Tatsunoko's original anime:
Kagaku Ninjatai Gatchaman

In the mid 1960s, anime legend Tatsuo Yoshida founded Tatsunoko Production Co., Ltd. with his brothers Kenji and Toyoharu (aka Ippei Kuri, who has done some of the most famous classic Gatchaman art, including the image at right). Tatsunoko was responsible for introducing the world to anime, with Gatchaman acting as one of the three spearhead shows. Mach Go! Go! (Speed Racer) reached the United States in 1967, Gatchaman (Battle of the Planets) followed in 1978, and Macross (Robotech) was the third in 1985.

The show that became Gatchaman was built on the foundation of at least three ideas that were popular at the time: Tokusatsu, Henshin, and The American Superhero.

Tokusatsu - Special Effects

Tokusatsu films feature special effects, and the most famous early tokusatsu character is Godzilla.

In 1966, Tsuburaya Productions introduced the live-action special-effects series Ultraman. The story began with an alien transport crashing into Kagaku Tokusou Tai (Science Patrol) member Shin Hayata's plane. The creature inside the transport, Ultraman, feels guilty for killing Hayata and merges with him to bring him back to life. Hayata acts as Ultraman's human form, transforming into Ultraman when danger threatens.

In Gatchaman

Ken Washio is the leader of the Kagaku Ninja Tai, and like Hayata, he's comfortable in the cockpit of a plane. Obviously, he transforms into Gatchaman when he needs to fight danger.

Henshin - Transformation

The first henshin, Kamen Rider (Masked Rider) was a live-action tokusatsu series with a simultaneously-released manga. Japanese for "transform" (or transmute, if you prefer), henshin heroes strike a distinctive pose to transform into their superhero forms so they can fight evil.

In Gatchaman

Though Kamen Rider's heroes shouted "henshin!" later heroes, like Gatchaman, used other words. In the original Gatchaman series, the henshin (transformation) is triggered by the heroes putting their communicators in front of their faces and shouting "Bird Go!" When the series was translated into English for Battle of the Planets, the characters went back to the henshin roots, yelling "Transmute!"

The American Superhero - Truth, Justice, and a Tight Costume

The world met Superman in 1938, and he quickly became the template for all the superheroes that followed. Batman (1939), The Flash (1940), and Green Lantern (1940) appeared in Superman's wake, but as the United States entered WWII, American-themed superheroes like Captain America and Wonder Woman (both 1941) became wildly popular.

By the time the Fantastic Four (1961), Spiderman (1962), and the X-Men (1963) were created, an archetype for the American superhero was in place. It included characters who had strong moral codes, secret identities and a secret base; colorful, form-fitting costumes, sometimes with a cape; trademark symbols or motifs and weapons, an ongoing archenemy or nemesis, mentor-like figures, and independent wealth or a wealthy benefactor.

In Gatchaman

All of the Kagaku Ninjatai are at least partly Caucasian, most notably Ken with his enormous blue eyes. The American red, white, and blue is also prominent in Ken's costume, the God Phoenix, and the rest of the Gatchaman I palette.

Joe's temper aside, the characters have a strong moral code, secret identities and day jobs, a secret base, and in Nambu, a wealthy mentor. Each of the five characters has a trademark weapon, though Ken's boomerang is the most recognizable; with Joe's cablegun and feather shuriken second, thanks mostly to fans; and Jun's yo-yo coming in third. Jinpei carried bolos, and Ryu actually had a gun that we almost never saw.

Sentai

Gatchaman may have been following in its predecessors' footsteps in many ways, but it also set the standards for superhero team shows, which are now referred to as sentai or super sentai series.

 

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