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Gatchaman radio show
Has there ever been an English translation (fan or otherwise) of the Gatchaman radio show put out between Gatchaman and Gatchaman II? (I'm reading my copy of G-Force: Animated and they mention that it has some material that bridges between the two shows.) If so, is there any way to find it? Any pointers?
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Eagle Whisperer
James has posted pieces of translation from time to time.
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Time to hunt those down!
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Eagle Whisperer
RE: Gatchaman radio show
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Thanks Jason!
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I'm writing a book. I've got the page numbers so far...
Yes, please please please! Woohoo.
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Eagle Whisperer
Hi all!
Regarding the Gatchaman radio dramas, it should be noted that, while it aired prior to the start of Gatchaman II, the series was not entirely set between the first and second series. The goal of the series was similar to that of the Gatchaman movie; to help remind people of the major events of the first series ad get them excited to see the second TV series. The first series had been off the air for four years by that point, and they really couldn't expect people to remember all the details. It was also unrealistic to expect people to sit down and watch all 105 episodes in reruns again. So, they needed a fairly easy way for people to get back up to speed on what had gone on before.
The Gatchaman movie was the most obvious method they used, but the radio drama was another. As a result, the radio version started out with adaptations of important stories from the first series, including the fight with Turtle King, introducing Red Impulse, Joe being injured by the Mole Tank, and Red Impulse's death.
After that, the radio drama switched gears and did a trio of parody episodes. These silly stories included things like a baseball game between the Ninja Team and Gallactor Iron Beasts or a story where all the characters, hero and villain alike, come to the Snack Jun and express their affections for Jun.
The series went back to dramatic stories after that, with an adaptation of the first series finale.
This was followed by an episode where they gave life to two stories that came from the winners of a "You Create Gatchaman" contest. One story had Joe fighting cyborg dogs created for Gallactor by a mad scientist named Dr. Gonzo, and the other had Jinpei saving a young alien girl named Dorothy from Gallactor and returning her to her family.
After that came the episode Jason wrote about, set between the first and second series, and helping to set up the start of Gatchaman II. More on that one in a bit.
The next five episodes gave listeners an advance listen into what Gatchaman II would b bringing them by presenting aural versions of five stories that would later appear in animated form when Gatchaman II hit TV a few months later. These adventures included the series opener (With both episodes presented in a single story), the fight with the Black Knights, Joe's return to the team, the battle against the cavemen, and Gallactor's use of mutated plants as weapons.
The final episode of the series was a discussion among the voice actors about doing the radio drama, their favorite parts of the show (They all loved the parody versions of the Gatchaman theme songs that Katse sang in one of the parody episodes), and their hopes for the best from Gatchaman II.
So, as you can see, the radio version of Gatchaman was all over the place as far as storytelling went.
Anyway, the episode set between the two series. As noted, there was only one story done during this time period. It opened with a recap of Joe's death, which transitioned to "more than a year later," where the rest of the Ninja Team still mourns their loss. They travel with Dr. Nambu to BC Island, where they bury Ken's boomerang in a grave next to the graves of Joe's parents as a way of saying goodbye to Joe.
After that, Dr. Nambu informs them that they need to say goodbye to another important part of their lives; the God Phoenix. The ship, along with all their vehicles, has been so battered from their battles with Gallactor, and has suffered so much metal fatigue, that it is no longer viable. The Ninja Team decides to bury the ship at sea, sending it to the same ocean depths that are the final resting place for Crescent Coral Reef.
After the God Phoenix is gone, the Ninja Team is startled by the appearance of a gigantic ship. Nambu comes on the radio to tell them that this ship, G-Town, has been built to help defend the world against organizations like Gallactor. As the Ninja Team comes on board, Nambu shows them around, leading them to a hanger bay where they are introduced to the New God Phoenix. Soon afterward, the New God Phoenix launches from G-Town, and the Ninja Team members take off in their individual G-mecha to begin training in them.
As the episode ends, the Narrator warns that Governor X has begun heading back toward Earth...
As far a how much you want to accept the events of this episode as canon, most of it works fairly well. It certainly has the proper pedigree, having been written by Tori Pro., which was the company formed by former Gatchaman head writers Jinzo Toriumi and Satoshi Suyama. The scripts for all of the radio drama were written by either of these men, or by the two of them working together. The biggest conflict it brings up is that we saw the original God Phoenix appear in an episode of Gatchaman II. It's always possible that Nambu had a replacement built at some point, but this is never stated anywhere, so there's nothing in TV series canon to point to that possibility.
There's also the detail that some parts of the stories presented in the radio drama don't match up entirely with their TV counterparts, like Berg Katse appearing as the one in charge of Turtle King or the Mole Tank. This was done to get Katse more directly involved in the stories, but it does differ from what we saw in the original stories. Likewise, parts of the Gatchaman II stories were altered by the time they made their TV appearances, just as part of the usual rewriting process.
And, of course, the parody episodes wouldn't it in canon at all.
So, whether or not the radio drama stories should be taken as canon is a subject open for debate. Regardless, they still make for a fun addition to the Gatchaman universe.
James
Thanks so much James! I suppose I'll sideline the idea of anything regarding the radio drama being canon. Are there no complaints from the team when they see their new ship? At least the metal fatigue explanation works for the old ship, though they have once replaced the God Phoenix entirely. I can see them wanting to update the tech with a new design but I'll never forgive them for the chicken design.
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Eagle Whisperer
But shouldn't we treat anything done by Tatsunoko as canon? I'd rather treat the chicken ship as non-canon.
I bet whomever did the episode where Pandora brought out the old God Phoenix hadn't listened to the radio show.
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I'm writing a book. I've got the page numbers so far...
The problem comes when it's inconsistent. I could swear in the episode where they use both the original God Phoenix and the chickenship, that they'd pulled the original out of storage under Hakase's house (which is kinda giggle-worthy as an explanation, really). That directly conflicts with what was said in the radio drama. I'm more likely to follow what happened in the TV show as canon given that the radio conflicts in more than one spot with what happened in the TV show itself.
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Eagle Whisperer
Hi all!
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“There are worse crimes than burning books. One of them is not reading them." --Ray Bradbury
EW: Even though you're referring to Gatch II, those plates made me think of the original Gatch episode title of: "The Firebird Versus The Fire-Breathing Dragon."
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Playing darts with the Condor's feather shuriken...
You make some good points, James. My cynical side says that the characters of course are given no choice since the same people who made those elements also gave them life. I have reminded myself from time to time that the Japanese might not have found the New God Phoenix to be garish at all.
With Zark, as a kid, I can't remember if I liked him or not, but I can distinctly remember wishing he'd shut up so I could get back to the team.
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Eagle Whisperer
Zark works well in the BOTP movie...
...Is there canon evidence for there being more than one original GP?
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"If you think I am a Condor, you may keep that opinion;
Though I am no Condor, my Skylines rusty enough."
They did have to have the God Phoenix replaced at least once, I believe, so it does stand to reason the GP mothballed under Nambu's place was an extra that never got used.
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I'm writing a book. I've got the page numbers so far...
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You didn't play Zark, did you, Jason? Lol...I'm curious now...I want to hear your acting debut!
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Hmm, I think I've seen a bit of footage from the BOTP movie. Is that where Zark had that weird effect done on his voice?
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Eagle Whisperer
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