Jun: Apex Heart

Jun: Apex Heart was released November 13th, 2024, with it being second in line of Mad Cave's special Gatchaman one-shot side-stories.

Overview

"An elite squad of motorcycle-riding death bikers have successfully hijacked an armored train transporting experimental International Science Organization tech. These thieves are fast and ruthless--they carry out their orders with razor-sharp efficiency. The only thing in their way is Jun the Swan and her G-3 hover-cycle mecha. The action-packed second tale in a series of standalone one-shot stories that each focus on a separate member of Science Ninja Team Gatchaman!"

This one-shot, inspired by Kamen Rider by the intent of Tommy Lee Edwards, gives solo focus for Jun in a story separate from her exploits in the first arc of the ongoing series.

Staff

• Cover Art: Tommy Lee Edwards (A), Eric Canete (B), Chris Batista and Tom Chu (Mad Cave exclusive variant)
• Writer: Tommy Lee Edwards
• Artist: Nuno Plati
• Colorist: Giada Marchisio
• Letterer: Buddy Beadoin

Story

The Science Ninja Team:

• G-1: Ken the Eagle/Gatchaman
• G-2: Joe the Condor
• G-3: Jun the Swan
• G-4: Jinpei the Swallow
• G-5: Ryu the Owl
• Dr. Kozaburo Nambu

Other characters:

• Mr. and Mrs. Taketa, parents of the deceased motorcyclist Riku Taketa (Die)
• Riku Taketa, a biker believed dead over a year ago (Dies)

Galactor:

• Berg Katse
• Leader X
• Galactor Troops (Die)
• Mr. Brixx (Dies)
• Death Bikers (All destroyed)

Synopsis

Six "Death Bikers" from Galactor have stolen more ISO technology. They are skilled at speed, acting as one. It is now up to the Science Ninja Team to investigate these unusual individuals.

Back at the Snack J, Jun works on her motorcycle and is treated to their own ramen by Jinpei. Jun is revealed to have a fan shrine to a famous young biker, Riku Taketa, in her garage. She clarifies to Jinpei that she never got to meet him, but that he was a big inspiration to both her and Koji. A motorcycle race on TV is suddenly interrupted by a breaking news report about the Death Bikers being at it again.

The next morning, Dr. Nambu gives Jun permission to visit Taketa Motors to investigate, but reminds her to tread lightly due to the parents' grief over their son's deadly accident last year. Jun notes that Riku had unique cycling skills, that the Death Bikers have seemed to copy, although Nambu wonders if her fixation is due to her worship of him and reminds her to try to stay objective.

Jun visits the Taketa couple's home, but is told they no longer allow tours of their factory. The two depart for an important meeting and Jun is escorted out by their bodyguard, "Mr. Brixx". While she asks Brixx for a tour, he refuses, and she rides off.

However, late at night, it is revealed that Jun has continued to stake out the premises from the forest, and emerges in Bird Style. Jun enters the factory, seeing the logo of Galactor painted on a wall and realizing it's become one of their bases. Mr. Brixx is revealed to be a Commander of the base, with several green goons in tow. Jun incapacitates Brixx and the goons, but she sees some unsettling surveillance on one of the TV screens: Riku Taketa is seemingly alive, hooked up to life support robotics in a chair, and being overseen by Berg Katse and his own parents.

Jun is in disbelief, as she was sure Riku had died in that accident. Brixx attempts to attack her, but is thrown through a window into a laboratory below where the six Death Bikers are charging in their pods. Mr. Taketa notes the factory's silent alarm has gone off, as Katse sees an intruder alert on the surveillance screens and footage of Jun. Katse orders Mr. Taketa to activate Operation: Apex Heart.

With the signal from a special Galactor device, the six bikers turn on while Jun rushes out of the building. She watches the Death Bikers emerge on their motorcycles. Back in the base, Mrs. Taketa wonders how much longer this treatment must go on with her son, as Katse reminds her that he is now responsible for controlling the Death Bikers and without the life support machines, he'd be dead. Without Galactor supplying engine designs for Taketa Motorsports, their racing empire would also be dead. The Taketas are also revealed to have been behind the Blackbirds' motorcycle technology, only for those to have failed. While the couple wishes for their son to finally pass away in peace, Leader X appears and states his intent to utilize Riku's consciousness by transferring it into a mechanical body, so he will serve as the Captain of the Death Bikers.

In the meantime, Jun races against the Death Bikers, using her swift moves to trick them into crashing and being destroyed. Mr. Taketa defies Katse's idea to use his son as a cyborg and presses "ABORT" on the Apex Heart device. He has his hand chopped off by Katse for such betrayal, while the self-destruct of the base is initiated by the fleeing Katse, killing both Mr. and Mrs. Taketa in the process. As the base burns, Riku wakes up and extricates himself from the life support machine, while Jun defeats the remaining two Death Bikers.

Jun returns to the Taketa compound, finding it in flames and Riku alone in the grass. She tells Riku he can rest easy now, and introduces herself as Jun, telling him he's her hero. She comforts him and bids him farewell, as he finally manages to pass away.

Trivia

• The Death Bikers, as well as elements of Riku Taketa's origin and would-be conversion, are inspired by that of Shotaro Ishinomori's tokusatsu and manga media mix project Kamen Rider. Similar to Takeshi Hongo, Riku Taketa is a motorcyclist and he was going to be converted into a cyborg by an evil organization. The Death Bikers themselves also appear to serve as homage to Shocker's henchmen, while Edwards in his script mentions their influences come from Kamen Rider Black, Hakaider, Psychomania, as well as the Blackbirds.
• This story is intended to take place after episode 56 of the original series, as the Blackbirds' motorcycle technology is mentioned as having been created for Galactor by the Taketas but having failed. The casual mention of a character like Koji may also place this as being after his death.
• According to Tommy Lee Edwards, the original outline had it that Koji Yabane was the man who secretly survived and was on the verge of being turned into a cyborg (hence the casual mention of him in the plot), but this was vetoed by Tatsunoko who wanted him to come up with a new character. The finalized script on Edwards' website also shows several yellow-highlighted portions where the story had to be rewritten to remove other talk of Koji, subbing in Riku and emphasis on his career and Taketa Motorsports. Due to some specific passages where only "Taketa" is the altered portion, it appears the Taketa couple were also originally meant to be Koji's parents, who would be working with Galactor in exchange for their son being kept alive. With the conversion of the roles, the couple were instead said to have supplied Blackbird motorcycles to Galactor.
• The pink and white motorcycle helmet Jun wears in this story originates from episode 56, although she does not wear the accompanying bodysuit with it this time.