GATCHAMAN CROWDS: First Impressions

[gallery columns="4" ids="14871,14872,14873,14874,14875,14876,14877,14878"]

What do you get when you mix a superhero setting akin to MIB x Tiger & Bunny and you get Kenji Nakamura to direct it? You get a wonderful first episode of Gatchaman Crowds.

This past week has been an interesting one for this series, as it garnered more hype because of an early release of the OP.  Before it seemed like very few were interested in this series, but getting an early glimpse of the OP must have spurred many viewers to watch the first episode of the old school - 1970's old - inspired superhero flick.  A story which to this day remains a classic setting for all superhero/alien movies and TV shows worldwide.

For me, this was one of the more enjoyable first episodes of the series.  It's take on the secret superhero setting is more comedic than I expected, as shown by the ultra genki heroine Hajime, whose love of planners is a whole new level of bizarre. She's not driving the series just yet but her presence adds an air of playfulness I did not foresee. Before the series aired, I though we'd be getting a more serious supernatural action series but that doesn't seem to be the case here.  It's more light-hearted, campy and serious in the least way possible and that's not a drawback.
[gallery columns="4" ids="14879,14880,14881,14882,14883,14884,14885,14886"]
The first episode may have only introduced Gatchaman's cast and showed off its style, but it was enough to get me on board.  We do have some mystery surrounding J.J. as the divine entity, but beyond that everything was straightforward.  It wasn't perfect in the logical sense - how did Hajime figure out her power so quickly - but that's the spirit of the old school super hero genre.  To top it off, the ending brought with it an extroverted villain for the series. We only saw him/her for a second, but even this villain gave off a feeling of campiness.  It's safe to assume we can look forward to more of this type of extrovertion and flamboyance in future episodes.

As for the animation and soundtrack, no surprises that both were fantastic.  Nakamura-sensei's style is always interesting, and even if he has to resort to sakuga animation sometimes, it still works well.  Accompanying his animation is the always great Taku Iwasaki for music, as he provides a delightful and energizing soundtrack to get us pumped.

Considerable potential from the get-go.  That's all you need to know about this episode and hopefully Gatchaman Crowds.

GATCHAMAN CROWDS OP

[gallery columns="4" ids="14891,14892,14893,14894"]

GATCHAMAN CROWDS ED

[gallery columns="4" ids="14887,14888,14889,14890"]