Hi all!
October 1st is a big day for Gatchaman. It marks the anniversary of the premieres of both Gatchaman and Gatchaman II (The 42nd and 36th, respectively). This particular October 1st also marks a bit of a milestone anniversary. One that can be a little hard to believe, or a bit horrifying, depending on your perspective. Today marks the 20th anniversary of the release of the first volume of the Gatchaman OAVs. That's Twenty years. How did THAT happen?!
Since it's bigger cousins usually hog the spotlight on October 1st, it seemed right that this time around, we give the OAVs their almost-old-enough-to-legally-drink due. In that vein, here's some "Did you know..." type trivia regarding the OAVs.
Did you know that the publicity campaign for the OAVs began in earnest in June of 1994, with the release of the OAV Campaign Song CD single on July 21st? This single included updated version of the Gatchaman TV series theme songs, both performed by anime singing legend Ichiro Mizuki.
Did you know that this was followed by the June 25th release of the book "Tatsunoko Heroes?" This book contained a section previewing the upcoming OAVs, and gave eager fans their first look at the OAV character designs.
Did you know that July 21, 1994 was when fans got to enjoy the first soundtrack from the OAVs, which featured music composed by Earth, Wind, and Fire bandmembers Maurice White and Bill Meyers?
Did you know that July 21st was also when fans first had the chance to see video from the OAVs, thanks to a short preview for the OAVs that was included as a bonus on the home video release of the "Casshan - Loneliness" music video collection?
Did you know that the premiere of the OAVs was promoted on the "All-Night Nippon" radio show? This show, titled the "All Night Nippon Gatchaman Special," was broadcast on September 23, 1994. With Rika Matsumoto, the voice of Jinpei in the OAVs, as a special guest host, the 2-hour special featured interviews with the OAV cast, a "Gatchaman Cult Quiz," played the Gatchaman campaign song, and more.
Did you know that Nobuo Tanaka was the only main cast member from the original Gatchaman to appear in the OAVs? Mr. Tanaka reprised his role as Governor X for the OAVs.
Did you know that Shigezo Sasaoka, the voice of President Beoluke in the first volume of the OAVs, had previously done voice work in the earlier Gatchaman TV series? He had provided the voices for several Gallactor soldiers, I.S.O. technicians, and a Gallactor Captain in Gatchaman, Gatchaman II, and Gatchaman Fighter. He is the only voice actor from the OAVs who had worked in all three of the Gatchaman TV series
Did you know that there were three novels with original stories in the OAV universe that were released concurrently with the release of the OAVs? In the back of one of these books was a section giving additional background on the members of the Science Ninja Team that did not appear in the OAVs themselves, including:
Ken fought in the War of Marseilles, where he was known as the "African Star." Along with the airstrip he lives in, he also inherited a large library of books.
Joe's parents were part of the mafia, and his father laundered money for Gallactor. His parents were killed when Joe's father betrayed Gallactor. He wears a "promise ring" bracelet on his wrist as a reminder of his vow to destroy Gallactor to avenge his parents. Joe's favorite book is Moby Dick, and he wears the German "four-seven-eleven" cologne and Carrera sunglasses.
Jun is half-Japanese/half-English. Her parents were killed in an act of nuclear terrorism. After being assaulted in her early teens, she joined up with a biker gang. She enjoys classical ballet dancing and art from the late impressionist period.
Jinpei is an orphan on unknown origins who received his education from the internet, and as a result he is a master video gamer and a habitual hacker -- talents that Dr. Nambu was able to channel into making him a useful member of the Science Ninja Team. He carries with him code cracking and information gathering machines that he himself made. He wears a wooden birdcall around his neck.
Ryu is of both Japanese and Aboriginal Australian descent, and he grew up in the area of the Great Barrier Reef. He spent a year enrolled in the Ocean Rescue Command program. His favorite foods include French sandwiches, pizza, and lasagna. He can pick off sleeping bats with a boomerang.
Did you know that the initial working title for the second volume of the OAV series was "Charging Into Gallactor's Base!?"
Did you know that the Jupiter Ninja in OAV Vol. 2 were originally going to be called Rainbow Ninja?
Did you know that Takeshi Aono, the voice of Dr. Donaldson in the second volume of the OAVs, had previously done voice work in the original Gatchaman? He had provided the voices for several Gallactor Captains, Martin Gilman, and Red Impulse Member Masaki, among others.
Did you know that the initial working title for the third volume of the OAV series was "Gatchaman's Revelation?"
Did you know that the Urban Vision's English-language dub of the first Gatchaman OVA had its first public screening on July 4th, 1997 at Anime Expo in Los Angeles? This screening came was held just over 3 weeks before the video was released to the public on July 29th.
Did you know that release of the Gatchaman OAVs was the first time that any version of Gatchaman had been released in North America using its original name?
Did you know that the Urban Vision's English-language dub of the second Gatchaman OVA had its first public screening on July 18th, 1997 as part of the first GatchaCon proceedings at the San Diego Comic Con? This screening came was held more than a month before the video was released to the public on August 26th.
Did you know that the Gatchaman OAVs were released on DVD and Blu-Ray with a new English dub on December 13, 2013? This new dub was produced by Sentai Filmworks, and used the voices from the ADV Gatchaman TV series dubs as their cast. This new dub can be purchased either separately or as part of the Gatchaman Blu-ray and DVD box sets that Sentai released at the same time.
To help celebrate, I've put together a small collection of some publicity images, cover art, and storyboards from the OAVs and the OAV novels for you all to enjoy.
So, happy 20th anniversary, Gatchaman OAVs! And happy anniversary to Gatchaman and Gatchaman II too! I'm sure there's enough cake to go around for all three of you!
James
This post has been edited 1 time(s), it was last edited by tatsunokofan on 01-10-2014 at 18:12.
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Playing darts with the Condor's feather shuriken... 
