It’s become her catchphrase now
- Last week, we learned that the pink haired alien not only has a NOTE, but has the ability to grant people the power of the Gatchaman.
- Summary: After the CROWDS saved the cable car in last week’s episode, some of them are starting to want to get recognition for the work they do and the lives they save. This results in Rui disbanding the CROWDS and vowing to not to use them again. After this decision, the pink haired alien shows up again to him, and torments him by repeating the words “The Power of CROWDS is needed”, and it’s reiterated that only Rui can see this alien. Parallel to that happening, the Gatchamen are all on a bus that consists of Hajime’s GALAX Collage offline meeting group. They ride into a tunnel which collapses, and those on the bus try to help the victims of the collapse. As they’re helping, Rui shows up with the CROWDS in full to assist everyone, contradiction his previous statement. The episode then ends on a cliffhanger as Hajime transforms into a Gatchaman after being told not to do so.
You can’t! The States wouldn’t have any leaders left!
- My Take: Well, not a lot happened in this episode. Really! I think every show deserves an “exposition episode”, and this was it for Gatchaman Crowds. Well, I do use the term “exposition” quite lightly, as it mainly consisted of Rui giving one of the most melodramatic speeches in an anime I’ve ever seen. It had it all; the low angle shots, the inspirational, angelic music, and the wind blowing his clothes everywhere! It almost seemed like parody! But, I’d be lying if I said I was expecting to see something like that in this show.
What in the world am I witnessing?
- I think that we need to learn more about the team. I mean, I know I say this in every recap, but characters are important to me. It’s not at a point where I’d say “Man, if we don’t see development, I’m not watching anymore!” because the characters are actually fairly strong without any heavily detailed explanation to their motivations. But I do find it odd that there wasn’t more explanation of the characters in an episode that’s oriented more towards dialog. The only character who benefits from this episode is Rui. His melodramatic speech heavily emphasized his passion for justice at all costs. We’ve already known about his nobility from past episodes, but here he really hammered it into us.
Can we all just admit that this is one of the most awkward questions to ask?
- One aspect of this show I’d like to note here at the end is the constant use of cliffhangers. I usually hate these in shows, but for Gatchaman Crowds, I find it to be an effective way to help retain my interest in the anime (more so than the actual content, that is). Otherwise, it’s another consistently solid Gatchaman Crowds episode.