Rui and Hajime, finally meeting! High-Minded Ideals x Informed, Selfless Proletariat OTP. Let’s get to it!
Episode 6
2:12 – Awww, Rui walks away? What a goddamn tease that cliffhanger was
2:27 – Okay, that almost makes up for it. Gatchaman unveiled! For a second there I was worried they wouldn’t shove the plot ten steps forward today
3:52 – Ahh, I see. Even without actually confronting him, this kinda forces Rui’s hand – there’s no way Gatchamen won’t be considered an alternative to GALAX
5:10 – I can never get enough of their sweet pad
5:37 – Pai’s voice is amazing. Aya Hirano is so good
6:32 – Pai can’t decide anything without a higher authority deciding it for him . No wonder Hajime doesn’t respect their rules
7:53 – These two are not the best at conversation
8:43 – “I’m j-just following you so you won’t do anything crazy!” “Oh, that so?” C’mon Hajime, don’t tease the poor boy
9:09 – Hajime’s lack of faith in the primacy of social networking
9:31 – “A whim? I’m not that irresponsible.” And then that long look from him. Nice to see that misconception finally get some resolution
10:58 – Again he abuses his powers for what he perceives to be best for everyone . Constantly contradicting himself and hopelessly naive, but legitimately passionate and high-minded. I really like this character
16:09 – I’m sure Rui was quite proud of his demonstration . Everyone contributes a little bit and great things are accomplished
16:28 – Hajime always makes a point of being referred to by her name, but Rui introduces himself by his title and source of power
18:14 – And he can’t help but seek praise for his own contributions
20:17 – “Were all those heroes yesterday your friends?” “What are you talking about?” Don’t bullshit me . So good. I kind of don’t care if Hajime is too perfect, it’s still fun seeing her kick ass
And Done
Oh man, that was definitely as satisfying as I’d hoped. Hajime not unexpectedly sees both the strengths and failings of Rui’s plan pretty much immediately, and Gatchamen have gone public. And we get a bunch more development of the Sugane-Hajime dynamic, with Sugane finally getting it through his thick skull that Hajime’s easily smarter than the rest of them. I’d say “things will start moving faster now,” but things pretty much always move at top speed in this show. Bring on the next one!
> but Rui introduces himself by his title and source of power
It’s pretty clear that contradictory to his speech last episode, Rui seems to be speaking with a combination of having personal pride in his work as well as feeling threatened by the existence of Gatchaman.
Myself I found it funnier how he addresses Hajime for the first time right before that: “Thank you for accepting my invitation, Gatchaman. Or rather, Ichinose Hajime-kun.”. Leaving aside his choice for ‘-kun’ in this situation (which Hajime later returns to him with a rather different connotation), the way that he starts with her title and then corrects to her name as a way of trying to reduce her standing is so intensely ineffective on this ridiculous main character that I couldn’t help but chuckle.
Rui thinks stripping her down to her name is a way of making her feel more vulnerable. It’s a brilliantly perfect example for his character’s failure to adapt his mindset to his own ideals.
Yeah, Rui’s pile of contradictions is pretty intense. Hajime actually reveals herself so they can talk as equals and collaborators, but Rui just sees that as a useful tool in a confrontation Hajime has no interest in having. I actually find his constant inability to live up to his own ideals pretty endearing
> but Rui introduces himself by his title and source of power
It’s pretty clear that contradictory to his speech last episode, Rui seems to be speaking with a combination of having personal pride in his work as well as feeling threatened by the existence of Gatchaman.
Myself I found it funnier how he addresses Hajime for the first time right before that: “Thank you for accepting my invitation, Gatchaman. Or rather, Ichinose Hajime-kun.”. Leaving aside his choice for ‘-kun’ in this situation (which Hajime later returns to him with a rather different connotation), the way that he starts with her title and then corrects to her name as a way of trying to reduce her standing is so intensely ineffective on this ridiculous main character that I couldn’t help but chuckle.
Rui thinks stripping her down to her name is a way of making her feel more vulnerable. It’s the perfect example for his character’s failure to adapt his own mindset to his ideals.
I really liked how Hajime indirectly pointed out Rui’s contradictions with that question of the power of crowds that he was relying and fiddling with her gatchaman notebook and his armoring of himself with his disguises. It stands in contrast to her statement of the need to meet Rui in the tunnel unmasked, basically without her own armor of anonymity as well as to be able to truly communicate with honesty and sincerity
Its both good and bad that the show doesn’t directly explain Hajime’s actions and words though as the story will probably just create question marks for people who don’t want to think about it but also be refreshing for those that do.
The animation quality has had a noticeable drop and that’s the biggest flaw with the series so far IMO.
I’m always in favor of the smarter choice in the long run, since I’d rather just have a more subtle and interesting show to look back on. And this is a REALLY unique choice – I can’t think of another character portrayed as this quick-witted but also basically incapable of articulating her intelligence to the people around her. She can’t really articulate her thoughts in their terms, but if you can either communicate on her level or just spend enough time around her (like Sugane), it becomes obvious. It’s a really interesting spin on the character type.
Agreed on the animation. It doesn’t bother me too much since this is such an idea-driven show, but hopefully they clean it up for the BD release. The show has plenty of visual style too, it’s a shame to let it go to waste.