Created: 04-04-1999
Last update: 01-01-2022

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Easter eggs



As it's been several years since this section went up, the intro could do with a rewrite. These same several years ago, on a Gatchaman-related mailing list, I first heard the term "Easter egg" to describe flashes of animation either showing Katze's face or hinting at his/her gender. The thread moved onto animation goofs - notably the one that has Joe looking like a potential child molester - and other significant moments, especially the "dying on the cross" shots. What I remembered and thought funny enough, I captured, describing the result as "two goofs, a few Katze-almost-unmasked and some silliness". As it was my plan at the time to replace these pictures after a certain period, I've recycled most of them into subsections of the KatzeMania page.



The first instance of Katze almost unmasked: Makoto's "father" takes off his face. I hope he has another false face underneath or the goons in that mecha are in on the secret, else he's in trouble. Not that any of his men survive the mission...


The "lips" shot; or, to put it more delicately, this pic of Katze freshly out of the "trainer" disguise and into uniform suggests that the only thing changed is the costume.


Joe's seeing Easter eggs! Wait, it's a flashback. And here's one of the animation goofs I remember: Jun runs so fast that she leaves her stripes behind.


The sheikh takes off "his" fake moustache (why bother when the face itself is fake?) and slides off the coat to reveal...


From the Killer Music ep: it's hard to see even if you magnify the picture, but Katze is doing a Beavis & Butthead imitation here, although he's holding his arms a bit too high. Poor chap probably didn't realize the camera was still running. But looking at the drums, would you take this gig seriously?


This is a sight I wouldn't mind waking up to, but the stewardess would beg to differ.


True, injections are no fun, as anyone who's had inoculations can tell; and if that syringe is filled with air, it could be painful. But I'd be too fascinated watching rubber-features to even notice; one moment his expression is lofty, the next, it's positively obseqious.


A disguise scene: Katze tosses off the cloak and starts to lift off the mask. What a moment for the camera to change scene! (BTW, no reflection in the mirror; did the animators realize they are suggesting that Katze is a vampire?)


There, all done. Not that it can have been a very difficult job, IMO. The sheikh disguise must have been a lot harder.


Step one when unmasking wannabe dictators: strangle 'em.


Katze unmasked and desperate - but X soon turns up to rescue him.


True, men's trousers do have more folds than women's, but here the animators seem to have drawn one fold too many. The "hard-on" was probably a mistake, quickly covered up - watch that hand shift - but it doesn't help that even when appearances are back to normal, Joe is staring at Jinpei in his usual abnormally intense way.


Well, since Easter is about crosses... No, it's about the vernal equinox, but many centuries ago the authorities of a certain place in the Middle East decided to crucify what they saw as a religious troublemaker at the time of Passover. At any rate, the shape of the cross is by far the most popular symbol of Christianity, to the point where people like to die in it. Joe aims himself fairly accurately, but his friend and clergyman Alan outdoes him.



Late Easter delivery!

That split second when Ken's boomerang whizzes over the mask and slits the nosepiece.


And of course Katze does his "no don't look at meeee!" thing. Hey, he's wearing a gun, in a visible place. Most of the time he seems to keep it wherever it is that Sailor Moon keeps her wand.


Final shot: "Whatchoo staring at, huh?"






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