「縮退 retraction」 (Shukutai)

I’d like to think that I’m pretty forgiving as far as anime goes — particularly when it comes to overused stereotypes — but while Guilty Crown’s done a decent job of avoiding that pitfall lately, there always seems to be something else that rubs me the wrong way. This time it was Shuu and almost everything about his character. I was prepared to see him traumatized over his inability to save Jun, but not to the degree that it was depicted here. There simply hasn’t been enough to suggest that being reminded of the Lost Christmas would result in a complete breakdown of his character, other than maybe his lack of memories from his childhood. Even if I were to assume that’s the reason Shuu’s forgotten about Gai and the older sister-like girl whom they both presumably loved, his character simply hasn’t been portrayed in a way that makes me pity him.

As such, watching him screw up a Funeral Parlor mission, disappoint Ayase’s belief in him, call Inori a monster and wreck the device with her new song (which was conveniently way too fragile), and last but not least, confide in Hare as a replacement for Inori, turned out to be a rather frustrating endeavor. I get that Shuu’s meant to be a reluctant hero, but boy is he stretching my patience with him. It doesn’t help when his actions aren’t all that agreeable — especially when I’m already finding it hard to like his character — so I was actually happy to see Gai just continue on without him and take over the main protagonist role. Both Funeral Parlor and the series as a whole have been dragging their feet from being forced to have Shuu as the star of the show — so much so that I couldn’t help but wonder how much better things would be if he was simply written off. His finicky resolve is no different than the frustration I would feel about having a weak performer in a group whom I’m forced to work with. I can only be patient with someone for so long before the urgency of my own situation has to take precedence, much like it did for Gai.

I’d like to give Shuu the benefit of the doubt since he’s not mentally strong like Gai, but it’s pretty hard to when he has almost no redeeming qualities and his flakiness both hampers and hurts those around him (i.e. Hare). He doesn’t deserve the support of a cute girl who’s helplessly in love with him, let alone a group of terrorists who are trying to liberate Japan. I’m really not sure what the writers hope to achieve by making Shuu so difficult to like, but it’s unfortunate to say the least since the entire series revolves around him. There’s little doubt in my mind that his breakdown is a precursor to an eventual character-defining moment where he comes swooping in to save the day, but I’m afraid it might be a little too late to redeem his character by then. It’s not a good sign when he’s constantly question why he’s the main character in the story and I’m doing the same. The worst part of it is how Shuu’s problems tend to overshadow the much bigger ones surrounding Shuuichirou and his Anti-Bodies, who have turned out to be the ultimate antagonists as suspected.

The underlying story involving Gai’s love for the girl who fell for Shuu, Inori possibly being a clone of that girl, Daryl’s unrest over his father’s mistresses, and most of all, Shuuichirou’s unknown goal with Genome Resonance is coming together rather well in recent episodes. In connection to the latter, there was also a flashback to suggest that this girl’s singing caused a Genome Resonance ten years ago, which would tie into Inori’s reaction about how Shuuichirou twisted the “song”. Based on those developments, if I were to look at it from the perspective of Gai as the main protagonist, I dare say most of my qualms with the series would instantly disappear. I guess the producers were right about how Gai’s the “other” main character of the story, though I don’t think they were anticipating viewers like me who wishes he was the only one. Whatever the case, I’m quite content with how things are progressing from that angle with Gai’s cancer taking form and Inori experiencing some emotions for the first time. I’m just not expecting much from Shuu, other than maybe his continued disruption to the flow of the story. 😛

* I don’t have any complaints about Inori wearing skimpy outfits during missions — as unpractical as they may be — but redjuice sure isn’t making it easy for cosplayers to dress up as her with his designs. She does look great in white with that backless design though.
* Production I.G, what the heck is this?
* Full-length images: 05, 16, 17.

 

ED Sequence & End Card

Preview

Watch the Preview!: Streaming ▼

268 Comments

  1. Thanks for posting your impression so early. I watched this episode then was impatiently waiting for your post. I agree Shu is getting super annoying but I have to admit I’m excited for the next episode.

    Sora
    1. I think the problem is that GC is trying too hard to be CG. I mean, even the acrynyms are backwards. Tendou’s grandmother once said “there is nothing wrong with imitation someone else, as long as you find yourself in the end” Basically, there is a severe lack in compellingness in the story that pulls the readers. Twilight had a very innovative ideal, but it sucked in writing and character development. Sword Art Online is one of the biggest cliche storms ever, but its writing is so compelling, its the most popular internet light novel.

      Suppa Tenko
    1. So I finally caught up with this series!

      What strikes me the most are the Code Geass similarities. This episode we had hopeless Shuu wanting Hare to comfort him; which was exactly the same case with Lelouch and Kallen respectively. I’m baffled: they had infite ways of playing out their relationship in this situation, and they chose the most obvious one?

      I have to say that I, like many others already stated, have been pretty forgiving with this series too, but this is just too much…It’s a shame they have such beatiful visuals and design ideas, but can’t follow them with a proper script.

      Here’s to hoping the series prove me wrong, though. Hopefully, by the time this series end, we can look back at it and say ‘It had a rough start…but boy did it make up for it later on!’

      Justinnnnnn
    1. And in this very episode we are starting to see our “Gendo” come into the light. Damn you Shinji, you cast a fairly large shadow, don’t you.
      To be fair, the parallels between Shinji and Shu are so much in your face it’s hard to see Shu’s other character traits. He want’s the be the Gai. Because, honestly, who wouldn’t? As far as Shu sees, the man is ridin’ his pimp machine high. Episode 8 was just the glory of Gai the Magnificent Bastard, and Shu was his wingman.
      Shinji, by contrast never really had his Gai character to riff off of. And Eva would have been a different show had he realized Gendo didn’t really give that much of a crap about him. So now Guilty Crown is going in that direction.
      Wonder what will happen when Shu and his parent’s have a meet and greet?

      skylion
      1. Actually, what rubs me the wrong way is that Shu just wants to be Gai.

        I mean, common, he wasn’t even sorry for Jun but only that he couldn’t be as cool as Gai.

        Well, in a way, Shu is a friendless self-pity geek. But they should at least they should give Shu some positive construct, like say his Mod building is extremely good and other people appreciates and admires him for that particular reason etc., then he would be more like-able to some degree.

        Yet, it seems they were not even giving Shu the benefit of that. From the first episode, it looked like Shu was just doing the basic works that none else bothered to do and they were bossing him around for not doing it quickly enough. That was just lame.

        I am wondering as well what’s the point of them beating Shu so low. Hopefully, there won’t be some convenient void for Shu to save Tokyo the next time around. That would just be bloody cheap. What Shu needs is to man up, not another magic void.

        hoh
    2. I reckon Shinji is worse, He sulked in the beginning, he sulked when everyone was getting killed in the end. He tried to go home but he didn’t have the balls. He worked with 2 chicks and nothing happened between them besides him jerking off in front of one of them while she was comatose.

      Shu on the otherhand (while being one of the most annoying pricks to watch still) atleast stood up to Guy in some situations and not merely give in to his charisma.

      Give Shu another 3-5 episodes or a major death of someone and he’ll become more badass. He’ll slick his hair back with excessive hair gel and say “You and me, we have a date in hell”

      ComM3
    3. Shinji is the most spineless piece of filth that any series ever dared to call a character much less a protagonist. It would hard for anyone to match him in being a more pathetic waste of space. That being said, I’m finding it very hard to like Shou. I’ve tried but no matter what he always seems to be a person with no redeeming qualities who’s spoiled by everyone around him. How does he repay said people? He treats them like dirt and is incredibly unreliable. He complains and whines about everything he does regardless of whether he thinks it’s the right thing to do or not. Gai may be an arrogant prick who manipulates everyone around him, but at least he, like Lelouche, has the conviction to what he believes he should, regardless of the morality of such an act.

      stei
  2. Annoying yes… But I think that’s how the producers wants everyone to think. Hate Shu or pity him seems to have been the message they’re trying to get across.

    And so they finally introduced the girl in the picture. I didn’t expect it to be done in this episode. I guess they would make Shu start putting the pieces of the puzzle soon enough.

    The Moondoggie
  3. Shuu! Being an absolute p-p-pussy cat to the max. Inori giving Shuu the cold shoulder again, rightfully so. Shuu is slowly approaching my list of unlikeable protagonists that absolutely ruin a show for me. Please Guilty Crown, I beg of you, redeem yourself with the remaining twelve episodes!

    somar514
  4. You know I really want to give Shu the benefit of the doubt, but even I am finding it hard to. Most are probably are going to blame Shu’s character for being a pansy.

    I just can’t completely understand Shu’s character at this point. Yes, he blames himself for all this, but honestly what else could he of done in that situation. He really should of known what he was really getting himself too, but probably didn’t think it all out.

    He needs to man up a bit or he will end up causing more than just a simple death or two.
    (might be too late for that already)
    I only pray he doesn’t drag out this self pity for too much longer or I am going to wish Gai really had done Shu a favor with that gun. Other people’s lives are going to be in Shu’s hands and personally if that was the case.. I wouldn’t want a wishy washy person in control of others’ lives.

    -also Hare deserves so much better-

    For now I am just going to take Shu’s character like a grain of salt.

    FadingMoon
  5. Yes, Shu is really annoying, however, it seems that they tried to force the connection between Jun’s death and his own past. The problem is that, we only saw glimpses of his past in very short flashbacks. So, it makes it hard for the viewers to see this as a logical reason to breakdown emotionally…

    I’m at the point where I had to pause at some points, because frankly, it was difficult to see such a scrub act like that.

    Hopefully, Shu will continue being Shu and develop into his own, rather than try to copy someone like Gai (as Hare and he himself mentioned).

    ctscloud
  6. They were really trying to use every trick in the book to pull on your heart strings this episode… and that’s probably what made it so bothersome. They really committed themselves to quantity here but there was no need because even just a handful of the first scenes had the quality to drive home the point. But they just kept going with it as if seeing it for a trillionth time was going to draw any more of an emotional response than the first trillion-1 times. Which is a shame, really, because they could have built this into a brilliant mental breakdown for Shuu and added a very deep layer of characterization to Hare, but they just kept going, and going… and this isn’t a battery commercial. The effect quickly lost its, well, effect and it became a chore to watch it repeat.

    Was this intentional… or are the writers of this story really that unable to tell that a poignant development stops being poignant when you use it over and over to the point of predictability. Yes, I know that Shuu is having a mental breakdown and that every person he sees reminds him of something terrifying, but you really don’t need to show it to me a hundred times and use it as the only plot driver. The least they could have done is stop barraging me with crystal people and deliver the message through expression, words, and action, not repetitive imagery.

    Vena
    1. Oh, and Shuu’s mood swings are completely nonsensical and non sequitur in nature. You see him at one point running, crying, and being generally all around mentally crippled by his terror from just the imagery of his classmates turned to crystal… and then, with Inori, he gets over being bombarded by that “elderly sister” person in a fraction of a second. If he’s having a mental breakdown then he’s having a mental breakdown, but half of the scenes make it look like he’s just been taking some bad drug with very strange, instantaneously brief side effects to his personality that cause him to shout and attack people then… suddenly… be back to normal.

      Vena
  7. Finally, the anime is started to pick up the pace again with the plot that got me interested in the first 2 episodes.

    But I am also getting tired of Shu. I wasn’t so happy with Shu from the beginning.
    I am getting tired of the pitfalls too. I mean, isn’t it strange? He is so traumatized because of killing Jun, but he has killed so many antibodies (episode 2 with Kaleidoscope) without any effect on him… For me, I can actually forgive the anime for Shu’s character if it wasn’t for all these pitfalls.

    P.S. Is it so hot in Japan that Inori has to wear such skimpy clothes? LOL, not that I mind much…

    Djalaal
  8. Shuu was very difficult to watch this episode, especially with how he approached and treated Hare.

    Outside of that though, I feel like this episode is trying too hard to speed up the plot. They completely glazed over Shuu’s encounter with Yahiro, and then he’s suddenly been in hiding for several days, in a span of like 5 minutes. The fuck?

    Soiyeruda
  9. I’ve been fairly optimistic with GC, but I was legitimately pissed at Shuu for being an abject failure of a human being in this episode. He has no redeeming qualities whatsoever, and honestly, that’s fine. He was given the king’s hand, I want to see that crown control him and feed off his mind that “doesn’t work in sync with others.” I don’t mind disliking a lead at all, but this episode really makes the watcher wonder – how important were all the developments in the first 9 episodes if he had such repressed and torturous memories?

    The path of leadership – of being able to empathize with others, to communicate with them, and to understand their emotions – is not one that Shuu should be made to walk. If anything, he should create his own breed of tyranny. In unrelated news, Kugimiya Rie should have done the screaming. She is infinitely better, and Shuu could probably sound the same as Shana if he tried hard enough.

    Jif
  10. That’s pretty much what I’ve been saying about Shuu’s character the whole time.

    This show probably would’ve been SOOOO much better without him, Gai having the void genome. And do everything right like Lelouche did.

    But nah we’re forced to put up with that annoying character every episode.

    YanDaMan263
  11. In contrast with your views, Divine, I found his “breakdown” to be rather on schedule (so to speak) with what we have been given so far. Now he is starting to get interesting, and this episode could be the platform upon which they launch a more believable and dramatic view into Lost Christmas.

    As far as hints go, well, he is the Stock Typical High School Student, I’ve come to expect the unexpected as far as these guys go.

    In other, much much more important news, this episode have it’s saving grace with nearly 20 seconds of Tsugumi screen time. Which is twenty seconds more than the last episode, and about 15 more than the one before. Production I.G. ? That cute bubble butt in the plug suit is the reason I watch this show. You’ve been coasting on good character design and art direction for far too long. Give me more Tsugumi.

    skylion
      1. They’re portraying it in a way that is making people want to see more of anything but Shu. And that’s a big problem when it is the main character. They’re forced, by the necessity that he IS the main character, to go back and see how far he’s continued to slide downhill. And when you just don’t care and wish he’d sod off and stop wasting precious airtime that could be used to show us something that we’d be interested in, then you’ve gone from doing something clever to betraying one’s lack of creative imagination.

        But who knows. They may, yet, pull a diamond out of their rectal passages and surprise us all. That would need to be a bloody big diamond.

        Mappy
    1. Honestly, it feels more like the plot is trying to push him backwards every time he tries to do something even remotely assertive.

      Shuu thinks Yahiro is his true friend? Too gullible, gets betrayed, becomes a prisoner who needs to be rescued.

      Shuu tries to get Inori to run away with him? She gives him the cold shoulder.

      Shuu tries to save his former friend’s brother? He asks Shuu to kill him and Shuu gets traumatized over it.

      Shuu tries to win over Hare thinking she can replace Inori? She pushes him away and realizes he changed for the worse.

      Everything he tries to succeed at ends up failing and working against him. It’s almost funny.

      Soiyeruda
  12. Well this ep is a nice breath of fresh anime, partly. I liked it overall, ‘cept when there’s Shuu in there.

    Hey Shuu, if you’re too traumatized of one death, imagine if the mission in beginning failed and all of them died just because of your ‘trauma’.

    Finally Inori ‘confessed’ and now it’s official that she likes Shuu. Been waiting for this. Gai I’m sorry but you have your own ‘The World Gai Only Knows’.

    Shuu making a move on Hare, I literally face-palmed when he almost kissed her but THANK YOU Hare for slapping Shuu to reality.

    It didn’t make sense for me near the end of the ep as we are slapped with cancer popping out of nowhere and a new character popped out of nowhere too. Can someone enlighten me, is the cancer random or is there a requirement to react with it OR everyone can react with it (that resonance from the stone)?

    Seriously felt that Inori slowly zooming near the end was tacky. *DAMEEEEEEEEE* :S

    0927123
    1. The blond with light blue eyes at the end appeared as early as episode 6.

      From the images, it seems more like it’s a disease that can spread, though there are already several people infected with it that have been treated on a frequent basis to suppress it.

      Soiyeruda
  13. I think this episode was great! I didn’t have any problem at all, I applaud the writers for trying to make this anime more realistic in terms of character.
    I don’t blame Shu for what he did, what he did last episode was preety horrible for him, and he is preety new at this.
    And not everybody is asked by someone to kill them, and when you are lonely and are depressed you try to find some comfort from someone.
    I don’t know what I would have done if the same thing would have happen to me.
    Although the most of you aren’t pleased with this anime yet, I’m very pleased to see how thing’s have turned out!

    Pera
    1. Looking for comfort is fine but the fact he just abruptly brought up the fact that he’s apparently aware of Hare’s infatuation with him (which, afaik, wasn’t revealed before) and then followed up by basically asking to get in her pants when she is fully aware that he is in love with Inori is rude on so many levels.

      Soiyeruda
      1. I agree that trying to take advantage of Hare is a dum thing to do, but I think Shu is so frustrated over himself, all he ever does is fail. And that’s a feeling a can relate to!
        Although is situation is much worse.
        I don’t hate Shu and I don’t dislike him either!

        Pera
      2. @Pera

        Well the guy was put to one damn situation after another at the cost of his mental health. We cannot just ask him to be GAR just because he received some godly powers, which he didn’t asked for in the beginning.

        It is both right and unfair for Ayase to call him coward: right because that’s the way he is; untrained and weak. But then he really doesn’t have to do these things up until some time ago…

        In the end, the way I see it, everyone expects too much from Shu.

        The Moondoggie
  14. So, I read this blog everyday, but I only post once every few months when I have very strong feeling about an anime.

    I just want to know two things:
    1- Why do I find every character, other than Shu, very enjoyable and believable in its own way?
    2- Why do the writers go out of their way to portray Shu as either emotionally unstable, fragile, or show the extremes of everything?

    I like EVERYTHING about this show except Shu right now. I keep face palming myself when I see him over-react or out of character. Two episodes back, when he was in the park talking to Gai on the phone… I thought he was Gai’s lover and the first thing I thought was he was gonna say “tsuuuunaaaaa” or maybe cry that Gai wasn’t there to hold his hand. Now we get this wide range of emotion?!

    It is fine that Shu would get sad or disarrayed but the writers can portray it in a much better way than “OMG I am nuts now!”. On the other hand, I don’t mind the mental breakdown, just do it better than this.

    Sorry for venting, I just really wish this anime heads in the right direction before it is too late. I see a lot of potential but it is wasted. I recommended it to many friends and we were excited to watch it together, now we all get into heated discussions about every episode and Shu’s character.

    Tenkei
  15. Show Spoiler ▼

    Oh well, regardless of that random comment I also agree with Divine — this episode isn’t the best but it sure wraps up the confusing plots pretty well.

    JoeJoe
  16. I was actually okay with Shu up until the point he made a move on Hare, by deliberately using her feelings, no less. Fuck you, Shu, take the creepy obsession with Inori and shove it somewhere else. Angsting about killing a friend’s brother is perfectly fine and despite the fact he’s a pretty… nonconventional shounen protagonist, I thought running away was in line with his character and was willing to overlook his actions until that moment and slightly before in his interaction with Inori when he mentioned he wanted to keep in contact. Those two moments reduces him to a horny coward with girl issues. He wants to quit because he’s ‘having such a hard time’ but actually had the gall to look surprised when Gai tells him he’s pulling Inori out? Didn’t he realize by episode 2 that Inori only comes with the full Funeral Parlor package, Void and all? Suddenly, killing Jun and having the Void Genome takes a back seat because Shu’s too busy trying to get it on with his only supporter (well, not so much anymore).

    PiC: The writers need to give Shu a better reason to fight than his hormones, and fast. Or you know, give an indication that his feelings for Inori is actually genuine and even extends to love rather than borderline creepy fan obsession.

    As for this ‘older sister’ character… was I the only one getting the ‘Final Boos’ vibes from her? And judging by Inori’s reaction at the end, she doesn’t seem like she represents anything good; the flashbacks sort of backs that up, so I’m looking forward to seeing what she’s actually like.

    BakaMochi
  17. Someone once posted right here on RC awhile ago regarding one of the episodes and where the plot might be heading. The user commented on the fact the show might pull a Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann moment where there is a huge turning point – as in a major character death which leads to a dramatic change of events. I am holding out on the show, hoping that they pull “that” dramatic turn events just like in TTGL, which in my opinion would fix literally everything that plagues Shuu’s character. This would force Shuu to actually stand up and take responsibility considering Gai will not be around to save or help anyone anymore.

    If the preview for the next episode is anything to consider, we might finally have our moment where Shuu actually grows up… It’s a long shot, but that one second with Gai (on the couch in the airport) not looking too sharp is any indication, Shuu better man up REAL quick or this series is S.O.L.

    (I wish I could find the exact comment on RC regarding TTGL, but this is what keeps me going with GC. Shuu’s character is destroying pretty much everything the other character’s built up in terms of plot. If it wasn’t for that comment, my mindset would be to drop this series rather then give Shuu another chance…granted he’s already had one too many in my opinion.)

    Akizuki09
  18. Credit to GC, its finally managed to piss me off. That’s not easy to do. Just this episode though, the series is till overall okay for me. What’s extremely jarring is the contrasts between the plot developments(which was interesting and engaging) and its character developments(which were terrible and frustrating).

    Its very difficult to like the protagonists now. Gai was always annoying for me, but now he I just want to punch him the face. What was the point of pointing a gun at Shu? That’s not going to help him out of of angst mode. Its like everything that made him clever and tactical was just forgotten. He absolutely fails at being a badass anti-hero.

    Then of course, there’s the crown jewel of facepalm inducing: Shu. I had concerns that he would backtrack him to an angster last episode. But it was worse than that, they basically gave him nonsensical freak outs. What kind of trauma makes people scream and run away like a moron? Worse he treated Hare like crap despite the fact that she was being supportive. YES WE GET IT SHOW, Shu is traumatized! Let him develop as a character already!

    fragb85
    1. More probably it was a sign that he accepted Shu’s wish to leave FP. Of course if you’re a terrorist group, you can’t leave a man who abandoned you alive. In reality, it is more likely that they will kill these deserters to tie loose ends. It just shows that he “killed” him, and because he’s “dead”, he has cut his links to FP or whatsoever.

      The Story You Don't Know
      1. Being on the seamstress side of things if you build an outfit right you don’t need a bra. 😉

        That said I was excite to see a functional outfit on Inori … until I saw the back!!!!!

        The zipper tease was just for show!!! The wings I guess are made of steel because nothing else is hold the from down or on?????? Really…. WTF!!! For structural support this is actually worse then the Orange outfit … I didn’t think it was possible. O___o

        Ani_BEE
  19. I can’t really dislike Shuu’s mental breakdown. When he killed Jun, he was right in front of him, covered in cancer? or w/e which made him remember Lost Christmas. I believe Shuu’s breakdown due to guilt is exactly why the show is called Guilty Crown?
    The right to use my friends as a weapon. That is the sinful crown I shall adorn.
    Not everybody could stand the burden of being guilty, but I do agree his breakdown is very stereotypical, loses everything, goes to another girl, rejected. Except Lelouch stood up again, let’s just see what he’ll do

    Boo
    1. Yes Lelouch did choose to stand again! But Shu has always been running away when has he ever stood on his own accord? What you say is true though that this explains the title, but imo i was just hoping for a protagonist that could deal with the guilt of using others as tools and ending lives since he did join a terrorist group and has avoided killing people since everyone protects him for one reason or another.

      GC rage
  20. No fan service for the second straight week!!!

    Should we take that as a sign that the writers are trying to be more serious at the very least? Nevertheless, lot of plot holes as usual. Not that I’m a plot nazi, I won’t really complain or anything about them. And I’ve facepalmed too when Shu tried to make a move on Hare. I was disgusted on him, he was almost sure that Hare would comfort him, that bastard. I’ve never hated Shu as much as I did in this episode. Two of the things I predicted on GC 9’s post already happened.

    – Shu’s trauma causes them to fail a mission.
    – Everybody will hate Shu, though I didn’t expect Hare to hate him as well.

    My predictions for the future episodes:

    – Shu’s inability to fight gets Gai and other members of FP to get killed.

    Scenario 1:
    – Shu takes the leader’s role even if FP hates him until he regains their trust.

    OR MORE PROBABLY

    Scenario 2:
    – FP turns their back on Shu as well and he will become emo and an anti-hero
    – In the end, only Inori will be staying on his side.

    Well, we’re still only in episode 10 and they’ve already used their trump card, the source of the Void Genome. Given that GC will have two seasons, I wonder how the plot will turn up now that they’ve used the main plot of the show.

    The Story You Don't Know
    1. No fan service? What are you blind? Look at the scene when Inori was zipping up her suit, seriously, a few seconds of showing that pettanko of hers is fan service enough especially since they just had to zoom in and focus on it for a few seconds there.

      Nah I disagree with your predictions, sure enough it was obvious he will pull out of the mission due to his trauma this episode, but your prediction that Gai and the others will die? I doubt it, I think Gai is an important enough character (comparable to Suzaku and Ayase comparable to Kallen in Code Geass) where I really doubt that they will die halfway in the series. I would say it’s more likely that it will be a typical Shu regains his courage and composure and saves the day! Typical really…but then again this show is far from typical, it always never seize to surprise me for the worst part, where each episode is just making me dislike the show more and more (which I really had high expectations with due to all the hype and all that). I was hooked in the first 3 episodes, past that was just a downhill ride.

      Cronos
      1. First of all, since when did it become a rule that major characters can’t die? What about TTGL? Wolf’s Rain? Or even characters from Macross? And Fushigi Yugi? And the list goes on and on.

        Lastly, I just watched episode 11… Guess what? See it for yourself.

        The Story You Don't Know
    1. Writer 1: Now he’s in a pickle. How should resolve the conflict?
      Writer 2: … Fuck it, let’s do a time skip forward and let the audience’s imagination fill the gap.
      Writer 1: Err, are you sure?
      Writer 2: No, but I’m quitting soon so it’s the next writer’s problem now.

      Hahahahahah
    2. My thoughts exactly! Thumbs up to you! I really had issues with the show’s pacing, spontaneity, and continuity since seriously why do they always do this! Shu killed Yahiro’s brother whom he spent his whole life trying to protect and save, that he even resorted to selling drugs and even betrayed his friend, but only to see Shu who was lecturing him first like he was in some sort of righteous crusade to end up killing his bro. So how did they deal with it? Completely skipped the damn thing! It drives me nuts! Plus what’s worst is the pacing that just doesnt make any sense at all.

      Cronos
  21. Okay. From the impressions I’m getting… I’m scared to watch this episode and I’m wondering if I should wait another week then see those two episodes back-to-back. Maybe it’ll be better? I’ve always been supportive of this show despite the naysayers. Unfortunately, I’m quickly losing hope. Yeah. Maybe I should wait a few weeks then watch the episodes one after another. Hopefully Shuu doesn’t become the new Shinji Ikari.

    Hrm.

    Jared Drake
    1. Bleh. Saw the episode. Shu wasn’t THAT bad. I think people are jumping on the “I hate GC and Ouma Shu” bandwagon and are stepping on the gas pedal like the designated driver of a bank heist. However, maybe that’s because I’m a bit apathetic now when it involves Shu now. He’s always been a weird anti-social bitch. I’m just going through the motions when watching GC, unlike before where I was quite involved in it, just hoping that they have Shu actually change in a positive way…. and not just retract that confidence in the next episode. >.>

      Also… Inori thinks she’s in love with him? W. T. F. WHEN THE FUCK DID THAT HAPPEN?! Seriously, we didn’t even get a build-up? Maybe have Inori show a bit more emotion before she said anything like that?! Maybe give them more screentime together… alone… without Gai and Funeral Parlour watching them like demented little stalkers. But that isn’t going to happen any time soon I think, especially with Gai’s inherent control freak tendencies. (Yeah, I just pulled that last part out of my ass. I don’t think Gai is like that. But it is possible that he has someone watching them)

      In any case, it isn’t like they’ve been ignoring the whole Shu/Inori relationship angle (there was the beach episode after all… but that was a bit crap) but I would’ve liked a build up at the very least.

      Lastly, I’m getting “Parasite Eve” vibes from that girl that Gai and Shu are connected to. Is anyone feelin’ it? She sounds like a demented final boss that Gai and Shu will have fight. After she takes control of Inori’s body, of course. Since she IS a clone of her.

      Is she a clone of her? I don’t see any other explanation. Whatever.

      Of course, she did do that “Void Fusion” thing that took out the satellite falling on Matchbox-City-Tokyo. So she might an ally.

      All in all. A strong episode. Guilty Crown has a 2-hit awesome episode combo. Let’s see if they can get a chain combo going before the inevitable c-c-combo breaker (to Shu’s nigh non-existent balls) happening.

      Jared Drake
  22. Ayase in school outfit=WIN! XD

    Man, I’m really not liking Shu (and the main characters in general) at all these past episodes. And I know for sure the writers are gonna give him his ultimate epiphany, bad-ass hero’s return moment where he god-modes everything soon.

    004samro
  23. There is a big difference between hating a character, and the character being bad.

    Do you remember the first time you watched Evangelion? Did you like Shinji when he kept running away again and again? No, eh? Did you like Makoto when he kept acting like a jerk towards pretty much the entire School Days female cast? Or perhaps you cheered when he got offed in the series finale?

    The fact that Shinji and Makoto are unlikable protagonists doesn’t mean that they are bad protagonists. In fact, I would argue that Shinji is among the most famous and most iconic characters in all Japanese animation. Some characters are meant to be hated.

    Now, this does not imply that Shuu is a good character, or that Guilty Crown is a well written show (in fact, I believe it is not). But I have to wonder: among all this rancor against Shuu, how much is it hating the character, and how much is it considering him a bad character?

    Steelman
    1. define what you consider a “bad character” first.
      because by any definition i would go by, Shuu is still a “bad” character.

      if you go by whether you like the character or not, what i imagine is your “hating the character”, then Shuu’s pretty bad.

      however, if you are talking about whether he’s a well written, well characterized character (and you indicate you yourself don’t think it’s a particularly well-written show, and that extends to Shuu), he is neither.

      yes the motivations behind the concept of his character are pretty easy to understand, i don’t think anyone would disagree with that.

      but he is so poorly and inconsistently written/developed that even from a creative standpoint, he IS a “bad character”.

      Bob
    2. I think Shinji is much easier to sympathize with and understand. He was forced into fighting beings that literally break down your psyche. Shuu…I mean hes just in it for Inori all along…and pretty halfassed at that. I guess you could bring in how much Asuka was to Shinji, but I think at its core there are much more fundamental issues like his relation to his father, fear of abandonment, desire to change.

      It feels like Shuu and Inori are rather weak as characters (mostly seem rather generic male harem lead and cute emotionless girl with some variations). We still have no idea who they really are and it isn’t a very interesting picture anyways. Going from terrorism to beach episodes to random plot twists…I don’t really get what they are trying to do.

      shin
  24. The writers of this anime forgot to make main heroes likeable. Without that, we’re just hoping they’ll all die. Shuu is pathetic, Inori is an Ayanami Rei-wannabe except always in bm, and only Gai has a charming persnality. Even the villains have personalities that are so outrageous that they can’t be liked with a snobby rich boy pilot, mad scientist and some commander that obviously should not be a commander.

    Hopefully it gets infinitely better. I’m actually only watching this show for Inori eye-candy to be honest. The fights themselves, while looks good, have enemies with AI from the PS1 days.

    Gup
  25. Worst protagonist ever. But hey, at least the plot is finally moving.

    Speaking of outfits, you do have to wonder if every GHQ officer can just wear whatever uniform they like. The point of uniforms is to look… organized.

    Random
  26. I totally agree with your opinion on the episode. However i think this episode has ruined the series for me no matter what glorious moment or character changing development occurs. I just cannot stand his character. Also in the last episode I was totally expecting him to save Jun by pulling his void and removing the cancer(cause I thought that that since the voids seemed to have the cancerous like material around them when being pulled out) But yeah Jun died and I was ok with that. But, why couldn’t that have been the point where he was confronted and face the fact that his power can be used to kill people. Also was his connection to Jun so strong or does this have to do with the past that we as viewers know so little about? I also have a suspicion that Inori is probably going to become some darker form and Shu is probably going to fight her.

    I really don’t think this should be compared to CG or TTGL since from what I remember the protagonists weren’t poopy to begin with. Simon was always looking up to Kamina, and when he died he became useless yeah but he reverted back to digging which started the whole adventure. What good would Shu be to go back to his video making, his inability to man up, his I’m useless mentality? What about Lelouch? He has plenty of moments where he messes up big time but he mans up and tries to right his wrongs and to atone for what he did he chose to live and to walk forward. Shu chose to run-away cry and accept death, he totally didn’t give a damn if Gai pointed a gun at him he doesn’t care that He could’ve gotten all of those involved in the mission killed, he doesn’t care about the girl that loves him or the girl that he loves.

    Also don’t you find how funny it is when he was saying in the last episode “I don’t betray people like you do” to Yahiro? Also I was totally expecting Yahiro to beat the snot out of him right then and there. But nothing…. and Yahiro wasn’t in this episode either.

    -side note- I’m very impressed at Hare being able to sneak around and avoid the battle of Shu and the endlaves but still be able to witness a lot.

    GC rage
    1. Note: Rewatch TTGL, then compare Simon Show Spoiler ▼

      to Shu up to episode 10, and finally post your comparisons again. Tell me if you still find Simon not “useless” especially before he met Nia. Even his crew members avoided him. Though I agree Simon has a stronger personality, he’s still practically useless up until those parts. What I loved about TTGL is how they managed to turn someone like him into a galactic hero which I hope they could do for Shu too. Nobody said that Shu had to go back to video making literally, instead it was said that he’d take up the leader role despite all the hate.

      But what about Lelouch? What happened when Show Spoiler ▼

      in one of his plans? He did not right his wrong. Instead of crumbling down in despair which would be more natural, he stood his ground and continued deceiving the Black Knights to liberate Japan.

      In short, my point of comparing the “possible” plot of GC to the plot of TTGL and CG(yes, I was the one who mentioned those comparisons in episode 9 of GC) was to point out the possibility of Shu becoming more likeable and after similar events.

      The Story You Don't Know
      1. Ok, here’s what what I think about this- Simon, despite his uslessness, was still useful at following his brother. In his moments of doubt, he struggled to find answers and still managed to be a respectable character. Sure he was useless, but he acted more as a vehicle for the audience to learn more about the universe.

        Shinji’s peevishness actually constituted to character growth, there was a lot more emotion behind it, and he wasn’t going around in circles. We could at least tell what was going on inside his head thanks to good art direction and emotive script. Also, the majority of the crap we had to sit through of just drama-drama-drama was due to the fact that Production IG kept up sapping the animation budget to animate those (epic) battles.

        In the case of Shuu, we just see him get thrown at audience in hopes that he would strike a cord. Instead, we witness him turn a complete 180 in the first two episodes and go straight to SSJ. There’s no chance to feel sorry for him, there’s no attempt to depict him as a “normal” human being. He is given a power that elevates him above the norm, and so the audience doesn’t feel that twinge of pity for the useless guy.

        Now, this “Zero-to-Hero” method of story-telling was played straight in TTGL, and was messed around with in Evangelion (I’m not even sure if they knew wtf they were doing at some points). Only now, during episodes 9 and 10, do we begin to see some real aspects of Shuu’s character emerge without the forced developments caused by absolute chaos. And if the audience isn’t connecting with him yet, perhaps there is a problem with his character.

        Again, I’m not an expert on TV shows. I’m just saying that Shuu’s development thus far is not promising.

        Zero
      2. Simon useless? Did “Gurren Lagaan 2: Simon sucks” come out? Because for those who actually watched the series, Simon did the following
        Found the head mecha
        Piloted the mecha and got used as a thrown weapon
        Fought through enemies to merge with Kamina’s mecha
        Admitted he was scared to Kamina but would break through the fear to do whatever was needed

        And the killer? After the “event”, how long did it take he was up and running stronger than ever?

        Well to be anywhere comparable to Shu, i would expect he
        i) moped about how Kamina was risking Yoko’s and his life
        ii) Told Kamina that he had a terrible personality that caused his moping
        iii) Acted like a total slave to Yoko
        iv) tried to screw Yoko or Nia after the event
        v) Think that Yoko was just joking (or had selective amnesia ala Ms Gasai) when she told him that she was just stringing him along to get him to pilot the head mecha and merge with Kamina
        vi) Support the animal men when one of them told him a story of how he lost his turtle children
        vii) Had so much depression that he could not power the head mecha during a fight againt animal men

        Zaku Fan
      3. Whether you like it or not, it is a fact that Simon is totally useless without Kamina. Fact is, he wouldn’t be who he is if had he not met Kamina in the first place. He turned out who he is because Kamina was there early on, for him to learn from. I love TTGL as a matter of fact, I believe that it’s the greatest anime that shows character development and it is definitely my favorite anime. I love it so much that I’m able to point out the “flaws” in the characters. No, there’s no flaw in Simon’s character development, what I am pointing is how he would have been without someone as great as Kamina by his side to learn from. Now that is Shu’s situation.

        I believe that GC can still redeem itself, but it will never be as great as TTGL.

        The Story You Don't Know
  27. Random characters…

    Now i understand the strange feeling i was getting all the way: it feels like this anime was planned for >=24 episodes, but got cut in more than a half at last moment, forcing creators to cut out random parts of script.

    Random plot
  28. If They don’t develop his character quick what if he gains his memories of Lost Christmas back? What type of break down will he have then? or how about having Inori as the final boss? I was also hping that he would’ve been more frustrated in himself than pity himself in the fact that he saved Yahiro but couldn’t save the one he wanted to save. Also I’m confused as to how they could plan a mission with Shu in it? Also why didn’t Shu freak out before the mission? Why didn’t he freak out in front of Yahiro why didnt Yahrio beat him downbecause I think taht would’ve been a bonding moment between them and Hare would come to the rescue? and Shu would see Hare and realize Inori isn’t the only one?

    -the more I think about it he seems more like Tsuna from hitman reborn except he doesnt change int he face of battle and he doesn’t have anything he feel strongly about-

    Also reading some other posts seeing as how this series has made many people remember other series means that the series has things in common with other series that we can point out. Does that mean that we feel like we’ve seen it before and what we are watching isn’t interesting enough so we think of when we thought it was done better?

    This series better fix its stuff quick

    Scared for the future
    1. It feels like the show’s really implying that there’s more to Shu than meets the eye. It’s that they just enjoy making him act out every 15 year old’s nightmare of whenever they’ve done “something” for the first time followed with lots of angst. He’s trying to find who he is and that he realizes (in this episode) that he isn’t like Gai at all, so he angsts more about it.

      Next episode, Shuu desperately tries to find a reason (or himself) to go back to FP and to Inori with the impending return of Lost Christmas. It may or may not have memories or mention of Cocytus depending on how fast they want to move the plot.

      Yukipon
  29. @DIVINE: Could Guilty Crown get cancelled or reduced from 2 cour to 1 cour like Angel Beats was? Since I honestly couldnt believe how this episode was sooooo damn fast paced, I mean not only do we get to see Shu’s complete break down in character and even see how ridiculously low he can ever get (Oh man I hope this is the LAST ONE in the series! I CANNOT possibly bear to stomach anymore of his crap). Sorry I was babbling there for a moment, in any case the reason why I thought so is because so many things happened at once: Hare admits she knows about Shu’s power, Inori is falling in love with Shu, Shu is starting to remember more of his childhood memories, Shuuichirou turned out to be the main bad guy and betrayed GHQ, Gai fires Shu, Shuuichirou once again reveals he knows about Shu and Inori, now we get to see him trying to do the lost christmas again, how ironic since it’s pretty much close to Christmas next week lol, etc etc.

    I’m with you Divine, that I fear that anything that the writers may do now may be too late to redeem Shu’s character. By the way, I still have issues with the series crazy pacing, really they just completely skipped out Yahiro’s reaction to Shu killing his brother whom he spent his life trying to save, ugh… not important enough I guess? Well then they better not show him again! Although I know they will later on…. seriously so many flaws.

    Cronos
  30. My reaction to Shu ‘inviting’ Hare: Shu desereves a punch in the face, in the gut, then two solid kicks to each of his balls.

    I can forgive the sissy Shu, but not this…he turned into a perverted scumbag. -_-

    JustSharin
  31. I know shuu is being annoying, weak and selfish and a bit bipolar but if you think about it I think any normal person who is thrown into that situation would react at least a bit like this. Especially because he was an introvert guy who was really afraid to get involved in all this stuff.
    We are so used to the natural hero image (which I get is a lot more fun) but if he had switched from who he was in episode one to a Gai-like figure in a short spam of time it wouldn’t have been realistic at all.
    That’s my opinion.
    But yeah he deserves a slap…or two. WAKE UP CALL!

    Carol
  32. LOLILOLLLOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Holy sh*t!!!! That picture where they spent like 14$’s to do it… I have laughed hard before but… HOLY SH*T. I thought I was the only one who caught that. Man, I didn’t see it like that though, NO polish. Oh, man. Yea, the way Shu is acting like a p*ssy, after THAT? There’s soldiers who do 10x worse that don’t act that much like a pansy, it was a tad overdone, I had a flashback of Ano Hana… TOO dramatic.

    Relic
  33. This episode is i think a good enough follow up to last week’s although barely bearable to watch due to shuu’s actions but let’s face it shuu’s plot is moving… shuu with “God’s power in hand” and his wimpiness, inexperience and stupidity will cause him all sorts of guilt and despair and due to that he will cause despair amongst others as well and he will loose everything, until finally unwanted and unappreciated with only a select few believing in him (not caring), he will arise as a tragic hero, one who is hated by all but also the only who can change things, and it’d be even better if he dies. now that can be a story BUT with how these writers go about their job, the execution still FAILS rock bottom because of the half-assed development of characters in the last episodes. This series’ future is bleak but could’ve been great.

    n30nL16ht
    1. because its popular. whether its bad, good, embarrassing etc., as long as its getting attention and people are talking about it, the next guy will always be curious to watch it and see for himself what they are talking about, so he can comment and join in too.

      bottom line is deep down everyone want to be part of something.

      n30nL16ht
      1. @Da5id

        So if everyone starts eating shit, you’re going to follow too? Ew. No matter how popular it is, if its something you don’t like, common sense dictates you don’t do it.

        The Moondoggie
      2. Maybe there’s something on this show that keeps pulling audiences aside from popularity aspect… is it Shuu’s craziness attracts different people? poor protagonist everyone hates him..

        Vexy
      3. @Da5id

        And you’re a fool for wasting your time to be here even though you don’t like the show. Pretending to watch this show? No wonder your foresight for this show is limited.

        Smarter people than you have quit watching this show because they don’t like it. You, however, remained here just to look stupid week after week sucking other haters’ cocks and acting like a clown with nothing smarter to comment about this show. I suggest you get your head examined to the best psychiatrist that money could buy.

        The Moondoggie
      4. Besides, I stopped watching because it’s stayed so consistently bad. All I’ve needed to stay in touch with the events of each episode afterwards is read these reviews. I’m not gonna waste my time with a glorified mixture of modern anime cliches.

        Da5id
      5. Yeah, like spoiling a story for people who haven’t read the source material is much better.

        Oh? So that’s what you’re actually bitter with? You amuse me… 🙂

        Yes I think its tons better. And as for “room to talk”, I got some…

        Because I am who I am. And I am all that I need to be. Instead of being a pretentious brat like you who keeps commenting on a shoe he doesn’t watch just to look smart in other people’s eyes

        The Moondoggie
      6. –sorry, I accidentally clicked the “Submit Comment” button…

        Instead of being a pretentious brat like you who keeps commenting on a shoe he doesn’t watch just to look smart in other people’s eyes, I have never lied to anyone or do anything I don’t like just to blindly follow a mindless mob.

        I genuinely liked the show.

        The Moondoggie
      7. Dude, this isn’t about you. It’s about the show. And I never lied about not watching the show. In fact, I said on the Ep 6 review that I was gonna stop watching, and so I did.

        And I could just as easily say that you’re lying about liking the show to be contrary against the haters, but I’m not the one insulting other people’s integrity. Anyway, you can rationalize it any way you want to, but I think the show is crap and I’m gonna say so. Just like how you’re gonna spoil people and make sure they’re never surprised by the outcome of a story every again. Now can we get back to debating the show and not each other?

        Da5id
      8. Hey, your the one who first attacked me today.

        And I could just as easily say that you’re lying about liking the show to be contrary against the haters, but I’m not the one insulting other people’s integrity.

        Sorry but I really do like it: How they portray Shu as someone naive and immature. How they will eventually break this kid who wanted nothing more than to live in peace all because his loved ones are somehow involved in everything that is happening: His dad, his mom, Inori and her flashback look alike(whose name MIGHT be Carol, a girl who looks like Inori from the Lost Christmas VN).

        In the end I could only see two things for him:

        1. He breaks himself(which is sad)
        2. He breaks others(+ points if his acts spelled Armageddon)
        3. He saves the world(which is boring to only a certain extent)

        And about people who seems to ask “why Yahiro disappeared from the stage suddenly”? I think he went to do a few things: bury his brother, look for a new hideout and plan his revenge. That isn’t the last time we see of him.

        The Moondoggie
      9. Actually, I was attacking the show. I’m aware you’re not that good at English, having come from the Philippines, so I’ll try to make it clearer in the future. Sorry about that.

        Unfortunately, I don’t share your positive attitude about the show. The major differences I’ve seen (or read from Ep 7 onwards) with Shu from all the other characters like him is he takes much, MUCH longer to develop, and the series of events he’s placed in aren’t helping. He pretends to want a normal life, then does everything a terrorist mastermind tells him to. He then goes back to a normal life with the popular song idol that for some reason no one questions. And there isn’t even any real reason for them to have a romance. He only likes her because she’s hot and said she’d do anything for him, but didn’t get the hint when she confessed that it was all a hoax. They’ve never had an actual moment of chemistry, and the reason for that is the story is basically forcing these two to get together eventually. He literally has no good traits about him. He just whines and does things as the plot demands it with the Void Weapon Of The Day. It’s never even stated why Hare likes him, besides it being a plain old school crush.

        Also, LOLZ LOST CHRISTMAS CAROL

        Da5id
      10. Because I never did addressed it. I’m a bit preoccupied…

        Well Shu does all the things you say because he’s trying to keep his old life, and his new involvement with Funeral Parlor together. He did try to lie about Inori being at their house to his mum after all.

        And I specifically remember Shu being Inori’s fan. And it’s Inori who approached him first after that scene with her entering Gai’s room. I know not why Inori keep approaching a confused Shu, maybe because of the alternate Inori inside her, but Shu, gullible as ever, is, I imagine, is more than willing to forgive her.

        So now we have Inori trying to figure out why SHE is constantly all for Shu. This would make sense is she is a clone or has lost her memories and is actually the girl in Shu’s memories, the lampshade being strengthen by Gai’s “so you choose him as well…” (Gai get’s NTR’d…. twice in one lifetime!)

        This show is on how we break some ordinary guy we found trying to live his life peacefully by giving him powers and chuck him into a rebellion without training and help. Since this is 2 cours(?) he is supposed to be a bit slow.

        The Moondoggie
      11. I’ve seen realistic guys being thrown into situations like this in 2-cour series and they didn’t take this long to develop. I’m aware that in deconstructions of genres, the protagonist is usually really unlikeable, because he represents how normal people would react to a situation he was thrown into. However, I’d never know any real person to be this indecisive and inconsistent with their decisions. Plus, in those shows, the MC isn’t even what the show relies on until later. For Shu, everything revolves around him, and he is not making it easy for himself.

        As for Inori, if she really is a clone or a childhood friend with amnesia, that doesn’t help the show at all because those types of characters (and all combinations thereof) are DRASTICALLY and ANNOYINGLY overplayed in EVERY ANIME EVER, which just supports the case that this show runs on cliches and doesn’t have any sort of originality behind it. Shu still has no positive traits to be seen, so Inori and Hare have no reason to like him. If even Inori herself is questioning why she likes him, then we have a major problem.

        Da5id
      12. I’ve seen realistic guys being thrown into situations like this in 2-cour series and they didn’t take this long to develop.

        Well now you have seen one take even longer. Longer than Madoka, who was only useful in the very last episode, perhaps.

        If even Inori herself is questioning why she likes him, then we have a major problem.

        It actually makes sense: The feeling is a part of the old Inori, given she is a clone. You do know how people who had transplants experience changes in personality and way of thinking based on the personality of the donor? Or how clones copy everything from the original, even though they don’t why? I’m would like to cite To Aru Majutsu no Index where the Misaka clones likes the same type of guy as the original or how they both like cute things… like cats.

        The Moondoggie
      13. Right, but Madoka only had to observe for most of the series. She learned things as the viewer did. The action was coming from the other characters while she tried to make her decision, which if she had made any earlier would have cut the series into a fourth of its length. Shu is in the thick of it from day one and doesn’t have any sort of development. At least Madoka was learning what the stakes were with each episode. With Shu, he still doesn’t know what the hell is going on, yet he just goes along with it because Inori’s involved.

        You’re assuming she’s a clone, and even if she was, it’s never stated that whoever she was cloned from liked him. And even if all of that were true, THERE’S STILL NO REASON TO LIKE HIM. Can you name ONE REDEEMABLE CHARACTER TRAIT HE HAS that has shown to have an actual impression on any character in the show? I keep bringing that up, but you never seem to respond to it.

        Da5id
      14. What’s there to redeem? The guy is as ordinary as us, except with the added Void Genome. He doesn’t want all of this! He would have been contented being an ordinary fan than meeting Inori and getting pulled into this mess. If you are to get angry at someone, go for Gai or Inori because they dragged him into this. I don’t know how much Haruka worked so Shu won’t get involved but it looks like she was so disappointed this episode upon learning he already is involved.

        And it looks like you seem to haven’t seen it before, but the show IS presenting us the characters as people we should not like. You getting annoyed/hate at Shu generally is actually their goal. It really amuses me how tons of people took the bait so mindlessly, its on a very absurd level.

        And I keep assuming only because the show did drop clues on the subject.

        The Moondoggie
      15. It amuses you. And you call me pretentious.

        Sorry, but “ordinary guy” isn’t a personality. As a character, I actually like Gai because, unlike Inori and Shu, he’s consistent and interesting. Shu and Inori are not, because they aren’t consistent and they aren’t interesting. And I couldn’t care less about Haruka.

        I also don’t care if they’re making me hate this character, because it’s working. I just care that this character pays off in the end, and I don’t see that happening based on what I’ve seen. I’ve just caught up with this current episode, and Shu is still far from someone who can turn around anyone’s opinion of him.

        And I assume the show will be a flop in story because the show hints as such.

        Da5id
      16. @da5id

        Well that just show how much you don’t understand the show/how much you don’t want to understand the show. You and everyone who hates the show have been using a standard idea of how a protagonist should be and has closed your minds for other possibilities.

        First of all while many people judge Shu on how he acts to every situation thrown at him so far none of you guys has ever come up with an answer to why he does what he does. “What’s wrong with him this time?” “He has PTSD.” “Why?” “Because he killed some kid.” “Lame.” That’s how would the conversation flow. None has ever asked “Why killing someone cause PTSD?” like as if everyone knows the answer.

        But then, if they do, why would they call the situation “lame” and still blame Shu about it? Is it because every one expects Shu to be totally GAR after getting Void Genome and expects that killing some kid won’t disturb him? That would be the correct answer, but I guess everyone would just deny that. 😛

        And yeah, it amuses me. This exchange has been amusing enough to keep me awake on work. AND… yeah, I’m still calling you pretentious. XD

        The Moondoggie
      17. “Well that just show how much you don’t understand the show/how much you don’t want to understand the show. You and everyone who hates the show have been using a standard idea of how a protagonist should be and has closed your minds for other possibilities.”

        Actually, it’s more like the creators have closed their minds to using a creative and interesting way of telling the story. They’ve already admitted they want Shu to basically be a modern Shinji, not any sort of original personality in his own right.

        “First of all while many people judge Shu on how he acts to every situation thrown at him so far none of you guys has ever come up with an answer to why he does what he does. “What’s wrong with him this time?” “He has PTSD.” “Why?” “Because he killed some kid.” “Lame.” That’s how would the conversation flow. None has ever asked “Why killing someone cause PTSD?” like as if everyone knows the answer.”

        You’re not even reading the comments here, are you? No one’s putting him down for HAVING PTSD, they’re putting him down for the way it’s being PORTRAYED. They’re have already been plenty of complaints about the pacing and consistency of the story, and this sort of development (or lack thereof) isn’t welcome. What WOULD be welcome is if Shu finally decided to give a fuck about what was going on around him and manned up. You’re talking about Shu like he’s a real person, when you should be talking about him as a character.

        “But then, if they do, why would they call the situation “lame” and still blame Shu about it? Is it because every one expects Shu to be totally GAR after getting Void Genome and expects that killing some kid won’t disturb him? That would be the correct answer, but I guess everyone would just deny that. :P”

        And how come it’s okay for HIM to be like this when Inori, Gai and the rest have been killing tons of people since Episode 1 and haven’t felt a thing? Where’s THEIR regret about killing 100s more than Shu will likely ever kill in the entire series?

        “And yeah, it amuses me. This exchange has been amusing enough to keep me awake on work. AND… yeah, I’m still calling you pretentious. XD”

        …so do you have any basis for calling me pretentious, or are you just doing it so you can troll again?

        Da5id
      18. “You’re not even reading the comments here, are you? No one’s putting him down for HAVING PTSD, they’re putting him down for the way it’s being PORTRAYED. They’re have already been plenty of complaints about the pacing and consistency of the story, and this sort of development (or lack thereof) isn’t welcome. What WOULD be welcome is if Shu finally decided to give a fuck about what was going on around him and manned up. You’re talking about Shu like he’s a real person, when you should be talking about him as a character.”

        I’m talking about Shu as a real person? Nope. I’m comparing Shu, or mostly his actions, to what a real kid would do if this happen to him. And the character he plays is that of a kid, who got involved with something he doesn’t like. Think about it: the writers had portrayed him as realistic as it gets.

        “And how come it’s okay for HIM to be like this when Inori, Gai and the rest have been killing tons of people since Episode 1 and haven’t felt a thing? Where’s THEIR regret about killing 100s more than Shu will likely ever kill in the entire series?”

        More likely they don’t have regrets anymore, or remorse. Shu has everything to lose: his life, his mom, his friends, his home and the peace he enjoys. FP members has nothing to lose anymore, whether it be their lives or their fellow FP members’. Unless we could get more background on the matter, the way I see it, Gai is just mostly doing this to get back at GHQ, whether is be for the girl he likes or for other.

        “…so do you have any basis for calling me pretentious, or are you just doing it so you can troll again?”

        Besides, I stopped watching because it’s stayed so consistently bad. All I’ve needed to stay in touch with the events of each episode afterwards is read these reviews. I’m not gonna waste my time with a glorified mixture of modern anime cliches.”

        I call you pretentious, because you post like you’re watching the show. But you are just only parroting other people’s opinions by reading the posts here. You did admit you had stopped watching. Then that means that all the opinions you have been spouting are nothing more than plagiarism of other people’s opinions.

        The Moondoggie
      19. Realistic? Or just uninteresting? I’m thinking the latter. You really think this story is such a paramount that it’s made Shoe seem more realistic than the character they’re literally copying him off of, Shinji Ikari?

        Yeah, about the FP, what exactly is their motive? It’s halfway through the series and none of their motives, backstories, or anything beyond their faces and blatant ability to look cute have been made clear. I can understand Gai’s backstory being on hold until the last quarter of the story, but we should at least have some idea of how Ayase ended up in her wheelchair, or why Tsugumi wears cat ears. Right now they’re just crony stereotypes that have had no impact on the story…at all, really. Even more so with his school chums who serve nothing more than drama to had more moe-blandness.

        Maybe you should look a couple comments back where I said “I’ve just caught up with this current episode, and Shu is still far from someone who can turn around anyone’s opinion of him. Meaning: I’ve watched all there is to watch so far, and nothing has changed my mind so far. And if this half has been this disappointing, no doubt the next one will as well. If anyone here is pretentious here, it’s you for basically saying in every single comment “HEY YOU GUYS DON’T GET IT, IT’S WAY TOO SMART FOR YOU, THEY’RE HOPING YOU’LL HATE HIM, IT AMUSES ME HOW YOU ALL ARE FALLING FOR IT.”

        Da5id
      20. @Da5id

        Realistic? Or just uninteresting? I’m thinking the latter. You really think this story is such a paramount that it’s made Shoe seem more realistic than the character they’re literally copying him off of, Shinji Ikari?

        Look, they recognized the comparison with Shinji more than they recognize the show’s comparison to Code Geass. But nobody said anything that Shu is based on Shinji. I thought we had this one straighten out two weeks ago? And you know: it’s common for an anime to be compared to another and find shallow similarities, like how I see Maken-ki as a bad version of Freezing.

        Yeah, about the FP, what exactly is their motive? It’s halfway through the series and none of their motives, backstories, or anything beyond their faces and blatant ability to look cute have been made clear. I can understand Gai’s backstory being on hold until the last quarter of the story, but we should at least have some idea of how Ayase ended up in her wheelchair, or why Tsugumi wears cat ears. Right now they’re just crony stereotypes that have had no impact on the story…at all, really. Even more so with his school chums who serve nothing more than drama to had more moe-blandness.

        It’s a show with two cours with supplemental material(a game and a manga). I’m not really surprised if they will take the next cour to wrap things up or they will leave out bits. I could also understand if they won’t give background for Shu’s classmates if it’s not important for the plot. I’m patient. But until the fateful episode/game/chapter comes I will keep my view that Gai and Inori are the people responsible for pulling Shu into this mess.

        Maybe you should look a couple comments back where I said “I’ve just caught up with this current episode, and Shu is still far from someone who can turn around anyone’s opinion of him. Meaning: I’ve watched all there is to watch so far, and nothing has changed my mind so far. And if this half has been this disappointing, no doubt the next one will as well…

        So after you decided to call it quits you come back and eat the thing you consider as “shit” and you will eat the next one too? You really hate yourself, don’t you….

        If anyone here is pretentious here, it’s you for basically saying in every single comment “HEY YOU GUYS DON’T GET IT, IT’S WAY TOO SMART FOR YOU, THEY’RE HOPING YOU’LL HATE HIM, IT AMUSES ME HOW YOU ALL ARE FALLING FOR IT.”

        Apart for the pretentious part, yeah.

        Me: “HEY! YOU GUYS DON’T GET IT: IT’S WAY TOO SMART FOR YOU! THEY’RE HOPING YOU’LL HATE HIM AND IT AMUSES ME HOW YOU ALL FELL FOR IT.”

        When a writer makes his readers feel what he intended them to feel, it just shows how much skill he has under that pen of his.

        Excuse me while I go count how many did fell for it this time. Thanks for reminding me. : )

        The Moondoggie
      21. “Look, they recognized the comparison with Shinji more than they recognize the show’s comparison to Code Geass. But nobody said anything that Shu is based on Shinji. I thought we had this one straighten out two weeks ago? And you know: it’s common for an anime to be compared to another and find shallow similarities, like how I see Maken-ki as a bad version of Freezing.”

        Harem anime go without saying, but here’s a direct quote from the creators about the Shinji comparison: “Shu is kind of a 2011 version of Shinji.” Not only are they aware of the comparison, they are literally using Shinji as the mold from which to form Shu from. It’s not even about similarities anymore, he’s literally Shinji’s clone. The only thing that’s missing is his oedipus complex.

        It’s a show with two cours with supplemental material(a game and a manga). I’m not really surprised if they will take the next cour to wrap things up or they will leave out bits. I could also understand if they won’t give background for Shu’s classmates if it’s not important for the plot. I’m patient. But until the fateful episode/game/chapter comes I will keep my view that Gai and Inori are the people responsible for pulling Shu into this mess.

        But then…why bring them in at all if they aren’t going to have any point? Just fanservice? To make pointless drama that has no place in the show? And what about the rest of FP? What point do they serve? Patience is a good quality, but in this case, the show needs to hurry the fuck up. That’s my opinion, and I’m sticking to it until this series decides whether it wants to focus on the love triangles and high school stuff, or actually commit to the idea of having a fully characterized team of hi-tech badasses. So far, they’re flip-floping on both constantly, and they can’t expect to save it until the end of the show and have it go well with the viewers. Then again, pretty much NOTHING is going over well with the viewers so far. I’m seeing a pattern here…

        “So after you decided to call it quits you come back and eat the thing you consider as “shit” and you will eat the next one too? You really hate yourself, don’t you…”

        It was so I could back up my argument here…but I see now that it was pointless.

        “Apart for the pretentious part, yeah.

        Me: ‘HEY! YOU GUYS DON’T GET IT: IT’S WAY TOO SMART FOR YOU! THEY’RE HOPING YOU’LL HATE HIM AND IT AMUSES ME HOW YOU ALL FELL FOR IT.’

        When a writer makes his readers feel what he intended them to feel, it just shows how much skill he has under that pen of his.

        Excuse me while I go count how many did fell for it this time. Thanks for reminding me. : )”

        That’s the thing, nothing from the creator’s interview or anything discussed about the material suggests that this is the reaction they wanted to get. And yeah, that exact behavior is the very definition of pretentiousness: “Attempting to impress by affecting greater importance, talent, culture, etc., than is actually possessed.” I’m not attempting to be smarter than anyone else by saying “lol you guys are dumb, this is what they want”. This is genuinely where I feel the series is going. And since there’s no chance of you understanding that fact, I think we’re done here. Enjoy the last word.

        Da5id
      22. @Da5id

        Harem anime go without saying, but here’s a direct quote from the creators about the Shinji comparison: “Shu is kind of a 2011 version of Shinji.” Not only are they aware of the comparison, they are literally using Shinji as the mold from which to form Shu from. It’s not even about similarities anymore, he’s literally Shinji’s clone. The only thing that’s missing is his oedipus complex.

        They didn’t say exactly that they are using Shinji as a mold for Shu. They just described that, in a comparison, he’s like Shinji to an extent.

        But then…why bring them in at all if they aren’t going to have any point? Just fanservice? To make pointless drama that has no place in the show? And what about the rest of FP? What point do they serve? Patience is a good quality, but in this case, the show needs to hurry the fuck up. That’s my opinion, and I’m sticking to it until this series decides whether it wants to focus on the love triangles and high school stuff, or actually commit to the idea of having a fully characterized team of hi-tech badasses. So far, they’re flip-floping on both constantly, and they can’t expect to save it until the end of the show and have it go well with the viewers. Then again, pretty much NOTHING is going over well with the viewers so far. I’m seeing a pattern here….

        I didn’t say they aren’t going to be important: I was saying their back story might not be.

        They had to flip-flop between school and rebellion: Shu is trying to keep both what he is used to and his gig in FP.

        It was so I could back up my argument here…but I see now that it was pointless.

        So when you were spouting like a parrot and realized you don’t have anything to back up what your were saying, you went and watched all the episodes since you stopped. Yep, I should really give you a point for that move.

        That’s the thing, nothing from the creator’s interview or anything discussed about the material suggests that this is the reaction they wanted to get.

        You should really just look on how they portray him: naive, sentimental, an easily traumatized, angsty, scaredy cat who runs at the first sight of danger when devoid of his… void weapons. Clearly they want us to hate him.

        Honestly, it didn’t work on me and I pity him instead.

        And yeah, that exact behavior is the very definition of pretentiousness: “Attempting to impress by affecting greater importance, talent, culture, etc., than is actually possessed.” I’m not attempting to be smarter than anyone else by saying “lol you guys are dumb, this is what they want”.

        Kinda like how you pretended to have been watching the show while bleating those complaints, when you were just actually reading other’s posts?

        This is genuinely where I feel the series is going. And since there’s no chance of you understanding that fact, I think we’re done here. Enjoy the last word.

        Hmm? I kinda remember you were the first one to comment on my post. If we really cannot reach an agreement, might I suggest we refrain from commenting on each other’s post? I actually know that it will turn out like this in the end, but I can’t help it: accepting any challenge presented to me excites me.

        I sincerely enjoyed this exchange. Contrary to what you may think, I now have a good understanding on how you see this show. But I still disagree to all of it.

        The Moondoggie
      1. nope, many people here like the show, they just dont like to comment or dont know how to speak english well, just like me 🙂 and I think most people here like the show, that’s why they are still here and commenting CONS of the show.

        jepfri
      2. @jepfri
        I don’t know if your sarcastic or what? If you like the show, doesn’t that mean you would rather talk about the positive aspects of the show than trying to find the negative aspects on it? It kinda makes one look like an asshole rather than a smart person.

        The Moondoggie
  34. Whatever people think of Shu this episode, he’s gonna have to pick up the pieces are glue his mind back together cause nothing looks right for the people in Tokyo.

    Another thing, can they actually get all those chunks of flashbacks back together for us some time in the next few episodes, cause I’m getting sick of going back to the previous episode to refresh my memory every time a new one comes out…

    still, the revelation of Inori’s origins being confirmed for good this time with her talking to herself at the activation of the resonating “Tokyo tower”…

    info600
  35. Was anyone else disappointing that Gai missed? Cuz it really shows how much Shu sucks when the plot finally gets interesting as soon as he got benched.

    Seriously, the only thing in my thoughts in the first half of the episode was how disappointing Shu is and that he really REALLY pisses me off.

    Then the second half begins with Gai continuing without Shu and I actually liked it.

    I just wish I could jump in Anime. Then I could kill Shu and save GC’s plot, smack some emotion in Inori and steal Hare(or Ayase) for myself.

    JHN
  36. Admittedly, I tried to find something to like in Shu’s character- but even Luke fon Fabre wasn’t this much of a wimp. Hopefully, they’ll find some way to turn his character around like Luke, though given that Shu’s shown so far… fat chance?

    Meh, I’m blaming some PTSD from Lost Christmas, though even if that’s true, I don’t know if Shu can redeem himself enough.

    Beedle
  37. It’s funny, in this interview: http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interview/2011-11-28/interview-koji-yamamoto-ryo-ohyama-and-george-wada-on-guilty-crown the chief producer said: We’re not trying to be like Geass. We didn’t plan to take anything from it for this show.

    And now in this chapter they plagiarized Code Geass R2 episode 9, when Lelouch wants Kallen to comfort him…

    At least, finally Hare has a decent role… So cute, Ayase in school outfit *__*.

    Amuro
  38. Even though I said I didn’t like Shu as a character much since episode 2, I didn’t think he would turned out to be THIS bad… I dunno if I will be able to like him by the time he has come around.

    On the contrary, Gai, Ayase and Hare look better and better by each passing episodes.

    Serapita
  39. nehh , Shu’s behavior is like a normal person will do, so I don’t hate it. Or maybe you guys like to see a main killing somebody and feels nothing after that because he is a strong person?,like this 2 heartless characters, Light and Lelouch(a “BIN LADEN” WANABE).

    jepfri
    1. Yeah, your right in a way. But we aren’t watching this to see how a normal person would act in these situations. We’re watching for our enjoyment and see the MC take again despite his situation.

      Being traumatized is one thing, but Shu is just whining and yelling until he’s suddebly okay again. It looks like some kid is playing with his light switch. Only he doesn’t go on or off, he just whines and yells out loud or inside his head.

      JHN
    2. Well, it’s okey to feel sick after killing someone.

      Problem is, i) we don’t know exactly Shu was feeling for, ii) his reaction to Inori and Hare was so out of character that we now believe he was a jerk just in it to chase after girls.

      hoh
  40. So looks like next episode, Shu and his schoolmates (who will both be surprised and accepting of his power) will go and save the day, with convenient plot device void weapons! I bet end of episode 11, all will be reset and normal again…except for Gai who will be half void crystal.

    Nanashi
  41. The worst part of it all is the fact that I still don’t like Gai, even after him trying to kill Shuu this time. And I usually like that kind of “God-mode” characters.
    I have given up on Shuu since several episodes ago wtf -_- Inori finally shows some real emotions, but she still feels a little bit stiff.
    Need more tsugumi and ayase though. Hare is not half bad either. Maybe they should just leave funeral parlor and form another resistance group with badass and attractive girls. They would rock much more than funeral parlor

    C
  42. I am fed up with Shu to the point i don’t care about him… I am now more interested in the internal war of GHQ that just started. Go surprise allegiance switches!
    My guess is Gai has to die (death flags galore this ep) for Shu to get his act together and man up.

    ewok40k
  43. I think I called some of what would happen this episode, but damn if I never thought the writers would reduce Shu further and faster than previous episodes. Peaks and valleys, sure, but the writers are trolling HARD.
    And thus, Shu beats Shinji Ikari for worst male protagonist right now, and it’s by far. Shinji manned up by the movies, at least. I have never thought anyone would write a character who could end up so hated for the way he carries himself. Any redemption on his behalf may no longer matter, at least in our eyes.
    Truthfully, I don’t want Gai to die, but I do want Shu to mentally break, stop caring, and then just wreak havoc. Gai can recover, take up his post as the main character, and do his thing with FP while they allow Shu to just rampage about.
    Judging from the preview though, Shu will man up ever so slightly, and then attempt to form a ragtag squad to save the day….

    *Sigh* I have never watched an anime series where my patience would run so thin. Al least Ayase is interesting to watch. Until this turns around (360 degrees most likely, har har) Ayase and the music are the only reasons I watch this show.

    Shinmarizu
  44. “I guess the producers were right about how Gai’s the “other” main character of the story, though I don’t think they were anticipating viewers like me who wishes he was the only one.”

    QFT. Sweet. Merciful. Sasquatch. QFT. If GC starred Gai – a physically young, emotionally stable, mentally resolved but still human, attractive yet outwardly ruthless guy who’s leading a rebel group to retake the country, all while trying to beat the clock against his deadly illness, I would be literally jump for joy. What’s wrong with the story writers that I started out liking Shu and now can’t stand him? I consider myself a fairly compassionate, understanding person when it comes to these Everyman Screw-up/Reluctant Hero types, and sure, I expected him to have some trauma from last episode, but this? This?

    Reboot this series and have Gai be the sole male protagonist. Focus on the school kids only after the Kuhouin Group is introduced, and give more love to the Funeral Parlor members. THAT’S the series I want to own, I.G. T.T

  45. The fact that Shu is such a pussy is logical for me.I mean seriously, you got yourself in the middle of a war/you find out your interest(inori)is only using you/you’re force to kill someone’s sister before she hurt her brother?

    animewtch
  46. I really do hate to just jump on the character bashing bandwagon, but I find it extremely hard to resist the urges. I didn’t even hate Shinji this much. My hats off to the writers if they actually manage to make me like Shu again by the end of the series.

    Azuma
  47. the only thing i liked about this episode is the ending, when everyone was turning to something similar to zombies.

    i really dont like shu or inori now.
    1st off, inori didnt like shu and asked him to stay away from her, now she does?
    shu was a wimp, became better later on in the episodes and now suddenly becomes a wimp again

    if i got any of these wrong please tell me as i really want to like this anime but cant

    UmadBro?
  48. Very little could be felt, even after so many dramatic moments. It was very difficult to bear with Shuu’s attitude through the entire episode. While his situation is understandable, the mental breakdown was not proportional to the build up, so instead of making the audience feel bad for his circunstances, the drama seems unproportional and out of place.

    If the writers wanted for us to care about Shuu, they could develop the romance between him and Hare at earlier episodes, making it deep enough for Shuu to use his power and work for Funeral Parlor so he could protect his lover. After that, they could deepen their relationship more (like living together, having sex, etc), so the real drama could be introduced when one of the villains managed to infect Hare with the virus, forcing Shuu to kill her while she is still human. If something like that happened, it would be a proportional build up to a mental breakdown.

    Other than that, i don’t have a problem with the romance between Shuu and Inori, because the series will probably develop their past in a way that the story will tie those two together. However, i think it would be much more interesting if Inori was just a respectable senior at first, and gradually developed her feelings during many missions with Shuu. That way, their backstory would serve to strenghten their ties, instead of just justifying them.

    With all that said, i liked Hare’s drama scene. I could totally feel that same disappointment that she felt after Shuu acted that way. I hope that the story doesn’t put her aside.

    Survival
  49. I can see why Shuu is annoying, but if this anime were simply a stage for Gai to grandstand on (with or without some hokey terminal illness), it would be boring as hell.

    Regardless, I think it’s kinda comical watching Shuu’s emotional issues wreak havoc on the tired pursuit of this anime’s characters. So please, Shuu, show me how far you can drag everyone down–it’s certainly more interesting than you coming back and saving the day.

    asdf
  50. Meh I just think that don’t want to create the same empowered cliche protagonist. I admit his character is rubbing the wrong way, though Inori’s character rubbed me the wrong way as well considering the last few episodes she had seemed to have been acting like nothing more than a simple doll. Shu simply seen some horrific shit that he had never seen before that his mind can’t easily get over, so of course he’s going to be screwed up in the head especially if he keeps thinking about what he saw when he was witnessing Jun’s memory. I haven’t exactly given up on none of the character’s yet despite the way they act.

    And can’t really blame Shu for wanting to be Gai rather than be himself, hell he probably figured that Gai would be able to handle the sights he had seen better than he could as himself. Can’t say that everyone hasn’t been in a situation where they had preferred to be someone else rather than be themselves it’s typical in some cases. But it’s just my thought.

    Karas
    1. You hit the jackpot there, humans do stupis things when whe see something tramautic or horrorific, some of us can handle the horrors other humans are capable of. Shu just wants to scape what he saw since there is no way to turn it off, doing so he will make mistakes and hurt others, I´m not saying is excusable but understandable and he hasn´t make an unforgivable mistakes up until now. He has face his fears not as someone else but who he truly and what he wants to become to improve himself. His response to all this is the human like behavior anyone could expect, I´m truly impressed.

      haseo0408
  51. WOW, Shuu is really testing my patients. Actually forget that, I just don’t like his character at all. At the end of the series when Inori probably ends up with him, I probably won’t even be happy for his character. I don’t get why the writers feel they need to make their character pathetic for so long! I mean I thought initially that pathetic-ness to Shuu would go away as he got used to being in Funeral Parlor, but ohh man was I wrong. He better have a awesome Apocalypse save everyone comeback sort of moment soon, or I’ll get pretty disgusted over his character.

    MrBrownSound
  52. Gah, the ending was the only bit of this episode I really enjoyed. The pacing was AWFUL… whatever happened to the aftermath of Shuu killing Jun??

    I recently rewatched evangelion, and it’s honestly a toss up for me whether I hate Shuu or Shinji more. I mean, at least Shinji had deep psychological reasons + good writing for why he was such a pussy. Shuu on the other hand is just a badly drawn character. It’s not that his character type per-se is bad, just horrible execution.

    I’ll keep on watching GC, if only because I hate dropping an anime once I’ve started watching it. It has to be god awful for me to do that… Dragonaut anyone?

    lorenzo89er
  53. This show would have been epic if Gai actually pulled the trigger and turned into the real protagonist.

    Now why didn’t it happen? So we could see the spineless coward try to use Hare or so Inori could ask if this feeling is love? What feeling I never even saw anything except for her random hot n cold act? The story is such a trainwreck; I don’t even know if they are trying to do it episodically or continuously.

    shin
  54. As much as I don’t like Shu right now, at least is character and reactions actually have some kind of explanation.

    Honestly, Inori and Gai pissed me off more than Shu did. I mean, really? First, Shu is a person that you supposedly need due to his ability, and yet you are perfectly willing to throw him away the instant he gets shell shocked/repressed trauma? Regardless of whether or not he “should” be having a mental breakdown right now, he “is” having one. Shu isn’t a soldier, he doesn’t have the mental fortitude that most of the Undertakers have. It never occurred to them that maybe they should help the guy who’s clearly losing his mind? Instead, they just add insult to injury? I’m questioning how believable it is that a person like Gai could gather together as many people as he has . . .

    In fact, that’s how it’s been this entire series. Sure, Shu’s annoying, but at least we get why he’s annoying. The rest of them all act as if they’ve forgotten that, oh I dunno, he’s a student! Just because he happened upon a special power doesn’t change that. Earlier, they gave him a WEEK to prepare for a fight against a MECH on FOOT. What the hell, Undertakers? What the actual hell?

    Nyangoro
    1. The show requires suspension of belief, plain and simple. Guilty Crown is plot-driven, so I guess properly developing characters and having them act in a sensible manner take a back stage. I, too, thought they were being a bit too harsh towards Shu for some of the mistakes he made since he was just a civillian. But uh, who cares? Since the writers need to make Shu as pitiful as possible.

      Apparently he’s supposed to be the new Shinji Ikari and I get that Shinji’s a shitty protagonist, but I don’t understand why the writers feel like they need to throw a shit storm at Shu every episode to make him as bad as Shinji.

      Aside from his dick move towards Hare, Shu hasn’t exactly done anything wrong; his reactions have been human, like how anyone would react in that situation. Sure, he’s a little wimpy and he’s no Ichigo or Naruto or Lelouch but you know, there’s nothing wrong with the way he reacts to things. But instead of making Shu a ‘bad protagonist’ by giving him a proper reason to be, the writers are just making him schizophrenic and ineffectual to the show. The issues Shu is having actually can be riveting, a platform for some nice character development. But instead of developing him more on that front, the writers are just demonizing him over and over again like it’s some witch hunt. It was funny the first time, but now it’s just getting repetitive and it’s not helping the show in anyway. They need to realize that you can make flawed protagonists without making the rest of the cast/show look like a bunch of schizophrenic idiots.

      BakaMochi
  55. my top 3 gayest characters

    1.Yukki( mirai nikki ) – faggot until the end, no hope for this gay
    2.Shinji( Evangelion ) – ugly crybaby who always runaway
    3.Shu ( GC ) – well, he is smart but still an indecisive whiny brat( still hoping he will change )

    pokwang
  56. Indeed, Shu was really hard to watch this episode but have high hopes for him to around soon and do something to redeem his misarable actitude. Still, even what he did to Hare (I have no worries there, the girl will forgive him because he was obviously out of his mind) was out of the desperation he feels for killing an innocent boy.

    In the interview with ANN the creators of Guilty Crown stated that Shu was the equivalent of Shinji Ikari for 2011, that might be true to some degree, they both have a lot in common but at the end they are essencialy different. Shinji was badly damaged by a serious of incedents that destroy his faith in humanity before it could even form properly (your father using as a weapon does the trick). For the other hand Shu was aparently traumatized by a certain event durig the Lost Christmas, reason he withdraw from everyone around him to avoid being by a lost again. Shinji was a lost case in original series (Ihave hopes for him in the new movies) but Shu can have redeption for his mistakes.

    haseo0408
  57. Oh god what a horrible episode, I wouldnt be damn surprised if people dropped it now. I dont want to drop it cuz I like the animation. If they can do a 180 degree turn to a shitty ep .. I think they can do it in reverse .. right?

  58. when inori walked out the door teary-eyed, i was like “get out already! you’ve been too cold on that man and now your crying?”

    when shuu tried to lead hare on, i was like “damn! you dont deserve such a good girl, bastard!”

    shuu and inori’s personality ruins this series, followed by the epic story telling

    ryuuzaki
    1. Well to be fair, Inori tried to call Shuu. But for plot conveniences there is no caller ID on his ‘MODERN’ cell phone. But yeah, I hate that there’s still no closure on Inori’s coldness towards Shuu some episodes ago.

      0927123
  59. I’m not sure why people are hating on Shuu. Yes I agree his move to Hare was very dickish. But I don’t understand why he likes Inori. She was pretty much cold to him. Yes we know it was due to Gai’s orders but stillll even after that she alll cold to him. As for this ep I liked the fact that he having a mental breakdown due to killing Yahiro brother. But know one seems to notice how thats effected him other then Hare and if they do they don’t even try to help him with what he going though. Stilll I would have liekd to see what had happened between Yahiro and Shuu. As for Gai’s plan failing that just lead to me wtf. Like just a few eps ago he made his team learn alll 118 plans but for this one they only learn 1. Would have thought Gai would have a backup plan or something.

    Yoyo
  60. I agree people are completely overreacting to Shuu. A couple things need to be done. Clearing up the past, figuring out Gai’s real motive (like when he says he lost to Shuu again?), and the push of change. As of now Shuu is completely blind of why and how. Inori being a clone, possibly of the same girl who took Shuu’s side to begin with. Gai could easily be put in the “I’m super jealous over you so i’m going to work hard to become the best.” and betray everyone over his own wants and needs. While Shuu is following the old “i’m too scared to do anything.” role, he was pretty much thrown into everything anyways. Too many things have been rushed, made no sense, and just kinda tossed together. Lets see how they go from here now that there is a real dilemma.

    Oro
  61. I watched this episode twice. I said the same things that most people said regarding this episode at first…but the second time, I read the synopsis of characters and episodes of Wikipedia. I watched this episode with those things in mind, and I feel like this series is actually better than what people make it out to be. Sure, it’s not the perfect image we expected, but I feel that this will be the new Code Geass. Slow start and shaky middle, but perfect ending. I have hope for this series!

    Nikku
  62. Don’t be too forgiving on Gai just because Shu is really so sucky. Its true that when compared, Gai looks better but thats just because the competition is Shu. Compare Rider with Gai and we can immediately see the problems with him because Gai is a ruthless manipulator. That and his plans are really just based the writers helping him out with a void that fits exactly what is needed.

    Zaku Fan
    1. Had to comment when I saw this. Broskander… and Gai? What. Can’t be compared.
      Fate/Zero fleshes out its characters very well so far, I think we can all relate to every character except Uryuu and Caster. As for GC… let’s admit it, most of us are probably here cause of the quality visuals. And redjuice and ryo.

      On a side note Eva eerily makes perfect sense if you watch it while depressed.

      1. Yep, you pretty much nailed it. A good 50% of the people, myself included, who still watches GC just feels obligated because it has very high quality visuals. Too bad they couldnt pump the same amount of budget into the writing so that it wouldn’t become the incoherent mess that it has become at this point.

        YanDaMan263
  63. I feel as if this series is all over the place… I don’t know what GC is trying to achieve, but I just hope the series doesn’t turn out with a bad ending or something. I do like how they’re showing more of that other girl now~

    rochichan
    1. The fundamental problem is that a show’s protagonist is supposed to (for the most part) operate as an audience identification figure, where the viewer should be able to empathise with everything the protag is feeling and going through. Without that, the viewer starts to question why they are following a story if they haven’t actually found a character that is likeable enough to make them care what happens to them. Any of them.

      And when the producers deliberately make one of those anempathetic characters the protagonist, the MAIN character around which the whole show is being forced mavigate, because they want to try something different (that really isn’t that different or original and has been done far better), then they’ve created an issue where there wasn’t a need for one. And considering the creepingly ongoing nature of Shu’s personality and character breakdown, and the degree of incoherence with which the development of the show has been handled on many fronts up to this point, they’ve given themselves a bloody job and a half to recover the situation.

      Because when people actually start to despise the protagonist and find things are genuinely better without him, you’ve really screwed the pooch.

      Mappy
  64. There’s reluctant heroes and then there’s flat-out wimps.

    Yes- they exist. But to be the main character of this kind of story only to see him taking two steps backwards from the starting line when we’re already halfway through the race urges me to grow hair for the sole purpose of ripping it out in frustration.

    I’ve seen mice with bigger balls than Shoe.

    Female mice.

    Stranger
  65. From watching the bit and pieces of “loose” picture here and there, and the way how Gui hold the cross and comment on Inori “getting more and more like her” I can’t help but think he had a go at shoe’s o-nei-chan. And may be just me, but watching ep 10 when the resonance activated and re-watching ep 1, scene 1, wasn’t that purple “laser effect” thing from the Tokyo-tower-look-alike looking suspicious?

    Aoi kaze
  66. i think next week episode will be the end of shuu pathetic personalities with all his “friend” encourage him and next week haruka and gai will work together to destroy this shuichiro “human future plan” and daryl will show his weak side in next ep; please dont just drop the show now and see it till the end

    DarkVoid
  67. Guilty Crown might be trying to pull a Gurren Lagann here, with Gai being the catalyst to Shu’s character transformation. That said, Shu is really grating on me. I was thinking that the only truly batshit-crazy characters in this show were Segai and Daryl, but it looks like Shu wants some attention on that front too.

    If IG means for us to be mad at Shu, then it’s doing a very good job. The rest of the story is chugging along quite nicely, and there was a Tsugumi scene in this episode, so I’m still pretty much happy.

    We’ll likely see another Shu-saves-the-day-despite-his-half-assed-resolve moment next episode.

    DCLXVI
  68. Is it just me, or does anyone else find Gai to also be annoying? I get that Shuu’s character sucks, but I feel like Gai is an obnoxious prick as well. I don’t really want either of them to be the protagonist of the show. Seriously, lets just replace them both with Lelouch Vi Britania.

    Pizzaface
  69. I swear to God I raged so hard after this episode. Shoe is just such a useless and whiny faggot. Why the fuck can’t Gai be the protagonist for fuck’s sake! YES I MAD! FUCK THIS GAY EARTH!

    LaughingMan
  70. I hate to be ‘that guy’ but Inori seems rather well endowed in the first pic versus well any other picture in the ever of everdom.

    This whole thing is really testing my patience but I have time dropping shows that I have started unless they are just terrible – so I’ll keep watching Eureka Seven, er….Guilty Crown until the end.

    *Disclaimer: Eureka Seven was great and I’m not comparing the quality of the two.

    7godeohs
  71. Come on guys, look at it from another angle. This is an amazing anime with deep story and good characters. There is only a little problem called the Protagonist, and once u skip the parts with Shuu in it, the show suddenly becomes much, much better.

    Rakkyo
    1. I mean, that’s the problem, right? Once you’re willing to overlook X, Y, and Z, it’s a good show. There are other shows out there that don’t require as much disbelief-suspension in order to empathize with the characters. I’d say again that most of us want GC to succeed, and it’s particularly disappointing when I have to pause the video and throw my hands up in disbelief when Shuu doesn’t even respond to Inori and flips out like a headless chicken in the opening minute of the episode. And then does it again, and again.

      While I’ve been mildly critical in the past, this is the first time I actually felt like a scripting derp hampered my enjoyment of watching the show. I will be sad if that happens again.

      Jif
    2. It is more than just Shu. The story logic itself makes no sense and in some cases are ridiculous.

      You have an organization with satellite weapons but you have to depend on a civillian to tell you this kid was seen with the funeral palor. Then you have a woman who is obviously an agent of funeral palor who you have in your custody and you do not bother to find out who she is and allow her to enroll into a school. Later you apprehend said kid and let the female agent go. After that someone takes over and decides to launch missiles at a boat where the funeral palor guys are at. A boat. Where you’re only able to escape using aircraft, submersibles or seacraft. And you decide to launch missiles. After the plan fails there’s no other plan so it time to go home, with guts!

      Also your soldiers are so well trained as to charge someone instead of shooting at them. Maybe they saw a girl and wanted to get her phone number. And said soldiers are so organized as to let the main leader of the funeral palor waltz into a functioning base in a high tech world and waltz out again because the fella says he a lawyer and is wearing a wig. Maybe they are too high tech and should put his “wanted” posters on the walls instead. Thats the enemy organization of the series, an organization full of clowns and incompetents who are somehow supposed to be scary.

      Then you have the grand “plan” of suckering someone to go to a certain location at a certain time. The plan is shown to be useless because Shu could have pulled that void out anytime he wanted and even if the person was unwilling. The terrorists might have thought that it might be illegal to just kidnap him or something.

      Another plan was to put all your eggs in one basket and hope that Shu came back in time with a shielding void. If he twisted his ankle running across rubble, had a guy blocking the window or was delayed by enemies, the backup plan was to die there on the spot. Thats some planning. This is the protaganist’s organization of the series, whose leader is supposed to be smart and cunning. Possibly compared to the GHQ, that would hold true.

      Zaku Fan
  72. @ moondoggie

    No, I dont think so. Every season,animes that I tend & love to watch, I try to find how many no. of episodes it has in advance, the site displays how many episodes it will have. and almost all the time, it shows correct information.

    For example , guilty crown, when I watched after episode 1, I went to ANN to see the no. of episodes it will have and I saw 11 episodes and has never changed until now. Then it contradicts the statement “no. of episodes that has been aired”

    Unless you can give me a site/link that GC has 22 episodes in all.It must be reliable .

    kite
      1. @kite “The producers also fielded questions from audience members. One asked why the show was only 22 episodes, shorter than the typical anime broadcast.

        “The reason why it’s shorter is because of Fuji TV’s broadcasting timeslot issues,” Yamamoto said.

        The producers didn’t correct the question, so it must 22 episodes. There must be less roundabout ways of finding the info but this is just one example I remember. You could probably find it on the official website lol. Scout around for the number 22 or 二十二.

        Source: http://www.animenewsnetwork.com.au/convention/2011/new-york-comic-con/22

        @The Story You Don’t Know
        I think you might be a bit confused on what they meant by two seasons. GC is 2 cour which is the 22 episodes. Two cours is quite literally two seasons worth of airing and Guilty Crown will be on for both Fall (Right Now) and Winter. They don’t mean it in the same way as american shows.

        From the same interview:
        “But we’d like to have a sequel series, a movie, or an OVA. So please support the series.”

        This was before the interview you read, but seeing as they didn’t have one planned then, I doubt they have one already planned now. They’re still not sure on how well it will be received after all. If I’m by any chance wrong can you direct me to the information that specifically says there will be a sequel or a continuation after the 22 eps? Otherwise I have a hard time believing it.

        Kana
  73. @moondoggie

    Ok, thanks for the info. For a moment there, when I saw episode 10 of GC, I cant help but feel that IG may forced to end the show abruptly(compressing/tying the loose ends in one episode or just end it with a cliffhanger and declare a next season).And I recall ANN that they showed that GC has only 11 episodes, so I believed that it will end next week.

    Then I expect that Shu has many episodes to go for his character development & make Arisa & kaichou as part of his harem?

    kite
  74. Well since 11 still isn’t here

    R.I.P. Walking insult to U.S.A. we will all miss you.

    FUCK YEAH SHU! You finally stopped being a wuss for a bit! I though you really don’t have what it takes to follow our dear leader Lelou- er… I mean be yourself by giving up looking like that shit of a leader, Gai.

    You have the power! Use your own style! Be your true self!

    The Moondoggie
  75. RIP? That remains to be seen.
    And the way he persuaded his classmates didn’t impress me. So they help him, not because Funeral Parlor is doing the right thing, but because they gave him a reason in life. Yeah, a good reason for his friends to risk their life for. 😉

    boingman
    1. And did he even need to bring along glasses girl? Did he even use her void?

      Also, let’s look at the reasoning behind why they all went along with his plan

      Souta: likes Inori
      Arisa: likes Gai
      Hare: likes Shu…despite her trying to hit on her earlier
      Glasses girl: Likes Yahiro
      Yahiro: …helping because Shu mercy killed his brother?

      Plus the fact that the situation ends up worse at the end of the episode than when it started. Shu didn’t do anything of impact!

      Da5id

Leave a Reply to 0927123 Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *