Science Ninja Team Gatchaman is one of those properties that I discovered relatively late in life but meets all the criteria for a show I would have been obsessed with if I were aware of it in my youth. Although it first aired in Japan in 1972, the first proper English-language broadcast is from 1978 when it was re-christened Battle of the Planets. A later adaptation happened in 1986 under the additional name G-Force: Guardians of Space followed by yet another release in 1996 as Eagle Riders (in Australia). With all that staying-power, I'm surprised that I never knew anything about it until the early 2000s when a resurgence of interest hit the US comic and toy markets. The series features a team a bird-themed space adventurers solving environmentally-themed challenges. The token female is Jun the Swan (also called Princess and Agatha in later interpretations). I've been wanting a great toy of her for twenty years now, and this BBTS-exclusive figure knocked it out of the park. She's beautiful. Let's check out Jun below!
Jun comes with three skirts, fourteen hands, two heads (with removable beak visors), and her yo-yo weapon. Note: unpictured is a yoyo without the string that fits in her holster. Mine was loose in the packaging and I didn't discover it until after the photoshoot.
She also comes with four capes.
These next few pics are not flattering. The beak visor distorts her face in photos in an unintentionally hilarious way. (In person it look great!). Also, her neck is awkwardly thin and elongated to allow for her cape. But I wanted to show her construction with full turnarounds.
You'll notice that for most photos where Jun is looking head-on at the camera, I have opted to remove her visor. Again, I stress that, in person, the visor looks great. It is not overly thick or shaded too darkly. And when you move the figure, your brain can perceive the facial details fine. But in still photos, the distortion looks way too goofy.
Time for some Group and Comparison Pics!
Here is Jun the Swan with her 2002 Battle of the Planets Princess figure from Diamond.
And here is Jun with a lineup of my favorite ladies. From Left to Right: Stellara, Jun the Swan, Cheetara, She-Ra, and Steelheart. Jun is a little but taller than the rest, but I still think she fits in great.
Cheers!
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