Some link updates and a request

If you want to buy Gatchaman Kewpie merchandise, these links allow you to shop in English: www.strapya-world.com

"Jun's Joint" is a friendly little fansite for screenshots, animations and fanfic. Stop by and take a look: http://junsjoint.com/

A new BotP/Gatchaman fansite: http://www.fairlight65.com/. You'll find screen shots, desktops and screen savers, too.

One of the major Gatchaman sites, Transmute! Gatchaman, BotP and G-Force, has moved to GatchOnline.com. The webmistress has overhauled the site as well.

Which reminds me, I keep saying I'm going to renovate "Home of the White Shadow." Maybe this will be the kick in the pants that gets me going. To anyone out there who's a web wizard, would there be any way to link a feed from this blog into a window on the title page? I'd love to integrate the two.

Gatchfanfic.com is undergoing some tweaks and updates, both to recover from a hacking attempt and to integrate a new fanart section. If you like fan work, this is the site to visit.

And now, the request: If you send me email, please refer to Gatchaman in the title of your mail. This makes it easier for me to find it amidst the spam. I answer all my mail, so if you haven't heard from me, drop me a line.

December '07 Gatchaman Movie Update

There's a new Imagi Gatchaman movie article on iesb.net: Link

The article covers a lot of known territory, but it throws in a few tantalizing tidbits we didn't know, and a couple we were suspecting. And there's a brand new teaser shot from the film. Go read the article and then come back here. I can wait.

***

A few thoughts:

• As I mentioned on the site, I had the honor of visiting Imagi Studios in 2006 and seeing some of the preliminary sketches and talking with Kevin Munroe. I was impressed by his enthusiasm for the series and willingness to work with the series premise instead of "reimagining" it. The article confirms this: "Fans of the franchise can breathe a sigh of relief, Munroe and Tanaka definitely consider themselves Gatchaman purists and say the whole point is to stay as close as possible to the original versions..."
  
  
• I was impressed with TMNT when it came out, but one of my concerns was for the human characters' faces. They disturbed some people. Will the same techniques work for Gatchaman? According to the article: "In keeping with that goal and staying away from the 'pretty but porcelain' limited facial movement look of typical CG, Munroe is testing some more extreme facial structures in order to get the subtleties just right." Imagi also plans injecting more realism into the Gatchaman designs.
  
  
• As I was told in 2006, the story will be an origin story, explaining how the battle between the ISO and Galactor began. It sounds like Imagi will be putting more of an "alien invasion" spin on this, a la Battle of the Planets, but technically, since Sosai X is an alien, the idea could work. It's nice to see they're keeping Utoland (where our heroes live) in the movie, even as the translators at ADV change Utoland to "Jutland" (why?), though the futuristic city will be a more Blade Runner style dark metropolis.
  
  
• It looks like Imagi is still going for a PG-13 rating, but may change the title. The article points out that "G-Force" is already taken.
  
  
• And here's a nice little tidbit for potential Gatchacon attendees: The team behind Gatchaman hopes to reveal some goodies at San Diego Comic Con 2008. Maybe even a trailer and a booth? I got my con membership (if you're going, buy your membership now before they sell out), and I need to scan the travel sites for airfares.
  

O tanoshimi ni!

Spanish soundtrack to BotP to be released

Tatsunokofan, our resident expert on Gatchaman and BotP merchandise news, posted this new information on the BotP Mailing List:

When Battle of the Planets aired in Spain during the 1980s, the series was given a new theme song. This song was titled "Comando G" (As G-Force was renamed 'Commando G' in Spain), and was sung by a kids group named Parchis. Parchis also recorded three other BotP-related songs, though the other three songs were not used in the series. Instead, they were released on a pair of EP records, as well as appearing on various Parchis LP records.

One of these LP records was titled "Comando G," and included both the new theme and a song for Zark titled "Zark-7," as well as songs like Spanish language versions of "Video Killed the Radio Star," "Animals, Animals, Animals," and "Man Gave Names To All the Animals."

Well, the Comando G LP record has finally be released on CD, thanks to a Spanish music comapny named Divucsa. Along with the 10 tracks that were on the original LP, they also added another of the Parchis BotP songs, "La Batalla de los Planetas." The covers for this disc can be found at the Divucsa website at this link.

If you're wondering what the songs sound like, they were included as part of the bonus material on one of the ADV Gatchaman DVDs, or you can see some music videos that the Parchis did for them on YouTube:

Comando G
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDIkoQJcp5g


La Batalla de los Planetas
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7lU-yvmS80


Unfortunately, I've been unable to find a place where you can order the CD, though I do know that it can be found on eBay, if you wish to look there.

Thanks, Tatsunokofan!

Merchandise update from Japan

Gatchaman TV series re-release: All three Gatchaman TV series (Gatchaman, Gatchaman II and Gatchaman Fighter) will again be released on DVD via a subscription service. The DeAgostini Company is offering the DVDs individually, three episodes per DVD, at a rate of one DVD per week for 68 weeks. The first DVD will cost 790 yen (about $7.00), but the remaining 67 discs will cost 1,790 yen (about $16.00) apiece. The first DVD is scheduled to ship February 5, 2008.

The subscription offer is limited to residents of Japan. If you want Gatchaman episodes, I recommend the ADV DVDs. (Gatchaman II and Fighter episodes are not available in English outside of fansubs.) Where collectors might be interested in the DeAgostini releases is in the packaging: Instead of coming in the standard DVD case, the discs will be packed inside a booklet which will include episode guides, an art gallery, production notes, and other goodies. I don't have any information whether any of this is new material. Subscribers can purchase a special binder to hold the booklets. There are also bonus goodies: a Gatchaman mouse pad, and different figures of the characters.

The DeAgostini web site is here: http://www.de-club.net/gtd/

Kotobukiya Gatchaman cell phone RPG game: As of December 12, Japanese cell phone users can visit a handful of store chains and, for a 525 yen fee, load the Gatchaman game onto their cell phones. This web site has all the information and shows animated screen shots of the game: http://www.kemco.jp/applipage/07_game/gatchaman_i_a.shtml

Once again, this is available to Japan residents only. But with the upcoming Gatchaman movie, the US may start seeing merchandise like this for the US market.

Thanks, Tatsunokofan!

I LOL'd

"Sosai Tim" just launched his Gatcha-Funnies site, featuring captioned scenes from Gatchaman, G-II and G-Fighter. Some are a teensy bit blue, some are OK, and some, like this one, had me laughing out loud. Go check out the site.