In early elementary school, during an election year, I begged my parents to tell me who they voted for. They refused. Every election following, I asked them who they voted for. Every year they refused to tell me.
To this day, even as an adult, I still have no idea who they vote for.
In the first season of Gatchaman Crowds, Rui Ninomiya had the market cornered on using social media networks as a tool for social improvement. However, it’s a new season now, and Rui must rebrand GALAX in order to stay competitive. Perhaps lessons from Gel Sadra are in order.
When I was in fifth grade, I wished to cut my hair cut pixie-length short. Upon plopping down in the gigantic chair at the salon, my stylist asked me what I wanted from her. I unsuccessfully tried to explain it. After a few moments, I asked for a piece of paper and quickly drew a head with the hairstyle that I wanted. It took far less time than explaining, and my amused stylist went to work, chopping at least a foot off of my current hair length. Had I continued my description, it would have taken far longer to tell her what I wanted. In fact, speaking is my least successful method of communicating with others.
Occasionally, a circumstance surrounding a series can be as interesting, or talked about, as events within the series itself. The one I’m about to speak of is not on the same scale as the Aku no Hana rotoscoping discussions – if one is able to call them that – but nonetheless, is the one that interested me the most.
Gatchaman Crowds was a series that captivated my attention this year for numerous reasons and its focus on communication, or our inability to communicate properly with one another, was certainly one of them. Early in the series’ run, I wrote about Hajime Ichinose and her oft-misunderstood methods of communicating with others and, as an opening to that post, I quoted the lyrics of Gatchaman Crowds‘ opening song, “Crowds,” by White Ash.
At least, that is what I thought I was quoting.
“They all love other people having a tough time! I mean, who can listen to people going on and on about how happy they are? You can listen to them sobbing for hours though!”
-Berg Katze, Gatchaman Crowds, episode 12
People certainly are disgusting aren’t they? They go on and on about their children, marriages, university grades on social media constantly. It’s as if they’re rubbing how good they have it in our faces, taunting us.
Or at least, that’s what Berg Katze would say.
Hajime Ichinose, on the other hand, would find complete and utter joy in what others would have to share. Where Berg would declare such updates to be meaningless and self-centered, Hajime would delight in the fact that people had allowed her, and others, to be privy to their happiness.
Which would you choose? Are you a Hajime, or a Berg?
atelier emily 