Eagle Riders facts for kids

Eagle Riders (also known as Saban's Eagle Riders) is an American animated television show. It was made by combining two Japanese anime series: Gatchaman II and Gatchaman Fighter. The show was produced by Saban Entertainment. All 65 episodes were shown in Australia on Network Ten in 1997. In the United States, 13 episodes were shown earlier in 1996 and 1997.

The Story of Eagle Riders

Earth is in danger from an alien enemy called Cybercon. Cybercon has an army of robot forces known as the Vorak. To fight this threat, the Global Security Council asks Dr. Thaddeus Keane for help. They remember how Dr. Keane's special team, the Eagle Riders, helped them before. Dr. Keane tells them that the Eagle Riders are still ready and have new weapons to fight the aliens.

How Eagle Riders Was Made

Saban Entertainment first got the rights to the show's name in 1995. They then recorded the English voices for the show. One of the writers, Marc Handler, said in 2006 that Eagle Riders was "not a good rendition." He meant that the stories in different episodes sometimes didn't connect well. Some episodes were written by "R.D. Smithee," which is a fake name. This name is used when writers don't want their real names on a project.

Changes from the Original Anime

The original Japanese shows were changed a lot for Eagle Riders. Some parts that might have been too intense were removed. Also, all the original music was replaced with new music by Shuki Levy and Larry Seymour. Just like other English versions of Gatchaman, the character names were also changed.

For example, a character named Mallanox (originally Gel Sadra) had a different story. In the original Japanese show, this character's background and transformation were shown in the first episode. But in Eagle Riders, this part was removed. The character was also changed from female to male at first, but later episodes corrected this.

To connect the two Japanese series, the last episode of Gatchaman II and the first episode of Gatchaman Fighter were combined. The death of Gel Sadra was cut out. Instead, Mallanox was said to have changed into a new form called Happy Boy. This character was originally a different villain named Count Egobossler in Gatchaman Fighter.

The last eight episodes of Gatchaman Fighter were never translated into English. This was because some of the content was not suitable. So, the 15th episode of Gatchaman Fighter became the final episode of Eagle Riders.

The show aired on many TV stations across the United States.

Episodes

Who are the Characters?

The characters in Eagle Riders are part of a special team. Their names are different in Eagle Riders compared to other versions of the show.

Team Members in Different Versions

Here's how the main team members' names changed across different versions of the show:

Other Characters in Different Versions

Here are other important characters and their names in different versions:

Other Notable Changes in the Show

Here are some other interesting changes made in Eagle Riders:

‡The original Japanese version of Gatchaman uses a few English words.

Behind the Scenes

Many people worked to bring Eagle Riders to television.

• Owned and distributed by: Saban Entertainment
• Executive Producer: Eric S. Rollman
• Producer & Story Editor: Rita M. Acosta
• Writers: R.D. Smithee, Marc Handler
• Voice Directors: Richard Epcar, Steve Kramer, Heidi Noelle Lenhart, Michael Sorich
• Music by: Shuki Levy, Kussa Mahchi

Voice Cast

These are the actors who gave voices to the characters in Eagle Riders:

• Hunter Harris: Richard Cansino
• Joe Thax: Bryan Cranston
• Kelly Jenar: Heidi Noelle Lenhart
• Mickey Dugan: Mona Marshall
• Ollie Keeawani: Paul Schrier
• Dr.Thaddeus Keane: Greg O'Neill
• Dr.Francine Aikens: Lara Cody
• Auto: Dena Burton
• Mallanox: R. Martin Klein
• Cybercon: Peter Spellos
• Other Voices: Joshua Seth, Bob Bergen, Julie Maddalena, Richard Epcar