Science Ninja Team Gatchaman — Season 1, Episode 63: The Devilish Mecha Ball Which Kills Everything

Episode synopsis

Professional baseball players disappear in front of the spectators during a short power outage in the middle of a match. Nambu thinks that it's Galactor's fault and according to his instructions, the Science Ninja Team are keeping guard everywhere in the baseball stadium. During another game, a similar power outage happens, and the players disappear before their eyes again. This time however, Jinpei, who was acting as a ball boy on the field, has disappeared as well. The remaining four team members go to investigate the ground thoroughly in the middle of the night. But suddenly the surface of the earth breaks open and Ken and Jun fall into a secret subterranean base. They are made to inhale some gas and are taken into a cell. Jinpei is already in the cell. He says that the players are brainwashed by some kind of drug and are to receive a special training in order to turn them into Galactor members. The three of them escape from the cell. Katse tells them that during the match this evening under the floodlight, a hydrogen bomb might explode. It would be capable of blowing away the whole country. Then he escapes. Ken contacts Nambu. Joe and Ryu start to search immediately for the bomb on the surface, but the game has already begun. Ken gets information from the commander that if a homerun ball hits the backscreen, the fuse will be activated. A homerunball is hit. Joe and the others aim at the ball flying towards the backscreen. All four weapons miss their aim. However, the ball is knocked away just before hitting the backscreen. The ball falls to the ground and it is pierced by Ken's boomerang.

About Science Ninja Team Gatchaman

Science Ninja Team Gatchaman is a five-member superhero team that is composed of the main characters in several anime created by Tatsuo Yoshida and originally produced in Japan by Tatsunoko Productions and later adapted into several English-language versions. It is also known by the abbreviated name Gatchaman. The original series, produced in 1972, was eponymously named Kagaku Ninja Tai Gatchaman and is most well known to the English-speaking world as the adaptation titled Battle of the Planets. The series received additional English adaptations with G-Force: Guardians of Space and ADV Films' uncut 2005 release. Tatsunoko also uses the official translation Science Commando Gatchaman, as shown in numerous related products and media. Because the English-language versions are notoriously inconsistent not only with one another but also with the original Japanese series, viewers most familiar with the English versions often experience some confusion upon re-examining the series after a long hiatus. The original 1972 Kagaku Ninja Tai Gatchaman series was followed by an animated film, two sequel series, Gatchaman II, and Gatchaman Fighter. In the 90's, episodes from both series were dubbed into English by Saban as Eagle Riders. In 1994, the original series was remade as a condensed OVA series.

More episodes from Season 1

• E1Gatchaman Versus Turtle King
• E2The Apparition of a Demonic Ghostly Airplane Carrier
• E3The Giant Mummy that Calls the Storm
• E4Revenge on the Mecha Mechadegon
• E5Ghost Fleet from Hell
• E6The Big Maneuver of the Mini Robots
• E7Galactor's Big Aviation Show
• E8The Secret of Crescent Coral
• E9The Demon from the Moon
• E10The Big Battle of the Underground Monsters
• E11The Mysterious Red Impulse
• E12The Greedy Monster Ibukuron