Gatchaman: The OVAs

1994-1995: Gatchaman Goes Modern: Original Video Animation

In 1994, Tatsunoko gave both the Gatchaman team and their world a 90s facelift. Three volumes were released, hitting the highlights of the original storyline: the team's first mission (ep #1: Gatchaman vs. Turtle King), the story arc in which Ken learns that his father is Red Impulse (eps #52-53: The Sky is Falling!), and Katse's capture and torture of Joe (eps #109-105, Final Countdown 0002).

In the remakes, Sosai X claims to be the god who created the universe, planted the seeds of life, and watched them grow. In the third volume, he initiates a technological Armageddon, intending to take his chosen ones (the members of the Galactor organization) up off the Earth until the planet has been purged of the chaff (for example, Gatchaman). Then those who survived will return to a "new Earth."

The Good, the Bad...

The destruction wrought by Galactor in the OVAs is widespread enough and harrowing enough that it's easy to see the organization as a worldwide terrorist syndicate, but the story line that made seasons two and three of the original Gatchaman series possible were eradicated. In the OVAs Joe lives and X doesn't, and because Joe isn't dying in the OVAs, his headlong rush into Galactor headquarters looks more irresponsible than heroic, especially after Katse/Solaris poisons him.

...the Ugly

In the eagerness to "update" Gatchaman, the elements that fans loved most got lost. Most of the characters were flattened into cardboard-cutout-type stereotypes with stunning physical attributes and not much else. Ken looked private-college-frat-boy clean-cut, Joe looked like a self-centered "bad boy" (he smokes, he has tattoos, he gets a shower scene, he never wears a shirt...) with no redeeming qualities; meanwhile, Jun does cheesecake and a bit of nudity while tossing around lipstick bombs (?!) and technical terms.

The OVAs were slick, flashy, sometimes ridiculous, and—for many—all-around disappointing.

The Subs vs. the Dubs

The Urban Vision OVA DVDs include both an English dub and the original Japanese soundtrack with optional subtitles. The script for the English dub is a little different from the subtitling; for example, Jinpei has become Jimmy (the falcon, rather than the swallow), Ryu is Rocky, and Katse has become Solaris. Suggestions of attraction between Ken and Jun that exist in the sub are gone in the dub, and the tension (no, not that kind) between Ken and Joe is also milder.

Free Episode

You can actually watch one of the three episodes for free on Robotech.com.

The soundtrack, produced by Maurice White and Bill Meyers of Earth, Wind, and Fire fame, is also easy to find.