A new threat appears all over the world in the form of the terrorist group known as the Galactor. To combat the forces of Galactor, well-renowned scientist Kouzaburou Nanbu unleashes the Science Ninja Team Gatchaman, a team of five young heroes skilled in the art of ninjutsu and dressed in unique bird-like costumes.
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Description of Kagaku Ninja-Tai Gatchaman II the 1978 sequal to Kagaku Ninja-Tai Gatchaman:

Two years after suffering defeat at the hands of the Gatchaman team, Sosai X returns to Earth and crashes into an ocean liner. During the crash, he takes a four-year-old girl aboard the ship and mutates her into GelSadora, making her the new Gallactor leader. With Gallactor back on the rise, Dr. Nanbu and the ISO bring the Science Ninja Team Gatchaman back into active duty. But the Gatchaman team get the shock of their lives when their former teammate Joe the Condor - once thought to be dead after the team\'s final battle with Gallactor - returns as a cyborg.(1)
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Description of Kagaku Ninja-Tai Gatchaman Fighter the second sequal to Kagaku Ninja-Tai Gatchaman:

A surviving fragment of Sosai X mutates into Sosai Z and recruits megalomaniac Count Egobossler to create an army to conquer the world. To combat this new threat, the Science Ninja Team Gatchaman once again return with newer weapons and a new ship - the Gatchaspartan. But with the new weapons comes a heavy price: the more Ken the Eagle uses his weapon Gatchafencer as part of the Gatchaspartan\'s ultimate weapon, the weaker he gets as the weapon mysteriously and slowly drains his life force.(2)

(1)&(2) see additional information below.

Battle of the planets:

Kagaku Ninjatai Gatchaman was licensed in america in 1978. The original series was renamed Battle of the Planets and reduced from 105 episodes to 85.
It was further edited to remove the violence and new footage produced by Hanna-Barbera was inserted.
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G-Force:

The american liscense to Gatchaman (renamed Battle of the Planets) ended in the mid 1980\'s and was picked up by another american company Turner Broadcasting Services. The show remained at 85 episodes but the Hanna Barbera footage was replaced by the Japanese anime\'s original footage. The series was truer to the original in footage but contained a lackluster dub and was scored by disco music.


History of the anime:

1972: Kagaku Ninja-Tai Gatchaman - Japanese TV containing 105 episodes
1978: Battle of the Planets - US adaptation of 85 of the animes original episodes and edited for content.
1978: Kagaku Ninja-Tai Gatchaman II - Japanese TV containing 52 episodes 26 minutes each(1)
1979: Kagaku Ninja-Tai Gatchaman Fighter - Japanese TV containing 48 episodes at 24 minutes each(2)
1986: G-Force Guardians of Space - US remake of Battle of the Planets restoring edited content.
1994: Gatchaman \'94 OAV remake containing 3 - 45 minute episodes
1996: Eagle Riders Adapted from 65 episodes of Gatchaman II and Gatchaman F. (Only 13 episodes were released in the US)
2000: 4-one minute commericals featuring updated charter designs of the Gatchaman characters.