1994 OAV (or OVA) Gatchaman

[Julieann]

Since this was brought up in Felix IP Blog, what do you like and dislike about the OAV's? There were good and bad points about it.

As a side-note, Heather's post was excellent.

Here is what I posted (more to come later as I think about it, I'm sure):

Nice post, Heather! You said several things that were on my mind, but in a better way. To chime in on the designs themselves (since that is what you asked about):

OAV Likes:
Phoenix design: Sleek and beautiful, but there was still a sense of power in the design. I thought it was a nice updated look.

Mecha designs: Heavyweight, a little strange, but still terrifying and destructive without being downright silly. Design-wise this will be a narrow line to walk.

Ryu design: although he's still a little too 'fat' for my tastes for someone who is supposed to be on a team like this, I think this was a step in the right direction.

Fight scenes: Like Heather said, it wasn't the gore (which I don't like) but the movements. The movements themselves differentiated between the goons and the team.


OAV Dislikes:

Porno-Jun: ARGH! The flashes, the zipper scene (who else thought of hair getting caught in that scene?), the sickening coyness, the blank vacant stares. Put this poor female out of her misery.

Ken: Lose the hair and get a personality. Once again this was a vacant face.

Joe: Get over yourself and be apart of the team. The constant grunting and scowling is a big turn-off. Lose the smoke, put on a shirt, and stop trying to stand out so much. Don't get me going on the whole idiotic good-guy-loner=must-smoke-to-prove-how-cool-he-is. Oh please! A ninja fighting is going to purposely do something to limit his lung capacity? Just how dedicated to winning this fight is he, anyway? This isn't about political correctness, this is about who he is as a person and the realities of the world he inhabits and must fight in. They are 5 against an army. Every little 'edge' helps in winning the battle. (oops, ranted anyway).

Dr. Nambu: The Elvis impersonator wanna-be. The guy just looks weird in the OAV's. Definitely not someone you would automatically give respect to when you walked into a room cold.

Birdstyles: Sleek design, and I liked the wings and helmets. But the flasher Jun model is horrible, the jumpsuit style looks odd (imagine getting out of it quick for a bathroom break???), and the emblem does not belong on the back of the wings.

With Jinpei, I'm ambivalent. Not bad, but not great.

As previously mentioned, for an updated look, start with the original Gatchaman and upgrade from there. Please do not us the OAV's as a general base to start from.

You know, quite honestly I don't care if they update the looks of the characters a little, just so they are IN CHARACTER! That means a team, working as a team despite their personalities quirks. These are young people who rely on each other in life and death situations. There is respect and friendship even though they might argue or disagree on some things. I do not want to see 'bad boy Joe', porn-Jun and the like who have a personality as deep as a mud puddle. It was the character dynamics that made Gatchaman so popular, and have created a fanbase that has continued strong for over 30 years. Respect the characters themselves and give them a great story to inhabit, and you will do well by both new and old fans. It's all about the characters and the story.

Anyone else?

[msannomalley]

Okay, I'll play.  Granted, my  order of viewing goes BoTP-->OAV-->Gatchaman, the original. 

Likes

...I will admit to not complaining about the infamous fan-service shower scene, if for no other reason, than for once, the ladies get something to look at.  (And I'm a shameless CJ fan)
...The Shelby Cobra
...The God Phoenix
...Ryu
...Galactor being really nasty

Did Not Like

...In the English Dub, the fact that they changed the names of three characters, including the principle villain.  I think that rubs on me more than anything else. 
...Jun being nothing but eye candy.
...Ken's hair and the fact that he looks about 14.
...Sosai X as this big eyeball thing.   
...Joe not dying at the end.  (Especially now after seeing the last five episodes of the series)
...Dr. Nambu's Elvis phase. 
...The original music for the OAV (not music they used from the original series).  I'm not saying that "Let's Fly" is a bad song in itself.  It just didn't fit into the show.
...I didn't much care for the actors they chose to do the voices in the English dub.  I didn't think they were the right voices for the characters.  Especially after watching the Japanese sub and seeing the original series. 
...I realize that they tried to cram the main points of 105 episodes into an OAV, but I think they glossed over way too many important plot points in the show. 
...It's not that they gave Joe a tattoo, but they gave him a tattoo....OF A CONDOR!!!!!!  It's not that they gave him an actual racing team, but that the name of his racing team is the...GODPHOENIX RACING TEAM!!!!!  Isn't the fact that he's Condor Joe, G-2 of the Science Nina Team supposed to be a secret?   

I thought that the OAV was "okay" after I first watched it, but now after seeing the entire original series, I definitely have more nitpicks about it than I used to. 

[Bobkat]

Wow, that's a lot of ground. 

My 2 cents (your mileage may differ) 

- The mechs were probably the one thing they got right. The God Phoenix was sleeker and I liked the fact that a cable caught the G1 when docking. One has to wonder just how steady of a pilot Ken was in the original series. Can you imagine trying to dock through the GP's jetwash? 
--As a side note, I liked the Shelby too   

-Ryu - I admit it, I like his hair. Would I prefer it to be more subtle? Sure. But I like that they didn't make him the token big guy. He was probably the best improvement of any of the updates, character wise. Also, I believe he was more in character than the rest of the team.
--Jinpei was great as a computer hacker kid! Look! There's his talent! 

-The first time I saw the OAV, I thought "Where's Ken's hair?" Did not like the new look for him or Jun. They should have stayed with the short skirt for her uniform - she has no protection whatsoever! (This is not oa case of less is more - Less is less). Nevermind the sequence of scenes with the diving board, the motorcycle or her transforming into her uniform - bleh! (IMHO, Julieann covered this well).   
--Another point Julieann covered was Joe. Where did they get this punk anyway?    Dump him back on the street where you found him! Yuck! I know the kid's angry, but does that fact really need to be beaten into us? (and for that matter, Ken's sulking in the second ep. - enough already! Are they leaders or wannabes?) 

- Dr. Nambu. I think James Brown wants his hair back    Not sure where the non-personality came from. 

- When watching the OAV I do prefer the Japanese track. The English-speaking actors sound like they have a Southern accent when saying "Galactor". It's annoying and distracting - not that Southern accents are bad (heck, I fall back into it when I go to Indiana), it doesn't fit here.

- Sosai X was someone who spent *way* too much money on CGI and couldn't bring themselves to throw it out. I felt like I was seeing one of the pyramids in Giza.  Weird!

-The fight scenes were great. The motions were quick and you had to keep up but it was engaging and worth watching over again.

I also second Julieann's comment - most excellent post Heather!!! 

[ZeltDies73]

Speaking for myself Ive noticed more people opting to use OVA, especially when spoken. Presumably this is because it can be pronounced as a two-syllable word, unlike OAV.

[UnpublishedWriter]

OVA is pronounced as the plural of 'ovum'?  Which is Latin for 'egg', which might be strangely appropriate, given the reactions so far.

I just watched the OAV.  Online, with the English dub.  All the mecha were cool, as were the fight scenes.

Not happy with Jun's look.  Especially when they show how she's dressed off-duty.  Jun's attractive, not slutty.  Let's not get into her costume (or out of it, for that matter). 

No real personality to the faces, or even to the team.  Joe didn't so much smolder as sort of sulk, it seemed.  Not a lot of angst.  Yeah, the smoking was rather dumb.

Leader X as giant eyeball.  I prefer the bird-head.  You could at least imagine that it was a disguise ('Pay no attention to the extremely powerful extraterrestrial behind the curtain!').  Now have mental image of the Science Ninja Technique: Eye Poke!

Dr. Nambu was only the worst-dressed of several badly-dressed people.  And that's without the hair.