DARE DA?

CHARACTER SKETCH!

Why?

Thanks to the success of Gatchaman, it has had the fortune of having been exported to many parts of the world in a great variety of formats. For the most part this has been a good thing in that it's introduced loads and loads of people all over to a great show and I'm firmly of the mind that the sheer variety that's been spawned by all the translations has made for something that is still interesting to learn about even as we're looking at the 30 year anniversary of the show. On the other hand, it can get a little confusing...

It's been clear for a long time now that this confusion is a little hard to get rid of especially if you're all new to a series or are trying to write. Sure, you glean the gist of a character or series eventually, but it's not that easy and some funny misconceptions can sneak in -- witness the number of people who findd nothing wrong with Katse dating Joe, mostly on account of a certain person's fanfic (which was a great work). Or else look at how difficult it can be to keep names straight, even though those names are attached to very different personalities.

To be honest, there is practically nobody who can claim to know all the characters of all the Gatchaman versions well, so if this works, this is a good secondary reference source for everyone.

We aim to change that somewhat by soliciting for write ups of characters to be put up on Sal's Beta Readers page http://www.geocities.com/betareadg/ so that people can have more reference material.

Yes, individual fans have done fantastically by putting up character write ups on their sites, but on surveying them, it's pretty clear that a) they tend to be short and b) there are huge holes in what is covered. So, we're hoping that a site where fans can write in-depth on characters will be both interesting and helpful.

Ideally we'd love to see at least a half-dozen character writeups for each character, for every series made. Wishful thinking, I know...but then the prospective writer (or person wanting to know more about the various series) has both someplace to read up on them in-depth and a means to compare opinions and will have more to go on.

Audience:

Anyone interested in Gatchaman or any version thereof, whether out of idle curiosity or seriously trying to find out some aspects of a character for the purposes of fanfic writing.

If you do write, please keep your audience in mind. Not all of them know *who* you're talking about that well, so we really want to see the character presented. :) Which means, feel free to talk as much as you want to about them.

GENERAL GUIDELINES:

1. Write what you know.

It is unavoidable that you do take a take on a character and write about what you notice and what's important to you and that's 100% fine. :)
However, we would like for what you put down to have been processed through as few imaginations as possible, so please write about characters you *know* as in you've watched most or all of the series the character belongs to FOR YOURSELF. You don't need to have the episodes in hand, but the less hazy and the more specific you can be, the better. See Rule 2 below.

And remember, especially readers who write are interested in the little, unimportant details, the fine points, etc. Don't be stingy with what you know. :)

2. Your insights are extremely valuable.

We're not promising objectivity here, but do point out what's canon and where you're speculating on the character. You *must* be prepared to support what you say about a character with episode descriptions and/or relevant quotes.

3. Not only must you know who you're talking of, you must at least respect them.

There's nothing wrong with writing well-deserved (or at least well- justified) criticism, but it's much more interesting and useful to read about what's good about a character than how sucky you think they are.

4. Write well.

No spelling errors, the fewer grammar mistakes the better. We're happy to help with that though. :)

5. Your own ideas please.

Minimize lifting from websites, quoting other writers, etc. And if someone else has written on the character you're writing about and you don't agree with them, present the character in such a way as to emphasize what you feel was deficient -- no one needs to see rebuttal-filled sniping fests between essays.

CATEGORIES

I. Single Character Reviews

Any single character will do, so long as you write about them on their own merits, with a bare minimum of comparison to other characters. You're here to talk about the character, not how they measure up.

II. Multiple Character Reviews

a. Comparison Essays.
Sal and I had a pretty long discussion about these since very often comparison essays tend to be a way of avoiding talking in depth about *either* of the compared subjects (and it's pretty pointless if the subjects aren't well-understood in the first place) , but well-done they can be extremely useful.
So, the conclusion is that if you want to compare two characters (and there's no restriction whatsoever on which two, or three or four, your choice, so long as you think there's something interesting to be gotten out of it) you must know both characters *well* and you must be prepared to talk about them in much more depth than for example 'Ken does this in this series and that in that series.'

b. Team Interaction Essays.
If you've got anything to say about relationships or team interactions, GO FOR IT! We love those.

III. Places and Things
Those too are important. Places, planets, mecha, technology, organizations etc, all are very welcome. Here things can be a bit more speculative than other categories, but still do show how you derived them from canon (reread Rule 2 very carefully).

SPECIAL APPEAL:

If you care to write about any of the less-often discussed characters, you gain special karma points. :D
The entire Gatchaverses of Eagle Riders and G-Force, Guardians of Space, heck, even Ken; fans are practically starved for insight on them. And bad guys are always very welcome.
So if there's anyone who's a little obscure/unpopular that you wish to write on, please do so and we're prepared to relax some of the rules for submission (like if you haven't been watching the show that recently and are a little hazy on the episodes in question).

QUESTIONS:

Who may write?

Anyone who knows, loves and has strong opinions on a Gatchaman character whether major or minor in whatever series.

What's a Gatchaman character?

Anyone who appears in any known animated version/translation of Gatchaman for any length of time.

How long must it be?

It doesn't have to be a treatsie, but in general it's a bit hard to write well in under 250 words. And over 3000 is a little long winded. But what you write is more important than how many words it is. A good essay has no word limit.

Is there a limit to what I may send?

No, send as many essays on as many characters as you like, so long as you do them well. We'll put up as many essays for any character as there are suitable submissions.
No one knows everything there is to know about any character, so don't feel like you have nothing to contribute.

Can I collaborate?

Sure! Do it in whatever manner that floats your boat. Collaborations, written debates, commentary on fanfic you've written that you feel says everything you wanted to about a character, drawings (if you can talk about them), achieve it in any way you please.
NB: If you use any sound or image samples in your essay a) you are responsible for supplying it in as compact a fashion as possible b) you must have appropriate permission before you put it up. Respect copyrights.

What about editing?

You retain control over what you've written, no worries about that. We will not edit your opinion (it's yours), but we will ask questions about clarity, if a viewpoint does not seem well-supported, or tone in which it is said and we may suggest changes. However, not one single comma shall be changed without your knowledge or permission.

What if my English is not so good?

Gatchaman is very much an international phenomenon.

Frankly, I'm very happy to see foreign language submissions (provided we can find someone willing to make a translation so we can put both up). Please, write it in the language that you express yourself best in.

As far as translation goes, I personally can handle submissions in French or Swedish, Dutch with a lot of trouble. Other languages such as Japanese, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, German or Mandarin Chinese (and I know that list members speak more than just these languages) not at all, but if anyone reading this knows of fans willing to contribute but for the language barrier and is willing to act as a translator, please DO let them know about this. For example, I'd LOVE to get an essay of how Jun comes across to Japanese viewers, or how characters in other languages were handled.

And conversely, if someone wants to do a translation of any English essay that they found particularly good, that's fine, provided you have the writer's permission.

Is there a deadline?

Yes and no. Ideally, Sal would love to put up essays dedicated to one major and one minor character every month. However, 'late' submissions will always be acceptable, and 'early' ones (ones for which the character hasn't yet come up) will be held until the proper time.
NB: Characters that fall under the Special Appeal will *always* be welcome at any time and will be put up whenever the next update is.

Write back soon!

Naa-Dei and Sal