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Maaya Uchida Stars in Gatchaman Crowds Anime

The official website for the Gatchaman Crowds anime announced on Tuesday that voice actress Maaya Uchida (Chūnibyō demo Koi ga Shitai!/Love, Chunibyo & Other Delusions!' Rikka, Pretty Rhythm Rainbow Live's Wakana) will play the series' main heroine Hajime Ichinose. The website also revealed the first piece of key visual art after previously unveiling the colored character designs for the main characters:

Hajime Ichinose (Born: November 25 | Age: 16 years old | Height: 155 cm)

The main character of the story, Hajime is an 11th grader attending a high school in Tachikawa City. A powerful and energetic girl with an artistic spirit, she is a little bit strange in a good way. She has a passion for stationery goods, and gets extremely excited when it comes to different models of pens and scissors. She is put under the responsibility of Sugune, but usually goes against him and acts on her own. However, she greatly affects the world and her team members when she does something that results in something that has never been seen in Gatchaman activities in the past.

Sugune Tachibana (Born: August 2 | Blood Type: O | Height: 175 cm)

Sugune is a samurai boy with an old-fashioned personality and speech who has spent five years on the G Team. Due to his personality, he holds justice and his duties very strongly, and is at first baffled by Hajime, who makes him believe in things he had once not thought possible. When he first met her, he did not even think of her as a woman, but as they continued to work together, he began to understand and admire her, and even began to hold feelings of love for her.

Jō Hibiki (Born: March 29 | Blood Type: B | Height: 187 cm)

Jō is a Tokyo University graduate who felt despair and nothingness toward the human race, and also felt the limits of the world after 10 years of being on the G Team. However, after meeting Hajime, he gained back his passion for living, and became serious about his work. He is usually running the "Living Safety Department" in the town hall, where he is transformed into a clean, well-kempt, handsome man. However, in the evening, he lets down his hair, puts away his glasses, and smokes, changing his personality entirely. He calls Hajime "little lady," and himself "old man." Although he keeps his distance from Hajime, he actually is very interested in her.

The story of Gatchaman Crowds is set in Japan in the early summer of 2015. 180,000 people live in Tachikawa City, the "second metropolis" of the Tokyo area. Among them are "Gatchaman" — warriors who fight in special reinforced suits powered by "NOTE," the manifestation of special spiritual powers in living beings. A council has scouted a group of individuals with latent powers to protect Earth from alien criminals. In recent years, the council has assigned Gatchaman warriors to deal with the mysterious entity known as "MESS."

Kenji Nakamura (Mononoke, tsuritama) will be directing off scripts from Toshiya Ono (Suite Precure, tsuritama) at Tatsunoko Productions. Illustrator Kinoko did the original character designs for the characters, while Koji Nakakita (Wandaba Style, Jūsō Kikō Dancouga Nova) did the mecha designs.

The first Gatchaman anime premiered in October of 1972 and earned an average rating of 21%. It was only planned for two quarters (kūru or cours) of a year, but was extended to two full years and 105 episodes. It has since spawned anime films as well as later television and video series. The anime series in the Gatchaman franchise were adapted, with varying degrees of faithfulness, into English under the names Battle of the Planets, G-Force, and Eagle Riders.

The franchise is also inspiring a live-action film adaptation starring Tori Matsuzaka, Gō Ayano, Ayame Gōriki, Tatsuomi Hamada, and Ryōhei Suzuki that will open in Japan on August 24.

Gatchaman Crowds will premiere in Japan in July.