Anime doesn't age well. This is a sad reality for those who used to watch it. Once you get to a certain age, the magic sort of disappears. This happened to me a while ago. Sure there are some shows that I still think are good shows, like Cowboy Bebop for example, but just try to watch Saber Marionette J. More to the point, older anime becomes quite silly and ridiculous when no longer seen through nostalgia glasses. The rose tinted world I once lived in has now given way to a harsh reality and a desire to drink a whole lot more. Luckily this doesn't affect my enjoyment of Gatchaman.
I might deserve to be judged for this serious transgression of taste, but for some reason I love these stupid bird costume wearing idiots. Though technically in the world of Gatchaman, they are not idiots. They are Scientists, and Ninjas, with gadgets and vehicles. In order from left to right in the picture above, these motorcyclists are Jinpei the Swallow, Ken the Eagle, Jun the Swan, Ryu the Owl, and Joe the Condor. Science Ninja Team Gatchaman is probably the best name for a team of scientists or ninjas ever. Strictly speaking though, they break the most important rule of being a ninja, keeping a low profile.
These "Ninjas" drive/pilot a series of vehicles and do science while fighting bad guys wearing equally ridiculous costumes. In fact, Ryu drives a tank around that can jump and also drive faster than a rhino runs which is impressive considering how fast normal tanks move. Also it has a propeller for some reason, and as well all know propellers make things cool.
Jun seems to be the only motorcyclist though as she rides an actual motorcycle. That is mad! What kind of ninja rides a motorcycle?
In the first episode the Motorcycle Ninja Scientist Bird Team takes on a Robot Turtle King that is sort of like the Mecha-Gamera. They do this with flying vehicles, the ability to glide, and their superior skills in both martial arts and science. Pretty standard stuff I'd say. The weird thing is that for the time this show can be incredibly detailed. I really mean it when I say for the time. The show came out in 1972 when anime mostly looked like Speed Racer or Astro Boy. I would say most of the time the show is on par with those, but sometimes this happens.
That is pretty good detail for your average 1970's anime that lasted around 100 episodes. The show is about as stupid as you might expect though. The story is mostly Gatchaman versus some evil guy with an army who has evil intent. Gatchaman wins, the end. I just saved you around 2,520 minutes. The show's strong points however are in its character Jun the Swan.
Ken is your typical leader, Jinpei is your average kid sidekick, Ryu is your everyday overweight nice guy sidekick, and Joe is... cool but rude. Jun however is a strong independent female with something to prove. She is just as smart as any of the other scientists, and just as good at fighting. Her weapon of choice is a bladed Yo-Yo (before Yo_Yo Girl Cop was doing it) that she uses to slice bad guy throats open. Another important thing about her character is that not only is she upbeat, she occasionally makes fun of the other party members for comedic value. This includes her fearless leader Ken, who she also has a crush on due to his long hair and vaguely mysterious demeanor.
Another thing that is pretty sweet about this show is that The Science Ninja Team Gatchaman regularly kills people. Pretty much every bad guy they meet if they can. That is the mark of a true ninja. Batman has nothing on these Ninjas. Think about it for a moment. They have gadgets, money, ninja skills, smarts, and there are five of them. Batman is pretty much screwed, and these guys would slit Batman's throat with Yo-Yo's then throw his lifeless body off a tall cliff. Then they would drink hot cocoa together and laugh about it. That is cold (except for the hot cocoa.)
Overall, the show is silly, stupid and fun by normal anime standards. If you don't like anime or younger audience shows in general though, it might not appeal to you. So I guess in the long run I don't recommend it to anyone who isn't already used to older anime from this era. Let me leave you with this for those who already know what I am talking about. There are a number of crossovers with other Tatsunoko characters that don't really do the team justice, but at least you can see Jun the Swan saved by Yatterman-1 and 2.
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