New Gatchaman Exhibit in Taiwan

Kena (who was responsible for the big 30th anniversary Gatchaman exhibit in Kaohsiung) writes in to report another Gatchaman show. This one is in Taichung, Taiwan, at the Chungyo Department Store from August 22 to September 4, 2007. Kena loaned the store items from her collection to display. Check out her photos of the exhibit here (as well as some cute kids doing cosplay):

http://photo.pchome.com.tw/kcc20051225/014/

Thanks, Kena!

"Inspired" series from Korea: "007"

I'm doing some research and some poking around YouTube for Gatchaman parodies and spinoffs. A YouTube search revealed clips from a Korean series called "007." The art is straight Tatsunoko, with designs borrowed from both Gatchaman and Mazinger (which isn't a Tatsunoko series). I haven't found any other information online.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OmeV2PLInIQ

Has anyone heard of this show?

Another Robot Chicken link

Last weekend, a Battle of the Planets parody appeared on a new episode of Adult Swim's Robot Chicken: "Squaw Bury Shortcake." I have a hard time getting the Flash player to work on Adultswim.com, so here's a link to a more user-friendly version:

http://www.milkandcookies.com/link/66404/detail/

Since Robot Chicken's claim to fame is its off-color and violent humor, this is definitely Not Safe for Work.

Poor Tiny!

Followup: French release of '78 Feature Film

I just received more details about the Dybex French release of the 1978 Gatchaman feature film:

"First of all, yes, it does come with both a Japanese and a French language track, as well as a French and a Dutch subtitle track. I ordered the 2-disc Prestige Edition, with the movie on the first disc, and the bonus material on the second. I assume the standard edition simply has the disc with the movie.

"The bonus material is duplicated from the Japanese movie DVD release from last year, with the addition of optional French subtitles. Apparently the Dutch are out of luck there, since there are no Dutch subtitles on the bonus goodies. There is one added bonus goodie, a 6 and a half minute 'Making of the French Version' video, showing the actors for Joe, Jun, and Jinpei dubbing their lines and featuring interviews with the actors for Joe and Jinpei, as well as with the Producer for the dub. This new video has no subtitle options.

"The additional bonus items in the package include 5 postcards featuring familiar images (Three publicity shots, the cover to the movie program, and the Ippei Kuri artwork done for the DVD release) and a reprint of the movie program (As was also included in the Japanese release). The program reprint has been translated into French and rearranged so that the pages are in a left-to-right order instead of the Japanese right-to-left. They also added three original articles; 'The Origins,' giving a history of Gatchaman, 'The American Massacre and the Diffusion in Europe,' talking about the creation of Battle of the Planets and it's distribution across Europe, and 'The Film,' which covers the death of Tatsuo Yoshida just as the Anime Boom began with the release of the first 'Space Cruiser Yamato' film and the work that went into creating the film itself.

All in all, not a bad package, especially for someone who knows French. I still might go back and buy the standard release, just because I like the packaging for that one a bit more than what was used for the deluxe release."

Thanks, Tatsunokofan!

Imagi makes plans for Gatchaman toy line

August 22, 2007: At last, I've caught up with my original news page!

Imagi has secured a manufacturer (Wah Shing Toys) and distributor (Wowwee Ltd.) for a line of Gatchaman movie toys, and the release date has been delayed to 2009 (big surprise).

According to the article, "The Gatchaman and Astro Boy toy lines are expected to include action figures, vehicles, playsets, robotic figures, activity toys, and plush."

Full article:
http://www.animationmagazine.net/article/7223

Here's a cool link to a pitch image for the feature film: http://artgerm.deviantart.com/art/Shining-Force-62693511

Dybex releases '78 Gatchaman movie on DVD

August 10, 2007: Dybex is releasing the Gatchaman movie on DVD in French. No, it's not the upcoming 2008 film; it's the first series compilation that was released as a theatrical feature in 1978. There are two versions of the DVD: a standard version and a 2-disc deluxe version ("Gatchaman Edition Prestige"). The Prestige version appears to contain the same bonus material as the Japanese release along with a booklet and five postcards. The movie is supposed to have both French and Japanese audio tracks, and French and Dutch subtitles.

More information here:
Gatchaman link: http://www.dybex.com/details.cfm?idvd=348
Gatchaman Edition Prestige: http://www.dybex.com/details.cfm?idvd=341

Thanks, Tatsunokofan!

GatchaCon 2007 Report

GatchaCon took place at the San Diego Comic Con, July 26-29, 2007. The con itself was a low-key event, mainly because no new activity was noted in the merchandise or media areas (no movie news--sorry). Unfortunately, Gatchaman was misprinted on the con anime schedules, but was replaced by other programs. Attendance for this year's San Diego Comic Con broke previous records and sold out for several days (especially Saturday).

GatchaCon Con Kits and Screenings: We had two offsite screening parties, one of some truly horrendous Gatchaman-related programs and one of Battle of the Planets episodes on film. The Gatchaman screening party featured the video demos from the new Sammy Gatchaman Pachisuro game. Followed by the horror that is Winx Club, a PBS cartoon which comprised a wandering, incoherent storyline, Bratz-type plastic characters, cloyingly cute mascots, and worst of all, the guest stars: the "Science Ninja Team P-Force/Patchaman." (Gaah! Awful! AWFUL!) Next, the short episodes of "Gatchapin vs. Pierre Katse" were a mercy by comparison, with Gatchapin playing "Road Runner" to Pierre Katse's Wile E. Coyote. I found the Gatchapin shows to be cute overall (hey, it's for little kids). Then we watched little Spanish kids dancing and singing the "Commando G" theme song. The finale of the Gatchaman screening party was a video account of the "Battle of the Planets: Peril of the Preying Mantis" Shockwave game, mainly featuring crummy jokes about Zark's ineptitude and Zoltar's lipstick between virtually unplayable game sequences. It was like the game's creators didn't really care and just wanted to get the product out there. At the Battle of the Planets party, our "takeaway gift" was a CD of two audio stories from La Bataille des Planetes, Adventures de la Force G in French ("Hold-up Spatial" and "La Lune de Feu"). The con t-shirt and kit featured Gatchaman's 35th anniversary and had art of the firebird on the back. I think I've found a new favorite shirt.

Merchandise: There was no new merchandise on display this year. We found old DVDs, a couple of cels and some paintings at the Alex Ross Booth.

Next year: Next year's GatchaCon takes place at the San Diego Comic-Con, July 24-27, 2008 at the San Diego Convention Center. We hope to see more information due to the upcoming feature films.

30th Anniversary in Taiwan: Corrections

August 2, 2007: One week prior to the opening of Comic Con, I received a phone call from friends offering me round-trip tickets to San Diego. So I made it to Comic Con this year! (Woohoo!!!) Sincere thanks to Tatsunokofan and Barrdwng!

I need to make some corrections and give credit where credit is due regarding the Taiwan Gatchaman 30th anniversary celebration mentioned earlier (Gatchaman premiered in 1977 in Taiwan). An extremely dedicated fan with the handle "Kena" arranged the Gatchaman anniversary event at the Ya Gallery in Kaohsiung. Preparation for the event took her seven months. Kena contacted fans from Japan, Korea, the Philippines and the United States, and these fans contributed the art and merchandise for the displays (plenty of cool stuff in there, with a lot of merchandise I'd never seen before). The event drew over 9,378 attendees and strong media coverage during its opening weekend. Here are more links to news reports on YouTube and other sources:

Gatchaman 30th Anniversary in Taiwan:
http://photo.pchome.com. tw/kcc20051225/
Gatchaman News, ERA-N, TTV: http://www.youtube. com/watch? v=IVpKuAQcpLI
Gatchaman, BotP, TVBS, SETN News: http://www.youtube. com/watch? v=KKO18VQUFB0
Gatchaman, BotP, ETTV News, Kena: http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=jn17erV00gE
Gatchaman News, FTV: http://www.youtube. com/watch? v=YB54XKBNuK8
Children's Gatchaman cosplay: http://www.youtube. com/watch? v=BIwc3bPZTCI and http://www.youtube. com/watch? v=DPE4oGBVzNg
Video coverage of some of the treasures at the exhibit: http://www.youtube. com/watch? v=D8SbuCjtrMs
"Gatchaman" - Kena TVBS: http://www.youtube. com/watch? v=L8SoObCbz9g
"Gatchaman" - Kena: http://www.youtube. com/watch? v=MIjQx99Txtc
Gatchaman CTV Set: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blzI5Sq8ShE
Gatchaman 30th Anniversary in Taiwan blog: http://blog. xuite.net/ kena/gatchaman

Thanks, Kena!

Kewpies, and 30th Anniversary in Taiwan

July 21, 2007: First Gatchaman Snoopy, then Gatchaman teddy bears, and now... Gatchaman Kewpies. The Run'a company will release a line of 53 mascot phone straps based on "Kewpie-ized" Japanese pop-culture figures, including our favorite heroes in bird suits. You can see all five at: http://plaza.rakuten.co.jp/kabutomusichan/diary/200707100000/ If you absolutely must have one for your cell phone, they go on sale September 13, 2007 for 520 yen each. Thanks, Tatsunokofan!

To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Gatchaman's premiere in Taiwan, fans organized a special event at the Chih-Mei Gallery in Kaohsiung. The event, running from July 14 to July 25, 2007, had over 4,000 visitors and strong media coverage during its opening weekend. The event includes displays of fan art, merchandise, and some really cool items including a coin-operated Godphoenix amusement ride. You can see a photo gallery of the event here: http://photo.pchome.com.tw/_manage/my_photos.html?s=s07&n=kcc20051225&b=9 There's also a cute video of kids dancing to the theme song at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66Og0rtQDdE Thanks, Kena!

Live action movie logo, Eagle 5 game

July 15, 2007: I have to admit, the first time I saw this, I thought, "OWWW! There's a bird symbol stamped into my chest!" Nikkatsu has released a publicity sheet for the upcoming Gatchaman live action movie slated for 2008 or 2009 in Japan. The sheet doesn't offer much that we didn't already know--it describes the basic premise of the show, that it's a timeless anime classic, etc. Unfortunately, there's still no release date. The packet says, "Production to be Determined." You can see the entire promo sheet with Japanese text here. Thanks, Tatsunokofan!

Meanwhile, plans for the Yatterman movie are in full swing. You can see the promo for it on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OPzQAugys8 Note that it's safe for work, but rather disturbing. Thanks, Tatsunokofan!

In other news. the Japanese game site 4Gamer.net has a couple of articles about a Korean SD (Super Deformed) Gatchaman game called "Eagle 5." The game appears to be in Beta stage. The article is in Japanese, but there are photos and a downloadable wmv movie (click around the links): http://www.4gamer.net/news.php?url=/news/history/2007.06/20070629154914detail.html

Imagi offers peeks at preliminary art

June 15, 2007: Ain't It Cool News just posted some new concept art from Imagi at www.aintitcool.com/node/33008, as well as the logo. It looks like Imagi's going all Blade Runner with the Utoland city designs, and I like the ad sneaked in for Sapporo Beer (my favorite!). There's even some concept art of Ken, Joe and I think Ryu and Jinpei (in the back). Looks like they're keeping the numbered t-shirts, and I hope they go with the longer hair (such a trademark of '70s Gatchaman). I'm not nuts about Joe smoking (the whole trained athlete thing, it gives me flashbacks of choking in Tokyo's ever-present cigarette smoke, and only the villains smoked in Gatchaman). I know a lot of fans see him with the feather shuriken in his mouth and figure a cigarette is the next best thing. But that's me being the picky old-school fan.

Robert Mark Kamen to write Gatchaman Movie

June 14, 2007: Imagi has selected a screenwriter for the Gatchaman CGI feature film. From Imagi's June 13 press release:

Los Angeles, June 13, 2007 - Robert Mark Kamen has been signed to write the screenplay for the upcoming CG-animated motion picture Gatchaman, it was jointly announced today by Imagi Studios Co-CEO & Chief Creative Officer Francis Kao and Co-CEO Douglas E. Glen.

Kamen will work closely on Gatchaman with producer Lynne Southerland and director Kevin Munroe (TMNT). Scheduled for completion in late 2008, Gatchaman will expand the visual boundaries of CG animation through dynamic camera work and action sequences.

"Imagi is breaking exciting new ground in the animation industry by making big action movies in pure computer graphics. It is a privilege to be working with such an innovative team of artists," Kamen said.

A veteran writer who has authored 18 produced feature films since 1979, Kamen's credits include Taps, The Karate Kid and its sequels, A Walk in the Clouds, The Power of One, Lethal Weapon 3, The Professional, The Fifth Element, Kiss of the Dragon, Bandidas, the Transporter movies and the upcoming Taken, starring Liam Neeson. Kamen has enjoyed a writing partnership with the prolific French producer and director Luc Besson for 14 years.

"We are thrilled to have Robert on the Gatchaman team. His commitment to creating strong characters, as well as his vast experience in the action genre, make him a perfect fit for this groundbreaking animated movie," Southerland said.

Gatchfanfic.com has a new format

May 26, 2007: All's quiet on the Gatchaman movie news front. I've been keeping an eye out for news releases. In the meantime, I've added a link or two to the Links page. The Gatchfanfic.com site is in the process of going automated and the site's stories are being transitioned over to the new format. Plus authors are adding new stories, so this is definitely the site to watch if you're into fanfic.

For those of you interested in purchasing the Gatchaman II and Fighter soundtracks, you can now find them on Amazon.com. Both are listed at $38.99 new.

Thanks, Tatsunokofan!

Nikkatsu announces LIVE ACTION Gatch Movie

April 12, 2007: So. Wow.

According to Anime News Network and Variety.com, Nikkatsu Corp. announced it has greenlit LIVE ACTION movie adaptations of both Gatchaman and Yatterman. Yatterman is slated for a spring 2009 release date and will be directed by Miike Takeshi, with character and mecha designs by Katsuya Terada. I'm not sure if this is just for Yatterman or both films. For now, the info seems to be mostly about Yatterman. I didn't see explicit information about it, but I'm assuming this is a Japanese-language movie release only.

This live-action film should not be confused with Imagi's CGI Gatchaman movie (projected for 2008/2009) that I've been describing up til now.

And as a side note, I saw Imagi's TMNT recently, and I really enjoyed it. I don't know anything about the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, but I loved the characters, and this film made me want to go buy the comic. Friends who were fans of the comic assured me that the property was treated very well. I think if Kevin Munroe and Imagi do for Gatchaman what they did for TMNT, we'll be seeing a great movie in 2008.

Reviews of Imagi Gatchaman Movie teaser

March 22, 2007: Many fans I've talked to are concerned whether or not the Gatchaman 2008 characters will resemble the originals. At the time I visited Imagi, I didn't see much by way of character designs, and what I did see didn't really resemble the characters as we know them. However, Harry Knowles at Aintitcool.com has some more current information: "Those faces - it is Mark and Jason and my favorite design was Tiny. [...] They're not made to look HUMAN exactly, but a slight hybrid between animation and living beings." See the entire article, plus larger versions of the concept art from Imagi's Web site at http://www.aintitcool.com/node/31981.

Aaaaand... while I was Googling for Gatchaman news, I found a description of the two-minute Gatchaman 2008 trailer at Butterboom.com. Never mind the use of Battle of the Planets character names. That confusion is going to be common. The trailer was screened today at the 2007 Digital Entertainment Leadership Forum in Hong Kong.

Music and Movie News

March 20, 2007: First, about the Gatchaman II and Fighter music CDs: Gatchaman II has a total of 78 minutes, 5 seconds of content. Gatchaman F's disk has 78 minutes, 48 seconds of content. Plenty of music for the price.

With the premiere of the TMNT movie coming in a couple of days, there has been a little more action on the proposed 2008 Gatchaman feature film. Imagi's Web site refers briefly to Gatchaman in an interview with TMNT director Kevin Munroe (from the main page, click "What's New," then "Q & A with Kevin Munroe"). Click "Our Films," then "Gatchaman" to see the gallery of concept art. Looks like they're going for the popular dark, gritty look with a couple of influences from the OAV.

Gatchaman Soundtracks/"Knocked Up"

February 9, 2007: Some sightings and news tidbits:

Gatchaman II and Fighter soundtracks to be commercially released: What makes this particularly newsworthy is that, while the opening/closing and image songs from those series have been released in years past, the actual soundtracks have not. This should be of particular interest to collectors and to fans of Gatchaman II and F.

The two "Tatsunoko Music Museum" CDs (one for each series) will be released April 4th, 2007 by Sony Music Entertainment' s Be Smile label. I don't have any information on how many tracks or what extras will be included, but I've been told the collections will be very thorough.

Gatchaman II Original Soundtrack (BSCH-30055): 2,800 yen
Gatchaman Fighter Original Soundtrack (BSCH-30056): 2,800 yen

The CDs are available for preorder through Amazon Japan and CD Japan, among others. Shipping restrictions apply.

G-Force sightings: Outside of Amano's work, it can happen! Here are three sightings of our teenagers in bird suits in the general public:

http://marillanokichi.blogspot.com/2007/01/tatsunoko-done.html

http://drawn.ca/2007/02/09/son-of-rambow/

Actor Seth Rogan wears a homemade G-Force t-shirt in the trailer for the film, "Knocked Up": http://playlist.yahoo.com/makeplaylist.dll?id=1550103&sdm=web&qtw=480&qth=300 (Thanks, Michael!)

Pachislot King game for Playstation

January 27, 2007: Yesterday, Banpresto launched their web site for the "Pachislo King! Science Ninja Team Gatchaman" game (see below for details). The site has photos from three different modes of gameplay (Capture mode, Mission mode and Gallery mode) and links at the bottom of the screen for news, the Taiyo site and possibly cell phone accessories (the news and mobile links don't appear to be working yet).

The game will be available February 22nd. You can purchase the game from Play Asia for US$49.90 plus shipping, but please note that you must have a Japanese or chipped Playstation 2 machine in order for the game to work.

Thanks, Tatsunokofan!

Pachisuro, Active anime tribute, Imagi News

January 21, 2007: Three news items:

First, on the site for the Gatchaman slot machine, there was a section for a Gatchaman game for the Playstation 2. Although there's no information about the game on the official site, Tatsunokofan has managed to dig some up. The game is titled "Pachislot King! Science Ninja Team Gatchaman," and is being produced by Banpresto. The game retails at 5,040 yen, and will be released in Japan on February 22nd. No word on whether this is a version of the slot machine game--no images from the game have surfaced yet.

Second, Activeanime is doing a tribute to Gatchaman on their site. You'll find some extra tidbits featuring the Gatchaman voice actors at ADV and the Gatchaman screenings at the Alamo Draft House. It's worth a look.

Third, here's the latest interview with Kevin Munroe, director of the (possibly) upcoming Gatchaman 2008 movie. Nothing quite new yet, but it looks like the project is still alive and well!

Gatchaman slot machine

January 1, 2007: As of 12/22/06, Taiyo Games has announced a new Gatchaman slot machine for future release in pachisuro parlors across Japan. The web site offers a Flash intro and a look at the machine, with more to follow. Link: http://www.taiyo-slot.co.jp/gatchaman/index.html

New! Gatchablog

I'm creating this blog as a backup to my News page on the Home of the White Shadow site. Since I expect news to be picking up with the upcoming release of the two Gatchaman movies, I wanted something that will help me and my readers track news items. The only drawback is the possibility of losing all this information--if Blogger goes down, so does the news.

Let's see how this works out. Yoroshiku onegaishimasu!