is a 2013 anime television series produced by Tatsunoko Production and directed by Kenji Nakamura. It is a part of the Gatchaman franchise. The first season aired between July 12 and September 27, 2013, and the second season, titled Gatchaman Crowds Insight, started with a prologue episode streamed on Hulu on June 20 before first airing on July 4 and finishing on September 26, 2015.
Premise
Crowds
Early summer of 2015 in the city of Tachikawa, Japan. A "second metropolis" of Tokyo, Tachikawa is protected by the Gatchaman, warriors who fight in special reinforced suits called NOTE powered by the manifestation of their spiritual powers. After the introduction of their newest member, the energetic and cheerful Hajime Ichinose, the Gatchaman is tasked with fighting against a mysterious alien life form known as MESS and deal with Berg Katze, an enigmatic alien creature who, having destroyed several planets, has turned his attention to Earth.
Insight
A year has passed since the "Tachikawa Incident" in summer 2015. CROWDS, the system that turns the mentality of humans into physical form that Berg Katze gave to Rui Ninomiya after extracting his NOTE, has spread among the public. Prime Minister Sugayama backs up the plan, but not everyone agrees with his policy. However, A mysterious organization known as VAPE attacks Sugayama's vehicle, marking the start of a series of new conflicts.
Characters
Gatchaman
/(G-101)
A 16-year-old high school girl living in Tachikawa City, who is a new member of the G-Crew. She is lively and energetic, has an artistic spirit and a peculiar way of talking as well as an inventive point of view. She is an avid collector of stationery and usually gets overly excited when she finds an item that piques her interest. She is put under the responsibility of Sugane, but usually disobeys his orders and acts on her own. Her actions, despite seeming irresponsible at first, usually bring positive and unexpected results never before seen in Gatchaman activity as shown when she manages to communicate with the MESS and free all the humans it had previously absorbed. After learning about Berg Katze, she attempts to understand the alien while simultaneously opposing its plan to make the world burn by revealing to the public that the Gatchaman exist and supporting Rui in his attempt to retake control over the CROWDS and X from the alien. Mysteriously, however, she is last shown merged with Berg Katze in the ending of the first season with no explanation provided until the director's cut was released, showing how she was able to catch the alien off guard by finally seeing that it was actually inside everyone the whole time, shearing his long hair with her scissors and then shoving his NOTE into her chest after kissing him.
In Insight she becomes responsible for mentoring Tsubasa as a new Gatchaman. Curiously one of the rare ones (besides Yuruji) to produce a white speech balloon upon Gelsadra using his powers, Hajime shows serious doubts upon learning of Tsubasa and Gelsadra's plan to unite everybody as one mind in order to avoid any form of conflict, eventually teaching them that having individuality and the occasional conflicts that come from it is what makes people human. In order to defeat the seemlingly endless army of Kuu-samas and save Gelsadra, she devises a plan to give the public a live broadcast of Gelsadra being executed by the Gatchaman, as they desired, but in actuality the Gelsadra they witnessed was actually her under a disguise created using Berg Katze's powers, falling into a coma from the serious injuries she sustained. As a result the public realises how drastic their desires have become, killing off the mood, which eliminates most of the Kuu-sama along with it. After a month-long election to allow the public to rethink their views on Gelsadra, which concludes in him being allowed to stay, she wakes up to everyone's happiness.
Hajime's Gatchaman form has the appearance of girl with pink pigtails and fights with large scissors and other stationery-based tools. She possesses the white , and gains Berg Katze's Schadenfreude NOTE after fusing herself with them. Her original NOTE and Gatchaman form takes on red accents after fusing with Katze, and her Gatchaman form's face switches from blue eyes to a red smile when Katze is in command.
(G-96)