Tag Archives: Gatchaman

Gatchaman Crowds – Episode 7

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I’ve been excited for this one all week. The confrontation has occurred, Hajime has kind of rubbed Rui’s nose in his own hypocrisy, and no hope of an alliance is in sight. Is Rui actually gonna take off his damn makeup and be honest with them? Not likely – he’s obviously very proud and he seems somewhat incapable of seeing other perspectives. Is it war, then? Possibly, though I don’t know what that would do theme-wise. Either way, I think we’re at the breaking point.

Episode 7

0:02 – Nice shot . I bet this’ll be a cheery episode

0:11 – Another really nice one . This show occasionally has animation issues, but its direction and aesthetic are extremely solid

1:07 – Rui’s losing it. 

2:01 – The only other intelligent Gatchaman . He’s a good influence on these kids

4:19 – Simple trick with the lighting here , but it works nicely.

Not sure why I’m on a visual kick this week. The show has kind of set its thematic pieces in place, I guess – we know Hajime and Rui’s philosophies quite well at this point, so all that’s left is to let some dominoes fall

4:27 – Accidental pause reveals another fantastic Hajime face 

5:06 – And Utsutsu is drawn into the light 

5:18 – Bleh.  Another too-much-information moment from Pai. Annoying to see in a show that so often assumes the viewer actually has a brain

6:52 – HOW REAL IS THIS GETTING

7:49 – This escalated quickly 

8:58 – NOT THE TIME FOR A MONOLOGUE 

10:19 – Hurray for leadership 

10:50 – Hajime knows what’s up. She doesn’t blame people for it, though 

11:29 – Awesome shot 

11:41 – Rui has no trouble deciding.  But that has its own pitfalls

God, I love how mixed this show’s feelings are on all its ideas. Well, except for Hajime’s uber-person-hood, I guess

12:21 – Rui’s no fool.  He knew it was hypocritical, but was willing to use any means to establish a world where things like Crowds hopefully wouldn’t be necessary. Another great shot

12:42 – It’s nice having Sugane be the one who makes a connection with Rui, not Hajime. They can talk on equal ground, whereas Hajime stands above everyone, even if she is well-meaning in her lecturing

13:18 – I like Berg Katz mockingly reflecting all of Joe’s melodramatic move names. Just grinding in how old-fashioned and irrelevant this style of hero is, which works both for his character and for this show’s goals

13:42 – Oh god we got the first meeting flashback. Joe’s been throwing out death flag after death flag all show, but that’s probably the last straw

Incidentally, is there actually a respectable term for “death flag”?

14:24 – So apparently OD’s real goddamn powerful. And also an unstable risk, or something. Guess that ominous moment in the OP is relevant

14:48 – Even Pai’s suit has stubby little legs 

17:32 – Dear lord . Also, didn’t want to pause it at the time, but I liked how Berg Katz was mocking him for only doing what he could as an individual human being, as opposed to being the kind of hero the show itself is so sceptical about

18:03 – Might not work this time, Hajime.  Some people just want to watch the world burn

18:14 – Her favorite question. 

19:31 – They’re conveying barely attached to this reality  pretty well

19:42 – Something she can’t understand.  That reoccuring “everyone having fun” thing points to a common humanity that Katz lacks. Hajime’s shocked for the first time

20:08 – Her faith in our nature was shaken.  But it’s not always misplaced 

20:40 – Rui, asking for help and advice?

21:35 – Really hammering on that “bright future”/”when is the world brightest” thing today  – starting with Utsutsu’s conversion, ending here

And Done

Sooo, is Joe dead? He seemed pretty dead, but Utsutsu’s powers are pretty broken, so I dunno. Somehow I don’t think that episode-ending tea party would be appropriate if Sugane’s mentor had bit the bullet.

Anyway, sweet episode. Shit finally hits the fan, and I’m happy to see them finally turning towards Berg Katz. I like how pretty much everyone’s view of both human nature and the power of social media has been examined and discarded by the halfway point, and I’m interested to see what Rui does going forward. I particularly like how Rui finally got his act together this episode – Hajime’s accusations last time didn’t force him further into his own self-delusion, but instead made him resolve to actually attack his own hypocrisy. And when his powers were broken, he freely admitted his rhetoric had been hypocritical all along.

Bunch of other random interesting stuff. All the Gatchamen got some development, and Pai straight up abandoned his subordinates. I hope that results in some changes in their structure – Utsutsu and Sugane almost certainly have far more faith in Hajime than Pai, and even if Hajime’s willing to let this slip, I doubt Sugane will.

This show is full of fun surprises, and at this point I just want to marathon the damn thing out. Watching shows as they air really sucks sometimes.

-edit- Just realized that Pai’s early jealousy about OD being good at managing them plays well into this episode’s mini-arc of tearing down his leadership ability. So that’s actually nice, in retrospect.

Summer 2013 – Week 7 in Review

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Management: I think a lot of people find this format more friendly/useful than the timestamp writeups, and I write these things either way, so I think I’ll be posting them here going forward. Also, feel free to let me know anything you’d like more of in the comments.

This week was so good. My top two shows for this season are swiftly becoming two of my all-time favorites, and both of them had fantastic turns this week that seemed to indicate a honing of focus for the second half. Those first:

Uchouten Kazoku 7: This episode got me right in the gut. It started off extremely strong, with one last beautiful Benten vignette before returning the focus to the brothers. But the key here was the ending. This whole episode, the perspective shifted subtly but in a crucial way – while Yasaburou was still prominent, the focus this week was on illuminating the various sides of his put-upon older brother, Yaichirou. Seeing the contrast in his behavior towards the professor (calm, deferential), his rivals (confident, authoritative), and his brothers (childish, honest) really drove home the fact that his family is the one thing he truly relies on and lowers his guard towards. Which made the final scene, when his brother confessed to his role in their father’s death, absolutely heartbreaking. Yaichirou starts off essentially begging his brother to be innocent, and falls apart with a cry and collapse when he is let down. Right now, the political issues are secondary – this is Yaichirou realizing the one thing he trusts cannot be relied on. In a narrative sense, this moment clearly points towards what conflicts will cloud the second half of this show. But in its own context, it is one more incredibly personal and relatable moment in a show absolutely brimming with them, and its tragedy does nothing to diminish its beauty.

God, I hope this show maintains this quality to the end. So far I think it’s a goddamn masterpiece.

Gatchaman Crowds 6: Not to be outdone (by much, seriously, that Kazoku episode killed me), Gatchaman Crowds pulled out all the stops this week. The cliffhanger meeting from last week was delayed only so the existence of Gatchamen could become public knowledge, and the repercussions of this were as predictable as they were awesome. While the Gatchamen went to ground, Rui was forced to act – the existence of actual superheroes would throw a serious wrench in his “everyone’s a hero, no-one’s a hero” master plan. And so he arranges a meeting with Hajime through a fun set piece demonstrating the power of GALAX, ending with a clash where Hajime takes all of five minutes to acknowledge, question, and dismantle Rui’s philosophy. Hajime ain’t nothing to fuck with. Sugane and Hajime’s relationship also progressed this episode, with Sugane finally getting it through his thick skull that Hajime is far smarter than any of them. This show is heating up.

Monogatari S2 6: It sure is tough being the first seed in a season with two of the best dark horses in recent history. This episode of Monogatari got a bit too indulgent and pointlessly Isin-ish in the first half, but the second half was a lot of fun. Shinobu’s lack of fucks regarding the dynamics of time travel, and Araragi’s extremely valid and well-thought-out concerns (which he only mentions after the fact, of course, because at the time a girl had said she needed his help), made for an extremely entertaining ride. These two have one of my favorite dynamics in the show, and sending them off on a buddy cop time travel story promises all kinds of great shenanigans.

Free! 7: Thank god. Last week’s slice of life tedium feels thoroughly behind us, because this week saw a new episode director (the one behind K-On and Tamako Market, surprisingly) inject a massive infusion of visual distinction and purpose into the proceedings. Great direction and cinematography throughout this week, and virtually everything that happened was purposeful. This show’s narrative is absolute pap, but good direction can make almost anything compelling, and this episode proved that. Nice work, Free.

TWGOK S3 7: One of the funniest episodes yet for TWGOK, with this episode attempting to pull a double-booked-date double-seduction hat trick (yes, I know a hat trick involves three things, shut up). Not much else to say – last week disappointed me because it played the romantic scenario too straight, and this week bashed two or three romantic scenarios together at the same time, with Keima continuously ratcheting up his ambition despite barely being able to stand. This is comedy I can get behind.

C3-bu 7: Eh, I’m just enjoying this show for what it is at this point. This episode was pleasant, and the characters were pleasant, and the pacing was pleasant. Yura slowly becoming a moesoft tyrant is pretty great, and her characterization is well-realized. It’s a show with middling ambitions that pretty much always hits the mark.

Hunter x Hunter 93: This show is so great. This week transitioned from a tyrannical genetic mutant establishing a human meat farm to… a teenage boy tailing his friend on a date to watch out for any funny business. And it worked. It always works. I don’t know how they do it, but this show is fun and fast-paced and well-directed and full of creative ideas or great twists on old ones every single time.

So yeah. Almost everything was excellent this week. No complaints from me.

Summer 2013 Halfway Point: Season So Far

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Management: Sequel to this post. My general thoughts so far on the winners, losers, and casualties of my summer season.

This has been a very good season, and though there hasn’t been anything I enjoy as much as I enjoyed OreGairu in the spring, I think the top show is technically better this time. But the top tier is really good all around. In descending order:

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Gatchaman Crowds – Episode 6

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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!

Summer 2013 Halfway Point: Week in Review

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Management: Speculatively calling this the first half of a two-parter on the summer season. This half will focus on the specific episodes that have marked the halfway point in my schedule (I’ll probably add in Monogatari after it airs), and the upcoming one will cover my thoughts on the overall series so far.

So! Halfway through the summer season, and there really haven’t been any crazy upsets so far. My top tier is still Uchouten Kazoku, Gatchaman Crowds, and Monogatari, but I’m enjoying the also-rans as well. Let’s check in on what the crap everybody was doing this week.

Free! 6

This episode felt kinda tedious to me. I think this show has pretty much only three things that make it watchable to me:

  • The concept is funny and results in some cute subversions of genre tropes
  • It’s very pretty and the direction is occasionally inspired
  • The better episodes are actually very funny in their own right

Unfortunately, this week focused on the character relationships, and KyoAni’s slice of life characters are always too thin to afford compelling character drama. I mean, I love character-focused stuff, it’s my favorite thing, but for character-focused stuff to be compelling you need characters with a little more depth than “the genki one,” “the glasses-pusher,” etc. Bleh.

Uchouten Kazoku 6

I didn’t like this episode as much as the last two, but its first and last acts were still tremendous and heartfelt and beautiful. However, the centerpiece of this episode was a long conversation that I’m frankly still trying to figure out. Tanukis being eaten by humans (and that just being accepted as something that happens sometimes) has always been the point of greatest disconnect between this show’s fantastical flourishes and sharply grounded character conflicts, and this episode basically dove directly into that disconnect, presenting a long monologue by the mild-mannered but strongly pro-tanuki-eating professor, complete with a flashback where Yasaburou’s father displays absolute complacency towards being eaten, and only professes a hope that he doesn’t ruin an otherwise agreeable hot-pot. And Yasaburou is pretty much charmed by him!

I just don’t know how to square this – perhaps on a thematic level eventually all these contrasting viewpoints will fit into neat holes regarding the value of a life well-lived (we’re actually pretty close to that point, I think), but on a more practical character-empathy level, I just can’t relate to the way these characters treat the tanuki-eating. Which is frustrating, since this show is normally incredibly good at grounding its fantasy in universal human emotion. So while I can’t say this was a “bad” episode, it was certainly a tough one for me to wrap my head around.

C3-bu 6

C3-bu is also turning out to be more slice of life than I could have hoped for, but fortunately this show is more fun in concept, more creative in execution, more regularly funny, more dramatically sound, and populated with much better characters than Free. I’m actually just enjoying this show on its own merits at this point – Yura’s personal issues are being handled with more grace and thoughtfulness than I expected, and it really knows how to handle either a fantasy-world or standard gag setpiece. You’ve won me over, moesoft.

The World God Only Knows S3 6

TWGOK slowed down the pace this week, which I guess is fitting for the Shiori episode. Shiori’s inner monologue was both funny and relatable, and her own fantasy-world imaginings are always great, but this story itself felt far more lazy and convenient than this season has been so far. I feel this show’s strengths are its humor and its habit of pointing out and subverting cliche story structures, but this one just played entirely by the book – Keima’s plan was very simple and it worked perfectly. It was perfectly watchable, but I was still kinda disappointed.

Attack on Titan 18

This episode was definitely a step down from the previous two (which I very much enjoyed), and felt a bit like one of Trost’s renowned “oh shit this story doesn’t correlate to our number of episodes let’s check in with everybody maybe take five for a flashback and move the plot forward seven inches” episodes. The first half was more excitement with the female titan, who’s apparently beginning to favor some style in her kills, but the second half consisted of people getting up into some trees and wondering why they were in them. I’m not worried, since the female titan represents a much more immediate threat than Eren not remembering he was human or the giant boulder ever did, and this show is still leagues better in its second half, but that second half was still not particularly engaging stuff.

Hunter x Hunter 92

This arc has gone totally nuts, and this episode was a nuts cherry on a nuts cake. Desperate giant-ant surgery was witnessed, vows of parenthood and brotherhood were made, and now a minor army of powerful monsters with hallucinogen-prompted designs have begun spreading out to conquer the world. This show is basically my definition of entertainment.

Gatchaman Crowds 5

This show never lacks for ambition, does it? This episode focused on the not-so-secretly most important character, Rui, and had him basically set out his thesis statement on his ideal, communal, utterly crowdsourced society. Showing its usual respect for easy answers, this speech was immediately shut down by one of his subordinates rightly calling him a naive, idealistic fool, and promptly hanging up on Rui to go play with his adorable daughter.

Rui’s plan has always had a number of internal inconsistencies, with his belief in a human nature that’s far less reliable than he thinks certainly being one, but another being the fact that for all his rhetoric regarding the death of heroes and the equality of his system, he is king of his powers. He decides when they’re used, he pulls the trigger, he is judge jury and executioner. This episode was the breaking point on that internal tension, when the collapsing tunnel finally prompted him to make himself the hero-celebrity he’s never wanted to be. Now he’s finally going to come into direct contact with Hajime, who is perhaps the only human being who truly represents the spirit of community his hundred were supposed to embody. This show just keeps getting better and better.

And the rest

Monogatari was a recap this week, and I’ve officially dropped Watamote – the show seems to really not have any aspirations outside of humorously and deservedly dumping on Tomoko, and that’s just not too compelling to me. I’m very excited for next week, though – a new arc in Monogatari, a new day in Uchouten Kazoku, and the long-awaited confrontation of Gatchaman’s two leads promises plenty of action, excitement, and thoughtful understated character drama. My favorite things!

 

Gatchaman Crowds – Episode 4

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Where is this show going? Last week we switched from generally “grounded” genre satire to a full-on exploration of social media and critique of traditional modes of societal organization and leadership. How did this happen? I amloving this so far – the visual and aural design are great, the pacing and writing are snappy, and Hajime is almost too good of a protagonist. That might actually become a problem, if she continues to be smart and authoritative and empathetic and grounded without any push-back to give her a little more believable humanity, but hopefully her philosophy will end up clashing in some satisfying way with the equally fascinating and seemingly high-minded (asexplained in awesome detail by the irrepressible /u/SohumB [+1]) Rui.

So! This show’s always exciting, but things are now actually building to some ridiculously interesting points. And the Crowds! The Crowds are loose! No more talking time for gatcha

Episode 4

1:13 – Not surprising – the Crowds seem to give the diffused crowdsourcing of talents a physical form. I like that he activates them with that “Play the Game” of the gamification, as well. I can’t wait to see how this all goes wrong

1:47 – “Have faith and wait – GALAX will not abandon us.” Also interesting. Relying on authority figures can be considered a way of shuffling responsibility upwards, whereas crowdsourcing diffuses that responsibility – but both could be considered methods of relinquishing personal responsibility. Not that these people are currently able to take charge of their situation, but too much reliance on this system has already been admitted to be its’ own problem. Hajime seems to understand this very well, and has already personally taken great initiative in a variety of situations – I’m still waiting for the other shoe to drop on her unflappability

3:54 – Goddamn that OP is great. Easily my favorite of the season – vivid visuals, great mix of animation and actual footage, and the song is perfect for the show. Also, there has never been a more perfect casting than Aya Hirano as a hard-drinking alien panda. So glad she’s getting work again

5:17 – “I wasn’t the one who saved them. It was Crowds.” No sooner does this show raise an idea than it questions and possibly discards it. Crowds gets exactly one scene as an unquestioned good before Rui ties it in to that point of relying on an outer framework versus being self-reliant.

5:35 – “Gatchamaaaan…” And four episodes in, we’re already messing with our electronic networks  to show how reliant we are on our experience-mediators. Robotics;Notes took like fifteen!

6:05 – Their hideout design sure does allow for some lovely shots 

7:01 – “I didn’t manage to finish it off this time… but I will for sure next time.” See, in a normal version of this show, I’d figure Joe or at the very least Sugane would be the protagonist. But nope, this show’s got too much actual shit to get to, so we get Hajime

7:20 – Hajime’s deep concentration face 

8:05 – “Listen, do not get involved!” Yeah, that’ll work. Hajime’s super good at following orders 

9:16 – “That bad Gatchaman said it was our fault, right? That’s super bad!” “I’ll settle the score with it.” “That’s not what I’m talking about!” I wonder how long her silly mannerisms will keep her teammates from realizing she’s always thinking at least a couple steps ahead of them. Who cares if they can stop the thing, the important thing is what it said, and what their leaders’ reactions to that information implied

10:14 – “Exposition exposition , I also lost my best friend because of it…” This scene, eh. This show’s normally much better about implying information than this, and generally assumes the viewer can make intelligent assumptions based on the least necessary information. This conversation’s plenty efficient and written naturally enough, but I feel they could have implied all the salient stuff through two well-chosen sentences and a pointed look between the pair of them

10:45 – “A trigger to cause the humans to destroy each other.” Well, that’s kind of a big clue

11:24 – “You’re the only reason I became a Gatchaman.” “Who knows how long you can have fun drinking?” Yeah,these two  are such an intentionally standard hero pair it makes me wince. The show isn’t letting the social media ideas keep it from having fun with this genre

11:59 – “Look at all these sources of traditional authority! Our town is so safe!” Please don’t bait the narrative, Hajime

14:40 – Aaand there’s Rui’s backstory in about fifteen seconds. Efficient storytelling!

15:21 – “If everyone found out their hero was in a contract with someone like me…” That’s too easy. The system’s failure should come from its’ own inherent qualities, not from an outside negative element. Not that I think this show is dumb enough to muddle its’ own ideas like that – but many shows introduce a really compelling “What if?” scenario, only to resolve it in a meaningless way when A MONSTER ATTACKS RAAA

16:36 – “Humanity’s black heart…” What’s the angle here?

16:42 – “We won’t ask for help from any heroes.” Who thought that it’d be a good idea to make a show ostensibly focused on individual superheroes instead focus on the power of collective intelligence and collective action? All the raises

17:33 – “If it’s that amazing, shouldn’t GALAX handle politics and police work?” And the conceit rears forward again

17:55 – “GALAX is amazing, but it’s not good.” That is an incredibly well-chosen sentence, Hajime!

18:12 – “Even if the world went up in a big, red blaze, you’d save people, right?” I like how Hajime is working out the kinks of a philosophical argument no-one but herself is actually having

18:38 – So, the mother acts angrily/selfishly, she is copied into a destructive doppelganger. What was the prelude to the other takeovers?

Also, Rui is looking lovely tonight . Between him (I’m guessing, he/she hasn’t straight-up said what he/she identifies as) and Yasaburou , this is clearly the summer of confused boners

19:42 – It’s finally begun, Rui-Rui!  Finally! I was getting kinda bored, what with it being all of seven minutes since these two were established as having a contract.

God this show’s pacing is awesome. So few shows have the glut of plot, characters, and ideas necessary to move events forward this quickly

20:46 – “It’s like our disaster prevention department might as well not exist.” They sure are setting up a lot of dominoes here. I’m just hoping GALAX fails for a satisfying reason

And Done

What a crazy world we live in! Good thing GALAX is there to protect us, eh?

Yeah, probably didn’t need to hear that rephrased by every single citizen. Still, this episode moved at breakneck speed as always, establishing and destroying the link between Rui and the destructive alien, setting up the outside world for its’ coming reliance upon and subsequent betrayal by GALAX, and even sparing a little time to characterize virtually every single member of the central cast. Hajime still has yet to make an actual misstep, and I still have that lingering fear that GALAX’s downfall won’t be indicative of anything beyond the bad guy controlling it (there are plenty of reasons to question an age of crowdsourced responsibility beyond the fear of evil aliens taking it over), but this episode was still fast and exciting and obsessed with its’ central ideas. It is incredibly rare to find a show this thematically focused that’s also this propulsive and watchable – normally you either get the rollercoaster or you get the lecture, and combining them this gracefully is a goddamn impressive feat.

Gatchaman Crowds – Episode 3

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Despite being my second-favorite show of the season, I’m still not really sure what’s going on with this show. I thinkit might be intentionally skewering the self-serious conventions of its’ genre, but it also might just be trying to tell an interesting story, or talk about social networking, or something? Well, regardless of what its’ actual goals are, Hajime clearly stands at the center of them – she’s already successfully initiated diplomacy with the Gatchamans’ main adversary, and in general seems a lot smarter and more self-assured than her manic pixie exterior would lead you to guess. Let’s see what the fuck happens this week.

Episode 3

0:05 – Is it just me, or are we getting an unusual number of visually distinctive and appealing  shows this season?  My top three – Uchouten Kazoku, this, and Monogatari – all basically have an entirely distinct but uniquely beautiful visual vocabulary, which isn’t usually the case. I’ll take it!

0:22 – Defeat your enemies through arts and crafts.  What a heartwarming message

1:47 – I like how he’s reading a magazine about the latest in dart technology 

2:01 – “They might be a life form with a hive mind.” Yeah, this social networking/collective consciousness stuff is clearly going somewhere

2:23 – I wonder if she’ll  ever serve any purpose beyond looking ridiculous

3:02 – I guess that answers that 

5:06 – This OP is so perfect for this show. Stylish, silly, fun.

6:15 – “Filing a civil suit isn’t that difficult.” It’s a really interesting concept they’re playing with here, and not too far from a collection of our current internet/social media resources. Sort of a formalized integration of our LinkedIn skill sets and expertise with a broader version of Twitter that also includes the gamification companies are using with stuff like FourSquare. It’s a simple and completely believable concept, and it’s clearly at the heart of what this show will actually be about – I really, really want to see where they’re going with this

Weird to think a show this upbeat and ostensibly unserious might end up being the spiritual successor to Lain…

7:16 – Another think my top shows have in common: gender-ambiguous central characters .

7:57 – “It’s a matter of connecting job seekers with employers. If they can connect directly, why would they need a middleman?” That makes for a pretty weird parallel with the fact that a dwindling need for middlemen is gonna screw our entire economic system soon enough. Not that I think this show is actually going to discuss the onset of a post-labor economy, it’s got enough on its’ plate

9:10 – “The world’s so complicated now that even excellent leaders might not be able to turn things around.” Is this show going to be about everything?

9:57 – “Are you being stingy with your power?” So it’s looking like whoever’s empowered this guy is a being similar to the old dude powering the Gatchamen

10:45 – “What if their wife just went into labor? When you think about it that way, don’t you feel less angry?” Her philosophy’s always a bit smarter than it looks. Even though she is a naturally empathetic person, she’s not stupid enough to believe everyone has a valid reason for everything – it also just results in a better personal quality of life if you frame these things in a positive way

12:19 – So “X” illegally and intrusively monitored the production of this milk, but because of that they were able to warn people it might be unsafe. Yep, I guess we’re talking about everything

13:07 – “Isn’t it a ruse? We can’t just take stuff from the internet at face value.” This show’s getting serious on its’ ideas. I might have to switch to just recording thematic clues for sorting later at this point

13:32 – “Anyway, we should consult the principle.” Relying on older/central forms of intelligence or authority versus the collective. But of course X isn’t actually the collective, or hasn’t been portrayed as such yet

15:02 – “THE MIIIILK!” And Hajime saves the day again. She is too good at this job

16:13 – “Mission Complete!” “Is that an indication of how many people still don’t trust information from GALAX?” I wonder how long it’ll be before they complicate the worth of the collective, anonymous intelligence. This episode’s clearly pretty dedicated to showing what it can do for good and why people would want to trust it over traditional systems, but that can’t last

16:40 – “Adverse effects of a vertical society.” But that kind of runs contrary to the earlier point of smart leadership being made powerless by the modern world. So the point is then that collective action is the only source of real power, but it can still be stymied by the old systems?

17:45 – “You can’t just blindly follow the internet.” Wait, now Hajime’s even rationally admitting the counterpoint? She’s maybe a little too ahead of the game. But hey, if they can craft a compelling story around an actually intelligent, confident, extroverted, and goal-oriented protagonist, I will be all the more impressed

20:40 – And the crazy teeth lady thing once again gets someone falsely accused. Breeding distrust in strangers…

And Done

“We’ll have to use the Crowds,” huh? Pretty apt name for the kind of power he’s apparently been given.

This show just keeps getting more interesting. This episode heavily downplayed the fantasy-ish elements in favor of the much more interesting near-future social networking stuff. It poked at a lot of very interesting ideas, but it still hasn’t really raised a counterpoint to the value of its’ systems – one quarter in, it’s basically only proposed GALAX as a force for good. Additionally, as the story begins to gain more grounding, Hajime’s superhuman ability to resolve everything will swiftly become less appropriate. I’m not actually worried about either of these things – the show has demonstrated a remarkable ability to play to its strengths so far, and I’m confident the issues it’s raising will be complicated shortly. In fact, I’m only liking this show more and more.

Gatchaman Crowds – Episode 2

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That first episode was pretty great, right? Definitely my surprise gem of the season. The visual design was great and the music was fantastically campy, but Hajime definitely sold it for me – I normally have trouble taking this kind of show seriously unless it really sells itself in some specific way, so having a protagonist who feels pretty much the same way as me (“Oh jeez, I’ve entered a very silly anime! Let’s screw around!”) is quite the breath of fresh air. I don’t know if her irreverent energy will stay as endearing if the show begins to try harder to take itself seriously, and I don’t know how the show would go about not ever becoming more focused on its actual story, but I am as always here as a student myself. Teach me, Gatchaman. Teach me your ways.

Episode 2

0:32 – “Ballets Pastelle!” Is she just making up these names as she goes along? Of course she is

1:20 – “So this is how you respond? That’s kinda different…” Genre savviness is a pretty great secret weapon

1:46 – Forgot how great this OP was

4:46 – “Oh, I live here now.” And then they’re just having dinner. This show certainly doesn’t waste time setting stuff up in a way that would make any kind of sense!

5:56 – “Maybe she was having a really tough time.” “No, it’s because she didn’t value her life.” They’re really hammering the difference between her relative and his hardline morality. I smell a theme!

8:19 – And they allude to but don’t fully explain some “disaster” while actually making the scene about elaborating the guy’s character. I didn’t expect subtlety here!

8:27 – “Yeah, I’m great. I fought a monster!” Pff, secret identities? Who’s got the time for that?

9:51 – “Senpai, let’s make collages!” It’s like a show from the actual perspective of a manic pixie dream girl. Pretty surreal, given anime’s usual female-character fantasies

9:56 – “Isn’t your sword pretty?” He is floored by how pretty it is.  Again, it seems like this show is just fast-forwarding through setup and character elaboration that normal shows would linger on for full episodes (establishing the world, getting her to the apartment, creating a dynamic between these two, pushing his development via her enthusiasm). I am actually all in favor of this, since all this stuff is classic genre fare and they’re clearly trying to get to something

13:22 – Finally someone figures out Hajime’s actual game . How dare you insult our silly premise, Hajime!

13:58 – “Pai-pai, are you on Galax too?” And Hajime loses interest in their hero mission to return to her actual priority, social networking for her scrapbooking club

15:02 – “A manifestation of our soul – so that’s why our weapons are different! But why is it a sword for you, and scissors for me?” Yeah, I’m not used to seeing protagonists try and figure out their own visual motifs within the second episode. Loving this show

16:55 – “This place probably isn’t real, right? And we’re JJ’s employees, it’s not like he’d put us in danger. Welp, only one way to be sure! ”

19:30 – “I’m sure it’ll tell us where the missing people went!” Premise: defeated. Now to invite MESS-chan to the collage club…

20:55 – “We don’t need an ambulance. Galax is far more useful.” “The world has been updated. Plus fifty points!” They’re hinting at some pretty interesting ideas here regarding all that “gameification of real life” stuff the kids go on about. I wonder if they’ll go somewhere with it

21:42 – “Man, I’m starving!” as she throws the food, mirroring Hajime’s declaration in the first episode. And it looks like they’re immediately going somewhere with it

And Done

Holy shit, I think this show’s gonna be really good! It absolutely burned down the genre setup this episode, did a great deal of work further establishing the characters, and was just breathlessly paced throughout. The writing is also actually pretty high quality, revealed through the lightly written conversations that achieved both narrative and character purposes, the efficient, understated, and constant subversions of genre staples, and the various hints at a few actual thematic undercurrents. I particularly like how quick the show is to address its own ideas – things like her personality making her predisposed to not immediately believe in their mission, or the natural conflict between her and the guy’s personalities, aren’t just hinted at – they’re built over the episode and then brought to a boil, which fits with Hajime’s “this place probably isn’t real, so I’ll walk off a cliff to test that” philosophy. It’s still pretty breezy fare, but I’m both fine with that and no longer have trouble believing it could actually come together as a story. Surprise gem indeed.

Gatchaman Crowds – Episode 1

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Well, the art looks stylish. That’s a good enough reason to check out a show, right?

Episode 1

0:24 – Aaand… whaddayaknow, the art looks stylish in motion too. Only actual expectation = confirmed

1:21 – “Target is on the move.” On the one hand, I love it when shows just drop you into their world with no explanation, expecting you to pick up the pieces. On the other hand, “it is as stated in the prophecy” is probably the single line most likely to make me drop a show

2:19 – The hair, eyes, and lush color palette all remind me of Katanagatari, which I just finished and is probably the best thing a show could hope to remind me of at the moment

3:55 – “Gatcha gatcha gatcha…” So our protagonist is Osaka? 

5:56 – “So I guess you just pulled a notebook out of my chest. Hey, can I keep this?” I very much appreciate how few fucks this protagonist gives. If we’ve gotta get through this rote genre setup stuff, it’s nice to not be slowed down by “That’s impossible!” and “How is this happening?!?”

7:07 – “Gatchamaaaaaan!” This song is awesome. As is that bad guy design

8:07 – “I think I somehow became a Gatchaman today. Nice to meet you!” Still loving this protagonist’s attitude. Kinda reminds me of Saki, except this show might actually be good 

8:22 – And now she’s actually singing the theme song that apparently she also heard. Actually kind of already in love

9:43 – Goddamn does that OP have style. Style seems to be the name of the game here; style, confidence, and a refreshing lack of self-seriousness

9:53 – I like that he just carries his sword around even at school

10:27 – She really is making a strong argument for best MC 

10:47 – Again, we know how this work, the show knows how this works, it’s not gonna bother taking itself all that seriously. “Time to visit our secret base.” “Seriously? Sweet!” Normally I use self-insert as a negative term, but this MC’s unflappability and glee over being dropped into a superhero genre piece clearly puts her on the audience’s side in a good way

11:12 – “That’s the last we’ll see of your antics.” I seriously, deeply doubt that. I also like that he’s chastising her for not being more of a cliche – the fun these creators are having with this derpy mythos is both apparent and infectious

11:58 – I like the guy just posing melodramatically  in the background

13:39 – “The note is our soul? SWEET! SUPER COOL!” Seriously, Sayaka, it’s not a big fuckin’ deal

15:24 – It’s nice that they’re getting all this silly exposition out of the way so efficiently (which, again, is helped by our MC being so perfect). It makes me wonder where they’re actually going with this series, since the pacing here is so snappy

18:03 – #1 at silly poses 

20:40 – These songs are all great

And Done

Oh man, that was so much fun! The MC had about as much respect for this genre nonsense as I do, and they just totally rolled with it, barreling forward on energy and style and utter lack of respect for the proclaimed seriousness of this made-up situation. Tons of energy, great visual flair, and I couldn’t ask for a more fun character to build such a series around. This show was entirely a wildcard, but it could very well be my third tentpole series of the season