FAB Facts: Supermarionation's Influence on Japanese Anime

[@johnrivers1979]

Evangelion is particularly noteworthy, not only does it have the idea of a sinking city for defence (Stingray), but examines in detail what would happen if you let children actually pilot giant machines to defend the Earth. In the protagonist's case in Evangelion, it's because his father wants him to. In short, Joe 90 would be one very mentally disturbed kid.

[@weldonwin]

"Get In The Damned R.A.T Joe!"

[@dutch_asocialite]

There's also Jet Alone, the travelators, the fact NERV etc. is fashioned after the paramilitary organisations like Spectrum, the weird vehicles, launch sequences for the Evangelions. It genuinely feels more like a tokusatsu supermrionation work than an anime.

[@imfsresidentotaku9699]

You do not have enough information to come to that conclusion.

[@zardozspeakstome]

Also the Second Impact took place on September 13, 2000. And in one of the new movies there are shots of two ships orbiting the moon: one is clearly a tribute to the rescue Eagle, and the other may be a nod to SID, except in the white/red color scheme of the rescue Eagle.

[@米空軍パイロット]

The Nautilus II from Nadia and the Secret of Blue Water is a hybrid design between Thunderbird 1 and Space Battleship Yamato

[@theomnicontentchannel2203]

Gerry Anderson influences/appearances in anime that I know of: Dragon Ball Z - An orange Thunderbird 2 can be seen amongst the emergency vehicles at the site where Vegeta and Nappa landed on Earth in the Saiyan Saga. Considering the level of destruction in the franchise, the Dragon Ball version of International Rescue must have their work cut out. Sonic X - The robot that Eggman deploys in episode eight is clearly a modified Thunderbird 2, even keeping the green colour scheme and pod deployment system. The Cyclone X (a jet aircraft piloted by Tails in the series, for those who haven't seen it) takes off in a manner similar to Thunderbird 2 as well, complete with the leaning trees.

[@ZeroBusterXX]

Another big one I remembered is in Tekkaman Blade. The main characters' boss is named Commander Freeman. And visually he's just Ed Bishop's Straker from UFO.

[@minicle426]

The pioneering super robot anime 'Mazinger Z' noticably has the titular mecha rising up through a retractable swimming pool. Worth noting the creator (Go Nagai) would also have a hand in the X-Bomber puppet Sci-Fi epic, which was later brought over and dubbed in the UK as 'Star Fleet'. On another note, the videogame series Star Fox was loosely inspired by Thunderbirds according to Shigeru Miyamoto, who even went on record saying that he hoped Gerry's production team might come over and turn it into an actual show. Amusingly they've even done a few commercial shorts with puppets reminiscent of Terrahawks.

[@ZeroBusterXX]

There's a really fun anime miniseries called Project Blue: Earth SOS that is full of homages to Western sci-fi as a whole, but one of the characters in it is a direct take on Captain Scarlet. There's also a part in the anime series Patlabor where the main group meets some American robot pilots and they're all inexplicably wearing Spectrum uniforms for some reason.

[@ZeroBusterXX]

Also the second opening theme of The Big O is just literally the theme song to UFO. My dad was a big fan of UFO growing up and I remember watching The Big O and he did a double take and was like "What. That's the UFO song"

[@minicle426]

I believe Macross 2 briefly showcases a Thunderbirds/Captain Scarlet hybrid. The creator for the franchise's iconic mecha would also later design Thunderbird Shadow.

[@ZeroBusterXX]

@@minicle426 I like how instantly recognizable Thunderbird S is as a Kawamori design. It even has a GERWALK mode. There's a great interview with some Gundam SEED design staff where they talk about how "for their generation, Thunderbirds was a big influence" too in regards for wanting a bunch of cool launch sequences in SEED Destiny.

[@ViewpointProd]

When Jerry was developing a show with MBS Pre-Terrahawks, MBS claimed that they were busy working on another shower and could not coproduce another. Considering that was 1982, chances are that anime that they were working on, was indeed Macross

[@silverdaleks1]

I remember watching an episode of Pokémon ( from the Gen 3 era) which featured a small yellow submarine and looked awfully similar to Thunderbird 4.

[@john_o]

I remember making a post on social media about how Evangelion reminded me of Thunderbirds but deleted it as I thought it gave off "Person who has only seen Boss Baby gets Boss Baby vibes from other movie they watched" energy. Looking back now with greater hindsight, the influences that Gerry Anderson has had on Evangelion are so obvious, from Tokyo-3's descending city being a not-so-subtle not to Marineville from Stingray, the opening doing the whole "flashing words" gimmick from UFO's opening (as well as Fuyutsuki's uniform being influenced by the Shado uniforms) and even the way the Eva units launch from NERV headquarters feels very reminiscent of how Thunderbird 1 launches from Tracy Island. Oh, and is it just me or is Shiro Sagisu a huge Barry Gray fan? Because Evangelion's soundtrack made me feel so nostalgic when I heard it only a few years back. I'm probably missing a few other references, but yeah, it's incredible just how much influence Gerry Anderson has had on Japanese media. Not just tokusatsu and anime, but gaming as well. I remember there being a Thunderbird 2 reference in Mega Man 7 (but it was a robot turtle) and Shigeru Miyamoto cited Thunderbirds as a major influence on the Star Fox series. As a result, it's almost as if Thunderbirds is perceived more as a Japanese franchise than a British one. Despite having so-so popularity in America, there was an episode of The Simpsons where Homer receives a tape from a Japanese dish-soap company (in response to their mascot supposedly copying his likeness) and the promotional video featured a scene with a Japanese baby, and in the background was a purple Thunderbird 2 in the child's toybox.

[@ZeroBusterXX]

When they show a map with all the different NERV branches throughout the world, one branch is located where SHADO's headquarters is. Let alone the fact that the opening animation is cut in the style of UFO's opening.

[@thesodorengines]

The Short music video daicon iv comes to my mind as it had Thunderbird 3 and a UFO in the background for a segment....and thunderbird 5 got smashed into pieces by another space ship

[@danielmead99]

Japan's Mighty jack series, has that Gerry Anderson feel to it.

[@Strixx23]

Marine Boy seemed to share architecture and a mermaid/marina character

[@dutch_asocialite]

As an (western) otaku and animation enthusiast who grew up watching Gerry Anderson's works, notably Captain Scarlet and Thunderbirds with a bit of Stingray and Joe 90, the Andersons' influence is definitely evident and I point it out to myself and my family whenever it comes up, albeit mostly in the vehicle action/mecha stories as anime _is_ a medium and not a genre. But it's really interesting and cool knowing just how interconnected my favourite shows as a youngster are to my current interests and it's neat this has finally come up on this channel. Also, Evangelion is commonly pronounced as ee-van-geli-on. The word itself is Greek and relates to Christianity, meaning good news or gospel and is where evangelical and evangelise etc. come from, but I do believe the g is pronounced firmly and not loosely, especially since the English dubs pronounce them that way.

[@dinomonzon7493]

Hope you will do a video on Thunderbirds 2086. Science Rescue Team Technoboyager was its Japanese title.

[@johnclay7644]

happy 40yrs+ on terrahaks look forward to net podcast.

[@RailRocketRicky]

I remember the flying hovercraft in Pokemon the Movie 2000 bearing a striking resemblance to Thunderbird 5.

[@elijahguest1885]

Satoru ozawa who did blue submarine no. 6 was making manga around the time thunderbirds and stingray were big he was big on submarines with manned mini subs that would launch from it for the main characters to pilot. So many of his series like Blue submarine no. 6, submarine 707, and tide line blue, all have this aspect. Other anime I think have the Anderson flare directly influenced or not, are Giant Gorg, Gatchaman, the robot romance trilogy, Nadia secret of blue water, Yukikaze, The Ultraman (animated tv series) and full metal panic

[@peterhoeller7811]

I’ve seen it pointed out that both Ed Bishop’s and George Sewell’s (UFO) characters were clear inspirations for the characters of Gendo Ikari and Kozo Fuyutsuki (respectively) in Evangelion, right down to their posturing and outfits/appearance. I’d love to see someone do a side by side comparison of the two sets of characters, from the perspective of someone who’s seen both series.

[@TeardropSidemarker]

I think Gerry Anderson had a profound effect on inspiring generations of Japanese animators, writers, and engineers. I often refer to Neon Genesis Evangelion as the greatest Gerry Anderson series not made by Anderson himself. Highly recommend watching Dougurasufilm's 5 min vid _'Gerry Anderson influences in Hideaki Anno's Evangelion'_ which highlights many references in the series, mostly UFO and Space 1999. There are countless other inspired traits, such as the cities of Tokyo III and Marineville being able to elevate and retract below ground. Should also be noted that prolific illustrator Shoji Kawamori, who designed mechs and spacecraft for series like _Macross_ and _Outlaw Star_ , was invited to design Thunderbird S, so in a way things have come full circle.

[@CosmoShidan]

I would list 1979's Mobile Suit Gundam. It's fighter jets are derived from Captain Scarlet, such as the Dopp fighter on the side of the Zeon (they enter from the bottom rather than the top like in Captain Scarlet). The design of Sky One from UFO also influenced the Federation Core fighter. which was Gundam pilot Amuro Ray's escape vehicle. It's also worth mentioning the handguns used by Federal and Zeon soldiers appears derived from Captain Scarlet. Not to mention the phones used on the Gundam's White Base were influenced by UFO.

[@kaboombox1581]

I love the idea of a Space:1999 anime.

[@Johnno9989]

I remember watching Thunderbirds 2086. In fact, I remember we had a VHS tape by the company 4Front Video and it had 2 episodes of the show that followed a single episode of Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons which was Spectrum Strikes Back. Fond memories, though it is quite ironic.

[@endar949]

I remember having the same VHS tape, though the entire series of 2086 has been reuploaded onto youtube if you want to watch it, it's actually pretty good in my opinion

[@LawDraws]

It's said like Eh-van-ge-leon with a hard G

[@CaptainFabulous84]

I always felt the Power Rangers vehicle bits felt like an Anderson throwback. I know, as it's live action it's technically not anime, but very anime-inspired.

[@imfsresidentotaku9699]

The video states at the beginning that Anderson productions inspired Japanese live-action works like Godzilla and Ultraman, which are part of the tokusatsu genre of filmmaking, as is Power Rangers, which was adapted from the Super Sentai series.

[@CaptainFabulous84]

@@imfsresidentotaku9699 Thanks Captain Obvious.

[@imfsresidentotaku9699]

​@@CaptainFabulous84 You're welcome, but from the way you wrote your comment, it seemed to me that it wasn't obvious to you.

[@CaptainFabulous84]

@@imfsresidentotaku9699 Best not to assume.

[@imfsresidentotaku9699]

​@@CaptainFabulous84 Yes, I hear you, but the "anime-inspired" part threw me off, considering that the matter at hand is Japanese works inspired by Anderson productions, not Japanese works inspired by other Japanese works.

[@Rutgerman95]

What about that Sonic X episode that a big green robot that was very clearly Thunderbird 2

[@smallredcow918]

Speaking of witch When the X cyclone takes off the palm trees always drop down just like in Thunderbirds and I remember seeing a similar looking craft to Thunderbird 2 in Dragon ball z once

[@Rutgerman95]

@@smallredcow918 Oh yeah they do that hidden runway scene in Sonic Adventure too.

[@Neil-c3g]

That's episode 8 "Satellite Swindle"

[@kei56k1]

The Magma Raiser that appears in the Japanese science fiction drama ``Ultra Seven'' is thought to be modeled after the Mole that appears in Thunderbirds. The fighter aircraft that transports the Magma Riser is Ultra Hawk 3. Ultrahawk 3 plays a role similar to Thunderbird 2. kzbin.info/www/bejne/hJ_Eo6CQiLqmaacsi=ypoBtLHiQpt2PRcE

[@StillABigKid]

I once read that Gerry Anderson tried to put in a bid to make an English dub of space battleship yamato- after seeing it on tv while in Japan. Is there any truth to this? Also, the anime Big-O has an obvious homage to the UFO theme in its soundtrack. The track is called "respect upper west side"

[@OdeeOz]

Looks like my assessment on this channel, and observations from a few years ago, based on decades of FAB Fandom, hit the 🎯 Keep these outstanding Information, and behind the scenes shows coming, Gerry. You are excelling, keeping the Anderson Legacy active and enjoyable still. 👍👍 10⭐ Countless👏

[@whoami4597]

I think there homage to Joe 90 and Thunderbirds in an episode of 009-1. Also didn't Firestorm start out as an anime. I thought I seen some clip on KZbin at some point.

[@smallredcow918]

Gatchaman super sentai and Voltron all feature a five person team with their own vehicle just like thunderbirds

[@LatitudeSky]

The reasons why aren't because of Gerry Anderson, though. Intense market research in Japan in the 60s and 70s revealed that most young boys had about four regular friends, one of which was probably a girl, so five-team concept was targeted to relate to that. It was determined that teams of five also worked well for toy manufacturers and merchandising.

[@smallredcow918]

@@LatitudeSky Oh I see, thanks for clearing that up

[@00ta]

Don't forget 'Zero Tester.'

[@stefanenchev7255]

The anime series submarine super 99 has a lot of similarities to stingray, both have spies that live in old houses close to the facilities to house submarines, and both have the main antagonist declare war on earth

[@iandeeley9033]

Will We EVER SEE THUNDERBIRDS:2086 On DVD?! Probably Not! #FabFacts

[@wwetnabamafan194]

I have all 24 episodes of Thunderbirds 2086, plus its original versions from Japan's Technoboyger animated series on my channel. Just search "Thunderbirds 2086" or "Technoboyger".

[@tracytron7162]

2:40 It's pronounced "Ee-van-gh-ell-eon" EDIT: Actually it might be "Ee-van-gh-ell-ion"... I can't remember, it's been a couple years since I watched the series

[@GerryAndersonTV]

Thank you!

[@tracytron7162]

@@GerryAndersonTV No worries! I used to pronounce it wrong before actually watching the series too xD

[@BoyTrain872]

Well, my favourite anime's are Pokémon, Digimon, Sonic X, KonoSuba, Overlord, Sailor Moon, Isekai Quartet, Beyblade, Moomin, Medabots, Star Wars: Visions, Marvel Disk Wars: The Avengers, Beast Wars II: Super Life-Form Transformers and Tokyo Mew Mew.

[@benjaminfrazier5419]

WOW!! Didn’t know ANY of this!! Iron sharpens iron…..great job, Supermarionation!!

[@philashby2823]

No mention of Star Fleet?

[@GerryAndersonTV]

Star Fleet’s not anime is it?

[@kei56k1]

The fighter aircraft called Ultra Hawk 1 that appears in the Japanese science fiction drama "Ultra Seven" is thought to have been influenced by Thunderbird 2. kzbin.info/www/bejne/gnrMaH-rhKuSo7ssi=7QbbsuK4wQFHwhWa

[@LatitudeSky]

Gattaigar is awful. That's not a show anyone would want to be associated with. The name is a pun of sorts. Gattai means to fuse or combine. Tigers are cool. So gattai tiger and the car combines with the the other cars. Anyway, the failed deal for ThunderHawks had a very deep legacy. Execs from Tohokushinsha took the ThunderHawks work to TMS where it was modified to make Science Rescue TechnoBoyagers aka Thunderbirds 2086. I think ITC was daring someone to object at that point. Nobody dared do so and the show got made. The show never got around to revealing the villians of the show, which were going to be aliens intent on conquering the human race. Very much Zelda's Gok alien androids. So TechnoBoyagers is in many ways a prelude to Terrahawks. The remaining unused part of the ThunderHawk story was reused into Genesis Climber Mospeada, where the aliens have won the invasion and it's now a resistance operation to free the Earth. This part is familiar to many as one of the Robotech chapters. It IS a chapter. Just from two other shows. So that unused ThunderHawks storyline got insane mileage despite never get made itself. I am sure Gerry was proud but I bet he would have preferred being paid for this work. TMS really did him dirty and unfortunately he was not the only creator they "borrowed" material from. They got into huge hot water over Mighty Orbots for using copyrighted materials they had no rights to use and it was going to be a legal bloodbath and very ugly public fight. Very disreputable cpmpany, in my opinion.

[@paleoph6168]

2:35 Same! When I first heard of and saw Evangelion as a kid, I thought it was pronounced like that, reminding me of the dandelion crayon of Crayola. It wasn't until recently that I learned the correct pronunciation!