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I got into Gatchaman Crowds blindly, having little to no knowledge about anything besides the main character's design (:>) and flashy colors the show seems to deliver, and stayed not only because of that, literally everything else made me have a real good time in just 12 episodes plus a director's cut.

It is sold as a generic superheroes anime where you expect something but ultimately get something else in a good way because of how the script makes some twists here and there so the focus varies and it'll never feels repetitive.

The art-style and the animation are, as I've already mentioned, flashy and colorful, with ... lots of details put into the characters, their clothing and their expressions. It also features lots of CGI to represent the main cast transformations, which is pretty well done with creative designs.

Speaking of characters, each one of them have their own personalities, ideologies, fears and behaviors that contrast each other, so it doesn't feel unidimensional in the way they act as a team, even moved by their own ideals instead of what needs to be done, making the Gatchaman disfunctional though they are still a team that gets the job done (this is spoiler-free, every team of superheroes does stuff together). Aside from the main team, the other mains feel the same and give more meaning to the story. I personally like this because even though this is a heroes with superpowers show, they aren't the only ones that stay relevant during the conflicts of the series. Tatsunoko delivers the message clearly with a simple question: What makes a hero?
If I could describe the characters with something it would be colors, not only because those that represent their designs but because of how different and relatable they might feel for the spectator. Honorable mention to the villains, a total blast to watch and the main bad guy is one of the strongest points of the experience, so is the completely unexpected outcome of his acts.

The story varies a lot over the course of 12 episodes, it treats with different conflicts at the same time and does put aside what it's resolved at some point. It even gives the characters their respective development and resolves to the ones that need them, highly noticeable at the end too, which is a nice touch because, again, it doesn't feel unidimensional at all as it deals with themes I don't usually come up with in this kind of medium, which makes it outstanding mashing up together some creative ideas.

The soundtrack is also worth mentioning, even if I don't describe how it is, you'll notice at the very beginning how (amazing) is but that's entirely suggestive so judge for yourself if you find this review helpful and decide to watch it. Still for reference if you're into Taku Iwasaki's ost you'll for sure love this one (been listening to it while writing this review).

It's pretty obvious how much I enjoyed Crowds because of the rose colored painting I've been giving to everything. You may not feel the same because opinions, of course, but even if it doesn't hit you as much as it hit me, I'm pretty sure you'll find it entertaining enough, because it doesn't try to hard to be deep or setting high standards, it just delivers a fun and chill time with interesting ideas on the table that in the end are properly development with lots of room for more to enjoy.

Overall it's a masterpiece for me. I feel like I come up with a lot of series that become outstanding shows but having no expectations is the best way to enjoy things, and following that statement is probably what gave Gatchaman Crowds a fresh feeling for me. Loved the soundtrack, the animation and art style are eyecandys, the cast is interesting, emotionally-wise is not so impactful and that's why it's something you can chill and have fun with without any pressure and in the end just feel happy.

Taking aside my opinions and impressions on the show I think it's something entertaining enough for you to give it a try, hit or miss but objectively it's not a bad show.

Don't leave the director's cut behind, because it's an extended epilogue that explains much better what happens at the end so episode 12 may feel a bit odd (as a fun fact the staff couldn't finish the show in time so they leaved the complete finale for home media release).

GATCHA!

Yu☆Gi☆Oh!: Duel Monsters GX is oftenly known as the weakest Yu☆Gi☆Oh! series aside from Zexal, which in my honest opinion is under rating it a lot. The show may have it's flaws but it's actually an outstanding experience for anyone who looks for long running shows with great characters, funny interactions between them and entertaining story since it begins until it ends.

The show features a lot of one shot episodes and characters thrown in the "filler" category, which is the first point in trashtalking the show. When the story begins it takes a bit long to get into the first arc so the first 30 ... or so episodes are the ones that introduce you to the show's premise and characters that stay for the longest, which I found alright since they take all of it's time to be properly introduced in a completely non-boring way. Aside from them, there are a bunch of one shot characters that stand in the bad side for silly yet entertaining reasons that never try to hard to be serious but still is pretty fun to watch. It's an original anime so the fillers will still be considered originals and skipping them will just take out from the experience the enjoyment they give. Even the one shot characters are likeable with many ways they have to express themselves, so no one feels the same as the last one as it goes on. They even come back in a later second season episode which actually give them the credit they deserve and it's a nice touch from the staff to not forget about them.

Speaking of characters, during the show each one of the main bunch have their own proper development and mini arcs too, so they are not there just to support the main character (as it was in the original Duel Monsters series) but to acomplish their own goals and make a better experience out of it and in the end you'll just can't help but feel happy for how everything went for them (and miss them like I do...).

The second main criticism the series get is regarding the first two main arcs of the story. While it's certainly true that the plot gets impactful and more interesting the last two arcs where "shit hits the fan". The first half tries something completely different as it goes in a light-hearted (with serious moments) slice of life perspective (in a school where people learn to play card games to do something with their lives related to card games, as silly as it sounds it's pretty cool). It takes it's time to build up the world it presents and success because coming back to the point of the characters and their interactions it will always feel fresh and fun to watch.
I consider a mistake to watch GX skipping the first half just because the second half is more serious, if it's done like that anyone who starts from season 3 onwards won't feel empathy for the characters, which are the show's strongest point in the experience of the story, so from the get go if you don't like them this animation is not for you and most importantly you will for sure miss a lot of crazy shit during seaons 1 and 2 that'll make you think the writers were in drugs during production.

The actual plot though it's not perfect since at some point it foreshadows a lot of stuff that is never explained or brought back again later on, leaving a lot to think about without any answers, but looking for the silliest or serious outcomes will actually feel good.

Production values-wise is the most solid of all the Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise, the designs for characters, monsters, environment and even duel disks are pretty interesting and the animation lacks mistakes in it (QUALITY). The soundtrack is also likeable since every background music fits perfectly the moment they play, the voice acting and dialogues in the japanese version is also excellent since every character feels natural with their voice actors representing them.

Regarding the duels, well, it's Yu-Gi-Oh! so it's a standard so liking and understanding the card game is the first step to like or dislike GX.

Opening and Ending songs are also good. In my opinion openings 3 and ending 4 are the best.

Overall it really is an enjoyable experience and it's a shame that we will probably never see something GX related again (;_;)

So if you like Yu-Gi-Oh! and card games animeys to begin with give GX a shot, it might feel like a hit or miss but if it hits you, you'll feel an eternal void inside of you the moment you see the last minutes of the show and try to move on by watching something else (the cycle of anime).