Boy Ninja Squad Moonlight (少年忍者部隊 月光 Shonen Ninja Butai Gekko) was a manga by Masato Tenma and Tatsuo Yoshida, published in Shonen Gahosha's Weekly Shonen King from 1963 to 1965 and given later special chapters in 1966.
While it was not adapted into an anime project by Tatsunoko, it did wind up useful as inspiration for their project that became Science Ninja Team Gatchaman. Moonlight itself however did receive recognition in its better-known tokusatsu form in 1964, Ninja Squad Moonlight (忍者部隊 月光 Ninja Butai Gekko), as well as having merchandise related to the manga such as toys, a karuta game, and other assorted collectibles through the 1960s.
Overview[]
"During the Pacific War, there were young soldiers who received spy training at Nakano School to infiltrate countries around the world, and ran through the battlefields using ninjutsu and science!! Their name is the Boy Ninja Squad."
"A total of eight members of the Boy Ninja Squad were trained at the Nakano School. "We're all in the same year..." They are a ninja unit that will live and die together!"
The setting of the manga is in WWII where eight young soldiers do battle in the war, as their unit tries to overcome various challenges presented in their mission. However, the stakes are high, and the cast soon becomes whittled down to five main characters with the loss of three of their unit members in wars (yet then gain a sixth junior member).
The Boy Ninja Squad have mastered the arts of the Iga and Koga ninjas, and operate secret machinery such as fighter planes such as the Kyushu J7W Shinden and mini submarines (Type A Kō-hyōteki-class) to help them travel and attack.
While only Tatsuo Yoshida received billing in the Shonen King credits, the work was developed in conjunction with his assistant Masato Tenma (Katsumaru Tatsumi), who came up with the story concepts. At the time, Yoshida had mainly illustrated others' works or had come up with stories with his brothers and other co-writers, and felt he needed someone with stronger story-telling skills to assist with this idea. Tenma, who had joined the company in 1962, gladly accepted the offer and drafted out the settings for the work. Tenma would later be responsible for ghostwriting the Space Ace manga as well, and continued his involvement with Tatsunoko into the 1970s and 1980s as part of their publishing department, overseeing all publishing-related matters with Tatsunoko's copyrights, including serialized manga in magazines and picture books (both with writing and illustrating at times).
Characters[]
The original lineup in chapter 1, pre-Eclipse being revealed to be a woman.
Each character's codename relates to a phase or aspect of the moon, and their actual names reflect puns relating back to their codenames with specific kanji and wordplay.
Kouhei Tsukita/Moonlight[]
(月田光平/月光 Tsukita Kouhei, Gekko)
The titular protagonist and leader of his ninja unit. He stays the most recognizable through changes in the series and later media-mix materials.
Shokuichi Tsukikami/Eclipse/Third-Day Crescent #2[]
(月上蝕一 /月蝕 Tsukikami Shokuichi, Gesshoku, 三日月 Mikazuki)
A strange-looking boy of the team with wild hair and one visible eye. This paves the way for one of the series' earliest twists, where chapters 6 through 13 reveal Eclipse is actually a woman undercover and the rest of the unit simply forgot. She is then depicted progressively more feminine and as the frequent heroine figure next to Moonlight.
After the original Third-Day Crescent dies saving her in a battle, Eclipse takes over his codename in his memory (and to tie in with the live-action adaptation). She is then present through the rest of the manga, until she winds up replaced in later materials to reflect further changes in the live-action show.
Tsukinosuke Yamana/Harvest Moon[]
(山名月之助/名月 Yamana Tsukinosuke, Meigetsu)
A short, chubbier ninja with a large nose, serving as the team's mood-maker.
His live-action counterpart, however, is much taller and slimmer, and his name is recycled with the design of the ninja usually named Moonshadow in the Separate Edition Shonen King stories. Harvest Moon is also depicted with a taller, slender, but somewhat generic design in the Suzuki Picture Book line, while a smaller ninja with his usual manga design is identified as Half Moon.
Ryutaro Tsukigata/Crescent Moon[]
(月形竜太郎/月形 Tsukigata Ryutaro, Tsukigata)
The strongest, bulkiest ninja of the group. He was not adapted to live-action, although he continued to appear in some media-mix projects like the sonosheet.
The Separate Edition Shonen King stories, done as media-mix with the live-action, recycle his design for Moon Ring (while Half Moon gets the Harvest Moon design).
Kageya Tsukino/Moonshadow[]
(月野影也/月影 Tsukino Kageya, Tsukikage)
A guy on the team who has his hair perpetually covering an eye, though handsome in comparison to Eclipse's initial disguise. While he is one of the surviving ninjas in the manga, his live-action counterpart is not as lucky.
The Separate Edition Shonen King stories recycle his design for a character with the Harvest Moon name, as they were made during the period of the live-action show after Moonshadow had died (and evidently after New Moon had come and gone).
Tsukio Mimura/Third-Day Crescent †[]
(三村月夫/三日月 Mimura Tsukio, Mikazuki)
A skinny young man with buck teeth. He winds up being the last of the unfortunate casualties of the ninja unit through the manga, though Eclipse continues his legacy by taking his codename.
Tsukizo Manno/Full Moon †[]
(満野月三/満月 Manno Tsukizo, Mangetsu)
A short, chubby young man with large lips, his eyes often closed, and seen with a lollipop. He is one of the unfortunate three members that don't last in the unit, with both he and Moon Ring dying at once in a battle versus the American forces.
The concept of a fat team member named Full Moon did prove useful for later in the live-action adaptation though, with its Full Moon rolling his body up like a ball in fights.
Rinji Tsukioka/Moon Ring †[]
(月岡輪次/月の輪 Tsukioka Rinji, Tsukinowa)
Another chubbier team member with "cod roe" style lips. Although he is an early casualty alongside Full Moon, his younger brother later joins the team in his place.
He is a recurring character in the live action, although the reading of his codename is now different and the "no" was removed from the kanji. Like Harvest Moon, his actor is also of a leaner build.
A living version of him, recycling Crescent Moon's design, is present in the Separate Edition Shonen King stories. He also appears in the Suzuki picture book line, with yet another different but somewhat plainer design.
Moon Ring #2/Half Moon[]
(月の輪, 半月 Tsukinowa, Hangetsu)
Moon Ring's little brother. He is called "Half Moon" by the others initially as a joke due to him not being a full-fledged ninja, but the codename comes to stick with him. Prior to things like the existence of Super Sentai, Half Moon can be seen as an early "Sixth Ranger" type character.
He is usually depicted as a smaller version of his brother, although some artwork like that of the Suzuki picture books and the Separate Edition Shonen King stories instead give him a design like that of Harvest Moon. He was a reverse-imported concept from the live-action.
Silver Moon[]
(銀月 Gingetsu)
The new token woman member of the team, present only in the Separate Edition Shonen King stories for 1966 and other media-mix merchandise like picture books. In comparison to Eclipse/Third-Day Crescent, she has much longer hair that is colored either brown or black depending on the illustration. The Suzuki Comic Picture book, however, gives her shoulder-length black hair in a flip style.
The team in this newer iteration with Silver Moon appear to be a parallel treatment to the classic one, as even though the Boy Ninja Squad Moonlight title was kept, the setting appears to no longer be WWII and is a little more in tune with that of the live-action. The Boy Ninja Squad are also present as a group of five, in a slightly different arrangement reflecting the live-action show's usual team (after Third-Day Crescent's departure and the addition of Half Moon).
Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto[]
(山本五十六)
The real-life admiral of the Imperial Japanese Navy, who gives Moonlight and the other young ninjas their secret orders.
Sonosheets[]
Moonlight received two sonosheet adaptations in 1964. Each booklet came with two flexi-discs; one for the theme songs, the other for the story dramas. The artwork for the sonosheets was provided by Yoshida's assistant, Mikiya Mochizuki (of Wild 7 fame).
Victor Music Book: Boy Ninja Squad Moonlight: "Ninja Kaginawa Strategy"[]
(ビクターミュージックブック: 少年忍者部隊 月光 「忍法カギなわ作戦」
An adventure featuring the six member lineup, although the girl member was still called Eclipse in this first record (while having the Third-Day Crescent name in the next one). Moonshadow and Crescent Moon are visible in the illustrations but do not having speaking parts in the record itself.
Voice Cast[]
- Moonlight: Nobuyo Oyama
- Harvest Moon: Yoshiya Nemoto
- Moon Ring: Isamu Tanonaka
- Eclipse: Tomoko Watanabe
Sono Records: Ninja Squad Moonlight: "Close Call"[]
(ソノレコード: 忍者部隊月光: 「危機一発」)
The lineup in this record's accompanying mini-manga is the five member (pre-Moon Ring #2/Half Moon, although he is seen on the cover) incarnation, with the girl member being Third-Day Crescent.
However, the cast is that of the live-action (post-Moonshadow's death) and it also contains a picture story made up of stills of that version, which the sonosheet is read along to.
Voice Cast[]
- Moonlight: Joh Mizuki
- Moon Ring: Ryuji Ishikawa
- Third-Day Crescent: Makiko Mori
- Harvest Moon: Akira Yamaguchi
- New Moon: Souichi Asanuma
Live-Action Adaptation[]
Ninja Squad Moonlight (忍者部隊月光,) ran on Fuji TV for 130 episodes from January 3, 1964 to October 2, 1966, with its title changing to New Ninja Squad Moonlight (新忍者部隊月光) at episode 118 and it going on a brief hiatus before its relaunch.
A number of liberties were taken with changing the format of the series to fit a TV adaptation. When the project was first planned, the story was to be set during wartime, just like the manga, and the ninja unit would be a secret infiltration unit directly under the command of the Army General Staff. However, due to issues with the series' structure, the setting was changed to the present day instead. Because the project change was made quite late, the setting for the villain group, the Black Gang, had not yet been solidified at the beginning of the show. Therefore in the early episodes, many of the stories involve the ninja unit being sent to a fictional country.
The series was basically crafted as a light-hearted action show for children. Initially, it had a more serious style, with hard-hitting episodes such as the kidnappings of important people and the harshness of the ninja unit's missions, such as some members being killed in battle before their goals could be achieved . However, this tendency faded as the series progressed.
The Boy Ninja Squad outfits would be modified for them to sport camo or leather jackets, along with their famous round helmets. The fighting unit was also much greater than the manga, with many more characters involved (although the most prominent early on were a group of five: Moonlight, Third-Day Crescent, Moon Ring, Harvest Moon, and Moonshadow).
- Moonlight's given name was changed from Kouhei to Kouichi (光一).
- The team's sole woman would would now have the codename of Third-Day Crescent (real name: Mikako Tsukigami) instead of Eclipse.
- Moon Ring (now with the reading 月輪 Getsurin, though sometimes the original Tsukinowa notation would also appear) existed in earlier episodes and survived through the series, while Full Moon would join later.
- Moonshadow would be killed early on, due to a dispute over the actor's off-screen affair, and would be replaced by a new guy New Moon (新月 Shingetsu). Similar circumstances would cause Makiko Mori to lose her role of Third-Day Crescent, necessitating the new character of Silver Moon (銀月 Gingetsu, played by Junko Kagawa) to take over as the team's signature female member.
- A younger boy with the codename Half Moon (半月 Hangetsu) was added to the roster.
- Other new members present in various episodes and the movie would include a Moon Stream (流月 Ryugetsu), Evening Moon (夕月 Yuzuki), Moonbeam (月明 Getsumei), Moon Wind (月風 Gekka), and Eclipse (月蝕 Gesshoku). While some would be later additions, those like Moonbeam and the first Evening Moon were early cannon fodder type deaths.
Some changes that were made to the planning of the live-action were also reflected back in the manga, such as Eclipse taking up the codename of Third-Day Crescent after the original's death, a Half Moon character being made, and Silver Moon appearing in later media-mix materials.
Taking note of the huge and quick success of the TV drama, Toei produced and distributed a theatrical version that was released on July 28, 1964. The movie contained more members for the troop and new costumes.
A 1970s remake with a new cast was talked about as happening, but ultimately never materialized.
Staff[]
- Original Work: Tatsuo Yoshida ("Boy Ninja Squad Moonlight", serialized in Weekly Shonen King)
- Producers: Mikihiko Umemura, Akira Sagawa , Minoru Tamura ( Kokusai Housou ), Yoshiyuki Shindo ( Fuji Television )
- Assistant producer: Jun Morita
- Directors: Keinosuke Tsuchiya, Yasuo Yoshino, Mutsumi Nakagi, Hiroshi Fukuhara , Shigeo Takahashi, Takeshi Yamada, Yoshihiro Ishikawa, Ken Yamada (New rebrand)
- Screenwriters: Kazuo Nishida, Tatsuo Tamura, Susumu Takakuwa, Ryo Sasaki, Seiji Oda, Ken Yamada, Kozo Makimoto, Yoshiaki Yoshida, Joh Mizuki, Hiroyasu Yamaura, Keisuke Fujikawa
- Music: Chumei Watanabe
- Photography: Susumu Yamanaka, Mamoru Morita, Yuji Sasaki, Yoshimi Hirano, Shigeru Kobayashi, Jiro Omori
- Lighting: Toshio Tsunashima, Jiro Sekigawa, Hiroya Togashi, Toshio Nakamura
- Recording: Shigeru Narita, Hiroshi Toyoda, Sanno Studio
- Art: Toyokazu Ohashi, Masuo Tsutsui
- Edited by: Yasuo Hiraki and Nobutake Kamiya
- Developed by Toyo Developing Lab
- Assistant Directors: Hiroshi Fukuhara, Sadaaki Igarashi, Sadao Nozaki, Fujio Enomoto, Yoshiyuki Nakano, Toshiro Kazuki
- Stage Equipment: Biken Kogyo Co., Ltd.
- Production Staff: Minoru Hiraki, Jun Morita, Eiji Okabe, Sengahiko Munakata, Kenji Nakajima, Naohisa Sekiguchi, Tokutarou Okihara, Michio Shinohara
- Production manager: Eiji Okabe
- Cooperation: Japan MGC Association , Howa Kogyo Co., Ltd., Toyota Motor Corporation , Tokyo Toyopet Co., Ltd., Suzuki Motor Corporation , and others.
- Sword Fighting: Mikijiro Nakamura (Nakamura Sword Club), Kentaro Yuasa (Yuasa Sword Club), Takamitsu Watanabe (J.F.A), NAC Gitokai
- Production: International Broadcasting, Fuji TV
- Broadcasting Station: Fuji TV
After episode 117 aired on March 31, 1966, the series took a break until July 3rd, with its timeslot and airing day changing once more (the slot changed three times total during the run; Friday 19:00-19:30 for episodes 1-104, Thursday 19:00-19:30 for episodes 105-117, and Sunday 18:00-18:30 for episode 118 onwards).
Cast Members[]
- Moonlight (Koichi Tsukita): Joh Mizuki
- Moon Ring (Rinji Tsukioka): Ryuji Ishikawa
- Harvest Moon (Tsukinosuke Yamana): Akira Yamaguchi
- Moonshadow (Kageya Tsukino): Kenji Nagisa (Episodes 1-18)
- Third-Day Crescent (Mikako Tsukigami): Makiko Mori (Episodes 1 - 33)
- New Moon: Souichi Asanuma (episodes 19-51)
- Half Moon: Yasunori Kojima (physical actor, episodes 23-104), Yukari Asai (voice-over actress, episodes 23-101)
- Silver Moon: Junko Kagawa (episodes 33-104, 118, 126-130)
- Full Moon: Masaaki Yamamoto (episodes 111-130)
- Moon Stream: Shigeo Tezuka (episodes 109, 110, 114-117, 119-122)
- Evening Moon: Aya Yoshida (episodes 119-124)
- Moonbeam: Taichiro Hirokawa (Episodes 1 and 2)
- First Evening Moon: Nami Sonoura (episodes 3 and 4)
- Mochizuki (Macula Spy): Taichiro Hirokawa (episodes 80 and 81)
- Chief Engineer of the Akebono: Shoji Nakayama (Episode 1)
- Akebono Engineer Nagao: Shigekatsu Kanazawa (Episode 1 and others)
- Akebono Engineer Yano: Den Kunikata (Episode 1 and others)
- Black Gang: Leader A. Yakuvenko (episode 33), Ed Keene (episodes 35 and 36), Peter Williams (episodes 48 and 51)
- Voice of the Black Gang Leader: Genzo Wakayama (episodes 25 and 26), Masao Imanishi (episodes 33, 35, and 36)
- Macula Leader M〇: Teru Tomoda (episodes 98-104)
- Macula Executive M-1: Kazuyuki Senba (Episodes 52-55)
- Macula Executive M2: Daku Maki (episodes 56-104)
- Macula Executive M-3: Michiko Hamamura (episodes 56-104)
- Macula Operative No. 18: Takashi Otsuka (episodes 68-104)
- First Leader of the Phantom Alliance, Phantom Mask: Mitsuji Matsubara (Episodes 106-117)
- Second Leader of the Phantom Alliance, Phantom Mask: Teru Tomoda (Episodes 118-130)
- Phantom Alliance Executive, Phantom No. 1: Takashi Otsuka (Episodes 118-130)
- Phantom Alliance Executive, Phantom No. 2: Isao Higuchi (Episodes 118-130)
- Phantom Alliance member Phantom No. 22 (Phantom Mask's sister): Yoko Kikuchi (episodes 125 and 126)
- Narrator: Toru Ohira , Minoru Midorikawa (episodes 5-8)
Staff (Movie)[]
- Produced by: Toei
- Planning: Koji Shundo, Nobumitsu Hara
- Original Work: Tatsuo Yoshida
- Director: Genro Ito, Keinosuke Tsuchiya
- Assistant Director: Katsuhiko Taguchi
- Screenplay: Susumu Takaku
- Photo by Kojiro Kurihara
- Sound: Isamu Kishi
- Lighting: Kenzo Ginya
- Art: Shuichiro Nakamura
- Edited by: Fumio Soda
- Development: Toei Chemical Industry Co., Ltd.
- Music: Chumei Watanabe
Cast[]
- Moonlight: Joh Mizuki
- New Moon: Souichi Asanuma
- Moon Ring: Ryuji Ishikawa
- Harvest Moon: Akira Yamaguchi
- Third-Day Crescent: Makiko Mori
- Half Moon: Yasunori Kojima
- Eclipse: Mamoru Ogawa
- Moon Wind: Goro Wakamiya
- Moon Stream: Kenji Namiki
- Berdrick: Harold S. Conway
- Rosenheimer: Paul Schumann
- Dr. Fujinami: Ushio Akashi
- Akebono Chief Engineer Nango: Shoji Nakayama
- Governor Black: Ed Keene
- Dragon Tiger: Koji Sekiyama
- Brahmin: Nobuo Yana
- Jackal: Akira Katayama
- Schneider: Nenji Kobayashi
- Voice of Governor Black: Mikio Terashima
"Phantom Agents" localization[]
It would later receive a Westernized dub titled Phantom Agents starting on January 31, 1966, airing on Australia's Seven Network. The reversioned scripts and voice acting were provided by the Tokyo-based ADR studio Frontier Enterprises, who would become associated with dubbing a number of Tatsunoko's works through the 1960s to 1970s. This version became sourced for other dubs that aired in Latin America, including a Spanish version aired in Venezuela and a Brazilian Portuguese version.
As with Frontier's dubs of the time, they also took part in changing names as other localizers did to try to give the series a more Western appeal:
- Moonlight was renamed Fantar
- Moonshadow was renamed Tugor, with his replacement New Moon being named Andar
- Half Moon was renamed Tomba
- Third-Day Crescent became Margo, with her replacement Silver Moon being Gina
- Moon Ring became Cordo and Harvest Moon as Zemo
- Full Moon had the new name of Mundo
- The unfortunate Moonbeam was Gino
- The Black Gang became The Black Flag Group of SMIG Zee
Many of the episodes were shown out of order or turned into three-part affairs, with the episode count reduced from 130 to 58. Distribution and commissioning of the localization was handled through K. Fujita Associates, who had been involved with other dubs of Japanese movies and TV series, including the anime Marine Boy.
Outside of a few episodes that were recovered, the dub is considered to be lost media. The voice actors also did not receive credit, but would have been anyone William Ross had employed around 1965-1966.
Suzuki Picture Books[]
Due to the popularity of the TV show, a series of colored manga picture books were put out by Suzuki Publishing. These books featured Silver Moon as the team's token girl, as well as more of a role for Half Moon. The artwork was provided by an Ina Production. A separate line of "Comic Picture Books" continued this formula as well.
The team in these books would be the same revised line-up as the 1966 stories, though more generic designs are used for Harvest Moon and Moon Ring compared to how the 1966 stories recycled other characters' appearances. There are also differences between the character designs for Silver Moon and Half Moon between the regular picture books and the Comic Picture Book.
- The Arabian Thieves (アラビアのとうぞく)
- A Suspicious Record (あやしいえんばん)
Collected Editions[]
Shonen Comics[]
Moonlight was reprinted across three issues of this edition in 1965. It contained a foreword by Tatsuo Yoshida titled The Boy Ninja Squad and Me.
Sun Comics[]
Moonlight was collected into two volumes, that were published through 1968.
Sun Wide Comics[]
A single volume reprint of Moonlight occurred in this form in 1986.
Manga Shop[]
The publisher Manga Shop reprinted Moonlight within four volumes in 2007, making this the most recent compilation of the work:
- Volume 1: Reprints 1963 issues #1-21
- Volume 2: Reprints 1963 issue #22 to 1964 #22
- Volume 3: Reprints 1964 #23 to #44
- Volume 4: Reprints 1964 #45 to 1965 #10, as well as two short stories from Separate Edition Shonen King for January and April 1966
Animation Project: Ninja GEKKO[]
In 1997, Tatsunoko attempted to re-invent Moonlight for an animated series pitch. A brief trailer was produced, showcasing the character designs of Roberto Ferrari, an Italian artist who had recently joined their company. The setting would now be in a more cyberpunk, far-future sort of Tokyo with revamped designs for Moonlight and four other ninjas.
Unfortunately, Tatsunoko was unable to gain sponsors for the project and it fell through.
Gallery[]
Legacy[]
Jinzo Toriumi would state he was not particularly conscious of Yoshida's earlier works like Moonlight and World Boys' Team when writing the planning for what would become Gatchaman, merely focusing on the idea of a team of boys and girls fighting an enemy. However, Ippei Kuri would claim that Moonlight did indeed play some part in the creation of the series in recycling the "science and ninjas" themes but in a more colorful, near-futuristic context and with a focus on environmentalism: "We decided to use the name "Science Ninjas" because the story of "Boy Ninja Squad Moonlight," set in the Pacific War, is not something of dreams."
It is also said that Tatsuo Yoshida himself confided to Masato Tenma that Gatchaman was to be based off Moonlight, as well as World Boys' Team[1], which had pleased Tenma greatly. It would seem that Toriumi's "Science Ninja Squad Number 5" planning (which eventually evolved to the final pitch over time) was something developed upon request of Yoshida to make something incorporating those themes to create a futuristic sci-fi story. Tenma was said to have agreed "President, that will definitely be interesting."
Rather than a moon theme, the uniting motif of the Science Ninja Team would be that of birds, although it would take a while to decide upon the perfect title for the show; Science Ninja Team Birdman couldn't have a trademark registered for "Birdman", Toriumi's replacement suggestion of Torimekaman was thrown out, and it appeared Shadow was the candidate name for a bit until the Yomiuri producer Kanshi Matsuyama fatefully suggested "Gatchaman".
It would be Tatsunoko's involvement with a WWII-based documentary anime, Decision, that would also inform what animation techniques they'd utilize and expand upon for Gatchaman as well, even if the show would be vaguely based in the future (2001 by director Hisayuki Toriumi's intent, although opinions can and did differ, such as Takao Koyama implying the setting was 20 years ahead in the 1990s).
As with the smaller Moonlight team, minus the later addition of Half Moon, the Science Ninja Team would be centered around five characters. Some archetypes that had been favored by the Yoshida brothers were already set, such as the hero (Ken), a heroine (Jun), and a younger brother, mood-making type figure (Jinpei). Other additions that were deemed useful to such a formula would be a "nihilist guy" (Joe) to stand out among the team, as well as a "third man" and sumo-type (Ryu) to vary up the image more.
Still, the line-up does roughly reflect that of Moonlight, with Jinpei being a combination of Harvest Moon and Half Moon in his role. Ryu and Joe would be somewhat different from Crescent Moon and Moonshadow, with Tsukigata being more muscular while Tsukino's notable trait among readers was being the "pretty boy" type, but they and Ken would still uphold the "three young men" portion of the team.
While the Moonlight team would be more harmonious yet criticized as simplistic and lacking in deep character development by some readers in retrospect, the Gatchaman series would make sure to show that the team naturally had their differences and clashes but that they would have to work together and have their balance as a team in order to defeat Galactor.
Both Moonlight and Gatchaman have inspiration stemming from Kyokutei Bakin's Eight Dog Chronicles, telling of an 8-member ninja team, though the latter series starting with a smaller group allowed there to be more focus spread out in the different sorts of characters, to the point where Joe unexpectedly came away as both a staff and fan favorite, and the later half of the original series and Gatchaman II even treated him as more of the main character than Ken at times.
Trivia[]
- In a coincidental connection between Moonlight and Gatchaman, the voice actor for Governor Black in the movie, Mikio Terashima, would later go on to voice Berg Katse. The original narrator Toru Ohira would also be involved as Dr. Nambu.
- There may also be another link between the live-action adaptation of Moonlight and the Gatchaman series, as a mysterious English-language adaptation "The Gutman" was offered by Tatsunoko and Yomiko in the 1970s to around 1990 in distribution catalogs. Although there were no details like its exact date of creation or who dubbed it, it may very well have been another Frontier Enterprises production and possibly also offered through K. Fujita, as other obscure dubs that aired in Australia had been. Sadly, unlike the Phantom Agents localization of Moonlight, nothing of the mysterious Gutman has yet surfaced as it may very well have been one of Frontier's dubs that were produced but were never sold to a TV station or aired (the fact Sandy Frank's license covered Australia for Battle of the Planets would have meant another dub would not have had a chance anyway).
- In a way, Moonlight can be seen as a predecessor to the Sentai formula of five people, as well as predating other early "five member team" anime like Skyers 5.