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Posted by tatsunokofan on 09-08-2013 at 18:16:
Another Gatchaman Crowds Update
Hi all!
Well, it's been longer than I had anticipated since I've had time to put together a decent update for the latest Gatchaman Crowds news. Sadly, long enough now that much of this is a bit dated, what with the show being on the air now, and its 5th episode having just aired. Regardless, I figured people might still be interested in what was being said, so...
As I just mentioned, Gatchaman Crowds is now airing weekly in Japan. The series is being simulcast online, with English subtitles, on Crunchyroll. The Crunchyroll Gatchaman Crowds page can be found here:
http://www.crunchyroll.com/gatchaman-crowds
The latest episodes are available only to their paid subscribers for the first week after they premiere, but they change to a free-to-view status after that week. So, the first four episodes of the 12 episode run for the series are available for anyone view. If you haven't watched them yet, you should check them out. It starts off a little weak, but does improve within a few episodes. Okay, it pales in comparison to the original, but you probably already figured that.
If you don't wish to wait a week to watch the latest episodes, and don't want to subscribe to Crunchyroll, subtitled versions of the episodes have also been appearing within a few hours on various Torrent sites, as well as a few direct downloads. A quick internet search will help you find them.
The "Daisuke Namikawa and Mamoru Miyano's Gatchaman Crowds Radio" show has also been running regularly each week, with the 6th episode having aired on Thursday. The show featured Mr. Namikawa (The voice of Joe in Gatchaman Crowds) and Mr. Miyano (The voice of Berg Katze in Gatchaman Crowds) chatting about the series and generally having a good time. The latest episodes can be heard about 12 hours after they are broadcast here:
http://hibiki-radio.jp/description/gatchaman_crowds
The earlier episodes can be easily found on YouTube.
The Gatchaman Crowds website has been updating regularly the Story section with short episode synopses and a few photos after each episode has aired. Their Goods section has also been updated, listing Gatchaman Crowds-related merchandise I've already told you about. More interesting are the couple of updates they've done in their Characters section, where they have added write-ups for the girl previously listed only as "???," whose name has now been revealed as Load Galax, and adding a section for "President X," as they refer to Sosai X. Here is what they have to say about these two characters:
Load Galax
http://www.ntv.co.jp/GATCHAMAN_Crowds/character/rui.html
The other form taken on by Rui when she works with GALAX or the HUNDRED.
The origin of the name LOAD comes from the enormous amount of information accumulated by President X, meaning that "The person who reads the information = The person who is LOAD." It is Rui's idea that no one leader is needed, and it is meant to be different from the title "Ruler = LORD."
President X
http://www.ntv.co.jp/GATCHAMAN_Crowds/character/presidentx.html
The incomplete artificial intelligence developed by Rui Ninomiya in cooperation with the hackers of the world.
In order to complete the system needed to "update the world," Rui allows President X to deal with any problems presented by GALAX users, and it is growing.
The monthly anime magazines in Japan had coverage of the series in their August issues, with Animedia and New Type each dedicating two pages to the show. Animage had the least, with just a short blurb about the post-transformation looks for Hajime, Sugane, and Joe, and brief episode synopses for episode #'s 2~5. The same type of episode synopses appeared in Animedia. While they won't really illuminate anything about the show if you've already watched the episodes, they did predate the episodes when the magazine hit stores in early July. Anyway, in case you're interested, here's the synopses that appeared in the August issue of Animedia:
Episode #2 - "Asymmetry"
Writer - Toshiya Ono
Director - Takaaki Wada
Storyboards - Takaaki Wada
Art Director - Takashi Kurahashi
Sugane Tachibana is not satisfied with the interference caused by Hajime during the attack on the unidentified object MESS, which was a candidate for extermination. He is swayed by Hajime's behavior to not prejudge what's right and wrong emotionally, but instead to touch on her idea to view things from various perspectives. On the other hand, for his own pleasure, a mystery man has happily begun secret maneuvers to make people fight.
Episode #3 - "Futurism"
Writer - Shinsuke Onishi
Director - Koichiro Kuroda
Storyboards - Hiroyuki Kakudo
Art Director - Takashi Kurahashi
The genius Rui Ninomiya has created the huge SNS (Social Networking Service) GALAX and the artificial intelligence President X to continue the various activities to update the world. One day, a situation occurs that cannot be dealt with by human powers, and Rui is forced to make the decision to exercise forbidden powers.
Episode #4 - "Kitsch"
Writer - Toshiya Ono
Director - Mamoru Enomoto
Storyboards - Mamoru Kurosawa
Art Director - Takashi Kurahashi
Despite the trust in the usefulness of GALAX that is spreading steadily among the people, Rui is tormented by the urge to accelerate the world by direct means. Just then, the mysterious phantom causes a brutal incident in front of Rui's eyes, showing the ways in which it can harm people.
Episode #5 - "Collaboration"
Writer - Toshiya Ono
Director - Takahiro Majima, Yu Yonezawa, Jimmy Stone
Storyboards - Hiroyuki Kakudo
Art Director - Takashi Kurahashi
Hajime and the others happen to be present at the scene of a large-scale accident. As people use GALAX to help resolve the situation, Hajime rescues a mysterious being, and a fateful encounter with the beautiful person who directs the being is carried out.
The main body of Animedia's coverage of Gatchaman Crowds was an interview with series Planner Takao Kudo, where he discussed the character of Rui.
Here's what Mr. Kudo had to say:
A Beautiful Girl Or a Beautiful Boy!? The Charisma Of the Gigantic SNS Is Twice As Appealing.
Just before this production is broadcast, we'll look at this super advanced child. The name is Rui Ninimiya, who runs the gigantic SNS (Social Networking service) GALAX, which has 200 million users around the world! His brain is top notch, and he can speak 3 languages. Rui's home is the top floor of the high-rise apartment Toyosu. It is one celebrity-like article. "However, Rui is surprising, and the room is rough to pass through. He enjoys bottled jellybeans, and is often chided by President X, the artificial intelligence that is the brains of GALAX, to 'Please have a proper diet.' (Laughs)" (Planning Composition; Takao Kudo)
The gap between the celebrity environment and the common life is twice as appealing. Therefore, Rui's shape when going out is very pretty.
"Rui likes pretty and beautiful things, just like the Hajime, the lead character of the story. He disguises himself as a woman just because 'it is pretty.' This is also how he runs GALAX, with the belief that the politics and the human spirit of today are not beautiful, he wants to use GALAX to move people forward into a world where they help each other. In the third episode, Rui begins to move in earnest, the same time as the guy with the wild, purple hair...... The 1st episode is the introduction of Hajime and the Gatchaman Team, and the 2nd and 3rd episodes are focused mainly on the school lives and private lives of Hajime and Sugane. I want you to notice the art design of Hajime's room and Gatchaman Base. They are a from a combination of the hands of Takashi Kurahashi & Yumi Hosoka, who were in charge of the art in Nakamura's production's 'Mononoke' and 'Tsuritama.' The base reflects an alien culture, and has psychedelic objects. Of course, events related to Rui and GALAX will be continuing behind the scenes, so please watch carefully."
So what is Rui really going to do? A mysterious element has been added, and it would be a shame to spoil it......!
The magazine also had a sidebar where Mr. Kudo spoke a little about the new suits:
What is the Form of Gatchaman After Transformation?
"The mark called Bird Signal is somewhere on their bodies, as well as multiple G-marks. The form of the suit otherwise appears to take on features from the tastes and personalities of the individuals. Sugane has the power to control distance, which he combines with his Iaijutsu swordplay in battle. Using wither his sword or the wings that come from his back, he can slice through or defend himself against an enemy. Joe fights with the power of flame, and can fly by shooting flames from his feet. Hajime's ability is......, please confirm it by watching it on the air!"
And, lastly, Animedia had a few very brief comments by Kenji Nakamura, answering a few questions about the show:
Chief Director Kenji Nakamura's Special Comment
Q. What is the theme of the production in a single word?
A. It is "Tomorrow."
Q. What is it that you most want people to see?
A. To look at the way the characters are thinking, and then find those with whom you can relate to, and those with whom you cannot.
Q. What is the highlight of the opening part?
A. All of it!
The August New Type had some familiar write-ups on the Hajime, Sugane, and Joe, but the majority of their article was made up of an interview with Kenji Nakamura.
Here's what Mr. Nakamura's interview had to say:
Taken by storm, Gatchaman is Reborn!
The Tatsunoko Productions masterpiece, "Science Ninja Team Gatchaman," has had new production made of it before. The "Who is it, who is it" beginning of the theme song has been heard by an entire generation at least once or twice. However, "Gatchaman Crowds" is something quite different than the conventional remake or continuation. Rather than having "Gatchaman" as the title of the Science Ninja Team Leader, it is the general term for the warrior whose living bodies possess a spiritually unique ability to materialize the power of the object <<NOTE>>, and President X is not once more the complete ruler of <<Gallactor>>, and evil organization bent of world domination, but rather X is an incomplete artificial intelligence that manages the huge SNS <<GALAX>>. In his role as Chief Director, what is Kenji Nakamura trying to portray through this well known major title?
"The users from around the world can now see the same anime production at the same time as the users of Japan, and I feel that this is close to the structure of a Hollywood movie. However, when we Japanese see a Hollywood movie, it is with subtitles or dubbed, which is different than in its native language, and I feel that these may not be able to completely capture the cultural and small modern-style nuances loaded into these works. Feeling this, I decided that the direction of this production would be something in Japanese that strikes deeply into the consciousness of the Japanese people."
Nakamura says that we (=modern day Japanese people) are the "Crowds" of the title.
"We are living in a world that is so complex that a single person, no matter how superior they may be, cannot see the whole picture. And society's motives and fundamental principles have been sent onto the net as Japan's culture, so our motives have been intensely visualized these last few years, and the influence of these principles of society have come to a standstill, so I feel we need to think about how we want to progress."
Not worrying about the traditional image, in was Nakamura's thought to draw a completely new, modern heroic image, and the result is a significantly revamped Gatchaman visual......
"This goes in a different direction than the previous work, where all the member's suits were designed to look like the wings of birds, though I did think that I should retain the 'Bird Signal,' the Gatchaman icon mark on their chest. Part of the appeal of the new Gatchaman is that each of the G Members has a unique design. When the various Gatchaman come out, I want the production to be colorful. How do they fight with the individual armaments that they each possess? Stay tuned!"
As I said at the beginning of all this, most of it is a bit dated now, thanks to the show having been on the air. But it's still nice to hear what those involved with the show itself have to say!
Have you been watching Gatchaman Crowds? If so, what have you thought of the series? Which episodes have you seen so far? I'd like to hear what you have to say about it!
James
Posted by Victoria on 09-08-2013 at 21:03:
Thanks, James.
Personally I'm looking forward to every Friday now. I really enjoy Crowds because aside from being extremely fond of Katse v2.0 and his mannerism (Miyano should be given an award for his voice acting - especially when he pretended to be X in ep.5), this show also raises some interesting questions. Rui's dilemma in episode 5 is a prime example of that. No. 26 was quite a jerkass, but Rui strikes me as someone blinded by his idealism. He's so stubborn, he comes across as quite childish. He's trying so hard to prevent the Hundred from using Crowds selfishly, his actions endanger the lives of the ones in need, but he is too proud to do anything about it apart from attempting to fix everything on his own, which, ironically, makes him exactly one of the heroes he denounces so much. His aim is much too high and it doesn't leave any space for compromise. I do believe spending some time with Hajime would do him good.
It's a bit of a pity that Crowds don't have more in common with original Gatchaman, but that is about the only complaint I have about it. (okay. That, and the fact that it's only 12 episodes long). I do believe this anime is a really great work in its own right. To me it's a highlight of the week.
(also, it's a pity no one really discusses it here, even though there is so much to discuss. After all both series deal with contemporary issues. Original Gatchaman has environmentalism, Crowds have social networking)
__________________
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My fanart is here
Posted by lborgia88 on 10-08-2013 at 17:43:
I've been watching every episode, on Crunchyroll, and I'm hooked too.
Yes, very interesting conversation between Rui and #26, with Rui arguing that the world won't be "updated" until ordinary people take action themselves, in concert with others, instead of relying on heroes or leaders, and #26 pointing out that he and the other hundred that make up the "CROWDS" could fix the world more effectively by just eliminating incompetent politicians, irresponsible corporations, criminals -and with #26 thinking that Rui must be motivated by the desire to get all the credit for himself. It really seems to parallel what Hajime was discussing (and disagreeing about) with Paiman and Sugane, questioning why the Gatchaman have to always stay secret. It's interesting to me that Hajime seems to agree with #26, that "the world will never change if revolutionaries just sneak around." Rui is clearly soured on heroes and leaders, but I don't think #26, who is all about power, can comprehend any one honestly wanting to give "power to the people" and stay anonymous and behind the scenes. Hajime, though, can see the role of leaders and heroes, I think, as a way to inspire ordinary people to take action -they shouldn't stay apart from society and secret. I mean, no one is a bigger fan of GALAX than her. Yet her motives are worlds apart from those of #26.
Oh, and I was laughing so hard watching Paiman ride around the apartment, sitting on the roomba.
But, I think I can see how very easy it could be for a totalitarian entity like"Galactor" to be born from Rui's GALAX (created with the best of intentions) if it's taken over by Katse and #26, with them controlling "X."
It sure seems like JJ knows more about what's happening than he's letting on (and about what the MESS really are about). Maybe he's seen this cycle happen, over and over, on other worlds? I'm guessing he intends Gatchaman, ultimately, to be the ones who will ultimately oppose GALAX/X/Katse/"Galactor" (whatever it ends up being called), and that he had reasons for recruiting Hajime.
Posted by tatsunokofan on 12-08-2013 at 21:19:
Hi all!
I'm sure it's no great surprise, but my wife and I have been watching Gatchaman Crowds as well, though we've been waiting until Saturday morning to see the latest episode, when we can sit down and watch it together.
We've come to enjoy the series more as it has progressed. We both felt, as did many other people we've spoken to, that the first episode had some issues. But the second episode was much better, and they really hit their stride in the third episode. We both laughed during that episode when we saw Hajime doing her cockroach-like crawl across the floor to get the keys! I hope that those who gave up on the show after the first episode will give it another chance, and that those who haven’t watched it yet will do so. Okay, it's not the Gatchaman that we all know and love. But rather than dismissing the show for what it isn't, it's better to watch it and judge the show for what it is.
Anyway, you both bring up some interesting points. The show has made some commentary about the potential for social networking to improve the lives of people, as it has been used to alert people with the right skills to those they can help, be it during an emergency like when Katze hit people with the car, or in less obvious ways, like when it got the lawyer in touch with the lady who needed to take legal action against her neighbor. It also shows some of the pitfalls of social networking, as people develop online friendships at the expense of developing real world connections, such as what Hajime points out between the fire department and city hall, and the police and the self-defense force. They have people who know each other through GALAX, but they rarely get together in person.
You’re right that Rui and Hajime do seem to be arguing for the same point; helping mankind to better itself, but both are approaching it from opposite directions; Rui feeling it is best to do so in secret and Hajime feeling they should do so in plain view of the world. They both make good points in their arguments, proving that there is no one right answer.
And, yes, Paiman on the Roomba was indeed hilarious!
I can't help but think that there has to be some sort of connection between JJ and Katze. I mean, they're both very tall, have the ability to make it nearly impossible to know exactly where they physically are at any given moment, and appear to be alien. It's almost like they're two halves of the same coin, one ostensibly good and one ostensibly evil.
There are still a good many questions to be answered, such as what exactly is going on the MESS, who is Katze and what is his connection to Rui, why can’t (Or why doesn’t) O.D. transform, where are the other Gatchaman whose numbers are seen in the CAGE, but haven’t appeared, and many others. But, with the series only coming to the halfway point this Friday, I don’t expect answers right away.
The notion that something like GALAX could someday become something like Gallactor brought an interesting thought to mind. What if, instead of being a totally separate entity for the original Gatchaman, Gatchaman Crowds turns out to be a prequel to the original Gatchaman, where GALAX becomes Gallactor, with X as its head and the 100 its leaders, JJ and Katze combine to form a single being known as Berg Katse, and the alien technology used to create Gatchaman is found by Dr. Nambu, who uses it to create the Science Ninja Team. Yes, it would be rewriting background elements from the original series, but it could still be an interesting notion. Not that I seriously expect it to turn out that way, mind you.
James
Posted by Springie on 12-08-2013 at 22:49:
Yep...I've been watching, too! I keep wishing for some glimmer of the Gatchaman we all know and love...but I haven't found much. I do like the weird vibe some of the images have- especially Katze and the Crowds. What is it with the giant eyeball disguises, though? Those are creepy enough to become a Galactor mecha!
I am finding it hard to identify with the characters, though. Hajime is a bit annoying and the others suffer from a lack of personality (or maybe we just don't know their stories, yet).
On a different note, Paiman on the roomba was pretty, awesome, wasn't he? LOL
The storyline will keep me watching, though...it is very interesting!
__________________
Posted by lborgia88 on 13-08-2013 at 02:43:
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True. No surprise that she's so active in that GALAX scrapbooking/origami club; the members actually do meet in person, even if they always use trains or buses for their get-togethers (a symbol, perhaps, of how much potential for face-to-face social interaction is wasted every day within public transportation, because no one talks to anyone there?)
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Ooh, good point. It occurs to me now that the MESS that Hajime has can also disappear and reappear -wonder if that means it's also somehow akin to JJ and Katze. I was intrigued that Paiman and O.D. also know things about Katze that the other Gatchaman don't, like they've encountered him before, which makes me wonder why they won't explain to the others what they know. O.D. seems to be older than the others (his lower number goes along with that too) which could explain why he knows more (and maybe even why he can't transform -maybe he used to be able to but an encounter with Katse left him unable to?)
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Yes, I was wondering about what Jou says in ep. 3, "Compared to our Gatchaman predecessors, we're pathetic enough." Who and where are these predecessors? If Hajime is #101, that suggests there are or have been a lot of them...
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I too keep thinking that we're seeing the origin of "Galactor" here, but I was thinking more that it's all part of a cycle repeating itself -that this is a new "Galactor" exploiting social networking (or a society damaged by virtual social networking's actual isolation of people) to seize power, whereas an earlier "Galactor" had sought to exploit the environment (as Victoria noted) and its resources. Or maybe this is me wanting to think that some of the "Gatchaman predecessors" that Jou refers to might be our own beloved Science Ninjas.
But it's fascinating to think that we could also be seeing, in "Gatchaman Crowds," a prequel to them. The alien element, and mysterious technology, are something both series have in common.
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Representing the "all-seeing" power that the Hundred have, maybe? I agree, they are creepy. I'm thinking that they're sort of virtual projections of the Hundred and that they're actually all in different places (like how we saw Umeda/#26, with his little daughter, right after his "eyeball" was talking with Rui). I've been scratching my head trying to remember if Umeda had already been shown in some previous episode (and even checked to make sure he wasn't Jou's bartender friend, Alan.)
Hajime is growing on me, and I think we are seeing more glimpses into what makes the others tick too. But I'd like to know more about their "stories" too!
Posted by Becky Rock on 13-08-2013 at 21:53:
Haven't watched any of it, but your theory is interesting, James, that Crowds could be taken as a prequel to the original Gatchaman.
Will Crowds have to be added to Gatchfanfic? I anticipate someone writing fics with it soon.
__________________
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Posted by lborgia88 on 15-08-2013 at 00:34:
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There are already a couple of them at fanfiction.net, in the Gatchaman section.
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