tatsunokofan
Gatch Guru
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Registration Date: 03-12-2006
Posts: 1513
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Hi all!
I'm a little late to the party for Gatchaman's acrobatic flying team, but better late than never! Because of its length, I'll have to split this over a couple of posts.
It had long been speculated that Red Impulse was based off of Japan's Blue Impulse acrobatic flight team, a group similar to the U.S. Navy's Blue Angels. This detail was confirmed by Jinzo Toriumi in an interview he did in 2000 for the Gatchaman DVDs.
Unlike the Black Birds and the Devil Stars, some background on Red Impulse did appear in the Planning Establishment for the series. In it, the function of Red Impulse is described as follows:
"The sole purpose of the "Science Ninja Team" is to uncover their [Gallactor's] headquarters. It is for this reason that they want to search out the cells, to lead in the hunt."
"When the others are attacking a "Gallactor" cell, an adult flying group sometimes appears on the scene. They take care of the disposal of the cells after the "Science Ninja Team" has completed their search."
"The group is called "Red Impulse (Like a red shock wave)." The members of this group are completely covered in a unique costume, including a mask over their faces, making their identities impossible to make out. The boys of the "Science Ninja Team" anticipate and are envious of the actions of this group. Who is the Captain of "Red Impulse," the elusive group of justice......? Up to now, Ken, the Eagle has secretly been seeking out his father. But because of what is at stake in their mission, it has been their destiny to be unable to meet together and profess their hearts. These feelings between father and child supply the episodes with the essence of human emotions."
The idea of having the Science Ninja Team locate Gallactor bases, search them for information regarding the location of Gallactor's Headquarters, and then leaving the task of mopping up the base to Red Impulse makes sense in a real world scenario, but I suspect that the writers quickly realized that it made things pretty boring for our heroes. "Another day, another base we've snuck into unseen, another dead end. Oh well, let's get out of here so those other guys can have all the action." Since we weren't watching "The Red Impulse Show," it's probably just as well that they decided to let our heroes take the lead in taking down the Gallactor strongholds.
Unfortunately, that is all that the Planning says regarding Red Impulse. As I've mentioned in the past, the only characters that had any sort of write-ups there were the five Ninja Team members. The closest thing to an "official" write-up for Red Impulse came in the Gatchaman movie program, where they said the following:
"Red Impulse Captain"
"Kentaro Washio, Ken's father."
"He was a battle-tried warrior during the Pacific War, and a test pilot for new and powerful airplanes. But, unexpectedly one day, he suddenly disappeared from before the young Ken and the others. Since near the end of the Second World War, he joined Dr. Nambu's fact team in order to detect the activities of Gallactor, forming the Red Impulse."
I'm sure you can easily see the problems with this. Simply put, if this was to be believed, Red Impulse is ancient. Even if he was a "battle-tried warrior" of 18 when the war ended in 1945, he'd be 74 years old by the 2001 time frame for the series. Obviously, whoever did that little write-up in 1978 didn't really think these things through. That, or Grecian Formula was his friend. So, to be generous, we'll pretty much ignore that particular reference.
Without planning or decent official background sources to look to, we have to rely on the show itself. From that, we know the following:
Red Impulse Captain.
(Character Voice: Hisayoshi Yoshizawa)
He is Kentaro Washio, Ken's father. His closest friend is Dr. Nambu (Episode #52).
He was originally a test pilot in Dr. Nambu's laboratory. 14 years earlier, Dr. Nambu had discovered that Hontwal was cooperating with Gallactor in preparations for the V2 Plan, and asked Kentaro to sneak into Hontwal to steal the plans. However, since he and his associates would be spying on both a country and a very large evil organization, he was concerned for the safety of his family. To keep them safe, he entrusted Dr. Nambu with the care of the 4-year-old Ken, and pretended to die in an airplane accident in the "Southern Skies." With his name now erased and his appearance disguised, he snuck into Hontwal (Episode #52). When operating undercover, he would often wear a white suit and hat (Episode #'s 51, 52).
Not long after the Science Ninja Team went into action, he and his team began to show up during their missions, generally appearing flying their unique Red Impulse airplanes. Often called onto the scene by Dr. Nambu (Episode #'s 10, 22, 44, 76), Red Impulse would usually either lend assistance to the Science Ninja Team (Episode #'s 9, 10, 15, 38, among others), or save their lives when they were overwhelmed by Gallactor (Episode #'s 5, 11, 44). All of this was done while keeping his true identity a secret from Ken.
At first, Ken wasnt sure if Red Impulse was a friend or an enemy, but those concerns were dispelled after Ken and Red Impulse worked together to save the rest of the Science Ninja Team from being killed by Gallactor after their enemy had stolen the Blue Hawk. (Episode #11).
Despite the necessity of keeping his true identity a secret, Red Impulse would try to help Ken to improve his skills (Episode #44) or to accept the sometimes harsh responsibilities that comes with being a leader (Episode #40). From his experiences working alongside Ken, Red Impulse knew that his son would never give up, even when the odds seemed hopeless, and was willing to stay out of a fight in order to give Ken every chance he needed to succeed (Episode #'s 22, 44).
When not operating as a spy in Hontwal, Red Impulse operated out of a secret base located on a remote island in the South Seas. This location included hangars for the Red Impulse jets and training facilities for Red Impulse and his men (Episode #44).
When the V2 Plan was finally utilized by Gallactor and threatened to destroy the Earth, he volunteered to pilot the rocket that would save the Earth from destruction. Before Red Impulse could board the rocket, his true identity was revealed to Ken. The two shared a brief moment as father and son before Red Impulse forced his way past Ken and onto the rocket. Thinking of Ken with his final thoughts, the rocket piloted by Red Impulse detonated in the skies over the Arctic Ocean, killing Red Impulse but saving the world (Episode #53).
Masaki (#'s 44, 76, 104)
(Character Voice: Masaru Miyashita (#44), Mitsuo Yokoi (#76), Takeshi Aono (#104))
One of the members of Red Impulse. When the Science Ninja Team went to Red Impulse's Secret Base to receive special training, Masaki was placed in charge of training Joe, Jun, Jinpei, and Ryu. After the death of their Captain, he and Oniishi continued working to uncover the secrets of Gallactor. The two helped save Ken when he was shot by Mechaziner (Episode #76), and used Joe's Bracelet to tell the Science Ninja Team the location of Gallactor's Headquarters. He was shot and killed while trying to lead the Ninja Team into the Headquarters (#104).
Oniishi (#'s 76, 104)
(Character Voice: Mitsuo Yokoi (#104))
One of the members of Red Impulse. At some point in his past, his throat was cut by Gallactor, leaving him unable to speak. Since then, he risked his life to bring down Gallactor as a member of Red Impulse. After the death of the Red Impulse Captain, he worked with Masaki to uncover the secrets of Gallactor (#76). Like Masaki, he too was fatally shot while leading the Science Ninja Team into Gallactor's Headquarters. As he was dying, he wrote out his final message with his finger on Jun's palm (#104).
The members of Red Impulse are in top fighting condition, and can perform feats similar to those of the Science Ninja Team (Episode #'s 11, 51). They are all armed with pistols and are crack marksmen (Episode #'s 11, 52).
All three of the Red Impulse are pilots, and are trained in using their planes in aerial acrobatics (Episode #'s 5, 44). Their airplanes are armed with both machine guns and rockets (Episode #11), and the wings are strong enough and sharp enough to slice through metal cables (Episode #38). If necessary, these airplanes can also use used to transport large objects (Episode #15). They have also created disguises that fit over the planes, allowing Red Impulse to conceal their true identity (Episode #51).
This post has been edited 3 time(s), it was last edited by tatsunokofan on 20-11-2008 at 01:42.
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20-11-2008 01:15
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tatsunokofan
Gatch Guru
0 fics uploaded
Registration Date: 03-12-2006
Posts: 1513
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Hi all!
Let's see, what other notes of interest are their regarding Red Impulse.
Well, going back to original scenario drafts for Gatchaman episodes, we discover that the first appearance of Red Impulse was not originally intended to be in episode #5 of the series, but rather at the end of episode #2. In the climax of that story, the God Phoenix was supposed to be attacked not only by the head of Turtle King, but by a number of koi-shaped rockets that launch from the Undersea Aircraft Carrier. Similar to what we saw, the Ninja Team used the Firebird to destroy their attackers, but the Undersea Aircraft Carrier still remained a threat. Just then, well... Here's how it's described in the scenario:
*Sky and sea
Three crimson jet planes come flying overhead, attacking the undersea Aircraft Carrier.
The Undersea Aircraft Carrier goes up in flames.
*The God Phoenix Control Room
Everyone watches in mute amazement.
The three jet planes approach.
The man who seems to be the Captain laughs and waves.
Ken: Who are you......?
Voice: Ladies and gentlemen of the Science Ninja Team, we are Red Impulse. Ha, ha, ha, ha......
Ken: Red Impulse......?
Voice: Until we meet again, farewell......
Red Impulse flies away with splendid acrobatic flight.
Ken: Who are those fellows. Are they an enemy, or an ally?
*In the clouds
The God Phoenix flies into the glittering sunset.
--The End--
I'm sure that most of you have noticed that this sequence is nearly identical to the way Red Impulse did first appear in episode #5. I can only assume that the staff decided that they should have a few episodes to establish the Science Ninja Team before they threw Red Impulse into the mix, and simply decided to move that sequence and rewrite it slightly to fit the attack of the saucer mecha in episode #5.
Masaki was actually the first member of Red Impulse to be given a name, not that viewers knew it at the time. In the scenario for episode #44, Masaki was the Red Impulse in charge of training Joe, Jun, Jinpei, and Ryu while Red Impulse was off with Ken trying to prepare him to withstand the g-forces he would face to destroy Archaeo. His name does not appear in the finished episode, but in the scenario draft for that story, there was a line of dialogue where the Red Impulse Captain introduces him. No, he doesn't look the same as he did when we saw him again in episode #'s 76 or 104, but it is supposed to be the same fellow.
Masaki in Episode #44
Masaki in Episode #76
Masaki in Episode #104
Anyway, the scenario also included several scenes of Masaki putting the Ninja Team through their paces like a Drill Instructor. At first, Joe refused to listen to Masaki, and was finally angered enough to punch the Red Impulse member. Amazingly, the punch doesn't even cause Masaki to flinch. With grudging respect, Joe, Jun, Jinpei, and Ryu then submit to Masaki's training regimen, which includes marathon-length runs, meditating under a freezing cold waterfall, training in gymnastics, boxing, and wrestling, and time spend in a centrifuge. It's unfortunate that these scenes were eliminated from the episode, but I suspect that they were dropped because they took up too much time.
The scenario version of Masaki and Oniishi's return in episode #76 also had some material that didn't make it to the final version of the story. After most of the material that we saw, the scene between the Red Impulse men and Ken was intended to continue with Masaki giving Ken the Red Impulse uniform, which Ken then put on. Upon seeing Ken in the uniform, Masaki comments to Ken that he "...is just like your father."
Red Impulse also made two appearances in the Gatchaman radio drama. The first was in episode #3, which was an adaptation of episode #11 of the TV series. His second appearance was in episode #4, which was an adaptation of episode #'s 52~53 of the TV series.
Sadly, these would be the final times that Red Impulse's voice actor, Hisayoshi Yoshizawa, would perform the role. On January 20, 1979, he fell from his home to the railroad tracks of the Ikenoue Station of the Keio Inokashirasen train line, and was struck and killed by a passing train. According to member of the theatrical group he was working with, he was exhausted from their rehearsals, and it is believed that this exhaustion is what led to his fall. He was 49 years old at the time of his death.
Like so much in the OAVs, the OAV version of Red Impulse is much more vague than his TV series counterpart. The basic premise behind the character is still the same, and most of what fans tend to think they know about the character is extrapolated from the TV series. Regardless, here are some of the facts we do know about him:
Red Impulse Captain
(Character Voice: Unsho Ishizuka)
He's Ken's father, and left to uncover information regarding Gallactor when Ken was still a young boy. The last time Ken had seen his father was at his mother's funeral, which took place sometime after she died on March 27, 2055. Red Impulse was unable to be by his wife's side when she passed away because he was away on "important business." At the funeral, Red Impulse gave Ken a pendant with an eagle head and wings. As he departed, Red Impulse left the heartbroken Ken in the care of Dr. Nambu. By August 22, 2066, Red Impulse had infiltrated the Gallactor base on BC Island. It was here that he and Ken met once again, initially as Red Impulse saved Ken's life during an aerial dogfight in the skies near BC Island. They subsequently encountered each other face-to-face on BC Island itself when Ken repaid this debt by saving Red Impulse from the Jupiter Ninja Alan. By the end of their mission there, Ken had realized who Red Impulse really was, but dismissed the notion (OAV Vol. 2).
Red Impulse was part of a very large group known as the International Secret Ninja Squadron Red Impulse. This group had managed to infiltrate Gallactor's Black Birds, and by the time the Science Ninja Team arrived on BC Island, roughly half of the Black Birds on the base were actually Red Impulse members in disguise. Aside from their skill in hand-to-hand combat, the Red Impulse Squadron used swords and rocket launchers as weapons. It is unknown exactly how many of the Red Impulse survived the battle on BC Island. We only see three Red Impulse planes flying away at the end of the story, but that does not mean that more had not escaped (OAV Vol. 2).
Following that mission, Dr. Nambu charged Red Impulse with finding the location of Gallactor's hidden Headquarters. However, by October 16, 2066, Gallactor had believed that it had managed to hunt down and kill all the members of Red Impulse, eliminating this threat. The Red Impulse Captain had managed to survive, though he was left with two scars on his face during some unseen struggle. He managed to infiltrate Gallactor's Headquarters and was able to free Joe from captivity. Revealing that he was indeed Ken's father, Red Impulse gave Joe a sword to give to Ken, and it was with this sword that Ken managed to kill Berg Katse. Leaving Joe, Red Impulse soon found himself surrounded by Gallactor troops. With Ken in his final thoughts, Red Impulse detonated an explosive that destroyed the Camouflage System that hid Gallactor's Headquarters (OAV Vol. 3).
Red Impulse was also a character in the Gatchaman novels published while the OAVs were first being released. These series of three novels featured original stories taking place in the world of the OAVs. Red Impulse appeared in Vol. 2, "Cinderella Operation," and Vol. 3, "Farewell! Condor." I have not examined these novels very closely, so I cannot comment on what details regarding Red Impulse they may contain.
And, hopefully, that helps to give you all a little information regarding Red Impulse that you either didn't know or had forgotten about.
James
This post has been edited 4 time(s), it was last edited by tatsunokofan on 03-09-2009 at 20:49.
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20-11-2008 01:26
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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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| quote: | Originally posted by tatsunokofan
You know, I realize that a lot of people don't like Red Impulse, but I've never really understood exactly why the character generates so much animosity. He never bothered me. |
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Well I can't speak for others, but for me the answer is twofold.
First, there is no need for the Red Impulse Team in the series, except as a way to introduce the guy as Ken's father. But we'r told early on in the series that the Earth has ANOTHER team who is fighting off Galactor and (by the way it's usually presented) better at doing this than the KNT. If that's the case, then why does the KNT exist at all? The RI Team undermines the position of the KNT and they taunt the KNT with their 'inexperience' and inability to 'keep up'. It's that kind of arrogant superiority that I usually associate with the 'bad guys'.
Second, the way the Red Impulse treats Ken is abhorrent to me. I understand that Japanese societal norms are different from the relationship I have with my children, but IMHO, Red Impulse should be put in jail for physical child abuse. That's aside from the emotional trip he sent Ken on, which has screwed the Eagle up entirely. So being a fan of the Eagle, I'm naturally not impressed with RI.
Just to reiterate, these are MY OWN opinions. I'm not claiming that anyone else feels this way, or should feel this way.
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20-11-2008 14:32
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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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It bothers me that Red Impulse, in the show, is never presented as being anything less than a noble self-sacrificing hero. I see a fair amount of arrogance and selfishness in his actions, and it would have placated me if someone on the show had at least questioned some of the things Red Impulse had done -like pretending to be missing/presumed dead for so many years, leaving his wife and son with no real idea of whether he was alive or not.
And, I can see why a military-oriented father might think that rough handling is good for his son (toughen him up, and all that) but it doesn't impress me!
That said, I think RI did possess courage and intelligence, and he did, on rare occasion, look like he might be regretting things he'd done (ie. wiping a tear away from his eye in ep. 11).
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22-11-2008 15:06
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Hinotori
Babbling Loonie
I am an Eagle.
2 fics uploaded
Registration Date: 09-10-2007
Posts: 2004
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Wow, James! Thank you yet again for imparting your knowledge and insights on us! I've certainly learned more about Red Impulse than I'd ever known before. Great background info, not only for the fan, but for us fic writers too!
As for RI, I don't seem to harbor the same resentment and disdain as most people seem to. I think he was an integral character to the series and for having us understand who Ken was and why. I mean, if it wasn't for RI, the character of Ken wouldn't be who he was and wouldn't have been the Eagle we all know and love (and sometimes want to smack upside the head!). The personal and emotional angst that RI brings to the show as a whole is something that cannot be denied. Not saying that I agree with his actions or how he treated his son/family, but I understand it in a plotline sort of way.
Ok, go ahead and  . I know my POV is in the minority. (I'll be standing on the sidelines with Shamrockchick and James!) 
Oh, and ITA, LB!! Ken's issues certainly do give us tons of fic fodder!! 
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Hinotori
Eagle in Charge
    
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23-11-2008 13:08
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