I wasn’t sure what to expect with the second episode of Guilty Crown. Yes, the first episode was good but you never know what to expect with a new series. It turns out that episode 2, Survival of the Fittest, pushes forward a little bit slower than the first episode. This is a good thing because we see more of Shu’s character and some development between him, Gai, and Inori. Speaking of that, Gai is kinda pissed off at Shu because the weapon inside Inori was meant for him, not Shu. Check out the imagery here with how the characters are spaced with the triangle in the background. Catch my drift?
The story goes further to explain the resistance faction that Gai leads, called the “Undertakers”, also translated to Funeral Parlor. They’re sick and tired of the government’s superiority over common people. The military exterminates anyone and everyone they want to, which explains the setting for a cruel and disgusting leadership. This hatred is likely sparked by Guilty Crown’s back story where Japan was ravaged by a disease, and by a separation of lower and higher classes, the people at the bottom of society have a “higher chance” at being diseased. It’s a great concept to feed an anime series with.
The episode was entertaining and was able to show Shu using his secret genetic weapon that comes from Inori’s chest once again. It seems as if the weapon has multiple abilities, and Shu can use it however he pleases. There must be some sort of a catch involved but I haven’t seen one yet. If anything, this episode introduces one of the main villains of the series, Daryl Yan. He has a twisted view on life and kills when he pleases. I’m pretty sure he and Shu will become rivals at some point.
There are certainly a few things I don’t care for in Guilty Crown. I can live with these things in the series, but I sort of wish they were handled differently. One is the close relation to Code Geass’ storytelling structure. Ichiro Okouchi wrote Code Geass and is supervising the script for Guilty Crown, so they have a very similar feel. This isn’t really a bad thing as Code Geass had a great story, but some of the same plot developments are popping up in this new series. Guilty Crown is guilty of having Inori show up at the same school that Shu attends as a transfer student. She’ll likely be undercover and keep her identity a secret, of which only Shu will know the truth. Code Geass has very similar concepts.
The other issue I have is the unnecessary amount of underage skin that’s shown. I mean come on, do all the female characters need to be dressed so scantily? One of the girls is only 14 and they have her wear a tight pilot suit to “show off her assets”. But come on! Yeah it doesn’t bother me that much but it seems that most female characters, who are only teenagers, are dressed like this. I wish Guilty Crown was just a bit more mature with their character designs, or that the female characters were old enough to warrant such outfits.
But in the end Guilty Crown is shaping up to be an interesting show that has the potential to keep getting better. I really hope it continues on the path it’s on now, because if it does it will be a hit. We shall see!
*Image credit to Funimation.
-Jared C.
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