Guilty Crown – 21

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Quick note to Yoshino-sensei – putting an apple in your anime doesn’t make you Ikuhara Kunihiko (or the Dead Sea Scrolls).

I kid, of course – but I kid from love.  Well, not really, but to give Yoshino his due, he had every right to use that reference because he got the context right – we’re talking about Adam and Eve here after all, and Yuu/Da’ath was playing the role of the snake to perfection by tempting Shu with the opportunity to rule all humankind in a kind of siscon paradise.  For me personally I think he made the right decision – brocon is one thing, shotacon another – but when they’re lusting after you while still in the womb, that’s the sort of yandere you want to steer clear of.

On the whole I would have to say this was a pretty decent episode, generally quite entertaining and certainly better than the last couple have been.  There were issues of course, not least of which that the dialogue and much of the drama came up as pretty cornball, frankly.  The lingering close-ups of the committed smiles of the heroes, the lone tear on Inori’s cheek as she disappeared, Shu in full savior mode, taking the illnesses of others unto himself…  There’s also the matter of the ludicrous image of Shu leading his forces into the battle for mankind’s future on a Segway, and the fact that pretty much everything that happened during the episode was predictable to a “T”, right down the final cliffhanger as Shu and Gai meet at last.

But if you set that aside, I think this was about as good a penultimate ep as anyone could rightfully expect.  If the downside is predictability, the upside is coherence – as has not always been the case, the episode flowed in a clear and logical way, and it was possible to follow what was happening without being swamped by a flood of random developments and extraneous information.  The pacing was crisp, but not overwhelming – a fast pace that didn’t feel rushed.  I liked Gai’s casual “You just missed her” when Shu finally arrived at his inner sanctum – maybe more than any line of dialogue in the series it felt ironic, sharp and on-point.  I liked both the dialogue and the combat between Yuu and Shu – of course it was gorgeously animated (to its credit GC has never let me down in that respect) and had an almost balletic quality to it, and this was really the first time Yuu felt grounded in the story, and his purpose was clear.  I’ll also credit Yoshino for transitioning away from the xenophobic quality the series had – and that seems to be on the rise in anime – and not making the internationals the bad guys in the end

I guess all this leaves me about where I’ve been for most of the second cour – curious enough to want to see how Yoshino is going to wrap all this up, but not involved enough with the characters to care to a great degree.  I know the tragedy of Inori and Shu’s love for her are really supposed to be providing the drama, but frankly I’ve never warmed to either character (though she’s undeniably beautiful) and even then, I always thought he’d be better off with Ayase.  Obviously humanity isn’t going to get wiped out, so it’s really just a matter of how it’s prevented.  If I’m charged up about anything it’s making sure Gai dies spectacularly, and the fact that we only have one more episode to make my prediction that Daryl would officially come over to the good guys come true.

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22 comments

  1. F

    Sorry daath you're not so cool, holding an apple, like yagami light!!!!!

  2. A

    My thoughts exactly!!!

  3. B

    I can't help but feel like these last few episodes would have been seriously epic if only the first 75% of the show hadn't been such a complete failure. As is, even when the episodes are according-to-Hoyle "good", like this one was, it still doesn't SEEM good because I just don't care about the characters or the overarching plot. This show seems like somebody wrote a good coherent ending, but then decided to build up to it by throwing darts at a board.

  4. Amano Yukiteru?

  5. A

    I sadly can't agree more as there was some serious nice dialog Inori had but really thinking about… where was the human beauty she spoke off in this series. >__<

    The dialog would have been so much more meaningful if you actually could/empathizes with the characters.

  6. D

    Does anyone have any idea what happened with Yuu's fight? Did Shu kill him and his cronies or did he run away?

    What the hell was he to begin with?

  7. He's Da'ath Vader…

    We see him later, sort of licking his wounds… He's definitely not dead, but shocked that Shu was able to scratch him.

  8. D

    I think I may be taking this show too seriously, Enzo. I can't look at the good points of this episode, like the action and…well, the action without remembering how botched up the plot has ended up. The only time it can get praise is when it follows traditional storytelling, but these instances are so few and far between.

    Maybe I'll just be glad for it to have a passable ending, even if the big questions of this show may never really be answered.

  9. It's been a long, long time since I've even been tempted to take GC seriously. I think it stands up much better when you don't even try.

  10. A

    ''Quick note to Yoshino-sensei – putting an apple in your anime doesn’t make you Ikuhara Kunihiko''

    Or make your anime Eva. Though kudos for actually using the metaphor correctly, I suppose …

    And lol, Darly is apparently gearing up to be a guest character in the next DLC for Zone of the Enders game LOLOLOLOLOL

    '' of course it was gorgeously animated (to its credit GC has never let me down in that respect) and had an almost balletic quality to it''

    Credit goes to the Animation director and the other 4 talented animators who had worked on this episode. I feel I should also thank every animator who worked on this show, since I could say without any doubt that this show was without a doubt the most visually impressive and constantly beautifully designed and animated show in these past months, and that's saying something. Say what you will about Guilty Crown, there was no doubt that AT least the ANIMATORS had gone the extar mile in order to make this anime LOOK like what it was intended to be: A cutting edge show. It's a pity that all of that was wasted when the head writer and Director are both high on drugs …

    Sigh, for all it's faults, I'll still remember the music and the animation. Without a doubt, Production IG's show still look visually impressive as always and Sawano's (while not exactly to my taste) and Supercell's work on the music. The designs were also very beautiful, so hat's off to supercell to that as well.

    '' transitioning away from the xenophobic quality the series had ''

    LOL, this show still gives off the vibe of ''NIPPON BANZIA, GAIJIN F*CK OFF'' and other uncomfortable assorted Nazi and WWII trivia and ''coincidences''(LOL) that I doubt that it ever moved on from that. It just got muddled up, much everything relating to the writing in this story.

    Also, lovely how Shu just forgot about Hare being the person who stood beside him no matter what. And after trying to take advantage of her in episode 10 hahahaha …

  11. A

    Eh? Guilty Crown has some really poor animation thrown in here and there. It was beautiful at the beginning and during the best of times, but some episodes definitely suffered from a lot of awkward motion and off-model art (moreso than typical IG standards), which highlights the difficulty in staffing such a visually ambitious project.

    BTW, they had four animation -directors- and one chief animation director on this episode. Most 2nd-cour episodes have had 5-7 animation directors on board, which often suggests a hectic, troublesome production where work is being sourced all over the place to meet deadlines (bear in mind that the power issues in Tokyo remain and that's affecting anime production). It's no surprise that there was a significant QC slide following the first eight episodes.

    I'll say that the overall look (coloration, VFX, compositing) remained shiny and polished throughout though.

  12. A

    '' Guilty Crown has some really poor animation thrown in here and there''

    Yes, and most if not all TV anime that have 2-cours +, no matter how well funded they are, ended up with poor animation here and there. The point is how often said poor animation shows up and how noticeable it is compared to the well animated bits. With Guilty Crown, the better parts outdid the bad.

    ''moreso than typical IG standards''

    not really. IG has some of the best looking shows, but I've seen how they seem to really drop the ball on numerous shows with their cost cutting and off model scenes see Beast Player Erin and, xxxholic/Tsubasa and Blood-C

    ''hey had four animation -directors- and one chief animation director on this episode''

    I checked again, and you are right. My mistake.

  13. S

    Dan Eagleman was the best character in this series. "I don't have surface to surface missile? Just put some surface to airs on their side and aim better". That's the type of thinking that gets you ahead in this world.

    Dan & Segai need a buddy-cop spin off. I'd watch the ever living hell out of that series.

  14. S

    I think the dialogue between Ayase and Shu definitely rounds out what this 2nd half of the show was about. While it felt weird at first, it made some sense of how other people feel about Shu. On a side note, this second half has really made Ayase into my 2nd favorite character of the series. It really let her flourish in the few episodes she was part of.

    This felt like one of the more proper episodes in quite a while for this series. I hope it continues to be this way to the end.

  15. F

    Cant say i dislike GC because i dont, but what i really dont understand is why Gai is bad, what the fuck happened, i need an answer now, i hope we could have at least a brief explanation, because it doesnt make sense.
    And second wow i really like ayase x shuu, she is so cute and fragile.

  16. D

    *Gets smashed by Ayase in an Endlave*

  17. G

    Me neither.. I am kinda confused on how Gai turned to the bad side after being in the side of justice with the Undertakers in the beginning. lol

  18. d

    I think all along he was trying to infiltrate the govt. and take mana back. and place mana in Inori. But Inori was stolen from him.
    His objective all along was the same. It was just he rallied people under funeral pallor to go against certain principles of the govt.

    It is like 2 groups having different goals but a common enemy. And once the common enemy is gone, they start to attack each other because their mindsets/goals are different.

  19. d

    GC is not renamed Guilty Cliche

  20. E

    I am surprised that nobody mentioned this:
    Wow, a new generation of IronMan!
    Daryl's real father must be Tony Stark.

    And there's a problem with "Unexplainable Power Source' which plagued this anime from the very beginning. When one mechanical sword can cut down tons of robots as if they are butter. And one metallic shield can defend against 266854 missiles.
    On this episode, we saw Neo-Gai almost wiped out the United Nations combined force in just one attack??
    Are we supposed to buy this?
    >_>

  21. A
  22. It's GC. I really think we're better off not doing such detailed analysis!

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