

In "Gatchaman Crowds", the main protagonist is a 16-year old girl named Hajime
Ichinose.

When Hajime fights in Gatchaman mode, she has several attacks:

  * Blanc et Noir ("Black and White")
  * Petits Ciseaux ("Little scissors")
  * Balles Patsels
  * Wings de l'Avenir ("Wings of the future" - a mix of English and French since the French word for "Wings" is "Ailes")
  * Grand Ciseaux ("Big scissors")

(The attacks where listed on the [Gatchaman
Wiki](http://gatchaman.wikia.com/wiki/Hajime_Ichinose). "Balles Patsels" may
be a misspelling - maybe it was "balles pastels", "Pastel-colored balls").

The "scissors" theme is logical, since one of Hajime's favorite spare-time
activities is Kirigami.  
What's remarkable is the names of the attacks: the other Gatchaman team
members have attacks with Japanese or English names, but Hajime's attacks have
French names.

So, why do Hajime's attacks have French names? Is this ever explained in the
series?


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2013-09-26T05:56:03.660
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2015-08-16T01:47:31.843
2015-06-12T10:02:57.427
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gatchaman-crowds
Why are Hajime's attack names in French?


Almost certainly based on the [_Rule of
Cool_](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/RuleOfCool). Manga and anime
frequently contain specialized jargon, names of attacks and locations in
foreign languages simply because it sounds 'cool' and different to the
Japanese ear: e.g. Spanish ( _Bleach_ ), German ( _Neon Genesis Evangelion_ ),
English (most of them) or multiple ( _Full Metal Panic_ ).

In _Gatchaman_ , there may be an additional reason for using French for
Ichinose's attacks specifically: to emphasize her femininity and artistic
side. French is often associated with delicacy, grace, and the arts (e.g.
ballet, couture, visual design, performance art, etc), and so may be a hint
towards her "gentler nature" (chauvanism does still appear in anime). Her
artistic side is also referenced by attacks related to her crafts hobbies, as
you've mentioned.


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