Seeing as it it is Go Nagai’s birthday today, I thought I’d repost this article. Yeah, I’m a lazy opportunist.

I’m not usually someone that indulges too much in nostalgia, especially for the 1980s. But I cannot deny the mounting excitement I’ve been feeling over the last couple of months, knowing that the original Star Fleet/X-Bomber Ｘボンバ TV series was to be finally given an official DVD launch in the UK. One of the reasons I usually avoid nostalgia is the almost inevitable feelings of disappointment that are associated with it – anyone that’s gone back and played a retro video game from around that time only to realise that their rose-tinted spectacles are broken will understand exactly what I mean. The question is does Star Fleet suffer the same fate nearly 30 years later?

For the uninitiated, X-Bomber was a Japanese puppet and models based children’s sci-fi show created by manga legend Go Nagai. Heavily influenced by Star Wars and the mecha/giant-robot stories that Nagai and others had been crafting for years, it was a moderate success in Japan, and was bought and re-dubbed by now defunct British TV company London Weekend Television, who started airing it on Saturday mornings. Overnight it became a huge cult hit, not just with Star Wars obsessed kids but adult sci-fi fans too. At first glance, due to it’s use of puppets and it’s futuristic setting, it is reminiscent of Gerry Anderson shows like Thunderbirds and Captain Scarlet, but on closer inspection it’s very different. The character and mechanical designs are instantly recognisable as being of Japanese origin, and it’s ongoing, 24 episode story arc – with a surprisingly dark vibe at times – sets it apart from western work. I was never much of a fan of Anderson’s work as a child, but I remember becoming instantly obsessed with Star Fleet – something about the way it looked, the action sequences, the pacing and it’s epic storyline caught my attention fully. Along with Battle of the Planets and Speed Racer it was my first, very early, introduction to animanga and Japanese culture in general (even if I didn’t know it at the time), and as such I’m fairly sure that without it I wouldn’t be running this website right now.

So how does it bare up to inspection some 29 years later? To my surprise and delight, pretty damn well. The character and vehicle design work still makes it a joy to watch – most of the model work is fantastic, and is a thrill to watch knowing that everything you see is hand crafted, especially when we’re so used to being bombarded with CGI. Even more surprisingly, after watching just a handful of the 24 episodes, it’s clear the plot and script still stands up to my now-adult scrutiny, and I’m looking forward to sitting down and catching up on the whole show, time permitting. It’s no 2001, but it’s still Saturday morning space opera at it’s finest, and better written than some other franchises I could mention.

The DVD box-set itself, apart from the slightly garish packaging, has been nicely and thoughtfully put together. Aside from the 4 discs, there’s also a fold out, double sided poster and a collection of the British drawn comic originally serialised in the 80s teen magazine Look-in. All 24 episodes of the show are intact, with a re-mastered soundtrack from composer Paul Bliss, and the best quality visual transfer you could hope for considering the show’s age and TV origin. There’s a number of extras included as well, one of which is possibly the highlight of the whole package for me. The 30-minute ‘Making of’ featurette on disc 3 includes not only interviews with the English dub’s director Louis Elman and some of the voice actors, but also Go Nagai himself, and even Gerry Anderson. It’s a fascinating insight into the show’s origins, development and journey across the continents, and for me the only thing lacking would have been some sample footage with the original Japanese soundtrack included, as a comparison. Presumably this wasn’t possible due to copyright issues, and it in no way detracts from what is a carefully put together, great value package.

There is a rather tragic story that comes out in the documentary, however. Apparently the show was such a huge success here in the UK that Elman had no problem, based on just a short treatment, in securing funding from LWT for a second season. In fact, they were so enthusiastic about the project, they even agreed to fund the original Japanese studio to produce it. However, when Elman made the call to Japan, he was shocked to find a fire had gutted the studio, destroying all the models and sets. A tragic loss certainly for the modelers and producers that had put so much time and passion into this lovingly crafted series, but perhaps a blessing in disguise for the memories of it’s fans – maybe one perfect, unique series that we can now treasure again is what makes Star Fleet/X-Bomber so special.

I can’t write a piece about Star Fleet without giving props to Andy Thomas’ awesome fansite SF:XB, which has given me years of fanboy pleasure.

With the English language release of Ponyo imminent, and his recent promotional and speaking visit to the US causing a stir, there’s no denying that there’s a buzz around Hayao Miyazaki at the moment. And it’s a buzz that’s not just getting the attention of anime fans, but also grabbing the interest of the wider mainstream media and audiences – something that is, arguably, long overdue. As such it’s either luck or great timing that Manga Entertainment have just released Panda! Go Panda! on DVD here in the UK, and while it’s been out in the US for several years, this was the first time I’d had a chance to sit down and watch this early chapter in Miyazaki-san’s career.

Made in 1972, to cash in on Japanese ‘Panda madness’ spawned by the arrival of some of the cuddly beasts from China for a breeding program, Panda! Go Panda! was actually directed by Ghibli co-founder and genius in his own right Isao Takahata (Only Yesterday, Grave of the Fireflies). Miyazaki wasn’t slacking on the project though; he wrote the script, designed the characters, drew the storyboards as well as doing some keyframe animation on the film. Script wise there’s nothing too exciting here; it’s a simple kids story about young girl Mimiko, who is living alone while her grandma is away, and lets two panda’s move into the house with her. Unsurprisingly, hilarity and chaos ensues. Like I said, nothing groundbreaking, but it was popular enough with the Japanese public – as pandas still were, presumably – to warrant a sequel a few months later. Both are on this disk, with a combined running time of about 75 minutes.

So the story might not be some of Miyazaki’s finest work, but the character designs – while also not his best – are undeniably his. Any fan catching just a glimpse of the two pandas will instantly see how they were a blueprint for the Totoros, and similarly Mimiko herself seems to be a precursor to the redheaded Mei of the same film. She also bears some similarities to Pippi Longstocking – a character that Miyazaki is reportedly a fan of, and who had unsucessfully tried to get the rights for just prior to making Panda! Go Panda!. But it is the similarities with Totoro that shine through – to see the Pandas smile, and to see Mimiko jump up and hug Poppa Panda will make Totoro fans grin with joy, and for them is probably reason enough to pick up the film. The quality of the animation throughout is pretty good, and although it lacks the sophistication of later Miyazaki and Takahata works like Future Boy Conan it’s still arguably better than a lot of the mass produced anime of that period. Plus it’s worth remembering what this is – not some undiscovered Ghibli classic, but an apparently hastily thrown together, opportunistic anime special meant to cash in on a passing fad. As such, the fact that it’s still as charming as it is to watch is yet more testament to the duo’s unique and lasting talents.

Manga Entertainment have put together a nice product with this disk – the packaging is bold and bright, with the reverse of the cover made up of a huge image of a grinning Poppa Panda, just in case you still hadn’t noticed the similarity with Totoro’s smile. Plus there’s a warning that it ‘contains one scene of smoking’, just in case you had forgotten this was a Miyazaki film. As for the contents themselves – well, the quality of the transfer is great, remarkable even for a film of it’s age. There’s both English and Japanese audio tracks, with the dub being of surprisingly good quality – even if Poppa Panda sounds strangely like Rainier Wolfcastle at times. The extras section is a little disappointing – the main thing of interest being the original Japanese title sequence, that apart from the text isn’t that different from the English version, to be honest. Apart from that there’s just a couple of those slighty pointless text only biographies – but really, expecting anything else for a for this old and obscure is perhaps a little unrealistic. Somehow I don’t think making interesting DVD extras was really top of Miyazaki and Takahata’s priorities back in 1972 as they struggled to get their early careers off the ground.

So should you pick this disk up? If you’re a hardcore Ghibli fanatic like myself, keen to see what these two geniuses where doing before they were famous then yes: Panda! Go Panda! is an unmissable purchase, especially as it can be picked up fairly cheaply. Similarly, if you’ve got young children that enjoy the likes of Totoro and Kiki’s Delivery Service, this offers you another – perhaps slightly less challenging – option for keeping them entertained. Just be warned that if they do take a liking to it, and insist on watching it over and over again, the theme tune (see below) may well drive you insane.

I’m not usually someone that indulges too much in nostalgia, especially for the 1980s. But I cannot deny the mounting excitement I’ve been feeling over the last couple of months, knowing that the original Star Fleet/X-Bomber Ｘボンバ TV series was to be finally given an official DVD launch in the UK. One of the reasons I usually avoid nostalgia is the almost inevitable feelings of disappointment that are associated with it – anyone that’s gone back and played a retro video game from around that time only to realise that their rose-tinted spectacles are broken will understand exactly what I mean. The question is does Star Fleet suffer the same fate nearly 30 years later?

For the uninitiated, X-Bomber was a Japanese puppet and models based children’s sci-fi show created by manga legend Go Nagai. Heavily influenced by Star Wars and the mecha/giant-robot stories that Nagai and others had been crafting for years, it was a moderate success in Japan, and was bought and re-dubbed by now defunct British TV company London Weekend Television, who started airing it on Saturday mornings. Overnight it became a huge cult hit, not just with Star Wars obsessed kids but adult sci-fi fans too. At first glance, due to it’s use of puppets and it’s futuristic setting, it is reminiscent of Gerry Anderson shows like Thunderbirds and Captain Scarlet, but on closer inspection it’s very different. The character and mechanical designs are instantly recognisable as being of Japanese origin, and it’s ongoing, 24 episode story arc – with a surprisingly dark vibe at times – sets it apart from western work. I was never much of a fan of Anderson’s work as a child, but I remember becoming instantly obsessed with Star Fleet – something about the way it looked, the action sequences, the pacing and it’s epic storyline caught my attention fully. Along with Battle of the Planets and Speed Racer it was my first, very early, introduction to animanga and Japanese culture in general (even if I didn’t know it at the time), and as such I’m fairly sure that without it I wouldn’t be running this website right now.

So how does it bare up to inspection some 29 years later? To my surprise and delight, pretty damn well. The character and vehicle design work still makes it a joy to watch – most of the model work is fantastic, and is a thrill to watch knowing that everything you see is hand crafted, especially when we’re so used to being bombarded with CGI. Even more surprisingly, after watching just a handful of the 24 episodes, it’s clear the plot and script still stands up to my now-adult scrutiny, and I’m looking forward to sitting down and catching up on the whole show, time permitting. It’s no 2001, but it’s still Saturday morning space opera at it’s finest, and better written than some other franchises I could mention.

The DVD box-set itself, apart from the slightly garish packaging, has been nicely and thoughtfully put together. Aside from the 4 discs, there’s also a fold out, double sided poster and a collection of the British drawn comic originally serialised in the 80s teen magazine Look-in. All 24 episodes of the show are intact, with a re-mastered soundtrack from composer Paul Bliss, and the best quality visual transfer you could hope for considering the show’s age and TV origin. There’s a number of extras included as well, one of which is possibly the highlight of the whole package for me. The 30-minute ‘Making of’ featurette on disc 3 includes not only interviews with the English dub’s director Louis Elman and some of the voice actors, but also Go Nagai himself, and even Gerry Anderson. It’s a fascinating insight into the show’s origins, development and journey across the continents, and for me the only thing lacking would have been some sample footage with the original Japanese soundtrack included, as a comparison. Presumably this wasn’t possible due to copyright issues, and it in no way detracts from what is a carefully put together, great value package.

There is a rather tragic story that comes out in the documentary, however. Apparently the show was such a huge success here in the UK that Elman had no problem, based on just a short treatment, in securing funding from LWT for a second season. In fact, they were so enthusiastic about the project, they even agreed to fund the original Japanese studio to produce it. However, when Elman made the call to Japan, he was shocked to find a fire had gutted the studio, destroying all the models and sets. A tragic loss certainly for the modelers and producers that had put so much time and passion into this lovingly crafted series, but perhaps a blessing in disguise for the memories of it’s fans – maybe one perfect, unique series that we can now treasure again is what makes Star Fleet/X-Bomber so special.

I can’t write a piece about Star Fleet without giving props to Andy Thomas’ awesome fansite SF:XB, which has given me years of fanboy pleasure.

We stumbled across a true gem on the main Akihabara drag today; a store that sold only old Nintendo products and emulators. In amongst the Famicom and N64 carts my girlfriend spotted what’s pictured above: this beautifully formed Bomberman multi-tap. I’ve never seen a video-game peripheral evoke such nostalgic glee in a 28 year old woman before. The whole place was fanboy(and girl) heaven.