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「輪舞 temptation」 (Rinbu)
“Round Dance”
More so than what kind of series Guilty Crown is trying to be, this latest episode left me wondering what kind of series the writers want it to be. The tone has almost ubiquitously turned lighthearted with the re-introduction of Shuu’s hot and too-good-for-clothes mother, Haruka (Fujimura Chika), and the first-time introduction of GHQ’s American colonel, Dan Eagleman (Mogami Tsuguo), both of whom in typical anime-fashion have personalities uncharacteristic of their success in their jobs. What’s more, Haruka is an easy-going, alcohol-loving, clingy single mom, whom Shuu calls by her first name for some strange reason, whereas Dan has a Rider-like charismatic yet difficult to handle attitude, which has even Rowan, Segai, and Daryl looking like the straight person in a manzai routine. Then there’s the misunderstanding that Haruka has of her son and Inori, which has all the makings of a high school romantic comedy — complete with addition emphasis on Hare being the third wheel.
Quite frankly, I’m not the least bit opposed to these type of developments, but I do have to question the timing of it here given how things left off last time. I’m not bothered by the fact that the writers glossed over the Void Weapon fusion (mostly because I anticipated they would), but it is a little concerning to see the writers just assume everything’s just hunky-dory on the plot side of things and delve into the more frivolous stuff already. (Granted, they probably figured as much well in advance since episodes are generally completed several weeks ahead.) I’m pretty sure that I’d be okay with what transpired here if Guilty Crown had gotten off on the right foot in these past six episodes, so for anyone who feels that they did, I can see how this episode and its homosexual army jokes wouldn’t feel terribly jarring. Unfortunately, I don’t fall into that category after the iffy impression I was left with last week, forcing me to take this episode in strides to make the most of what was relevant to the main plot and actually built upon what’s been established thus far.
Of those developments, the most welcomed one was the additional foreshadowing of the girl from Shuu and Gai’s past, whom Haruka was also acquainted with and likely saw a resemblance in Inori. Another one was the long overdue introduction of the student council president, Kuhouin Arisa (Endou Aya), who is perfect in seemingly every way, but actually uses that as a front to protect the frail girl within — something that Gai sees through immediately from what I presume is his ability to see Voids. Like the Kuhouin women in kurenai, she’s somewhat resigned to her fate of fulfilling her grandfather’s (Houki Katsuhisa) wishes to take over the Kuhouin Group’s underground dealings, and like another Aya-voiced character in Macross Frontier, harbors feelings of insecurity that she tries very hard to hide. Where that leads Arisa I don’t know — be it simply a target of Gai’s womanizing ways or more — but I’ve seen enough about her character to want to find out. She’s shown to be perceptive of what’s going on and saved Shuu from the school rumors, so the only surprise is that she’s not familiar with the leader of Funeral Parlor like her grandfather is. Compared to Arisa, mention of Keidou between Haruka and her grandfather was relatively minor, but did serve as foreshadowing of things to come.
Last but definitely not least was Gai’s continued scheming that even deceives all the members of Funeral Parlor, save for Shibungi, which made me wonder if the likes of Ayase and Tsugumi would be so loyal to him if they found out they’re constantly left out of the loop. Gai’s methods aren’t exactly all that agreeable, seeing as he purposely leaked intel to GHQ, namely Dan, to demonstrate the Void Genome’s powers and win over the Kuhouin Group’s support to secure arms. What I find interesting about this is how Shuu is still a complete sucker for Gai’s manipulating ways, which probably took into account that Haruka would be on board the cruise ship so that he would desperately do anything to save her — including asking Gai for orders. I must say, I had more respect for Shuu when he was less of a tool, but I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt and assume the writers are using him as a stepping stone to further reiterate how cunning Gai is.
Incidentally, the same could be said about Inori, whom I’m a little apprehensive toward because she’s all devoted to Gai and all smiles around Shuu. If she had a little more personality, she could very well be perceived as a two-timing tease. I tell you, it’s always the quiet ones that we should be worried about because they’re the least suspected. (Yes, I do feel a bit betrayed by Inori’s character.) The next episode doesn’t look any better either, with Inori shamelessly calling out Souta and toying with his feelings, though I am looking forward to it because Sakaguchi Daisuke is all kinds of awesome, even when he voiced the youngest Gundam pilot ever, Uso Evin. Oh right, it’s a beach episode too.
* Judging from Kuhouin’s speech, it sounds like he has the liberation of Japan in mind, but just needed some convincing before backing Gai in his efforts.
* Nintendo finally gets some support in an anime, “Super Funell Bros.” parody style.
* In hindsight, I thought the use of Tchaikovsky’s “Waltz of the Flower” during the ball dance/missile fireworks was pretty well done.
* Full-length images: 02, 06, 08, 14, 16.
ED Sequence & End Card
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Preview
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Watch the Preview!: Streaming ▼
Words cannot describe how much I loved this “Dan” character. He was completely out of place in almost every way possible, and yet he was by far the most entertaining. His personality is completely up in the clouds, and yet his decisions are nothing less than those of a mad genius.
I want a spin-off series featuring him as the main character. This man’s story must be told! 🙂
Anyone else immediately think of “George” from Seitokai Yakuindomo?
https://randomc.net/image/Seitokai%20Yakuindomo/Seitokai%20Yakuindomo%20-%2009%20-%20Large%2009.jpg
He came off like Rider from Fate/Zero….just less awesome of course.
I was thinking more along the lines of Keith Goodman from Tiger&Bunny, right down to the blue bomber jacket, verbal tics, exaggerated gestures and air-headed but competent personality.
Ditto, my first thought was “It’s Evil Sky High!”
As soon as I heard his last name, Guile’s theme song immediately came to mind. He was THAT awesome.
How does a man like that even get into the army, no less get promoted to Coronel? I mean does he even know how much one of those missiles cost? And he just fired a few dozen of them to blow up one tiny ship for some arbitrary reason…
This episode has finally settled on a formula:
Introduce a problem, build it to critical levels, place Shu at the right place at the right time and Void the problem away.
Repeat.
Why is your post highlighted with a background color? I thought only the post authors got that.
The power of thumbs…
Forgot another part: Place a 17 year old with the exact Void needed at the right place and time.
ang let gai take all the credit.
I think that I have found the reason why Guilty Crown remains so entertaining to watch: it has momentum. How many times have you seen an action genre anime where the action gets halted because of the dialogue or flashbacks? But no, once things start exploding they never stop ‘til the end. Action series need momentum to keep bringing audiences back week after week, and Guilty Crown has that. While the dialogue is forgettable, the characters are hard to sympathize with, and there are clichés everywhere, Guilty Crown doesn’t have anything to get in its way once it gets going.
Okay now, time for the negative-ish stuff.
Well, first of all, I’m really not too happy with the anti-internationalism back in force, with an insanely awful caricature of Americans in the form of Col. Dan (especially since I just got done eating an absolute shit ton of turkey and potatoes with friends, lol). Talk about one hell of a shameful stereotype straight from the book, especially since that’s what most probably think of Americans at their worst: stupid, trigger-happy gun nuts xD. Also, IG is really starting a trend in this series, which is Gai formulating a strategy around a Void which belongs to a person who just happens to be there. Thank God that there’s always happens to be someone with a powerful and unique Void, or things would just be falling apart in this series. Gai just happens to have a plan for everything because he’s just so goddamn cool and elegant and perfect, which yeah, I know they were trying to downplay that with the last episode, but it’s still a huge nuance. Also, the characters are way too inconsistent, with one of the most noticeable being Daryl. Wasn’t he supposed to be some kind of untouchable genius? He’s more of a runt if you ask me.
Anyways, all that negative stuff I said up there is also a strength for Guilty Crown. All that absurdity… and they just don’t care. And why should they :D? It knows what it is. It’s not pretentious and it doesn’t look down on the viewers, like some of the condescending bullshit out there *cough cough To Aru Majutsu and Kami-Memo cough*. It’s cool enough to just make viewers forget out the flaws, and it knows it. Guilty Crown’s rather shameless in that it‘ll do anything for attention, but that’s what makes it so suprisingly watchable.
Sorry if that’s sounds so negative folks. Most of the positive traits are mostly uniform with the bad (and there‘s quite a lot of bad). But in the end, Guilty Crown is (surprise) incredibly watchable, and is actually quite fun (although arguably just as annoying). It’s a guilty (harr harr harr) pleasure. Every week I eagerly look forward to watching this. I probably shouldn’t enjoy it, but I really do 😛
I’m just praying for a shred of originality or good execution somewhere.
Instead of looking at it that “There always happens to be someone with the right void around,” I always thought he knew what voids were going to be there, and made his plans according to that void, so it looks like it’s the right void at the right time. The void in this case was a shield, so he got a soldier to send missiles at their ship. Had her void not been a shield, well I don’t think he would’ve sent missiles flying at them.
Of course all this is just an optimistic look on things. I could be reading into stuff that isn’t there.
Well, no matter which way you look at it, it’s just way, way too convenient.
Gai is the one who looks for the Voids, not Shu. Shu’s just the one who use them.
More so than what kind of series Guilty Crown is trying to be, this latest episode left me wondering what kind of series the writers want it to be
Oh, thats quite simple. This show wants to be Code Geass. The only problem is that the people behind this show have no idea how to go about doing this. You know who could have pulled this show off? Sunrise. Sure, it still wouldn’t be good, but it would be much more aware of its inherent absurdity. See, well, Code Geass, or for a current example, Horizon. Horizon is in many ways a very, very silly show. But it does it in a way that works.
On an entirely separate note, was anyone else finding Endo Aya’s Sheryl Nome voice very distracting? I love it and all, but I can’t disassociate it from Sheryl, making it very hard to concentrate on Arisa as a character. Well, I did have incentive to concentrate on certain aspects of her.
Oh yeah, anyone else notice that the show has yet to actually establish a coherent point? To go back to Code Geass, at this point in season 1 we had a clear idea of Lelouch’s objectives and motivations, and he was well on his way to fulfill them. Most notably this would be about where the Black Knights were first revealed to the world, marking a major milestone and generally setting the tone for the show going forwards.
Comparatively, we still have no real grasp of Funeral Parlor’s goals, past “liberate Japan”, which is ridiculously vague. We know nothing of Gai’s plans before he springs them on Shuu and the audience, and they come across as major ass pulls or incredibly contrived and reliant on having just the right Void for Shuu to use conveniently at hand.
And to compare to Horizon once again, episodes 7 and 8 of that laid out the structure and goals for the show going forward, and explained (in a surprisingly well done and entertaining debate structure) why the two sides have conflicting ideals.
Also it manages to not make the foreign oppressors into ridiculous caricatures. Which is nice.
“Liberate Japan” would actually be a more concrete goal then we have seen so far. I haven’t noticed anything beyond fighting GHQ, because they are the bad guys. Nothing about any actual plans for getting rid of them. This is why I personally would never have joined the Funeral Parlour as they are stuck fighting AGAINST the GHQ, but aren’t fighting FOR anything. I think that is also the basic difference between a terrorist and a freedom fighter.
Comparatively, we still have no real grasp of Funeral Parlor’s goals, past “liberate Japan”, which is ridiculously vague. We know nothing of Gai’s plans before he springs them on Shuu and the audience, and they come across as major ass pulls or incredibly contrived and reliant on having just the right Void for Shuu to use conveniently at hand.
It might be part of the plot that they still hide FP, and by extension, Gai’s reason for “trying to liberate Japan”.
And then again, I wouldn’t be surprised if Gai’s real intention was somehow related to revenge for Cocytus(given that she’s really related to him) and FP’s act of liberating Japan was just another mask for him, given that they all have been decieved… again.
That would be so CG all over again with LL being all about vengeance.
And I think that’s the direction they’re trying to go to 🙁
Gonna have to second that. While I don’t think that Code Geass is the greatest show ever like everyone says so, Guilty Crown doesn’t have the charisma nor the stride to even come close to it.
Oh, thats quite simple. This show wants to be Code Geass.
Or a mirror image of Code Geass. Notice how Shu’s all Lelouch is not? Also the show’s initials are mirror images, might be lampshading.
wow and I thought the comparison is already gone :/
Oh well I do agree on some point
Well as long as there’s music I dun mind cause it’s still pretty entertaining
I guess that proves Goro Taniguchi really was the person who made Code Geass work.
Production I.G. hired the wrong staff for this if they wanted to actually pull it off.
I’m thinking this is meant to be a lighter-hearted, “filler” type episode to introduce a couple of characters (namely Haruka) before delving back into the main plot involving whatever Cocytus ends up being.
I’d not put a mindscrew / instrumentality plot out of the equation with the speech at the end of last week’s episode.
This one was a blast to watch really, self contained, not too much of Shuu sitting around angsting (though the little bit hints he isn’t completely okay with Gai). Dan Eagleman is a brilliant character who steals every scene he is in.
I think you got a few things wrong; Haruka WAS part of the main plot, somehow knowing a Inori look-alike as well as being sorry for something that she had done in the past…
…while the filler itself is the cause of all the action this episode…
It’s not so subtly hinted that she may have been connected with the Apocalypse virus outbreak and is thus smack dab in the middle of the main plot from that direction as well as being familiar with the past lookalike to Inori and childhood Gai.
Totally through Arisa and Gai would be siblings :S
Dan was a grotesquerie, every unflattering stereotype of Americans rolled into one ridiculous package. He was moderately entertaining, but a character like that is beneath the dignity even of Guilty Crown (and that’s saying something).
I’m not a huge Code Geass fan – in fact it lost me before the end of the series. Were there right-wing tendencies in that story? I’m beginning to think there are distinct ones being espoused here, but I’m not quite ready to make that call.
Were there right-wing tendencies in that story? I’m beginning to think there are distinct ones being espoused here, but I’m not quite ready to make that call.
Mmm…well, some were certainly espoused, but they generally weren’t glorified, since they were mostly by the Brittanians (who are basically Americans, but we’ll let that slide).
Its certainly possible to do a “liberate Japan” story without being Jingoistic about it (Code Geass more or less succeeded, though by the time it was over it wasn’t so much about Japan alone anymore), and Horizon’s version is really rather abstract, so it barely counts. I know there are a couple other good examples but I forget.
Generally I don’t get astoundingly worked up about disagreeing with the politics in my escapist fiction, its just really badly done here.
Dan’s stereotype might feel insulting to Americans, but they aren’t the target audience for this show so hardly matter really. I don’t see it as that insulting anyway as they did give him some positive personality traits after all. I think you should save your indignation for the stereotypes that only look bad in every way.
CHeap stab is cheap isn’t it Enzo? But still he’s just a side character so don’t take it seriously. God knows we need more upbeat characters.
it seem every episode , gai always gets the credit and the girls , while shu done all the dirty job for him…. like divine stated maybe it is just a stepping stone shu to overshadow gai ( i hope so). as for the final scene haruka seem to been ‘taking’ to her to protect shu,Show Spoiler ▼
which i hope is not just another code geass recap where cc doing the mid air- telepathy with Marianne about protecting Lelouch. but seeing they the same script/ screen writer , i can see why they done in the way. and lastly from the previous episode the GHQ stated the queen is waiting for his king to save her is referring to ? shu or gai? is she the pink hair girl from past?
This episode was alot more entertaining than I thought. At the same time its confusing. Its like the writers put cliches into a blender, and come out with something tasty but odd looking.
I found the school scenes okay. The scenes with Shu’s MILF a riot. I found Dan entertaining despite his blatant offensive stereotype. Then there was Segai, who made his scenes hilarious by sleeping throughout the mission. But are we supposed to put these scenes in the same episode with terrorist plotting for funds, and missiles being fired into defenseless civilians? With classical music pieces? I mean, really?
Then there’s Mr. “I’ve made this brilliant plan of putting hundreds of lives in danger, while putting everyone including my subordinates out of the loop and hinge its success entirely on my ability to charm a lady I’ve never met and bring her to the deck so that Shu can use her void as a shield all for a display!” Gai. Its ridiculous. Lelouch had plenty of ass pulls, but he did it with flair, charisma and style. Gai just feels like annoying contrivance.
Gai planned it all out.
It’s been heavily implied that he was the one to tell GHQ about the party on the boat. So it would be safe to assume that he knew about Arisa’s Void and predicted the outcome of the battle. Including what they’d use to attack something at sea.
Uh, that’s exactly what I said. It doesn’t make anymore contrived.
The thing that bugs me most about this show is that now we’re 7 episodes in, but the show is still leaving us in the dark about… pretty much everything. (Especially the Lost Christmas event which I’m sure all of us are dying to have some light shed on it.)
The visual novel that is being developed by Nitroplus will be covering Lost Christmas, so we may not get that much info about it in the anime itself.
Well, the upcoming LN is one thing, but… it still bugs me to no end. Really.
(Also, the next “beach episode”. Not cool, man. Not cool.)
Well, IIRC, thinking back (WAY BACK) to Witch Hunter Robin, it took them… what, 13 episodes(?) to get to the ‘beef’ of this show.
I actually rewatched Witch Hunter Robin last week 🙂
WHR is also well known as one of the more interminably slow shows around. Its not bad, but it really did take far too long to get to the goddamn point.
Episode 16, actually. Episode 13 when when things went to hell for Robin’s handlers.
There’s Book of Bantorra too. I didn’t know what’s really up until we’re near the finale.
I find Haruka’s reaction to Inori unfathomable. Last episode it was hinted that Inori and Shu’s sister may be the SAME person (OK not exactly the same, but probably something close to that), so this episode she may recognize her.
From what it seems, Haruka MAY have recognized her, but chose to be quiet about it? Or maybe she doesn’t recognize Inori at all? This is so vexing.
I personally think within the next 4 episodes we’ll some answers for some of the major storyline Qs so far.
I hope so. Everyone’s itching to know why Shu’s so special, past having the Power of Kings….
How could Segai sleep through another performance of his FIRST LOVE, OUMA SHU? I mean, he probably did it on purpose, and I bet he knew that Shu is on the ship, so why would he do that?
Given how perceptive he is, I think he foresaw this.
Things seem a little rushed here…
1. I find it weird how Shu’s two friends so easily accepted how close Shu was with Inori. I never even saw Shu and Inori interact in public. All of a sudden they’re hanging out in the old warehouse while Inori is quietly eating a riceball…
1a. The other thing I find weird is how quickly Shu got back together with Inori. Where was this developed? Ever since Inori told him to stay away from her, that whole issue was just dropped. Now they’re all buddy buddy again. WTF?
2. The fact that Shu can so easily go back to school… I would think he’d be a fugitive now. Even if Segai deleted data on him, what about all the GHQ soldiers? They know about Shu and his void powers.
3. Segai randomly being demoted to subordinate to a happy go lucky gun trigger crazy American.
4. Does freaking Gai really have to do all these infiltration missions himself? Without a disguise!? He doesn’t even try to disguise himself and Shu yells out his name all the time. What the fuck are his henchmen for?
5. Must everything always be so convenient? It just so happen that Prez girl was on the ship and had a the perfect void to counter the missiles. Just like when the gravity void was introduced… and the kaleidoscope void…
6. Gai always has to do flashy last minute dramatic performances doesn’t he? He’s always so smug, standing in the middle of a big stage waiting for a WMD to hit him while Shu saves his ass.
When he was about to be hit by multiple lasers… stands there looking smug while Shu saves him.
When he was about to be hit by the Satellite Cannon… stands there looking smug while Shu saves him.
When he was about to be his by missiles… stands there looking smug while Shu saves him.
7. All of Gai’s plans rely on Shu way too much. They’d seriously be dead by now if it weren’t for Shu always conveniently pulling out the right weapon.
8. Blonde Colonel using anti-air missiles to fire at a ship (do they not have ground missiles?)… yea seriously. Someone “anonymously” informed him about criminal activities aboard a cruise ship and he takes his word for it without even checking. And his solution? Use about 100 AA missiles and fire them at the ship!
This series is turning out to be a joke. I seriously think this is becoming a comedy now. No consistency and logic.
About the trusting Inori part, I think it’s at the right place.
On episode 5 Gai coached Inori to pull off the act so Shu wouldn’t be too close to Inori;
On episode 6 Inori tried to apologize to Shu by allowing Shu to spy on Gai. regaining Shu’s trust;
I think Divine believes that everything Inori does from start to this point is a show for Shu (and this idea originated from Gai). I honestly don’t think that’s true. I think Inori really cares about Shu – if not – likes him a lot. She really pays attention to him. However, given the extensive parallels drawn on Inori and Shu’s sister, it is possible that what we see is the sibling love, not the romantic love.
Their relationship is fairly different then before as well. Inori is hanging around because she is Shu’s bodyguard, but he still thinks she is Gai’s girl. So while they are together so aren’t they exactly close.
Well next episode we may know something about Shu’s feelings for Inori… when Souta comes into play.
It sounds to me in the preview that Shu is surprised she is ‘unfaithful’ to Gai.
“On episode 5 Gai coached Inori to pull off the act so Shu wouldn’t be too close to Inori;
On episode 6 Inori tried to apologize to Shu by allowing Shu to spy on Gai. regaining Shu’s trust;”
Is this confirmed? Or just something fans are supposed to deduce? For all we know, Gai planned that bit in episode 6 to gain Shu’s trust. While a less likely scenario compared to the one you’ve mentioned, it’s still possible.
It’s not confirmed; it’s just my own opinion on the interpretation of the events.
this particular episode came to me as one that tries to build a story around a single character (which somehow ended up in a similar line of disbelieve as an average Code Geass episode, which is not as surprising as it seems )…
… all the while we continue to lunge after that carrot of the more burning question of Inori’s “origins” (ya, I think everyone knows that she’s a clone of some kind by now)…
…it just makes poor plot, but okay MMM (o hai, I got my wish from a few weeks ago in Gundam Age)
o ya: Shu 1, Funell 1 xD
is that Haruka on the picture? thus that mean Shuu is almost the same age as her mother? just being curious..
What? That just means she ages well… anime aging.
I am honestly more concerned about the person on the left that got cut off. Is that Gai? Shu’s father? Or someone else???
Look closer, Haruka’s older than Shu even in the picture.
yeah but she still looked like a teen there. Looks like an elder sister than a mother right?
I had two hypothesis why she looks so young: either she just got pregnant early or she just married Shu dad after Shu’s real mom died and is really something like an onee-chan to Shu.
I was only curious but still enjoying this series don’t know what the reason is…. may be its Inori..
I soooooo hated Gai this episode. He can act like a prissy arrogant jerk and still somehow swoon the kuudere girl. Pretty boy playboys get all the luck.
As for his Void seeing power, I’m still thinking it’s just genetic analysis beforehand. Gai certainly knew Arisa would be on the ship since she is the granddaughter, so he could have sampled her DNA previously to determine her Void. All that’s left is to prattle off some corny soul-reading one liners and his illusion of a supernatural power is complete.
I thought that too. But then I guess it’s also because they’re supposed to be the same in the respect that they’re hiding their weaknesses inside and show a strong front for their loved ones.
So the dude who reported about that party is actually Gai….
He knew that Haruka was there…
He knew about Arisa’s Void..
He knew that Arisa was going to that party…
He did without the knowledge of his comrades…
He tricked Shu to do his bidding again….
He made it look like that the Funeral Parlor saved the Kuhouin Group?
New weapons supplier 😀
……
that’s pretty.. evil…
Who is better in manipulating people? Gai or Lelouch?
Does it matter if Haruka is there? I think she did not come into play at all except mentioning a strange word with Kuhouin. Shu probably would have tried to save Arisa as well.
doesn’t look pretty cool to me…
– Mom’s too hot to be a mom..
– What was the point of tilting the arty if it’s going to shoot upwards anyway? :\
– Gai wants his harem!
– Fill in the blanks: “So everything that makes me _____”? a)whole b)whore 😕
That last one had me in tears xD
LOL that last one!
Mom seems to have the same hairstyle as Arisa.
I never was under the impression that any void weapons were “fused”. From what I saw, the other girl called out to Shu through Inori and lent him her void weapon. He even said afterward that he got it from “you know who”
I figured Haruka isn’t the actual biological mum of Shu .. it’s weird to call your mum by her actual name.
I wouldn’t put too much into it as it’s not the first time I see that in anime.
Weird right? There are only a handful of anime characters that call their moms by their given names: Latest I know is Ryuuji from ToraDora.
Nice to see Ayanami move in with Shinji and Misato. There is a robot equivalent of pen pen as well.
Ok not exactly,
but the moment Haruka cracked that beer was pure NGE.
Totally! I thought the same thing!
Shu’s mom = Misato Katsuragi.
where do u get that info??
Was it just me or is Shu starting to act a bit differently? Back in the first episode, he was a bit cold and apathetic towards Hare. Now, he seems to be acting a bit differently towards her. A bit more appreciative? Friendly? I can’t find the right word. He’s turning out to be more sociable. Character development?
And yeah, I don’t know what the hell is up with Shu and Inori’s relationship. I guess she’s his bodyguard and he’s forgiven her since she had him see another side to Gai and the fight against GHQ?
Also Gai/Arisa – Alto/Sheryl. Did the show plan this? Arisa’s voice was very distracting during this episode. I kept on thinking…
“Sheryl Nome… Sheryl Nome…” and also “Sheryl Nome and Alto Saotome are in the same show… performing the same roles to each other… Awesome.”
All in All. An interesting episode to watch. I liked the scene where Shu was defending the ship with the waltz playing in the background. But hasn’t that been down before? I know it has. I just can’t remember where.
Well, at least they should give Shu a reason to fight with Funeral Parlor. FP fights to liberate Japan, but what about Shu? Is he fighting to liberate Japan? Or is he fighting because of Inori? Or has he also fallen victim to Gai’s “charisma” and is blindly following him?
I believe that if the writers are really trying to go somewhere, they should give Shu a reason for fighting as a first step. Personally I think GC would have been a great anime, if they had decent writers. I mean, they have great animation, great VA’s, great character designs by redjuice, and great music by Supercell, yet they failed to capture everyone’s heart. The problem all goes down with the plot and character personalities written by the writers. I’m not really whining or anything, it’s just that I really want the writers get things straight. It would be such a waste if GC just ends up as a mediocre anime given how good the staff are, of course except the writers.
As for this episode, I don’t have much to say. I like how things happened, setting aside plot holes and stuff(Hare and Souta easily accepted that Shu is close with Inori, etc etc.). And also after watching that spoiler, I got very irritated with Inori for ‘flirting’ with Souta. I know it’s almost a given that Inori and Shu would be given a canon ending, but who’d want to see a heroine ‘flirt’ with another guy? I mean, it was really hard to accept that Ayase has no chance with Shu given how the producers shipped Inori and Shu very well, but they should at least make Inori loyal to Shu. Well, that’s just my opinion!
Well, at least they should give Shu a reason to fight with Funeral Parlor. FP fights to liberate Japan, but what about Shu? Is he fighting to liberate Japan? Or is he fighting because of Inori? Or has he also fallen victim to Gai’s “charisma” and is blindly following him?
I think he’s fighting for Gai because FP seems to be more “right” than GHQ. He apparently trust Gai more now, maybe due to Gai’s supposed confession the episode before.
“In Gai we trust”
NICE EPISODE!
They threw in more questions this time! Particularly about Shu’s hot mom, Haruka. So she looks too young to be Shu’s mom. Is she:
1. really Shu’s mom? Did she just get pregnant early?
2. Shu’s step mom? Did she just married Shu dad after Shu’s real mom died?
3. Someone who was appointed by GHQ to keep an eye on their best Xanatos Gambit, Shu.
Also in this episode, which seems to be about FP trying to get a sponsor for their campaign, is Arisa. Yeah we can all talk about how Alto/Sheryl might affect how this show present the supposed “Gai/Arisa”, but won’t that be a bit shallow?
Presented in this episode too, is Shu’s 4th Void weapon used, Arisa’s Shield (temporary name) which expands at the users command and turns any attack into shiny sparklies, which reminds me how people die in the Mai Hime/Otome universe. Shu used the shield to defend the ship from on-coming missiles, part of Gai’s planned demo.
Funny how this show seems to be a change of pace from the past 6 episodes. For one thing, it had more fanservice, courtesy of Haruka and Arisa. Shu also returns to school and became Mr. Popular in an instant, but he’s still that panicky idiot who forgives everyone easily. Gai seems to smile more, or at least when its Shu or Arisa’s the only one around. Inori is still…. Inori.
7/10 + 1 for the fanservice, since I like mature women.
how did you guys know that (cocytus?)/ pink haired girl that talks through inori is shuu’s sister?
was there a scene that stated this?
They just assumed that is Cocytus, or her name IS Cocytus. They also just assumed that the pink haired girl that talks through inori is Shu’s sister because of the photo at the end of the episode. We still don’t know if we are right, though.
Personally so do I find it more likely that she is Gai’s sister then Shu’s. I also think that Shu’s MILF would have reacted a bit more strongly to seeing the clone (or whatever) of her dead daughter. A childhood friend of Shu’s on the other hand fits in with her quick acceptance of the live in ‘girlfriend’.
Well, you’re right. If Inori really looked like Shu’s dead sister/Haruka’s daughter, then the reaction Haruka showed was pretty weak. I guess Cocytus was probably more of an acquaintance.
Is it just me or I’m feeling I missed out an episode before this? I mean Shuu is suddenly ‘friendly’ and ‘close’ again with Inori while she basically gave him the rejection.
We know that Guilty Crown is based on a PC Novel Game(eroge?), but does anyone know when was it released? Caused if it was a popular game,anyone may have probably heard of it(or even played it) from the net before it turned into anime.
It haven’t actually been released yet as far as I know. I think it’s being under production still. It’s also supposed to take place in the past so it’s only indirectly linked with this anime.
They planned the whole story out before production didn’t they? It almost seems like they’re making it up as they go along.
With 22 episodes total (from what I’ve heard), and the pace the show’s going, either we’re going to end up with CG Season 2 (further compressed in terms of the late developments) for the entire show, or the shit should hit the fan by the midpoint.
I’m hooked still, but I’m having a hard time finding a selling point for anyone who’d be interested in picking it up.
To be honest, I’d take a second season if they’re really planning on going with this slow pace. Well, at least they should make things interesting by the end of the season for that to work. When I say interesting, it’s like Shu and Inori taking a 180 degree turn in their personalities and other similar things for them to be at the very least be more likeable to most fans.
Oh, I wouldn’t mind some Ayase-Shu pairings just for the sake of fan service… well, we all know that it will be Inori and Shu by the end though I’m somewhat a die-hard canon pairings fan. Yes, even if it means the indecisive Shu and emotionless Inori.
you know fuck off inori…seriously she is nothing more than a slave for me now
still for me, “the biggest disappointment of the year” anime. dont get what is the main plot, i cant ride in with the characters, poor storytelling and what is their goal anyway? 🙂
You know the solutions: two:
Either they give us why Gai is out to get GHQ and be cliche now, or you should just stop watching. It’s easier if you just stop watching, and comment every week how “terrible” it is just to show that you’re a pretentious fake, pretending to be a smart anime critic like all the haters and be considerate of how others are enjoying this show.
Please keep all your hate to yourself.
I hate the fact that gai’s just toying around shu and get’s all the luck that he needs, making shu looking like a puppy that can’t do anything when he’s not around. I don’t really get the point of this episode 7 .. can anybody tell me? I’m really starting to get confused by this.
If it can fly up, it can fly sideways!
grrrr… plot has gone thru the window… Gai obviously wagered on the 1.his “upstanding citizen report ” will provoke GHQ to intervene 2.he will find appropriate void to use 3. Shu will manage to deflect whatever GHQ throws their way 4. old rich guy will be impressed enough to side with them.
Speaking of GHQ, the new quirky miniboss is so stupid and so stereotypically Yankee it hurts… oh and nobody bats an eyelash when order to sink ship with hundreds of people is given. Wake up, professional militaries don’t work like that! I excuse the scarface (nickname fits!) because he evidently suspected Gai will be there with Shu to intercept missiles, hence his Xellos – like laid back attitude.
It is official, I watch this series for fanservice only, and this is where it shines from the fabulous mom, to fabulous shower scene, and for girls out there fabulous max Gai – how often do you see anime guy intercept girl’s slap in the face?
And as a military otaku I assure you SAM’s can be used in emergency as cruise missiles, as US Navy proved off the coast of Vietnam with Talos missiles.
Can’t people just make missiles that are “anywhere to anywhere” so we don’t have to categorize them and waste money?
it is different guidance system required to hit a plane or a bridge or bunker, ship is somewhat similar to plane so it can fit in… and warhead too should be target specific, and then there is question of range and size of the missile…
Gai is one sneaky bastard for using Shu like that…again! I seriously hope Shu wakes up and screws him over D:<
I love how Shu and Inori getting close to each other again
and I think shu grew some balls, he is not a stupid useless antisocial faggot anymore. Well I like how this show is going.
kinda anti-climatic turn. comparing this episode with the first one, i wonder if its even the same series and next week seems to be a ‘beach episode’.
But even if some stuff are obviously rushed i liked the few developments, not really sure about Gai and Arisa tho…
Gai should have been the main character instead of this wussy and pathetic MC we got.
This show is really testing my patience, come on more overblown American stereotypes really Guilty Crown? This show is turning into Eureka Seven very quickly, all we’re missing is the rainbows and the talking mechs (Funnell doesn’t count) but i expect those two to happen fairly soon given the show’s downward nature. One more episode and it’s dropped from me. What a huge disappointment..
Production I.G. really needs to learn how to tell a great story: they got the visuals down, but they need better storytelling (same problem with Eden of the East). I’ve started watching Usagi Drop and to say it’s 1,000,000 times better than Guilty Crown is an understatement. They actually tried with Usagi Drop and it really shows there, but not in Guilty Crown and yes i know those two shows are completely different but the effort is clearly with Usagi Drop (and i’m not saying animation effort, i mean effort as a whole). Every other show that’s failed on noitaminA i would blame on the network itself because the shows themselves aren’t bad, it’s the stupid insistence of 11 episodes from Fuji TV. But Guilty Crown has no excuse, it has 22 episodes and it still hasn’t formed a coherent plot at all. This time it’s not noitamina’s fault, it’s GC’s fault.
tl;dr – I’m gonna rewatch Code Geass again.
For a change, Eden of the East was good, I will vouch for that. IMO and in other reviews, Eden of the East garnered pretty good feedback. The story telling was really meant to be that way, with all the viewers wondering what’s really happening and stuff given how the main character has an amnesia. It has really good plot twists and stuff.
BTW it seems you don’t know why CG is pretty much like GC and Eureka 7, it’s because it has the same man behind the scenes who goes by the name of Ichiro Okouchi. He just probably ran out of ideas and decided to recycle the ones he used in his other projects 😐
I already knew about Ichiro Okouchi’s involvement in GC and Code Geass, along with Hiroyuki Yoshino who was the associate supervisor for these two series which is why i had some apprehension with GC: i didn’t want this series to turn into Code Geass R2 which was just Sunrise being a bunch of trolls. In some cases this series resembles Eureka Seven more than Code Geass and i really did not like that show at all, against popular opinion.
Okay i can give Eden of the East some slack as it did try to tell an interesting story with the limited episode count, but Guilty Crown is just wasting episodes like this and Ridia below summed it up perfectly:
AnoHana and No.6 are prime examples of being stuck with 11 episode and if they had more could have really been good, while Guilty Crown gets a rare 22 episode order and totally wastes it on fanservice/filler-like episodes. It is very annoying and doesn’t deserve it at all.
=S I had such high hopes for Arisa when she first appeared until she fell into her stereotype. I guess my problem with the cast is that they’re nothing new, character-wise. Here’s to hoping something crazy (but actually relevant to the plot) happens _soon_.
oh, and more cool battle music please 😀
I did enjoy this episode. What is strange, because I was the one demanding for more action, more violence and more war. But this episode was nice and it actually did have some action. I think it was well balanced; some comedy in first half, and a new mission with explosions during the second half.
I really feel like the writers just said “fuck it” and decided to turn Guilty Crown into the ridiculous incoherent, eye-candy/ear-candy filled mess of a show it currently makes itself out to be. At this point, I’m only watching the show just because the visuals and sound give me any form of enjoyment.
I did have to laugh at Eagleman. American stereotype much? Although to his credit, his plan would have actually worked if the right void hadn’t been on the ship.
You do have to wonder why they didn’t just you know, stop the ship or something. They have mecha but they can’t afford a patrol boat?
Am I the only one that is really pissed off at the NTR in this anime? The only reason I watch is that I’m hoping that that it’s one big misunderstanding or to see Gai get his ass kicked. One or the other.
Well, not really everybody cares for Inori, which is kind of sad for a heroine. And yes I’ll be honest to say that since I’m somewhat a canon pairing fan, I’m very irritated at all those NTR moments including next episode. I mean, Inori is just losing more and more of her attractive side(err..) with them doing those NTR scenes which is a big minus for them. Do they really have to do that?
I mean it, the writers are all fucked up. They should never be given another script writing job again because they’re seriously ruining a good anime with great animation, music, and character designs.
Inori might just turn down anyone courting her next episode, turning what is supposed by you guys as NTR into a scene where Inori is shown as a man eater…
(Oh-oh, here she comes) Watch out Shu, she’ll chew you up… XD
(Oh-oh, here she comes) She’s a maneater
Inori is such a bad character. Good to look at, but terrible to listen to and be around.
3rd ep of this series that’s worth watching.
The filler-y feel of this ep and the look of the next one (oh joy a beach episode /sarcasm) are actually kind of actively annoying me. There are so many Noitamina shows got stuck with 11 eps when they really needed more (No.6 immediately comes to mind) and Guilty Crown is wasting time spinning its wheels simply because it can.
* In hindsight, I thought the use of Tchaikovsky’s “Waltz of the Flower” during the ball dance/missile fireworks was pretty well done.
Even though the episode could of been better, I personally found that part amazing. It’s probably my favorite part out of the series so far. It was completely unexpected and felt very well place. The magic and emotion was in the air.
i thought nutcracker suite did not match. lol;;
https://www.facebook.com/Miyuko.FanPage
Inori cosplay!
Haha I love Dan’s “FIRE EVERYTHING!!!” at a freaking cruise ship. Talk about reckless ways to drain military funding and expensive missiles.
When you are against a guy with Void weapons, overkill isn’t enough.
They didnt even know Funeral Parlor was on the ship though. They just wanted to sink a regular cruise lol
When you send a few missiles to hit a defenseless cruise ship and failed, you have to be hinted there is something up. Otherwise….
What my question is, does Shu have a void of his own ? And if he does will he have the power to extract it and stay conscious due to his “Power of Kings”, wielding this Void
And I still wish to see Gai’s Void. He is 17 but my other question is if Gai is able to see his own Void or Shu’s Void if the holder of “the Kings Power” has one to begin with
Wow, the show has absolutely no idea what it wants to do. Is it being written by different people every episode?
From what i can guess, its probably like this
i) Ok lets kick off with some serious underground freedom fighters with a singer on youtube
ii) Hey we need a school episode like that bakatest or something. No logic needed, just do the school
iii) Hey guys its too cliche! Add some morally gray characters like a druggie friend!
iv) Hey, the shows’ ratings are lagging like hell. We need more action! Do an action episode!
v) I got it! We need a twist! Lets make the girl a cold hearted manipulator!
vi) Hey guys, our sales suck. Ok fu*k that twist stuff, lets go back to an action episode
vii) Man, lets go for some fanservice. A friend of mine over at Bento says it always works!
The first episode was actually not too bad. Now its looking like some sort of stew with beef, prawns, ice cream, jelly beans and ketchup. *facedesk*
Really? I though the flow of the plot, for whatever it is, is spot on. The mood of the show is what’s unstable. This is what happens when you try to pass a normal guy with no military training and who isn’t fond of getting hurt as a rebel superhero in a world that is a mix of NGE and CG.
It’s 60% NGE and 40% CG.
I also want to see Ayase’s Void and Tsugumi’s Void also Hare’s Void…..There are alot of Voids I want to see
You mentioned all of those people, but not Gai’s? If we see Gai’s Void we will understand him a LOT better.
But this frankly won’t happen until maybe at the end.
A dildo
I don’t know about you guys, but the unknown girl’s hair color isn’t pink. Looks orange to me in every aspect compared to Inori’s pink hair.
Forgot to put in comparison pics:
http://i.imgur.com/TFp0S.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/ZsE3i.jpg
I remember how the producers for ZnT mention that Louise’s hair is strawberry blonde. This might be their version of “strawverry blonde”.
in the light novels Louise hair is described as strawberry blonde but to my eyes looks pink, I think it´s question of tastes for the autor.
To be fair with the show it´s true that a proper objective to Funeral parlor has yet to be established but, that´s more likely being done on porpuse because it seems their true objective is conected to Gai´s true motivation and not talking about that lovely speech about liberating Japan, to my ears that sounds more and more like the excuse he´s using to manipulate everyone around him (with the exception of Shibungi).
In light of resent developments you can guess that Shu ate all that crap Gai said about being weak and worrying for the well being of his comrades, that being said it´s not as bad when you see Ga´s true colors, Shu is heading towards a terrible desapointment and betrayal. All this time Gai has been using people and lying his way into their trust, someone like that can´t keep up with his own schemes schemesd for long, I can´t wait to see Shu´s reaction with he finds out the ugly truth about his role model. Gai must be related somehow to Lealoch, now that´s terrifying.
Finally Inori, there is not much to say about her personality becuase she has yet to revealed anything. To my eyes like doll obeying his maker but at the same time she seems to be developing genuine feelings towards Shu or at the very least some kind of atachment that is slowly growing inside her, replacing her previous emptiness.
This is how I see it going on. Shu is making a big mistake in trusting Gai and the rest of Funeral Parlor. But since he cannot trust GHQ as well, there isn’t any choice. Also all his love ones, I doubt if he knew this, are in graver danger than ever before by siding with Funeral Parlor.
Shu! Goddamn it! Wake up!
I suspect the frequently foreshadowed girl is what caused the virus outbreak.
Her void, that is.
Highly violent, kills many.
Just like Inori’s! :D!
For the first time, GC didn’t make the 200 comments mark o_O
Probably means people are starting to drop this show.
Or probably they realized that trolling it isn’t really worth it anymore. We’ve been promised a second season so I, myself, will be giving it a breathing room for criticisms. I just hope that they will start to pick things up and get things together before the end of season one because there’s no doubt that the second season will be a complete failure if they don’t change the pace.
I mentioned way back in the season preview that Guilty Crown is two-cour. That shouldn’t be news to anyone here.
Check this out guys, I just learned that GC is really a 2 season anime and there are other questions including comparisons to code geass here.
I love how their response to the Code Geass comparisson was “Where are you seeing this?”.
Like seriously they dont even see it themselves? I know they have the same writer who probably subconsciously used similar writing but damn. You cant be that unaware of similarities.
I actually agree with them. The similarities of CG to GC are only skin deep. They sound very alike when you’re only looking at the basic premise but in terms of how each is executed, the mood/setting of the show, the personalities and interactions of the “driving characters” there are much more accurate comparisons than CG (some of which the creators have pointed out themselves).
I don’t think they are completely unaware either “Of course, there are some similarities”. But tropes like “boy meeting a girl who grants him power” or “rebelling against an ‘evil’ organization” have always been pretty common in this sort of genre. However the similarities aren’t always that significant and I think this is the case with GC. It’s kind of like saying Mirai Nikki and Stein;Gate are the same just because they both involve phones and manipulation of time.
If people didn’t know it was the same writer I don’t think they’d be comparing the two as much. The only grounds that I can really compare the CG and GC on is which one I think the writer did a better job at overall. Otherwise I think the direction and general feel of each story is quite different.