her vehicle.
It isn’t clear what they know or have seen that’s making them want to combine immediately in the God Phoenix, but next we are shown a ship sailing peacefully through calm waters. Something tells me it won’t be peaceful or calm for long…
Sure enough, a man on board the ship, wearing what looks like some kind of naval officer’s uniform, spots a strange craft in the air, flying towards the ship. As it nears, it becomes apparent that it’s shaped like a flying stingray. More members of the crew are gathered at the ship’s railing now, exhibiting curiosity and alarm.
Their concern is warranted; suddenly the flying stingray emits an intense beam of some kind of energy from its “mouth†and blasts the ship with it.
Immediately, the ship is destroyed and its flaming, crumpled remains explode and quickly sink into the sea as the stingray flies away. Now, the narrator informs us that “the ISO’s ships were attacked by a sinister craft shaped like a ray, but the God Phoenix never came to help.†Uh oh…
Now we, once again, see a bracelet resting on some surface, even as the image of the smoke and flames from the sinking ship are fading away.
Ryu is standing there, looking incredibly sad and ashamed.
He’s facing Dr. Nambu, who’s sitting behind a desk, and it’s immediately apparent that Ryu’s put his bracelet on the desk because he’s resigning from the Team.
Looking on are Jinpei, Jun and Joe, looking shocked, distressed and pissed off, respectively.
Dr. Nambu wants to know what Ryu’s going to do, and he points out that he does have, “unlike everyone else,†parents and a younger brother to go back to.
I guess this is the first time we learn something about Ryu’s background.
Now Ken is trying to stop Ryu from leaving, telling him that “one or two mistakes†aren’t so terrible, and that he just needs to “try to be more careful.â€
Jinpei chimes in here too, agreeing with Ken. But Ryu responds with “I’m sick of being on the Science Ninja Team.†Everyone is shocked!
“Just what do you mean by that?†demands Dr. Nambu rather sharply. Ryu claims he’s tired of being the one who gets left behind to sit around on the God Phoenix during missions, and that he’s felt this way for awhile.
This explanation doesn’t go down well at all with the others.
Ken flat out says he doesn’t believe him, but Ryu, looking down at his feet, says he wants a normal life, one where he can eat whatever he wants and take naps whenever he wants. He concludes with a “Please don’t take this personally,†but the way Joe is glowering at him now definitely indicates that he is taking it very personally.
Joe lashes out, calling Ryu a “spineless wimp†and turning his head away contemptuously. Dr. Nambu now says that if Ryu leaves the Team, he won’t ever be able to rejoin it. Ryu accepts that calmly, and now even Dr. Nambu is upset enough to stand up, slam his hands on his desk and say “Fine! Then go ahead and quit! We will sever any connection with you from this point on!â€
Ryu remains aloof, as Jun and Jinpei both go “Ohh!†in dismay.
Ken has his hand on Ryu’s shoulder, saying “Come on,†and trying to reason with him, but Ryu is seemingly unmoved.
Or is he? Next we see Ryu, he’s riding alone on a train at night. We hear his thoughts, in which he asks all the others for forgiveness for leaving. But he can’t let his mistake go, and he can’t forgive himself. He promises he’ll never forget them, as a tear runs down his face.
He arrives on foot at the outskirts of a little coastal fishing village, and it’s daytime now.
He’s still wearing his numbered civvies. I would have thought that he’d have to turn those in along with his bracelet, but it seems that wasn’t required. He is wearing a brown jacket though –one we’ve never seen before.
Posted by lborgia88 on 02-07-2009 at 19:23:
In the village itself, an excited crowd has gathered together and everyone’s speaking at the same time. One man, who seems to be a figure of authority, is telling the others “Settle down! Now that we’re positive that we’ve been contaminated, we need to start disposing of all sturgeons and spiny lobsters immediately.†Some other men in the crowd want to know if he, as “Union Leader,†is going to take responsibility for all their financial losses incurred by the contamination.
A small boy then pipes up indignantly that “It’s not my Dad’s fault!†and he stands at the Union Leader’s side scowling. But, suddenly he’s all smiles as he says “Hey look! It’s my big brother!†At this, the Union Leader turns to look too. There’s Ryu, looking a bit sheepish, but the Union Leader –his father- is pleased to see him.
Ryu wants to know what all the excitement is about, and his father tells him that all the fish have been contaminated, and he doesn’t know how it happened, as there aren’t any factories nearby. Ryu says he knows a scientist at the ISO, named Dr. Nambu, and he suggests that his father contact him. Two other men in the crowd say they’ve heard of Dr. Nambu (Wow, who knew he was that high profile?) and agree it’s a good idea to ask for his assistance. Meanwhile, Ryu’s father says he heard Ryu was working at a yacht harbor, and wants to know what’s brought him back home. Ryu stammers nervously at this question, and blurts out that he’s on vacation.
Now, we’re seeing Dr. Nambu in a lab, staring into a microscope and then distilling some liquid as the narrator informs us that Dr. Nambu has analyzed the pollutant that contaminated the fish near Ryu’s home, and has determined it’s a by-product of the manufacture of “an entirely new metal.†“No one but Galactor is capable of creating something like this,†says Dr. Nambu, holding up a beaker of the sinister contaminant.
“This mission could be dangerous. I’d better go with you,†he continues, as the camera pans sideways and we see that Ken, Joe, Jun and Jinpei are all standing there, in birdstyle.
Ken is a bit surprised, but Dr. Nambu explains that the affected fishing village had adopted an ISO policy of “creating and not taking,†and so he wants to save the village that accepted the ISO’s ideology. It would seem that this is not a convincing explanation, as Jun turns and whispers to the others “I thought so. Dr. Nambu is worried about Ryu too.†So, despite the rejection they seem to have received from Ryu, they’re still concerned about him. I guess this also means they don’t have any leads to pursue with regard to the ship-incinerating flying stingray.
Next, we’re treated to a scenic underwater view of happy fish and then lobsters (these ones must have escaped contamination) as beams of sunlight, and two scuba divers, descend from the surface. It’s Ryu and his little brother.
As they swim along, they spot the same flying stingray that attacked the ship at the episode’s beginning, moving through much deeper, darker water below.
They stay hidden behind some rocks, though, just watching.
Soon, they surface and Ryu’s brother wants to know what they saw. Ryu doesn’t know what it was, but he says they’ll need different scuba equipment to follow it down as deep as the continental shelf. (He also addresses his little brother by his name, Seiji.) Seiji thinks it was some kind of scary, monster ray.
Ryu’s father, and some other men, are standing around in the village, but someone is approaching. Ryu’s father turns and greets Dr. Nambu, and now we see that the Doctor has also brought the four remaining members of the Science Ninja Team with him (all smiling weirdly).
He’s also carrying a case, that he announces is an antidote that, when fed to the contaminated fish, will cleanse them of pollutants. Mr. Nakanishi (I’m getting tired of calling him “Ryu’s fatherâ€) is happy, but points out that if more pollutant keeps leaking into the sea, they’ll soon run out of antidote.
Dr. Nambu responds that he will have the Science Ninja Team investigate the source of the pollution.
“Roger that!†says Ken.
Meanwhile, Ryu and Seiji have returned to the village, still in wetsuits and carrying their scuba equipment. Seiji spots Ken, gets really excited that Gatchaman is here, and goes running over to him.
Ryu’s reaction is less enthusiastic.
As Seiji greets Ken, Ryu tries to slip away unobtrusively but Ken sees him.
Posted by lborgia88 on 02-07-2009 at 19:24:
Ryu has gone into some kind of storage shed, and is zipping up the neck of a wetsuit he’s wearing, but Ken appears in the doorway.
Ken notes that Ryu’s now wearing a deep sea diving suit, and he wants to know where he’s going. Ryu tells him to mind his own business, but Ken says that the Science Ninja Team has been asked to investigate the village, and that he knows Ryu is hiding something.
Ryu angrily shoves his way past Ken but Ken grabs onto some straps on Ryu’s scuba equipment. With a “Let go of me!†Ryu wrenches himself free.
But now Seiji is there and he’s appalled that Ryu is being so rude to Gatchaman. So appalled, in fact, that he bursts into tears and begins pounding his fists angrily on Ryu. Ryu yells “Shut up!†at Seiji, pushes him down and runs out of the shed. Yikes.
Ken calls out “Hey!†and stares after Ryu as Seiji sobs, “Stupid dummy brother, that monster ray is going to get you!†“What?†says Ken, coming over to his side now, “You saw a monster ray?â€
Seiji tells all to Gatchaman, and Ken wants Seiji to keep it a secret, and not tell anyone else what he and Ryu saw. Seiji is thrilled to be in on a secret with Gatchaman, and all tears gone, he wipes his hand and “shakes on it†with Ken.
Ryu is now riding something that looks like an underwater jet ski, and as he descends deep underwater.
He’s thinking that since the Science Ninja Team is here, the ray that he and Seiji saw must belong to Galactor. Ryu concludes to himself that he must defeat it alone, to restore his honor. Meanwhile, Ken has also found scuba gear, and he is following Ryu at a distance, using the same type of little underwater vehicle that Ryu is using.
Ken is thinking that Ryu can’t defeat the ray by himself, and that he should wait for Ken. When Ken passes over a ridge, he looks down, and sees Ryu’s vehicle, unoccupied, lying much further below on the sea floor. Concerned, Ken speeds over to it, wondering where Ryu has gone. As Ken looks around, he sees the “monster ray†approaching.
Quickly, he leaves his own vehicle beside Ryu’s and goes and hides behind some rocks. The ray cruises past and doesn’t notice Ken, but Ken notices the door in an underwater wall of rock, where the ray is headed. Ken realizes that Galactor’s hidden its base inside the continental shelf, and he begins to swim towards the door himself.
He follows the ray inside, to a chamber that then begins to drain of water, making Ken cling to one of the ray’s “wings†to avoid being pulled into one of the drainage holes. With the water gone from the chamber, Ken lets go of the wing and drops to the floor, removing his scuba mask and air hose from his face.
Now a large interior door opens and the entire floor of the chamber becomes a conveyor belt, moving the ray inside the base. Ken hides as best he can beside the ray. The ray is conveyed into, and parked inside a large room where there are at least four other identical rays.
A hatch opens in the recently arrived ray, and a little car comes out. Ken now does a far-too-brief striptease, removing the upper half of his wetsuit to reveal his very nice bare torso and arms, and dashes after the car.
[Saturn has made a very nice animation!]
It isn’t clear where Ken had stashed his numbered civvies, but he must have had them with him because next we see him, he’s in birdstyle and he leaps, undetected, onto the roof of the car to go wherever it’s going.
Okay, scratch the “undetected†part. The camera pulls back to show that we’re seeing Ken on a screen. So is a laughably freakish looking “Captain of the Week.†There is something vaguely amphibian-like about him, but the three little things sticking up from his collar suggest “angler fish†to me.
He is surprised, but pleased to see that Gatchaman is here, and now we see that Ryu is lying on the floor behind him, all tied up and not at all happy to hear the Captain of the Week planning to finish off Gatchaman.
“Lead the car to the gas chamber!†he orders a nearby goon. So, the car enters a chamber and a door seals behind it. As Ryu watches on the screen in helpless anger, greenish gas floods the chamber and Ken succumbs, collapsing on the car’s roof.
As the Captain laughs evilly, and Ryu glares angrily, robot arms lift Ken’s limp body and convey him away…
Commercial break!
Posted by lborgia88 on 02-07-2009 at 19:37:
(Thank you, Saturn, for the screencaps!)
Now, the God Phoenix is flying low over the water, with Joe at the helm. The narrator informs us that two days have passed since Ken and Ryu’s disappearance, and that Dr. Nambu and the others have been searching frantically. It’s kind of funny to see Dr. Nambu on the bridge –I’m so used to him just being a face on a screen there.
Joe is grumbling that Ken is being irresponsible, and acting like a “spoiled child.†Clearly he’s assuming that Ken has just taken off on his own again, and not that he’s been captured. But now Jinpei spots something in the water.
It turns out to be Seiji, sitting in a rowboat. He’s nervous, and trying to reassure himself that Ryu must be okay if he’s with Gatchaman –because Gatchaman would never lose to a “big, old stupid monster ray.†Now Seiji looks up, excited to see the God Phoenix coming in for a landing on the sea’s surface.
However, he’s not so impressed with its pilot, saying “Man, that’s a pretty crappy landing!â€
Neither is Jinpei. As the God Phoenix lurches and pitches on the sea’s surface (tossing Seiji’s rowboat around too), he groans “This is the worst landing ever!†As Dr. Nambu tells Jun to go fetch Seiji, Jinpei continues “I though we were going to die, but we made it. You fly like a turkey.†Now we see the subject of all this criticism, scowling with his arms folded. “Shut up, Jinpei!†says Joe, “It’s not like I’m flying this thing because I want to!†Heh, heh…
Jun now reappears, with Seiji in tow. He is nervous and shy for all of five seconds, before gleefully rushing onto the bridge, saying “Cool!â€
Dr. Nambu wants to know what he was doing out there in his rowboat. Seiji immediately clams up, but looks guilty. Jun pleads that Gatchaman and Ryu have been missing for two days, and she asks Seiji if he knows anything that could help find them. Seiji’s saying nothing, clearly thinking of the promise he made to Ken.
Jinpei, much less kindly than Jun, demands to know how Seiji will feel if Ken and Ryu are captured and killed by Galactor. That gets Seiji upset, and he begins to sob. Dr. Nambu prods him to ‘fess up, and Seiji blurts out that he promised Gatchaman he wouldn’t tell anyone that he’d seen “a big, scary monster ray.â€
Now, Seiji’s really crying, begging the Team to help Ryu and Gatchaman. As Jun and Dr. Nambu exchange mutual looks of either “Monster ray?†or “You make him stop crying!" we cut to Ryu.
Ryu’s no longer tied up on the floor of the base’s control room. Now, he’s in a prison cell, sitting on the floor.
The door to his cell opens now, to reveal two Galactor goons. One says “Okay fatso, we’ve figured out that you’re not part of the Science Ninja Team –you’re just the son of a fisherman.†Now, this is a cool scene, and Ryu cleverly fakes out the two goons by playing dumb.
“Really?†says Ryu, looking up at the goon, “Does that mean I’m free to go then?â€
“You idiot,†snarls the goon, “You’re going to be executed.â€
Ryu blubbers and bows at the goon’s feet, begging to be spared.
This, of course, only rouses the goon’s contempt. He laughs, saying “I can’t believe such a big guy is such a coward!†He barks at Ryu to stand up, and goes to kick him in the head, but Ryu is expecting this. He grabs the goon’s foot with both hands, pulls him off his feet and hurls him at the other goon who’s still standing in the corridor.
Rushing out of the cell towards them, Ryu is about to demand they tell him where Ken’s being held, but then he realizes that both goons are unconscious. “I guess I don’t know my own strength,†he says ruefully.
Meanwhile, in the base’s control room, the Captain is talking to an on-screen Berg Katse.
Katse’s announcing that they’re going to use their new ray weapon to conquer the Earth, as the camera moves about the room to reveal Ken, trapped in a glass box, and not looking too good.
The Captain asks when they should launch their attack, and Katse tell him to strike the Earth’s major cities at 6 PM, “While their citizens are leisurely watching television!†Ooh, how truly evil! (I wonder if Gatchaman aired in Japan at 6 PM in 1973.)
The Captain bows and assures Katse he’ll get right on it, but he wants to know what they should do with Gatchaman, who’s not moving and has his eyes closed.
“Gatchaman’s endured all kinds of torture over the past two days,†says Katse, “No matter what we do, he stays alive. Go ahead and execute him-Ah, wait a minute! Who’s that?â€
I shudder, wondering just what the hell they’ve been doing to Ken! However, what’s startled Katse turns out to be a kick-ass, machine gun-bearing Ryu.
Cue the big fight scene! And this time, it’s all Ryu’s!
He shoots the machine gun out of the hands of one goon, who then pulls out a hand gun. So, Ryu leaps at him and kicks him in the head. He then somersaults agilely through the air, still carrying his machine gun, and takes down another armed goon with a hard kick.
Now Ken’s alert, and calling to Ryu to look out behind him. There are indeed more armed goons in the room, but the glass box that holds Ken is now moving quickly towards the room’s exit. Ryu gets behind it and tries to stop it from moving, while simultaneously using it as a shield against the goons’ gunfire.
Even Ryu’s strength can’t keep the box from moving though. On-screen, Katse is yelling orders for the attack to begin immediately, instead of at 6 PM. Ken is clearly gesturing at something near the box’s bottom, but Ryu is too busy straining to keep the box from leaving the room to notice. A goon now leaps at Ryu, who grabs him, flips him and throws him down against the box.
Very conveniently, the goon hits a button –the very thing Ken had been pointing at- and the box opens up.
Ken may have been tortured for two days, but he now rallies himself quickly. He throws his birdrang and takes out the remaining goons, and then goes and pulls a lever that closes all the doors into the control room. It’s not clear where the Captain has gotten to –he must have run out of the room during all the excitement to go get the Earth-wide ray attack started.
Now, Ryu is apologizing to Ken “for putting you through all this.†Ken asks him if he’s willing to die with him, and Ryu says “Of course I am, Ken.†“The crew members haven’t yet boarded the black ray; if we open the air locks now, they’ll all drown in the rushing water,†says Ken grimly and the look on his face indicates he’s liking the idea of drowning the guys who spent the last two days torturing him.
Now Katse suddenly pipes up, from his screen, “You shouldn’t do that, Gatchaman! Or the two of you will end up drowning with them!â€
Clearly Katse has a lot to learn about just how willing the Science Ninjas are to die in the line of duty! Ryu, with a “Shut up, you!†hurls a chair at the screen and smashes it. Let’s just hope, Ryu, that Katse hasn’t figured out you’re a Science Ninja, because I think he’s just gotten a good look at you.
Now Ken is still with his eyes closed, and he quietly tells Ryu that he wishes he could save him, but he doesn’t think there’s enough time. But Ryu is flush with triumph now, and he doesn’t give a crap.
“Don’t worry, Ken,†he says, “I’d be happy to die beside you,†and then he goes and pushes the button to open the air locks and flood the base with water. Throughout the base, water rushes in, engulfing a car full of goons, flooding the rays and smashing them into each other, and drowning goons in the base’s corridors.
Posted by lborgia88 on 02-07-2009 at 19:46:
Now Ken contacts Dr. Nambu, and announces that “We’ve succeeded; Galactor’s underwater base is history.†Dr. Nambu is relieved to hear from them, and now he wants to know how they’re going to get out.
Well, Ken tells him that escape is impossible, and that Ryu is the one who destroyed the base. He asks Dr. Nambu to reinstate Ryu as a member of the Science Ninja Team. Ryu, hearing this, is overcome with emotion. Dr. Nambu quickly approves Ken’s request, but he’s not buying the “impossible†part. He wants to know where the base’s entrance is, and if they have enough air.
“So Ken snuck off on his own so that Ryu could restore his honor and return,†says Jun, looking very moved by this, though also very anxious. Joe wishes that Ken had told them earlier what was going on so they could have helped him. But now Jinpei spots a column of air bubbles rising from the base, and they realize that that must be where the base’s entrance is. Hearing this, Ken tells them that it’s too dangerous for them to try to come into the base, and he says a last “Sayonara,†to all of them before cutting out. Joe decides he’s taking the God Phoenix in, no matter what Ken says, and Nambu tells him that speed of the essence, as Ken and Ryu must not have any scuba equipment with them.
But the large rock formations all around the entrance prevent the God Phoenix from getting anywhere near it, to Joe’s intense frustration. Dr. Nambu now calls on Jinpei, and he eagerly runs off the bridge for his own, much smaller vehicle.
In the control room, Ken and Ryu have water up to their chins now. Ken points out that they’ll be dead once the water reaches the ceiling, but Ryu is serene. “I’m okay with dying here as a member of the Science Ninja Team. Thank you, Ken.â€
“I still can’t believe you tried to quit,†says Ken, with emotion in his eyes.
“I didn’t want to quit, and I didn’t mean what I said,†replies Ryu, looking down, “Trust me, pal –I don’t mind staying back at the ship and taking a nap.†In the moment, this strikes them both as funny, and they laugh together.
Beneath the water, they each take the other’s hand, and they continue to look at each other.
(Thank goodness, Ken isn’t saying anything here about wishing he could see Red Impulse one last time!)
Meanwhile, Jinpei’s vehicle is approaching the base’s entrance. With the water only a foot or so from the ceiling in the control room, Jinpei fires a beam at some debris in his vehicle’s way and keeps going through the base, looking for the control room. Inside the control room, the water is nearly at the ceiling, and Ryu slips under water, pulled by current. Ken grabs onto him, but now they’re both completely underwater.
Fortunately, just at that moment, they see Jinpei’s vehicle break through the door of the control room.
Jinpei is one prepared Ninja –the mouth of his vehicle opens, and out rolls an air tank with two hoses and mouthpieces attached. Ken grabs it, and he and Ryu each take a breath of air.
Then, they swim together into Jinpei’s vehicle, carrying the air tank with them, and the vehicle’s mouth closes.
It must be crowded inside there, but I doubt anyone’s complaining!
Now, Seiji is waving goodbye to his brother; in fact the whole village seems to be waving to the God Phoenix, which is in the air, flying away.
“That’s so awesome,†says Seiji, “That Gatchaman is taking big brother back to work in the God Phoenix.†Heh, I guess Ryu’s secret is still safe there. If only Seiji knew…
On the bridge of the God Phoenix, Ryu is in birdstyle, and Dr. Nambu is putting his bracelet back on his wrist. Jinpei, Jun and Ken are all smiling and clapping.
Joe isn’t clapping (he’s flying the God Phoenix) but he smiles and says “From now on, I leave the driving to you, my friend.â€
“You’d better hurry,†says Jinpei, “If Joe’s behind the wheel any longer, we’re dead meat, dude!†As we hear Joe mutter “One of these days, Swallow…†we fade to the final shot of Ryu back at the helm of the God Phoenix, with everyone gathered around him, happy to have him back. I guess this is what the title is about, “The God Phoenix Rebornâ€.
The End.
Posted by Transmute Jun on 02-07-2009 at 23:20:
Great review, LB!
FWIW, my theory is that they have a constant transmutation field on the God Phoenix, meaning that if you're in Birdstyle, you stay in Birdstyle. This is consistent with other episodes where they take off their bracelets on the God Phoenix and don't de-transform (usually this happens to put the bracelet into the wall to track a Birdscramble).
I always wondered why Joe had to fly the God Phoenix in this ep, unless it was for comic relief? After all, Jun flew the God Phoenix in the sugar-eating cockroach ep, and did a much better job of it!
And I just have to post a link to a Gatchafunny Sosai Tim made from this episode...
ETA There is a lot of conjecture as to exactly what kind of torture Ken endured during those 2 days, and whether or not Galactor was able to remove his helmet and discover his identity. I have seen a number of interesting fanfics based on the varying possibilities as to what happened to Ken.
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Posted by tatsunokofan on 02-07-2009 at 23:31:
Hi all!
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Yes, it did. The series aired on On Fuji TV on Sunday nights from 6:00 to 6:30 in the evening. This was, as you speculated, an in-joke.
I can't help but think, "Nice shoes."
James
Posted by Transmute Jun on 02-07-2009 at 23:39:
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Good point! Maybe they were all wearing waterproof rubber boots? Did they have matching yellow Mackintoshes?
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Posted by gogirl212 on 03-07-2009 at 00:51:
I enjoyed the recap very much, but my mind is still on Saturn's nice animation. I can watch that for a little longer I think . . .
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There are few problems that a swift kick to the head by a highly trained ninja can't solve.
Posted by lborgia88 on 03-07-2009 at 02:27:
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Ooh, I'd forgotten about them taking off their bracelets to track someone's location. Your theory about the God Phoenix having a transmutation field sounds good to me, except Joe stayed in his civvies when he came on the bridge near the end of episode 20, wearing his bracelet. I will assume that he chose to override the transmutation field by adjusting the settings on his bracelet (so as to keep his helmet from pressing painfully against the wound on his head!)
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I'm guessing it was for comic relief, and to show how essential Ryu was to the Team. I would like to think that Joe flies better in the air, especially in attack situations, but that he never bothered to practice landings much. I agree that Jun seemed to do a better job!
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I would never be able to just leave a Ken action figure in its box.| quote: | |
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Hmm, do you recall who wrote any of these fics?
I kept thinking of Order of the Stick's Ochul, when he was Xykon's prisoner...
Posted by lborgia88 on 03-07-2009 at 02:39:
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Hee! That's a good joke.
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I can only think that they were, under orders, trying to colour-coordinate with their Captain's uniform...
Posted by gatchgirl on 03-07-2009 at 03:35:
Sosai Tims gatch funny is so amusing. I have often wondered myself if and or why didn't Galactor ever learn of Kens civilian look if he was captured that long.
Also, why Katse never figures out that it is Ryu, that's standing there with Ken before they flood the place.
Still it was a great episode, and thanks for covering it LB, and Saturn ;-}
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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 Transmute Jun on 03-07-2009 at 03:58:
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I don't think it would force him to transform, but rather help him maintain his current transformation, whether it be Birdstyle or civvies...
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The two I remember off the top of my head...
This one is really good, and starts an entire series.
http://www.gatchfanfic.com/viewstory.php?sid=494&warning=4
This one is quite disturbing, but very thought-provoking. You won't get it out of your head. You have been warned.
http://www.gatchfanfic.com/viewstory.php?sid=298
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Interesting comparison... and a similar sense of honor/// I think it works.
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Posted by lborgia88 on 03-07-2009 at 11:30:
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It is rather mesmerizing, isn't it? I've been staring at it a lot myself...
Posted by lborgia88 on 03-07-2009 at 11:34:
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Thanks! I'm pretty certain I've read the first one, but it's been a very long time -I think a re-read is due here. The second link, I don't think I've ever read, and here, I thought I'd read everything at least once. Warning duly noted!
Posted by Springie on 03-07-2009 at 13:05:
Another fabulous recap!! This is a wonderful Ryu episode! I like seeing where he came from...the back story eps are the most fun for me to watch!
Fan Page #26
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Posted by gatchamarie on 03-07-2009 at 13:20:
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My screen stopped scrolling at that instant! And for a long while too!
Thanks for the recap and I will surely find some time to read those fics mentioned just to fill in the blanks! This was an exciting episode which tackled the importance of team work, Ryu's character in the spotlight (which is not seen so often!), and a sense of friendly humor. Thanks again.
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To be or not to be a gatchamaniac - that's the dilemma!
Posted by gatchamarie on 03-07-2009 at 16:16:
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As per the famous saying "curiosity kills the cat" that's what happened to me ... I read the here mentioned second verrrry disturbing fanfic and it left me
!
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To be or not to be a gatchamaniac - that's the dilemma!
Posted by gogirl212 on 03-07-2009 at 19:13:
This is a very intense piece that deals with the "torture" aspect of this ep as well as Ryu and Ken's relationship . . . it is really very raw in its subject matter, but I thought a well done fic. There are appropriate disclaimers at the beginning of it that I think readers should take to heart.
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/240806/1/Opportunities
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There are few problems that a swift kick to the head by a highly trained ninja can't solve.
Posted by lborgia88 on 04-07-2009 at 16:11:
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I'll check this one out too. I'm hardly a fan of torture, and reading about it is unsettling, to say the least, but at the same time, we have to assume that it's a reality that the Science Ninja Team would have known they might well have to face (even if the show, in light of its younger viewers, only alluded to it). It's the darkest and nastiest side of any war or conflict, but Lord knows, it happens...
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