Gatchaman II: Complete Collection

Old-school anime lovers will savor this 1978 series, which continues the adventures of the Science Ninja Team in their original uncut format. Gatchaman II begins two years after the initial series, with the nefarious Leader X leading a grisly attack on a cruise ship. One of the survivors is a child, who is captured by Leader X, scientifically mutated into an adult and renamed Gel Sadra, and installed as head of the terrorist group Galactor. The Science Ninja Team is called on to fight Galactor, with new member Hawk Getz recruited to take the place of Joe Condor, who ended the first series on his deathbed. But (spoiler alert) Getz is really a Galactor spy and Joe actually survived with the help of a former Galactor scientist. And that's just a couple of the wacky plot twists in this kaleidoscopic 52-episode story arc. A wonderful treasure from a bygone era—with its lineup of superheroes wearing avian-inspired costumes—Gatchaman II is presented in a DVD set, rated TV-PG, and in Japanese with English subtitles. Highly recommended. (P. Hall)