Customer Reviews

Battle of the Planets (Vol. 4) [VHS]

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I'm slowly going through my BOTP DVDs from Rhino (don't want to go into withdrawal while waiting for next volumes to come out) and just finished watching "Ace From Outer Space" and its GATCHAMAN counterpart, "Galactor's Grand Airshow". Like most BOTP episodes, "Ace" has G-Force tracking down their enemy to an alien planet. In this case, that planet is Ergos, home of Captain Doom (the flying ace in the title).

As I watched "Ace", I couldn't help but notice the similarity between the voice of Captain Doom and that of a recurring villain on the show. When I saw the GATCHAMAN episode and found out who the character really was, I was more than mildly amused by Sandy Frank Productions' nod to the original episode. (If you haven't already, buy this DVD to find out what I'm alluding to.)

This and the previous volumes from Rhino have made me a fan all over again. In fact, I'm more rabid about the series now than when I first started watching the series as a anime-hungry eight year old. This is largely because of Rhino's wise decision to include the GATCHAMAN episodes on the same discs of the BOTP equivalents.

I'm hoping that Rhino capitalizes on the chance to make more money by releasing not just the 85 BOTP episodes but the 20 GATCHAMAN episodes that Sandy Frank Productions never picked up. Twenty more episodes means more story, more DVDs, and more sales for Rhino. :) And I seriously doubt that I'm the only fan who wants to see the entire 105-episode run.

Another quality DVD from RHINO. Just like 1-3, this is a nice transfer with wonderful sound. The disk includes Battle of the planets episodes, Gatchaman episodes(what started it all) and G-Force episodes (an abomination). I grew up on the planets episodes and they are still wonderful, looking just as I left them. The Gatchaman episodes are great,wonderful action but sometimes brutal. They show how much was left on the cutting room floor in order to turn this into kids tv. The G-force episodes are of good quality but the content....UGH! Most of the same scenes you will remember but with some of the worst voice overs I have EVER heard. I purchased this along with the other 3 and will buy the rest. Bring THEM ON RHINO>>WHOO

Much has been made about the complete lack of remastering of the Battle of the Planets episodes, but I believe a great many fans buying these DVDs are in agreement: the original Japanese Gatchaman episodes are the real gold of the Battle of the Planets DVDs. There's a definite story arc that can be followed, the characterizations are sharper, and - owing to a recent series of Gatchaman DVD releases in Japan - the original Japanese episodes ARE remastered quite nicely. As of volume 3, the "trading cards" disappeared from each disc's bonus material, so make sure to let Rhino Home Video know that you want to keep seeing the original Gatchaman episodes alongside those Battle of the Planets episodes we all grew up with.

Other reviews here do an excellent job covering the content of this DVD. I just wanted to mention that there is a slight technical problem with this DVD (and the rest of vols. 1-4). The English language track on the G-Force episode is virtually inaudible on some players, which is a real disappointment and knocked the DVD down a star. I tried on the two different players I have (Pioneer DV-626D and Playstation 2), and they both have the same trouble. I even wrote in to Rhino's technical support and they kindly exchanged the discs for me, but sadly, the replacement discs are the same way. I just wanted to put out the warning here. The rest of the disc is fine and has great content - it's just that one problematic audio track.