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Column by Scott Green
Twitch notes Imagi, the studio behind the new TMNT CG movie has posted concept illustrations from the pre-production work for their adaptation of Gatchaman on www.imagi.com. The images can accessed through their Flash interface by selecting "Our Films", then "View Images." Tatsunoko's 1972 (Speed Racer, Macross/Robotech) adventure sci-fi Science Ninja Team Gatchaman was adapted for American TV as Battle of the Planets in the wake of the Star Wars phenomenon, then again as G-Force in 1986. Recently, an unedited version of the anime was released in North American on DVD by ADV Films. Starting the transforming sentai team tradition, Gatchaman mixed the idea of costumed superheros with a host of vehicle based mecha. A team of five highly train bird-themed teen ninja, working for the International Science Organization, thwart the evil Galactor's plans of environmental and world domination. While aspects like the series' adversaries, such a mummy on a biplane, serve as examples of what would now be consider high-camp, comparable to silver-age comics, its imaginative action and its serious sense of consequence have maintained the work's respectability over the years. Twitch also reports that TMNT writer/director Kevin Munroe has indicated that he plans to stay close to the original anime and re-use its villains.
