Gatchaman might be a familiar term to some of you. It may even bring nostalgia to some; childhood memories of watching an anime about superheroes battling aliens and ultimately saving the world might resurface. Well, that’s kind of a broad description that could apply to many other animes, but you get the point.
Science Ninja Team Gatchaman aired in the 1970’s and was quite a popular anime, earning five Japanese-produced projects based on it; Gatchaman Crowds being the fifth and most recent one as of now. Although Gatchaman Crowds (or GCrowds, as some fans like to call it) is more or less completely different from Science Ninja Team Gatchaman, there are still a few references that fans of the original series would be delighted to see.
Gatchaman Crowds is set in Tachikawa, Japan and takes place in the early summer of 2015, which isn’t too far off from now. The G-Crew, a group of Gatchaman, aims to protect the city from danger. They are warriors aided by special suits powered by their NOTE, a manifestation of each member’s spiritual powers.
It starts with the recruitment of Hajime Ichinose into the G-Crew by J.J. Robinson, the guardian of Earth. After Hajime’s recruitment, a powerful alien named Berg Katze threatens to destroy Earth the same way it did to many other planets. The G-Crew is headed by their leader Paiman, who resembles a panda but hates being associated as one. Other than Hajime, the members of the G-Crew are Tachibana Sugane, Utsutsu, OD, and Jou Hibiki.
Most of the members of the G-Crew are surprised at Hajime’s bubbly and energetic nature but samurai-like Sugane, who is assigned to watch over Hajime, seems to be the most baffled. In fact, her sheer optimism is the reason why some viewers tend to dislike her. Personally, I quite like Hajime because of her creative way of thinking and her friendliness. You might even say that she’s made friends with almost all the characters in the show!
Later in the series, Hajime meets Ninomiya Rui, an eighteen-year-old boy who aims to “upgrade the world” with the help of a social networking service he programmed called GALAX. He proves to be essential in helping the G-Crew defeat Berg Katze because of his incredible intelligence.
Apart from the great characters, the use of vivid colors is one of the many reasons why this anime is so much fun to watch. The beautiful backgrounds in each scene is really something I love about Gatchaman Crowds; I sometimes find myself pausing at some parts just to admire the details put into the setting (especially in scenes where they’re in Hajime’s room. It’s so cute!). Another thing to take note of is its wonderful soundtrack. With cute tunes like Tutu and epic battle tracks like Crowds, this OST is one I’d definitely wouldn’t mind listening to all day.
Overall, I recommend this anime because of its interesting plot and great soundtrack. I really enjoyed Gatchaman Crowds and, if you decide to give it a watch, I hope that you enjoy it as well!
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