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.