Gatchaman Crowds Insight

One day, a huge UFO spins over Japan and crashes into a rural farmland outside Nagaoka, disrupting Tsubasa Misudachi's ordinary life. As the Gatchaman, the legendary defenders of Tachikawa City, supervise the ordeal, a peaceful alien creature emerges from the spacecraft. In the ensuing chaos, Tsubasa is given a special high-tech notebook, or NOTE, from Gatchaman founder J.J. Robinson, signaling Tsubasa's sudden recruitment into their group. Under the tutelage of fellow hero Hajime Ichinose, Tsubasa slowly begins to adjust to life as a defender of justice.

Meanwhile, the CROWDS technology, which enables users to manifest their consciousness' into a physical form, is spreading amongst the public, as well as being endorsed by Prime Minister Sugayama. However, a mysterious organization known as VAPE has gained notoriety by using unique red CROWDS to wreak havoc, shifting public opinion against the CROWDS technology. The Gatchaman, along with new recruit Tsubasa, must put a stop to their destructive activities before it's too late.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Ichinose, Hajime Main

Uchida, Maaya Japanese

Ninomiya, Rui Main

Murase, Ayumu Japanese

Miya, Utsutsu Main

Koiwai, Kotori Japanese

Katze, Berg Main

Miyano, Mamoru Japanese

O. D. Main

Hosomi, Daisuke Japanese

Hibiki, Joe Main

Namikawa, Daisuke Japanese

Tachibana, Sugane Main

Oosaka, Ryouta Japanese

Paiman Main

Hirano, Aya Japanese

Misudachi, Tsubasa Main

Ishihara, Kaori Japanese

Gelsadra Supporting

Sugita, Tomokazu Japanese

Inage, Hiroyuki Producer

Tamura, Yuri Assistant Producer

Nakamura, Kenji Director, Episode Director, Storyboard

Itou, Ryouta Episode Director, Storyboard, Key Animation, Animation Director

Reviews

Mar 11, 2022

OneFaintingRobin

Recommended

Even when you watch a lot of stuff, it's rare that a show comes along that just hits you exactly where it needs to, to just capture you in a very specific way. I hadn't quite realised it when I finished the first season, but about halfway through 'Gatchaman Crowds insight', I realised that this was one of those shows.

Of course, the broader details of what I loved about the first season carry through; as a tokusatsu fan, this show pushed all those buttons perfectly, including adding a couple more phenomenal costume designs, and the action was just as top-quality as the first season. I ... love the overall style of the show, too; its slightly psychedelic colour pallette and general approach to set design reminds me of lots of shows that put it in good company; the Monogatari franchise and Kiznaiver are the two that immediately spring to mind. And the sequel's OP is just as much of a high-octane earworm as the first one.

But, like the first season, it's the finer details of the story that tie it all together and elevate it to impressive heights. 'insight' is just as dripping with thematic weight and complexity as the first season, and I actually think it's going to take a little while for me to really process all of the themes and ideas found across these two seasons. It expands on so many of the societal ideas that I found so fun to see in the first season, simultaneously validating the core of the show's themes while giving room to give those ideas a truly critical eye. It's a timely story in a lot of ways, exploring ideas of mob mentality and online culture in ways that, while taken to an absurd extreme, feel incredibly relevant to the world we're in now, while never feel preachy, and while giving a truly balanced, nuanced view on the issue that I wouldn't have expected from a goofy superhero show.

And, like the first season, the person tying it all together is Hajime Ichinose, who has thoroughly cemented herself as one of my all time favourite anime protagonists. Like the first season, she's the heart of the show, and her hyper-optimistic mindset, the way she always thinks the best of everyone in every situation, despite all evidence saying otherwise, is something I feel like people could genuinely learn from. But this season continues to add to that, matching that optimism and open-mindedness with an always surprisingly measured and thoughtful approach to the situations she's in. Genuinely, and I don't recall ever saying this about a character, she is someone I would aspire to be more like. And, like the first season, it's her who pulls the threads together to give this show, both seasons of this story, one of the most thematically successful and satisfying climaxes to a story I've seen in a long time.

This is the sort of show I want to write essays about. It's a show that I probably will. It's a show that captured me in a way I didn't expect it to, and which I feel comfortable giving pride of place in my 'nines' list, the works I consider to be my favourites, the shows that connected to me in a way most don't. I've loved every second of this ride, I'm a little sad to be done with it, and I'm glad I finally gave it the time to give me that opportunity.

Gatcha!

Reviewer’s Rating: 9

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Aug 19, 2021

Patrxaa

Mixed Feelings

The most disappointing thing about Gatchaman Crowds: Insight is how similar the story evolves here compared to the first season of the series, it's just that in this season the anime picks up some new themes, eventhough generally Gatchaman Crowd: Insight still mainly tries to make statements about society ,politics and social media like in the first season already.

The statements it makes are nothing breathtaking or new, even for it's time and sometimes I found it even hard to take the anime's messages honest since the way it portrays politics and even society sometimes is just too inane. I sometimes wonder if a more realistic ... setting would've helped conveying the statements Gatchaman Crowds makes better.

After having watched the pre-season Episode 0 for this season, I was hyped up to finally see some more fighting and action but also here I got disappointed. It's just that like in the first season things only start to really spice up towards the last third of the season. It's sad, because the Gatchaman have all been getting their unique abilites and I even liked the designs of the Gatchaman suits a lot, yet you barely get to see them in real action.

There is also absolutely zero background story about the Gatchaman or JJ in this season either, which I would really have appreciated. But in the end many questions regarding the Gatchaman and what JJ has to do with all of this still remain unanswered.

But I don't only want to sound like I'm hating this anime, because it has it's strenghts aswell. The soundtrack is amazing and easily one of my favorite ever. And also character-wise I fell in love with some of the characters. The different ideals of Rui and Rizumu clashing together was really interesting to watch.

In the end Gatchaman Crowds: Insight is fine. It can sometimes feel like a bit of a copy pasta of the first season and doesn't answer some questions I would've liked to be answered but it's still a enjoyable show that picks up some interesting themes, even if sometimes for my taste, a bit too silly.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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Oct 5, 2015

Flawfinder

Not Recommended

There are two kinds of sequels in the anime world - ones that are made because the writer has more story to tell and one that’s made to cash-in on the original. And whilst this new Crowds anime played out like the latter during quite a few points, the little man inside my mind always kicked that possibility to the curb whilst saying “Cash-in on what, exactly? It didn’t sell great, it’s not popular on MAL, and had so many production issues it’s a wonder people fell in love with it at all”. Unfortunately, another man who lived in my mind responded with “why exactly ... does this sequel exist then? What is it being insightful of? It feels more like a side-story in the vein of Gat Out of Hell rather than a continuation of what Crowds created”.

I don’t know what happened from there on out, but let’s just say the word “clusterfuck” might have a new picture in the dictionary soon enough. So you’ll have to excuse me if this review isn’t very coherent, but Nakamura anime are tough to summarize in general - unless it’s Tsuritama, in which case we can easily summarize it as coherent whilst also easily summarize it as being awful - so I doubt more than two guys are going to give me shit for this.

So sometime after Hajime absorbed Berg Katze into herself and caused the Crowds system to be widespread, popularity for the current state of things has declined and a mysterious organization called VAPE is causing havoc around Japan. However, things become even more complicated when an alien named Gelsadra (or Gel for short) crash lands on the planet, near a girl named Tsubasa who ends up becoming a new member of the Gatchaman on the basis that she’s basically Hajime 2.0. I don’t exactly have a good grasp of what happens afterwards, so let’s just say that VAPE’s entire purpose is to show that the current system is flawed without making much of a struggle after that’s done, causing the prime minister to resign and Gel to run for his position. From there on, the show becomes a load of idea-slinging as Tsubasa and the other characters do their best to maintain order despite Gel having a personality that makes Steve Carell’s stupidest roles look smart.

Gatchaman Crowds has never been a very subtle show, but that’s not exactly a valid complaint because The Simpsons wasn’t exactly Cowboy Bebop during its time either. What is a valid complaint is the feeling of “hey, haven’t we already done this?” that a lot of the show goes through. Too many of the themes are recycled from the first season or are so similar that it makes no difference, and because the show is mostly focused on the characters trying to maintain things rather than fix things this go-around (there’s literally no main villain in Insight and anything that could pass for one is more an annoyance than a threat), there’s a giant lack of urgency going on in the proceedings. Which probably wouldn’t be too bad by itself, but Crowds’ lack of compelling answers to the issues that it raises hasn’t been fixed either, and the issues it raises are stuff people have talked about multiple times by now. Yes they’re still relevant, but a good story would do its best to hammer in why it’s still relevant.

Does Insight do this? Maybe, but the show lost me around the last third and it wasn't exactly holding my attention before then either, so I wouldn’t be able to tell you either way. All the logic-bombs at the expense of actual story or action that didn't end anticlimactically were more alienating than Ghost in the Shell’s long cold philosophical jargon, and it got to the point that I was no longer a participant in its world, basically becoming Paiman with even less understanding of the situation. I couldn’t tell you what Tsubasa contributed to the story either other than being Gel’s best friend. And I couldn’t tell you what the significance of the Kuu-samas were beyond presenting a conflict that the characters had to solve, although I will say they weren’t the least bit threatening and I can’t recall them affecting much to begin with.

Action was never the point of Crowds, actively rejecting it as a solution whilst using technology and words as an alternative to defeating Lord Zedd, and I respect that. But we have so many western cartoons that deal with all this social satire stuff now in the exact same manner, and they do it way better in terms of getting to the point whilst also being funny to boot. Remember when I said that Prison School felt like a South Park episode that felt stretched out to more than ten times the length? Insight is a Rick and Morty episode that feels the exact same - although aliens have been done in South Park as well.

In fact, the finale of Insight reminds me of the finale of Rick and Morty’s latest season in terms of the final resolution and how the latter was executed so much better. Without spoiling too much, in both finales, an important/beloved character makes an important sacrifice in order to allow the people they love to have a better future amongst their alien brethren in order to end their seasons on an emotional note. However, whilst Rick and Morty decided to let the visuals and overall direction speak for the event's impact itself, Insight ruins it by having the entire final episode dedicated to explaining the sacrifice and what it accomplished despite the fact that I clearly got the idea in the episode prior. And I didn’t even think it was that much of a sacrifice since the show hasn’t exactly established its universe as one where characters suffer any permanent damage unless having to live with Mamoru Miyano’s voice for the rest of your life is considered your personal hell. I’ll give it points for being something new in the Crowds universe, but that’s like praising the most controversial scene in Man of Steel by saying “at least it did something differently to The Dark Knight” and nothing else.

Look, I like the core idea of Crowds fine. But at the end of the day, I just don’t see why this sequel needed to exist. It didn’t fix the problems I had with the first season (bar not being as ridden with production issues) and it didn’t follow-up on anything said season set up, coming off more like an expansion pack rather than a vital part of the Crowds’ canon. Doesn’t exactly help that the characters just aren’t any fun here either. The two new leads did as much for me as a CD drive attached to my television set, mostly because they felt like rehashes of previous characters. And the returning characters’ annoying traits really get exemplified when they’d rather examine the story rather than contributing to it.

Seriously, what the fuck happened to the Hajime from the first season? The one who was always taking charge and leading humanity towards the brighter side of life despite all the complaints directed towards her attitude? The Hajime in this anime is nothing but talk, with half her old self transferred to the new girl and the other half sailed into space.

Reviewer’s Rating: 4

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	Poll: Gatchaman Crowds Insight Episode 12 Discussion ( 1 2 ) Stark700 - Sep 26, 2015	89 replies	by BigBoyAdvance »» Mar 8, 2:15 PM
	Rui dressing as a girl. broodo - Aug 31, 2015	10 replies	by BigBoyAdvance »» Mar 8, 2:12 PM
	Is Ichinose Hajime a psychopath? trannon1 - Sep 6, 2015	7 replies	by Ochimusha »» Sep 12, 2023 10:46 PM
	Tsubasa existing Ruined This show abyss333 - Aug 4, 2015	35 replies	by LawsonTanner »» Aug 12, 2023 9:45 AM
	Poll: Gatchaman Crowds Insight Episode 7 Discussion ( 1 2 3 ) Stark700 - Aug 15, 2015	100 replies	by SiriusStarlight »» Apr 22, 2023 11:46 AM

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