A Feather Shuriken by Any Other Name: Characters

Wait, that's not the name I remember...

One of the most confusing things for fans is all the different names. They stumble on something that looks like the show they watched...but the names are all wrong!

Never fear, they're right somewhere. It's just a matter of tracking down which version you're really looking for.

Since the names are such an issue, let's start there.

The Team

Gatchaman follows the adventures of the five young heroes in the Kagaku Ninjatai (Science Ninja Team):

  1. Ken Washio, the Eagle (Ôwashi no Ken/Gatchaman) - Age at series start: 18
    • BotP: Mark
    • G-Force: Ace Goodheart
    • Eagle Riders: Hunter Harris
  2. Joe Asakura, the Condor (Kondoru no Jô) - Age at series start: 18
    • BotP: Jason
    • G-Force: Dirk Daring
    • Eagle Riders: Joe Thax
  3. Jun the Swan (Shiratori no Jun) - Age at series start: 16
    • BotP: Princess
    • G-Force: Agatha Jun
    • Eagle Riders: Kelly Jennar
  4. Jinpei the Swallow (Tsubakuro no Jinpei) - Age at series start: 10
    • BotP: Keyop
    • G-Force: PeeWee
    • Eagle Riders: Mickey Dugan
    • OVAs: Jimmy
  5. Ryu Nakanishi, the Horned Owl (Mimizuku no Ryu) - Age at series start: 17
    • BotP: Tiny
    • G-Force: Hoot Owl
    • Eagle Riders: Ollie Keeawani
    • OVAs: Rocky

You'll notice that only the men have last names in Gatchaman.

The team was assembled by the independently wealthy Kozaburo Nambu, whom the team usually refer to as Nambu Hakase (literally, Nambu Dr., the Japanese put titles after the name). Nambu works for the International Science Organization (ISO). Sometimes, when Nambu is unavailable (i.e. has been kidnapped by Galactor), Chief Anderson, who heads the ISO and is involved with the United Nations, will give the team orders.

The team is called out for the first time when Galactor makes a very public terrorist attack with its first mecha: the Turtle King. When the team takes the Turtle King down, they nearly end up killing themselves, too. Berg Katse is a determined sort, particularly since's being ordered around by the arrogant Sosai X, so in each episode of the show Galactor rolls out a new mecha.

In Gatchaman II, Katse is replaced by Gelsadra who is, as Katse was, one of Sosai's experiments. Count Egobossler, the Gatchaman F villain, however, is a human that Sosai seeks out as an ally.