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Posted by gatch72 on 18-03-2010 at 02:06:
Well I first saw it back in '78. Been hooked every since I rediscovered it back in early 2000. I never figured out how I could forget my favorite cartoon as a kid!
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Posted by amethyst on 18-03-2010 at 02:33:
I was 8 when it first came to the US.
And UW, if you find the complete series of BotP let me know! I've only seen about a quarter of the episodes available on DVD.
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Posted by Madilayn on 18-03-2010 at 02:36:
Madman in Australia (the best sets to get) has them all except Collection 1.
You can also find them on ebay.com.au
I'm keeping an eye out for Collection 1 - if one comes up I'll post it on the board here.
As for age - I was 12 and fell in love with it from the start! For some reason, though, I never saw the whole series in one it - it took me two showings to see all the episodes.
Funnily enough, some years later when it was shown again on Aussie telly and I was working (this would be about 1985) I saw the episode "The Fierce Flowers". Went to work - and the quote on the desk calendar was "When all else is lost, the future still remains". For some reason, that really resonated with me with that episode - and with the followiong "Destructin of Space Centre" ones as well.
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"When I'm old, I don't want them to say of me, "She's so charming." I want them to say, "Be careful, I think she's armed." -G. Stoddart
Posted by amethyst on 18-03-2010 at 02:50:
Cool Thanks Maddy? What DVD region is Australia?
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Posted by Madilayn on 18-03-2010 at 03:02:
It's region 4 - so you'd need a DVD free DVD player - or the ability to strip the region off the DVD. TJ recommended AnyDVD and Clone DVD on another thread - and I'd certainly second that.
When Madman released the BotP set, they partnered with Jason Hofius as one of the producers, so if you're going to buy any BotP this is the one to get. The extras are basically Jason's book on DVD, as well as lots of pictures and interviews.
One of my favorites was the commentary for "Race into Disaster" (the Lucy episode), with Janet Waldo and Ronnie Schell. Ronnie Schell admitted he'd never actually watched the series but by the end of the episode he was saying he's now a fan!
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"When I'm old, I don't want them to say of me, "She's so charming." I want them to say, "Be careful, I think she's armed." -G. Stoddart
Posted by green on 18-03-2010 at 03:09:
I've got the first three - Got the first one off EBay! Some idiot actually put it up for sale....
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Exaggeration misleads the credulous and offends the perceptive. ~Eliza Cook
Posted by WadeInLincoln on 18-03-2010 at 05:29:
What I meant by the '10 years of gatching up' was from a collector's standpoint.
The English ADV DVDs coming out almost 5 years ago
Comic book series 8 years ago
Action figures, models, books, CDs, etc. mostly seem to have out in the last 10 years... even thou there's earlier stuff then that.
Websites are down or they've been a long time since updated.
All this makes me believe that I missed the bandwagon and I'm coming in on the tail end of all this..... unless the movie does happen to make its way to the big screen, then I will be ahead of the curve.
But I'm getting closer to finishing the Gatchaman series and maybe getting started on my shared project.... ordered Gatchaman volumes 5,6, and 7 today 
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Posted by gatchamarie on 18-03-2010 at 09:08:
Good luck, Wade!
And Becky ... you managed to make me feel young when stating the age group earlier! I would be one of the youngest here, then! I will turn 35 in two days' time and I too am thinking that I'm growing old ... rather fast! But deep inside I'm still a young child! That's what counts!
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To be or not to be a gatchamaniac - that's the dilemma!
Posted by gatch72 on 18-03-2010 at 12:29:
I have the whole BOTP series on dvd. I also have the Aussie set too. I can probably help ya out.
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Posted by green on 18-03-2010 at 12:40:
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I agree!
When people ask me how old I am I always ask if they want the years I've been alive or my mental age. You'd be surprised how many people don't even blink before saying 'years'.
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Exaggeration misleads the credulous and offends the perceptive. ~Eliza Cook
Posted by Transmute Jun on 18-03-2010 at 13:18:
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FWIW, at Comic Con last year, there seemed to be a lot of people just discovering Gatchaman because of the Tatsunoko vs. Capcom game that was only released 2 months ago. We've had a few (wonderful) people join our site because of that game! So you're right in with that.
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Posted by amethyst on 18-03-2010 at 15:53:
Wade, I have the most of the comics saved in file form on my computer if you have a comic book reader program. . . .
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Posted by tatsunokofan on 18-03-2010 at 17:48:
Hi all!
Perhaps I should point out that my comment regarding being old was not so much in regards to chronological age as it was in regards to years spent active in this hobby, which is what WadeInLincoln, amethyst, and clouddancer were commenting on just prior to my post. In that regards, I am fairly old. Most of you watched the show as kids, moved onto other things when it left the air, then rediscovered it years later when you were adults. For me, it's been a solid run as a fan that starts with my watching the premiere of BotP in September of 1978 and continues unbroken to the present. That's a heck of a lot longer than the 10 years as a fan that WadeInLincoln used as a scale in the hobby.
In regards to his comment that the hobby began exploding about 10 years ago, he's not too far off, at least from a non-Japanese perspective. On December 4, 2000, the first volume of "Battle of the Planets" was released on home video in the U.K.. This was the first piece of official BotP merchandise to be released since the 1980s, and was the start of the wave of merchandising that followed over the next few years. That run hit its peak in the summer of 2002, and slowly abated over the next couple of years. Now it enjoys momentary bumps in popularity that coincides with things like the ADV DVD release, the announcement of the movie by Imagi, and the release of Tatsunoko Vs. Capcom.
In Japan, Gatchaman hit its peak during the original runs of the three series, which is sort of a given. Even during the period between the first and second series, Gatchaman merchandise was still available with some regularity (Some of these were new items, while others were reissues of older items that continued to sell well). Once Gatchaman Fighter left the air in 1980, new Gatchaman items all but dried up for a while.
It wasn't until the mid-1980s that Gatchaman merchandise began creeping back out, marketed mostly for nostalgia purposes aimed at teen and young adults who had enjoyed the series as kids (This included things like pencil boards, cassette labels, and telephone cards). This trend grew and hit is peak in the mid-to-late 1990s, when Gatchaman joined the ranks of many older anime series as being "retro-cool." This led to items aimed at adults who remembered the show (Such as Zippo lighters), and at teens who found the nostalgia wave to be fashionable (And who would but the exclusive Gatchaman apparel at the trendy As Know As clothing store in Harajuku).
This was also the time when anime series of the 1960s and 1970s were being tapped as themes for prizes in the extremely popular crane game machines, leading to a slew of Gatchaman and/or Tatsunoko character merchandise.
And, of course, the home video market exploded onto the scene, allowing fans to buy the three series numerous times over in laser disc and DVD formats (As well as scattered episodes from the first series that were available on VHS at different points). A Blu-ray release hasn't been announced yet, but you know it's just a matter of time.
The amount new Gatchaman merchandise in Japan has slowed down quite a bit from what it was like 10~15 years ago, but there are still new items appearing, like the crane game Ken and Joe figures, the Boomerang memory stick, and the cell phone chargers that Taito released last year, and items released in conjunction with both releases of Tatsunoko Vs. Capcom. Yes, these are mostly aimed at a nostalgia market, but it's still not bad for a show that wrapped production 30 years ago.
(Yes, I know I'm leaving out the OAVs. But, frankly, they did almost nothing to raise interest in the series)
James
Posted by WadeInLincoln on 19-03-2010 at 04:41:
Thanks James!!!
That was a real cool Cliff-Notes version of the last 30 years. No, wait.... that was "retro-cool". I've never heard that phrase before but I love it!!!
Cell phone chargers??? Really??? 
Amethyst, I appreicate it.
But I think got everything comic wise.... Battle Book, 1/2 - 12, Mark/Jason one shots, Magna 1-3, Witchblade, Thundercats, Sketch Book, and Princess 1-6 [getting #6 was a pain in the...].
I still need... the Guide Book (which I've learned is called the Hofius Book here), Pin-Up Book, the Classic Issues Volume (original 1979 Gold Key comics 1-10) , and there's a couple different Art/Graffitti Books I've been eye-balling.
I've been collecting comics off and on for years. Unfortunately I was "off" during the whole Top Cow era. Ran across a Top Cow looking thru some back issues at the local comic book store a couple of months back AND THAT's WHEN IT ALL HIT ME. 
Hey 72, might have to call you up on that Aussie set someday. I did find the 85 BotP on Veoh but eventually I'm gonna want to get the discs. It's too late for my kid (she's Gatch all the way) but if I ever get that grandchild (please let it be at least another 15 years) I'll probably want to start them up with BotP first..... "These are the cartoons grandpa used to watch"
Yeah right, like am I ever going to grow up. 35? I remember 35 like it was 5 years ago (hint, hint) 
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Bird Go!!!
Posted by gatchamarie on 19-03-2010 at 08:39:
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That's why you are our Guru, James!
Thanks a lot for that superb info!
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To be or not to be a gatchamaniac - that's the dilemma!
Posted by Transmute Jun on 19-03-2010 at 13:53:
LOL, Wade! My kids like Gatch better too, because they watched it with me when I was first watching. Sometimes they watch BOTP or Eagle Riders, but it remains Gatchaman in their hearts and minds.
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Posted by tatsunokofan on 19-03-2010 at 22:08:
Hi all!
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Yes, really. There were three different designs.
They all came with a pair of connectors that work with two of the most popular cell phone models in Japan (The au type and the Soft Bank FOMA type connectors)
From all appearances, they weren't a big draw in the crane game machine prize market. The figures and the memory sticks were far more popular.
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More like nicknamed that, but there's no hard-and-fast rule in calling it that. Sadly, this book is now out of print. The publisher had a great sale on them last year, and I believe they sold their few remaining copies at the San Diego Comic Con last summer. It can still be found on Amazon, though.
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If you have any questions about specific books, feel free to ask.
And, just to make sure, you do know that there are two BotP Thundercats crossover comics, right? One is listed as "Battle of the planets/Thundercats," and the other is "Thundercats/Battle of the Planets." The two issues feature unrelated standalone stories.
James
Posted by WadeInLincoln on 20-03-2010 at 01:20:
Yeah, never was a big ThunderCats fan. I believe they came out when I was in my mid to late teens and the show appeared to be too "child-ish" for my tastes at that time. Never really gave it much of a chance.
I mentioned this on another thread and I don't believe it ever truly got answered.... There's 2 versions of the Hofius book. The 2002 first print, and then the 2003 Revised Edition. The Gatchaman Goods Pages website has both books listed but the pictures of the covers are the same, even though in the description it says they are different. Is there any way to tell the two editions apart from just looking at their covers?
Have you ever ran into any information about "Ender's Game" concerning the BotP Top Cow comics? Just ran into this today. Supposably it was a final series of BotP comics that never got released due to the downfall of Top Cow. Wonder where these story boards are sitting today? Might be the Holy Grail of the BotP comic series.
James, you seem to have WAY too much knowledge to be just a fan. Your last name wouldn't be Tatsunoko would it??? Just playing with you. And Thanks again.... always appreicated.
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Bird Go!!!
Posted by green on 20-03-2010 at 01:34:
The one thing that can be said about James is that he is not just a fan!
He is the Gatch Guru!
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Exaggeration misleads the credulous and offends the perceptive. ~Eliza Cook
Posted by tatsunokofan on 20-03-2010 at 01:51:
Hi all!
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Nope, you got to look at the interior contents.
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I assume you're talking about the 2-issue wrap-up to the 12-issue regular BotP comic run that was solicted under the title "Coup de Gras" (And yes, I am well aware that this is spelled wrong, but that's how they solicited it). These comics weren't cancelled because of Top Cow collapsing (And have they collapsed? They were operating at least through the summer of 2009 that I'm aware of), they were cancelled because of a lack of orders for the first issue. There simply weren't enough people who wanted to buy it to make it worth the expense of creating and publishing it. The same fate befell the third digest volume as well. Anyway, my understanding is that the outline for the two issues of the comic were done, and perhaps the script for the first of the two issues was written, but no artwork was ever completed for it.
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A greater holy grail would be the missing artwork for the 11th issue of the Gold Key comics -- at least for me.
James
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