Gatchaman Crowds was a series that I had my eye on, and was planning to watch, but managed to fly under my radar. This was partially because of a bunch of other shows that came up that caught my attention, and the fact that the series had gotten some mixed reviews. But, I finally got around to watching it. There aren’t a lot of super hero anime series’, and I was really interested in the direction that Gatchaman Crowds would take. Is this something noteworthy, or are the negative reviews more accurate than people want to admit?
Story:
Gatchaman Crowds’ story takes place in modern day Japan in the city of Tachikawa. Unbeknownst to the general public, their city has been invaded by a mysterious alien species known as MESS. In order to combat this invasion, and to protect world from all other alien attacks, several individual were given a NOTE, which granted them superhuman abilities. These individuals are known as Gatchaman.
Unfortunately, the most disappointing thing about Gatchaman Crowds is its story. It starts off decently enough if you can tolerate the main character, which I’ll get to later. It’s not that the story had a lot of problems, it’s just that the problems that it had are pretty significant. The first issue with the story is that there are several things that aren’t completely explained. The story will just present you with some things, and you pretty much just have to accept it because you won’t be getting an explanation. The only other major issue I have with the story is its ending, because I made absolutely no sense. After I finished watching it the first thing I thought was, “Did I miss something?” I honestly thought that the reason I didn’t get it was because I just didn’t notice something, but I was wrong, the explanation just wasn’t there. I can’t say what exactly happens, not only because it’s a spoiler, but because I had to look up what actually happened because the event took place off screen in the anime. Which when you consider how significant of an event it was, is pretty ridiculous. And speaking of significant events, there is another thing that happens at the end of the series that no one even acknowledges. It’s a pretty big deal, and the characters just act like never happened.
The rest of the story is pretty good. It’s interesting; with a cool villain and some really cool concepts. The story flowed pretty well up to episode 11 where they decided to through in a mini-recap episode in the middle of the final battle. While it did provide us with some insight into what the characters were thinking, the first twelve minutes of episode 11 was essentially filler. I wished they would’ve used that time to explain what exactly happened off screen during the ending, instead of reminding us of things that already happened. Overall the story, while enjoyable, could’ve been so much better.
Animation:
This series boast some truly unique animation that I really enjoyed. The characters are distinct, and the background scenery is also done really well. The animation also features some really nice CGI, that works really well with the colorful art style. The fights scenes in this series are also animated well, and are fun to watch.
While I liked the animation style for the most part, there were times where I thought the characters looked a little funny.
Characters:
The series stars several characters, O.D, Paiman, Utsu-tsu, Joe Hibiki, Rui Ninomiya, Sugane Tachibana, and our main character, Hajime Ichinose. The main problem I had with the characters, especially in the beginning, was Hajime. While I did start liking her more as the series progressed, at first I couldn’t stand her. She was just annoying. From what I’ve heard, she tends to be a deciding factor in whether or not many people enjoy this series, and I understand why. As for the other characters, they are all likeable, but some definitely get more development over the course of the series than others. We really aren’t given a lot of background information on any of the characters. Which is a shame because, from what little information was given to us, I’d be interested in learning more about the characters. It was entertaining to see how they developed as a team throughout the series, especially considering the fact that they don’t exactly start off on a high note.
I also have to mention the main villain in the series, Berg-Katze. He is an odd character, but he is a great villain who made every scene that he was in fun to watch.
Sound:
Gatchaman Crowds has a very good sound track (OST). The OST is varied, and has songs that can fit the tone of every scene and moment in the series. The thing I like most about the OST is the fusion of different sounds. The OST features songs from different genre’s, like electronic, dub-step, and even some orchestral music that has a more epic and classic feel. It has an interesting way of combining these genres of music to make some good songs. The best example of this is when the OST combines all three of aforementioned genres, and even adds in some opera vocals, which are also used in other songs in the OST. It might sound like an odd mix, but it actually comes together really well. But the OST isn’t all fast-paced and upbeat, it does have plenty of songs to fit the more somber moments as well. Even though there are definitely songs that are a lot better than others, overall Gatchaman Crowds’ OST was excellent.
Enjoyment:
Until about the last five minutes, I really enjoyed watching Gatchaman Crowds. I haven’t seen an anime super hero series in a while, and this was an interesting take the genre, even if it wasn’t incredibly well executed.
Verdict & Breakdown:
Story: 3.1/5
Animation: 4.2/5
Characters: 3.2/5
Sound: 4.3/5
Enjoyment: 3.9/5
Verdict: 3.7/5
While Gatchaman Crowds isn’t anything spectacular, it’s definitely an enjoyable series, and I’m definitely planning on watching the second season.
