Karakter & Staf — Gatchaman

Ken Washio

Utama

Male

As The Gatchaman, Ken is the showman--the super spy, martial artist and ninja. He's quick and charismatic, and don't let those big blue eyes fool you--he's a hell-raiser who constantly takes foolish risks. He is amazingly inept at romance, either too heavy-handed or totally ignorant of the girl's feelings. He might do this because he feels a romantic relationship would interfere with his duty... or maybe he's just dense. Ken seems happiest when he's up in the air, flying alone in his little "Cessna" or testing some new flying machine. He spends most of his social time at the Snack Jun, running up a tab he never gets around to paying. Ken's goals are noble enough--to restore peace to the world--though for a short time, he fights to avenge his father's death. The burden of leadership lies heavy on his shoulders, especially during the final escalation of events at the end of the series. Cover Occupation: Test pilot. Also works part time delivering airmail to remote locations and doing other odd jobs which require the use of a small plane. Lives in a small shack beside a private airstrip, on a few acres of land willed to him by his father.

Katsuji Mori

Joe Asakura

Utama

Male

Joe is defined in the series guidelines as a "tragic, troubled loner," and indeed he seems to be a magnet for disaster. He lives to take revenge on Gallactor for killing his parents back when he was eight years old. It appears his father, Giuseppe Asakura, was a high-level leader in Gallactor until he either ran afoul of organizational politics or developed a conscience and decided to seek asylum with the ISO. It's unclear what his motives were, but he was waiting to meet with Dr. Nambu when a Devil Star fatally shot him and his wife, Katarina. Joe was nearly killed by the Devil Star as well, but was rescued by Dr. Nambu and later trained for the Kagaku Ninjatai. For a long time, he had no clear memories of his parents' deaths or Gallactor's motive for their assassination. Joe acts as a counterbalance for Ken--impulsive, impatient and furious when Ken is lucid; stable and sensible when Ken is acting irresponsibly. Joe is a top-class marksman and acts as chief gunner for the team. His preferred mode of action is "Shoot it now and improvise the rest," but he is by no means a cold-blooded murderer. He's good at hot-wiring his way out of tricky situations. Excels at throwing darts and knives; every member of the team carries feather shuriken, but use of these weapons becomes Joe's trademark. Cover Occupation: Private race driver; drives in endurance rally and stock car races. Lives in a small trailer, which he tows from race to race.

Isao Sasaki

Jun

Utama

Female

By 1970's Japanese standards, Jun is a "modern gal," strong willed and independent. She's the Team's technical expert, specializing in explosives and computer hacking. Jun has a crush on Ken, but also seems attracted to Joe (this is more obvious in Gatchaman II). She considers the other members of the team to be her family--especially Jinpei, who she found as an infant and adopted. Cover Occupation: Runs a bar/disco/coffee shop called the "Snack Jun." Sometimes works as a "go-go dancer" at her bar or other nightclubs. Plays guitar in a small band. (Source: http://www.chronicsite.com/gatchaman/characters.html) (3rd page)

Kazuko Sugiyama

Jinpei

Utama

Male

Jinpei's your typical bright, obnoxious kid who just happens to be a deadly ninja fighting to save the Earth. He considers the rest of the team his family, and Ryu is his "partner in crime" for comedy gags. Jinpei has a penchant for dragging home wild animals (seals, baby whales, stag beetles, puma cubs, big fat Gallactor spies...) and causing his sister no end of grief. He's always ready with a joke or truly bad pun. Nothing is known of Jinpei's true name or origin. Jun found him as an infant at the base of Mt. Jupiter, gave him a name and a birthday, and adopted him. Jinpei is possibly the last descendant of the Jupiter Ninja clan (which was later taken over by Gallactor), but no one knows for certain. Cover Occupation: Works for Jun as a waiter, cook, bartender and dishwasher at the Snack Jun. (Source:http://www.chronicsite.com/gatchaman/characters.html) (4th page)

Yoku Shioya

Ryuu Nakanishi

Utama

Male

Simple, solid and steadfast Ryu is the pilot of the Godphoenix and acts as general backup. He the only member of the Team with surviving family (his father and younger brother, Seiji), and the others give him special treatment, trying to keep him from getting hurt or killed, because of it. This often frustrates him, as he'd like a bigger part of the action. Ryu is the typical Japanese "country boy"--his accent and way of speaking are extremely regional. He loves the ocean and enjoys fishing, sailing or scuba diving. He always seems to be either eating or hungry, though his massive bulk is almost all muscle. One running gag in the series is his horrible luck with women. He is the only character in the series shown actually pursuing a date. Cover Occupation: Runs a marina (yacht harbor)

Shingo Kanemoto

Nambu Kozaburou

Utama

Male

Occupation: Chief scientist and administrator for the International Science Organization (ISO), a powerful group that leads the war against the Gallactor Syndicate. Mentor/dispatcher/sponsor of the Kagaku Ninjatai. Nambu is a respected alumnus in several prestigious universities, including Harvard and Cambridge, and his field of expertise is astrophysics. He is a ruthless leader and a stern disciplinarian who is used to having his orders followed. Dr. Nambu adopted and most likely trained the five young people that became the Kagaku Ninjatai. He is physically and mentally much tougher than he appears.

Tooru Oohira

Berg Katze

Utama

Non-binary

One of 2 main villains of the 1st season of Kagaku Ninja-Tai Gatchaman. Subgeneral of terrotist organization called Galactor - works under supervivion of Sosai X (General/ Leader X). At the beginning of the series they are 27/28 years old (date of birth : October 3, 1974). Specialties: A master of disguise and subterfuge, full of tricks and hidden bombs. A superb escape artist. Info: Katze is a mutant, created when Sosai X merged male and female twins in their mother's womb. As a result, Katze can shift genders, and spent years transferring between schools due to a yearly gender change until he gained control over this ability. When female, Katze is said to have an IQ of over 280 (and is sometimes seen in the series as the Female General, or Mala in Battle of the Planets). Katse may also be able to change shape. Katze managed to keep its identity secret throughout most of the series until Dr. Nambu dug up some old school records and documentation, then fit the puzzle pieces together. Voice Actors: Terashima Mikio (Gatchaman); Shiozawa Kaneto (Gatchaman '94); Keye Luke (BotP); Bill Capizzi (G-Force) <br> Gatchaman Crowds: An androgynous, mysterious individual who is named after a main villain from the original series. Berg has the power to assume anyone's identity by kissing them, which is used to frame people for various crimes. Berg also displays powers of levitation and teleportation. Both Paiman and O.D seem to know about Berg, who also possesses a NOTE, golden in color with a unique symbol. According to them, Berg Katse is a malicious being whose purpose is to destroy all life in the universe by turning the individuals of the planets it attacks against each other, leading them to mutually annihilate themselves.

Mikio Terashima