Gatchaman Wiki
Register
Advertisement
Ken Washio
Ken Washio
Characteristics
Race

Human

Gender

Male

Age

18 (Gatchaman, OVA series); 24 (IF)

Height

180cm

Weight

60kg

Hair Color

Dark brown; grey (IF)

Eye Color

Blue

Personal Status
Status

active

Relatives

Kentaro Washio (Father), Dr. Kozaburo Nambu (Guardian)

Voice Actor

Katsuji Mori, Masaya Onosaka (OVA), Tomokazu Seki (IF)

First Appearance
Anime Debut

Gatchaman Versus Turtle King

Ken Washio (鷲尾 健, Washio Ken), also known as G-1: Ken the Eagle and Gatchaman, is the Science Ninja Team's leader and tactician. His Bird Style is based on the Eagle.

When not in costume, Ken works as an aircraft test pilot and delivers parcels by air mail.

Background[]

Ken ep45 (GII) 1

Ken without his helmet

Ken's father disappeared in his early childhood, leaving him to grow up believing that his father had died in a plane crash. Eventually, he would become a complete orphan at age 11 when his mother died of illness[1].

From that point, Ken spent most of his life under the wing of Dr. Nambu, first undergoing the training to become G-1/Gatchaman when he turned 13[2]. To keep a cover, Ken got a job as a test pilot and delivery boy while living in his father's old office on a small airfield.

In Gatchaman II, we're told that Ken spent the "fiery youth" of his teenage years in flight school until he suddenly left, presumably to be recruited by Dr. Nambu for the team or to start their missions [3]. The reference to him being in flight school would have been four years prior to the start of II, leaving his age up for determination (see Trivia for more) but presenting a different telling than Hisayuki Toriumi's intent of the original series. We are also shown a bit more of his past when he comes back into contact with his junior high school teacher Dr. Shimomura [4]

OVA Version[]

As with the original series, Ken's father deserted him, although Ken once got to see him show up at his mother's funeral. While his mother was never given a name in the original series, the OVA universe identifies her as a Sayuri Washio.

Ken himself would spend time fighting as a pilot in the War of Marseilles, being referred to as "The Star of Africa" in his time. Besides inheriting the air strip, he would also be left with his father's large book collection.

Infini-T Force[]

It can be figured there are similarities in this Ken's backstory, though also differences due to the war against Berg Katse having spanned six years in his world (contrary to the original series) and there being no indications of the sequels' events having happened.

Appearance[]

Kenwashio

Ken the Eagle

Ken is a young man with shoulder-length, somewhat messy brown hair, and blue eyes. His civilian clothing in the first series consists of a red-and-teal T-shirt with the number "1" on it, white bellbottom pants, and occasionally a pair of blue flight gloves. In the following sequel series, Ken's clothing changes so that he wears two-tone blue "1" shirt and has straight-legged pants.

His Bird Style is primarily white, with blue gloves and boots. His white feathered cape has a red interior, while his helmet is accented in red and black, with a blue, beak-like visor. As with the other Bird Styles, it bears a red "Gatchaman" emblem and has a "G"-themed belt.

OVA[]

Ken was redesigned to have short hair in this remake, and his usual civilian outfit is a blue hoodie and jeans. Rather than having a "1" on his clothing, it is relegated to being a symbol on a necklace that he wears.

His Bird Style was also redesigned to be primarily blue in the bodysuit, although bearing white accents to it and keeping the white cape and helmet. His "G" belt was taken away, with only the symbol existing as a built-in part to his suit.

Cancelled Imagi Film Project[]

Ken's Bird Style was to initially take more inspiration from the 2000 NTT Gatchaman project, in having a more armored appearance, though it strangely lacked the "G" belt. Later concept art by Charlie Wen took more inspiration from the OVA with the uniform, although the suit was primarily white with blue trim and accents. By the time of Tohru Patrick Awa as character designer, Ken's suit would be closer in line to the original series but have visible seams and a raised, 3D bird emblem.

His civilian appearance, as seen in early renders, had him with choppy, wavy brown hair. He would wear a white, short-sleeved shirt with black stripes running up the arms (in an earlier render and storyboards, this also had an "ISO" patch on its left breast and the word "CADET" emblazoned on the back of the shirt), and dark gray pants. Later renders would show that he underwent some degree of redesign, focusing on giving him a royal blue T-shirt and lighter pants, along with much shorter hair.

Ken the Eagle (IF)

Ken the Eagle

Infini-T Force[]

Unlike the previous redesign, this Bird Style was more inspired to the original but armored and some more stylized accessories such as his classic helmet, chest, gloves and boots. He also has now more sophisticated support tools.

When seen outside the Bird Style, the Ken of this universe can be seen to be redesigned; he is much taller with short, grey hair and stubble on his face. This gives him an older impression, in addition to him already being set as an adult man and the eldest of the revamped Tatsunoko characters at age 24.

Personality[]

Ken is usually a calm and collected person, but can get swept up in emotion in a crisis and may require the help of his team to pull himself through. He is an avid reader of books in his spare time, and likes flying.

However, Ken is also very foolish when it comes to spending his money and often slacks off at paying his tab at the Snack Jun, relying on Jinpei to do so or to give him free food. Ken is not very picky about food, and will gladly enjoy Japanese or Western-style cuisine. Though he is fussy about fashion, he won't dare spend his money on first-class products.

He is well-versed in many types of martial arts, and wants to be an officer of the ISO when the war against Galactor is finally over.[5] In particular, he is said to be 2nd class in judo, and 3rd in karate, but has also been trained in kendo, kobudo, aikido, and can effortlessly perform kickboxing and boxing moves in a Galactor fight [6].

Ken may wind up popular with women from time to time, Jun included, but he is bad at expressing himself to them and doesn't tend to reciprocate feelings.

Relationships[]

Kentaro Washio/Red Impulse[]

Ken was close with his father and aspired to become a good man like him, although his early childhood was also fraught with rough treatment by his father in times like learning to swim. Unbeknownst to Ken, his father had to undergo a secret mission and would fake his death in order to investigate Galactor further.

Upon meeting Red Impulse, Ken felt a familiar presence but could not figure out why until episode 53, where this mysterious man revealed that he was indeed Ken's father. Unfortunately, this revelation came immediately before Red Impulse sacrificed himself to destroy Galactor's V2 missile.

Ken was upset that he had lost his father for good, but after coming out of his depression, he was only more determined to finish off Galactor. A ruse of Gel Sadra pretending to have Red Impulse alive in Gatchaman II managed to catch Ken off-guard, preying on his loss as a way to lure him in.

Although a detail that does not come up in the series itself, some planning and literary materials related to the show mention that Kentaro had left Ken an acoustic guitar as a memento in his youth, and that he has learned to play it.

Joe Asakura[]

As second-in-command of the team, Joe is usually the one Ken communicates with the most next to Jun. They tend to butt heads with each other due to their differing personalities and way of handling situations, especially when it comes to Bird Missiles or what to do about the enemy. However, Ken sees Joe as one of his closest friends and allies, and knows when to count on him in missions.

Joe first met Ken after he was rescued by Nambu, though they rarely got to see each other during his first few years under the doctor's care[7]. In the times that the two did get to interact, they didn't get along much due to their differing backgrounds, with Ken finding the situation to be awkward and unfamiliar to him while Joe envied how carefree Ken could be with his parents gone.[8] No matter how it seemed like Ken would try to ignore or leave Joe behind though, the other boy seemed to stay interested in him. By the time they were both 13, they would be summoned for their training by Nambu to become Science Ninjas.[9]

Infini-T Force[]

These versions of Ken and Joe were taken from their native world and wound up on two entirely different Earths; Ken in the world Emi lives, and Joe in a dark world known as "Another Gatchaman World". In this specific world, the rest of the Science Ninja Team had died due to Galactor, leaving Ken as the sole remaining member until he was killed by Dr. Nambu, who became fixated on power and using the Nexus to not only eliminate Galactor, but to use it to control this world with militaristic power.

Ken and Joe would reunite when Ken traveled to "Another Gatchaman World", in search of his other teammates and with the belief that they had been all scattered across different Earths. Joe would insist the way to stop the Nambu of this world would be to kill him, although Ken was opposed to the idea as he couldn't separate this Nambu from the one that raised him. While Joe would eventually succeed in killing the Nambu of "Another Gatchaman World", he was subsequently shot to death by Sasaoka.

While Emi and the rest of the Infini-T Force team would depart after the situation with the Nexus was resolved, Ken opted to stay in "Another Gatchaman World" fighting as its only hero, continuing the battle in memory of Joe and that world's fallen team.

As the events of II and Fighter do not appear to have happened, this Joe is still fully-human and this Ken would not have suffered from the effects of the Hypershoot.

Jun[]

Ken sees Jun as a respectable and trustworthy teammate, but is usually ignorant of her feelings for him due to his intense focus on defeating Galactor, neither does he appear to have any interest in starting a romantic relationship with her or anyone else. In spite of this, Ken appreciates what Jun does to help him in tough situations.

Emi Kaido[]

In the Infini-T Force series, Ken is taken to another dimension where he and the other gathered heroes meet Emi Kaido, an emotionless young girl who doesn't care about anything. Ken, as the oldest of the heroes, takes on a guardian role for Emi.

Weapons and Arsenal[]

Fighting Style[]

Ken's Eagle Style focuses on speed and agility while using his boomerang. Sometimes he even uses his weapons while transforming. Ken's Bird Run allows him to run on most surfaces including the sides of buildings and water.

Weapons[]

  • Boomerang: A special type of boomerang with a rocket propelled tail. The primary and original weapon of Ken in the first series.
    Bird Run

    Ken holding the boomerang

  • Bird Saucer: A collapsible bladed discus that replaced the boomerang in Gatchaman II. 
    Bird Saucer

    Bird Saucer

  • Shock Gun: A multipurpose blaster equipped with a variety of ammo for specific tasks such as a grenade launcher for demolition or a stun blast for infiltration missions. Default secondary weapon of Ken and Joe in Gatchaman II.
  • Gatchaman Fencer: A sword that Ken used as his primary weapon during Gatchaman Fighter. While a normal collapsible sword in default mode, it can be powered up by the Gatchaspartan's Delta Energy, turning it into a electrified beam sword that wields 200,000 kW of power capable of slicing through solid steel.

Science Ninja Techniques[]

  • Science Ninja Technique: Bird Flash: Releases a blinding light to disorient foes.
  • Science Ninja Technique: Shadow Clone: A high tech variation of an old ninja trick where a ninja would move so fast that they would create illusionary copies of themselves. In this version, the birdstyle suit glows for a second, creating and projecting solid hologram doubles of Ken.
  • Science Ninja Technique: Tornado Fighter: Forming a tornado spin.

G-1 Mecha[]

G-1

  • Eagle Sharp: Ken's fighter jet from Gatchaman II. Later destroyed.
Eagle Sharp

Eagle Sharp

  • Gatcha One: Ken's red and white jet plane in Gatchaman Fighter. After the destruction of Eagle Sharp and the New God Phoenix, Ken received this new mecha. Armed with lasers and twin missile launchers. It is one of the five vehicles used to combine into the Gatchaspartan and the primary vehicle used in the Hypershoot attack maneuver. When combining, the Gatcha One forms the front of the ship.
    Gatcha One

    Gatcha One

Appearances in other media[]

Yatterman (2008)[]

Ken first makes a brief cameo in the second episode alongside Jun, with both eating takoyaki. He later appears in a brief speaking role in the special "Episode 12.5", stopping the Doronbo Gang from stealing a ring.

He is also seen in a cameo in episode 3, or an actor dressed as him in his Gatchaman costume, in a scene with a Hollywood set.

Ken later appears as part of a crowd lured in by the Doronbo gang's latest scam in episode 24, although his shirt is depicted with a "G" on it (as opposed to a "1") for the specific shot. All of his out-of-costume appearances use his streetwear from the original series, as opposed to the Gatchaman II/Fighter design.

Time Bokan: Royal Revival (1994)[]

Ken appears in the second episode of the OVA, first in a flashback of him and the rest of the team with Doctor Nambu eating at Boyacky's restaurant. They leave without paying, though Boyacky tries to track them down and finds that they escaped through a manhole to the Tatsunoko Kingdom.

He later shows up for the battle against Sailor Mun Mun, but winds up insulting Jun and gets beaten up by both her and Hurricane Polymar.

His out-of-costume appearance in the OVA is of his Gatchaman II/Fighter design, with the blue "1" shirt. Joe and Ryu also bear their sequel series designs, while Jun and Jinpei were depicted in their original streetwear.

Wonderful Tatsunoko Land (1999)[]

Ken and the rest of the Science Ninja Team showed up in a brief segment in this New Years Eve special.

Ken the Eagle in Infini-T Force

His new design based on the manga. he also aged up to 24.

Videogames[]

Ken is a playable character in the fighting games Tatsunoko Fight and Tatsunoko vs. Capcom.

Manga[]

Ken is the main lead character summoned in the Infini-T Force manga, which is a parallel continuity to that of the anime.

Alterations in International Adaptations[]

This section below deals with various name changes, rewrites, or cases of censorship that Ken would undergo in foreign versions of Gatchaman.

Taiwan[]

Science Youth Flying Knights[]

Ken was renamed Tiěxióng, with the surname "Jin" included in the first series as well. He is also known as the White Eagle.

South Korea[]

Eagle 5 Brothers[]

Ken was renamed Dongwook in the original dubbing for Tongyang Broadcasting Channel.

When the series was redubbed in the 1990s, the character was given the name of Geon and this carried to the sequels. His codename also changed to Phoenixman.

Compilation film of "Eagle 5 Brothers"[]

This version is also known as Dongwook, and continues in his role as the leader of the team.

USA[]

Battle of the Planets (1978)[]

This first English adaptation rechristened Ken as Mark and significantly altered his personality as well, making him a virtually different character along with the rest of the team.

In Battle, Mark is depicted as more of an ideal leader and role model for the younger viewers, and is continuously praised by 7-Zark-7. He seems to be calmer and more restrained than Ken, and also seems to openly reciprocate Princess's feelings for him (while Ken brushed off Jun's flirting or remained oblivious). Due to this, Mark will not be receptive to the advances of other women, such as Amanda Gregg.

In a consistent element, Red Impulse was renamed Colonel Cronus and described as a mentor and "old friend" of Mark's. However, due to the re-arrangement of episodes and events, their arc together has several changes. It may be rather confusing whether you view the series in the original Gatchaman order or in Sandy Frank's production order, so below are bullet points attempting to make sense of the re-construction:

  • The episode originally #61, "The Phantom Red Impulse", was adapted and aired as the 19th episode, "Attack of the Alien Wasp". We are introduced to Colonel Cronus as Mark's mentor, only to later learn this is actually Zoltar in disguise and that Cronus was killed by an assassin.
  • Three episodes involving Red Impulse that originally came earlier in Gatchaman were adapted much later in the series, with "The Mysterious Red Impulse" (11), "Galactor's Challenge" (44) and "Cata-Roller, The Revolving Beast" (51) becoming "Space Rocket Escort" (23), "Raid on Riga" (33) and "The Peaks of Planet Odin" (65). Due to the shifting of Red Impulse's debut episode to now be the second appearance of Cronus, we're shown that Cronus actually survived his apparent assassination and he's referenced as having been impersonated before. The photo of Red Impulse's family in the Cata-Roller episode was also changed in context, with the woman and child said to be Cronus' wife and young son Timmy who are currently missing. The narration at the end of the episode assures us that Cronus had managed to be reunited with them, thankfully.
  • "Gatchaman Burns with Rage" (54), originally a coda to the below Red Impulse arc, was translated as the 30th episode "Raid of the Red Scorpion". In the plot alterations, we're told Mark seeks revenge for the murder of his father by the Spectra assassin Gartz, who supposedly killed him in his sleep. Or rather, this may be what Chief Anderson has led Mark to believe, when we consider the revelations of the episodes below in mind for Battle continuity.
  • In Gatchaman, the Cata-Roller episode was followed by a two-parter; "Red Impulse's Secret" (52) and "Farewell Red Impulse" (53). These were adapted towards the end of Battle's run as "The Sky is Falling!" (79, 80). The element of Cronus secretly being Mark's father was retained, although Red Impulse's sacrifice was altered; after the Earth is saved, a 7-Zark-7 stock footage sequence reveals that Cronus ejected in an escape capsule last-minute before the detonation, and that he returned to Planet Riga safely.
  • "Matangar, the Armored Iron Beast" (90) was adapted as "The Awesome Armadillo" (52), placing it before pivotal episodes involving Red Impulse/Colonel Cronus. This came with the alteration in script to have Mark mourning a dead older brother instead of a father.

From trying to make sense of these changes and putting them in Sandy Frank's order, we can see that Mark may not have grown up with a mother in his life as long as Ken had. He also had and lost an older brother at some point in life, while his father appears to have remarried, giving Mark a stepmother and younger half-brother as a result.

As with other members of G-Force, Mark is stated to have "cerebonic implants" that are responsible for his high martial arts skill. These implants are not delved into much more, but it is said the G-Force teenagers have had these since birth (though "cerebonic" would imply something to do with their brain,and the possible location of such devices).

G-Force: Guardians of Space (1987)[]

Ken is renamed Ace Goodheart, and his backstory is much closer to the original, as well as the Red Impulse arc keeping the ending with his father's sacrifice. Ace is utilized as the narrator for various episodes, explaining the story to the viewers and summarizing some events (including scenes cut for time). 

An earlier pitch version of "G-Force" (pre-Fred Ladd) had the character named "Lucas", and other test pilots that Turner had other companies do may have had their own various name choices.

Other countries that would receive this reversioning would either keep Ace's name as it was in English, or translate it literally to their own variants (eg: As Corazón Noble).

Eagle Riders (1996)[]

He is renamed to Hunter Harris, and his Bird Style is referred to as a "Hawk" rather than that of the Eagle.

An episode containing a flashback to the climax of the Red Impulse arc has its dialogue greatly altered to imply that Hunter and his father Harley had a much closer relationship, and that his father had never taken on a secret identity.

Hunter later contracts a wasting disease, as Ken did in Fighter. Unlike Ken however, Hunter is said to have had his disease fully cured.

Countries that fell under Saban's international contract for broadcasting this version would later receive their own dubs with these name and footage changes, although the Italian version would opt to keep the Ken name intact (but referring to him as "Ken the Hawk" rather than "Ken the Eagle").

France[]

In France's La Bataille des Planetes dubbing, his name was given as the more French spelling of Marc.

In contrast, for the 1986 compilation film of Gatchaman II, the Ken name would be retained.

Italy[]

Gatchaman: Battaglia dei Pianeti would mainly be based off of Battle of the Planets' scripts for the dubbing of the first series, but opted to keep this character's name as Ken.

Voice Actors[]

Katsuji Mori voiced Ken in the original franchise, as well as reprising his role for cameos in the Time Bokan OVA and the 2008 Yatterman series. He also provides the "Ken" voice clips for the Tatsunoko vs. Capcom games.

However, Ken was voiced by Masaya Onosaka in the 1994 OVA remake, as a way to put a whole new spin on the character.

Another alternate version of Ken is voiced by Tomokazu Seki in Infini T-Force.

English Adaptations[]

  • Battle of the Planets: Casey Kasem
  • G-Force: Guardians of Space: Sam Fontana (Sparklin Entertainment), Don Spalding (Media360 Group Pilot, "Lucas")
  • Eagle Riders: Richard Cansino (series), Bob Bergen (some remaining line readings in early episodes)
  • OVA: Eddie Frierson (1997 Harmony Gold dub), Leraldo Anzaldua (redub)
  • Time Bokan Royal Revival: Jonathan Todd Ross
  • ADV dub of Gatchaman series and movie: Leraldo Anzaldua
  • Infini-T Force: Johnny-Yong Bosch

Gallery[]

Trivia[]

  • There is debate and speculation over just how much time exactly may pass in the original Gatchaman franchise (when considering the out-of-universe airing of the show, or some events within the series itself seeming to reflecting time such as Galactor's first war taking "a year and 10 months"). This in turn would affect the interpretation of Ken's age in the sequels, which start two years after the original. No official age settings were given beyond the first series, leaving some to assume Ken would start off 20 in Gatchaman II, if not keeping the "real time" factor of the original series in mind.
    • In calculating age vs. what's known of some time passage in the original show and sequels, Ken would start his adventure at age 18 and be at least 20 by the end of the first series (depending on when his birthday may fall). Adding two years on for Gatchaman II would make him at least 22, and a year added through that series and through Gatchaman Fighter would bring him to 24. This would coincidentally be his age in Infini-T Force, which reflects that the war against Galactor has been going on for six years, yet still presents an alternate take on continuity with only acknowledging Berg Katse and nothing of II and Fighter.
    • However, there is no indication in any settings or the series that the characters' ages change (aside from Jinpei celebrating a birthday late in the first series and then having a birthday episode in Fighter), leaving fans to figure Tatsunoko made them deliberately "ageless" or leaving how much they'd age over the franchise up to viewers' interpretation.
    • A popular fanon birthday for Ken picked out in the Japanese fandom as far back as the 1970s, but which is not official by Tatsunoko, is April 4th, making him an Aries.
  • Ken's boomerang and call of "Bird Run!" when using it are often mistaken as being called "Birdrang", though "Bird Run" is intended as the name of the attack and has also been shouted by other team members. However, some later sources and remake attempts like that of Imagi would adopt the "Birdrang" name for themselves.
  • Ken would be sourced for the protagonist Jun in the Korean mockbuster of Iron Man 007.
  • An early considered design for Gatchaman II (as seen in the book Gatchaman Material) depicted Ken wearing a blue jacket and hat over his original "1" shirt, as well as his pants being straight-legged and his shoes being blue sneakers. This was rejected in favor of him having an all-new blue "1" shirt, as well as a "K" buckled belt, though the straighter-legged pants still made it in.
  • Ken's design aesthetic would be infamously repeated for different Tatsunoko boys to follow; Tetsuya Azuma in Casshan, Joji Minami in Tekkaman, Daigo Otaki in Gordian Warrior, and Kuni Yamadai in God Legend Sadamoebius can be seen as the most notable examples in all bearing longer, somewhat wild brown hair and wide blue eyes. Before his longer hair was decided, he was meant to be more in the model of Tatsunoko heroes such as Go Mifune and Bunta Oozora.

Development Period[]

  • In an early planning document by Tatsunoko, Ken's codename was initially "Science Ninja Squad Member #5", with his role as the fifth member being most vital (ala 009 of Cyborg 009) and using a motorcycle in battle. This soon changed to have his number be 1, to go with him being the leader. These early character profile settings had his name given as Ken Hayabusa (隼健), with his surname patterned after that of the peregrine falcon and bearing indication of his first intended motif.[10] Due to this, some early scenario scripts that were produced may still have the "Ken Hayabusa" name written down, though others may have "Ken the Eagle" indicating they were written later. Coincidentally, the Ken Hayabusa name would wind up better known as that of the protagonist for Toei's Machine Hayabusa in 1976, with the project having been penned by Tatsuo Yoshida's former assistant Mikiya Mochizuki.
  • An even earlier document, mentioned in Tatsunoko history articles in the magazine Mandarake Zenbu[11], had the protagonist of the work (then titled "Science Ninja Team") as Ichiro Hayabusa (隼一郎). In this setting, Ichiro was a boy adventurer who was a world-famous pilot that worked for the Science Ninja Team and the International Science Patrol. An image of Ichiro was included with the second article, depicting him as a short-haired young man in a suit, tie, and cap on his head. At this point, he resembled Go Mifune in design more than anything like the current Ken.
  • Even in finalized settei, Ken's bird designation was listed as "Big Hawk" in katakana (ビッグホークの健)[12], but was changed to "Big Eagle" (大鷲, oowashi, Japanese term for the "Steller's sea eagle") at some point during the last drafts for the first episode script, or possibly in the recording session. Some fans note how the "eagle" seen in some stock footage of his transformation in fact has a silhouette more like a hawk. Similar discontinuity appeared in other Tatsunoko anime before (eg: Hakushon Daimao's favorite food is said to be "Hamburg Steak", but resembles croquettes more due to the fact those were the original intended food before the dialogue about it was changed in the recording stage).
  • When it came to designing Ken, the planner Satoshi Suyama wrote that he was to be modeled after the actor Sonny Chiba[13]
  • Various early illustrations of Ken in Bird Style showed his gloves and boots to have yellow stripes, which were done away with through later drafts to simplify the design for animation[14]. His original proposed weapon was also a sleep gas pistol, instead of a boomerang. The usage of some sort of gun also carried to early notes where it stated that Ken Hayabusa was a hobbyist marksman.
  • Some early watercolor illustrations and settei of Ken by Tatsuo Yoshida and Ippei Kuri depict him with slightly shorter, choppier and uneven hair, along with his pants being khaki instead of white. Other than these details, Ken's design would make it through relatively intact, down to the "1" on his shirt being hollow with yellow outlines; the other team members' numbers were also originally considered to be in a similar style (all being white-outlined with red centers), but it was decided to make Ken only have his number hollow to make him stand out (although some animation errors will show all the characters with the hollow/outlined numbers).

Ken vs. American Comics and Cartoons[]

  • Coincidentally, the boomerang and the Batman Beyond's Batarang share a similar, collapsible design.
  • However, Robin's Birdarang from the TV series Teen Titans bears more resemblance to Ken's weapon, save for the red and yellow coloring. This is intentional, as Glen Murakami and other staff were known to be avid fans of anime, and Gatchaman would receive other shout-outs in the show itself (with a parody of Battle of the Planets titled "Clash of the Planets", Robin's motorcycle helmet and cape bearing a Science Ninja Team motif, and the Trouble in Tokyo movie having a Gatchaman shout-out).

References[]

  1. Ken's age at the time of his mother's death is given in episode 92. This age is also corroborated by Fantastic Collection vol.2, though Hisayuki Toriumi's light novel gives his age as 8.
  2. Hisayuki Toriumi, light novel "SF Roman Science Ninja Team Gatchaman", 1978.
  3. Gatchaman II episode 21, "Broken Wings of Youth"
  4. Gatchaman II episode 23, "Love Extinguished at the North Pole"
  5. Magazine "The Anime", January 1980
  6. Gatchaman Color Encyclopedia, Hibari Shobo
  7. Hisayuki Toriumi, Fantastic Collection vol.1 "The Story of Condor Joe"
  8. Fantastic TV Collection vol.3: Science Ninja Team Gatchaman part 2 (Asahi Sonorama)
  9. Toriumi, "SF Roman Science Ninja Team Gatchaman"
  10. Columbia DVD vol.5 liner notes, "First series proposal"
  11. Issues 45 and 59 of Zenbu, November 2009 and June 2013.
  12. The republished settei sheet in books reads "G-1 Shadow Ken the Big Hawk"
  13. Columbia DVD vol.5 liner notes, "First series proposal"
  14. https://www.battleoftheplanets.info/kurirough.html Ippei Kuri roughs for Ken, Battle of The Planets.Info.
Advertisement