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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This week we are honoring Dr. Raphael. He had been a Galactor scientist, but hjad defected and left the organization, working on his own to defeat Galactor. He turned Joe into a cyborg after finding him nearly dead at Cross Karokorum. He continued to 'help' Joe throughout the Gatch II series, although probably not going about it the best way (he gave Joe information and assignments on the sly without co-ordinating with Dr. Nambu, which, IMHO, caused Joe and the team a lot of frustration).
Joe wasn't the only cyborg Dr. Raphael had made. He was also the creator of Kathy (a woman with whom Joe works for an episode before she dies to save Joe) and Ulf (the leader of an island full of Raphael-made cyborgs).
Here is the viewer's (and the team's) first view of Dr. Raphael, at the end of Gatch II ep 2.
And Joe's first view of Dr. Raphael, as he is dying at the remnants of Galactor HQ:
Rahpael brings Joe back to his lab. (The Gatch II civvies are a mistake on the part of the animators. This was supposed to take place after Gatch I ep 1-5, so Joe should be in his Gatch I civvies.)
After Joe rejoins the Science Ninja Team, Dr. Raphael contacts him and sends him on a mission (one of many).
Dr. Raphael discovers important information about Galactor's plans to edstroy the Earth, and escapes his base (being attacked by goons) to bring the data tape to Ken.
But a Galactor agent finds them, and Dr. Raphael is killed.
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01-12-2008 14:22
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lborgia88
Gatchamaniac
I am a Condor.
0 fics uploaded
Registration Date: 27-06-2007
Posts: 5991
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| quote: | Originally posted by gogirl212
This is what Wikipedia says about the angel's name:
Saint Raphael (Standard Hebrew, "It is God who heals", "God Heals", "God, Please Heal") is the name of an archangel of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, who performs all manner of healing.
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Well, Dr. Raphael certainly "healed" Joe. Either someone at Tatsunoko knew what the name meant, or it's quite the coincidence.
Thinking about it, wasn't "Pandora" in Classical mythology, the one responsible for opening a box that released all evils into the world? Dr. Pandora was the mother of Gel Sadra.
Maybe the show's creators had a fondness for names that somehow referenced history/mythology.
This post has been edited 1 time(s), it was last edited by lborgia88 on 02-12-2008 at 14:40.
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02-12-2008 14:33
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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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03-12-2008 00:06
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tatsunokofan
Gatch Guru
0 fics uploaded
Registration Date: 03-12-2006
Posts: 1513
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Hi all!
Well, back when this was the current topic, Heather and I were on vacation and I really wasn't in a position to post anything. I've been meaning to get back to this ever since we got back, but with covering vacation days for other people at work and the additional madness from the holidays, finding time has been difficult.
Anyway, unlike Gatchaman II characters like Dr. Pandora and Marstora, who were created while Gatchaman II was in production, Dr. Raphael was intended to be part of the series from early on. As such, he appeared in the series Planning Establishment. Looking over the initial version of the Planning, there are several interesting differences between the first envisionment of Dr. Raphael and the way he eventually appeared.
First off, he wasn't going to be Dr. Raphael. Instead, he was originally going to be named Dr. Einstein. This name change was made not too long after the initial handwritten draft of the Planning was created, and is noted in a supplement to that Planning draft. No reason has been given for his change to Dr. Raphael, but perhaps Tatsunoko felt that naming him after such a famous scientist might be a little blatant, and perhaps a little confusing as well.
Regardless of the reasons for the name change, Dr. Einstein was going to look substantially different than the way Dr. Raphael would end up looking, as can be seen in the concept drawings for the character.
By either name, the description of the character within the Planning itself remained the same. In it, Dr. Raphael is described as follows:
"Dr. Raphael (45-years-old)
An astronomer.
A fanatical man who has the unique ego of a scholar.
Because of his continued communication with space, it was due to him that Governor X utilized the Earth.
But, Dr. Raphael was being used by Governor X, ultimately imprisoned because of the trouble he caused.
He expected Governor X to return to Earth once again, so he made Joe into an android, burning with vengeance for their enemy.
Furthermore, his guilt over summoning Governor X to Earth shall never be extinguished.
Ultimately, because of his undying war crime, he must continue to hide his existence from the world.
Having sworn the android Joe to secrecy, and having furnished the bomb inside his body, Dr. Raphael controls the bomb's primer, using it to manipulate Joe."
As originally intended, Dr. Raphael was going to play a more significant role in the series than he ended up having. As such, more details regarding his involvement were included in the portion of the Planning that detailed the background upon which the series would be based. That segment also reveals that the original concept for resurrecting Joe was significantly different than the method Tatsunoko eventually used, as can be seen here:
"Governor X desires fearful retribution on the Earth and the Science Ninja Team that opposed him, the culmination of which occurs now. The Earth is on the verge of another crisis.
The coming of this crisis was predicted by one man living on Earth. He is known by the name of Dr. Raphael. Though his name is new, he was a captive scientist at Gallactor's Headquarters. Through communication with space, he is the scientist who accidentally set up the situation that summoned Governor X to Earth.
Though Earthmen have not forgiven him for his deeds, his interest and experience as a cosmologist are unequaled.
Dr. Raphael miraculously withstood the evil influence of Governor X's commands. He opposes Governor X's second challenge, confronting him out of responsibility and for the benefit of the entire world. He has created the only weapon that will bring down Governor X, the Micro Space Bomber.
There is one more thing worthy of special mention.
Joe, the Condor, is still alive.
At the end of the previous production, the fact of Joe's sad demise was common knowledge. But immediately after Governor X retreated into space, Dr. Raphael escaped his long captivity, and discovered Joe's remains in a ravine. Dr. Raphael brought certain mecha from Gallactor's Headquarters to a secret location, and built a secret laboratory, where he created an entirely android Joe, within whose body lay the Micro Space Bomber. Joe's memories were transplanted into the android. His body is indeed that of an android, so he could be called a mecha, but his soul is completely unchanged from that of Joe's lifetime.
Passed on intact was his powerful hatred when confronting Gallactor. Dr. Raphael, utilizing Joe's devotion to his hatred and his ability to act, was confident that Joe would be a warrior with a yearning to get to Governor X that was second to none. And so, as the sole sad means Dr. Raphael has for saving the earth, Joe's mind has returned to life.
Joe is alive. However, he is entrusted with a fatal mission... ... Joe does not worry about that destiny. He feels joy in once again being alive and fighting Gallactor.
The instant Joe is able to act on his yearning to get to Governor X, a radar inside his body will contact Dr. Raphael. Dr. Raphael will then push the fateful button. Governor X will instantly be eternally destroyed, though Joe will also be destroyed. He will linger as part of our memories... ... forever... ...
But, as an android, with a Micro Space Bomber for internal organs, what should he be called?
It is here that Joe's suffering begins."
Also worth noting is the portion of that outline that explains a little more about the relationship between Dr. Raphael and Joe:
"The actions of the android Joe are also skillful.
However Ken and Nambu notice Joe's unusual transformation. Joe is occasionally summoned, even when it results in his betraying an ally. As mentioned above, he is an android, and has to secretly confide in Dr. Raphael to receive a supply of energy."
Of course, during the show itself, Joe was a cyborg, not an android with Joe's memories programmed into it. Most likely the studio realized that fans would want the "real" Joe back, not a copy, and decided to go with making him into a cyborg instead. It probably didnt hurt that the Japanese broadcast of "The Six Million Dollar Man" and "The Bionic Woman" had helped to establish the concept of what a cyborg was in the minds of the Japanese viewing public. And, fortunately, during the series itself there was never an indication that Dr. Raphael was using Joe's energy supply as a means of controlling him.
One thing, though, exactly what part of Dr. Raphael's background as an Astronomer/Cosmologist qualified him to build cyborgs and Micro Space Bombers is never explained.
This post has been edited 1 time(s), it was last edited by tatsunokofan on 06-01-2009 at 03:37.
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06-01-2009 03:36
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tatsunokofan
Gatch Guru
0 fics uploaded
Registration Date: 03-12-2006
Posts: 1513
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Fortunately, a few other details regarding Dr. Raphael that are not covered in the Planning do come to light during the run of Gatchaman II. One of the most obvious is that he is always accompanied by his hawk. We also see that Dr. Raphael can throw a feather from his hawk like one of Joe's Feather Shuriken (#2).
Dr. Raphael first met the Science Ninja Team on Easton Island, where he pretended that he was the one who had done Joe's action that saved the Ninja Team during their initial battle with the revived Gallactor (#2). This deception was revealed when Joe returned to the Ninja Team. At that time, Joe explained that it was Dr. Raphael that had saved him in an "unfamiliar hospital," but he didn't go into the details (#4). When Dr. Raphael first met the Science Ninja Team, he admitted that he was a former Gallactor scientist, but quickly explained that he was now working to defeat the villains (#2).
Dr. Raphael created the Leap Wave as a means of instantaneous communication over the vast distances of outer space. It was with this that he accidentally contacted Governor X, drawing X to Earth. Dr. Raphael continued to use the Leap Wave in the hope that friendly aliens would help him to uncover X's weaknesses. He was forced to stop these efforts once X realized what he was doing and began to use the Leap Wave as a weapon (#12).
Dr. Raphael has at least two secret laboratories. The first of these is in the desert, with its access hidden at the bottom of well by an abandoned house.
The second is on Ebiza Island (#'s 24, 49). While both labs contain equipment Dr. Raphael used to try to locate Governor X, the equipment to test, recharge, and repair Joe's cybernetics was in the Ebiza Island lab (#'s 23, 24, 25, 49). That island laboratory also contained equipment to detect anomalies around the world, which Dr. Raphael used to track Gallactor activities (#24). Dr. Raphael kept his Leap Wave equipment at the desert laboratory. That lab also had the Deisler Bomb, a rocket sled with a powerful warhead that could be used in an emergency (#12).
(To be honest, I suspect that the original intent was for the desert lab and the island lab to be the same location, only they hadnt fully decided exactly where it was supposed to be located. As evidence, heres the mountain by the desert lab in #12:
And the similar formation on the island lab in #24:
You'll notice that the mountain have similar shapes, which is why I believe they simply messed up by having it in a desert one time and on an island the next. Of course, an argument can be made that Dr. Raphael actually had two island labs, since the formation on the top of the mountain looked different in #49:
But I'm chalking that one up to a lack of consistency brought about by not having used Dr. Raphael to any degree in the latter half of the series)
Aside from Joe, Dr. Raphael had built numerous other cyborgs and robots. Dr. Raphael used many of these cyborgs and robots to test improvements in the cybernetics he wished to incorporate into Joe (#25), though some, like Cathy, were sent on missions to assist Joe, acting as his "shadow" (#13). All of them were willing to sacrifice themselves so Joe could survive to complete his mission of destroying Governor X (#13). Dr. Raphael's cyborgs and robots lived in a colony hidden away on a small unnamed island until Gallactor discovered the location of the colony and destroyed it and its inhabitants (#25).
(It's possible that the island that the colony was on was supposed to be the same island as the one where Dr. Raphael had his lab, since the rock formation on the mountain looks similar to the one seen earlier:
If this is supposed to be Ebiza Island, it is never declared so in the episode itself. Still, it is a possibility)
Dr. Raphael could communicate with Joe through a communications link built into Joe's brain, which he used when he discovered Governor X's location (#40). He also had a radio with which he could contact G-Town or the New God Phoenix (#'s 40, 49).
Dr. Raphael was only interested in destroying Governor X, not stopping Gallactor in general (#24). Governor X, realizing that Dr. Raphael's knowledge of his true form posed a grave danger, ordered that the scientist be located and killed (#'s 12, 49).
Dr. Raphael finally succeeded in finding the location of Governor X's Headquarters on Meteor Mountain. Unfortunately, before he could utilize the information, his Ebiza Island laboratory was uncovered by Gallactor troops who had secretly followed an injured Joe to the island. Gallactor proceeded to destroy Dr. Raphael's lab, and the Doctor himself was shot and killed as he was giving Ken a data tape with the whereabouts of Governor X's headquarters (#49).
Dr. Raphael's role in Gatchaman II became greatly diminished when the series was extended beyond its initially planned 26 episodes to a 52-episode run. At that point, the series shifted its focus to include Dr. Pandora, and away from the story of Joe as a cyborg. As a result, once Dr. Pandora was introduced in episode #26, Dr. Raphael made only two more appearances in the series. It's sort of sad when you think about it...
While most Gatchaman fans associate Dr. Raphael with Gatchaman II, his first appearance was actually in the Gatchaman radio drama. His first and only appearance during that series was in episode #11, the story for which was later used in Gatchaman II episode #'s 1 and 2.
Dr. Raphael was voiced by Koichi Chiba. Mr. Chiba was a busy man, working not only as an actor, but also as a Recording Director for many anime productions. There were even a few times when he did both jobs at once! While most Gatchaman fans associate him with his role as Dr. Raphael, this was not his first work in the world of Gatchaman, as he had provided the voice for King Ruman in Gatchaman #19. Sadly, Mr. Chiba passed away on November 9, 2001 at the age of 70.
Anyway, I hope that this helps to shed some light onto Dr. Raphael.
James
This post has been edited 2 time(s), it was last edited by tatsunokofan on 06-01-2009 at 03:56.
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06-01-2009 03:51
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