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From: ins_acss@jhunix.UUCP (C Sue Shambaugh)
Newsgroups: net.comics
Subject: Re: appropriate scene from Gatchaman
Message-ID: <1699@jhunix.UUCP>
Date: Sun, 2-Feb-86 13:23:11 EST
Article-I.D.: jhunix.1699
Posted: Sun Feb  2 13:23:11 1986
Date-Received: Wed, 5-Feb-86 01:04:54 EST
References: <645@sfmin.UUCP>
Reply-To: ins_acss@jhunix.ARPA (C Sue Shambaugh)
Distribution: net
Organization: Johns Hopkins Univ. Computing Ctr.
Lines: 76

In article <645@sfmin.UUCP> jeffj@sfmin.UUCP writes:
>[traaaaaaaansmute!]
>
>	The explosion of the shuttle reminded me of a nearly identical
>scene in the first series of the Japanese show _Gatchaman_
>[the edited for American TV version was called _Battle_Of_The_Planets].
>Anime has two books consisting of cels from the first Gatchaman
>movie, in comic book form (they wrote in the dialogue and sound effects,
>in Japanese!)
>
>	Quickly, here are the characters (for few of you follow this
>as closely as I do)
>	G-force, the Scientific Ninja Team consists of:
>             Japanese	English name
>	#1 - Ken	Mark
>	#2 - Joe	Jason
>	#3 - Jun	Princess
>	#4 - Jin-pei	Keop
>	#5 - Ryu	Tiney
>	Their leader/trainer is chief Anderson.
>	The robots were not in the original series.  They were added
>to the American series to fill the time deleted due to violence, and
>to explain discontinuities and other drivel.
>
>	In the first book, there are the usual fights with the Spectar
>agents (they are the scientific ninja team after all) and they are
>introduced to a gentlemen in a red outfit.  He turns out to be
>Ken's father, who was presumed dead from a plane crash.
>Father and son are reunited after taking the enemy base.

The red-clothed man in the plane is Red Impulse. And according to
the version of the show I have on tape (in Japanese), Ken's father
is actually Anderson -- he calls him "o-toosan" ONCE in the first
episode. 

>
>	In the second book, Ken and his father are arguing
>and with tears in his eyes, Ken's father throws Ken out of his way
>to board the [presumably] enemy vehicle.  Ken is tearful too.
>Since I don't read Japanese and have few translations, they may
>know that this is a suicide mission.  The vehicle takes off
>with the G-force watching.  Ken's father has a flashback of Ken
>growing up, then has a terrified look on his face as the ship
>(now rather high in altitude) blows up in a huge white ball
>which fades to nothing.  The next two pages show the G-force team
>crying at the loss of their comrade.  Anderson, at the headquarters,
>gets the message and all the people at the meeting mourn the death.
>The story goes on from there, but I won't go into that now.
>
Actually, Red Impulse shows up in more than one TV episode.

>	I just wanted to point out that Japanese animation is more
>realistic than American since this scene so closely resembles
>the real event we just experienced. (rocket = shuttle,
>G-force = family&relatives, Anderson = Regan, meeting = congress).
>In Japanese animation, characters die, just like real people.
>The American censors don't allow this, which is why the robots were added
>to say things like "of course Ken's father escaped in the nick of
>time" or "of course, all those enemy agents in the control room
>got out before the base was blown up".  Despite this mini-flame
>of american tv, I wished to point out cultural differences.
>Have I succeeded?
>
Yes! Apparently, the Japanese see nothing wrong with the notion of
children growing up KNOWING that people shot with guns BLEED and DIE,
and neither do I. Pity the censors are abetting juvenile gun
"accidents".

>
>
>				Jeff 'turning Japanese' Skot
>				{ihnp4 | mcnc | allegra} attunix ! jeffj

Sue Shambaugh  ins_acss@jhunix
-- 
...Emeraldus