G-5: The Horned Owl - Mimizuku no Ryû

Ryu Nakanishi

The son of a fisherman, Ryu is the most rustic member of the team and the only one with living family (besides Ken, who is unaware that his father is alive): his younger brother Seji; his father, a seafaring man; and his mother, whom we never see. The family doesn't know its eldest son is a member of the Gatchaman team and to protect them from Galactor, he can't tell them.

He hides behind a tree at one point and listens to his father wax on about how he wishes his son could be as strong as the members of the Science Ninja Team. If nothing else, it's difficult for Ryu not to be able to have his family feel proud of him.

He's evidently internalized feelings of inadequacy, because sometimes he feels like he shouldn't be on the team. His mistakes feel like failures, and he worries that the Gatchaman team would be better off with someone else in his place. As a result, he tries to quit more than once.

Though he's ostensibly left behind with the Phoenix to keep an eye on it and be ready to swoop in if the rest of the team needs it, he's also left behind because his family is alive. When Katse is first unmasked, Ryu is the only one who misses it, and he thinks the rest of the team is crazy when they tell him about it.

Ryu has a huge, gentle heart and treats all life with reverence. He refuses to back down from these values, even when Joe (the puppy-saver himself) mocks him for it. Because Joe bullies him and because they just don't understand one another, things are often tense between the two of them.

When he's not with the team, Ryu runs a marina; he clearly shares his father's love of the ocean.

Ryu and Jinpei are often comic relief, poking each other and cracking jokes at the expense of the others. (There are some great lines about how Jun and Ken should just go out on a date, already.) On more than one occasion, they get themselves into trouble.

In the second season Ryu's parents learn his secret...and he gets to go into action more often thanks to the new automatic (R2-D2 ripoff) pilot, Piemur.

Battle of the Planets

The BotP version of Ryu spends a lot of time eating "Space Burgers" while Mark and Jason play ping-pong and Princess and Keyop play their musical instruments in the "ready room." He usually swallows at least one ping-pong ball per session. You'd think he'd learn.

Voices for G-5

Gatchaman Shingo Kanemoto
ADV Gatchaman dubs Victor Carsrud

Battle of the Planets Alan Dinehart
G-Force Jan Rabison
Eagle Riders Paul L. Schrier II

OVAs Tachiki Fumihiko
OVA English dubs Richard Epcar