[Ledgem]

Originally Posted by Triple_R

Spoiler for Major Guilty Crown 2nd Half Spoilers:

I completely agree with you on Souta, which is probably why Shu being really nasty towards him in particular didn't bother me that much. I can understand Shu holding a bit of a vendetta there.

That being said, I don't think Souta is an inherently bad guy so much as he's simply an idiot. This is why I was Ok with Shu making up with him in Episode 20. If I felt that Souta was smart, but recklessly endangering Hare anyway, I'd have more issues with it. But I honestly don't think that Souta was smart enough to realize how badly he was endangering Hare.

I like Souta well enough. He did something stupid, and anger against him was warranted at the time. I'm glad that it's largely resolved.

Yeah, I agree with you on Airsa. In fact, I have a question here...

Spoiler for Arisa question, very spoilerrifc:

Wasn't she with the protagonists back when Segai got taken out by Shu? But I think she was one of the people that helped Gai form his super-void at the start of Episode 21.

I'm curious as to why she went back to Gai, and even moerso, how and when she even did that, since I don't recall seeing it on camera.

If anybody can help here, I'd appreciate it.

I could easily go back and re-watch that segment, but I just saw it this morning and will choose to be a bit lazy instead. I think my memory should suffice:

Spoiler for Arisa sequence of events:

Arisa drove Shu to near the Undertakers' hideout, under the condition that she would get to question Haruka when they arrived. However, as they were still a bit farther away on the road, the building came under attack. Shu exited the moving vehicle and dashed for the building, leaving Arisa behind. Arisa didn't follow - evidently she returned to Gai.

I'll also note that my take on it wasn't that Shu was escaping from Arisa. He saw what was going on, probably figured that he could save some time by getting there by foot, and did just that. Why Arisa didn't follow is up for debate... but she wasn't there to witness Shu regaining his powers.

Gai provided a much-needed "cool protagonist" during the first half, when Shu was still gradually rounding into shape. I really enjoyed Gai's style and theatrics in the first half. But I think I probably prefer Shu over him at this point in the anime.

I thought that Gai represented some good food for thought. When Shu disagreed with him and his policies, I found myself torn between the two. What Shu said made sense, yet it also seemed too idealistic. At the same time, Gai sent out a ton of mixed signals as to how he regarded others. Did he really care for others, or were they just pawns to him?
He said enough things and took enough actions that I could believe either.

However, what I enjoyed most about Gai came at the midpoint of the series:

Spoiler for Gai's past:

Throughout the beginning of the series, Shu frequently begins to analyze situations by saying, "what would Gai do?" The memories of Gai and Shu as children were interesting, as their roles are reversed: Shu is the confident one, willing to take the lead, while Gai is shy and unsure of himself. So then, shortly before Shu is forced to kill Gai, Gai's revealing that Shu's attitude had been what he had modeled himself after was really special. I thought it was a very powerful, touching scene.

I'd love to reply to more parts of your post, but I also wanted to make a reply to Flawnalyst's post and I'm getting sleepy... so moving on:

Originally Posted by Flawnalyst

I think it's safe to conclude that I hate this cast of characters and have not seen a group this unlikeable since The Social Network, mostly for the reason that I find them either boring, half-assed, or downright miscast. Mostly though, it's because the characters are just slaves to the writers. And I mean they're REALLY tools of the writers. The concept behind them is fine, but the execution is just plain horrible.

I really enjoyed the characters, so I'm sorry that you feel that way. Just as we don't all enjoy the same foods or find them equally tasty, how we connect with and interpret the characters will differ from person to person. I don't think it would be possible for anyone to drastically alter your views on the characters, but I'd like to reply to some of your points:

Originally Posted by Flawnalyst

In the end, Shu is a wimp that is the victim of poor writing and I hate him for being such an utter tool of the plot.

I didn't participate in discussions about this series, but I know that a lot of people got frustrated with Shu's "wimpyness." I found it to be endearing. He was somewhat indecisive and lacked confidence, but he wasn't so freaked out that he panicked or didn't do anything.

Spoiler for Shu:

He eventually started using Gai as a role model to guide his decision-making, and even as his personality and actions began to shift, he was always questioning himself. Even though he did change, his acts of always questioning himself and occasionally returning to how he was at the very start seemed very real.

I guess it depends on where you're at in your own life. I recently had my confidence shaken, and frequently come to doubt myself. Shu was a character that I could strongly identify with, and who I found to be somewhat inspirational. I'm sure that if I were to watch this series during one of the times in my life where I felt as if I could take on the entire world with one hand tied behind my back, Shu would probably be incredibly frustrating to watch.

Originally Posted by Flawnalyst

Spoiler for Inori and Gai:

But as much as I hate Shu, these two are probably worse because they're written more badly than he is. Inori is just boring. I know she's supposed to be an artificial human, but that doesn't mean she has to act like a fucking robot ALL the time. Besides, Gai is an artificial human too, and his development of emotions was far more convincing in just ONE episode (Episode 12). Inori just gained emotions because the writer said so. She should never have been the main female, as she doesn't even interact with Shu all that much. I forget she's in the plot half the time.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but:

Spoiler for Gai:

Gai isn't an artificial human. If I'm remembering it correctly, Gai was among a group of orphans that were rounded up and tested for their potential to become the next "Adam."

But let's assume that I'm wrong - Gai was out experiencing the the world as a boy, and spent about a decade doing so. I don't know exactly when Gai busted Inori out, but she was basically living in a test tube (literally) up until maybe 1-3 years (?) prior to the first episode. That's a big difference!

I didn't really feel that Inori was like a robot. She fell into the "emotionless girl"-type of character, but truthfully I think that she was unusual for it. Compare her with the archetype of that genre, Rei Ayanami from Evangelion. Rei was almost entirely emotionless throughout the series (the moments where she wasn't were really special), and she didn't really question anything. On the other hand, Inori questioned a good many things. She felt emotions, and questioned what some of them meant. She pursued her feelings. She's not a perfect character, but meh

Originally Posted by Flawnalyst

Spoiler for Other characters:

And what the hell was up with Haruka's fanservice scenes and weird attitude around the house, only for her to turn super serious later? Shingen Kishitani, she is not.

What's wrong with acting one way at home, and acting differently elsewhere - particularly when we're talking the difference between family and a professional environment? I don't exactly go running around my apartment in my underwear, rubbing myself on objects and people (my wife, on the other hand... just kidding! She'd probably get upset if I really said what she does at home, but suffice it to say that I doubt that anyone who works with her would even be able to imagine it if they heard (reading that back over, I realize that it makes it sound really bad... don't read too much into it)), but my demeanor is quite different. I guess there are some people out there who behave the same way no matter where they are, and this part of the series would have been difficult to understand if so.

Originally Posted by Flawnalyst

I will say though that if the show had been a little better, I would have said that the tolerable characters could have saved the anime for me.

It really goes to show how important the characters are to a show. If you don't connect with the characters, I don't think that anything - not the music, artwork, or story - can really redeem the series and make it have a great impact.