Gatchaman II episode recaps - Episode 8

Disclaimer: Gatchaman belongs to Tatsunoko, no infringement is intended.

Screencaps: Reboekah has graciously given me access to Gatchaman II screencaps for inclusion in the recaps, thank you! : )

Episode 8:

We see the moon and, as the camera pans, the Earth. A satellite is orbiting the planet. Inside we see a large control room with men in orange suits monitoring the equipment. Something is going wrong and there's some consternation amongst the men.



Some kind of rocket is approaching the sattelite. It impacts, engulfing the satellite's control room in flames. As the camera pans out we see that the rocket is actually a large spaceship. The front of the space ship is open and the inside glows like the sun. It looks like the satellite has been swallowed by the ship. Finally we see the spaceship dematerialise.



At the ISO building, Nambu is shown some pictures of the satellite by the president. Nambu mentions something about the science ninja team and the president seems surprised (maybe Nambu's saying that they're now able to go into space?)



Cut to a shot of a space station. Jun is at the controls (go Jun!) and above her is a dome through which we can see open space. Jinpei is in the control room and seems rather pleased with himself.



His joy is short-lived as the spaceship from before approaches. Jun is worried, Jinpei defiant. Jun struggles to flee through a manhole in the floor but the hatch is stuck. She and Jinpei have an extended discussion, some of the crew are also involved.



Jun makes her escape through another exit just as the spaceship (which has what look like teeth) crunches down on the observation dome. Jun makes it to an escape ship and yells Jinpei's name as she had to leave him behind. In her hands she holds what looks like a tape (I'm assuming this holds the data record of what happened).



We see the spaceship docking on a base built into a crater on the moon. Jinpei is manhandled out of the spaceship by a couple of goons. A Gel Sadra projection mocks Jinpei. We see a Galactor base that looks identical to the one from the previous episode (are they cutting down on design costs?) Gel Sadra says something about some kind of beam. Her callousness infuriates Jinpei who is subdued by the goons.



Cut to G-Town and its giant fish. Nambu discusses Jinpei's plight as we see images of the moon and a close-up of the spaceship that swallowed the satellites.



Jun is distraught, she's worrying about Jinpei. Ken comforts her, and she is comforted by his strong hands on her delicate shoulders. Ken says "It's going to be alright my darling, I've got you and I'll never let you go" (well, it's possible that he said this, more likely that he said "don't worry, Jinpei's a big boy" ; )



We see the spaceship flying through space. Joe notices something, a small vent at the rear of the craft that has what look to be sections of planes or missiles stuck in it.



Ken has a plan, Jun's face lights up as she looks at Ken. Joe interjects and steals Ken's thunder, Jun now looks at him with worry in her eyes and says "Joe".



Nambu gets some information from his hi-tech tape readout that concerns him. He mentions something about a beam. The team is ordered to move out. We see the God Phoenix launch, this time vertically and with rocket boosters attached as it makes its way to outer space.



Once in space, the team sees a field of space debris with the spaceship at its head. Joe, who's not weating his helmet, smiles to himself and makes ready to go into outer space after saying bye to Jun.



The God Phoenix approached the Galactor spaceship and we see Joe sitting on some kind if motorised space buggy. For some reason Joe flies through space and makes his way towards the vent.



As he reaches it, there's an explosion and his space buggy disintegrates and throws him at the spaceship wall. The team is agahast.



Joe floats through space unconscious and the God Phoenix moves out, possibly to collect him.



Commercial break!

Great recap, CM!

Actually, IIRC the buggy is called the Swanboat, and Jun created it. It was a flaw in the mechanics that cause the boat to explode the first time, so in other words, she's upset because she nearly killed Joe. She has to be encouraged to fix the Swanboat so Joe can try again.

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It's interesting that Gatch II & F, compared to Gatch I, seems to have more things going on in space and they have the R2D2-like robot autopilot in Gatch II. I've always figured that the BOTP people weren't the only ones influenced by Star Wars!

I think this ep, with Joe surviving the explosion of the Swanboat, is meant to be another big hint that Joe is extremely damage-resistant now. Except no one seems to really pick up on that here (too early in the series for any big reveals, after all!)

Yeah, Jun is more 'kick ass' in Gatchaman II... she can hold her own! She's got not one but TWO episodes coming up that have her busting through Galactor bases all on her own! And another one a little over halfway through the series where she disobeys orders and drives her motorcycle through a base and takes out the entire installation with a few gun blasts. It's awesome!!!!!

This is definitely supposed to be a hint that Joe is somewhat 'indestructible'. You'll find these hints dropped throughout the first 20 episodes or so.

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