Science Fiction Non-Fiction: Hofius And Khoury (Gatchaman)

"The characters were distinctive, having depth along with individual personal quirks.  This was a show where the characters were real; they had to have a responsibility for their actions because otherwise innocent people could pay a violent end for their consequences.  It was the show that broke the mold for anime and made it more mature and more exciting...."

 

-Jason Hofius and George Khoury, G-Force Animated: The Official Battle Of The Planets Guidebook (p.10)-

 

Gatchaman (1972-1974) was the real deal and though Battle Of The Planets (1978) was, for all intents and purposes stateside, a watered-down version of the Japanese original minus much of the more thrilling, graphic violence, surprising for a cartoon now more than forty years old, Battle Of The Planets still retained much of the emotional punch and depth.  It was the dramatic arcs and small touches to its characters that was never lost on kids.  The violence may have been reduced, but the overactive imaginations of children everywhere filled in all of the gaps.

40 years!  Can you believe it?