Science Ninja Team Gatchaman — Season 1, Episode 97: The Spaceship Leona 3, Gone Tomorrow

Episode synopsis

From the UN rocket launch site the two-man rocket, Leona 3 is launched in order to solve the mysteries of the Milky Way Nebula. Nambu leaves the launch site together with the president in a private plane, but then they are reported missing. The real president has been killed before the launch. Suddenly, Leona 3 deviates from its course. The control mechanism in both the machine and the control center has no effect. As it stands, it seems that the rocket will crash on the Shaku peninsula, resulting in 20.000 dead and injured people. The Science Ninja Team is charged with the search for Nambu, who participated in the development of the control mechanism. Nambu has been locked up in an atomic power plant on the Shaku peninsula. He gets in contact with a transmitter. Katse turns off the interfering radio waves on purpose, thus luring the Science Ninja Team there. Then he locks them up in the power plant together with Nambu. Telling them that Leona 3 will fall onto the plant, Katse escapes in a devil star disc plane. They have a narrow escape from the power plant, however, since it is already too late to correct the course of Leona 3, Nambu orders them to shoot a rocket at Leona 3. The crew of Leona 3 is already prepared and has cut the connection as well. Ken is at a loss. However, when Joe wants to press the button, Ken does it. Leona 3 disintegrates. Only the rosary, containing the last prayer of the crew, comes floating down towards Earth.

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