| Father Alan | |
|---|---|
| Kanji |
アラン神父 |
| Race |
Human |
| Gender |
Male |
| Age |
Unknown. presumably 18 or older |
| Hair Color |
Auburn |
| Eye Color |
Blue |
| Status |
Deceased |
| Position |
Priest of BC Island |
| Voice Actor |
Kei Tomiyama |
| Anime Debut | |
Father Alan (アラン神父) was a guest character that was prominent in episode 81 of Science Ninja Team Gatchaman.
His episode is notable for having never received any localization in the previous English versions of the series, only finally being widely seen by USA viewers when the ADV Films uncut release happened (while any non-English speaking foreign countries and their dubs not based from Battle of the Planets or G-Force: Guardians of Space were lucky enough to know his episode).
Background[]
Alan was revealed within the plot to be the childhood friend of Joe (then known as George Asakura), who secretly believed he was still alive ever since the assassination of the Asakura family by Galactor. Bearing a great shame over the delinquent acts he committed as a young child, Alan devoted himself to religion and peace ever since and served as a priest on BC Island.
Appearance[]
Alan was shown to be a tall, pale young man with neck-length auburn hair. He dressed in a purple suit with a darker yoke at the top, and a golden rosary to indicate his status as a priest of the island.
Personality[]
Alan was known as a kind, peaceful priest on the island, and a positive influence to its children in trying to turn them away from corruption and not be like the Galactors who held presence there. But deep down, Alan bore a lot of hidden anger and frustration over the injustices of the world, down to the fact that he saw the Science Ninja Team as no better than Galactor for all the bloodshed that would happen in battles, including the fact that his fiancee died due to one of them.
Relationships[]
Joe[]
Alan correctly figured that Joe had returned to BC Island to avenge his parents' deaths and tried to dissuade him, pointing out the corruption by Galactor extended to the police and very Mayor and that it was best to leave it up to "God's Will".
Joe was horrified at learning Alan's fiancee was the same woman he had met at the race track so long ago, as well as the fact that she was a Devil Star. He then had to learn of Alan's hatred of "Joe the Condor", yet hear Alan's continued insistence that revenge would be meaningless. Later, after another fight with Galactor when the goons ambushed Alan's place, Joe was shot but rescued by his fellow Science Ninjas.
Alan angrily approached the group and Joe, demanding to know which of them was "Joe the Condor" and toting a rifle. At seeing Alan aim the rifle at Ken, Joe shot him with the revolver he'd also picked up from a Galactor. He despaired over having to kill Alan, and wound up even more distraught when Ken pointed out Alan's rifle had no ammo and that he may have known very well who the Condor really was:
"You idiot! What does your death accomplish? You're not like me, this island needs you! Were you just trying to convince me to forget about revenge, even at the cost of your own life? Why did you do it?"
Devil Star #2[]
Alan and this young woman were engaged to be married at some point, even though it was impossible for her to leave Galactor due to having been born into it by her family. Alan despaired over how she had wanted to leave, but had to stay part of it and that she wound up killed as a Devil Star by a "Joe the Condor".
Voice Actors[]
Alan was voiced by Kei Tomiyama in the original Japanese version. In the dub track on the ADV Films uncut boxsets, he was voiced by Lowell Bartholomee.
Trivia[]
- Besides the question of how old Alan is in relation to Joe, and thoughts from fans that he comes off much older (along with the infamy of Joe looking "scary" and "old" himself that would come up later in some parodies), there is the point many make that Alan would not be able to marry as a Catholic priest and that it would be unbelievable for him to have even thought of having a fiancee. This may be due to Keiji Kubota and others at Tatsunoko conflating Catholicism with other branches of Christianity, or not paying mind to such a detail for the conveniences of the plot. There are those who will try to justify such a plot hole by suggesting maybe Alan isn't a Catholic priest but of another branch, or that perhaps he had only officially taken up priesthood after learning of his fiancee's death.