Episode 07 –
Well this was a somewhat strange episode. While it was obviously meant to introduce new characters, at the same time it’s unclear as to what role these new characters will play in the future. As a result of this ambiguity, this week’s episode of Guilty Crown almost felt like a filler episode. The only thing really worth noting here is how Gai became acquainted with the student council president of Shu’s school. Oh, and there’s a confirmation that Shu is indeed related to the Inori lookalike from his childhood, but it’s not like that’s real news here; it was pretty obvious since an episode or two ago.
Honestly speaking, I’m kind of confused as to what direction the creators of this series are trying to take the story. Is the story going to be one that focuses on rebelling against the oppressive antibodies and free Japan? Is it about developing all these little romantic relationships that keep popping up between the main cast? Is the story trying to develop the secret past that Shu, Inori, and Gai seem to share? How are the two newly introduced characters going to play a role in all of this? It is extremely unclear as to exactly what the storywriters are trying to accomplish, but as a result of this lack of direction, the story feels like it’s not progressing anywhere. Or at least, it’s certainly not going anywhere fast.
The lack of buildup is really killing this show, where the story is becoming more and more bland. We are admittingly seeing the fruition of Shu’s character development, where he’s starting to show a bit more self confidence and initiative, but that means squat when the story isn’t doing much of anything. Not to mention, Inori is back to her usual stoic blandness, where all signs of character development for her from last week sort of disappeared. There is also some huge inconsistencies here, where after Inori admitted to following Shu on Gai’s orders back in episode 5, Shu and Inori are back to acting as usual. Considering how devastating Inori’s revelation of “betrayal” was to Shu, it’s weird how they’re back to the usual. And once again, Gai proves to be the most interesting character out of the cast, where it’s obvious that he’s plotting something (especially with his smooth-talking of the council president).
Seriously, just what is this show trying to accomplish? I certainly can’t tell based on what we’ve seen so far, and we’re already near the 1/3 point of the series.
Overall Enjoyment: 2.9/5
Screenshots are later in the post.
Distant Paradise 
Lolz they need to slow things
I mean it’s just episode 7 and they already showed sign of the guy that looks like the main villain and the relation of inori w/ that pinku hair girl
so it’s not bad for a change
and it’s obvious that the main focus here is the relationship of shu and that pinku hair girl(the power and origin of void) + gai
the others is just a stepping stone(the rebel thingy…etc etc)
and with the looks of thing it will take time for them to go back to the main story
You say that “it’ll take take to get back to the main story”, but I’m still not completely sure what the main story even is. There is a ton of stuff that can be considered part of the “main story”, which is what’s annoying me; this show has a lack of focus, and doesn’t have particularly good conflicts. We’re already 7 episodes into the series, and there was absolutely nothing compelling in Guilty Crown except for cool visuals. Not a good sign, that’s for sure.
“We’re already 7 episodes into the series, and there was absolutely nothing compelling in Guilty Crown except for cool visuals. Not a good sign, that’s for sure.”
I agree
that’s the big problem here. The only good characters that i found in this anime are Gai and Segai. This two are the only characters that are really focused on the war. I still don’t know if this anime is about the war , or about how much Inori is pretty, or how shu is just a useless boy. We lose too much time with this stupid school life, while we should be progressing for the main plot.
Eh, I can’t even take Segai seriously. Gai is the only one who I can look upon with a relatively strict set of expectations. The rest? Hah, Shu and Inori are both a joke as main characters right now.
This show is taking it’s sweet precious time with whatever it’s trying to do, and is completely killing any goodwill I had towards this show.
it makes no sense to me that Shu just call Gai’s name in public… -.- Isn’t he supposed to be subtle about it?
When some missiles were coming over a place where are in myself, a teammate and my mom, I would shout in public my teammate’s name for an advice. It’s faster that way than running where he is (with a pair of bodyguards there), tell him the emergency, receive orders and move for the operation. It do make sense to me.
ok, yes, I accept that, but what about the time when he was just running away from his mother and the president? If it happen again, I’ll be disappointed…
@Ely
Haha, that’s totally true. But the key thing here is that missiles were “aimed” at the boat, they never actually launched yet. They did have a buffer time to setup a defense, though I do think the show approached that critical period of time with less seriousness than it should have. If I had a buffer time like that, I too would waste no time in getting a proper defense going ASAP.
But in critical situations, I guess maintaining a cool and rational head is important too. There’s one leader-like trait that Gai certainly has, and it seems that it might start rubbing off on Shu.
For all we know, “Gai” is a common first name. It would be his last name that would differentiate him. And besides, Gai and Shu were at a party that were anti-government in nature. Considering how Gai is against the government, he doesn’t exactly stand out.
I have my doubts about what inori said back in episode 5. I think she just lied about the stuff that gai told her she should follow shu.
Not sure thought
Well, it’s quite obvious that she’s growing to care to him for some reason or another.
But when somebody lies, what’s important is not the lie itself, but why the person lied. Why would Inori have to lie about that in the first place?
Truly strange if that is the case.