Episode 08 –
Well, at this point I’ve almost lost any faith I had left in this show. It’s astounding how we’re 8 episodes into the series, and there is almost no indicators of the overall direction the plot/story will go. All we have are random side missions, and while these side missions might lead up to something in the future, the creators certainly aren’t trying very hard to connect them all. There is practically no sense of buildup, and the characters continue to stay as stagnant as ever. There is sparse amounts of character development, and not to mention, the only redeeming aspect to this show (the action) was pretty much missing for the entire episode. Guilty Crown is trying really hard to not maintain interest.
Yea, we get to see Shu get along with one of his more disliked friends, and that’s good news for the friend. But I feel that the focus on the friend is pretty much pointless. I mean, the friend will probably not play another role in this series for at least a couple of episodes, so his involvement feels a bit unnecessary. I say this because other side characters who got their own episodes of development have remained side characters. As much as I like Ayase, that Student Council girl, and Shu’s mom, they haven’t really become crucial characters. Shu, Inori, and Gai remain the central trio to the plot.
That brings me to my main point of contention. What’s really lacking here is development for Shu, Gai, and Inori. They’ve practically remained the same in terms of personality since episode one, and this episode’s focus on a completely unimportant side character did not help. Gai, after briefly seeing him in a moment of weakness a few episodes ago, is now back on his feet and acting as usual too. In other words, our main characters are completely stagnant, where their relationship isn’t growing any more interesting. The characters are somehow tied together by their pasts, that much is obvious, but Guilty Crown really dislikes trying to use that connection to get some character growth here.
I’ve been complaining about the characters, but the story is also flawed. Just what in the world is the plot trying to accomplish? What’s the point to all these little “side missions”? Why did you randomly throw in a brunette girl who’s head over heels for the main character when he is obviously going to end up with Inori? What’s the purpose of the Student Council president from last week, the newly introduced guy from this week, and the random birthday party for Daryl? I’m really hoping all of these seemingly random tidbits of info tie back together for now because, quite frankly, everything feels like filler. And I don’t even know what these episodes are filler for; after all, there’s no real direction to the story that indicates that these are “filler” episodes. If Guilty Crown can prove me wrong by making these seemingly random facts somehow important in future conflicts, I’m pretty sure I’d be very surprised.
Overall Enjoyment: 2.9/5
P.S. I’ll admit that I laughed at Daryl’s birthday party, lol. It’s quite sad for him, but considering his nasty attitude though, it’s not a surprise.
Screenshots are later in the post.
Distant Paradise 
You have a good point about lacking of main character development. It makes me a little disappoint for waiting this episode (right now I’m addicted!!) however,there are some points that I’m curious. First of all, I don’t think that Gai and Inori are obviously end up together because of Arisa’s appearance, Shu’s feeling, and mysterious girl in shu’s memories(they definitely know each other according to her void’s appearance though Inori) and we still don’t know about Inori’s feeling or even Gai’s feeling!! I still call that wasnt love. Anyway, Inori does have a feeling toward both Shu and Gai. She follows every single of Gai’s order,except going to save Shu in the 4th episode. She seems to worry about those two guys but she definitely think about some of those is friend because she said that friend wasn’t necessary for her in some of previous episodes. This episode might not directly shows the story much as a previous one but It shows other characters’s development and a piece of mysterious thing that would be lead to the whole of story. In my opinion, everything in this story is still mysterious. We can’t know the ending or what is going to next untill it appears.
There is some sort of memory between the three that connects them, sure, but the thing is this show has practically done nothing to elaborate more on it. It’s a mystery that literally just sits there, and we’re expected to want to keep watching because it exists. If this series was actively exploring the background to the mystery, revealing it in bits and pieces, I would be much more okay with the mystery at hand.
But meh, Guilty Crown is opting to instead to some really seemingly pointless side-quests. Sure, the side quests will probably be important later, but there is absolutely no buildup behind what this “bigger purpose” might be, and that annoys me.
And the lack of character development is irking too; Shu, Gai, and Inori have been virtually the same since the very beginnings of this show. =_=;
the only good parts of the show are the girls and fanservice, you can scrap everything else
the plot and missions just make no sense and the villains are a joke
Agreed, the plot and missions are a joke as of now. This totally does not belong in Noitamina, aside from the stellar visual quality. The production crew are playing wayy too safely with this series. It’s not taking any risks, so the story is just mediocre.
But hey, I guess girls and fanservice do sell stuff. Even if Guilty Crown isn’t doing terribly well in Japan.
I actually prefer kyoukai now…compare to GC
Though I still love the OST on this anime
Well disappointment is part of life so :p
Can’t wait to see if there’s OP 2 on GC
Both Kyoukai and GC have their own flaws, but I can see why you like Kyoukai more. Kyoukai is actually getting somewhere with it’s plot, after all :3
GC’s OST isn’t exceptional, but it does have it’s standout pieces. I’m still waiting on a clean copy of that one song that pops up during really intense scenes. And Euterpe is an excellent song, it’s a shame it only popped up in the initial two or so episodes.