History Anime / ScienceNinjaTeamGatchaman

The show revolves around five heroic teenagers in bird suits who use ninja type weapons. Each hero drives a special vehicle which combines with the God Phoenix mothership, which is then able to fire missiles and convert to the Kagaku Ninpo Hinotori ("Science Ninja Art: Firebird", or "Fiery Phoenix" in ''Battle of the Planets''). ''Gatchaman'' was, in fact, [[TropeMaker the very first place the concepts]] of FiveManBand ([[TheHero hero]], [[TheLancer cool guy]], [[TheSmurfettePrinciple token female]], [[KidAppealCharacter precocious kid]], [[TheBigGuy big guy with a hick accent]]), and CombiningMecha [[{{Sentai}} intersected]]. The heroes mostly waged battles against the MonsterOfTheWeek built by the evil Galactor crime syndicate / terrorist army, which was ultimately led by Sosai ("Leader") X, an alien supervillain who wanted to rule the Earth, and Berg Katse, a mutant who could shift genders at will.[[note]]Although, in the second dub, ''Anime/GForceGuardiansOfSpace'', Berg Katse ("Galactor", after the organization) is portrayed as the leader, with Leader X ("Computor") portrayed as being merely a consultant.[[/note]]

* CallingYourAttacks: "Kagaku Ninpou (Science Ninja Technique)! Tatsumaki (Tornado) Fighter!"
** This show premiered a few months before Anime/MazingerZ, which is considered to be either the TropeMaker or TropeCodifier of this trope. This show may even be the UrExample.

** [[SpellMyNameWithAnS Berg Katse/Berg Katze]] had dark blond hair in the original series, but somewhat lighter blond hair in the OVA. But his counterpart in ''Anime/GatchamanCrowds'' has dark PINK hair.

* HurtingHero: Ken lost his father when he was a little child. Later he [[spoiler:finds out that his father is alive only to see how he was KilledOffForReal]] shortly after. At the ending of the series, Joe [[spoiler:commits a HeroicSacrifice to save them.]] At the next series his mentor and surrogate father [[spoiler:gets killed.]] All of that trauma slowly wore his sanity off, and although at the beginning he was the prototypical [[TheHero Hero]] and TheLeader with NervesOfSteel, for the final series he had become so violent, uncontrollable and impulsive like TheLancer.

* HurtingHero: Ken lost his father when he was a little child. Later he [[spoiler:finds out that his father is alive only to see how he was KilledOffForReal]] shortly after. At the ending of the series, Joe [[spoiler:commits a HeroicSacrifice to save them.]] At the next series his mentor and surrogate father [[spoiler:gets killed.]] All of that trauma slowly wore his sanity off, and although at the beginning he was the prototypical TheHero and TheLeader with NervesOfSteel, for the final series he had become so violent, uncontrollable and impulsive like TheLancer.

''Science Ninja Team Gatchaman'' was one of the earliest anime to which American audiences were exposed in the late '70's (but not ''the'' first anime that American audiences were ever exposed to -- that honor most likely goes to ''Anime/AstroBoy'' in the early '60s). The original series appeared on Japanese television in 1972, produced by Creator/TatsunokoProduction; 105 episodes were originally produced, but the English translations used only 85 of those episodes.

* GratuitousEnglish[=/=]SurprisinglyGoodEnglish: The live-action film used a ''lot'' of American and European extras and background characters in order to invoke an international feel. Of note is one scene where a (very) white security guard at a gala event instructs guests ("Put your hand there. Thank you, next." (motions towards scanner) "Please, all right. Put your hand there. All right, next..." etc') on the use of an ID scanner. A negative result causes Ken to reply back to him in equally flawless English.

* DarkerAndEdgier: Gatchaman Fighter is much darker in tone than its predecessors with much death and destruction, Ken nearly dying from the radiation exposure from the Hypershoot, and the possible deaths of the team.

* [[spoiler:EarthShatteringKaboom]]: [[spoiler:The fate the Earth would have faced, hadn't Joe used his feather in the earthquake machine in the first season finale.]]

* GainaxEnding: In the case of Gatchaman Fighter (the second sequel) and the '90s remake OVA, which both end in a rather bizarre fashion. [[spoiler: At the end of Fighter, Leader Z's planetoid explodes with the Science Ninja Team apparently still trapped inside it — but not before the spirit of Dr. Nambu appears to an apparently dying Ken and urges him to "LIVE ON", and his mysterious pendant glows and causes the team's mechas to merge together. In the end it's insisted that the Gatchaman can never die, for they are [[ThePhoenix the immortal Phoenix]], as a large flaming phoenix shoots through space to make its way back to Earth. In the OVA, there's a similar case with the team seeing a mysterious spirit in a Gatchaman-esque uniform that tells them to "spread their wings wide". The glowing figure makes its way back to Earth to greet Nambu, and the Phoenix ship flies by once more, before transforming into a similar white Phoenix spirit and flying off to parts unknown.]]
** One simple interpretation for the ending of Gatchaman Fighter: [[spoiler:Dr. Nambu had posthumously modified the Gatchaspartan to have a Firebird mode (like the God Phoenix and New God Phoenix before it had), but in this case, it was to be unlocked by the pendant Ken was carrying. This enabled the Gatchaspartan's transformation into Firebird mode, and thus, the team's survival at the last moment, and their return to Earth after the explosion of Leader Z (i.e. the large fiery phoenix figure making its way back to Earth is the Gatchaspartan in Firebird mode), matching the immortality theme of the Phoenix — the collective team's motif.]]

* AttackAttackAttack: Joe's only strategy is attacking the enemy until they all are dead. Let's say that that the [[CombiningMecha God]] [[CoolAirship Phoenix]] has a button to activate the missile launcher and Joe has practically worn it down all by himself since he is always pressing it (and if the missile attack fails? He presses the button again until they have run out of missiles). Even in scouting or infiltrating missions where they must be stealth instead of not engaging the enemy, he is always asking why they are NOT blowing them up.

The show revolves around five heroic teenagers in bird suits who use ninja type weapons. Each hero drives a special vehicle which combines with the God Phoenix mothership, which is then able to fire missiles and convert to the Kagaku Ninpo Hinotori ("Science Ninja Art: Firebird", or "Fiery Phoenix" in ''Battle of the Planets''). ''Gatchaman'' was, in fact, [[TropeMaker the very first place the concepts]] of FiveManBand ([[TheHero hero]], [[TheLancer cool guy]], [[TheChick token female]], [[KidAppealCharacter precocious kid]], [[TheBigGuy big guy with a hick accent]]), and CombiningMecha [[{{Sentai}} intersected]]. The heroes mostly waged battles against the MonsterOfTheWeek built by the evil Galactor crime syndicate / terrorist army, which was ultimately led by Sosai ("Leader") X, an alien supervillain who wanted to rule the Earth, and Berg Katse, a mutant who could shift genders at will.[[note]]Although, in the second dub, ''Anime/GForceGuardiansOfSpace'', Berg Katse ("Galactor", after the organization) is portrayed as the leader, with Leader X ("Computor") portrayed as being merely a consultant.[[/note]]

* BackToBackBadasses: Constantly. Most of times it was [[TheHero Ken]] [[RedOniBlueOni and]] [[TheLancer Joe]] or Ken [[BattleCouple and]] [[TheChick Jun]] who did the back-to-back fight, but it any member of the team could -and did- find in a situation that demanded fighting back-to-back with a teammate.

* AllThereInTheManual: Some of the mecha and design changes to Gatchaman II were given an in-story reasoning, but only in an obscure 16-episode radio drama series that aired in 1978, as a way to lead into the sequel.

* LastNoteNightmare: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2No1vk_22Cc Warera Gatchaman]], the opening theme of the first sequel, Gatchaman II. You're listening to a rousing song about how awesome the Gatchaman team is, and then suddenly, out of nowhere, the song ends with a nasty ScareChord.

* TheMockbuster: A South Korean film called "Iron Man 007" was produced in 1976, heavily lifting from the original Gatchaman (as well as Gaiking). Later, after Gatchaman received an actual dub in Korea in 1979 (''Dokksori O Hyungjae'', "Eagle Five Brothers"), a two-part recap movie that recounted Gatchaman II was produced in the following year - but with ''new'' South Korean animation that was [[http://blog.naver.com/connell3/50016439194 traced over and recolored]] from the original Tatsunoko footage, sometimes with some unusual alterations[[note]]In particular, Dr. Pandora goes from wearing a blue jumpsuit to wearing a rather low-cut pink dress in the Korean footage. Her blonde daughter is also changed into a brunet son. Gel Sadra and Pandora's deaths are also altered, with Pandora dying due to X firing a laser beam through her body, while Gel Sadra dies in a mecha explosion.[[/note]]Tatsunoko Productions didn't get wind of the unauthorized copy until sometime in [[TurnOfTheMillennium the 2000s]].

* YoungerThanTheyLook: Dr. Pandora in Gatchaman II is listed in the notes to be approximately 21-23 years old, although she looks like she could reasonably be in her thirties.

* CutAndPasteTranslation: The series has to set a minor record for having not only one, but several made of it for the American/English language market, including ''Anime/BattleOfThePlanets'', the slightly more faithful ''Anime/GForceGuardiansOfSpace'', and ''Anime/EagleRiders'', based on the later series. As well as somewhat more faithful dubs in more recent years.

* ClothesMakeTheSuperman - The costumes, called "Bird Styles" enable the team to use a few special techniques (usually involving [[EverythingsBetterWithSpinning spinning really fast]]) and enhance their speed/agility/mobility some by granting them the ability to glide and maneuver in air (by jumping really high, etc.). They are also bulletproof against small arms fire (but they still have to dodge bullets since the impact will hurt them regardless).

* EverythingsBetterWithSpinning: ''Ninja Art: Tornado Fighter!''

* FiveManBand: The TropeMaker (or at least the TropeCodifier).
** TheHero: Ken "The Eagle" Washio (G1)
** TheLancer: Joe "The Condor" Asakura (G2)
** TheChick: Jun "The Swan" (G3) (she can also be considered TheSmartGuy, as she's the expert in explosives and electronics)
** KidAppealCharacter: Jinpei "The Swallow" (G4), also TheFace by virtue of being the only child on the team and he certainly has a way with other children.
** TheBigGuy: Ryu "The Owl" Nakanishi (G5)

* ChestInsignia

[[/folder]]

* RecruitTeenagersWithAttitude: With the exception of Jinpei, all Gatchaman team's members are teenagers. In a scene of the 2002 comic-book series, Ken says that everybody expect that they act like immature teenagers but he won't give them the satisfaction of proving them right.

* SpinAttack: Ninja technique Tornado Fighter, performed by the whole team. [[http://animewombat.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/gatchaman01-69.jpg They would stand on the each other's shoulders]] (or depending on the iteration, form a ring) and would spin quickly, [[RadialAssKicking spawning a tornado around them that would wipe the entire opposition]].

* StockShoutOut: Tons of anime have had shout outs and references to this show, especially the first episode. Heck, even several western cartoons have referenced this or one of its dub versions.

* TellMeHowYouFight: Although they appear to fight the same at a glance, each member of the Science Ninja Team has subtlety different fighting styles. Ken, being TheHero, will often incorporate flashy, elaborate, show-off techniques into his moves, while Joe is usually much more direct and prefers [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown No Holds Barred Beatdowns]], incapacitating strikes and killing blows. Jun is a typical SheFu practitioner and mainly uses highly acrobatic maneuvers combined with kick based attacks and open-palmed strikes. Jinpei takes advantage of his smaller size to be as speedy and agile as possible, and will often sabotage his opponent's attacks before they have a chance to hit him. Ryu uses sumo style techniques which take full advantage of his bulk and raw strength.

* TotallyRadical: A very unique example as the ADV dub makes no attempt to modernise the show at all and actually makes liberal use of '70s slang such as "groovy" and "solid."

** Ryu had dark brown hair in the original anime series, but the '90s OVA gave him [[MulticoloredHair two-toned dyed hair]], with it being purple on top and blond on the sides.

** Another Achilles Heel turned out to be their uniforms. Each piece of their clothes - shirt, pants, and shoes - turn into their uniforms. Lose any part of it and you can't transform, as Jun finds out. Galactor was able to reverse engineer Gatachaman's transformation technology from the shoe that Jun left behind.

* FiveManBand: The TropeMaker (or at least the TropeCodifier), there are two Smart Guys[[note]]Jinpei and Jun[[/note]] on the team.

** TheChick: Jun "The Swan" (G3)

[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/gatchaman_alex_ross.png]]

* DarkerAndEdgier: Gatchaman Fighter is much darker in tone than its predecessors with much death and destruction, Ken nearly dying from the radiation exposure from the Hypershoot, and the possible deaths of the team.
* DisneyDeath: [[spoiler:Joe, but only [[PostScriptSeason after]] [[{{Retcon}} the fact]]]].

* FiveManBand: The TropeMaker (or at least the TropeCodifier), there are two Smart Guys[[note]]Technically Jinpei and occasionally Jun[[/note]] on the team.