"Gatchaman" (or, "Science Ninja Team Gatchaman", or "Kagaku Ninja Tai Gatchaman") is the collective name of a number of anime based on a 1972 TV series by Tatsuo Yoshida. For the 2013 spinoff Gatchaman Crowds, use [gatchaman-crowds].
Gatchaman is a 105-episode SF/mecha/superhero series from Tatsunoko. The protagonists are a team of 5 young people, capable of transforming into superheroes. Although they are called "Science Ninja", their costumes are brightly colored. Each costume bears a resemblance to a particular bird species.
The main antagonist is an organization called Galactor, which regularly disturbs the peace with mecha assaults. The leader of Galactor is the mysterious masked Berg Katze, who in turn takes orders from an entity named Sosai X. The name and costume of Berg Katze are feline ("Berg Katze" means "Mountain Cat" in German), complementing the bird-theme of the protagonists.
Several episodes of the show also highlighted personal problems of the Gatchaman team members, which probably contributed to the popularity of the show. The past histories of some of the Gatchaman team members had an important impact on the long-term plot.
There were two spin-offs, Gatchaman II and Gatchaman Fighter. In 2013, a somewhat-less-related spinoff titled Gatchaman Crowds was produced (see gatchaman-crowds).
A severely edited version of the show was broadcasted in the west under the name "Battle of the Planets".
Source: Wikipedia and the show itself.
