Gatchaman Episode 21 - Who is Leader X?

Gatchaman Episode 21 - Who is Leader X?



A large, manmade island was created to help with one country's shortage of land. There are many exciting attractions on the island for citizens to enjoy. And there's quite the variety! From just this one shot, we can see a airplane ride, a carousel, a roller coaster, a stadium in the background, what looks like a play tunnel for children made out of a clown mouth (although suspicious me wonders if it might be a future Galactor mecha) and tea in the park!



The stadium is the most extravagant entertainment, and we are told that it is the 'largest in the world'. Once every four years, it is home to the Horse Olympics. Uh... sorry, a 'world-renowned Grand Prix Equestrian Competition'. Boy, that's a mouthful!

Today is the third such competition, and as we pan to the stands, a small boy is rudely forcing his way to the front.



"Coming through!" shouts Jinpei.

"Excuse me, Sir." says Ryu politely as he pushes to the front.



Jinpei thinks this is great. He's never been to a horse race before. Ryu points out that this race is very important, because the horse that wins this race is the world champion.



And of course, Ryu, being a shining example of behavior for Jinpei, is gambling on the outcome of the race. He is betting on... what else? Lucky number 5.

"Hey, look, there's a number 4, just like me!" Jinpei shouts excitedly. Ryu starts insisting that 'he's number 5 and he's going to win’. Like the horse has nothing to do with it! The two argue for a moment, until Ryu suggests they bet on it. 'The loser buys us Ramen Noodles!" he declares, and Jinpei agrees.



Okay, I'm pretty sure the original Japanese didn't say 'Ramen Noodles', but I'm finding it rather amusing.

Before the race, the horses are rated for their form. Number 4 receives the highest score, with a 9. Jinpei taunts Ryu with this revelation.

Their conversation is interrupted by an old man with an exceptionally long white goatee.

"What's with old Onion-Beard?" Jinpei wants to know.



Jinpei asks the old man which horse he thinks is going to win, and the old man replies that he knows his horse, number 8, will win. Of course, at this moment, number 8 is passing by, to the boos of the crowd. It doesn't look so bad to me, but it does seem to have a slightly slumped posture as compared to the other horses.

"You think that thing's going to win?" Jinpei asks doubtfully.

"Man, that's one ugly horse!" Ryu comments.



Onion-Beard's horse earns a score of 3 on his form, and Jinpei and Ryu burst into laughter.



"You won't be laughing so hard when number 8 wins the race!" the old man insists.

"Say, I think that old dude is off his rocker!" Jinpei whispers, using an oh-so-subtle ninja maneuver.



Clearly Onion-Beard isn't going to notice this breach of propriety.

Meanwhile, two mysterious men in black trench coats watch the race from afar. Whoever could they be? Well, they're wearing suspicious green gloves, and one of them appears to be sniffing a devil logo.



Oh, it's a communicator!

"That's right, Sir, we've located the Doctor." the man says into the devil head. He's wearing a cowboy-ish hat, and I guess ADV took this as a cue, because he's speaking in a John Wayne kind of voice, with a little less drawl.

The horses are lined up at the start gate.

"You can feel the tension!" declares the announcer in a contrived 'hush'.

Uh, I can’t feel it really, but I'll go with it.

And they're off! All the horses! Except... number 8. He's still standing at the starting line.

Jinpei and Ryu begin laughing again, but Onion-Beard smiles smugly, then begins twisting a button on his jacket.



And with a bunch of bionic-style noises, the horse awakens and begins to run.

Hmmm… could those sound effects be a clue?

Horses 4 and 5 are hot on the tail of the lead horse: number 2. I guess number 2s like to win all of the races.

But number 8 easily outpaces them all, much to Ryu and Jinpei's surprise. Onion-Beard smiles smugly and twists his button some more, and the men in trenchcoats observe all from afar.

Obstacles appear in the course. They get taller as time goes on, making it more difficult to jump over. Horses 2, 4 and 5 make it over the first obstacle, but the others are stymied. Until.... number 8 leaps over, accompanied by more bionic noises. I swear, this is Steve Austin in disguise!

Somehow, number 2 is out of the race, as the leader is announced to now be number 4, followed by numbers 5 and 8.

Of course, Jinpei and Ryu are rooting loudly for their numbers.

And Onion-Beard smiles smugly and plays with the button on his jacket. Yep, if that sounds familiar, it's because they're even using the same footage.

The race goes into whacky territory now. One-ton robots fall down onto the horses' backs, to test their stamina.



Now I'm not a big animal-lover or anything, but even I know that this likely goes into the bounds of animal cruelty, if they really weigh one ton. Heck, my first car weighed about a ton!

Horse number 4 falls over, much to Jinpei's disappointment. Number 5 falls over as well, and Ryu can't bear to watch.





And so, with number 2 having disappeared somewhere in the background, number 8 is the only horse to cross the finish line, and he therefore wins the race.



The horse is now apparently fed up with its robot jockey, and it tosses the one ton piece of metal off of its back and into a nearby fence.

Jinpei and Ryu look around for the old man, and are confused when they don't see him anywhere.

Number 8 is announced to be the winner, and his name is revealed to be 'The Good Voicer'. Onion-Beard is finally given a name as well. He is the horse's owner, and introduced as 'Professor Henjinman'.

The professor and the horse are both wearing strange flower leis, and are being buried in a rain of paper.



Everyone cheers (except Jinpei and Ryu, who still can't believe the 'old guy's horse finally won'). The two men in trenchcoats make for the exit.

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So... I'm trying to sort this out. When Henjinman says 'X's true identity', I'm presuming that he means that X is an alien from Selectoru? Doesn't Katse know this already? Why is X so scared by this?

In any case, the professor is thrilled. Now he can finish all of his cyborg research and make all of his dreams come true!

Katse is less than pleased, as we head to a commercial break.



When we return, the God Phoenix is flying over the area. Ken reminds us what they're doing, but asking Jun how the radar is operating



Just fine, apparently. And boy, are the God Phoenix's radar screens extra big today! They take up the entire wall!



Jun's tracking the location of the base.

"Even Galactor doesn't stand a chance, going up against my Sis!" Jinpei exclaims, in a show of support.

But Ryu spots something on the monitor.



It's... a bunch of horses, grazing in a field.

Ken thinks that it's weird that there are so many of them. Guess they don't have horse farms in the 'future'. Or maybe just not near Utoland and Hontwal, the places where Ken has lived.

Ryu wishes he could live the peaceful life of a horse.


"Why don't we try to stick to reality, all right there, big guy?" Ken smirks.

"Yeah, Ryu, you never know. Those horses could all be cyborgs." Joe points out.



And finally, Jun picks up the secret base on the radar. She announces this to everyone, but rather than ask her about it, or order Ryu to fly there, Ken wants to take a closer look at the horses.

But we know he's onto something as the 'encounter' music starts to play when the God Phoenix comes in for a pass.



The horses start running, but Ken tells Ryu to keep on following them.



The horses run toward a hydroelectric dam. As they approach, their manes and tails fall off, and they change color. Suddenly, they are clearly not real.

Wait a minute! How long has Henjinman had to create more cyborg horses? Did it really take the Science Ninja Team, this long to find Galactor's base?

But timelines are forgotten as we catch a glimpse of the cyborg horses. They have Galactor devil faces over their eyes, and blue antennae sticking out from their heads. Their manes are red mohawks.



The cyborg horses smash the dam, destroying it.



And what is the Science Ninja Team doing during all of this?

Watching.

"Bummer!" Ken shouts, as he sees the entire thing unfolding on his monitor. "Joe was right!"

I guess he's trying to say that it's a bummer that the horses are destroying the dam, but it sure sounds like he's saying it's a bummer that Joe was right!

The others are horrified by the attack of the cyborg horses.



Jun says that they have to do something so Ken... decides to contact Dr. Nambu.

Yep, apparently Ken thinks they're going to need some help. He asks Nambu to send someone in to deal with this. WTH? They haven't even tried to do anything on their own, yet!

The horses are still trashing the dam, and now water is pouring in.

One horse emits lightning from its antennae, and destroys the power lines.



The Science Ninja Team just watches, after asking Nambu to help. They're so embarrassed by this cowardly behavior that Ken's cowl turns white! Even Ryu's left wing has gone pale.



But Joe's colors are intact, perhaps because he's angry that they're just sitting around. He wants to... take a guess... destroy them with Bird Missiles!

"Chill out, Joe. That's not part of our mission." Ken lectures. Wait a minute... it isn't? The Science Ninja Team is supposed to watch Galactor machines destroy stuff?

"I'm sure those horses will return to the farm eventually." Ken assures the others. "We'll go ahead and wait for them there."

Um, Ken, aren't you forgetting that Jun found the Galactor base? You could go there, you know.

But Ryu thinks returning to the farm is a swell idea.

"You're so smart!" he tells Ken.



"Aw, man! That's not as much fun!" Joe complains.



Back at the farm, the ninjas are taking cover, hiding behind a set of rocks.



Of course, the God Phoenix is big as day, but I guess they don't think anyone is going to notice this.

Ken contacts Ryu, who is, of course, still on the ship.



He asks if Ryu has seen the horses yet. Ryu says he hasn't. Is Ken sure they're coming back? Ryu doesn't sound so impressed with Ken's smarts anymore.



But just as he says this, an alarm sounds, and a red light starts flashing on his console.



The horses are coming back!

The ninjas hide behind the rocks, (in the shadow of the God Phoenix) and watch the approach.



The horses stop. The lead horse rears its legs, and the ground opens up, revealing an entrance to Galactor's secret base.

"Just as I thought! The horses led us to Galactor's secret base!" Ken exclaims.

Um, Ken, do I have to remind you again that Jun found the secret base before any of this happened? Sheesh! What is it with Ken today? First he's trying to take credit for Joe's discovery, and now Jun's!

In any case, the Eagle leaps into the air, to follow the horses.



He is quickly followed by the others, who all strike heroic poses. Well, except Jun, who backflips.







And they're running to the base!



"Bird Flight!" yells Ken, taking to the air. The ninjas manage to slip in through the door just as it is closing.



Ryu witnesses this on the monitors, and complains to himself about being left behind again.

"It gets so boring all alone on this ship!" he says.



Meanwhile, in the base, Katse and Henjinman are looking over the cyborg horses.



Katse tells Henjinman that this 'test run' was a success. Clearly Katse has been too preoccupied with this 'test' to notice the God Phoenix lurking around outside. Oh wait, he's not in charge anymore! I guess it's not his job.

In any case, Katse tells Henjinman that X has ordered them to send the cyborg horses 'into town'. Henjinman isn't too thrilled with this.

"Obviously you don't get it." sneers Katse. "The second-in-command can't overrule the Leader's orders."



"I refuse! I won't allow it!" Henjinman shouts. But he doesn't explain why he's so against this.



He simply runs off, with Katse and some gun-toting goons following.

Meanwhile, on the floor of the horse 'paddock', a pair of bolas clatters to the ground. This confuses a nearby goon.



He reaches down to pick them up...



Only to become the victim of a neck chop, Eagle style.



Ken takes out the other goons in the area, then turns around.

"Jinpei, you shouldn't have dropped that!" he lectures.

Jinpei apologizes, and the other ninjas appear among the cyborg horses, Jun admonishing the Swallow to be more careful. Um, he already apologized, Jun. Give the kid a break.



Ken declares that he and Jun will get Professor Henjinman out of there, and orders that Joe and Jinpei destroy the base.

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Suddenly, the self-destruct buttons are incredibly obvious!





The remaining goons are shooting at the ninjas as they press the buttons, then leap off of their horses.



Ken's leg doubles its length as he leaps away!



Ken tells the others that he's pretty sure they were able to trigger 'all of the cyborg horses'. I'm not sure how he knows this, since some of them still have goons on them. But I'll let that one slide.

Ken orders Ryu to help the professor touch the self-destruct button.

Wait a minute... wasn't the button they pressed on the horses the self-destruct button? What does Henjinman have to do with it?

But Ryu holds up Henjinman and tells him, "You can do it!" as the old man fiddles with his button one last time.



Everyone waits anxiously as the cyborg horses approach the city.





The horses explode, and Jinpei jumps for joy.



But it's short-lived. Henjinman is dead, and Ryu tells them that he 'pressed the button with a smile'. Everyone mourns.



"Heavy." says Ken.

The narrator reminds us that if science were only used for evil, then everyone on Earth would have the same fate as the cyborg horses. As long as the evil of Galactor lives on in this world, the Science Ninja Team will continue fighting. Hang in there, Gatchaman!

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Back at Center Neptune, Zark is pacing, and G-Force hasn't even left yet!



The plan is that they will rescue Professor Doriarty. Zark hopes that he can follow them on his scanners, because he worries about them when they are so far away from home.

And now we get some other spliced in footage of the Phoenix underwater, preparing to depart Center Neptune.





Zark gushes over the 'perfect launching from Center Neptune'. Zark reminds us that G-Force is traveling 'a hundred times faster than sound'. Now they're leaving the Milky Way and traveling at the speed of light! This narration is accompanied by more generic shots of space with a white dot moving through it.

Now they've broken the time barrier! From here on, they'll cover millions of miles in a split second! Will wonders never cease?

G-Force approaches the Crab Nebula, in which is hidden the Planet Spectra.

And we see the Phoenix flying over a planet that looks just like Earth. But given all of the footage and narration we've just seen, we're convinced that it's an alien planet millions of miles away. Yep.

Princess happily announces that they haven't been picked up by Spectra's 'defense satellite'. What, Spectra has only ONE defense satellite? Yikes! Keyop calls them 'dummies', and I agree!

Tiny sees the horse farm, and calls it 'just like Texas'.

Mark immediately knows that some of them are the professor's cyborgs, but he doesn't reveal why he's so certain of this. He wants Tiny to 'buzz' them.

As the Phoenix follows, the horses shed their outer coverings and destroy the hydroelectric dam. Why are they destroying a dam on their own planet? Beats me...

"Something's driving those machines bananas!" Mark exclaims.

"Maybe buzzing them scrambled their circuits?" Princess suggests. Ah, so the horses went crazy? That would explain why they're destroying a Spectran installation.

"Or, someone could be fooling around with the remote control systems!" Mark guesses.

Uh, okay... maybe... I'm still wondering where Mark gets these ideas.

Tiny calls the horses 'galloping dynomite', while speaking into his communicator, even though he's not transmitting to anyone.

"Spectra must hold some pretty weird rodeos." Jason notes, clenching his fist.

Mark says that they should 'put down' and find Professor Doriarty. He must be near, since these are clearly his horses.

Tiny asks Jason if he'd like to go horseback riding.

"Hit the turf, Tiny!" is Jason's response.

On the ground, G-Force isn't hiding very well, but they do see the cyborg horses going into an underground entrance. Mark thinks they can lead the Team to 'Spectra's Headquarters', and so he orders everyone to follow the mechanical animals.

"I always get the nothing job!" Tiny complains, as he's left on the ship.

In the base, Zoltar declares that the cyborg horses are now ready to be sent to Earth, to destroy the 'largest energy plant' in 'the West'. Wait a minute... so Zoltar destroyed a Spectran energy plant to determine this?

"I didn't plan that!" Doriarty protests.

"We did!" Zoltar informs Doriarty. He says that the horses will be sent tonight, and be armed with explosives to destroy the plant.

"I'm the Ruler of Spectra, and I wasn't consulted on this!" Doriarty protests.

"Now that we have what we want, you are no longer the Ruler." Zoltar says smugly. "You will do as you're told!"

"We'll see which one of us rules!" Doriarty exclaims, storming off to see the Luminous One. Zoltar and some goons follow.

"Why do you come to me with your petty quarrel at this critical time?" the Great Spirit asks.

Zoltar says that Doriarty is not cooperating. Doriarty says that he has done whatever they asked, but he didn't create the horses to destroy Earth.

The Luminous One tells Doriarty not to stand in their way. He says that Earth will be attacked tonight, and there will be more attacks until Earth belongs to Spectra. Mark and Princess are listening to this from a hatch in the ceiling. There is no sign of Jason or Keyop, and we have no idea what happened to them.

"You lied! You never even intended to pay me!" Doriarty complains. "I have the power to destroy all of you!"

But Zoltar presses a secret button and Doriarty is awash in orange light.

"You will be destroyed!" Zoltar says.

"Get him!" Mark cries from the ceiling. I presume he means Zoltar?

"Cancel your trip to Earth, Zoltar!" Mark orders.

"Our trip will go exactly as planned!" Zoltar responds.

"Not quite. You'll be going back to Earth on the Phoenix with us!" Mark replies confidently. "And no round trip!"

"Fools! This is Spectra! And you're my prisoners!" Zoltar laughs, pulling a big lever.

Zoltar tells Mark that the attack has been launched, and Zoltar will soon be gone. But for Mark and Princess there will be no escape, because guards have been summoned, and they will be captured.

We see horses stampeding outside, but Zoltar says that they are 'heading for the space ship to Earth'.

Doriarty grabs Zoltar's cape, but Zoltar jumps away. (Mark doesn't actually throw his boomerang at all during this entire scene, just holds it.)

"Your mission has failed! Our attack force is well underway to destroy Earth!" Zoltar laughs, before he gets away.

The rocket ship takes off, and Mark signals the Phoenix. Despite Zoltar's comment that guards have been summoned, we don't see any.

Tiny sees the rocket leaving, and asks the Team to radio their position, so he can pick them up. Jason and Keyop wave from the ground. Guess they didn't do much on this mission.

As Mark and Princess arrive, Jason asks if the ''old man' can help them.

"He can be a great help to us, if he's learned his lesson." Mark says.

Apparently he has, because he spills all very quickly. He wanted power, but it was a big mistake. G-Force must set the self-destruct buttons on the horses.

"Maybe now, Earth will realize they've been ignoring a very great scientist." Princess says.

Okay, that's a little much, but if it makes the old guy more cooperative, I guess it's okay.

Instantly, everyone is on the Phoenix and closing in on the stampede of horses. I think they're still on Spectra, but they haven't said.

Everyone jumps out of the Phoenix, and then they're immediately on the horses. Ooh, they actually show Princess and Keyop pushing some goons off, but not Mark.

They set the self-destruct buttons, and Tiny helps the Professor initiate the explosion.

Everyone is sweating bullets as the horses approach a city. I guess they actually all did make it back to Earth, but they never actually said that anywhere. I can’t see them being this worried about some random Spectran city.

The horses are destroyed, and Earth is safe!

Mark contacts Zark at Center Neptune.



Mark reports that Zoltar escaped, but he won't be attacking Earth today. Hmm... now it sounds like they hadn't left Spectra. So... why were they so nervous about the horses approaching a Spectran city? I don't get it...

We see more strange footage of a rocket taking off.



I think this is actually supposed to be the Phoenix, because next thing we know, Mark is reporting that the Phoenix has left the Crab Nebula. I don't quite understand this segue. Why insert random rocket footage?

Zark clears the Phoenix for 'boost glide re-entry'.

Back at Center Neptune, Zark wishes that he could go on a space shot 'sometime'. But he doesn't know if his sensitive components can take it. But he's sure his new ones will.

Zark thinks he should take something to calm himself down. His grandfather, 4-Zark-4, always used 3-in-1 oil.

Wait a second... if Zark's grandfather is 4-Zark-4, wouldn't that make Zark 6-Zark-6? My head hurts from all of these inconsistencies...

But fortunately, the episode is over, so I can go take an Advil now.

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Oh god...can't stop laughing...so many funny parts in this ep!! TJ, that animation is a masterpiece! So funny!!!

Fan Page #21

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There is no problem that cannot be solved with time, patience, and a judicious amount of high explosives.

first off - lb - smokin' hot new avatar. it rocks.

hurray for the ep recaps tj - you are hilarious as always. I think Nambu must have invented the sideways moonwalk, inspiring Michael Jackson who unfortunately could only do it in reverse.

love the fan page, springie - you are so good at finding the best bloopers and quotes. I never can pick up on these things.

I also remember this ep from when I was a kid - I really liked the cyborg horses and didn't want them destroyed.

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There are few problems that a swift kick to the head by a highly trained ninja can't solve.