Frequently Asked Questions
(and some not so frequently asked)
This page is meant to clear up some of the confusion about my Gatchaman fanfiction arc. Many of the issues addressed involve questions about Miya's origins and status; other topics include where my fanfiction fits into the Gatchaman canon chronology and how I got into this mess in the first place. I hope you find this helpful.
IMPORTANT NOTICE! A couple of the following answers contain severe story spoilers for my Gatchaman-based fanfiction. If you have not read the stories yet, please go back to the main page unless you don't mind having the entire series more or less ruined for you.
- When did you first hear about Gatchaman?
I started watching Battle of the Planets in 1978 along with the rest of North America. I fell in love with the concept, and almost immediately I realized that parts of the show had been re-animated. I got hold of Fanfare #2 shortly after that and read Fred Patten's article on Japanese animation, and that's where I first learned about the source material. He put me in contact with Barb Edmunds, another fan in Wyoming, and from her I got my first real taste of Gatchaman. I currently have the entire original series, about a quarter of Gatchaman II, and lots and lots of screencaps. (And no, I don't have tape trading capability at this time, sorry.)
- Who's your favorite character?
Oh, come on.
- Who's your favorite villain?
Berg Katze. No question. The others just don't rate. Gel Sadra annoys me and Egobossler is a drunken maniac.
- Which episode is your favorite?
Damn, what a dilemma...I think if I had to choose one favorite, it would be #81 (when Joe goes back to BC Island). I also like #78 (the "Marine Saturn" episode where Joe finds out about his past), #32 (where Joe kills the assassin who turns out to be Alan's fiancee), #27 (the episode with Lucy), and #103-105, as well as the first four episodes of Gatchaman II, particularly #4. (Anyone seeing a pattern here?) My least favorite episode has bot to be #20 (the "puppy episode"), because it's just so STUPID. I mean, a salad shooter? Puh-leeze!
- What do you think of the 1994 remake OAVs?
Taken on their own, they're actually not bad. As a comparison to the original series, of course they're not up to the same standard. All in all, I vastly prefer the originals to the OAVs.
- Which American dub do you prefer--Battle of the Planets, G-Force or Eagle Riders?
Uhm. Okay. Well, I like the BotP comic just fine...I find the series unwatchable primarily because of the "inserted" animation. G-Force has much better script translation, and I would actually enjoy it if it weren't for the flat dub voices, the stupid-ass names and the bloody annoying backbeat. I would rather cheerfully forget that Eagle Riders ever existed, if it's all the same to you.
- When did you write your first Gatchaman story?
Waaay back around 1979-1980 or so. It was truly awful and no longer exists.
- When did you start writing this series?
I started Gatchaman 5.1 in the early 1990s. The first story, "One More Victim", was posted on the Web in 1996. The last story in the chronology, "Little Earthquakes", appeared in 2002. And I'm still writing and posting stories.
- When are these stories set?
The Gatchaman 5.1 series of stories takes place during the last 35 episodes of the original Gatchaman television series. The Gatchaman R stories occur after Gatchaman Fighter.
- In what order should your stories be read?
They're laid out in chronological order on the fanfiction page, but just for the sake of total clarity, here's the list as it currently stands:
• "One More Victim", post-Gatchaman #70Yes, there is a big whacking gap in the story timeline, because I have no stories currently which are set during Gatchaman II or Gatchaman F. This is primarily because I haven't seen very much of those series and I'm not too famliar with them. This may eventually change.
• "We'll See How Brave You Are"
• "Beyond the Pale", Gatchaman #71-74
• "The Blackest Ocean", Gatchaman #81
• "Take to the Sky", post-Gatchaman #81
• "Putting the Damage On", post-Gatchaman #87
• "A Day at the Races", post-Gatchaman #88
• "This Circus We're In", Gatchaman #103-105
• "If You Could See Me Now...", pre-Gatchaman II #1
• "Past the Mission", post-Gatchaman F #48
• "Little Earthquakes"
• "Cool On Your Island"
• "Constant in the Darkness"
- Why don't you have any stories set during Gatchaman II or Gatchaman Fighter?
I have seen very little of either of these series and I don't know them very well.
- At what point did Miyae Washio appear in the television series?
You would be surprised how many people actually ask this question. Flattering though the implication might be, I have to confess that Miya was never in any of the television series and that she is not a canonical character at all. She's totally my own creation. She's been around since 1979 or so, which makes her roughly as "old" as the Gatchaman Fighter series.
- Isn't Miya your Mary Sue/self-insertion character?
The short answer is yes. Certainly she started out that way all those years ago. However, over the years as I developed my writing talents, she became a lot more than just wish fulfillment. Miya certainly has skills and strengths that I don't have, but she also has weaknesses from which I don't suffer. Also, she doesn't hog all the "screen" time. She's an important supporting character, but she isn't the star.
- I hate self-insertions. Why should I read your stories?
I wouldn't want anyone to read my stuff if they're not going to enjoy it. I'm not that fond of Gatch-theme slash/yaoi fics myself, and I usually refuse to read them even when friends write them. If you don't like self-insertions on principle, then you don't have to read my stories. It's okay, really--it doesn't hurt my feelings any. If you're even a teeny bit curious, though, you might want to give "One More Victim", the first story, a try. You might even like it. ^.^
- Why don't you write Gatchaman stories without Miya in them?
Basically, because I don't want to. If you want stories that are Miya-free, there are three series' worth of them that are totally canonical. Miya doesn't play a huge role in all the stories I've written, but the whole point of my fanfiction arc is to add a new character and a fresh perspective to the world we all know and love, and bring some resolution to various loose ends that were left hanging when the final series ended.
- I've read your stories before and they seem different now. Why is that?
I'm continually rereading my stories and tweaking them in an effort to make them better. Sometimes this is just a matter of correcting typos or changing a phrase here and there. Sometimes I rework entire scenes. It's one of the advantages of self-publishing on your own webpage. Sometimes earlier versions exist on other archives, but this site will always have the latest versions of my stories.
- Isn't Miya based on Maya from Gatchaman #70?
Believe it or not, no. I didn't see "Unite! The Death Goddesses" until the mid-1990s, and yes, I was struck by the similarity in names and general appearance, but I can assure you it was just coincidence. I did, however, set the first story of Gatchaman 5.1 immediately after that episode. Maybe that's why Joe took such a long time to overcome his mistrust of the redhead.
- Isn't Miya based on Sylvie Pandora? They sure look a lot alike!
Another coincidence. Although I knew about Pandora back then, I didn't know much about her, or even what she looked like, when I first created Miya Washio. I didn't even see a picture of Pandora until 1995 when I got on the Internet.
- Isn't Miya just a female version of Ken with red hair?
They do look a lot alike, and yes, that's deliberate. However, their personalities are completely different. Instead of making her the standard self-insertion raving beauty, I chose to make her "interesting"-looking, and a bit insecure about her own femininity. If she's inspired by anybody in the series, I would have to say that she has the most in common with Lucy, Joe's driving partner from the "Witch Racer of Galactor" episode. Except Lucy was prettier.
- Will Miya ever become G-6?
Absolutely not. My reasons for this are many, but the three most important are: (a) it messes with the entire concept of the series; (b) there's nowhere on the God Phoenix to put a sixth vehicle; and (c) it wouldn't make sense storywise anyway. Miya is not a team player and she could never become an effective contributing member of the Science Ninja Team, no matter how hard she tried. Besides, all the good Birdstyles are taken.
- Is that Miya in the classroom scene in #4 of the Top CowBattle of the Planets comic?
Yes indeed! I confirmed it with the artist, Wilson Tortosa.
- Does this make Miya canonical?
I wish. It's pretty cool, though.
- Are you going to write more stories?
Oh, undoubtedly. There are still gaps in Gatchaman 5.1 that I want to fill, and I might even do a few series-episode style mecha slugfests (even though there are plenty of those in the series itself). I have no plans to write any stories set after the arc finale "Little Earthquakes" at this time.
- But aren't you going to write Joe and Miya's wedding?
I hate saying "never", but right now I'm not planning on it. Just take it from me--they live happily ever after. ^.^
- You ripped off the "hinotori gestalt" idea from Alara Rogers. Admit it!
Actually, no. Way back when I started watching Gatchaman, I originally thought the Hinotori was a gestalt creature. Of course, I figured out eventually that it wasn't. However, when I saw the end of Gatchaman Fighter, I was convinced they had become a gestalt of some type. The fact that Alara came to the same conclusion as I did is a nifty coincidence, but it is in fact just that.
- Just how creepy is "zombie Nambu", anyway?
Pretty damn creepy, if you ask me.
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