Hinotori
Babbling Loonie
I am an Eagle.
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Registration Date: 09-10-2007
Posts: 2004
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Great info and images, as always, James. Thanks so much for enlightening us once again!
I had the same thought as Becky... It seems about the only "human" components left in Joe were his head, brain, and appendages (ugh! Thanks for that smut remark, Ebony! My thoughts went right there on that one! LOL!) 
Anyway, I have a question about the bomb in Joe's chest. This may be fundamental, but I don't remember if this was explained in the few eps I saw or not.... What was the reason for the bomb in his chest? Besides it going off when Joe was in Sosai's proximity. What was Rafael's reasoning for it? Since Joe is a cyborg, couldn't he easily take Sosai out in some other fashion? Or was there some other reason to destroy Joe too (ie: the cyborg mechanics would eventually fail and render Joe either completely useless, make him go insane, or have some other horrible ill-desired effect?).
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Hinotori
Eagle in Charge
    
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18-10-2009 15:07
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tatsunokofan
Gatch Guru
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Registration Date: 03-12-2006
Posts: 1513
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Hi all!
| quote: | | What was the reason for the bomb in his chest? Besides it going off when Joe was in Sosai's proximity. What was Rafael's reasoning for it? |
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That was pretty much it. The bomb was there to destroy Governor X, and that was Dr. Raphael's main reason for saving Joe -- so he could be the instrument of X's destruction.
This was all part of the Planning Establishment for the series. Of course, at that point, Joe was an android made to look, think, and act like the real (And really deceased) Joe. Anyway, the Planning describes the situation as follows:
"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... ..."
I hope this helps!
James
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18-10-2009 15:33
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tatsunokofan
Gatch Guru
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Registration Date: 03-12-2006
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Hi all!
| quote: | | James, when was Joe then changed from an android, as your post above suggests, to a cyborg, the term used the series? |
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This change was done somewhere between the first draft of the series Planning and a revision for that Planning. I've got a trio of documents that show this progression.
The first is the hand-written copy of the first draft, where Joe is listed as an android.
The second is an hand-written addendum to the first draft, which included a list of changes that occured to the first draft (Such as name changes like Dr. Einstein to Dr. Raphael and Sadomadonna to Gel Sadra, and that Joe is now a cyborg, not an android).
The third is a final, printed version of the Planning, which incorporates the changes and additions from the addendum into the first draft. Strangely, there are a few spots in the final version where they forget to make the change from referring to Joe as an android to a cyborg, so he switches from one to the other partway through!
| quote: | | In I the term cyborg has been misused in In I the term cyborg has been misused to apply to androids and robots that have the appearance of humans or animals but in reality are not. |
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You are correct, there have been times in Gatchaman when the term cyborg has been used for what are likely androids.
| quote: | | However, I read somewhere, not sure if it was here or Wendy's site, that the cyborg Joe in II and F was supposed to be based on or inspired by The Six Million Dollar Man, who was a true cyborg though I don't recall the term ever being used to represent him or the Bionic Woman or Max. |
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I know the term was used to describe them every so often, but Universal tended to stick with the trademarkable term "Bionic" instead. Don't forget, the first Six Million Dollar Man TV movie was based off of a novel by Martin Caidin named "Cyborg."
Anyway, whether Joe was inspired by either of the Bionic duo is a debatable point. Both series were immensely popular here, but were nowhere near as popular in Japan. Six Million Dollar Man aired between 1974 and 1974 in Japan, and the Bionic Woman did the same betwen 1977 and 1978, so it is possible that they did have some influence. However, I've never found any material, vintage or otherwise, that has compared Joe to Steve Austin or Jaime Sommers. So, we really don't know for certain that they provided any inspiration.
James
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18-10-2009 22:23
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amyltrer
Gatchamaniac
I am an Egoblosser.
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Registration Date: 02-12-2006
Posts: 3986
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| quote: | Originally posted by tatsunokofan
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. |
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I must confess that before reading your explanation I thought Joe had his original body, enhanced with cybernatic implants. The pics you previously showed emphasize this idea.
But making Joe a full android, this meaning tranferring the memories and emotions to an inert body is a bit startling, and it implies that if Dr. Rafael would be still alive he could bring the other dead character back by turning them into androids.
 It was one of my kiddish curiosities if Joe is still able to have kids, but what you've revealed blows this thought!
| quote: | Originally posted by tatsunokofan
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... ..."
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That makes me feel relieved Dr. Raphael didn't survived Gatch 2. Shame, he could have been a better supporting character than Nambu!
Once again James, thank you for the infos!
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It is the tiny spark of humanity that adds blaze to a villain
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19-10-2009 11:36
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tatsunokofan
Gatch Guru
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Hi all!
| quote: | | But, a couple posts back, James said that making Joe an android was only in a planning draft, and then later the planning shows him being made to be a cyborg instead (ie. with some humanness -however vaguely or inconsistently defined), though they still did occasionally use the word "android" instead of "cyborg." |
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Exactly right. The Joe who appeared in Gatchaman II and Gatchaman Fighter was a cyborg -- a human with mechanical parts implanted -- not an android. The notion of the android Joe was changed by the Tatsunoko staff before the series went into production, so the Joe we saw was the real Joe, not a copy.
| quote: | | James people can use ideas but not actually state the source of inspiration due to copyright laws. They could have seen the series (6 million dollar man) liked the concept but not want to identify with it at all just in case. |
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I wasn't referring to Tatsunoko not saying the Six Million Dollar Man or the Bionic Woman inspired Joe the cyborg, I was referring to what was seen in the general and fan press regarding the series at that time. No one in Japan mentioned a possible connection, including those who would not be concerned with possible copyright violations.
As it was, as long as Tatsunoko didn't claim that Joe was "Bionic" (Which was a copyrighted term at the time), no one could sue them for making him a cyborg (Which is not a copyrightable term).
James
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19-10-2009 23:49
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