Science Ninja Team Gatchaman is a five-member superhero team that is composed of the main characters in several anime created by Tatsuo Yoshida and originally produced in Japan by Tatsunoko Productions and later adapted into several English-language versions. It is also known by the abbreviated name Gatchaman.
The original series, produced in 1972, was eponymously named Kagaku Ninja Tai Gatchaman and is most well known to the English-speaking world as the adaptation titled Battle of the Planets. The series received additional English adaptations with G-Force: Guardians of Space and ADV Films' uncut 2005 release. Tatsunoko also uses the official translation Science Commando Gatchaman, as shown in numerous related products and media. Because the English-language versions are notoriously inconsistent not only with one another but also with the original Japanese series, viewers most familiar with the English versions often experience some confusion upon re-examining the series after a long hiatus.
The original 1972 Kagaku Ninja Tai Gatchaman series was followed by an animated film, two sequel series, Gatchaman II, and Gatchaman Fighter. In the 90's, episodes from both series were dubbed into English by Saban as Eagle Riders. In 1994, the original series was remade as a condensed OVA series.
Episodes
S01E01 Gatchaman Versus Turtle King
October 1, 1972 26 min
A huge turtle-shapes mecha, the "Turtleking" attacks a uranium storage facility. The ISO and the delegates of various countries are very concerned. Nambu, the only person who previously knew of Galactor, now officially anounces the...
S01E02 The Apparition of a Demonic Ghostly Airplane Carrier
October 8, 1972 26 min
A spaceship disappears, along with a device that can report and record the location of the Earth's resources. The Science Ninja Team receives Nambu's instructions and heads towards the bottom of the sea, in the...
Deadly crashes involving passenger planes keep happening. Ken, who's investigating these occurrences, encounters a boy named Makoto. The boy is awaiting the return of his father who was reported missing in one of the accidents....
During the investigation of an incident, Ken visits the Institute for Earthquake Research. Because of an earthquake caused by a mecha, he falls along with the director of the institute, into a crevice in the...
Oceangoing ships from the ISO keep disappearing. It always happens in the vicinity of a place called "Cemetery of the Sea". Director Anderson and Nambu ask the Science Ninja Team to go to a base...
Gold bars are stolen from the vault of the World Bank. It is the deed of Galactor's Mini Robots. The Science Ninja Team get their instructions and start a search on the islands in the...
There's a new kind of plane that does not pollute the environment. In the middle of Ken's test flight of this ISO-developed plane, he is attacked by a biplane, piloted by a man who introduces...
A secret base. In order to resist their terrible enemy, Nambu thinks about a base for the Science Ninja Team. But fearing enemy intervention, he gives the Ninja Team orders to fly a patrol at...
In the deep black sky the blue-white moon is shining. Suddenly, a meteorite falls down to Earth. According to analysis, the meteorite has the same composition as the moon. So Ken proposes approaching the moon...
Suddenly, a whole city has lost power. Ken, in his Cessna, is thinking about an anomaly in the power plant when he gets a message from Nambu that the nuclear power plant has been attacked...
While flying, Ken is surprised to encounter the plane of the Red Impulse commander. He pursues him, but Red Impulse gets away using some superb flying technique; Ken longs to be able to use similar...
The world's raw material for sugar gets stolen by the Galactor mecha Ibukuron, and the world emergency sugar is getting very low. Ryu and Jinpei rush out into the street to buy candies. Just then,...
A ISO constructed storage lake, which is part of a plan to make the desert fertile, disappears. The Science Ninja Team flies to Africa to investigate. An Elder there tells them the legend of the...
It is reported that all kind of nuclear ships (cruise ships, submarines, battle ships etc) are disappearing. It is the deed of the Galactor mecha Icecander, aiming at nuclear energy. While investigating these incidents, the...
The town "Ghost City" has been destroyed 10 years earlier by environmental pollution. Communication with an investigation team sending data from there is lost. The Science Ninja Team goes there in the God Phoenix, which...
The latest ISO weapon factory is used by Galactor and manufactures Mekanika. It's a machine which, according to the plan on a microfilm, can change its form constantly. The Science Ninja Team follows Mekanika. But...
X, intending on using the strong destructive tendencies of humans, especially children, releases Kabutoron in the city. It destroys things using the children's brain waves. The children are happy when they find big stag beetles...
A huge whale keeps attacking harbours. While investigating a group of whales, the Science Ninja Team discovers a huge whale heading for this group. The huge whales fires a rocket aiming for the God Phoenix...
The Ruman Kingdom is known as the Gambling Kingdom. Galactor, guaranteeing the king's position, is channeling millions in riches out of the country. His highness Prince Luga's heart is torn by the people moaning with...
A Galactor mole mecha appears. The Science Ninja Team is contacted and starts to meet, but on the way there, Joe wants to save a small dog beside his mother, who was killed in the...
A horse owned by a doctor who is an authority in the area of cyborgs, participates and wins with an astonishing performance at the world-famous horse grand prix. When Nambu sees this video, he guesses...
A uranium mining factory at the bottom of the sea is attacked by the mecha "Kingdragon". Since a guard vessel with much more power than the God Phoenix was beaten during the attack, Nambu does...
From the cellar of a bowling alley, the "Mecha Ball" appears and starts to destroy the city. Because of the Mecha Ball's simple structure, an attack is futile since there is no weak point. Opposing...
Scientists from the ISO headquarters are murdered one after the other and Nambu orders the Science Ninja Team to act as bodyguards. The Science Ninja Team separate for their guard duty. During Ken's guard, he...
An ISO volcanic research center is attacked. The God Phoenix, starting the investigation, is surprised by the Magma Giant and escapes into the sea where the Giant cannot follow it. When Joe says that the...
ISO ships are attacked one after the other by Galactor's black ray. And because Ryu is napping in the God Phoenix, he cannot be mobilized. Ryu feels responsible and gives Nambu his bracelet back, while...
The ISO gets a message from Lucy, one of the executives at Galactor, that she wants to reveal the location of their headquarters in exchange for $ 10 billion. Therefore they contact Lucy by having...
Children keep dissolving into thin air. Even the members of the Science Ninja Team become eye witnesses to one of the disappearances. Ken follows some tire tracks on the ground and enters a mirror maze....
Jinpei and Ryu visit the Shirayuki orphanage where Jinpei grew up, in order to play with friends. The children beg them to take them to watch some kickboxing. At the same time, in a volcanic...
A water shortage is occurring everywhere. As if to pursue the beaten enemy, an invisible enemy continues to pound, destroying dams and water tanks. The Earth is put into a grave situation. The God Phoenix...
Nambu's car is attacked by Galactor. But because of Joe, who seems to remember the Devil Star's rose bomb, they escape by a hair's breadth. Everybody wants to fully concentrate upon protecting Nambu since he's...
Galactor is targeting Lawnpark City, which the ISO has used all its resources to complete. The Mecha Gezora appears and starts to attack. The God Phoenix confronts it, but the mecha escapes through the use...
The Science Ninja Team doesn't know where Jun and Jinpei are, and Gezora starts to attack. But with two of them missing, scoring is difficult for the team. Katse appears on the big city square...
Strange radio waves attack people together with an aurora. Afterwards they run amuck and cause grave accidents. While fishing, Ryu is also bathed in these radio waves. Because Ryu's speech and behaviour are strange after...
In the country Doria, oil springs have been discovered. A battle has started between the King, keen on the mining rights, and the Prince, who's on the side of the poor, revolting people. It has...
An ISO research ship is attacked and data regarding uranium resources on the bottom of the sea is lost along with it. In the middle of the investigation, the Science Ninja Team discovers three persons,...
Dr. Miwa is researching whether the surface of the Sanjo Lake, frozen over the whole year, can be used to produce strong energy from the sun, instead of using polarization glas. Now he has gone...
As part of the Mantle plan, a pollution-free city is constructed in the desert. Nambu and the Science Ninja Team have come into the city for the inauguration. In the middle of the parade, a...
S01E39 The People Eating Flower Jigokiller (Part 1)
June 24, 1973 26 min
Outside of Earth's atmosphere, a Devilstar ship appears. Spores of the Jigokiller plant are released towards Earth by Katse's hand. In a rainy night, women (and only women) are attacked. Jun who is alone in...
S01E40 The People Eating Flower Jigokiller (Part 2)
July 1, 1973 26 min
Jinpei is lost in mourning in Jun's empty shop. Elsewhere, Nambu is absorbed with the research on the Jigokiller plants. Hidden in the sewer, the Jigokiller plants start their activities and many damage reports follow....
Invited by Jun, the Science Ninja Team visits a concert by the popular rock group Demon 5. The Demon 5 is kidnapped by Galactor right in front of them. Galactor has Demon 5 play the...
During his vacation, Ryu asks a passing car whether they can take him with them. But the car is part of a Galactor plan to free prisoners. Ryu is consequently captured by Galactor and taken...
The two countries of Bien and Ameria suffer from a long war. When the two countries finally make peace, their respective representatives standing for peace, Romina and Julia, get married as a symbol of peace....
Galactor's Arkeo attacks the Moroi City. But Nambu judges that the Science Ninja Team is no match for the mecha's shock wave, therefore they don't receive orders to move out. Even when an announcement sent...
S01E45 The Seal Science Ninja Team in the Night Fog
August 5, 1973 26 min
A secret mining factory of the ISO is attacked and the island on which the factory is located is besieged by Galactor. In the mine, an ore containing more energy than uranium is being mined....
Ken is maintaining his beloved plane at the airport when a man with a gun forces him to fly a plane. Since Ken's plane has only a single seat, the man makes him fly another...
In order to finish an ultracomputer, Director Anderson himself is hand-carrying the core of this computer in his private jet to the research institute in the Jetol plateau. Galactor anticipates this, and starts to move...
Galactor plans to use the Shutterkiller to copy data from ISO institutions and to then destroy those institutions. The ISO institutions are attacked one after the other. The Science Ninja Team guards the institution which...
The Science Ninja Team is accompanying Nambu, who came to the ISO headquarters for a conference. Jinpei discovers a car with the emblem of Galactor, hides in the car and goes to the Galactor base....
In the country Inderia, droughts and heavy rainfalls occur every year. In cooperation with the ISO, a plan to build a dam in the hinterland to create lots of arable land is being made. But...
The Science Ninja Team follows Nambu's orders to come to Huntwall to spend their free time there. Only Ken doesn't trust those instructions. At that moment, a man in a white suit, being pursued by...
To be able to see his father! Carrying this wish in his heart, Ken follows the whereabouts of the mecha. Before him somebody is shot and wounded. It's Sabu, a friend from Ken's childhood. When...
The Galactor rocket explodes in the Van Allen belt and humankind enters the worst crisis ever. Upon the message from Galactor saying that a rocket restoring the belt will be launched if the world surrenders...
Katse, who got into his stride by the funeral of Red Impulse, plans to destroy institutions related to uranium in the whole world. The representatives from all the countries assemble at the ISO, and a...
The sea takes up 70% of Earth. Galactor makes Nambu and the Science Ninja Team chose between their lives and pollution of the seas by PCB. Pretending to agree, the God Phoenix goes to the...
Jun is attacked by a group of bikers. Koji saves her, he is a former race champion and Jun's friend from childhood. Now he has become the commander of a Black Bird squad and is...
Mike Miller, a sniper, has been released from prison after 35 years. Galactor gives him a small tank with a freeze gun on board and orders him to eliminate the Science Ninja Team. Three observation...
The Jet Cutter, developed by the ISO to gain energy without causing pollution, is stolen. Nambu gives the order to recover it. Ken opposes him, asking whether they have to pay for the faults of...
A fishing-boat is in the vicinity of Ghost Island and becomes eyewitness to a big ray and cuttle-fish. Afterwards, it is swallowed by a huge waterspout and is shipwrecked. On Nambu's orders, Ken and Jun...
During an experiment with Galactor's brand-new mecha, the research machine crashes. Katse commands the termination of the survivors. The Science Ninja Team arrives at the crash site of the machine. It is not clear what...
Ken is flying over the country Hontwall in his G1 plane. He is shocked when he sees the three Red Impulse planes. The figure in one of the machines is undoubtedly his father. When the...
A celebration is held in order to praise the merits of the Science Ninja Team. However, the participants are super robots. They were invented by Nambu with purpose. His plan is to let them be...
S01E63 The Devilish Mecha Ball Which Kills Everything
December 9, 1973 26 min
Professional baseball players disappear in front of the spectators during a short power outage in the middle of a match. Nambu thinks that it's Galactor's fault and according to his instructions, the Science Ninja Team...
A year earlier, the northern country Flanbel escaped from the rule of the Dictator General Somure. But Galactor, who instructs Somure, appears in the mansion of the Prime Minister and tells him that he either...
The conserved brains of famous doctors keep getting stolen. A monster also steals the brain of Dr. Yamashina, an expert in robot engineering. The Science Ninja Team follows it, but lets it get away. But...
The queen of Monarins is a fan of the Science Ninja Team. Every year, she donates large sums of money to the ISO. Katse comes into the country himself, planning to weaken the activities of...
Katse, opposed to Sosai X's orders to destroy the Mantle Plan, asks whether it wouldn't be better to conquer Earth after the Mantle Plan was finished. X promises to Katse the rank of President Z...
One day on a small island in the south sea, a nuclear explosion takes place. The ISO research planes crash and burn in the high radio-activity. From the remaining records, they learn that in the...
Galactor sneaks into the country Shosken, 80% of which is taken up by the Ohara desert and mountainous regions. Communications break off with a special troup which went there to investigate in the old tombs....
Mummified corpses keep being found. Since the dammages continue, Nambu orders the Science Ninja Team to find out the cause of all this. During a patrol, Joe saves a girl from a taxi which is...
The ISO discovers a new energy source in the Himalaya, but an investigation troop sent there is annihilated by the Yeti. Because of several rumours about Yetis, Jinpei goes to the Himalaya alone. There he...
In Amazonia the old entemologist (insect researcher) Toda who is continuing his research, notices unusal behaviour in the locusts. He notifies every authority and department, but he is not taken seriously. Jinpei, who heard his...
The Science Ninja Team vanquishes another mecha and has let Katse escape yet again. With Nambu's transmission, they follow the course of Katse's rocket. However, Katse has switched to a car and heads towards a...
The mammoth which should be buried in a glacier, appears at an amusement park where Jun and Jinpei have gone. While saving the children, Jun's shoe falls off and gets stuck between the mecha's claws....
While a Galactor mech is mobilized, one of the small planes loses speed and collides with the fisher boat on which Ryu's father is. The boat is shipwrecked. When Ryu's younger brother Seiji hurries to...
When the mobilisation order from Nambu comes in, Joe is in the middle of a race. Because he finishes it, he is too late. On the way to the meeting he transforms. The electrical waves...
The country Dokual is rich in Earth's resources. But because it declines to pay supporting money to Galactor, the President's life is threatened. The Science Ninja Team receives a call for help which reaches the...
S01E78 Death Defying Battle 10'000 Meters Below the Sea!
March 24, 1974 26 min
Joe sees his parents killed every night in his dreams. An extreme exhaustion is left in his body. A research institute for the Earth's crust, which is located at the bottom of a deep sea...
Secret information regarding the Science Ninja Team is stolen. Nambu orders the Science Ninja Team to investigate why the ISO scientist Boronbo acted as a spy and to stop any data from reaching Galactor. Ken...
In the country Assham, an uprising has started. Traces of a confusion ray appear on the body of the leader who has been shot. Thinking that a few hundred people have been bathed in that...
BC Island is an island ruled by Galactor. A man visits the grave of Giuseppe Asakura and his wife, which has not been visited by anybody for ten years. Because the man on the photo...
Dr. Misuno, a Galactor, succeeds in diminishing the earlier invented detection device, which discovers the electrical waves emitted when the Science Ninja Team transforms. Galactor plans to use it in an operation to track down...
During construction of a subterranean factory of the ISO, Galactor attacks and a drill falls into a crack in the Earth. Since the energy source of the drill is uranium, it is predicted that, when...
The scientist Demon tries to sell his own invention to Galactor by using it to attack a cargo plane, which carries goods for those in need. He hates Nambu, who has been battling him for...
The message is intercepted that Galactor spies will sneak into Utoland City. With a funny look to the Science Ninja Team, who are guarding the frontiers, the spies just walk in. Meanwhile, Jinpei meets a...
The world sugar reserve is about to be exhausted. The artificial sweetener Shugare is developed as a substitute, but when the distribution starts, sombody buys it all. Because of the message that Shugare has been...
While on patrol, Jinpei falls in love at first sight with a girl in a holiday house in the mountains. When Jinpei returns, he sees in the news that Maria, the daughter of a great...
There is a man who has guessed Katse's secret and who has worked his way up in the staff of Galactor. But he is in prison now. He is looking for help in a very...
Ryu laughs at Jinpei, who is moving earth with the G-4 machine in order to shape a coral reef into a crescent form. The purpose is to turn this coral reef into a bait and...
Joe, who is busily maintaining his weapon, is told by Ken that using weapons is a mistake, which results in a dispute. Before his father's grave, Ken is wondering whether, even if they defeat Galactor,...
S01E91 The Plan to Blow up Crescent Coral is Completed
June 23, 1974 26 min
Galactor has a spy infiltrate a passenger ship with a lot of ISO engineers onboard. He attaches a homing system to the ship and it is then blown up by firing torpedos into it. Nambu,...
One after the other, the torpedoes hit right on target.The props of the camouflaging coral reef get stuck in the base which loses its balances and starts sinking towards the bottom of the sea.Inside, the...
S01E93 Counterattack! The Subterranean Torpedo Plan
July 7, 1974 26 min
Katse is happy that he has defeated the Science Ninja Team. An order comes in from X to make sure that the Science Ninja Team is dead. Meanwhile, the Science Ninja Team spends its days...
The Torasshuu power plant provides electrical power to the city of Utoland. Nambu charges its head, Dr. Komibe, with the testing whether a space capsule is fireproof or not. A test which requires the highly...
In the Jupiter mountains, there are ruins of a fortress which is said to have been erected by ninjas of ancient times. There some strange corpses are found. Nambu charges Jun, who is familiar with...
When the ISO intelligence office analyses a horn of a mecha which fell into the Mammoth Canyon, they conclude that with 80% probability the Galactor Headquarter is at the upper course of the Ielo river....
From the UN rocket launch site the two-man rocket, Leona 3 is launched in order to solve the mysteries of the Milky Way Nebula. Nambu leaves the launch site together with the president in a...
Joe, heading towards a meeting point, is blinded by a light reflection and runs into a woman. Seeing his mother's face in her, he takes care of her, but another blinding makes him feel afraid....
The Science Ninja has pursued Katse and arrives at a base. X orders Katse to terminate the Science Ninja Team. They want to reciprocate when missiles are shot at them from the base, but Joe...
A by-product of the Mantel plan is the Mantel condensation energy formula whose immense destructive power is kept a secret. In order to bury that equation forever, Ken goes together with Dr. Maxim towards the...
Ken is worried about Joe's condition and Joe is afraid of being taken out of the fight. A fight between the two is interrupted by a message from Nambu. Secret ISO circuits are being tapped...
A message comes in that a mecha has appeared, but since he can't contact Nambu, Ken goes out based on his own decision. But that mecha is bait to lure the team away from Nambu....
The illness progresses and Joe goes racing at the track in order to shake off his fear. There he is captured by Galactor and dragged before Katse. Katse presses him to reveal the true faces...
The mecha serving as bait is destroyed by the God Phoenix. Then, the order from Nambu to search Joe comes in. X is agitated because of the disappearance of Selector. He accidentally tells he will...
Eerie stone statues appear in the fog. The Science Ninja Team walks around, searching for the entrance. Galactor is there and has spread out a radio net, waiting for a transmission to be sent. And...
