I don't actually have too much experience with the Gatchaman franchise. I believe the most I ever saw were a few scattered episodes of the G-Force adaption during its syndicated run on Cartoon Network in the mid 90's. I do remember the aesthetics of it at least--the funny looking bird costumes the five heros wear and what not. As said before though, Crowds is an entirely new series so it's not like you're expected to be familiar with the ins and outs what came before. In fact, from what I can tell and what I can remember Crowds doesn't actually bear a very close resemblance to its forebears. I'm sure there are some fun nods for the fans, but this is a decidedly modern anime, CGI armor like something out of Tiger and Bunny replacing the iconic bird suits. It's very sleek, stylish and modern in aesthetic and looks pretty solid all things considered, with distinctive and well designed characters.
The production studio, Tatsunoko Production, really can be commended for a technically proficient anime. In addition to the quality art and pleasingly smooth animation, it sounds good too. The voice acting is top rate for most of the important characters, and I think the music does a good job too. The opening theme sets things off on the right foot, and while not as standout the ending theme isn't bad either.
Technical specifications aside, what of the new team of Gatchaman themselves? Well, the show has a pretty fun cast. Hajime, that female protagonist who hooked me in did so for good reason ultimately; I find her absolutely infectious. She's a ridiculous girl who brings new meaning to the word "carefree" though, and I can perhaps see some people not warming to her character quite as easily. For me, she effortlessly steals practically every scene. Sugane, the male Gatchaman who gets the most screen time, a stern and serious young man, is less immediate a character for me, though he works well as a foil for Hajime. The other Gatchaman are a cute panda-like mascot character, a ridiculously flamboyant man, a cool and nonchalant man and a distant, dreamy young girl. Development on them is subtly but effectively delivered in a way that makes you increasingly curious about each.
The plot for Gatchaman Crowds is quite unusual both in its content and delivery. From the first episode I expected a sort of simple superhero team story, Gatchaman rushing to the rescue of people in need from nefarious threats. That's really not how it unfolds though, or at least not what is at all in the focus. In fact, throughout much of the first half, all of the Gatchaman seem kind of pushed aside. The story instead chooses to focus on a hot new social networking tool called GALAX and its developer, a crossdressing boy named Rui. Extensive time is spent with Rui, who becomes one of the better developed characters in the series; more deep and interestingly defined in fact than most of the Gatchaman. With GALAX, Rui hopes to "update" the world into a utopia where people are always connected and available to rely on each other no matter the situation. However, working toward his dream came at the cost of becoming entangled with a disturbing and malevolent force of evil. It's all pretty compelling, though for a few episodes I wasn't really sure how it all was going to actually involve the Gatchaman in any real way. Recent episodes have set up a sort of power of the collective vs. power of the individual theme, however, and it's starting to sort of fall into place to a degree. It's quite the interesting story, but it's still at the point where it needs to come together at least a little more.
That probably sums together the anime as a whole actually. Watching it, it has all the elements of a truly great anime, but before it all coheres a little more together I have to say it's not quite there. Unless it just doesn't do that or it disappoints me somehow, I expect I'll ultimately change my score to a nine or perhaps even a ten. For now, I feel I have to leave it at an eight. All things considered, it's an intelligent anime that explores some clever and compelling themes, has nice art and animation and a fun cast of interesting characters. As such, I feel safe giving it a pretty solid recommendation at this moment.
Update: So, I've seen it all now, and yeah, it ultimately did find some cohesion though perhaps not quite enough. It's an awkward series, one that seems more interested in its message than its characters. The resolution ultimately feels a little incomplete, questions left lingering. The climactic moments are triumphant but somehow not as satisfying as they could be. It's kind of hard to know what to make of the series as a whole even at the end. It's very much unique in its approach to storytelling and the joyful, flamboyant, optimistic tone it maintains throughout make it an anime well worth watching. It's not a perfect anime ultimately, but it's one of the more rewarding and memorable of the recent season, which is why I decided to ultimately bump it up to a nine.
