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Posted by gatchamarie on 08-09-2009 at 18:43:
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Amy, it's an honour that my summary passed the test from Ego's number one fan!
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To be or not to be a gatchamaniac - that's the dilemma!
Posted by Transmute Jun on 09-09-2009 at 01:22:
As for Gel Sadra, she was a four year old girl who was transformed by X into an adult so that she could control Galactor. In reality, Gel Sadra was Sammie Pandora, daughter of Sylvie Pandora (Dr. Nambu's assistant).
Look for the Egobossler and Gel Sadra tributes in the General Discussion section of this board to find out more about them!
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Posted by tatsunokofan on 09-09-2009 at 02:53:
Hi all!
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And to make them easier to find, here they are:
Gel Sadra
Egobossler
For more detailed information on Egobossler, you'd probably be better off checking out this thread:
Gatchaman Fighter Villains
James
Posted by lborgia88 on 09-09-2009 at 16:07:
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Total speculation on my part: Berg Katse and Gel Sadra were both blonds, and Katse's name sort of suggests German heritage. If we assume that in Japanese thinking, decades ago, "germanic-looking" equaled "evil" (a legacy of WWII in popular culture, or resentment of Western Imperialism, perhaps) then it makes sense that Count Egobossler might be given the ultimate in evil hair -pure white! As for the blue skin, I can only think that it might be somehow related to "Prussian Blue" -it seems to me that he's very much modeled after a Prussian "Junker".
Posted by Transmute Jun on 09-09-2009 at 16:32:
I have noticed that as well, LB. Being of Germanic heritage myself, I saw that the villains in the series tended to be Germanic, and anyone with blonde hair is seen as a 'bad guy', even if they 'reform' later in the episode. You might be right about connecting that with Egobossler.
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Posted by tatsunokofan on 09-09-2009 at 16:42:
Hi all!
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And if we forget that Germany and Japan were allies...
Regardless, I wouldn't leap to that conclusion. While I can point out a number of blond villains in anime, I can just as easily point out a number of non-blond anime villains as well.
But, to be fair, you are correct that both Berg Katse and Gel Sadra's names are based on German words. Berg Katse comes from the German "berg katze," meaning "wildcat."
With Gel Sadra, Tatsunoko was trying to keep with a similar stylistic theming for her name, so they based her name off of the German words "Gier" and "Sadist," meaning "ambitious" and "cruel" (At least to the Japanese).
Trying to keep a similar style between Katse and Sadra is also the likely reason why Sadra had blond hair -- to emulate Katse, not to say "Blond = Evil." Both wore purple outfits too, but that doesn't mean the Japanese think that purple is the color of evil.
So, while it's a fun thought, it not one that holds up well under closer scrutiny.
James
Posted by gatchamarie on 09-09-2009 at 16:55:
Now that you both have mentioned it, I too had that impression, especially with the Gatch F series! Egobossler's dictatorship and the classification of his "family" as being better than any race and that they only should rule had pushed these thoughts in my mind a lot of times.
Maybe he wanted his skin to be blue to emphasize the fact that he was really of "blue blood", ie royal blood ran through his veins!
__________________
To be or not to be a gatchamaniac - that's the dilemma!
Posted by tatsunokofan on 09-09-2009 at 17:36:
Hi all!
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You're misinterpretting the use of the word "family" to mean a connection by blood or genetics, which in this case it does not. The "Egobossler Family" is meant to be interpretted in the same manner as one would the a Mafia "family." They're a gang of thugs who have banded together as a group that they are calling a "family," not people who assume that they are genetically superior to other races.
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More likely Tatsunoko was hoping to attract people who were fans of what was by far the most popular anime TV and movie series of the time, Space Battleship Yamato. When the first Yamato movie was released in 1977, it was to Japan what Star Wars was to American cinema during that same year (Star Wars didn't hit Japan until 1978). The box office success of Yamato brought about what is known as the "Anime Boom," and is in no small part responsible for the existence of Gatchaman II as anime series and movies became a hot ticket item.
Yamato followed up its movie success with a sequel movie in the August of 1978, a second TV series that started in October of 1978 (The first Yamato movie was based off of the first Yamato TV series from 1973), and a TV special in July of 1979. All of these were unqualified successes.
Why is this significant to Egobossler? Because the lead villain in the first Yamato TV series/first movie was Leader Dessler, an alien leader with blue skin. The character was quite popular, and appeared in all of the subsequent Yamato films and TV series.
Here's what Dessler looks like:
Like Egobossler, Dessler acted very much the nobleman, and he would often be seen with a glass of alcohol. It was fairly obvious to everyone at the time that Egobossler was...well, let's be polite and just say that he was "inspired" by Dessler.
So, if you really want to know why Egobossler has blue skin, look no further than the most popular anime series at the time he was being created, and the answer becomes fairly obvious.
James
Posted by amyltrer on 09-09-2009 at 17:41:
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I don't know, I never had the feeling while watching Gatch F that Egobossler had anything against a particular nation/ethnical group. True, that he wasted entire cities in his rush for territorial conquests, but I had the feeling he regarded the victims as collateral damage. "I fought a thousand battles and I learned that in order to conquer the world I can't show any mercy "
As more, he tried to induct newly conquered nations in his Gallactor syndicate. (Episode 4 - "!Parlon's citizens are at Galactor's service, now! ")
He had indeed a lot of similarities with the Prussian ideal, manners, etiquete and principles.
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That's an interesting pov about Egobossler, one that never crossed my mind! Kudos!
Though he comes from a minor nobility class, and his blood is only half noble!
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It is the tiny spark of humanity that adds blaze to a villain
Posted by amyltrer on 09-09-2009 at 17:45:
Nice this Dessler guy. Prince Lotor from Voltron was another blue-skinned villain. Looks like japanese anime makers associated unnatural complexion with evilness!
__________________
It is the tiny spark of humanity that adds blaze to a villain
Posted by tatsunokofan on 09-09-2009 at 17:55:
Hi all!
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Or at least with being an alien. By the way, it should be noted that, when Go Lion/Lion Force Voltron was being created in early 1981, the third Yamato TV series was currently airing, and the third successful Yamato movie had been released in August of 1980, so the influence of Yamato on other anime series was still riding high.
James
Posted by Ebonyswanne on 09-09-2009 at 21:53:
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He did take 'blue blooded royal' to an extreme! I love writing his character more than the other villians because he's not a creation of Z's. He's there out of his own ambition and want for more power, and has more respect amongst his men than any of the others did.
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Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up- Pablo Picasso.
Posted by lborgia88 on 10-09-2009 at 03:26:
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Thank you, James! I didn't know about this Dessler character, but Egobossler's resemblance to him is, I agree, very apparent!
Posted by gatchamarie on 10-09-2009 at 14:47:
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That's why I wrote the word "family" in between inverted commas as I did not refer to any specific blood connection but just to a group of people who considered themselves as part of a big family!
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That makes a whole lot of sense! Thanks James as you brought back to me more memories from my childhood! I'm remembering Dessler now!
__________________
To be or not to be a gatchamaniac - that's the dilemma!
Posted by gatchamarie on 10-09-2009 at 14:49:
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ITA!!!
__________________
To be or not to be a gatchamaniac - that's the dilemma!
Posted by gatchamarie on 10-09-2009 at 19:08:
And just to abide with our WWII connections this is an extract from www.tatsunoko.co.jp:
GATCHAMAN-F
48 thirty-minute episodes.
Generalissimo X has been destroyed, but the alien being is able to renew itself as Generalissimo Z for a final assault against Earth. Its new leader for Gallactor is the blue-skinned Egobosura, a would-be Hitler with a determination to destroy the Earth if he cannot conquer it. The pace in this final GATCHAMAN series becomes frantic as Gallactor hammers the Earth with increasingly devastating attacks, and the Gatchaman Fighters must resort to near-suicidal risks to nullify them.
... where I highlight the "would-be Hitler" part!
__________________
To be or not to be a gatchamaniac - that's the dilemma!
Posted by amyltrer on 10-09-2009 at 19:18:
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Yup, just finished seeing episode 3. One similarity between Ego and Hitler consisted in his quick attacks that devasted whatever ressitance they have met and took over the country. Very much like Hitler's blitzkriegs.
__________________
It is the tiny spark of humanity that adds blaze to a villain
Posted by tatsunokofan on 10-09-2009 at 19:34:
Hi all!
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Indeed!
Honestly, if you watch the first 15 episodes of Gatchaman Fighter, those stories come across very much as if Tatsunoko was trying to redo the European Campaign in WWII, right down to having Egobossler's troops first spread across Irope and then move into North Agrica, at which point the tide finally turns and the U.N. forces begin to push his forces back.
By playing this more or less like a real war, it gave the series a different attitude in its storytelling, but I suspect that it backfired. Fans of the original series and new fans who had watched Gatchaman II were likely put off by the change in direction, which is probably why the series wrapped up the WWII-inspired stories quickly over episode #'s 14 and 15, returning things to a more traditional Gatchaman series pattern in the episodes that immediately followed.
James
Posted by lborgia88 on 11-09-2009 at 01:29:
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Heh, true. Granted, the United States and the Soviet Union were allies, and didn't exactly hold favorable opinions of each other in the decades following. I guess my idea of "germanic=evil" is also comes from watching Neon Genesis Evangelion, where the character Asuka is such an arrogant, obnoxious brat and it's specified that she's German -easily a complete coincidence though. I think that Fullmetal Alchemist's "Shambala" movie too, also got me thinking along these lines, as the villains are the "Thule Society" from 1920s Germany.
Posted by tatsunokofan on 11-09-2009 at 02:04:
Hi all,
Of course, Asuka had red hair, not blond, so she doesn't fit in well with your initial proposal that the Japanese viewed blond (Or white) hair, or "Germanic-looking" (By which I assume you mean the Aryan ideal of blond hair and blue eyes) as something associated with evil people.
James
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