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Gatchaman
Vol. 13: Ghost Water and the Jungle of Death
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The legend of Gatchaman continues on, and you may be in for
quite a shock in this volume. While the series is steadily getting
closer and closer to its finale, Galactor isn’t about to give up on
their quest of world domination as well as exposing who the Science
Ninja Team really is and taking them out of the picture for good.
Here in the thirteenth volume of the original and uncut Gatchaman,
we find that Galactor has made a number of leaps in their objective.
It doesn’t all happen at once however, and as this volume begins it
seems that those pesky birds are on the verge of finally catching
Berg Katse . . . but they’ve thought that before. Katse always has
some plan waiting in the wings and it nearly costs Jinpei is life.
We find that once again Galactor has a new mecha that they think is
their ultimate weapon, a wooly mammoth this time around, but low and
behold, the Science Ninja Team succeeds in not only stopping it, but
burying it under a rockslide. Is this the end of Berg Katse?
Not even close. Katse returns quickly and has more targets in his
line of fire for destruction. His return and that of their giant
mecha has Jun out saving the innocent minus the use of Birdstyle,
and when she loses a shoe in the confusion, it seems like a minor
incident. It isn’t really, and Dr. Nambu’s invention makes it’s way
to Galactor’s secret base where they soon discover what it really
is. After a few distractions of minor mecha attacks, they unveil a
new weapon capable of transforming the Science Ninja’s out of
Birdstyle. Alas, the plan doesn’t go quite as the nefarious
organization had hoped and their weapon is destroyed due to over
use, something that seems to typically bog Galactor’s plans down.
I can’t figure out however why it shouldn’t be obvious to members of
Galactor who the real members of the Science Ninja Team are. Let’s
look at this rationally. Joe races under the name of Joe the Condor,
and one of the members of the Science Ninja Team is always called
Joe and is dressed like a condor. Let’s not forget that Joe is often
seen with another male, a fat guy, a girl, and a little kid . . . .
it really should all add up. I think the poor sense of logic might
be what’s holding Galactor back. However, due to their efforts, it
does seem that a few members of the group have started to do the
math. We also learn something startling about Joe (maybe not)
regarding his past and the affiliation of his family. What is the
shocking secret? You’ll have to get the volume to find out.
English dub fans will once again find there is episode commentary,
this time featuring Josh Grelle, Glenn Fraiser, Chris Ayres and
Brandon Austin, and there are the usual clean versions of the
opening and closing animations, but Gatchaman wouldn’t be
nearly as fun with Gatchaman Karaoke. You can play the hero; you can
be the villain, but episode #74, “The Secret of Birdstyle,” is one
of the more fun episodes to either follow along or make up your own
dialog.
Is the tide changing in Galactor’s favor? It certainly seems like it
in this collection of episodes, but as we all know, good always
triumphs over evil. It’s sad in a way since Galactor has such cool
mecha’s and has laid waste to a number of cities and taken a number
of innocent lives. The attraction for anyone to Gatchaman
however is the famous Bird Go and Bird Run, and running out to get
this and all the other volumes should be priority for fans young and
old alike.
Episode 73 – Pursue Katse!
The team is closing in on Katse deep in the jungle, but Galactor
still has many tricks up their sleeves. The jungles are filled with
deadly mechanical traps and mecha, and soon Jinpei finds himself
captured and to be sacrificed to a great mammoth . . . another of
Galactor’s mecha.
Episode 74 – Secret of the Birdstyles
During another Galactor attack Jun has lost one of her shoes and it
holds the secret to the team’s transformation. Once Galactor
discovers what the shoe really is, they set out to find the true
identity of the Science Ninja Team member with a beauty shop and
once Jun hears about it, she takes that bait.
Episode 75 – Jumbo Shakora, the Ocean Devil King
The Mantel Project is once again Galactor’s target, but now that Ryu
has discovered that his father is stranded somewhere out in the
ocean, it’s almost impossible for him to concentrate. After failing
to stop Galactor, Dr. Nambu confines the team to base and once Ken
finds out what is really going on with Ryu, he disobeys orders and
takes the team out to find him.
Episode 76 – The Bracelets Exposed
Galactor has completed one of its greatest weapons; a laser that
will transform the Science Ninja Team out of Birdstyle. After a
successful test on Joe, Galactor napalms one of the ISO’s
underground cities hoping to lure the team into a deadly trap and at
long last reveal who they really are.
Episode 77 – Berg Katse Triumphs
The small nation of Dokoaru is looking for Gatchaman’s help as the
president fears Galactor is targeting the country for its vast
wealth. After the Science Ninja Team arrives, they soon discover his
fears were right as they face Galactor’s new team, the Black Birds,
and a country full of hypnotized people out to kill them.
Episode 78 – Mortal Combat! 5,000 Fathoms Under the Sea
Dr. Nambu has sent Joe and Ken to an ISO undersea base that recently
has been out of contact, but during the mission the rest of the team
notices another strange craft in the water. It’s yet another plot by
Galactor to stop Gatchaman, but while the two are more than
prepared, Joe may not be ready to finally face the past he has
blocked out of his memories.
-mike-
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Genre:
Science Fiction / action
Series Director:
Hisayuki Toriumi
Voice
Cast:
Katsuji Mori (Ken)
Kazuko Sugiyama (Jun)
Isao Sasaki (Joe)
Yoku Shioya (Jinpei)
Shingo Kanemoto (Ryu)
Toru Ohira (Dr. Nambu)
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DVD
Features:
Dual Language
Japanese/English
English
subtitles
Clean Opening Animation
Clean Closing Animation
Commentary Track w/ Josh Grelle, Glenn Fraiser, Chris Ayres & Brandon
Austin
Gatchaman Karaoke
Contains Episodes 73 - 78
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