Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Condor Joe Debuts

Annnnd... here he is. Condor Joe is revealed in the Tatsunoko vs. Capcom game in all his roaring glory. Read all about it on ign.com here. Better yet, see him in action on the video here.

If they didn't get Isao Sasaki (the original voice actor) to do his voice, they found somebody darned close. All his mannerisms are there, ramped up for 2009.

As a Joe fan, I think I'm in love again...

Paul Dini and Joe Asakura

Paul Dini Explains What Happened at Imagi

Some time ago, Paul Dini was chosen to write the screenplay for the Imagi Gatchaman movie. Then, without warning, his name vanished from all mention and mention of Gatchaman vanished from his Web site. In this interview from 411mania.com, Dini explains what happened... well, as much as can be explained, anyway:

"I was working on it in the fall of 2007, I guess that's when the writer's strike was, and I worked on it from August to December of that year with Kevin Munroe, the director, and a very good art team. And I was contracted kind of a period of around that time, and then we made our presentation to the rights holder and then they said they were undecided on how to go at that point and my deal was essentially up, so they said OK we may call you back, we may go a different way. So I have no idea what if anything of mine is in the movie, the finished picture. I know that Kevin was let go a few weeks after that, and I think the project went into some sort of turnaround development at some point. Toward the end it was getting more and more confused. The more that Kevin and the artists and I were more united in our take on the picture, new producers came in that were less sure of anything and very antsy about everything. So I don't know, the whole thing sort of spun out of control. I left once my deal was up and basically, that was that. We'll see what happens. I think they proceeded with different writers and different producers. Definitely, they got a different director, and we'll see what ultimately comes out of it. I've seen the same trailer that everybody else has seen, and I did recognize some of the same basic setups and scenarios from some of the storyboards that we worked on together, but that's about it."

Click here to read the entire interview.


Condor Joe Joins the Fray in Tatsunoko vs. Capcom?

A member of the Shoryuken Forum unearthed a list of filenames for images in Capcom's Japanese Web site. In addition to the main characters, there is images/oncharactor_btn_joe.jpg

Hmm...

The image is not available yet, but I'd keep an eye on the site for when Joe makes his debut.

Gatchaman Episodes and Artwork

I'm posting this from Dragon*Con in Atlanta. There's no Gatchaman news to be found yet, but we're getting a lot of "Where did you get those shirts?" inquiries on our GatchaCon (San Diego) T-shirts from previous years. We're telling 'em to Google the Tatsunoko Fan Club Web site and see if there are any extras for sale. We haven't met any fellow fans from the Gatchamania forum or the fan who was supposed to come dressed as Berg Katse, but it's a very, very big con.

A couple of news items of interest:

Gatchaman II and Fighter Episodes Online

There is a Korean Web site offering episodes of Gatchaman II and Fighter online. They are in Japanese with Korean subtitles (no English, sorry), but the episodes are complete. Choose the episodes by episode number. There are two episodes missing: G-II #48 and G-Fighter #4, and the site can run slowly if there are a lot of users. But they're free!

Gatchaman II: http://tinyurl.com/ksdarp

Gatchaman Fighter: http://tinyurl.com/lzx6ew


Amano Gatchaman Art for Sale

If you were wondering what to do with your extra $20,000 inheritance or lottery winnings, you can pick up an Amano Original piece for 1,890,000 yen, excluding shipping and handling of course. If that is out of your price range, you can pick up the "Amano Galaxy Members Cards" for 1,090 yen or the Amano Galaxy Postcard Set for 2,100 yen.

New art: http://amanogalaxy.com/p/html/ag/#go

Amano Galaxy Goodies: http://www.ggood.jp/p/category/top/detail.php?c=top&ca1=amanogalaxy


Also, check out the rest of Amano's links for Gatchaman art he has done over the last few decades.

Thanks, Tatsunokofan, for both updates!

ADV is no more

ADV, the company responsible for releasing the Gatchaman series in English, is no more.

Today, the company posted a notice on its Web site describing the liquidation of its assets. Part a sign of the economy, and part a sign of the times, it's not unexpected, but still sad.

News link: http://www.homemediamagazine.com/studios/adv-films-sells-assets-16906

Notes from GatchaCon

Sadly, there was no GatchaCon t-shirt for this year was because the person responsible for the shirt design and printing suffered some recent injuries. Hopefully he will recover soon!

There were some interesting promotions at the Imagi booth: fans could dress up as Ken and get their pictures taken in front of a Gatchaman-style background. There were also some Gatchaman freebies. There will probably be more at the 2010 Comic Con. Save your money for next year, because from what I've heard, the con (admission and lodging) is getting more and more expensive.

Check out the nice Gatchaman G-2 poster as well as the posters of the rest of the team here on Felix Ip's blog. (Thanks, Reboekah!)

GatchaCon 2009 at San Diego Comic Con: Details

Tatsunokofan added a comment on my last post. I think it needs to be put out in the open:

Here's a somewhat more detailed list of the Gatchaman-related things that are going on at the Comic Con next week.

For meeting up with other fans, we'll be gathering for lunch at noon each day of the convention, meeting up at the tables provided in the Sails Pavillion on the top floor of the convention center. Most of us will be wearing GatchaCon T-shirts, though I do know that as least one Jun costume will be be there too...

In the Dealers Room, Imagi will there in booth 3635, next to the Paramount Home Entertainment booth. Most of their booth will be purposed for promoting Astro Boy, but if their set-up at Anime Expo is any indication, they should have a small space dediated to Gatchaman and will be showing the video clips they showed there. It's likely that they'll have some of those Gatchaman watches to give away as well!

Also in the Dealers Room, Capcom will be at booth 5113, across from Electronic Arts on the first row of the East Side of the convention center. They'll be promoting many of their upcoming game releases, which will likely include Tatsunoko Vs Capcom. They usually have demos of these games available for people to play, so if you've always wanted to pit Ken or Jun against Megaman or Chun Li, this may be your chance!

There will also be several sellers in the Dealers Room who usually have some Gatchaman items, including Anime Link (Booth 415), Nichibei Anime (Booth 814), AnimeEd.com (Booth 5435), and Fantasia Toyz (Booth 701).

As far as convention panels go, Imagi is having a panel for Astro Boy on Thursday from 10:15 to 11:15 in Room 6BCF. The panel will feature stars Freddie Highmore and Kristen Bell, as well as Director David Bowers and Producer Maryanne Grager, all there to talk about their film. Admittedly, it is unlikely that Imagi's Gatchaman film will get more than a passing mention at this panel, but you never know!

On Friday, there will be a "Capcom: Fighting Games" panel from 2:30 to 3:30 in room 5AB. This panel will be focused on Capcom's newest fighting games, and Capcom game producer Ryota Niitsuma will be on the panel to talk about Tatsunoko Vs Capcom.

In the Anime Rooms, alas, no Gatchaman is scheduled. On the other hand, Nurse Witch Komugi will be shown on Thursday night from 11:05 to 11:30 in Room 25AB. The schedule doesn't specifiy which Kogumi story will be shown, so there is a chance (Or perhaps you could ask) that it will be the second story, where Komugi transforms into a parody of the Science Ninja Team in order to fight her foe.

So, if there's anyone here who's planning on attending the Comic Con, I hope we'll see you there! Just come up and say, "Hi!" We don't bite -- really.

Thanks again, Tatsunokofan!

Got Goodies?

More on the die-cast models: Art Storm has posted some close-up pictures of the die-cast Gatchaman toys.

View Set A (G-1, G-2, Red Impulse plane)

View Set B (G-3, G-4, GodPhoenix)

I have to say the level of detail in these is astounding.

According to the Art Storm site, these sets run at 24,800 yen per set and are scheduled to go on sale in December 2009. If you have an extra couple hundred dollars burning a hole in your bank account, Hobbylink Japan is accepting preorders, with a 5% discount if you order before August 1. Visit Hobbylink Japan at http://www.hlj.com and do a search for "Gatchaman." I've ordered Gatchaman items from them and been happy with their service.

(Thanks, Tatsunokofan!)


Gatchaman Episodes on Veoh: If you've gone this long without getting copies of Gatchaman on DVD, you can now view all the episodes online at Veoh: http://www.veoh.com/search/videos/q/gatchaman I noticed that they also have the NTT Gatchaman commercials with SMAP.

(Thanks, Fiona!)


GatchaCon News: Sadly, I am missing GatchaCon this year, for the first time since it started. There will be some Gatchaman fans attending, though fewer than previous years. If you are headed to the San Diego Comic Con, check the pavilion under the "sails" (where the lunch tables are) for a group of fans in black GatchaCon t-shirts. Also, since Imagi was there last year, I'm sure they'll have a booth on the dealer's floor this year. Go check out their Gatchaman preview.

And let me know how it went!