Science Ninja Team: Special Interview was a feature ghostwritten possibly by Hisayuki Toriumi or Satoshi Suyama which was included in Fantastic TV Collection vol.3/Science Ninja Team Gatchaman issue 2 by Asahi Sonorama.
In this article, the Science Ninja team are interviewed by an anonymous reporter at the Snack J cafe and recount their history, with the event taking place sometime in the last stretch of the show before the revelation of Berg Katse's identity and Joe's last stand.
Prologue[]
It was a gloomy day. It was only 2 PM, but the city of Utoland was surrounded in a deep blue haze as if it were twilight. The rain that started to fall suddenly just after noon got heavier and heavier, and my T-shirt became even heavier and clung to my body. I walked through the rain, protecting my video recorder and camera, and eventually found the place I was looking for.
A neon "J" sign was smothered by the rain. This is the Snack Bar "Jun" where today, I was to interview four members of the Science Ninja Team.
"You're too slow, too slow!"
As soon as I pushed the door open, I heard a bright voice and saw a towel flying. Jun smiled from across the counter. Ryu and Ken, seated next to each other, were grinning with their bodies halfway turned towards me. Jinpei was playing with a cup nearby, and it seemed he was the culprit.
I took a seat at the counter, roughly scratching my head with the towel, and set up my recorder. I gulped down the Coke Jinpei handed me in one gulp, and was about to say "Now..." when I heard a communicator sound and Ken took off his bracelet.
"Ah?"
"Yes, I can faintly hear a voice..." Ryu pressed his ear to his wrist.
"Joe! Hey, it's Joe!" Ken suddenly yelled, and all their tense gazes turned to him. "He says he's in Utoland. He'll be here in about ten minutes."
"Oh..." A sigh escaped from everyone.
The time passed in silence. All four of them glanced anxiously at the door, whispering from time to time. They were dodging words. The sound of the rain got louder and louder.
Joe then came in through the open door, his shoulders soaked as he stomped around. His unexpected participation seemed to bring nothing but joy to the group, and Jinpei hurriedly carried over the drinks.
The History of the Science Ninjas[]
-- First, please tell me about your upbringing. About your families, your childhood memories, etc.
Ken: I was born here. My only family are my parents, but I don't have very memories of my mother. Apparently she was sickly from the time when I was born, and she was hospitalized before my father had passed away. My father was Kentaro Washio, the captain of Red Impulse. I know it sounds strange of me to say this, but he was an excellent pilot. When I was 4 years old, he was ordered by Dr. Nambu to infiltrate the country of Hontwal, and that was it. I'd always thought he was dead. It's been a year since I found out the truth...the rest is as you know (sudden chuckle). Well, that's how my mother was, my father was missing, and I was with Dr. Nambu. So I was taken in by the doctor, and my mother later died when I was 11. That's how I met you, Joe.
Joe: Oh, I think we were 8 years old. We hardly saw each other for those first 2 or 3 years, and even if we met occasionally, we didn't become good friends then. I thought Ken should just leave me alone, and it seemed he was trying to do that and I was trying to leave him alone but couldn't.
Ken: It couldn't be helped, you weren't in a normal state.
Joe: Yeah, my father and mother were killed right in front of my eyes. I didn't know what was even going on anymore. Then, the next thing I knew, I was with the doctor. I guess he was nearby and saw the whole thing. The doctor, who sensed Galactor's movements, staged a dramatic act and plot to save me.
Jun: Oh, don't put it like that.
Jinpei: That's right, I feel bad for Dr. Nambu.
Jun: We, Jinpei and I, we were in an orphanage for a while. We were there for about 3 years until the doctor took us in, but we've been together since before that. I was raised by my aunt. Yes, my parents had died shortly after I was born, and then my aunt died in a war with a neighboring country when I was about 8 or 9. The brutal war forced me to flee to the mountains.
Jinpei: That's where we met. Well, I don't remember anything about it, hehe.
Jun: But Jinpei, you were barely 3 years old then, you shouldn't be able to remember.
Jinpei: Even so, Big Sis told me it was Mt. Jupiter. After I joined the Ninja Team, I tried climbing that mountain once. I thought it might be the place where I was born. I met a strange old man there and listened to his story about how the Jupiter Ninjas were wiped out 10 years ago, but I still couldn't figure it out. Now, I don't really want to know about my birth anymore. We're all here now.
Jun: After that, we were taken in by the United Nations and both of us were placed in the Shirayuki Orphanage. We were always close at hand back then, and everyone thought we were a real brother and sister. But we were so little, just the two of us. We supported each other just as a real brother and sister would.
Jinpei: I remember my time at that orphanage pretty well. That head teacher was really kind, she was like a mother to me. I don't know what mothers are like, but I think she must have been like one. I ran around pretty wildly at the orphanage, I don't know why but I was especially light on my feet and I could just about hop, hop, hop anywhere...
Jun: But you couldn't stand up to the principal or me, right? Jinpei never got gloomy because of his lack of parents, and he was really popular in school. He got into a lot of pranks, though. Jinpei's swiftness was well known back then, and there were a lot of rumors about him, so I guess that's what drew Dr. Nambu's interest. I went with them on the pretense of taking care of the doctor's daily affairs. I had just turned 13 so I couldn't stay at the orphanage long, so I made up my mind and decided to go with Jinpei.
Joe: We weren't exactly close. Watching them from the sidelines made me feel jealous.
Ken: Hey, was I not good enough? (laughs) But Joe and I have a few memories of our time with our parents, but Jun and Jinpei didn't have any shreds of memories...By the way, Ryu, you're rather quiet, why don't you tell us about your family?
Jinpei: Yeah, you're right, there's no need to be shy about it.
Ryu: Uh, yeah. Well, I don't really have anything in particular to talk about. I was born in a small fishing village. I have a father and a mother, and one younger brother called Seiji. If I hadn't met Dr. Nambu, I would have just been an ordinary village fisherman. I think that was when I was about 13 years old. The doctor came to our village to investigate the bottom of the sea. At that time, I helped carry his luggage along with the other young people in the village. I was very proud of my strength, so I rowed the boat with the doctor and his luggage to a small island offshore, but we got caught in a whirlpool. I would never do something like this normally, but I was confident in my skills. But at that time, his luggage was a bit too heavy. That luggage and the boat were swept away, but I managed to save the doctor and nursed him back at my house. The doctor wanted to thank me, so I asked him to take me to Utoland. I had always wanted to go there, even if it was just once. The doctor thought about it for a while, but I ended up staying with him for the time being. Well, I guess I just barged in.
--So that's how everyone was gathered at the doctor's place. How did you find out about the Science Ninja Team?
Ken: Joe and I were told about the Science Ninja Team's purpose in advance before the other three. I was a pilot, Joe was a racer, and our training had already begun.
Jinpei: I thought it was really fun.
Ryu: Well, that's because Jinpei is so light. My movements were slow, so I could barely keep up with everyone else.
Joe: First we had basic training, and at the same time we were taught about mechanics and medicine. After that, we were each given a vehicle and a weapon, and we trained again until we could master it, then we learned combination techniques and scientific ninjutsu...by that time, we seemed to have pretty good teamwork. I was good with the feather shuriken among weapons. I think it was a kenjutsu I had learned a long time ago, since I was pretty good with knives.
Ryu: I was given an air gun and the G-5, but I hardly ever used the gun. I mostly just left it in the G-5. I liked that, because it was so big.
-- Did you ever get into fights?
Ken: We all grew up in different environments. Each of us has our own way of thinking, our own way of living, and our own opinions, so it's hard to say we're always cooperative. It seems like sometimes we just go in our own selfish directions.
Joe: Oh man, that's a tough thing to hear.
Jun: I think there was resentment between us in many ways. Of course it's impossible to completely understand each other. But it seems like we all kept our own feelings to ourselves and didn't really show it much.
-- Regarding Dr. Nambu, what kind of man is he?
Joe: Hah. What a typical question from you. As for me, I have nothing to say but that he saved my life.
Jun: Yes, we didn't have many chances to talk, so at first I wasn't sure what kind of person he was...but I can say this much. The doctor really does think of us as his children. Sure, he's a scientist and does important work for the International Science and Technology Agency, and on the surface he's very strict, but he always pays close attention to each of us.
Ryu: I'm a bit clumsy and I caused trouble for everyone during training, so I didn't understand why the doctor wanted someone like me to be a member. But I've learned that the most important thing for the Science Ninja Team is teamwork, and now I'm grateful to the doctor for letting me be a member. I've made some great friends.
Jinpei: The doctor is a little scary when he's working with the Science Ninja Team. But he's usually very kind. He even gives me some pocket money.
-- Finally, please tell me about your daily life.
Jun: I run this store. The doctor gave it to me to hide my identity. Everyone gathers here when they have free time.
Jinpei: I'm here with my sister. Even though I'm still a minor, my sister bosses me around so much that it's annoying. Seriously, she works me hard. Oh, by the way Big Brother, you should pay your tab soon. Sis will be noisy about it.
Ken: Well... I live at the airport my dad left to me. I work part-time transporting mail and packages with my propeller plane. Other than that, I usually come to "Jun".
Ryu: I run a yacht harbor. But there aren't many customers, and it gets boring. Besides, I spend more time with my friends so I wind up neglecting my work.
Joe: I have a Class A license, so I'm technically a racer, although I rarely ever enter in official races. As for a home, I don't have particularly much. I live in a trailer.
Epilogue[]
The rain had stopped as suddenly as it started, and the afternoon sunlight was streaming in through the translucent door, casting a brilliant rectangle of light on the shop floor.
"Thank you everyone, please keep doing your best" I said, and as I stood up, everyone else did too.
"We'll take it from here," Ken said, as Joe, Jun, Jinpei, and Ryu opened the door and slipped out into the light.
I made a wish in my heart for these five young people to have peace.