More Gatchaman Pachinko Games

Japan has cranked out a few interesting Gatchaman pachinko/pachisuro games lately. Here are some animation highlights/CG bonus footage from the Sammy game, "Gatchaman, the Bonds of Fate":



And the footage for the "Gatchaman GR" game from Okazaki Sangyo (http://www.okazakisangyo.com/slot/gmngr/index.html):



For more information about the Sammy game, check out their permanent link at http://www.sammy.co.jp/japanese/index.jsp

As always, thanks Tatsunokofan!

Gatchaman Video Games Featured on 411mania.com

There were more Gatchaman-based games than just Tatsunoko vs. Capcom. Check out this article (WARNING: Scrolling to the bottom of the page might be Not Safe For Work) on 411mania.com, which describes and provides videos of gameplay from Tatsunoko Fight!, the Battle of the Planets game for the Commodore 64, Gatchaman, The Shooting and a preview of the Gatchaman pachisuro game.

There are at least two games the article left out. One was a Korean game and the other was Gatchaman Access, which can loosely be called a game—it was mostly a Flash presentation of the OAV character designs that had puzzles, a trivia quiz, and lots of Easter eggs featuring design illustrations.

EDIT: I completely forgot about the two Gatchaman pachinko machine games, the online games that were part of the 2000 NTT Gatchaman campaign, and the mid-90s PC9800 computer game. (Thanks, Tatsunokofan!)

Zero Da, Zero Da, Zero Da! JT Uses the Gatchaman Theme to Promote Coffee

The Gatchaman theme song is being used to advertise a new coffee drink, the JT "Roots Triple Free" (triple meaning 0 calories, 0 fat and 0 sugar). The lyrics have been tweaked to promote the song ("Zero da" instead of "Dare da"), though you can see the original lyrics posted beneath the commercial version. They've also riffed off the Gatchaman title type. The commercial features a comedy group called The Neptunes and the song is sung by singer/songwriter Sunplaza Nakano*.

You can see the commercial in its entirety on the Roots Triple Free Web site. The shorter TV version is here.

Thanks, Tatsunokofan!

* Sunplaza Nakano = Nakano Sun Plaza, a large mall in Tokyo that's the home of Mandarake, the ultimate anime/manga otaku mecca and a great place to shop for Gatchaman stuff.

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...

UPDATE: Isao Sasaki's name is reported to be in the game credits! Awesome!

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!

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!

More Tatsunoko vs. Capcom Screens

Here are more screen shots from the Tatsunoko vs. Capcom game, courtesy of Capcom's Web site: [link]. It's sad that Ken seems to be the recipient of the attacks demonstrated on the screens, but the profile pictures of him [link] are just lovely.

Get Gatchaman T-shirts

GatchaCon T-Shirts

For the past twelve years, fans have held GatchaCon at the San Diego Comic Con. One of the highlights of GatchaCon was the cool t-shirt design released every year. Unfortunately, I won't be able to make it to GatchaCon this year, and I don't know the current status of this year's T-shirt designs. However, Jason H. managed to find a few designs printed for past years and want to make them available to fans again. There aren't many left and there are no plans for reprints, so get them before they're gone for good!

To see the available t-shirt designs and details, Visit this page at the Tatsunoko USA site. If you are interested in ordering any shirts, please write to Jason at: tatfanclub(at)aol.com (replace the (at) with @). (Thanks, Jason!)

Uniqlo Shirts in NYC

If you happen to be in New York City, the Uniqlo Gatchaman t-shirts have been spotted for sale in Uniqlo's New York Soho branch. Sizes and stock are extremely limited, so, like the GatchaCon shirts, get them before they're gone!

Imagi News, Capcom News

Douglas Glen, CEO of Imagi, resigns. According to the press releases, Imagi's project such as Astro Boy and Gatchaman are not affected. Check this link at Anime News Network for details: http://tinyurl.com/ot7z3f

Thanks, Trudi!

Tatsunoko vs. Capcom game confirmed for US. Capcom has made their announcements for the upcoming 2009 Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in June: the Tatsunoko vs. Capcom title will be released for the Nintendo Wii in America and Europe. Details here at Gamespot: http://www.gamespot.com/news/6209856.html

New Gatchaman T-shirt Designs from Uniqlo

Japanese clothing manufacturer Uniqlo has released the first of at least two Gatchaman T-shirt designs. The first one, featuring clips of the characters' faces, is here: http://store.uniqlo.com/jp/CPaGoods/056653-09 The second design, due out by the end of this month, will be white with a small bird head symbol over the left breast. Both shirts will cost 1,500 yen each.

The site, of course, is in Japanese, and Uniqlo doesn't do overseas mail orders. However you may be able to order through Celga.com

There's even a video commercial for the latest line of shirts, including the Gatchaman design:



Many thanks to Tatsunokofan for the information!

New Die-Cast Toys of the Gatchaman Vehicles

The Japanese company Art Storm has announced a December release of a set of high-end die-cast toys of the original Gatchaman vehicles. The vehicles will be 10-15cm in length.

They'll be released in two sets of three vehicles each:
Set A: G-1, G-2, and Red Impulse plane. (Link to image)
Set B: G-3 (with Jun riding) G-4, and Godphoenix. (Link to image)

The only bad news is the price. If you thought the Cho Shin Gokin Godphoenix was expensive, hold on to your hat. The vehicles only come in sets, and each set will cost 24,800 yen.

When these items come available at the end of this year, and if you have about $510 burning a hole in your pocket, I suggest checking Hobbylink Japan to order.

Thanks to Tatsunokofan for the info and photos!

Gatchaman Goodies from the Amusements Expo '09

Whoops! Been way too long and I have a few news items to catch up!

Spotted at the Amusement Expo 2009 held in Makuhari Messe back in February:

• Figures of Ken and Joe, based off an Ippei Kuri illustration. Check out the image here. These figures will be released in July, but are available for preorder from Hobbylink Japan (Ken: http://www.hlj.com/product/TAT459335100-A Joe: http://www.hlj.com/product/TAT459335100-B)
  
  
• A 1GB Flash memory in the shape of Ken's boomerang. The "nose" comes off to expose the USB connection and the "blades" open and close. Not sure of the release date for this.
  

These goodies will be offered as prizes from game machines at Japanese game centers, and unfortunately, won't be available for purchase from stores. However, I'm sure they'll be popping up on Yahoo! Japan Auctions and eBay.

Happy Hunting!

Thanks to Tatsunokofan for the info!

Gatchaman vs. ...Spider Man?

Sooo... Looks like our heroes will be once again venturing into comics, though this time not alone, as they did under the Top Cow label. According to the Topless Robot blog:

"Marvel [...] partnered up with old-school anime studio Tatsunoko to make a series starring both Marvel's superheroes and Tatsunoko's anime characters, which include Gatchaman (a.k.a. Battle of the Planets)"

[Link]

Many thanks to Joe Lombardo for the info!

In Gatchaman movie news... Nothing has really changed since last post. The Gatchaman movie is still planned. We shall see.

New Polyresin Jun figure available

There's a brand new polyresin figure statue of Jun coming out! A company named R.A.W.S. ("Real Art Work Series") is producing the Jun figures as a limited edition of 300. The 28cm x 9.7cm x 9.7cm figure is mounted on top of a base designed to look like Jun's yoyo, and the base bears a serial number. It retails for 14,800 yen
(15,540 yen, after taxes), roughly US $137.00.

The Jun figurine is scheduled for release in late November/ early December, but you can preorder. If you don't know of a good Japanese hobby store, try CD Japan (http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/goods/goods_detail.html?KEY=NEOGDS-1224#) and Hobbylink Japan (http://www.hlj.com/product/HAP80337). I have dealt with Hobbylink Japan and a good friend can vouch for good service from CD Japan. He also mentioned that CD Japan has a preorder deadline of September 25th—better order soon!

Capcom vs. Tatsunoko: Fight!

Imagine Ken Washio battling Street Fighter's Ken.

According to Brian Ashcraft's post at the Kotaku blog, Famitsu Magazine has announced that Capcom is putting together Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Cross Generation of Heroes, a fighting game featuring its characters pitted in tag battles against Tatsunoko's best heroes... the Gatchaman among them. Other characters slated for inclusion are Ryu (Street Fighter's, not Gatchaman's), Chun-Li, and Casshern.

EDIT: Check out the screen shots from the game at Famitsu.com: Link

Gatchapin now available on DVD

First post for the new year...

As of December 12, 2007, episodes of "Go Go! Gatchapin" are now commercially available. Released by a company named Liverpool, the DVD retails for 1,980 yen and is sold only through 7-11 convenience stores and through the online shop run
by BS Fuji, the satellite network that airs the series.

For your 1,980 yen and postage, you get 20 episodes featuring the battle between Gatchapin and Pierre Katse, plus two additional Gatchapin stories (Gatchapin goes shopping, and Gatchapin scopes out an amusement park). The episodes are entirely in Japanese, with no subtitles or dubs. It is a series aimed at young kids and comprises live action skits full of cartoon gags which are easy enough to understand in plain Japanese. The DVD is Region 2 encoded, so you'll need a code-free DVD player to watch it outside of Japan.

For more information:

Liverpool site

7-Dream site

BS Fuji Online Shop


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!

G-Force Action Figures, Part 2

Thierry from Limited Toys Design sent me more photos and links! Enjoy!

PRINCESS

I really like these. He has a good interpretation of her face, and her poses with the yoyo are spot-on.

http://img265.imageshack.us/img265/3689/princess02wz2.jpg
http://img265.imageshack.us/img265/738/princess03wm3.jpg
http://img265.imageshack.us/img265/5383/princess04ns7.jpg
http://img265.imageshack.us/img265/467/princess05pw0.jpg
http://img265.imageshack.us/img265/8139/princess06oq7.jpg
http://img265.imageshack.us/img265/679/princess08ln3.jpg
http://img265.imageshack.us/img265/3749/princess09ku8.jpg
http://img265.imageshack.us/img265/4465/princess10rh4.jpg
http://img265.imageshack.us/img265/293/princess11lg3.jpg

KEYOP

What’s especially impressive is the way Thierry got the character in proportion. The figure has Keyop’s wiry figure and attitude down perfectly.

http://img265.imageshack.us/img265/7232/keyop03iz9.jpg
http://img265.imageshack.us/img265/5248/keyop04cr5.jpg
http://img265.imageshack.us/img265/4723/keyop05sy9.jpg
http://img265.imageshack.us/img265/261/keyop07tr3.jpg
http://img265.imageshack.us/img265/645/keyop08qi4.jpg
http://img265.imageshack.us/img265/1483/keyop09od1.jpg
http://img265.imageshack.us/img265/9828/keyop10yx1.jpg
http://img265.imageshack.us/img265/9076/keyop11yu5.jpg

TINY

Check out the split-toed boots and the other details.

http://img265.imageshack.us/img265/6181/tiny03ho7.jpg
http://img265.imageshack.us/img265/5237/tiny04mc7.jpg
http://img265.imageshack.us/img265/8471/tiny05ck1.jpg
http://img265.imageshack.us/img265/6316/tiny06ld1.jpg
http://img265.imageshack.us/img265/4230/tiny07pe1.jpg



These figures are for sale. For details and pricing, see my previous post.

Cool custom G-Force action figures

More info on the G-Force action figures featured in ToysREvil



A few posts back, we found an interesting photo in the Toysrevil blog. To follow up, Thierry of Limited Toys Design wrote me with some new photos of his custom-made G-Force action figures. Check these out--fully articulated figures with meticulous attention paid to detail.

As you can see from his site, Thierry creates custom action figures you won't see anywhere else. He grew up with UFO Grendizer (Goldorak), Battle of the Planets, Captain Harlock, Captain Comet and many others. He'd always wanted 12" figures of the whole G-Force team and the bad guys. Since Medicom never went past the Mark and Jason figures ("Too difficult to find a girl body, kid body and fat guy body," one Japanese toy rep told me once), he figured it was up to him to create the figures.

For Mark, Jason and Princess, he used standard 12" action figure bodies. For Keyop, he used an articulated body from a different scale. Tiny provided the biggest challenge, being shorter and wider than the others. He modified an 11" body with a larger suit.

He sculpted and molded the heads with helmets, and the visors are molded in a tainted clear resin. He also did custom modeling on the belt buckles as you can see below.



These custom models are available for sale for the following prices, plus international shipping:
Mark: 170 euros
Jason: 170 euros
Princess: 150 euros
Keyop: 150 euros
Tiny: 200 euros

He requests half the amount in advance to confirm the order and the rest when the figures are ready to ship. He needs 2 months to create the whole team. You can pay via Paypal (add 3.5 % for the fees), by international money order or by credit transfer.



Contact Thierry at info@limitedtoysdesign.com

Here are links to more photos:

MARK:
http://img50.imageshack.us/img50/8045/mark02dy0.jpg
http://img253.imageshack.us/img253/742/mark03dw3.jpg
http://img134.imageshack.us/img134/4743/mark04yx9.jpg
http://img253.imageshack.us/img253/2251/mark05an4.jpg
http://img50.imageshack.us/img50/944/mark06qb0.jpg
http://img134.imageshack.us/img134/5341/mark07bb6.jpg
http://img134.imageshack.us/img134/8048/mark08ya8.jpg
http://img50.imageshack.us/img50/3152/mark09ln1.jpg
http://img134.imageshack.us/img134/5919/mark10ak0.jpg

JASON:
http://img99.imageshack.us/img99/713/jason02sj8.jpg
http://img99.imageshack.us/img99/8272/jason03un6.jpg
http://img99.imageshack.us/img99/5389/jason04tz7.jpg
http://img99.imageshack.us/img99/3946/jason05cb3.jpg
http://img98.imageshack.us/img98/1733/jason06ss5.jpg
http://img124.imageshack.us/img124/9928/jason07mp8.jpg
http://img50.imageshack.us/img50/9839/jason08cu9.jpg
http://img117.imageshack.us/img117/7266/jason09yp2.jpg
http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/2904/jason10ad8.jpg