Customer Reviews

Gatchaman Collection (Vols. 1-3)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Is the best way to describe this 3 episode DVD! This DVD comes in at #32 in Anime Invasion Magazine's Top 50 Anime DVD's of all time.

The Lowdown: As most anime fans may know, before there was a "G-Force" and "Battle of the Planets" there was GATCHAMAN! This DVD series is based on the original Gatchaman concept and character names, and not the edited down American versions that were produced later. So "Battle of the Planets" fans may wonder why there is no 7-Zark-7 or none of the G-Force team shouts, like "G-FORCE!" and my personal favorite "TRANS-MUTE!"

The Story: What we have here is a cool and stylish revamp that was produced in 1994 and now just making its way to DVD. It features the well-known Gotchaman characters in updated costumes and mecha. I wish this was made into a series instead of just 3 episodes.

Extras: If you already own the originally released VHS tapes and hope that the DVD offers some extra `bells and whistles' there is nothing to be found here. Nothing on the menu other than episode, scene, select and play- this is reason why I gave this DVD 4 stars.

At the end of the 3rd episode credits, there is a techno-house Gatchaman music video. Since I never bought the VHS version, I don't know it was originally from the VHS release or not.

One advantage is that the DVD is a cheaper than buying the 3 VHS tape set. Oh, and the DVD I bought came with a cool Gatchaman sticker inside.

Overall: If you are a "Battle of the Planets" fan, I recommend this DVD- it is great! But I have to caution you, watching it may cause you "Battle of the Planets" flashbacks. And the next thing you know, you will be looking for some of those old BOTP episodes (which is already available in the U.K. on DVD, and will be available in the U.S. soon).

I bought this DVD because I'd been going through Battle of the Planets withdrawl. I haven't seen much of that American version of Gatchaman since the 70s, and could wait no longer for the soon-to-be-released Rhino DVDs, so I picked this up for some nostalgia.

Although updated with 90s anime flair, this reworking of the 70s Gatchaman was made with the Gatch fanboy in mind. It is updated in look and pacing, but everything about the original show is here - from the costumes to the characters' personalities.

Since it is based on Japan's Gatchaman, it is thankfully "missing" 7-Zark-7 and 1-Rover-1, whose sole purpose was to take up the space created by editing out the more violent scenes in the show (don't you love American morality?).

The only big complaint I have is some of the new music is weak (especially the song that plays during the menus). Every now and then some of the old music from original Gatch plays, but it is so infrequent that one gets depressed when it stops.

Until Rhino releases the original Battle of the Planet DVDs in late October '01, this is enjoyable viewing for those who fondly remember the original series.

I remember seeing this great series for the first time as a kid as most people have, in the form of "Battle of the Planets." Even though the show aired in the U.S. in 1978, the 1972 animation was still more advanced than anything on afternoon television at that time.

Years later I had a chance to see the original Japanese series, and was surprised at the great difference. The sanitized U.S. version of Gatchaman couldn't hold a candle to the original. This DVD is a great way to experience this series the way it was meant to be. If you are looking for "7-Zark-7" and "1-Rover-1" look elsewhere. My only complaint (and my reason for four stars) is that more of the original musical score wasn't used in the revamped edition, if only for nostalgic effect. However, a tribute in the form of a music video at the end of the third episode makes up for that. Overall a great DVD for your collection.

"Fighting formation, Tornado Fighter!"

I recently saw a pre-release copy of this collection and I'm sticking to my guns about this set. I remember when I first saw this on VHS, I commented that this was a fantastic installment in the Gatchaman line and I still maintain that position and then some. DVD just makes these flicks that much better. But before others start writing in to complain about the differences between this and the original series, remember that this is not meant to be compared. It is different all together and, for the most part, is an excellent addition to the Gatchaman line. Again, the story is excellent, the updates (costumes, vehicles, ...) are greatly improved, and the animation far surpasses anything Gatchaman to date. Anyone who says otherwise needs to pull themselves out of the '70's and realize that all things must eventually change and should count themselves lucky that in this particular instance it has done so for the better.

One of the first anime creations to hit it big in the U.S., "Gatchaman" (alias "Battle of the Planets") set off a whole new wave of sci-fi cartoons in the late 1970's. It was heavily edited to remove the violence, gore, and death that were thought to be unsuitable for American children at the time, but even that failed to dim its appeal. In 1994 Tatsunoko Studios decided to give its classic creation a 90's flair with updated characters and new-style animation. The result is the "Gatchaman" trilogy. Mark, Jason, Princess et al. have reclaimed their original names (Ken, Joe, Jun, etc.) and gotten a whole new look in the process. Even the Phoenix has been updated! The look is spectacular, if rather sharp-edged, and the animation is seamless. But if you're expecting the innocence of the early "Gatchaman/BOTP", you're going to be disappointed; this version is definitely aimed at adults and older teens. The violence is back in full force, there's blood, gore, and destruction aplenty, and Joe and Jun both have brief nude scenes (no, not together). Of course, not everything has changed; the classic themes of courage and sacrifice still prevail, even if the ending is somewhat ambiguous (are they dead or hallucinating?). This is a splendid update of an anime classic, and a worthy addition to any anime collection

This is all 3 episodes of the OVA (original video animation) series, too short to be a TV series and too long to be a movie (only with the comparable budget.) I got these 3 episodes (individually)on fansubs back in 1996 going completely on nostalgia and curiosity. It is an update of the original series known as Science Ninja Team: Gatchaman which ran 105 eps on Japanese TV from 1972-'74. I was pleasantly surprised in watching it that despite the ridiculous bird costumes there was an intelligent and compelling story. No "Battle of the Planets" here! No R2D2 clones, no robot dogs, and Jinpei-G4 is a normal speaking kid (unlike his Keeop counterpart from BOTP with the speech impediment). I learned through this OVA that there was more to the original Japanese version of the early 70's TV series. It was a story about intrigue, espionage, and hostile take overs while the BOTP version was dumbed down and turned into a space adventure to cash in on the Star Wars craze of the late 70's when Sandy frank bought the rights to the original series. There's still a place in my heart for BOTP as I used to watch it at 4:30 everyday after school (in 1978) when I was in 3rd grade.

Since I first saw this OVA on fansubs, it was in Japanese with the English subtitles. The subtitles were great as fans tend to get the names right and go with the better feel of how to spell out the katakana characters in English (ie. Berg Katse was the common way to spell out the villian's name as opposed to UV's translation; "Verk Katze.") But I'm just nitpicking... :) On this DVD release they fixed the timing problem they had with the subtitles corrosponding with the speaking character on the VHS release of Part 3. And, they added a Gatchaman '94 music video at the end of part 3 that used a techno version of the original Gatchaman theme. Pretty cool. For this American release the names of the episodes were changed. I don't know why because their original names would've worked just fine. The original episode titles are as follows:
1. Gatchaman vs. Turtle King
2. Secret Red Impulse
3. Final Count 0002

The English dub track is deplorable... Names were changed, the plot was dumbed down, and the acting was just lame. However, that's the good thing with the advent of DVD, I can watch it with the Japanese track.
In addition to this pet peeve, Condor Joe's character was downplayed considerably from the original TV series. Berg Katse's back story was very vague as there was much more behind his character in the original TV series.
The music was great as it was produced my Bill Meyers and "Earth Wind and Fire" legend Maurice White. At times some of the original BGM was used for the nostalgia effect. The updated animation (on an OVA budget) was incredible. However I did not like the CGI "eyeball" appearance of Galactar's ruler Sousai X. I prefer his eerie ghostly image from the original. And, the "roaring" Tie Fighter sound effect they used for the multiple Turtle Kings was kind of cheesy.

Over all this is an impressive remake. When I first saw it I couldn't get my hands on old copies of the original TV series (now available from ADV) fast enough to watch the NON-BOTP story unfold. It definitly recharged my enthusiasm for the Gatchaman franchise.

As like all the other box sets the art work on the cardboard case drawn by Alex Ross is outstanding and the individual covers of the DVD cases is just the same taken from the covers of the maxi series comics, the first 2 DVD's are the actual episodes which are completely uncut but have put new voices over the top which is now much closer to the original Japanese translation, the 3rd disk like in all the other box sets I personally find is nothing special, I find the only interesting thing about them are the visual interviews that you have with the voice actors.

Putting Gatchman next to G Force I find this DVD a little bit better, (I did miss the G Force Music though as I always did like it) but putting it next to BOTP, I find Gatchaman to be far far superior as BOTP really did not make any sense as the original cartoon had been cut to pieces and added new parts with the 2 stupid robots known as 7 Zark 7 and 1 Rover 1, Keyop which his real Japanese name is Jinpei speaks normal and does not have that stuttering/stammering/voice impediment which was quite frankly unbelievable even as a child I remember it being quite annoying.

Overall I am glad I picked this box set up and will continue to get all 9 of them, if you are a Battle of the Planets or G Force fan and get the chance to get this box set get it right away as box set 6 is now the most difficult one to find as ADV for some strange reason are no longer making them.

I am very impressed with the updated graphics when compared with the "Battle of the Planets" cartoon that took placed in the 70's to 80's. It did bring back memories but to an upgraded view. This DVD was well worth the wait.

A new Gatchaman film is in production from Imagi Animation Studio's for a 2009 release so I thought I would revisit the last major Gatchaman project. It's hard to believe but it's been 15 years since the Gatchaman OVA was released with nothing significant since. This review is a little hard to write because there are so many different versions of Gatchaman (Battle of the Planets) each with different character names for characters but I will try my best.

The Gatchaman OVA is a very good effort but far from flawless. It makes the same mistake as Battle of the Planets in making the Galactor (Spectra) aliens. In the original cartoon the Galactor troops including Berg Katse (Zoltar) were all human's making the events doubly tragic. Leader X (Lord Zortek) was the only true alien among them. The other unfortunate change was having Solaris loyal to Lord Zortek to the end. The death of Zoltar was never shown in Battle of the Planets but in the original Japanese version he discovers that Leader X has no intention of installing him as Earths leader. Having given up on ruling Earth, Leader X decides to simply destroy the planet. After discovering Leader X's betrayal, along with a dawning of how Leader X has manipulated him his entire life causes Katse to despair and eventually commit suicide. This was possibly the most powerful scene in the entire Gatchaman series and would have improved the OVA if it had remained. Speaking of Lord Zortek he looks absolutely horrible in the OVA. For whatever reason they chose to use a near static CGI image to represent Lord Zortek and it looks completely out of place and lousy.

The animation cuts a lot of corners. On the other hand the character and background designs are excellent. I love the new bird costumes. Dr. Nambu (Chief Anderson) looks bizarre with his colorful clothes, strange exploding turtleneck and odd facial hair. Still, I dug it, after all who knows what fashions the future might bring. I really enjoyed the bright cheeriness of the animation with a greatly improved God Phoenix flying through sunny, cloud speckled skies. It contrasts nicely with the darkness of Galactor.

In the end the Gatchaman OVA is far from perfect but it's a very acceptable extension of the original Gatchaman cartoon. It's the general upbeat tone of the OVA that I enjoyed the most. Even as Galactor was leveling entire cities there was always a feeling of hope and not just because you know that Gatchaman always wins in the end. Part of it may be the super catchy theme song, `Let's Fly'. The OVA also has a very vibrant style with sunny skies and colorful villains. I love the fact that one of the mecha commanders dresses like a fat rooster. The animators must have had a lot of confidence to pull that one off. I also appreciate the fact that the animators drew the Galactor troops with all sorts of different types of bodies including some who were rather out of shape. The OVA is a worthy successor to the original series. Now hopefully Imagi Animation won't mess up the movie.

This was a Nice update of the Gatchaman characters. Great action,and a dark, intriguing storyline give punch to the episodes. Thankfully, it was missing "7-Zark-7" and 1-Rover-1, two characters in the Americanized "Battle of the Planets." However, I hated the music featured over the menu and wished there was a way to delete it. I bought this a few months before buying the Rhino releases of "Gatchaman"/"Battle of the Planets" and I must say the original '70's Japanese series is still superior.