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Info
Title: Gatchaman Crowds
Genre: Superhero/Action
Series Length: 12 episodes x 24 minutes
Broadcast Date: Every Friday starting from July 12
Where to Watch: http://www.crunchyroll.com/gatchaman-crowds
Official Sites: http://www.ntv.co.jp/GATCHAMAN_Crowds/
http://www.ntv.co.jp/english/pc/2013/06/1483.html



Staff
Director: Kenji Nakamura (Mononoke, Tsuritama)
Series Composition: Toshiya Ono (Tsuritama)
Original Character Design: Kinoko
Animation Character Design: Yuuichi Takahashi (Tsuritama)
G Suit Design: Koji Nakakita (Dancouga Nova), Kenji Ando (Karas, Tiger & Bunny)
Music: Taku Iwasaki (Gurren Lagann)
Animation Production: Tatsunoko Production



Story
"Gatchaman" is the general term for warriors who wear special power suits called NOTE, which are manifestations of special spiritual powers possessed by living beings. The Gatchaman force on Earth consists of aliens who have been dispatched by a council and Earthlings who have been scouted for their latent abilities, all of whom work together to protect Earth's people and resources from alien criminals who have invaded the planet in violation of the probation enforced by the council.

----

The year is 2015 in Tachikawa, a large city of 180 thousand in western Tokyo. A MESS, mysterious existence, is sweeping over and only the GATCHAMAN CREW (G-CREW), composed of talented humans and aliens who are selected by the CHAMBER, can protect the Earth and its inhabitants with their hidden special powers.


Characters
Hajime Ichinose (G-101)
Bubbly and bursting with energy, this 16-year old GATCHAMAN is the heroine. Hajime is an artsy high school girl who is into all things pretty and cute. Just when she was starting to crave more excitement in life, she gets recruited by J.J. Robinson to become part of the G-CREW.

Sugane Tachibana (G-96)
Sugane is a 19-year old high school senior who is wise beyond his years. A champion of justice, he has been part of the G-CREW for 5 years and is a samurai at heart.

Joe Hibiki (G-89)
Serious government employee by day and dart aficionado by night, Joe is a 10-year veteran of the G-CREW.

O.D (G-12)
O.D is 1.9 meters tall and is the G-CREW life of the party. He claims to be an unfortunate GATCHAMAN who doesn’t possess the ability to transform. O.D does not participate in regular G-CREW missions.

Utsu-tsu (G-99)
This 15-year old is a year behind Hajime in the same high school, but has a completely opposite personality. Shy and with very low self-esteem, Utsu-tsu barely speaks to her fellow G-CREW and prefers to tend to the flowers over at the park where she volunteers.

PAI-MAN (G-3)
This tiny alien creature measures only 33 cm in height but is actually the oldest GATCHAMAN. He fully admires J.J. Robinson and puts utmost faith and importance on the latter’s predictions. PAI-MAN claims to be the leader of GATCHAMAN at Tachikawa “CAGE” and gives orders to the other G-CREW members.

J.J. (J.J. Robinson)
J.J. Robinson is a CHAMBER member who has witnessed the rise and fall of life in the universe over aeon. As guardian of the Earth, he recruits talented people to become part of the G-CREW and guides them with his predictions. Under J.J. Robinson’s tutelage, the G-CREW use their special NOTE powers to protect the Earth from evil forces that otherwise can’t be overcome using only the scientific capabilities currently available in the world.

Rui Ninomiya
Rui is a self-taught genius who can speak Japanese, Chinese, and English. Frustrated that the world is too slow, Rui sets out to speed up the passage of time and “update” people by using his ability to hack and write code.

President X
President X is a work-in-progress artificial intelligence created by Rui with support from other brilliant hackers from around the world. It runs the SNS named “GALAX”, also developed by Rui, and is successfully increasing the site’s users.

Berg-Katze
Berg-Katze is 2.15 meters tall and claims to be from outer space. He is a phantom figure whose actions and intents are completely shrouded in mystery.



Stuff
Opening Animation: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zr7HfxJbpi4

 

[Envelope]

looks nakamura, get hype

 

[TDLink]

What the fuck is this shit. I am one of the biggest Gatchaman fans you'll ever meet and this looks like a strong case of Gatchaman in name only.

I am fine if they want to use new characters and stuff but the style and design of everything is decidedly un-Gatchaman.

Seriously, this seems so generic-anime and awful. At least there is that live action movie next month.

 

[Jarmel]

Will this OT be as dead as the Tsuritama one then?

 

[Deprive]

Tsuritama was ok. Same people did C right? I really liked C.


Yeah Gatchaman in name only. Not feeling the armor designs at all. I'll give it a shot though.

 

[dakkumauji]

I really like the colors of this show. I'm still not a fan of the suits but I am looking forward to watching this.

 

[Zonic]

Looking forward to this. Still kind of mixed on the suits. On the one hand, I kind of like them, but they feel out of place in a series that's suppose to be related to Gatchaman. Granted, I only know the series thanks to TvC, but still.

 

[Parallax]

Those character designs are fucking ugly

 

[Soma]

Bit shameful to admit but this will be my first outing into the Gatchaman series as far as animated works go, so I'm hoping this doesn't disappoint.

I enjoyed Tsuritama, Mononoke and Trapeze all quite a bit so I have faith that this will be good.

 

[metsallica]

Giving this a shot due to my previous affiliation with the Science Ninja Team. How's Tsuritama, by the way?

 

[Gilgamesh]

Loved Mononoke, didn't get into Trapeze, and haven't seen Tsuritama... still hype for Nakamura.

 

[survivor]

Can't wait for it. Hopefully Nakamura gets the freedom to do whatever he wants with the series instead of being bounded by crappy Gatchaman traditions.

 

[duckroll]

Can't wait for it. Hopefully Nakamura gets the freedom to do whatever he wants with the series instead of being bounded by crappy Gatchaman traditions.

Breaking tradition seems to be one of the themes judging from the first episode. The main character is a weirdo like in every Nakamura show, but she seems to have a knack for thinking out of the box (sometimes in stupid ways) and not caring about tradition and just saying what she thinks.

 

[metsallica]

She's also gratingly annoying. Show's certainly... colorful.

 

[Lord Ghirahim]

I haven't even finished Tsuritama :/

 

[Turin Turambar]

Tsuritama was ok. Same people did C right? I really liked C.


Yeah Gatchaman in name only. Not feeling the armor designs at all. I'll give it a shot though.

It's the other way around! C was kidn of ok, and only just. Tsuritama was great.

 

[Turin Turambar]

Gatchman Crowds 1

For now it seems a nice, fun series. I like the character designs, stylized and varied, though lots of backgrounds are pretty dull and unremarkable (though it may be done to create contrast against the more fantastic side of the world, like the Gatchman base).

The moment the MC is "chosen" has some erotic subtext btw.... or maybe I'm just a pervert.

The MC, btw, is funny, she is kind of crazy but for now the good kind of refreshing crazy (think Tsuirama favorite alien fish) and not annoying character crazy. edit: though I see some people already consider it grating. For me her fun, easygoing, silly attitude drove the entire episode.
I like especially her voice, she does some cute and curious sounds when she is too hyped and happy for something, like the note blocs.

CG suits are cg-y and tacky, but at least they will serve to have smooth action scenes in the series, I suppose.

 

[TheKaeptain]

I've been wanting to watch Tsuritama too.

 

[survivor]

First episode was great. Upbeat nature, quirky MC, very colourful, and the fight scenes looked good. I didn't mind the CG fights, for some reason they really fit well.

The transformation scene was great.

 

[injurai]

Whoa, just started watching Tsuritama!

It's easily my favorite short anime since Madoka.

 

[Enron]

No. Fuck this shit. No.

 

[Epcott]

At first I was like "Shit" because I canceled my CR sub just yesterday...

But then I read the synopsis and saw the art and breathed a sigh of relief.

 

[Lafiel]

Some of the reactions here are pretty funny. Because considering Nakamura track-record this is very likely to be better and more artistically significant than any previous Gatchaman series/OVA/film in existence.

Anyone doubting this should sit down and watch Mononoke/Trapeze/Tsuritama before you argue with me.

 

[Envelope]

Episode 1

Completely Nakamura, just the way we wanted it.

 

[Ken]

her chest gets smaller when she changes?

 

[Envelope]

her chest gets smaller when she changes?

boob armor doesn't exist in real life

 

[ZoddGutts]

First ep was okay but nothing impressive.

 

[cosmicblizzard]

Some of the reactions here are pretty funny. Because considering Nakamura track-record this is very likely to be better and more artistically significant than any previous Gatchaman series/OVA/film in existence.

Why are you doing this?

 

[TDLink]

Some of the reactions here are pretty funny. Because considering Nakamura track-record this is very likely to be better and more artistically significant than any previous Gatchaman series/OVA/film in existence.

Anyone doubting this should sit down and watch Mononoke/Trapeze/Tsuritama before you argue with me.

I haven't seen any of those but I highly doubt it will be more significant or influential than the original series. Even if it does end up being ok, it seems very generic and not gatchaman at all...so why even use the name?

 

[Lafiel]

I haven't seen any of those but I highly doubt it will be more significant or influential than the original series. Even if it does end up being ok, it seems very generic and not gatchaman at all...so why even use the name?

Then there's nothing to discuss. Watch them, then get back to me. Also this sentence is contradictory, you complain that it appears very generic.. but at the same time are annoyed that it's not like the traditional "gatchaman" you are familiar with, it seems rather then letting Nakamura have the freedom to do whatever he wants with the series you prefer him to take some "safe" and "boring" approach because you have preconceived notions of what the IP should look like, that my friends is the attitude that gives rise to the "genericness" you accuse the series of having.

 

[cosmicblizzard]

Then there's nothing to discuss.

He could probably throw that same complaint back at you if you've never seen anything in the Gatchaman franchise.

 

[TDLink]

Then there's nothing to discuss. Watch them, then get back to me. Also this sentence is contradictory, you complain that it appears very generic.. but at the same time are annoyed that it's not like the traditional "gatchaman" you are familiar with, it seems rather then letting Nakamura have the freedom to do whatever he wants with the series you prefer him to take some "safe" and "boring" approach because you have preconceived notions of what the IP should look like, that my friends is the attitude that gives rise to the "genericness" you accuse the series of having.

Maybe that's because the original Gatchaman wasn't generic at all and very unique and influential for the genre in general? There hasn't been a Gatchaman series in like 30 years and it is...this. Surely you can understand the disappointment. This isn't just an experiment in a long running franchise. It is a revival or an iconic and influential series that is nothing like it but the name and one character, sort of.

He could probably throw that same complaint back at you if you've never seen anything in the Gatchaman franchise.

Quite right.

 

[ZoddGutts]

Maybe that's because the original Gatchaman wasn't generic at all and very unique and influential for the genre in general? There hasn't been a Gatchaman series in like 30 years and it is...this. Surely you can understand the disappointment. This isn't just an experiment in a long running franchise. It is a revival or an iconic and influential series that is nothing like it but the name and one character, sort of.

SMH Jetman doesn't count?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjzsA3WkbTo

 

[Stitch]

Berg-katze means Mountain-Cat lol

 

[hosannainexcelsis]

Whatever you think of Crowds in relation to the Gatchaman franchise, it certainly isn't generic.

 

[Werewolf Jones]

The only other show I'm looking forward to aside from Silver Spoon this season. Shame about the CG suits though.

 

[PartTimeWarrior]

The MC yelling every 5 seconds is really turning me away

 

[SonicMegaDrive]

Can't wait for the BluRay set of the OG series this fall. That is all.

 

[Dresden]

episode 1 -

The episode reminded me at times of C, and not in a good way. (Is there a good way?) It's Kenji Nakamura so I'll be along for the ride, but the frequently poor art was pretty noticeable. It's not like Tsuritama where its color design and the backgrounds were an immediately pleasing and cohesive sight. Even their base ("CAGE") feels like a throwback to Trapeze with the intent robbed out of it, and only the vulgar, shocking palette remaining. The episode as a whole lacked good flow, stuffed with exposition as it was, and it's only at the end with Hajime's transformation that it gets into any kind of a groove.

I feel like I have a good handle on just what Nakamura is going for with Hajime--from the ducklip-backpack to the excessive friendliness, she's superficial, yet that superficiality isn't something to be attacked, and in a way, she's the extrapolation of what all the rest of the Gatchaman stand for but won't admit. The Notes of the Gatchaman are a deliberately anachronistic throwback to the days of people actually writing things with pen and paper, and Hajime covets that anachronism without actually engaging in the consequences of doing so. She'll buy planners and huggle them and rub her cute cheeks against them, but they serve no function other than as trophies, and I get the sense that the rest of the Gatchaman are like that too--the costumes serve as masks, and even for someone as self-serious as Sugane, it's an escape from his normal life. This is the most noticeable with O.D. and the panda--one lacks the ability to transform and thus must remain as extroverted the mask he lacks, and the other has substituted his identity into the giant mecha-robot-suit and the outsized responsibilities of 'saving planets.'

 

[survivor]

Whatever you think of Crowds in relation to the Gatchaman franchise, it certainly isn't generic.

Yeah I don't even know where that complaint is coming from. What's generic about Gatchaman Crowds?

 

[Lafiel]

Yeah I don't even know where that complaint is coming from. What's generic about Gatchaman Crowds?

The main character is generic but the way she is presented in the world certainly isn't. There's a strong difference between judging something on a premise level and how it's done.

 

[ZoddGutts]

I know it's 1 ep but Crowds is nothing special so far. Remember enjoying Tsuritama first episode far more.

 

[Lafiel]

I know it's 1 ep but Crowds is nothing special so far. Remember enjoying Tsuritama first episode far more.

Second episode should be something special. Considering it's being storyboarded by the guy that did ep. 6 of Tsuritama.

 

[Defuser]

GATCHAMAAAAAAAAAN!!! GATCHAMAAAAAAAAAN!!!

My god, Taku Iwasaki's music is so damn good. Huge sucker for techno electronic music.

 

[dakkumauji]

It wasn't bad. Yes, pretty much exposition heavy and a lot less colorful than I thought it would be. Hajime also needs to tone it down a bit as well.

But, I would keep watching.

 

[Hellsing321]

Some of the reactions here are pretty funny. Because considering Nakamura track-record this is very likely to be better and more artistically significant than any previous Gatchaman series/OVA/film in existence.

Anyone doubting this should sit down and watch Mononoke/Trapeze/Tsuritama before you argue with me.

Or it could be another [C]

 

[cosmicblizzard]

ep 1

So JJ Abrams hands out Death Notes so they can make clones of Biggie Smalls? That's not too hard to follow.

This is pretty fun. Definitely getting [C] vibes here. If it keeps up this energy, it may even be able to surpass [C]. Excited to see where this goes.

 

[-Horizon-]

Ep 1:

Hyper Hajime GO! She's energetic that's for sure.
I liked the first episode, I'm interested in seeing where this goes.

 

[sorakirosaki]

Ep 1: I kinda liked this first foray into the series it wasn't something memorable but it looks like it might have something special will keep watching

 

[Jex]

[Gatchaman Crowds] - 1

Why didn't we head the warning signs?

It should have been obvious that this was doing to be garbage!

In all seriousness, I dislike the characters, the character designs, the background art, the colour design and, well, everything. The animation is surprisingly poor too and the episode itself doesn't even look finished. Even though this is the first episode they appear to have run of out time to animate it all a la Attack on Titan during the scene in the G-base where the camera cuts to their feet for a good 30 seconds. It's just a mess.

Dropped like a Colony.

Also, no impressions from duckroll? For shame.

episode 1 -

[...]

I feel like I have a good handle on just what Nakamura is going for with Hajime--from the ducklip-backpack to the excessive friendliness, she's superficial, yet that superficiality isn't something to be attacked, and in a way, she's the extrapolation of what all the rest of the Gatchaman stand for but won't admit. The Notes of the Gatchaman are a deliberately anachronistic throwback to the days of people actually writing things with pen and paper, and Hajime covets that anachronism without actually engaging in the consequences of doing so. She'll buy planners and huggle them and rub her cute cheeks against them, but they serve no function other than as trophies, and I get the sense that the rest of the Gatchaman are like that too--the costumes serve as masks, and even for someone as self-serious as Sugane, it's an escape from his normal life. This is the most noticeable with O.D. and the panda--one lacks the ability to transform and thus must remain as extroverted the mask he lacks, and the other has substituted his identity into the giant mecha-robot-suit and the outsized responsibilities of 'saving planets.'

This sounds like a fairly accurate analysis of the situation. I hadn't bothered to activate the analytic part of my mind because I had forgotten that Nakamura has an active interest in the psychology of people, as can be seen in Mononoke, Trapeze and Tsuritama. He wants to explore what's going on inside their heads.