Madilayn
Mistress of Ebil
I am a Swan.
24 fics uploaded
Registration Date: 01-02-2006
Posts: 3589
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I prefer BotP to Gatchaman - and some reasons why
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I’ve been thinking the past few days – watching Gatchaman & also watching BotP. After watching all but about 24 episodes of Gatchaman (from the middle of the series), I’ve come to the conclusion that I really do prefer BotP to Gatchaman.
I shall now duck for cover at the speaking of heresy!
I want to tell you why I prefer BotP. Some of it is to do with the fact that I knew it first – however for me it doesn’t evoke pleasant childhood memories. I loved the show when I first saw it, and continued to love it over the years.
I prefer the BotP characters. To me, they are more of a team than the Gatch team. Mark, IMHO is a much better leader who leads by example. I find that Ken very much is a “do as I say not as I do†leader who tends to put his own needs first.
I also like most of the stories better. Yes – they’ve been cut the hell out of and I can’t see the reasons for some of the cuts. I abhore Zark and the additional animation. But – I just like the stories.
Some of the Gatch stories are just too melodramatic for me – and interestingly the BotP ones that I dislike are also the ones that are more melodramatic.
I love the voice actors. They did such an outstanding job in conveying character and nuance – and when you think that they were doing it without visual reference, it makes it even more astonishing.
I suppose, it’s hard to put in words the exact reason – but I suppose it’s like reading a fic. Some fics speak to you louder than others.
For me, BotP speaks to me much louder than Gatchaman does. I enjoy both series, and appreciate Gatchaman but I prefer BotP.
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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
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24-04-2010 15:13
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lborgia88
Gatchamaniac
I am a Condor.
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Registration Date: 27-06-2007
Posts: 5991
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I would never have learned of the existence of Gatchaman or gone about acquiring all the ADV episodes a few years ago, were it not for all the happy memories I had of watching Battle of the Planets in the late 70s. But my memories of it were, by late 2006, very faded and patchy.
And I loved watching Gatchaman!
Lately, I've been making an effort to watch more Battle of the Planets episodes and really try to re-familiarize myself with it and its characters. I still have a ways to go, certainly, but I am enjoying it and appreciating its good aspects (good characterization and voice acting talents in particular).
But, I like Gatchaman better and I think I always will. It could partly be the historian in me, tending to appreciate the most "original source" but mostly, I think, I like its stories better. Their more realistic depiction of conflict -violence, torture, mass civiilian casualties etc.- appeals to me. I also like the fact that Gatchaman has big, muti-episode story arcs that gradually build to dramatic (and often tragic) conclusions. (Most of the TV shows that I've really loved -Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the new Battlestar Galactica- have arc-heavy structures).
As well, the fact that the Team members themselves have more flawed personalities in many ways, and often don't get along especially well, to me, just feels... a lot like real life. Take Joe (my favourite) -he's frequently mean to Ryu, angry, rather too quick to solve situations with violence and too prone to hiding his feelings and problems, but then he turns around and shows incredible loyalty to his friends, and courage, and lets slip these little glimpses of his kinder, gentler side every now and then. Add in his whole big, angsty story arc, and I am just captivated every time.
So, I love the happy nostalgic vibe that BOTP gives me and, as I see and re-remember more of it, I find myself enjoying it more and more. But I think Gatchaman will always be my favourite.
This post has been edited 1 time(s), it was last edited by lborgia88 on 24-04-2010 at 16:25.
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24-04-2010 16:24
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Transmute Jun
Queen of the Bird Missiles
I am a Swan.
40 fics uploaded
Registration Date: 04-04-2007
Posts: 20978
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I have a special place in my heart for BOTP, because it was the show I adored as a kid, and included the characters I always admired. Yep, I've been longing to be Princess since I was a young 'un. 
But having seen Gatchaman, for me, there is no comparison. The depth to the stories, the character development, the humor of Jinpei... all of these things are absent (for me) when I watch BOTP. I understand the limitations BOTP was under, but even making allowance for that, many of the stories to me seem inconsistent and poorly-thought out... as if someone thought up the beginning without paying any attention to what was going to happen at the end.
Plus, Keyop and Zark drive me insane. Rover and Susan aren't much better. And as UW has stated on more than one occasion, Chief Anderson's character was really watered down, as they passed off much of what he should be saying.doing to Zark.
I do agree that the voice actors on BOTP were terrific, and they worked well together. They added some fantastic music to the show, and made it (for the most part) blend well with the Gatchaman music. They had cooler names for the communicators, and 'Transmute!'. But in the long run, for me, this doesn't make up for the wonderful stories, humor and character development in the original.
JMHO, of course. The point is that all of these shows are worth watching, so I would still  anyone to make sure they watch all of both series!
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24-04-2010 16:37
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gatchamarie
Gatchamaniac
I am an Eagle.
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Registration Date: 18-06-2009
Posts: 5129
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Useless to say why I prefer Gatchaman over BOTP!
Apart from the similar reasons already pointed out by others who would choose Gatchaman as a favourite, I find myself the other way round of most of you.
I've grown up with Gatchaman, BOTP being the series I hardly know and the least I remember. And I have to be honest ... I do try to get a glimpse of BOTP but I find myself that I hardly can due to my loyalty for Gatchaman! I cannot help this kind of behaviour of mine and I don't know if anyone could ever understand.
Gatchaman is also more realistic to me, like others have already said, and as a person who loves melodrama myself, I find it more appealing, especially when it reaches the end of its third series. When there's war involved, and its consequent circumstances, I don't like to see things like Zark and pointless dialogue that divert the attention from the real emotions that could have been felt. There was humour in Gatchaman but only at the right moment. In Gatchaman, the characters were human ... they did mistakes and they learned from them and, many a time they admitted their fault; they sometimes reacted impulsively like adoloscents, and even adults, are expected to do if they met certain obstacles; they didn't hide their anger or their conflicts just to seem right; and the team work was great.
But, as I said, I may be biased by the fact stated at the beginning of my post. I do respect BOTP, though, and the efforts of everyone concerned in its production. Their talent couldn't, and shouldn't, be overrided.
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To be or not to be a gatchamaniac - that's the dilemma!
This post has been edited 1 time(s), it was last edited by gatchamarie on 24-04-2010 at 18:35.
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24-04-2010 17:45
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amethyst
Wanted: $1000 Reward
I am a Condor.
0 fics uploaded
Registration Date: 15-07-2009
Posts: 6248
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| quote: | Originally posted by SJ_SwanJun
I respect Gatchaman, most definitely, and do enjoy it a lot, but I can't seem to connect with the characters like I can with Battle.
Both are great shows -- awesome shows .. but I find BotP to be my hands down favourite. |
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SJ, that's quite well said! If we went on simply merits of the actual stories or animation, the original wins hands down. But I am a character person, and I get attached to those characters. Yes, the originals are more realistic characters, but I'm still getting to know those characters. I'm not attached to them as I am the ones from BotP.
That being said, I will admit that I do not particularly like Mark as a character, perhaps because in the small little "Pleasantville" that I grew up in and still live, I've seen too many people treated as "Perfect" so that archetype just annoys me. I prefer Ken over Mark, but I'll take Jason first and then Joe over any of them.
From the first series the only version that completely fell flat for me was GoS, I couldn't get into the characters at all. Probably because the voice acting feel flat either from script or direction or acting, I don't know which.
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24-04-2010 21:15
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AllentownDarkWater
Banned
I am an Eagle.
0 fics uploaded
Registration Date: 24-01-2010
Posts: 828
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Not to **** on anybody's childhood memories or anything, but I have to be honest here. Back when I discovered G-Force in 1995. Me and my younger brother thought it was stupid, and I recall we also made fun of it sometimes too (maybe it's because I wasn't the major anime fan I am today back then). And I had heard about that before BOTP or Gatchaman. I don't remember what year it was I discovered BOTP's existence off the top of my head. It was either 2002 or 2004, but I didn't see an episode of BOTP until 2004 or 2005. This was 4 or 5 years after my anime fascination had begun, and The Anime Network had a few BOTP episodes on their on demand cable service, and I watched the first episode, and I just could not get into it at all. I also watched it, because I read that Peter Fernandez, best known as the voice of Speed Racer had done voices in it, and I wanted to hear who he played, but I don't recall ever finding out. I never became the hardcore Gatchaman fan that I am now until Tatsunoko vs. Capcom was released. Then I started watching ADV Films' re-dubbing of it and really enjoyed it, and I finally became a fan. And I STILL haven't seen all the episodes yet.
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This post has been edited 2 time(s), it was last edited by AllentownDarkWater on 24-04-2010 at 21:33.
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24-04-2010 21:31
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