tatsunokofan
Gatch Guru
0 fics uploaded
Registration Date: 03-12-2006
Posts: 1513
|
|
Hi all!
Regarding the Gatchaman radio dramas, it should be noted that, while it aired prior to the start of Gatchaman II, the series was not entirely set between the first and second series. The goal of the series was similar to that of the Gatchaman movie; to help remind people of the major events of the first series ad get them excited to see the second TV series. The first series had been off the air for four years by that point, and they really couldn't expect people to remember all the details. It was also unrealistic to expect people to sit down and watch all 105 episodes in reruns again. So, they needed a fairly easy way for people to get back up to speed on what had gone on before.
The Gatchaman movie was the most obvious method they used, but the radio drama was another. As a result, the radio version started out with adaptations of important stories from the first series, including the fight with Turtle King, introducing Red Impulse, Joe being injured by the Mole Tank, and Red Impulse's death.
After that, the radio drama switched gears and did a trio of parody episodes. These silly stories included things like a baseball game between the Ninja Team and Gallactor Iron Beasts or a story where all the characters, hero and villain alike, come to the Snack Jun and express their affections for Jun.
The series went back to dramatic stories after that, with an adaptation of the first series finale.
This was followed by an episode where they gave life to two stories that came from the winners of a "You Create Gatchaman" contest. One story had Joe fighting cyborg dogs created for Gallactor by a mad scientist named Dr. Gonzo, and the other had Jinpei saving a young alien girl named Dorothy from Gallactor and returning her to her family.
After that came the episode Jason wrote about, set between the first and second series, and helping to set up the start of Gatchaman II. More on that one in a bit.
The next five episodes gave listeners an advance listen into what Gatchaman II would b bringing them by presenting aural versions of five stories that would later appear in animated form when Gatchaman II hit TV a few months later. These adventures included the series opener (With both episodes presented in a single story), the fight with the Black Knights, Joe's return to the team, the battle against the cavemen, and Gallactor's use of mutated plants as weapons.
The final episode of the series was a discussion among the voice actors about doing the radio drama, their favorite parts of the show (They all loved the parody versions of the Gatchaman theme songs that Katse sang in one of the parody episodes), and their hopes for the best from Gatchaman II.
So, as you can see, the radio version of Gatchaman was all over the place as far as storytelling went.
Anyway, the episode set between the two series. As noted, there was only one story done during this time period. It opened with a recap of Joe's death, which transitioned to "more than a year later," where the rest of the Ninja Team still mourns their loss. They travel with Dr. Nambu to BC Island, where they bury Ken's boomerang in a grave next to the graves of Joe's parents as a way of saying goodbye to Joe.
After that, Dr. Nambu informs them that they need to say goodbye to another important part of their lives; the God Phoenix. The ship, along with all their vehicles, has been so battered from their battles with Gallactor, and has suffered so much metal fatigue, that it is no longer viable. The Ninja Team decides to bury the ship at sea, sending it to the same ocean depths that are the final resting place for Crescent Coral Reef.
After the God Phoenix is gone, the Ninja Team is startled by the appearance of a gigantic ship. Nambu comes on the radio to tell them that this ship, G-Town, has been built to help defend the world against organizations like Gallactor. As the Ninja Team comes on board, Nambu shows them around, leading them to a hanger bay where they are introduced to the New God Phoenix. Soon afterward, the New God Phoenix launches from G-Town, and the Ninja Team members take off in their individual G-mecha to begin training in them.
As the episode ends, the Narrator warns that Governor X has begun heading back toward Earth...
As far a how much you want to accept the events of this episode as canon, most of it works fairly well. It certainly has the proper pedigree, having been written by Tori Pro., which was the company formed by former Gatchaman head writers Jinzo Toriumi and Satoshi Suyama. The scripts for all of the radio drama were written by either of these men, or by the two of them working together. The biggest conflict it brings up is that we saw the original God Phoenix appear in an episode of Gatchaman II. It's always possible that Nambu had a replacement built at some point, but this is never stated anywhere, so there's nothing in TV series canon to point to that possibility.
There's also the detail that some parts of the stories presented in the radio drama don't match up entirely with their TV counterparts, like Berg Katse appearing as the one in charge of Turtle King or the Mole Tank. This was done to get Katse more directly involved in the stories, but it does differ from what we saw in the original stories. Likewise, parts of the Gatchaman II stories were altered by the time they made their TV appearances, just as part of the usual rewriting process.
And, of course, the parody episodes wouldn't it in canon at all.
So, whether or not the radio drama stories should be taken as canon is a subject open for debate. Regardless, they still make for a fun addition to the Gatchaman universe.
James
This post has been edited 1 time(s), it was last edited by tatsunokofan on 04-06-2014 at 17:05.
|
|
03-06-2014 03:07
|
|
tatsunokofan
Gatch Guru
0 fics uploaded
Registration Date: 03-12-2006
Posts: 1513
|
|
Hi all!
| quote: | Originally posted by ChrisW
Thanks so much James! I suppose I'll sideline the idea of anything regarding the radio drama being canon. |
|
Well, I wouldn't say that they're not canon. They're just not TV series canon. I tend to think of the radio dramas as being their own continuity, separate from the original TV series. Just like the OAVs are a separate continuity, as is BotP, G-Force, Eagle Riders, the ADV dub, the NTT Gatchaman, and the live action movie. They share similar aspects, but they're not the same universe. The radio dramas just happen to be one that's close enough to the TV series continuity to seem the same, but different enough to cause confusion when you try to use them as spackle to fill in holes from the TV versions.
| quote: | Originally posted by ChrisW
Are there no complaints from the team when they see their new ship? |
|
Umm...no. The only things the heroes ever had to say regarding the New God Phoenix were always complimentary. The same goes for the Gatcha Spartan.
Fans have a tendency to impose their views about things onto the characters, as though their views must be shared by the characters in the show itself. "I don't care for the look of the New God Phoenix, so the Ninja Team members had to think it was ugly too." "I don't like Zark, so G-Force must hate him too." That kind of thing. But in the shows themselves, the characters rarely, if ever, have the same point of view. The Science Ninja Team thought the New God Phoenix was "wonderful," and G-Force treated Zark like an important member of the team.
So, no, the Ninja Team never complained about their new ship. They embraced it wholeheartedly.
| quote: | Originally posted by Becky Rock
I bet whomever did the episode where Pandora brought out the old God Phoenix hadn't listened to the radio show. |
|
That episode of Gatchaman II was written by Jinzo Toriumi, who worked alongside Satoshi Suyama in writing that episode of the radio drama, and therefore should have been well aware of what happened in it. He likely took the attitude that, since it wasn't shown as part of the TV series, he could do what he wanted and bring the original God Phoenix back.
And, yes, the God Phoenix was being kept in a hanger beneath Nambu's villa.
James
|
|
|
04-06-2014 17:00
|
|
|
[1]
2
next »
-->
Members browsing this thread: none
|
Pages (2):
[1]
2
next »
|
|
|
|
|
Playing darts with the Condor's feather shuriken... 
