Gatchaman Crowds insight

Episode 7

Things are getting very, very gloomy in Gatcha-land.

Last week, when Tsubasa was asked “what will you do if there are people who don't think like you,” she responded with “I'll just try harder until they do!” Tsubasa is an optimistic, extroverted ball of sunshine who dislikes thinking too much and is absolutely certain her way of doing things is correct. Not only is she determined to have her ideals overrule everyone else's (a trait revealed early on when she “saved” Rui, now applied to all of Japan), but she's allied with Gelsadra, who's so averse to discord that he breaks down in tears when people try to debate his politics. Between the two of them, they're on track to be the most disastrous leaders imaginable, leading Japan into an age of unthinking compliance and mood-managed thought-crime.

In response to Hajime offering a sympathetic ear, she forcibly pushes Hajime's fingers together into the Gelsadra salute. When Rui urges caution, she complains that Rui's talking about “difficult things again,” and that she understands people better anyway. Her conviction that “trying harder will make everyone unite” has prompted a society where if you don't match other people not just in action, but in mood and thoughts, you will be harassed by smiling Right-Thinking Citizens to fix your thoughts and get with the program. And her pushing Gelsadra seems to now have resulted in some kind of awful feeling-feedback, bringing everyone's inner feelings to life.

Basically, Tsubasa is the worst. She's very understandably the worst, with her personality and motivations being coherent and even sympathetic, but her combination of ignorance, self-assurance, and power has made her the unwitting queen of an nightmarish Orwellian Smileocracy. “Don't think, just feel good.” “Let Gelsadra handle it.” “The Gelu-lu salute is so in right now!” The world is doomed.

The rest of the Gatchaman seem to realize this, fortunately. At the very beginning of this episode, Sugane wonders “isn't the Gatchamans' popularity in danger?” He quickly corrects himself with “I mean, that's not why we do what we do,” but his first instinct was the right one. In Gelsadra and Tsubasa's world, fashion is law - whatever the most people agree on is correct, and so if the Gatchaman become unpopular, the Gatchaman will cease to exist. Rui is unsurprisingly more direct and specific in articulating the problems with this current reality, which nicely demonstrates how much Rui has grown over this season. No longer attempting to immediately update the world, Rui urges caution, saying that even the right steps need to be taken slowly. And Hajime, always slow and methodical in gathering her thoughts on the issue, finally seems ready to take action as well.

This was another buildup episode, but it was a very good one, full of excellent exchanges between all the cast. The diversity of perspectives represented between Tsubasa, Jou, Gelsadra, Hajime, and Rui mean that basically any of their group conversations turn into a kind of philosophical debate, with each hero representing a fully understandable worldview. It was entertaining to see half of the Gatchaman seemingly on the verge of killing Tsubasa, and it was good to see Hajime finally taking an active role again. With Gelsadra now literally bursting with feelings, I assume things will be hitting the fan next week, but it's nice to spend some time just appreciating the full horror of Gelsadra's Japan.

Rating: A-

Gatchaman Crowds insight is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

Nick writes about anime, storytelling, and the meaning of life at Wrong Every Time.