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Gatchaman, Vol. 4: Collection
As far as classic anime goes, it doesn't get much more old school than Gatchaman. Having originally aired in 1972 over in Japan, the show saw some scattered releases here in America, but was severely edited content and length wise. Up until now the original Japanese track for the show hadn't been heard here and thanks to A.D.V. we get that, the uncut show, and all 105 episodes.
The whole premise behind Gatchaman is that in the future a sinister group known as Galactor rises up to try and take over the world, you know, that old scheme. It's up to Dr. Nambu and his team of five Science Ninjas to stop their diabolical plot by whatever means necessary. The team consists of Ken the Eagle, Joe the Condor, Jun the Swan, Ryu the Owl and Jinpei the Swallow. While there is some continuity between episodes, you don't have to catch all 105 to know what's going on in the show.
With six volumes under its belt already, Gatchaman is a series that is still running strong and proving to be nostalgic and highly entertaining. While individual volumes have seen release, they come in waves of two, so you can get the installments solo or in a dual pack with an extra disc filled with bonus material. This is not only the best bargain, but also the best way to get more Gatchaman for your hard earned dollar.
Each volume has six episodes squeezed onto them, and the material here features episodes 37 thru 48 across both volumes seven and eight. The episodes on volume seven are: Renzilla, the Electric Monster, The Mysterious Mechanized Jungle, Jigokillers, the People-Eating Flowers (parts 1 & 2), Murder Music, and The Great Breakout Trick Operation. Volume eight's episodes are: A Romance Destroyed by Evil, Galactor's Challenge, The Sea Lion Ninja Team in the Night Fog, Gatchaman in the Valley of Death, The Devil's AirlineThe Camera Iron Beast, Shutterkiller.
On both of these volumes, Gatchaman squares off against all manner of beasts just like their previous escapades. This time around the team takes on a giant mechanical bird, a bunch of dinosaurs, deadly rock and roll, a giant camera and a flying aircraft. In the midst of all of this there is also an evil robotic flight attendant that appears to capture two love birds and whisk them away in a rocket ship and some alien flowers that like to eat women.
Nearly each installment of Gatchaman has been showing not only stand alone story arcs but also a two parter tossed into the mix somewhere. Jigokillers, the People-Eating Flowers is the arc this time around and the big dramatic point here is that Jun is captured and thought to be dead. The team has to make a tough decision that will probably mean her death even if she was still alive, so there are some morality questions that are raised. It's rather ingenious how Dr. Nambu figures out how to kill the plants and of course you know that in the end everything is going to turn out ok so the Swan will fly again.
This set also includes one of the worst episodes I have ever seen, or heard actually. Galactor gets it into their heads that music could kill if applied appropriately, though afterwards it makes me think that Lord Katse me actually be Ashely Simpson's agent. This episode in particular is not only bad in terms of plot quality, but the music is absolutely atrocious. I mean it's one thing to destroy and kill in the anime with the tunes, but do you really want to kill the audience as well?
Gatchaman may not be for anyone, but if you have an open mind and are curious where many shows got their inspiration from this one will entertain you. It's a classic right up there with Ultraman and Speed Racer so that alone should tell you what kind of quality you can look forward to. If you're like me then this show came out before you were born and maybe you recall snippets of it from your childhood in the form of Battle of the Planets or G-Force. Reminiscing aside, this show is truly timeless and something you should definitely check out if you are open to an anime history lesson. I can't express enough how nice it is to have a classic of this type coming out on DVD and I applaud ADV for taking the care to put this all together for us.
Quite honestly, this is about as good as Gatchaman has ever looked considering the age of the show and quality of animations for the time period. It is presented with its original 1.33:1 full frame aspect ratio and any faults in image quality are attributed to the source material. Seeing as the show was produced in the early 70s you can expect to see a lot of grain, choppy animations, speckle, disproportionate images, lighting issues and occasional shaky image. But I suppose one could argue that just adds to the classic air around the show.
Who knows how this series was stored, but given the fact that it is older than I am I have to say that I'm really impressed with the transfer. Many of the colors are solid throughout, though there are a few moments where the quality drops off significantly and becomes muddy. In the end though, I have to give a pat on the back to A.D.V. for restoring this classic and doing such a wonderful job of it.
Gatchaman Volumes 7 & 8 includes a new English dubbing and the original Japanese audio tracks. These are presented with a 2.0 mix and depending what you are looking for they each provide different quality. The English features louder and cleaner sound but also some extremely horrible voice acting at times. A lot of the dialogue from the 70s is included here so expect to hear stuff like "groovy" and "can you dig it?".
The original Japanese features a softer sound transfer but is the most faithful to the material. I found myself enjoying the Japanese mix more, though sometimes I bounced back and forth to see what some of the differences were. Again, the overall quality for the original is decent considering the fact that it's over thirty years old.
For both volumes seven and eight we are presented with clean opening and closing animations, as well as some ADV previews naturally. There are also some commentaries included with Edwin Neal (voice of Berg Katse) for episode 41 "Murder Music" and Senior Translator Sarah Alys Lindholm set to the "A Romance Destroyed by Evil" episode. I thought the commentary with Neal was the best while the Lindholm one was a little more informational rather than goofy. Both volumes also feature Gatchaman Karaoke for the "The Mysterious Mechanized Jungle" and "The Sea Lion Ninja Team in the Night Fog" episodes.
The extra disc for the third wave also features a good selection of bonus material that makes picking up the double pack well worth it. The disc focuses on the character of Jinpei so there is a profile on the character as well as various sketches and an interview with Luci Christian who provides his voice. There is also a round of audition footage for the character and some episode sketches featuring artwork for monsters, machines and characters on the episodes in this set.
I think the most interesting bonus materials that are included are various published images that made their way to this side of the world. It gives a brief history about the franchise and it's really interesting to learn more about the characters and show. The 64 page Gatchaman Manga Volume 1, Chapter 3: The Firebird vs. the Fire-Breathing Dragon is also included complete with translations. These two proved to be more unique as far as extras go and something that you don't really get to see in anime today.
By today's anime standards, Gatchaman is a dinosaur but for it's time it was very advanced in many ways. Much of what you see in shows today found their inspiration in series like this and despite the fact that it seems cheesy when you go back to watch it, the nostalgic value is extremely high. If you enjoyed Battle of the Planets or G-Force when they came out in the States, you owe it to yourself to see the uncut version of the show. Recommended
Check out more of my reviews here. Head on over to my anime blog as well for random musings and reviews of anime, manga, and stuff from Japan!
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