Gatchaman Crowds Insight 1-2
These two episodes served as a strong, albeit slightly uneventful, introduction to the second season. Rather than igniting the season with a heavy focus on action, the storytelling, instead, smartly emphasized a more deliberate unfurling of the narrative, introducing and subsequently exploring several new characters, while also re-establishing the peculiar nature of their world and Gatchamans role within it. Though this approach could have been overly tedious, the story has been well-paced to this point, largely avoiding any sort of monotony.
VAPE isn’t exactly compelling, weakened by Suzuki‘s exceedingly cliché motivations and the overly literal depiction of them as violent apes. If they’re to be the primary antagonist of the season (which is admittedly unlikely), I’m hoping that they’ll be afforded some more complex development. A shadowy organization such as theirs would be better utilized as an ultimately secondary threat. Despite their uninteresting construct, the foreshadowing of VAPE as a means to increasingly weaken the societal perception of Gatchamans’ recent efforts, is a rather intriguing narrative thread. As a result, the established story feels like a natural evolution from everything that occurred in the previous season.
The bits of insight that have been gradually woven into Gelsadra’s development have notably elevated her characterization and the intrigue surrounding her, resulting in a surprisingly interesting character. Her psychological fragility could very easily become dangerous, as such an eventuality was cleverly foreshadowed on several occasions. This was particularly evident in her reactions to others and their dichotomous emotions, as these moments were consistently and quietly conveyed in a manner that foretold a problematic future. Her idealized dreams for a universally blissful world seem not only naïve, but potentially destructive. Suzuki‘s intermittent appearances have merely portrayed him as a comparatively lifeless character; one comprised solely of tiresome aspirations and a thoroughly dull personality. Perhaps he will improve as the story progresses, but it seems unlikely.
Hajime remains a fairly endearing protagonist. Though I often expect her perpetually exuberant personality to become tiresome, it rarely has. Her newly fashioned role as a mentor to Tsubasa suits her exceedingly well, smartly broadening her potential to experience some meaningful development as the story progresses. Though a very interesting antagonist, Katze was one of the less enjoyable characters in the first season. As such, I wasn’t exactly confident that their continued involvement would be anything more than an irritating unpleasantness. Thankfully, however, Katze and Hajime’s occasional interactions have been quite amusing so far, noticeably benefited by how fleeting Katze’s interjections have been. Without such restraint, their dynamic would likely become distractingly obnoxious.
Tsubasa is a moderately engaging character so far, as her personality is rather enjoyable, despite its occasional similarity to Hajime’s. Her struggles are certainly interesting, if not a bit cliché, but they could very easily become repetitious if not handled properly. Thankfully, her development was skillfully executed throughout the first two episodes, particularly evident in the final scene of the second episode. Paiman’s excursion into a daycare was the highlight of the second episode, which would have been greatly improved had it been slightly more prominent. His personality consistently provides some of the most effective humor in the show. Hopefully the other characters, such as O.D. and Joe, become more prominent as this season progresses, since they’ve been relegated to the periphery so far and the new characters, despite their potential, aren’t quite as compelling.
Nakamura’s direction, though not quite as refined in its chaos as it was in
Trapeze or
Tsuritama (and, by all accounts,
Mononoke, though I haven’t yet watched that series), is refreshingly confident in its appreciation of the bizarre and imaginative constructs of the world within Gatchaman. The strangely fantastical nature of the series works wonderfully with his directorial sensibilities. Taku Iwasaki’s music, though the majority of it remains variations on what underscored the first season, has been wonderfully energetic throughout, strongly complementing the lively atmosphere that permeates each episode. The excellent theme song and its numerous renditions were filtered into both episodes exceedingly well.
The production values are, similar to those found in the first season, highly inconsistent. Of the numerous flaws that sporadically exist within the production, there is only one that has, so far, proven to be of any significance, which is the middling and occasionally poor animation. This bit of mediocrity was displayed most egregiously during the press conference in the second episode, which was distractingly littered with highly stilted animations. The colorful visuals, on the other hand, enrich the unusual tone within the show considerably, notably elevated by the painterly aesthetic found within the backgrounds. The OP is superb, excelling with its artistic direction and its ability to so effortlessly capture the tone present within the series. The ED is cleverly storyboarded and quite visually striking, but the song itself is rather weak.
All in all, the first two episodes of this season have proven to be a solid and reasonably satisfying continuation to the surprisingly engaging, albeit highly inconsistent, first season. The enormously energetic and often bizarre atmosphere complements the uniquely eccentric characters immensely well, creating a series that, quite often, feels refreshingly atypical, especially within a season of anime that has been as dismal as this one. Despite Gatchaman largely failing to elevate itself beyond existing as one of Nakamura’s weaker efforts, it has managed to be consistently enjoyable nonetheless. Hopefully the relatively impressive start to this season is indicative of a quality that will persist as the story continues.
