Science Ninja Team Gatchaman: Difference between revisions

This was one of the very first [[Anime|anime]] to which [[The United States|American]] audiences were exposed in the late 1970s<ref>but NOT the first anime that American audiences were ever exposed to -- that honor most likely goes to [[Astro Boy]] in the early '60s</ref>. The original series appeared on Japanese[[Japan]]ese television in 1972, produced by [[Tatsunoko Productions]]; 105 episodes were originally produced, but the English translations used only 85 of those episodes.

The show revolves around five heroic teenagers in bird suits who use [[ninja]]-type weapons. Each hero drives a special vehicle which combines with the God Phoenix mothership, which is then able to fire missiles and convert to the Kagaku Ninpo Hinotori ("Science Ninja Art: Firebird", or "Fiery Phoenix" in ''Battle of the Planets''). ''Gatchaman'' was, in fact, the very first place the concepts of [[Five-Man Band]] ([[The Hero|hero]], [[The Lancer|cool guy]], [[The Chick|token female]], [[Kid Appeal Character|precocious kid]] and [[The Big Guy|big guy with a hick accent]]) and [[Combining Mecha]] intersected. The heroes mostly waged battles against the [[Monster of the Week]] built by the evil Galactor crime syndicate/terrorist army, which was ultimately led by Sosai ("Leader") X, an alien supervillain who wanted to rule the Earth, and Berg Katse, a mutant who could shift genders at will.