The “G-Force” Movie, by Kylie Leane
G’day, fellow fanatics of all things fantastical!
Do you ever find yourself wondering where, in all sci-fi-space-fudge, did all the good cartoons go?Do not worry, you are not alone, I too have suffered this many a time. Growing up in the 90’s sure spoiled me.
Anime has saved me though. The Japanese, thank goodness, can tell stories—really good stories! So I am not surprised that finally, Battle of the Planets, a great cartoon from a time of great cartoons (or maybe I just seem to remember them all as being great) is finally being crafted into a live action film.
Battle of the Planets is the American adaption of the original Japanese 1972 version, Gatchaman. The show was pretty simple. Battle of the Planets followed a team of five young flying heroes called, G-Force. They protected Earth from the planet Spectra and the commander of its army forces Zoltar.
I am happy to say though, that the Japanese are making this film and the story will, without a doubt, be far better than that, nothing like what happened to Dragon Ball Z. I am pretty sure it will follow closer to the original Japanese anime, and as we all know, the original source material is usually…well…better.
Gatchaman, the film, thus far sounds like it is going to be a story set in a future Tokyo. Our heroes are the five specialized agents, called the Science Ninja Team Gatchaman. They are assembled by Dr. Nanbu to stop the terrorist organization Galactor from taking control of the world, using their advanced weapons and technology.
The movie is now in post-production, according to IMDb, and is premiering in Japan on August 24th, 2013. It is directed by Toya Sato and stars Go Ayano (Kamen Rider 555, Rurouni Kenshin movie) as Joe the Condor, Ayame Goriki (Mirai Nikki) Jun the Swan, Tori Matsuzaka (Samurai Sentai Shinkenger) as Ken the Eagle, Tatsuomi Hamada as Jinpei the Swallow and Ryohei Suzuki as Ryu the Owl.
Watch the first teaser trailer for the live action film:
Considering that lately so many of my favorite anime have been, and are being, made into live action movies I am incredibly proud of the Japanese film industry.
Fingers crossed that this will revitalize some of that old fashioned cartoon fun we used to fill our childhood minds with. I am an optimistic person, and cannot wait to see how this beloved old series translates into a new film.
A movie that I can recommend, to fill in the time, which is based off an epic anime series that was turned in a beautiful live action film is Rurouni Kenshin (2012):
One of my favorite cartoons growing up and great/fun childhood memories!