The end is near and all the players are being assembled…
What They Say:
As Funeral Parlor and the U.N. troops converge on Ward 24–for drastically different reasons–Inori hovers on the edge of becoming Mana. Meanwhile, the mysterious boy who first took her finally reveals his plans for Shu and Gai.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
As the series gets closer to the end, events are starting to catch up more and more in a way that’s going to end in conflict and personal pain. With the way this half of the series has gone, it’s definitely felt a bit by the seat of their pants in plotting it, but it’s had an unpredictable streak that has been solidly engaging. With Shu now hit by the cirus, the Ward in a perilous position to be sure and two strong forces converging on it, it feels like the rise of events here should be epic. And while it may yet be in the remaining episode, we also get the good calm before the storm that’s very appropriate for it as well. The quiet times between the cast, especially as Shu gets reconnected in a very human way with everyone and particularly with Ayase.
When it does come to the action, it’s very engaging here even if there isn’t quite the personal connect that one might have with the characters. Having the larger scale of events with Funeral Parlor unfolding and the move by the UN with its fleet, fighters and more is truly impressive. And mixing in Shu and his group amongst it all as well is very well handled. There are big moments to be had, but there are also quiet ones even as Shu and Ayase do their attacks to stave off what’s happening while moving towards their target. And in the midst of it all, the simplicity of Gai talking with Inori as she herself continues to break down gives it a kind of beauty.
With a bit of mystery still at hand with the one who is manipulating much of things here, the show does move quickly to bring Shu into his presence after he spent time working over Gai with all sorts of promises of potential to be a king that would never end. The progress towards the finale isn’t exactly slow here, but it does things in a very methodical way as it ramps up where it’s all going. There’s great moments as the pieces all get put into their final places, particularly as Shu finds himself closer and closer to with Yahiro, and I love the visual changes that have been used with Shu in order to cement that he’s all in when it comes to what’s going on here.
In Summary:
With the penultimate episode of the series, everything is falling into place even if it doesn’t exactly feel linear at times. The main thrust is to get everyone together and to let the sparks fly, which is pretty much guaranteed to happen with the personalities involved and the looming threat of the UN and its military might. But there’s a lot of quiet moments here too that really do help so set the mood and pacing, whether it’s between Gai and Inori as she falls further into what’s going on or the wonderful moments between Shu and Ayase that really makes you like both of them a lot more. Guilty Crown continues to have an element of WTF’ery about it at times, but it’s also something that I can’t help but to be drawn to in order to see where it goes.
Grade: B
Readers Rating: [ratings]
Streamed By: FUNimation
Review Equipment:
Sony KDS-R70XBR2 70″ LCoS 1080P HDTV, Dell 10.1 Netbook via HDMI set to 1080p, Onkyo TX-SR605 Receiver and Panasonic SB-TP20S Multi-Channel Speaker System With 100-Watt Subwoofer.
Problem with Guilty Crown now is that I just can’t take it seriously – watching every week more to pick up inconsistencies and “facepalm moments”.� I can’t deny there’s still entertainment to be gotten out of it that way, but also get the feeling that’s not the way the series was hoping to be taken…