LET'S FLY! Choujin Sentai Jetman: Thoughts & Opinions

[areaseven]

Seeing that Jetman is an homage to Gatchaman, I wouldn't be surprised to see if Toei pulled a Gatchaman II on explaining why Gai would still be alive.

Most of you already know that Joe the Condor was killed in the finale of Gatchaman, but in Gatchaman II, he came back as a cyborg.

 

[Shougo B'Stard]

I don't think there's supposed to be any question that Gai was supposed to die. I think there's just some pissed off fans like myself who like to pretend that Gai just lost consciousness on that bench, and was saved in time. :laugh:

Gai's actor, Toshihide Wakamatsu, sounded a little "WTF?" on his message board about seeing Black Condor in Gokaiger's premiere episode. (People were asking what he thought about it, and he basically said it was neat to see the team again, but was wondering what Condor was doing there.) So, I guess as far as Wakamatsu's concerned, Gai's dead.

Here's something funny -- some Japanese fans were speculating that Gai/Gokai Silver would end up being Ryu and Kaori's son, Gai (who was introduced in a clip show special featuring new scenes with Ryu and Kaori as they reminisce). :laugh:

 

[Kivat]

Oh wow. That would be something.

They name him after a close friend since he died.

Who was also in the former love triangle.

Gai would be born in '92 which in real life he actually is. A year after Jetman.

That would be a perfect little twist they can add if they wanted too.

 

[cypsiman2]

Well, setting aside that Gai's family name is Ikari, I can't imagine that he would much like being named after Gai Yuuki; sure, Gai Ikari is a big super sentai fanboy who loves all sentai, but he's also made it pretty clear that he prefers his heroes to be morally-upstanding individuals, while Gai Yuuki once grabbed Kaori's arm, dragged her away from the others over her objections and the objections of everyone else, shoved her into an elevator, and invaded her personal space as he demanded to know why she didn't love him instead of Ryu.

I am aware that I'm harping on that point, but I just can't see how Gai Yuuki can be liked, much less popular, in the face of pulling a stunt like that.

 

[Kivat]

Your first sentence just made me feel very unintelligent. :laugh: I wasn't thinking. I had a rare fan lapse, sorry. lol

 

[cypsiman2]

Your first sentence just made me feel very unintelligent. :laugh: I wasn't thinking. I had a rare fan lapse, sorry. lol

It's okay, you're not the first. It's even happened to me.

 

[Kivat]

It's okay, you're not the first. It's even happened to me.

This is my first time though. :disappoin

*hits head against wall*

I need to go train.

 

[Shougo B'Stard]

Well, setting aside that Gai's family name is Ikari...

The kanji for "Gai" in Ikari's name isn't even the same as Condor's "Gai," so...I don't know why the Japanese fans even thought that was a plausible theory.

As for my opinion on Gai Yuuki...c'mon, you know that type of character appeals to people. When I first watched Jetman, I was reminded of the X-Men love triangle -- Gai is the Wolverine to Ryu's square Cyclops. You know how everyone loves Wolverine...

I think a lot of what makes Gai work is the actor. Wakamatsu's a great actor and manages to make that character likable, even early on when Gai being a pain. I can easily see how annoying the character could be in the hands of a lesser performer -- Gai would be no different from any of Inoue's post-Agito prickheads, the difference is Wakamatsu.

 

[FieryRed]

The kanji for "Gai" in Ikari's name isn't even the same as Condor's "Gai," so...I don't know why the Japanese fans even thought that was a plausible theory.

As for my opinion on Gai Yuuki...c'mon, you know that type of character appeals to people. When I first watched Jetman, I was reminded of the X-Men love triangle -- Gai is the Wolverine to Ryu's square Cyclops. You know how everyone loves Wolverine...

I think a lot of what makes Gai work is the actor. Wakamatsu's a great actor and manages to make that character likable, even early on when Gai being a pain. I can easily see how annoying the character could be in the hands of a lesser performer -- Gai would be no different from any of Inoue's post-Agito prickheads, the difference is Wakamatsu.

Yes, the performance of Wakamatsu as Gai cannot be overlooked. I like to bring up Han Solo as another anti-hero who became a true hero later on, and in SW's case I think Harrison Ford definitely made Solo shined that may not have under a different actor. And although I wasn't particularly fond of Gai early on, I never really hated the character, and later I found myself actually liking him even more than other Jetman members. This is why Black Condor is one of my favorite Super Sentai characters.