There’s no use crying over spilt milk, but for spoilt milk, it’s GALAX to the rescue!
What They Say
“Futurism” – Ninomiya Rui is a genius who built GALAX, the social networking service powerhouse, and General X, an AI. Rui seeks to update the world by intervening in a broad range of issues. He empowers the people to resolve them by using General X’s ability to gather intelligence and match human resources. One day, however, he is faced with a challenge beyond the scope of anyone’s abilities, and is forced to consider using a forbidden power…
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
The Gatchaman element of the show’s title was always obvious, but there was always speculation about what “Crowds” might refer to. I had assumed that it was a reference to social media, with terms like “crowdfunding” and “crowdsourcing” increasingly being used. I wasn’t wrong, but Crowds also refers more directly to another group that Gatchaman Crowds introduces in its third episode, “Futurism”.
The episode opens in Gatchaman HQ, where the members of the team are discussing the change in behavior of the MESS organisms ever since Hajime “befriended” one in the last episode’s conclusion. While Hajime entertains “MESSY-chan” with origami, Paiman reports that all of the absorbed humans have been rescued and seem to be in a state of reduced activity. They haven’t disappeared, however, so Paiman advises the group stay on guard and suspicious of the MESS’ true intentions. Joe speculates the MESS may communicate through changing the shape of their bodies, and this was how Hajime was able to befriend one: Futhermore, he thinks perhaps the MESS might communicate through a hivemind of sorts… like the Gatchaman and their notebooks, or the social network GALAX. O.D. even dares to suggest the MESS might never have had harmful intentions toward humanity to begin with. Rather, perhaps they just disregarded us like ants. Or maybe even like rocks.
So the Gatchaman communicate via notebooks, the MESS communicate through a hivemind, the broader society communicates via the television (like with the news of the Prime Minister’s resignation), and increasingly people are communicating through GALAX, the social media app that works like a combination of Animal Crossing, Twitter, Siri and Craigslist. A woman complains about needing a lawyer, and through a simple press of the “X” button, a nearby lawyer is able to find her and learn about her case. Its creator is one Ninomiya Rui, the cross-dressing young man from the end of the previous episode, who is in possession of a Gatchaman notebook but never seems to use its powers. Instead, he wanders around the city in drag, disguised and listening to people’s thoughts and worries about the use of GALAX.
Once back in his penthouse apartment, Rui browses the news to learn about changes in society that have begun to occur since the widespread use of GALAX. In a way, he considers the app his great contribution to mankind, a method of weeding out the middlemen and connecting people directly to one another, allowing them to opt out of the strict hierarchical institutions that dominate Japanese society. The old system has failed Japan, so Rui suggests a new one. Not that he’s above getting his hands dirty: Rui seems to be in communication with the malevolent Berg Katze, and his AI illegally hacks into company computers to find out about a shipment of tainted milk that risks making a lot of people across the nation ill.
Either out of genuine concern or as a show of power, Rui leaks the data onto the GALAX network, and sets up a game targeting the tainted milk’s disposal. Sure, it’s a bit of a silly minor emergency, but there’s something that feels very honest and urgent about the way a flash mob of activists immediately disregard the standard school rules and work together to dispose of the milk, even going so far as to steal keys from the teacher’s lounge and damage vending machines. The liberating power of working in a horizontal group is clearly intoxicating to people, and it reveals deep fissures in Japan’s conservative society between those who stick by the current institutions (like Sugane), and those with more flexible moral codes (like Hajime). Perhaps it could best be considered a rivalry between Lawful Good and Chaotic Good elements. Rui realizes this, and even speaks of his enemies being those loyal to the “vertical society” described by sociologist Chie Nakane. Of course, there are serious dangers if GALAX were ever to fall into the wrong hands.
The potential danger increases when a fire breaks out, and the “Hundred” of GALAX, 100 powerful users that Rui has trusted with incredible power, demand Rui allow them to unleash it. This power is the “CROWDS”, surreal, apparently supernatural beings that look like giant eye babies, who materialize at the site of the fire to rescue those trapped in the blaze. Meanwhile, Berg Katze, like Dark Knight’s Joker, attacks pedestrians with a knife, seemingly just to test the basic stability of society.
In Summary
Gatchaman Crowds continues to impress, if only with the sheer scope of its ambition. It’s very clear the show hopes to be this year’s Eden of the East, combining a critique of Japanese society with creative solutions offered by different groups of heroes and villains, but all involving some degree of social networking. If the show can deliver what it promises, it’s easy to imagine it being the season’s best. If it fails, however, we’ll likely just all remember that really weird Gatchaman reboot from the summer of 2013.
Grade: A
Streamed By: Crunchyroll
Review Equipment: Sony VAIO 17″ HD screen
