Back in 1972, Tatsunoko Productions launched the classic animated series SCIENCE NINJA TEAM GATCHAMAN. Around the time that Sandy Frank Productions was adapting the original GATCHAMAN into BATTLE OF THE PLANETS, Tatsunoko launched the sequel to the original series in the form of GATHCAMAN II. Some people in Australia and the US may know of the series as EAGLE RIDERS, but what I'm writing about is the original GATCHAMAN II as it aired on Japanese TV in 1978-1979.
Taking place two years after the events of the original series, Dr. Nambu is forced to reunite the surviving members of the Science Ninja Team - Ken the Eagle, Jun the Swan, Jinpei the Swallow, and Ryu the Owl - to fight the threat of a rejuvenated Galactor organization led by Leader X and his new subordinate Gel Sadra. Dr. Nambu brought in a new G-2 - replacing Joe the Condor who had perished in final episode of SNTG - in the form of Hawk Getz who turned out to be a Galactor agent who lured the the other four into a Galactor deathtrap. The Gathcaman squad - or G-Force if you prefer - were saved by what they thought was the now dead Joe who also killed Getz with a feathered shuriken. It went for the first few episodes before they learned that Joe was still alive.
It turned out that Joe's life was saved by a Doctor Rafael, who turned out to be a former Galactor scientist and wanted to find and destroy Leader X. Joe's life was saved at the cost of him being transformed into a cyborg and giving him the possible suicide mission of destroying Leader X. Joe tried to hide the fact he was now a cyborg, but it was inevitably revealed to the rest of the squad.
Not only did the squad acquire new weaponry in their fight against Galactor; they would acquire new mecha, a new base, and a new ally as well. Besides a new version of the God-Phoenix which had a robot named Pima to take over piloting while they left to fight, the avian avengers acquired new G-machines that fit their distinctive bird-themed uniforms (Ken getting the Eagle Sharp jet, Joe getting the Condor racer, Jun getting the Swan Cycle, Jinpei getting the Swallow Copter, and Ryu getting the Owl Tank). They would acquire a new base in the form of G Town which was a movable undersea base. They would acquire a new ally in Dr. Nambu's assistant, Dr. Pandora who surprisingly has a connection to Gel Sadra.
GATCHAMAN II of course was adapted into 1996's EAGLE RIDERS, but there were some major changes made to make it palatable to younger audiences. Most notably the removal of scenes depicting mass destruction and mass violence. And this wasn't the G. I. JOE type violence of laser blast shootouts. Leader X and company were committing mass destruction on apocalyptic levels. And the Gatchaman squad themselves were doing their fair share with the amount of Galactor bases, mecha, and personnel destroyed. And this would lead to a devastating conclusion as the SNT - and surprisingly Gel Sadra - learn of Leader X's apocalyptic master plan that threatens Earth itself and led to a final showdown with Leader X.
GATCHAMAN II would by adapted into the 1996 tv series EAGLE RIDERS by Hiam Saban (the same man behind the MIGHTY MORPHIN POWER RANGERS series and adapting Marvel's X-MEN to animation). The EAGLE RIDERS series was shown in its full form in Australia but was cancelled in the States after 13 episodes. Sentai Filmworks released the entire series in the original Japanese with English subtitles in.2017 along with its sequel, GATCHAMAN FIGHTER (1979).
Taking place two years after the events of the original series, Dr. Nambu is forced to reunite the surviving members of the Science Ninja Team - Ken the Eagle, Jun the Swan, Jinpei the Swallow, and Ryu the Owl - to fight the threat of a rejuvenated Galactor organization led by Leader X and his new subordinate Gel Sadra. Dr. Nambu brought in a new G-2 - replacing Joe the Condor who had perished in final episode of SNTG - in the form of Hawk Getz who turned out to be a Galactor agent who lured the the other four into a Galactor deathtrap. The Gathcaman squad - or G-Force if you prefer - were saved by what they thought was the now dead Joe who also killed Getz with a feathered shuriken. It went for the first few episodes before they learned that Joe was still alive.
It turned out that Joe's life was saved by a Doctor Rafael, who turned out to be a former Galactor scientist and wanted to find and destroy Leader X. Joe's life was saved at the cost of him being transformed into a cyborg and giving him the possible suicide mission of destroying Leader X. Joe tried to hide the fact he was now a cyborg, but it was inevitably revealed to the rest of the squad.
Not only did the squad acquire new weaponry in their fight against Galactor; they would acquire new mecha, a new base, and a new ally as well. Besides a new version of the God-Phoenix which had a robot named Pima to take over piloting while they left to fight, the avian avengers acquired new G-machines that fit their distinctive bird-themed uniforms (Ken getting the Eagle Sharp jet, Joe getting the Condor racer, Jun getting the Swan Cycle, Jinpei getting the Swallow Copter, and Ryu getting the Owl Tank). They would acquire a new base in the form of G Town which was a movable undersea base. They would acquire a new ally in Dr. Nambu's assistant, Dr. Pandora who surprisingly has a connection to Gel Sadra.
GATCHAMAN II of course was adapted into 1996's EAGLE RIDERS, but there were some major changes made to make it palatable to younger audiences. Most notably the removal of scenes depicting mass destruction and mass violence. And this wasn't the G. I. JOE type violence of laser blast shootouts. Leader X and company were committing mass destruction on apocalyptic levels. And the Gatchaman squad themselves were doing their fair share with the amount of Galactor bases, mecha, and personnel destroyed. And this would lead to a devastating conclusion as the SNT - and surprisingly Gel Sadra - learn of Leader X's apocalyptic master plan that threatens Earth itself and led to a final showdown with Leader X.
GATCHAMAN II would by adapted into the 1996 tv series EAGLE RIDERS by Hiam Saban (the same man behind the MIGHTY MORPHIN POWER RANGERS series and adapting Marvel's X-MEN to animation). The EAGLE RIDERS series was shown in its full form in Australia but was cancelled in the States after 13 episodes. Sentai Filmworks released the entire series in the original Japanese with English subtitles in.2017 along with its sequel, GATCHAMAN FIGHTER (1979).