Gatchaman is a Japanese animated franchise about a five-member superhero ninja team. The original anime series debuted in 1972 but is perhaps best known in the English-speaking world as the adaptation entitled Battle of the Planets from 1978. Indeed, this series is the one that introduced me to the characters. You may also recognize the title G-Force (1986) which has also been associated with this IP. 

Regardless of how you were introduced to these characters, or if this is your first exposer to them, these POP! Animation Gatchaman anime vinyl figures are super cool!

We have the leader, Ken the Eagle, the only female member, Jun the Swan, and the hot-headed second in command, Joe the Condor. The five-person team was rounded out by two comic relief characters: Ryu the Owl and Jinpei the Swallow. Maybe these two figures will be added to the line later?

All of the names were changed in the Battle of the Planets / G-Force versions. In the same order as above, there was Mark, Susan, Jason, Tiny, and Keyop.

The packaging is awesome! Some Funko figures I remove from the box, which I then discard. Other figures I remove from the box to display, but keep the box. And others I keep in the box for display. These will fall into the second category.

Not all characters translate well into Funko figures. But these? These just may be the best figures Funko has ever created!

And do you know what else is the coolest thing ever created? The space ship used by Gatchaman! Take a look at this beauty:

Please come out with a Funko model of this plane A.S.A.P. please!

This show is not the easiest one to find on DVD or Blu-Ray discs. Certainly not the entire series anyway. But if you ever have a chance to view it, take it! You won’t be disappointed. And you won’t know who Zoltar is if you don’t, and that could prove fatal!