Oh man am I excited for this one. The Gatchamen have had their first semi-formal press conference, Hajime has pretty much completely taken over leadership of the group, and Rui has specifically been called out to collaborate with them. Hajime has no time for Rui’s careful backroom machinations, and she’s ready to draw the world kicking and screaming into a flatter future. No more secret heroes – we public now.

Incidentally, I was late on last week’s episode, but I didn’t skip it. That writeup’s here.

Episode 9

0:10 – Take THAT, idealism! 

0:31 – Oh my god these two I can’t take it 

And yes, she does indeed got him now. The Hajime always wins

0:45 – Of course Sugane’s all freaked out 

1:05 – All this Reiservice . Hell, even Uchouten Kazoku had a bathhouse episode that was all dudes. SEXISM IS OVER!

Editor’s note: sexism is not over

1:29 – Pai is the clear choice for public relations manager.  Also his phone charger is also a panda yes

1:44 – Yep! An excellent way to keep Pai busy 

3:25 – This OP is always so damn good. What style this show has

3:45 – Utsutsu’s certainly changed 

4:19 – Yeah, the internet is goddamn scary . They’re not sugarcoating it, and they’re portraying its ability to destroy the idea of personal space very efficiently

4:32 – Jeez, I can’t imagine anyone thinking that! 

4:45 – This is amazing . “Is Hajime retarded or something lol”

Lol indeed, internet. Lol indeed.

5:13 – Not a fan? Hajime don’t give a fuck .

Well, this is probably the first and last time I’ll see an anime character directly mock their own internet hatedom. Nice work, Hajime

5:24 – Light and dark yada yada.  Hurray for visual motifs

5:30 – Really like this shot.  Discussing the dark heart of human nature while being reflected in the black screen behind which hides the internet. That is a classy little metaphor

5:44 – Behold the glory of Hajime’s interior decorating. 

5:52 – And there’s the light.  Not sure what depth to draw out of the contrast. We’ll see where they go with it

7:01 – Again, limited budget is not a strike against a great visual aesthetic . Love the rough watercolors feel. Again they draw the contrast extremely sharply by portraying the brightly lit school of last episode in grey darkness

7:15 – Not just change, but recognition 

7:55 – Hey, Katze just wants to make everyone a superhero, right?  Equality! Unfortunately, not everyone is Hajime or Rui

8:18 – Heeey, waaait a second 

9:05 – This is clearly the best use of opera-dubstep there has ever been . This soundtrack you guys

10:13 – Ah, I get it.  The light/dark stuff perfectly mirrors the mask/invisibility/transparency stuff. Hajime’sphilosophy centers on equal transparency – she does not want to hide what she does, she communicates directly with people, she values showing her face and meeting in person and speaking frankly. Everything she does is thusly fully “lit” and transparent. Katze and 26 (and Rui, initially) use masks, obscurity, invisibility – they set themselves apart from others, and cloak their intentions, and force change instead of opening dialogue. So the light/dark isn’t about good/evil, it’s about honesty/dishonesty, equal dialogue/forced change, transparency/obscurity.

10:33 – Very smart of Hajime to act quickly.  It’d be much more difficult to pin this as the act of an exterior party after the fact. And in spite of Hajime wanting to have everyone work together, people knowing the Gatchamen exist will definitely reduce panic here

10:48 – They’re really focusing on these candy . Maybe just a visual subtheme of this episode – Katze scatters candy carelessly, Utsutsu is given a single sweet by Hajime, which she carefully sets aside with her Note

11:49 – This is all some very pretty destruction 

12:37 – As if I needed  more reasons to love this show 

But yeah, that’s pretty much the ultimate example of our misplaced faith in higher powers, ain’t it?

12:55 – Vertical bonds are not strong enough 

13:58 – Utsutsu lays down the law . Her voice is too adorable

14:16 – Hey look the sun came out oh well that’s probably a coincidence 

14:30 – Even computer programs are not immune to Hajime’s pro-dialogue optimism 

14:56 – YES HAJIME YOUTUBE CHANNELS WILL SAVE THE WORLD 

16:03 – He’s a changed man, Katze . He’s seen… okay, I’m not gonna say it

17:09 – Galax isn’t the enemy.  It’s just one manifestation of an inevitability. Very glad they haven’t simplified this conflict

17:47 – Is she intentionally abusing how incompetent he is to humanize the Gatchamen,  or is she just a huge troll?

18:16 – Can we rely on you? No, you probably shouldn’t . But we’re on the same side

19:07 – Very excited for this.  You guys seen those suit images? Much style

20:05 – Rui’s prior honesty with X may save him now 

21:07 – GO SUGANE. KILL YOUR GODS 

And Done

Oh man, what a sweet conclusion. This world doesn’t need mysterious benefactors dictating justice from on high – not anymore. Brilliant.

Agh, this episode was so good. It’s all coming together so well. My fears from last week were happily unfounded – social media isn’t good or evil, it just Is. It’s powerful, and it’s here, and it changes the dynamic of human relations. It can be used to obscure truth and cloud human relations, but it can also be used for honesty and genuine connection. And that stuff about gods… yeah, I’m a big fan. This was maybe the best week yet, in fact. This show is absolutely killing it.