Gatchaman Crowds Insight – 11

Sorry, this elevator is full….OF RAGE

I groan a little bit when I realize I have to watch another episode of Gatchaman at this point. Admittedly, this episode was not too much of a downer because it wasn’t dumb as rocks, thanks to all the focus on action detracting from any opportunities to mess things up. So far it looks like the finale won’t be a complete trainwreck, at the very least!

Finally, the showdown we’ve all been waiting for. A clash of ideals and morals so earth-shakingly profound that it affects the entirety of Japan and opens their eyes to the truth. That’s right. OD finally met DD face to face! The tension before this inevitable encounter had been building ever since OD got booted from the show. DD’s appearance was a signal of the show’s rather dubious intentions as they only sought to endorse certain opinions. OD challenged the norm more by asking questions and going against the flow, so he was replaced with someone more likely to obediently bob his head along to whatever drivel Millio spat out. Almost everything about him is similar to OD, down to his catchphrase and flamboyance levels…meaning that really, all they wanted for the show was to create an echo chamber of reaffirming opinions. It’s creepy.

“What’s the inspiration for your hair? A crackhead raver girl or a mop crossed with your grandpa?”

Then, in the most glorious of moments, OD returns and puts the heat on DD simply by existing. Seeing DD sweat it out and nervously stutter through his signature speech style in the presence of OD was so perfect. Truly, my absolute favourite moment of the episode and a testament to how you should never just go with the flow and agree to what the media presents to you. Don’t we all see what a fool DD is now? Yes, always challenge the atmosphere so you can be a fabulous dude in a top hat instead of a fashion disaster in dire need of a better hairstylist. That is the true message of Gatchaman Crowds!

Oh wait, there was another important showdown? Hmm, well, it wasn’t as monumental as OD vs DD but I suppose I could talk about…who was it again? Ah yes, Gel vs Gatchaman. I like how the solution wasn’t quite as simple as I expected. In season 1 they pretty much went around killing each and every enemy. This time, it’s not really a good idea to kill all the Kuu-sama since there’s so many and it doesn’t really solve the heart of the problem. This is also why they don’t choose to outright kill Gel. While killing him or exterminating all the Kuu-sama would ultimately fix the problem, it wouldn’t change the underlying issue society has of being swept up in the pervading atmosphere. Hajime’s plan is meant to make citizens aware that just clicking a “leave this problem to someone else!” button doesn’t actually free you from responsibility. Not thinking for yourself can have dangerous consequences.

Very quickly, everyone starts to feel shocked at how the Gatchaman team handle Gel. They brutally dismember him, burn him, and just generally beat him to a pulp even when he’s sufficiently crippled. Gel did some bad things, but it isn’t enough that people feel he deserved the steamroller treatment. As such, people regret their decisions to just leave everything to the Gatchaman team. Even though the actions are not directly their doing, they still feel a pang of guilt. That uneasiness quickly leads them to try and find something new to latch onto, as one GALAX member awkwardly asks if there’s anything funny on TV to watch instead. So even when people see the sometimes horrifying consequences of groupthink, they still gravitate towards being blind to important issues and trying to find a distraction when things become too depressing. This is precisely why Tsubasa’s debriefing is so crucial.

Real talk: who changed her clothes for her? You think I wouldn’t notice her Fred Flintstone shirt is gone?

Tsubasa tries to make everyone aware of their actions as a final countermeasure to destroy Kuu-sama. In a way, she’s changing the atmosphere to be “following the atmosphere is bad!” which is enough of a contradiction to make the Kuu-sama just pop like oversized balloons. It takes a lot more effort for the Gatchaman team to pull off than actually killing Gel or all the Kuu-sama, but it has the benefits of being the “nice” way out. Also, it has the potential to spark members of society to become more than just apes. Heck, if this plan works well enough then reinstating CROWDS may be a possibility. At that point, even Rizumu will likely give in and accept that people are finally ready for this technology. As evil as he may seem, I don’t think he’s a man who would turn a blind eye to real evidence. If he goes into denial then I need to confiscate his lab coat!

All in all, I appreciated that the solution wasn’t a simple extermination mission like last season. So hopefully the finale isn’t a medley of completely nonsensical events like last season as well! I think it’s good they went with a route that’s more in line with the tone of the show instead of random, cliche superhero violence…because this season really has been about telling people to stop and think about their actions (and about the ~magic of social media~) and not killing things. The whole point of that dragged out “death” scene of Gel was to show how bad it is to just blindly attack things.

So this makes sense and I’m happy that I actually enjoyed an episode of Gatchaman after such a long stretch of thinking of this show like bitter cough medicine I have no choice but to swallow. As for Hajime, she will be saved by Utsutsu’s convenient healing powers (that’s all she’s done this season…I’m gloomy about this) but will she really be ok? My guess is that she used Berg-Katze’s ability to copy the forms of others to impersonate Gel, but would this mean she’s let him have too much of a reign over his mind? I’d hate to think it’s as simple as Hajime just strapping on a bunch of armour and dry ice to copy Gel. We shall see…

Miyano Mamoru’s seiyuu work is always such a gift

About Overcooled

A neuroscience graduate, black belt, and all-around nerd. You'll either find me in my lab or curled up in my rilakkuma kigurumi watching anime.