(L+CR) Gatchaman Crowds

[Upscaled]

Originally Posted by SeijiSensei

Hajime doesn't actually seem to have all that much stuff, though, beyond paper, notebooks, and scissors. She does have a sufficiently diverse wardrobe so that we have seen her in a variety of outfits, but I suspect all the other stuff in the apartment is supplied by Gatchaman Furnishings, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Gatchaman Enterprises, LLC.

In any case, earlier in the latest episode (7,) her room was jam-packed with moving boxes that all say "引越しセンター Goodwork" (Moving Centre Goodwork) complete with what looks like a fake phone number. See also, episode 2 at 03:59, with all the boxes in the hall. The giraffe head seems to be hers, and I think it's safe to assume all the other colourful plushies, wall-decorations are hers as well. Either that or Gatchaman Enterprises affords her a generous expense account.

Hajime is a human dynamo. Compare episode 7 at 4:06 and 20:56. Looking at the wallpaper and the hammock, it's safe to assume that that is the same wall. There's a shot of the opposite wall at 21:27. All the boxes from the beginning of the episode are gone. It looks like she's been decorating non-stop with that drill of hers, and it looks like she got a ton done even during this episode, squeezed in between doing other things like having a conversation with Berg Katze.

Finally, eating all those sweets to help her think. She's just like L from Death Note, isn't she?

[Shadow5YA]

Originally Posted by Irenesharda

You're just making specific instances of things that I've already mentioned. In the end, it would still mean that OD and BK are pretty equal in terms of power and durability. BK might be a little stronger, but they're pretty much on equal ground.

How does one measure durability for something that hasn't taken a hit yet?

All we have to go on is word of mouth. If everything stated can be taken at face value instead of with a grain of salt, then Hajime might as well throw in the towel and admit that they're all doomed.

Originally Posted by Upscaled

Finally, eating all those sweets to help her think. She's just like L from Death Note, isn't she?

She's only eating sweets because Berg Katze left her a riddle about what tastes the sweetest to him.

[Kazu-kun]

Originally Posted by Upscaled

I hope this isn't a dumb question, but what happened to the press

Well, for the most part, episode 7 takes place completely in the same night as the meeting between Hajime and Rui from episode 6. We should expect the press to have a bigger presence in the following episodes.

Originally Posted by Upscaled

She's just like L from Death Note, isn't she?

That's actually a pretty good comparison, sweets or not.

[Upscaled]

Originally Posted by Kazu-kun

Well, for the most part, episode 7 takes place completely in the same night as the meeting between Hajime and Rui from episode 6. We should expect the press to have a bigger presence in the following episodes.

OMG! You're right. But that also means they went home that evening, she completed her decorating that night, even while squeezing in the meeting with her team-mates and that little outing to see Berg Katze. On their way home, she must have gotten all those sweets at a convenience store. From the looks of things, she probably got a good night's sleep too.

[MeisterBabylon]

Squeeeee. Loving this anime. Its crazy and yet has a lot of thought put into it. Interesting villain/antagonist and heroes too.

I have no idea where this is going (apart from a few crack theories) but yes, this Gatchaman is definitely a good update.

[FlavorOfLife]

Originally Posted by Kanon

The lyrics of the OP make even less sense than I expected. It's like a whole new level of Engrish.



I really love the song but come on. There are words that don't even exist!

...
Here's the real lyrics

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7yriIA5k38

[Kakkou]

Originally Posted by FlavorOfLife

...
Here's the real lyrics

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7yriIA5k38

Those aren't the real lyrics. The real lyrics from the single booklet are the super nonsensical ones that subbers should rightfully be using as of now.

[ththth12]

Hajime is very interesting and unique anime character.

She is not Mary Sue, thought, because she is really not perfect. She can do her own thing very well, and it just works.

She is very, very perceptive. Her first solution to problems is communication and understanding, not violence.

She realized right away that cube alien was not hostile, and attempted to commicate and understand it right away. She showed her face to Rui, because it was way to communicate and understand each other. Rui had her own maks, so she revealed her true self.

She tried to understand Berg's message before, and tried honestly to communicate with him, even when he had attacked her teammates. That's why Berg said she was good, because she did not jump into the conclusions. Berg may have something really important to say. He might be trying to warn them on his own way.

She may seem to be airhead, yet unlike other characters, she does not make assumptions and jump into the conclusions. Those qualities and her ability to actually perceive things makes her truly unique main character.

[musouka]

The "problem" with Hajime isn't that she's a Mary Sue, it's that her emotional reactions to situations strike some people as off-kilter. There's nothing that Hajime does that couldn't be done while still exploring her emotional landscape beyond a generalized bubbly excitement, occasionally punctuated by slightly more thoughtful moments.

Of course, it's obvious the writers are writing her that way on purpose. If I had to guess, it's because then it will be all the more interesting when we see the crack in her armor and get to know the person underneath. Well, I suppose it's possible that the series will have her keep going the way it has, but that would be a waste of the perfectly good tension they're building with her character.

For me, personally, I'm sort of ambivalent on Hajime. I understand what they're doing with her, but my personal taste in characters runs towards heroes that have to struggle to do good, or deal with a lot of emotional frustration. This means I can acknowledge that a non-violent confrontation between Berg and her was the "right" choice, but a less interesting one for me than seeing her have to force herself to remain calm upon seeing what happened to her teammates, but still managing to talk to Berg without attacking.

[Key Board]

It's hard to see the humanity in Hajime's mindset, but yes, I think it's intentional

she's just...alien

it's ironic how their are other actual alien characters that seems more human than her.

[JediNight]

Originally Posted by Kakkou

Those aren't the real lyrics. The real lyrics from the single booklet are the super nonsensical ones that subbers should rightfully be using as of now.

Yes and No, I would say.

Officially: No.
Realistically: Yes. He undoubtedly had real English lyrics in mind before converting them to gibberish. So that sounds fairly close and makes logical sense.

[kuromitsu]

Originally Posted by JediNight

Yes and No, I would say.

Officially: No.
Realistically: Yes. He undoubtedly had real English lyrics in mind before converting them to gibberish. So that sounds fairly close and makes logical sense.

Except whoever did those subs were clearly just guessing, assuming that the lyrics made sense, and hoping they got it right. And actually they even got much of coherent bits wrong. They go like this:

TL;DR…

 

Sorry; dynamic content not loaded. Reload?

(And this is why, if you feel you must translate opening/ending songs, you wait until you have the official lyrics. Most singers don't sing in clear, perfectly articulated Japanese.)

[jeroz]

It seems like there are many interpretations as regards to what Hajime means by her feeling sad.

There's the romantic "I understand the hidden sadness lurking within BK", the character breaking "I don't know why I can't understand him", and the kyoukaisen "our ways will always be different and in parallel and won't ever cross over" interpretation. They all seem to work, but personally I just tend to prefer the third one because now instead of the constant comparison between Rui and her theres another dimension to her role in the form of BK.

[Cloudedmind]

This was the best episode by far for me. Even with all the mayhem happening I couldn't stop smiling through the whole episode. Miyano needs to win an award from this episode alone he was so awesome to listen to.

Originally Posted by Irenesharda

When he was playing with Jou's mind, that was the most creepy, yet sensual scene I've ever seen.

I'm glad it wasn't just me. I ended up thinking, that's kind of hot, creepy but hot. It also gave us a nice insight to Jou himself, and what his motivations for wanting to fight BK so bad are. It seems like up until Bk showed up Jou wasn't all that motivated to do his Gatchaman job.

[Kazu-kun]

Originally Posted by jeroz

It seems like there are many interpretations as regards to what Hajime means by her feeling sad.

There's the romantic "I understand the hidden sadness lurking within BK", the character breaking "I don't know why I can't understand him", and the kyoukaisen "our ways will always be different and in parallel and won't ever cross over" interpretation. They all seem to work, but personally I just tend to prefer the third one because now instead of the constant comparison between Rui and her theres another dimension to her role in the form of BK.

The problem I see in the third one is that Hajime needs to find a point in common with Berg Katse. She needs to understand him and create a connection with him somehow if she's going to stop him, and she has to, because the only alternative is to unleash OD, and that would probably destroy the world....

Besides, there seem to be more to Katse than meets the eyes. The way he mocks Jou's and Rui's ideals, for example, is more like just mind games imo; he seems to truly detest their ideals. And why does he like to make the people from worlds he attacks destroy themselves instead of burning the whole thing himself? Just for the lulz, like OD and Paiman think? I don't think so. There are hints that he might have been part of the Gatchaman team at some point. If that the case, he might be a fallen hero, which would explain why he do things the way he does.

At any rate, it's way to early to say Hajime can't possibly connect with Katse. And Hajime being Hajime, I seriously doubt she would give up so easily. Katse gave her a riddle and she intends to find the answer, and that might very well be the key to understand what's the deal with him.

[SeijiSensei]

Originally Posted by jeroz

It seems like there are many interpretations as regards to what Hajime means by her feeling sad.

I prefer a fourth alternative, the sadness that accompanies experiencing the "weight of the world." Hajime's sadness is profound, as is Berg's. They both experience the world as being somehow "wrong" at its heart. So, too, does Rui. I think the feeling is akin to the French "grande tristesse," a profound sadness about the state of the world coupled with the belief that you cannot change it.

Rui's naivety led him to believe the opposite, and we see how quickly he paid the price. Nearly a hundred dead and no obvious way forward. At this point, the future seems one of desolation. Hajime represents the solution, but I don't think she'll act alone. I see a resolution more like tsuritama, where friendship and love conquers all. Remember that the title is "Gatchaman Crowds." I wouldn't be surprised to see a new Crowd arise in the episodes ahead, one with Hajime at the helm that can take down Berg.

My opinion about this show grows as I write this.

Edit: I just want to add that I don't think Hajime's sadness is a direct result of her conversation with Berg. I think she is reacting to the entire situation that faces the Gatchaman at this point in the story. She believes intirnsically that her actions will determine the future of all mankind. In that regard she has some commonalities with Haruka in Noein. Haruka is considerably more restrained than Hajime, but she accepts her role as the pivot of the universe as seriously as one might expect of a twelve-year-old girl. Hajime is a bit older and less willing to "know her place" in Japanese society than Haruka, but I don't think her sassiness will be enough to assure Earth's future without some assistance from her fellow Gatchaman and from Rui's Crowds.

[FlareKnight]

Hopefully Hajime can figure Katze out since right now killing him seems to be out of the question. Unless they just plan to unleash OD and go with the old "if we're going down anyways we'll take you with us" . Unfortunately until that point the body count is just going to keep steadily rising as no one can stop Katze from continuing to go on killing civilians.

No doubt Hajime will figure things out since she's pretty much the only character capable of accomplishing anything at this point.

[Kazu-kun]

Originally Posted by SeijiSensei

I just want to add that I don't think Hajime's sadness is a direct result of her conversation with Berg. I think she is reacting to the entire situation that faces the Gatchaman at this point in the story. She believes intirnsically that her actions will determine the future of all mankind.

Well, "sad" was a bit of a mistranslation. Hajime actually says "lonely", and now that I think about it, your interpretation fits pretty well. If she realizes, even unconsciously, that she's the central figure in this game and her actions will determine the future of mankind, I can see how that would make her feel quite lonely.

[Upscaled]

The obvious answer to Katze's riddle would be "temptation," wouldn't it? Too simple perhaps? And how would that work with Hajime's temptations, which seem to be colourful plushes, cool notebooks, arts-and-crafts and face-to-face communication, all so seemingly wholesome and viceless?

[jeroz]

Corruption is fun, but I'm not tasting any yet