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GATCHAMAN CROWDS #4 - - Watch & Learn
I was planning on watching this series to Episode #6, but it’s honestly
proving to be a chore, only just 2/3rds into it.
This is has to be one of the
clumsiest opening arcs I’ve ever come across for this column. Oh, there’s a lot going for it - - beautiful
animation, crisp designs, interesting ideas - - but, nevertheless, I can’t name a single character, let alone why I should
care about any of them. It’s as if the writing staff simply forgot that the
cast needed to be introduced in a coherent way. Why, I’m having a vivid
mental image of them just shrugging indifferently over the matter.
Word is, the live-action GATCHAMAN movie ended up being a big bomb in Japan. I
haven’t been keeping too close tabs on that flick because it’s going to be a long
time before it ever comes stateside, but I can certainly believe that
fate befell it. If CROWDS is any indication, this franchise seems to be currently being
managed by people who really don’t know what to do with what they've got.
Again, I’m not even a longtime fan, but even I am scratching my head
over how a GATCHAMAN series has only featured its heroes in costume for
probably five minutes out of around an hour-and-a-half of a screen time. Seriously,
the screencap I took above is from a scene that lasts maybe 30 seconds, and it’s
the only time anybody could even remotely mistake this for a GATCHAMAN episode.
I question why the show’s even been labeled as such, when it’s such an
obfuscated attempt at updating the mythos.
Actually, I think the most damning indictment centers on this episode’s
cliffhanger - - or lack thereof. It pretty much just ends with a shrug and, boy,
is that shrug infectious. I’m really searching for a compelling reason to come
back next episode aside from simple completism.
Watch this
episode, "Kitsch" here and decide for
yourself, then read my write-up on the previous episode here.
About the Author
 | Tom Pinchuk’s a writer and personality with a large number of comics, videos and features like this to his credit. Visit his website - - tompinchuk.com - - and follow his Twitter: @tompinchuk |
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