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Posted by tatsunokofan on 11-06-2017 at 02:57:

The Latest on Infini-T Force

Hi all!

The Infini-T Force website was updated with the news that there will be two "World Premiere" events for the series held in July. Surprisingly, neither of these events will be held in Japan (Much to the consternation of Japanese fans...). The first of these will be held during Anime Expo, which is taking place in Los Angeles on July 1~4. The second will be at Japan Expo, which is being held in Paris on July 6~9.

Full details regarding what these events will entail are unavailable at this time, but it has been announced that both Chief Director, Kiyotaka Suzuki, and Ken's voice actor, Tomozaku Seki, will be in attendance at Anime Expo.

Regarding his appearance it Anime Expo, Mr. Suzuki had this to say:

"This will be a form that makes everyone in Japan wait a little while longer, but I am very pleased to be able to deliver this work to the North American people on this occasion. We can finally lift the veil on the story and drama of the heroes of Tatsunoko, and I am very excited to see how it is received."

Mr. Seki had a more lighthearted comment:

"Los Angeles, it's been a long time. I'm looking forward to meeting everyone again. I want to eat a prime rib steak (Laughs)."

The website also revealed the first images of the character designs for Ken, Tekkaman, Hurricane Polymer, and Casshan, along with brief descriptions of them. Here's what they had to say:

Gatchaman (G-1)/Ken Washio

Character Introduction

A member of the special squad Science Ninja Team, his code name is G-1, as well as Ken, the Eagle. Gatchaman is the title of their leader. Wearing a Bird Suit combat uniform, he uses science and physical skills to combat evil with Science Ninja Techniques.

Tekkaman/Joji Minami

Character Introduction

By means of a system installed in the support robot Pegas, his body is strengthened and he transforms into the armored superman Tekkaman.

Polymar/Takeshi Yoroi

Character Introduction

By means of the transforming helmet Polymet, he is able to "Spin Change" into Polymar. Wearing a special particle suit. he fights by making full use of the kenpo technique Hariken, which he developed himself.

Casshan/Tetsuya Azuma

Character Introduction

In order to fight against robots who rebelled against humanity, this young boy abandoned his human body to become the "New Style Human," a state-of-the-art android.

If you've taken a look at any of the Infini-T Force manga, then you'll immediately recognize these designs from those pages. I know that they said that the series won't be following the story from the manga, but everything they've shown thus far matches up fairly well, so this does make one wonder. Fortunately, I've enjoyed the manga, so I won't complain if they do use that as a template.

I'm sure there will be more later. If any of you are in the Los Angeles or Paris area during those conventions, I hope you'll attend their premiere events and give us a report!

James

Posted by Redbird on 11-06-2017 at 13:59:

Thank you for the update, James! Wow, I'm surprised that it's not taking place in Japan too. Maybe after years of international fans expressing interest in such things, they're finally starting to think about appealing to a broader fan base?

Interesting designs. Ken's isn't so bad, and it reminds me somewhat of the Tatsunoko Heroes Fighting Gear Gatchaman we saw a while back.

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Posted by tatsunokofan on 11-06-2017 at 16:14:

Hi all!

I'd guess that holding these events at international venues is less about the fans expressing interest than it is a affirmation to how important the foreign market has become to the anime industry as a whole. These days, most anime series are already pre-sold to overseas markets before the series are even produced, and almost certainly are before they start airing in Japan. That's one of the reasons why most anime series are now being simulcast through services like Crunchyroll (And now Amazon and Netflix as well). The financial influence of these foreign markets is very important nowadays, so it makes sense that the Japanese companies would want to do something special to generate interest in their works in those same foreign markets.

There's also the publicity angle, where they can then tout to the Japanese media that their production held its premiere in exotic foreign lands, which looks and sounds more impressive than it might actually be.

Regardless, Anime Expo has announced that their Infini-T Force event will be held on Saturday, July 1st, at 5:30pm. So, if anyone here is making plans to attend, mark your calendars for that date and time!

While I doubt that it was intentional, I do agree that the Tatsunoko Fighting Gear figures to have some similarities to the character designs we see in Infini-T Force. For those unfamiliar with these figures, here's what they look like:

Gatchaman

Tekkaman

Polymar

Casshan

The Infini-T Force manga started shortly after the first of these figures, Polymar, was released, and the rest came after the manga was appearing in the pages of the monthly Heroes magazine, so a direct influence between the two is unlikely. But it is interesting that they both seem to have some of the same design inspirations.

James

Posted by ChrisW on 11-06-2017 at 23:12:

Thanks for the info! I wish Ken looked more like Ken, but I'm okay with the new look in general aside from that. It's possible that they had access to the early character designs for the manga?

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Posted by Becky Rock on 12-06-2017 at 22:28:

Is there some reason why they like to make men look effeminate? Ken not so much, but the other three...

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Posted by Ebonyswanne on 13-06-2017 at 01:28:

I think Kens birdstyle is hot.

But why the grey hair? Part of the fame in looks is his unruly chestnut brown and startling blue eyes. I wish they'd keep more of cannon. Changing them to be unrecognizable. The only thing in civilian is his white jeans.

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Posted by ChrisW on 13-06-2017 at 22:30:

quote:

Originally posted by Becky Rock
Is there some reason why they like to make men look effeminate? Ken not so much, but the other three...

They wouldn't look effeminate to everyone (they don't to me). Japanese styles and esthetics are different. I'm sure they're designed for the Japanese market.

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