The classic series gets a (major) modern retooling, and it is one that will create quite an impression on fans…but will it find a positive or a negative reception?
What They Say
“Avant-garde”: Gatchaman are secret agents who have been empowered by aliens possessing advanced technology in order to neutralize alien criminals and unidentified objects harmful to mankind. In the summer of 2015, the Tachikawa CAGE G-team welcomes Ichinose Hajime to their ranks. A high school student who loves stationery, her free-spirited, offbeat personality is a breath of fresh air to the mission-plagued G-team.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Gatchaman Crowds takes its name from the 1972 Science Ninja Team Gatchaman series that spawned a pair of television sequels, a 1994 OVA and now a live action movie in its native Japan but it also become a hit in the United States as it was adapted into two different television shows (Battle of the Planets and G-Force), its two sequel series adapted into one show (Eagle Riders) and lead to new items in its adopted country including comics, toys, a release of the original series uncut and redubbed to be more accurate (which was out of print for a number of years but is coming back into print on DVD and now Blu Ray) as well as a CG movie that was planned at one point in time but which was canceled after the production studio’s previous endeavor underperformed. All of that boils down into the series being one that has a good deal of weight behind it and (just) over 40 years of history which made the announcement of Gatchaman Crowds one that could easily be a double edged sword as the name would draw people in but the shear history meant that the series would also be having to live in a considerable shadow cast by the property and leave the new show having to deal with the weight that the expectations the name brings with it.
In the original series, the 5 members of the Gatchaman team (almost all orphans) had been assembled by a scientist who trained and outfitted them with special vehicles and weapons in order to defend the Earth, which they were called upon to do when an alien arrived and attempted to destroy the environment in order to turn the planet into one where its race could survive. In the pursuit of its quest the creature took over the criminal Galactor organization and made it much bigger in scope while also leading the group to come up with technology beyond most at the time, often in the form of some giant robot that the Gatchaman team would have to face off against which left Gachaman fighting avarice seeking humans for many of their battles (and created some rather violent scenes that the US cartoons had to cover up in the process).
Gatchaman Crowds on the other hand opens by breaking with this established pattern as it introduces a cast of characters but who are assembled this time by an odd alien possessing the ability to draw the power to transform out of them (through an item that takes the form of a small planer called NOTE rather than watch like device from the original series) and who recruits them to fight against a different alien menace known as the MESS which have the ability to disguise themselves as ordinary people or objects and which have been abducting people and absorbing them for an unknown purpose. The Gatchaman team use their powers of transformation and an ability known as the Amnesia Effect to hide their battles from normal humans which allows them to fight in secret, making the heroes something of urban legends who strive to save mankind in secret much like the team from the original series who struggled valiantly in anonymity with no one outside their circle knowing just who was saving the day when giant robots attacked.
The Gatchaman Crowds series begins as the established members are awaiting their newest member who is supposed to appear according to prophesy of some sort, but this foretelling didn’t prepare them for what they were going to be getting. The promised member turns out to be Hajime Ichinose, a schoolgirl that has a fondness for planers, a rather upbeat attitude and who seems to be rather adaptable as she is never overwhelmed with the information presented her, but her rather capricious and often spacey appearing demeanor don’t exactly win her over with all of her teammates instantly, though she doesn’t allow this to effect her mood. As she is introduced to the team and its base she discovers that the Gatchaman team exist to stop the MESS and try to reclaim the people they absorb and hopefully return them to the world, though not all humans are recovered for reasons they team doesn’t fully understand. When the Mess appear and Gatchaman is needed again Hajime heads out to participate but will this newbie find the ability to transform when not all of her seniors on the team can, and will her personality help lead Gatchaman to victory or will she ultimately prove to be an albatross around the team’s neck?
While I didn’t exactly grow up on the original Gatchaman I did grow up on both of the US adaptations and it was a series that had an incredible love for and it was one I had wondered in the last few years if it might not have a resurgence given that it appears to remain popular enough in Japan to have a couple of merchandise items released over the last few years indicating there was a market to some degree still yearning for the series. When the news of Gatchaman Crowds production was announced I was tenuously looking forward to it but was fearful that things might go well off the rails, and when I saw the initial artwork released for the series my hopes sunk. After watching the first episode though I discovered that not only was my pessimism unfounded but that these changes that I was wary of helped created a Gatchaman series that I had no idea that I wanted as the series bold move of taking some large changes with the established franchise allow it to keep some of the themes and provide homage to many of the elements of the original while setting its own unique course which gives this entry a chance to stand on its own rather than get lost in trying to stay so faithful it fails to have its own voice and so gets written off as a footnote in the property’s history.
Watching through the episode provided a lot of fun as the series introduces its rather unique lead who seems to be a bit eccentric but also rather competent in her ability to comprehend the mission of Gatchaman (even if some parts like secrecy may not quite be grasped intuitively) while also allowing some tributes to the original cast in the other characters present (Jou who is the lanky, seemingly cool character who is introduced playing darts, not unlike the original Condor Joe who used dart like shuriken at times or the non transforming Gatchaman, perhaps calling back to Ryu the Owl who was rarely involved in much of the action other than as pilot of the God Phoenix). In addition the ability of the NOTE to be used for communication as well as transformation calls back to the wrist devices of the first series which themselves were farfetched for their time and borrowed perhaps a bit from Dick Tracy’s futurism and a weapon used in the episode certainly calls back to the bird boomerang weapon of Ken the Eagle. The cast doesn’t just borrow completely from its predecessor though as there are a couple more characters that are unique in their presentation as far as Gatchaman is concerned but may borrow from larger anime trends, such as the mascot like character that claims to be team lead (who could be a call back to the robot added for the first US release of the original series) or the young appearing Utsu-tsu whose state of undress isn’t completely unusual in the trends of the day in anime and at least of yet there is no sign of the Gatchaman in this series having their own unique vehicles either.
One of the more controversial parts of the series is to be found in the transformed forms of the characters as rather than having obviously bird inspired costumes with bird head shaped helmets and capes that resemble bird wings the version found here is far more mechanical in appearance (the designs were made by a pair of artists, one who notably worked on Wandaba Style and the other on Tiger and Bunny) and which only have a few very subtle elements for the most part that give off a bird resemblance. When combined with a current lack of vehicles for the team and large robots to fight this makes for a pretty big visual difference between the series (other than of course the animation changes and distinct lack of bellbottoms and numbered shirts in Crowds) and if it weren’t for the large Gatchaman emblem on the suits one might easily have no idea what series they are from on first glance. While I don’t have a problem with redesigning of the costumes as such as even though I do like the original outfits they borrow more than a little from western heroes (particularly Batman) and weren’t always the most stealthy of colors (white, yellow and pink are not typically worn for late night sneaking for a reason ), the rather bold and unique designs are perhaps too dynamic and different and their lack of having a consistent theme to them undercuts the team theme more than a little. In addition, even though the different colored backgrounds that appear behind the characters as they are shown as being almost in a different dimension while in their transformed state may allow for a pretty unique story exploration in the future it is a major change from the original concept which may serve to further distance existing fans from this new endeavor.
These transformed designs combined with the sometimes unique character designs and colors certainly live up to the episode title “Avant-garde” and this uniqueness may wind up turning off as many people as it brings in (if not more) . The largely fluid animation works even with some obvious –though not shockingly so- CG for the most part as the battles and most scenes look nice though there are a few scenes that have a large number of people in them and the series has them standing still like part of the background rather than in motion which is a minor but rather obvious flaw in the episode. Still it certainly isn’t unique for animated series to run into problems when it comes to budget or the limits of CG and the rest of the animation certainly comes off as top class giving Gatchaman Crowds a unique and fantastic look which works well to allow the series to try to blaze its own path and avoid being just a shallow and derivative piece of the overall franchise, though its somewhat unique approach to the less than sharply outlined characters may again alienate some but those willing to put aside their preconceptions of what Gatchaman should be based off the original series may find a whole lot of fun packed into this episode.
In Summary:
One of the more well known anime series of all time gets a reboot and modern twist as Gatchaman Crowds takes the foundations that were built in the 1970’s and brings it into the modern day by paying homage to some of the aspects of the original but also by making some pretty dynamic changes to the established formula. While the shows quirky new lead and stylish visuals will definitely help the series find an audience the changes made may make it harder for fans of the original Science Ninja Team Gatchaman to buy in, creating a situation where the branding may work against the show in their eyes. While this isn’t the Gatchaman that many knew and loved (or that their parents knew and loved given its four decades of age) those who are willing to roll with the changes and adapt may find that they are getting something with the potential to be as unique today as the original Gatchaman was in its and it definitely is a series that deserves to be judged on its own merits rather than those of its admittedly legendary predecessor.
Grade: A
Streamed By: Crunchyroll
Review Equipment:
Samsung 50″ Plasma HDTV, Denon AVR-790 Receiver with 5.1 Sony Surround Sound Speakers, Roku II box.
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