Gatchaman Crowds Insight Review – What Does a Hero Do? (Anime)
What does a hero do? This is a question that’s asked throughout Gatchaman Crowds Insight and even those with superpowers aren’t aware of what they should be fighting for. Is it for life? For those who can’t fight for themselves? Political gain? Who knows? But Insight tackles these questions with gusto, and it’s fascinating to see how it plays out.
Taking place a year after the events of Gatchaman Crowds, the Japanese public are all able to use the CROWDS system on their mobile phones to manifest their mentalities into physical form. Some use this new ability for bad and some use this for good, leaving political parties either backing or rejecting this new proceeding and the public torn on if they think CROWDS should still be used. Newcomer Tsubasa joins the Gatchamen and an alien, Gelsadra, comes to earth and creates emotion bubbles above peoples heads so they can’t hide how they feel.
One of the best, original anime out there.
With fights breaking out and politics being shaken up, the Gatchamen and Japan have their hands full. The fate of Japan, and the world, is at stake, and nobody knows how to fix it or if it needs fixing — how the series tackles these topics is commendable, and never does it feel cluttered or too heavy-handed. Most of the characters have been introduced already, so it allows this series to spend more time on the Gatchamen as a team and how the new characters work with them, allowing each of their sparkling personalities to shine. It kept me engaged and I stand by the Gatchaman Crowds series as being one of the best, original anime out there.
Tatsunoko Production have worked on some visually amazing anime in the past including Ping Pong and Yozakura Quartet, and Gatchaman Crowds is amongst their best works. An art style bursting with colour and wonderful designs also has a few unique distinctions, such as each characters two-toned hair. There are a notable amount of outfit changes, which is a breath of fresh air, and CGI once the Gatchamen transform into their Gatcha outfits which blends in well with the 2D art. It’s a truly captivating show that I’d happily watch again, and the way that Tatsunoku write and design Insight got an emotional response out of me on more than one occasion.
Gatchaman Crowds is a severely underrated anime and one that I cannot recommend enough.
An outstanding English cast bring their characters to life with bundles of energy (I particularly like Jessica Calvello as Hajime, which is one of my all-time favourite performances), and the soundtrack is still that mix of rock and electro — I still find myself listening to the soundtrack of the first season too! Insight knocks it out of the park with its opening and ending themes, and it’s opening is a joy to watch. Of course, you can watch it in Japanese too with crisp subtitles.
Gatchaman Crowds Insight deals with a variety of topics and juggles them masterfully using society, politics, and how superheroes, the media and outsiders can affect an entire country. It’s truly fascinating and it spins its yarn so well that I’m left clamouring for a third season, and there’s definitely enough room for one! Clever, enrapturing and overflowing with charm, you’ll find yourself rooting for the Gatchamen and its questions are realistic enough to get your mind whirring. Gatchaman Crowds is a severely underrated anime and one that I cannot recommend enough.
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