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Posted by Crescent_Moon on 19-01-2011 at 11:46:

Gatchaman II episode recaps - Episode 2

Disclaimer: Gatchaman belongs to Tatsunoko, no infringement is intended.

Screencaps: Reboekah has graciously given me access to Gatchaman II screencaps for inclusion in the recaps, thank you! : )

Episode 2:

(He's the greatest..)

Looks like this episode starts with a recap of the previous episode.

The eye opens...

The team prepares... They throw their weapons and the lasers destroy them as they fly through the air. While the small eyeballs are occupied Ken shoots the big eye, but he's hit by a beam.

Jun sounds worried! Ken's shot seems to be a direct hit, and after some delay, the eyeball mecha explodes. Parts of the mecha rain down on the team.

They find what looks like a bomb, or maybe it's a small miniature version of one of the mecha's eyes (not sure of the significance).

They see Getz, the Joe impostor from the previous episode and give chase. They find him leaning against a wall, holdiing a gun. He looks like a junkie.

He's swaying, and falls over. There's a feather shuriken sticking out of his neck. Dun dun dun...

The team is dumbfounded. There are footsteps in the dust, leading away.

The team follows. They go down a steep ramp in some sort of underground tunnel.

They catch a glimpse of a Joe-shaped shadow.

They think it's Joe and call out his name, Jun chases after him first! There's a dead end, was it a dream? I think Ken is saying, "look Joe's dead okay, I don't like it either, but that's how it is".

The team walks a bit further and reaches a steep drop off. At the bottom is a body of water with twin whirlpools spinning in the same direction (is this even possible?)

Splash splash, they walk through some shallow water (different water, no whirlpools in sight). Jun shushes Ryu. There's some discussion, looks like they've heard something. It seems like Ryu talks back and Ken tells him to keep quiet. Jinpei takes a dig at Ryu, who becomes indignant, swipes at Jinpei and misses and almost falls flat on his back. Jinpei catches him by the back of the head.

The team exit the cave (at least it looks like they're outside) and find two circular sattelite dish-like installations (Are these the whirlpool generators?)

There are tubes with liquid and some kind of pumping mechanism. Cut to some Galactor goons joyriding on a monorail. (I guess Galactor doesn't have very strict Health and Safety guidelines)

The team is looking at the monorail goons and discussing something as a piece of the wall opens up to reveal a missile! Ken is serious about something, the team swoops in, and Ken stops a Galactor goon from lighting up a smoke with his toy weapon (looks like Ken is down on smokers) Jun helps (guess she doesn't dig smokers either : ) The goons are down.

The team is on the monorail, the cart fills up with garbage (soot/coal?) until only their heads are showing, and then the cart continues on its way as their birdstyles shrug off the dirt (that's some material!)

Cut to the God Phoenix. The robot pilot flies to where the team is and they get on board (flying in a very original series way)

Once on board they get into their machines. Ken through a secret door (wouldn't a normal door be just as effective?) and down on an extending chair, Jun on a flying fox, Jinpei and Ryu also on extending chairs. Ryu's car looks cool, it looks like it's not going to take any crap from anyone.

Wow, the head of the God Phoenix pulls back and Ken launches from a combination Battlestar Galactica like launch bay and aircraft carrier deck with back-blast protection. Jun gets thrown out the side on her bike. Jinpei launches out the back, and Ryu (who's vehicle seems more like Jinpei's in Gatchaman) comes out the top and hovers down to land.

Commercial break

Posted by Crescent_Moon on 19-01-2011 at 12:02:

Gel Sadra is talking to a goon, it doesn't sound good for them. Pictures of the team show up on the monitor. Gel Sadra says (probably) "Attack!"

At the Galactor base a massive missile comes out of the ground. Ken sees it and advises the team to do something about it.

They shoot, no effect, lasers from the missile retaliate but miss. Gel Sadra monologues.

Ken flies over some sort of structure that looks like it might be part of the base. He returns and flies through the windows for a look (tough ship!) and surprises Gel Sadra as he passes through. (I think Gel Sadra is not pleased)

Ryu is being chased by motorcycle goons. Jun runs into a laser beam and jumps off her bike. Jinpei's wings separate from his plane and take out the laser cannon (wonder if they return like the birdrang?)

Ryu ejects a big bouncy ball bomb out the back of his vehicle and scares the goons off their bikes.

The control room of the base that Ken flew through earlier has shutters closing across the windows. Ken makes a mad dash to get in. He makes it! Ken shoots a big missile into the control room and it blows up after him. He spins out of control and crash lands ending up under a tree that catches fire.

The Galactor base and missile explode. ***BOOM!***

Gel Sadra's ship escapes from the flames. Jun seems surprised. Gel Sadra curses the team as they llook for Ken, who is in pain.

He hears a strange voice, and pushes himself to escape. He has a flashback of the team from Gatchaman days. There's a closeup of Jun who looks especially well drawn.

The closeup of Joe seems to have large-ish hands, might be a perspective thing : )

Ken sees Joe's face through the cockpit and the flames. A hand grabs him and pulls him out as the plane explodes.

The team gather around Ken who is lying unconcsious on a blanket. There's an older wizard-like man in a cape with some kind of large hunting bird on his shoulder.

Ken stirs. (Juns pupils are huge, she must really like Ken : )

The team bring Ken up to speed when he wakes and the old man introduces himself (didn't catch the name if he gave it) Ken is surprised. (the bird on the old man's shoulder looks really cool, he's better than you : )

There's a flashback. Joe's voice echoes "Ken-n-n-n.."

The old man says something about Galactor, it doesn't sound good, he sounds like he's saying he's a member. His name is Dr Rafael. He's explaining something as we see Sosai X's ship coming to earth and pulls out what looks like a feather shuriken (I reckon that the shot of the bird preening stole all his thunder though) He throws the shuriken at a plant. Jun and Ken look cute together.

The old man walks off. Back on the God Phoenix, Nambu is on the big screen. We also see junkie-looking Getz. It looks like Nambu's found out he was working for Galactor (and apparently killed the real Getz?).

The narrator talks about Ken and Joe, I guess Ken misses Joe. The narrator finishes with something positive and heart-warming (okay, that's a guess, but probably not far off : )

Posted by Transmute Jun on 19-01-2011 at 15:41:

Great recap! Yes, the real Getz is dead, and you'll find out exactly what happened to him in an upcoming episode. The Getz in episodes 1 and 2 was a Galactor imposter.

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Posted by gatchamarie on 19-01-2011 at 17:21:

Thanks for another lovely recap, Crescent Moon!

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Posted by Crescent_Moon on 19-01-2011 at 22:09:

Thanks : ) I compltely missed that the real Getz had been killed and replaced by an impostor until I read the script for the episode. That also explains why he didn't have to transform when he got rid of his disguise.

Now that I've watched a couple of episodes I'm starting to like Gatchaman II more. It was all very strange and the differences were a little jarring at the start. Overall it feels somehow darker and moodier than the original and at the same time more chilidish with the machines and the character interactions.

Posted by lborgia88 on 19-01-2011 at 22:47:

quote:

Originally posted by Crescent_Moon
Jun and Ken look cute together.

I was impressed when I first saw this scene by the fact that Ken was in birdstyle but had his helmet off. I'd sort of assumed, seeing only the first series, that maybe their helmets were fused to the cowls of their capes and couldn't come off unless they detransformed.

quote:

Originally posted by Crescent_Moon
Overall it feels somehow darker and moodier than the original and at the same time more chilidish with the machines and the character interactions.

I think you're right. To me, the first series seems to have more of a spirit of excitement and adventure about it -or certainly its early episodes do- as they're just starting out and have a lot of enthusiasm and optimism, and no one has died yet... Gatch II does start with a darker mood, as they discover that the enemy they thought they'd defeated is back again, and Joe is gone. Under the circumstances, it makes sense but it is different. To me though, Gel Sadra was never on the same level as Berg Katse, who could be amusing and sinister, whereas Gel Sadra so often just seemed weird or silly.

Posted by Reboekah on 19-01-2011 at 23:17:

quote:

Originally posted by lborgia88

quote:

Originally posted by Crescent_Moon
Jun and Ken look cute together.

Yah - well - I liked it too!

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155 issues - 36.5Years! - and flying high!

Posted by Transmute Jun on 20-01-2011 at 01:10:

I agree with you, LB. Gatchaman II certainly has a darker mood, but despite that, Gel Sadra falls flat as a villain. She just doesn't seem to have an interesting personality... she's not very bright, she's self-centered and rude, but not interesting or amusing in the way Katse often was. And when she rants, you just don't take her seriously. She's never really threatening, you know?

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Posted by UnpublishedWriter on 20-01-2011 at 01:56:

Gel Sadra's what you get when you force-grow a toddler to adulthood.

No wonder X went with Egobossler next time around.

You can imagine X's dying thoughts: 'Shouldn't have screwed over Berg Katse. Best lackey I ever had.'

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Posted by gatchamarie on 20-01-2011 at 09:11:

quote:

Originally posted by UnpublishedWriter
No wonder X went with Egobossler next time around.

Couldn't agree more with this statement!!

I also agree with what all of you are saying regarding Gatch II seeming much more darker! And much more darker it will eventually become! This is not a surprise after all the team endured, and still have to endure! Even their characters change ... they're maturing, and the war, together with their losses, is leaving its mark on them! They're much more different than the happy-go-lucky bunch we knew at the beginning of the first series!

And, I confirm my saying again that the Eagle sans helmet is verrrrry sexy!

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Posted by Transmute Jun on 20-01-2011 at 14:30:

Of course, we're all saying this episode is darker, but the 'primitive man' and 'pyramid power' episodes are coming up shortly. And oh, how those make my head hurt! Definitely not dark, but dumb...

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Posted by Crescent_Moon on 21-01-2011 at 11:24:

quote:

Originally posted by lborgia88
I was impressed when I first saw this scene by the fact that Ken was in birdstyle but had his helmet off. I'd sort of assumed, seeing only the first series, that maybe their helmets were fused to the cowls of their capes and couldn't come off unless they detransformed.

You know, it didn't even occur to me that Ken in birdstyle without a helmet was odd, good pickup!

I also just thought about Ken's flying through the window into the base. That seems a lot more rash than I remember him being in the first series, especially since there's no guarantee that what he saw was part of the base, even if it was part of the base that it was somehow important enough to risk his life for, or that his plane would be tough enough to withstand the impact.

Transmute Jun, I'll keep an eye out for the primitive man and pyramid power episodes, it's all feeling a bit weighty and serious at the moment. I do really enjoy that there seems to be a lot of continuity between episodes though, there's a definite sense of a story unfolding.

Posted by Transmute Jun on 21-01-2011 at 15:11:

Primitive man and pyramid power are episodes 5 and 6, I believe. Basically there's all the serious 'someone who might be Joe' helping behind the scenes episodes, and then they come up with these 2 'lighthearted' ones... but they're just lame...

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