So noble. How can anyone not love Joe?
- Last Week, Rui gave a long speech as to why he wants to help everyone save the world. We also saw his conflictions about using the CROWDS.
- Summary: Picking up on the cliffhanger, the team rushes into action to save the people trapped in the tunnel, and in the process, Hajime exposes her face while in Gatchaman form to Rui. Unfortunately, all of their rescue was caught on camera, and now everybody knows of the existence of the Gatchaman, and more importantly, they know that Hajime is a Gatchaman. This launches her into celebrity status with reporters wanting to know everything about her and the Gatchaman, much to the rest of the team’s dislike. Hajime is then invited to meet Rui face to face to discuss the future of the Gatchaman, where he reveals that he believes there is no need for Gatchaman, as they will only interfere with his idealized vision of GALAX’s plans to help humanity.
That’s right, young man, and we’re not at all happy about that!
- My Take: Gatchaman Crowds seems to be hitting it out of the park week after week. After a rocky start, the anime has solidified into a massively enjoyable show that doesn’t demand too much thought, but still has certain complexities that make it a worthwhile show. It’s at the point where I enjoy it more and more every week; the story is interesting, the art style is beautiful, and the characters are so full of life.
- There wasn’t a great deal of character development here, but instead we got a lot of interesting dialogue, especially between the Gatchamen and Rui. The whole scene near the end where Rui and Hajime just sit and talk was just fantastic. We see two dreamers who have the same goal, yet drastically different means to achieve that goal. We just get to see these two characters talk and explain their reasons for their ideas. Not only were their ideas different, but their mannerisms also reflected their views. Rui was straightforward and serious about his views, whereas Hajime was more carefree and open-minded about hers. To me, it just doesn’t get any better than that.
You came to the wrong neighborhood
- I knew that Rui was on the side of justice, but after watching this episode, he now comes off as a total idealist. Him and the Gatchamen have the same goal, but their methods are wildly different. This makes for a very interesting set up. Will Rui and the Gatchamen put aside their differences, or will they fight over their own idealized vision for the betterment of society? Either way, right now it has the inclination of a “good vs. good vs. evil” type thing going on, and I kind of like that.
- It took me a while to think about what one aspect of Gatchaman Crowds I like the most, and I think I’ve come to the conclusion; it’s how the story is advanced slightly each episode, yet each episode gives the same amount of satisfaction just the same. In other words, the content of each episode could be called “fluff”, however it doesn’t feel like fluff. This show is big on interactions, and it just nails those. Whenever anybody speaks to someone, it doesn’t feel like written dialog. It’s natural, and this episode was one of the prime examples of that.
No problem here
- Gatchaman Crowds seems to be an anime that’s all about the sub-plots and how they intertwine with the main plot that lingers in the background. In this episode, the story didn’t advance much. However, that didn’t make the episode any less entertaining. It’s not the best anime I’ve ever watched by any stretch of the imagination, but it is one of the more entertaining ones.