Guilty Crown

With the large amount of Guilty Crown reviews going around lately, It wouldn't be too hard to find a 'decent' review, right? well that's not the case at all, It seems that most of the reviews are either written by blind fan-boys/fan-girls or haters, 10's,9's,4's and 3's seem to be the popular choice of overall rating, though looking at Guilty Crown in a balance way, this anime definitely deserves a 7 and I'll explain why in the next couple of paragraphs which will you most likely will flick through.

= Story (3) =

If you have been watching Guilty Crown or have seen some of the rantings ... on the forums, you would know that the story is filled with cliché's and awful execution (for the most part anyway), So I won't go that in-depth to the story, basically just think of it as a mecha-action-supernatural-apocalyptic-drama-comedy-Sci Fi-romance-school-fan service super show.

In other words, Shu (Shuu), your average 16-year-old guy living in a future version of Tokyo get's himself wrapped up in the activities of terrorist group defying the government called Funeral Parlour, he meets the leader Gai, find's out his favourite singer is a member of the group and that the government is corrupt blah blah blah

= Art (10) =

If there's one thing that no one can complain about, I'd say it's the art. Every episode looks of cinematic quality and the character designs are well down as you'd expect from Production I.G and Redjuice (supercell). If there is one thing to fault about the art, I believe it's the design of the apocalypse virus, It just doesn't look like some deadly disease that someone would be afraid of, though that doesn't really matter.

= Sound (9) =

Sound is also a great part of Guilty Crown, the insert music and the OST is brilliant, the first OP 'Euterpe' was only used in the first episode which was disappointing since the second OP which lasted for 11 episodes wasn't hardly as good. The best OP in my opinion and one of my favourite anime openings is the third and last one 'The Everlasting Guilty Crown', It seriously made the other two seem like crap in comparison.

= Character (7.5) =

7.5? That's not even an score according to MAL is what you might say though that's really the only score I can give it, The characters and their developments weren't very good though they weren't just good either, sort of in-between.

The problem with the characters is that they introduced too many too fast, there wasn't really any-time to grow attached to them or even remember some of them at all. You didn't know which ones were supposed to be Minor or Main characters or just background ones in most of the first half.

Another problem was the likeability of the main characters in most of the FIRST HALF, Shu just sit's around most of the time, being a indecisive, annoying loser. Gai was just emotionless (for the most part) and all Inori could do was use the power of singing(?), provide fan-service and dodge (she might of shot a gun once) but that's it.

Though, (without spoiling anything) In the second half, the main characters had great development.

= Enjoyment (7) =

Enjoyment levels really depend on how serious you take Guilty Crown, don't go into the series expecting a masterpiece because you will most definitely be disappointed and hating on it. Though if you are a simple person (no offence) and just like your anime with ton's of great looking action scenes and a little bit of everything rolled in one (even if the result is total mess) then you will obviously enjoy the series a lot more.

= Overall (7) =

Overall, Guilty Crown is definitely not a masterpiece, though it does NOT deserve the crap reputation it gets, sure the story becomes screwed up beyond repair with the can of cliché's they sprung at you each episode and the character development doesn't really start until halfway through the series, what really matters at the end of the day is how much the viewer enjoys the anime, people will hate, like or love GC and that's their opinion just as this review gives my opinion, I don't really care about the 'helpful' or 'not helpful' clicks, as long as my review isn't buried so deep that it can't be of at least some help to the many users who are looking for a new anime to enjoy, and that's the whole point of reviews, to help people decide whether a anime would be to their liking or not.

I began watching Guilty Crown on a whim. It was a pure coincidence. If I had anything else to do that day, I probably would never have started watching. However, it just so happened that I was bored out of my mind and at the bottom of my current "to watch" list. When I saw Guilty Crown peeking out at me from another member's favorite anime list, I couldn't resist the temptation. Reading the synopsis turned me off. It didn't seem very promising. "Boy has power in his right hand that makes him special." Okay... cool?

So I started reading the reviews. They were horrendously ... mixed, ranging from three to nine with very little middle ground. Well, the positive reviews piqued my curiosity. The negative reviews seemed rather confrontational and angry, as if the show had somehow personally wronged the writers. They railed and ragged on clichés, flat characters, and brought up similarities to other shows.

Being immensely bored and slightly curious, I couldn't help but make Guilty Crown a guilty pleasure. I'll admit that the story takes a while to warm up. The first episode was incredibly cliché, with the generic "boy meets girl; boy becomes superman; boy is involved with terrorists" story going on up until the end. But it diverged. The character (of his own volition) refused to acknowledge his power and left me wondering what could possibly happen next.

Indeed, what could this story be about if the main character refused to join up with what I had assumed to be the protagonist group? Well, Inori happened. Now, I've seen people complain endless about her. She's essentially Ein with pink hair, a lovely singing voice, and a sword in her chest--right?

Sure, if you watch the first six episodes or so. Once you get past the initial "OMG SHE'S SO ," you'll start seeing how she grows. She's a parasitic character. That is what makes her, well, her. She simply cannot function without a strong character to depend on. I don't see how that makes her unrealistic? There are people like that in this world. The only hiccup is the justification. She's weak because she's a blank slate. Okay, maybe that is a little cliché. Does it make the character terrible? No... if she didn't grow at all, then yeah, it would be cliché. Instead, facets of her personality are revealed throughout the show, including the afore mentioned shaky justification.

I'm surprised people don't talk about Gai. He's a sixteen year old who leads a terrorist group, who is a better killer than trained soldiers, a genius tactician, and has the ability to see Voids (which is all too convenient since the main character has the power to extract these Voids). There isn't anything realistic about him for quite some time. He is my least favorite character of the series. He "grows" the most, if you can call it that, but his character itself is subjugated to Shu's growth.

While I'm addressing things that were detrimental to my enjoyment, I'll mention that there were a few inconsistencies as far as Voids are concerned, and a certain character that is built up as being incredibly important with a pretty serious power who is completely ignored in the second half of the show. Actually, if I recall correctly, he stops making an appearance before the plot changing event even occurs. I'm not particularly put-out with his exclusion, but a little explanation would be nice.

As for other inconsistencies, the Void regulations are pretty flighty. The whole "person must be under seventeen" rule is pretty laudable, and the Voids themselves don't seem to be very relevant to a person's heart except in a select few cases--which, if I might add, is downplayed afterwards. You have a character whose Void seems pretty useful, put to heavy use for support purposes, but then you find out that his power is actually among the weakest of the bunch.

However, I can overlook these inconsistencies. I can overlook some questionable plot devices. I can overlook quite a bit as far as this show is concerned. Why? To put it simply, the show is beautiful. The art is magnificent, and the sound wonderful. Everything is so fluid and Inori is just stunning. Couple that amazing art with a cliché story that becomes progressively darker, and I simply cannot help but enjoy it.

I'm not going to lie; there are plenty of areas that could have been handled better. The second half of the show, while my favorite in terms of mood, felt rushed at times. The first half annoyed me with its developments. The character's choices were predictable at times. But, even though we could predict them, it was because of the way the story was told. (I'll refer to everything revolving around Hare. Did we see that coming? Yes. Does that make it cliché? A little. Does that mean it wasn't realistic or handled well? I'd beg to differ. I felt that the changes in mood that resulted were worth giving in to a few minor clichés to attain.)

This is a show you're either going to love or hate. You will either latch on to the little things, or you'll take the bigger picture into mind and just enjoy it as it comes. I personally enjoyed every second of the show and would re-watch if I had the time. Some people may draw parallels to Code Geass, but I don't see them unless I specifically look for similarities. Even then, the ones I see are just general clichés rather than pieces drawn from the show. Some people may complain about the fanservice. I guess they'd be referring to Inori, or Ayase in her flight suit. To be honest, I didn't see any of that as fanservice. It's debatable, and heavily reliant on taste.

This show is not a master piece. It's good, yes, but isn't particularly insightful or groundbreaking. It's eye candy, and interesting enough to spend a few days over. I'll be sad to see it end, but it lacks that certain force other shows have.

Re-edit 2 years after watching the show!

Story
9/10
The amazing part about it is that they'd leave you with more questions every time they offer some hint. And they do it little by little. Too bad that people never cared to look into it.

Art
9/10
It was wonderful in most episodes, but some were sloppy (e.g. ep 21). The character designs are great. By the way, there are very specific reasons why they made Inori wear those outfits other than the fan-service.

... Sound
9/10
The OP/ED's are real monster. What's more, they're perfect fits for GC. Departures is singing of the people who died from FP's struggle for freedom (though nominally it seems like a love song). TEGC is singing of hope, one of the bigger themes explored during the latter 11 episodes. EGOIST continues to release songs for other anime. These also often make references to the story of GC.
The soundtracks are also nice, though now thinking back it doesn't feel so special compared to other recent anime (soundtracks are pretty big these days)

Character
8/10
Pretty amazing. Inori's personal growth occurs just about on every episode.
As for Shu.. the story would've been meaningless had he not survived at the end. The whole point was that he would grow into a person who isn't so easily influenced by the thoughts of those around him, and killing him off would've denied that purpose.

Enjoyment
10/10
You know, this anime is like a hidden gem that you'd never discover unless you were a diligent miner..

Overall
10/10
I think that people should've hated this show less and actually gave it a chance. And by giving a chance I actually mean to watch carefully for character/plot development rather than nit-picking.

BEST COMEDY OF 2011-2012. 10/10.

Oh wait. This isn't a comedy?

Well then.

Where do I even start with this mess, then?

Guilty Crown seemed to promise to be one of the best series of the season when it first aired. Boy, was I wrong.

... The writing in this show is an absolute mess and tends to try to just throw random plot devices at you in random intervals to try and surprise you. It is not particularly surprising, but it's a bit cute (cute as in, a child seems to be writing the show).

The characters are really awful. The writing staff seems to be trying their hardest to make characters of a certain archetype, and to make characters stick to their archetype without fail. I'm not sure if they realize that character complexity is derived from the fact that people aren't simple enough to act only based on a single characteristic, or if they're just trying to create characters that might possibly mature. So far, it seems to be the former.

The show has many laughable situations. Take episode 6, for example. Fully armed guards, holding guns in their hands, charge at an enemy instead of shooting with their guns, resulting in a teenage girl killing them without returning a single shot. Hilarious, but I don't think that was really the intention.

That's not to say the show's completely awful. The art, animation, and music are really quite good, even if at times they cut a few corners. But really, a mess with art, animation, and music is still a mess.

So? The bottom line? Don't take this show seriously. You'll be able to enjoy it a lot more if you don't. Because... well... it's funny to ridicule at least.

Wow this is an awesome anime although I only watched one episode I was like OMG NO HE DIDN'T, It has a very interesting plot which is developing into something with not much background detail only some flash backs. (makes the viewer put the pieces together)

In my opinion this anime has started off epic it is a must watch in this seasons anime releases can't wait to see what is installed in future episodes.

My rating (so far) is 10 (remember i have only watched one episode) XD

“The right to use my friend as a weapon. That is the sinful crown I shall adorn.”

Intro: Whether you like it or not, opinions from others can affect an experience. This can also become apparent when you watch an anime. If you hear negative opinions, you end up going in with low expectations and you might enjoy it more. Set your expectations too high, and you end up disappointed. Today I’ll be reviewing Guilty Crown, an anime that was really freaking popular back in 2011. But unfortunately back then I wasn’t into anime so after hearing generally mixed opinions about it, I decided to check ... it out for myself. So was it a decent anime or does it completely crash and burn? Well let’s find out.

Story: The story of Guilty Crown takes place in the year 2039 in Japan. 10 years prior an apocalyptic event known as Lost Christmas spread a cancerous disease known as the Apocalypse Virus throughout Japan. Since then Japan has relied on a multinational organization called the GHQ to get them out of these hard times. The GHQ however does not care about Japan or its people and use the Apocalypse Virus as an excuse to slaughter innocent civilians. A rebellion organization named Funeral Parlor was created in order to free Japan from the grip of the GHQ while saving the people of Japan in the process.

I’ll be honest, the story in Guilty Crown is a complete and utter mess. The plot comes off as jumbled and confusing. And the story is full of clichés and terribly written plot points. It gets worse in the second half when the story has ass pulls so big I’m pretty sure the story was left with an asshole the size of the Mariana Trench. I thought that the story had a lot of potential with its plot set up but it completely fails to capitalize on it. Most of the time it just leaves you feeling confused and to an extent you might even start to get pissed off at the show. I feel that the story in Guilty Crown tries to cram too many elements together leaving you in a state of confusion throughout the story. This is one of the many weak points that Guilty Crown has. And trust me, not just its story has problems.

Characters: The main character for Guilty Crown is Shu Ouma, a normal 17 year old highschool student who ends up right in the middle of the conflict once he obtains the mysterious and supernatural power know has the Guilty Crown. This power gives him the ability to extract a person’s “Void”. A “Void” can best be described as a physical manifestation of a person’s heart. He is then recruited into Funeral Parlor so he can help bring an end to this war.

Now the Guilty Crown power that Shu obtains is where some of the plot holes come up. It helps create what is known as Deus Ex Machina writing. For the uninformed, Deus Ex Machina writing is defined as:

“A plot device whereby a seemingly unsolvable problem is suddenly and abruptly resolved by the contrived and unexpected intervention of some new event, character, ability, or object. Depending on how it is done, it can be intended to move the story forward when the writer has "painted himself into a corner" and sees no other way out, to surprise the audience, to bring a happy ending into the tale, or as a comedic device.”

So you have a door that needs to be opened? Look, conveniently there’s a Void that can do that! What’s that? We’re all about to die? How can we be saved from that? Let’s just fuse Voids together! The Guilty Crown even has rules and limits to its power. But those rules and limits don’t apply to it when the plot demands it. This is something that infuriated me when I was watching this at first. The lack of consistency holds the story back.

I’ve noticed that when people talk about the characters in Guilty Crown, most of them don’t like Shu as a character. Everyone complains that he’s too weak or indecisive making him one of their least favorite characters. Now while I agree that these are some of Shu’s flaws, I didn’t hate him. Hell I thought he was a great character. While yes he has these issues, I was actually able to relate to him and some of the social problems that he has. There were times where I could see why he was acting weak or indecisive and I didn’t hate him for it. Shu gets plenty of development in the second half of the show, even though for a short period of time in the second half he becomes an unlikable prick. So unlike most people I found Shu to be a good main character and he ended up being my favorite in the show.

Inori is the name for our female lead in Guilty Crown. She is known to be a famous pop singer in Japan and I have one word to describe her: Lifeless. She basically has the personality of a cardboard box crossed with Kirsten Dunst. I DID NOT LIKE HER. Throughout the entirety of Guilty Crown she has almost no point. Inori basically serves as a plot device to give Shu motivation for the second half of the show. The romance between Shu and Inori felt forced and awkward and as a whole unsatisfying. It just goes to show that even though you’re hot as hell, it doesn’t make up for the fact that you have no personality.

The last main character is Gai. Gai is the leading member of Funeral Parlor and he actually showed promise in the beginning episodes of the anime. But once we get to the second half of Guilty Crown, he becomes the embodiment of Deus ex Machina writing. What happens with him in the second half is considered to be the worst part of Guilty Crown’s story. This caused him to be one of my least favorite characters in this anime.

Actually the characters in Guilty Crown are one of its major problems. Guilty Crown tends to introduce a lot of characters at once and gives them all little to no development whatsoever. In fact I find it hard to actually remember a lot of the side characters names, even when I was watching the show. I just gave them nicknames like Asshole, Comic Relief, Cat Girl, and Slut. The only character that I felt got enough character development for me to like them was Shu. The characters were a definite disappointment in Guilty Crown. I wish some of them got more development then they did. Then maybe they would be good characters. Or maybe if some of these side characters served a point. This is one of Guilty Crown’s biggest weakpoints.

Animation: One of the things in Guilty Crown that I will give universal praise, is the animation. The animation is BEAUTIFUL. Production I.G. did a truly amazing job with Guilty Crown. The animation is consistently great looking. The character designs, the movement, the colors, the action sequences, everything is visually appealing and there are little to no errors with consistency throughout.

Guilty Crown was directed by Tetsurō Araki, who is most well-known for directing shows like Death Note, Highschool of the Dead, and Attack on Titan. And just like the shows I mentioned, Guilty Crown has amazing action scenes. The points in Guilty Crown where I had the most fun were definitely the action scenes. The combination of animation and music made them my favorite part of the anime. It is probably one of the reasons people watched this anime in the first place. The animation is a definite strong point for the anime and I can’t praise it enough.

Sound: Speaking of the music. THE MUSIC. Throughout all of Guilty Crown I never had one problem with the music. Guilty Crown’s soundtrack is filled with powerful songs for both the action and the story heavy scenes. Upon watching Guilty Crown, its soundtrack quickly crawled up into my favorite anime OST’s of all time. The music is overall amazing.

Guilty Crown has recently gotten a DUB by FUNimation. The English DUB and Japanese DUB are both very well done. I would even consider this one of the best DUBs FUNimation has ever done. Austin Tindle does a fantastic job playing the role of Shu, making him sound nervous but also confident when he has to. While I didn’t like Inori, Alexis Tipton did a great job portraying her character. In fact the only character that seemed to be off in the DUB is Monica Rial as Tsugumi. Overall the DUB is great and I would recommend either the SUB or the DUB to anyone wanting to watch the show. You guys are good with either one.

Enjoyment: Judging by the large amount of bitching I’ve done throughout this review, you would assume that I hated Guilty Crown. Well actually it was the opposite, I loved Guilty Crown. You see before watching it, I heard generally mixed to negative things about Guilty Crown. So I went into it with low expectations. Due to this I was able to enjoy it more than others. Yes the story and characters were pissing me off. But once I got to around the halfway point, I decided to stop taking them seriously and I had a much better time because of it. I believe that if you want to truly enjoy Guilty Crown you need to accept it for what it is, pure entertainment. I believe you will have a much better time doing so. I know I did. Hell, I’m pretty sure that’s what most people who enjoy Guilty Crown did. My recommendation is to just shut your brain off and enjoy it for what it is.

Conclusion: Guilty Crown is an anime filled with problems. A plot filled with holes and ass pulls, some uninspiring characters, and serious writing issues. But Guilty Crown is saved by its amazing animation and music, a fantastic DUB, and just being all around entertaining show. Guilty Crown is not for everyone, but if you don’t take the story and characters seriously, you might find a show worth watching. I give Guilty Crown a final score of: 8/10

In a word: OUTSTANDING

now, this series seems to be getting insane amount of hate.
usual complaints from my observation (note, DROPPED can be substituted with GC is crap):

1. OMG! rebellion! Code Geass Ripoff! weapon from chest? OM, Dantalian ripoff! DROPPED
2. Shoe is Annoying! DROPPED
3. tits bouncing! absolute cleavage! DROPPED
4. boy meets girl? boy gets powers not originally for him? sudden drastic change of life? bishies and bishous? genius leader? brutal antagonists? CLICHE STORM!!! DROPPED
5. Plot Armor! Ass Pull! DROPPED
... 6. (insert random reason) DROPPED

okay, that pretty much summarizes most complaints i think. now, on to the review:




Story: 10/10

While nothing original and obviously very familiar as evident in the usual complaints. It's a nonetheless tried and tested and have produced classics outside anime. The story is told properly. they don't attempt to cram everything in one episode and tells the piece by piece. each episode (so far) introduces new characters and develops the ones in the previous episodes.

Sure they use cliches here and there. but that's exactly what makes it awesome. since it's familiar you wouldn't have trouble digesting the story. though admittedly i had to rewatch the first five episodes because of my previous "OMG awesome everything! ignore plot!" way of watching. also, the main character can get VERY annoying at times. (note: this is an understatement)




Art: 10/10

Look at the previews and the official art. now, watch the anime itself. and now pickup your dropped jaw. the character (and not to mention the COSTUME) design are great. the mecha's are detailed. the environment is even more detailed. and The special effects feel very integrated. also, great camera work.




Sound: 10/10

One word: EGOIST. the in-universe music group's music really lives up to it's in-universe popularity. and action scenes get awesome background music. Sound effects are pretty fitting too. and lastly, the powerup music.




Character: 10/10

Okay, so the protagonist is your "Ordinary Highschool Student" who is also coincidentally a huge jerk. Probably just like most of us. and there's this "Perfect Girl" who wears a skimpy outfit most of the time and has a great voice. and is also very skillful at other things (may or may not include seducing people). and there's the "bishounen strategist with attitude" who is badass in every way. but hides a secret.

pretty familiar right? But it doesn't make them flat at all. and those are just the main characters. each supporting characters with prominent roles in the episodes are given good amounts of character depth. flat characters are also developed minimally and their deaths are foreshadowed. and when they do die they do a good job doing it. i.e. a bad guy deserves it, a good guy is sympathetic.




Enjoyment: 10/10

Now, I wouldn't defend this nor give it a high rating and praise if i didn't enjoy it would i?

To summarize: Lovable characters (including the annoying protagonist), great art, great music, great (if rather cliche) plot.

Instead of reading these biased in every way reviews though go watch this and judge for yourself. Because the high rating reviews ignore the flaws, which are greatly overshadowed by awesomeness, by the way; and low rating reviews see nothing but flaws, and the great art.

"There are no innocents fighting a war"

specially when it comes to the front line.
If you are fighting, you're fight for an ideal, fighting to protect the lives of the ones you cherish, but in order to do it you're ceasing the lives of those who oppose you. Inevitably, together with it comes a feeling that question if what you are doing is right or is wrong.
This feeling is called Guilt. The main focus of this anime.

This review will follow a different approach than the majority here. Trying to present a different viewpoint.
Anybody who searches through reviews will noticed that a lot of people gave pretty ... low scores to this series, and even lower to its story. Why is it? There will never be a consensus, since each reviewer have a personal interpretation of the matter, however, I strongly believe these scores results from a unexpected complexity of the storyline, not common to action animes.
From the surface, Guilty Crown seems just like any other action/battle shounen series, the first episodes will really remind -those who watched- of a certain series that also has mecha and this genetic/genome element on it. However, as the story progresses it becomes clear that its storyline is way denser and heavier than it appears to be. If it happened to disappoint so many people, this is because it was badly driven and poorly organized at critical turning points, but it certain had the elements to be a masterpiece.
This is something to give credit for.
Another common complain is its ending. This review won't touch this matter. It's unreasonable to blame the series for not making the ending you wanted. It wasn't a ambiguous neither a vague ending, so there are no complains towards it.
Many people misinterpret what this anime really is about. It isn't a romance, neither a adventure, it's far from it. Interesting that some OST gives a clue of its true motivators, and yet, many seems to not get it. (Listen to the OST -Ready To Go)
Guilty Crown is about how a society can go to ruin when a crisis appears, how power can corrupt, the importance of friends, and specially, family. One can simply watch it for the battle scenes (worth mention: their background music was really well elaborated) but should have in mind the story isn't simple as a swordplay like that.

The reason why Guilty Crown story collapses on itself is the amount of different elements presented in a short period of time. Imagine a book series. One of those trilogies that each book have more than 500 pages, no pictures, and a heavy built background story. Now take everything and compress into a 22 episode anime series. There is no way it would have room for everything. Guilty Crown tries to tell a entire saga from it's birth, through its glory and till its fall. New action and thrilling elements are introduced non-stop to a point the viewer starts to question what is all that about anyway, and this is where Production I.G lost it.
The big mystery, the key for the story, was perfectly and cleverly elaborated, hidden from the beginning till the end and when it was time for the curtain to fall, it closed up with a grand-finally that just a few could say they saw it coming.
However, while the writers were focusing into elaborating this solo segment of the story, they complete piece was running towards a dead end, with a absurd amount of loose ends and continuation mistakes. In order to save it, they manipulated the original structure of the characters, performing a completely change of ideology and personality of some of them. This, not the story, ruined Guilty Crown's kingdom.

This sudden change in some characters is what did the most impact on this show dignity. People sure change as time goes by, and some tragic or happy events can also make their feelings and attitudes to change. However, nobody goes through a complete ethical and moralistic meltdown from the night to day, neither someone can recover from days of suffering in a blink of an eye. Perhaps if the second arc of the anime was divided from its main piece as a second season, it would be easier to swallow, but the way it was done, doesn't mater how you see it, it's too abrupt. -Dear Production I.G, just one "breather episode" (ep.13) can't possibly be enough to shoulder a change like that.
Also, interesting to mention, Shu -our protagonist- isn't the "hero" of the series. The character that holds this significance is another, but in order to now spoil it, I'll void its name. Shu, instead, is the figure of the anti-hero. That is why it's correct to expect from him some attitudes he took, and that is also why some changes in his character are acceptable. He drives away from the pattern of shounen's heroes. Where the protagonist "seeks power to protect", he is afraid of it, is insecure, childish and lacks of determination. If Guilty Crown has any of originality on it, it's right on this topic.

Even though, the OST makes up for this series. The reason why I can give it a solid 8 is because of the magnificent job that was done regarding the sound production. From all the little blasts or fire effects to complex insert songs, they all sounded real, equating to a cinematographic production. These insert song, themselves holds an important meaning on the story and also works as a breather for action-packed scenes.
The reason why the enjoyment reached a fair score was also due to the pieces chosen for some key scenes. Strong operas at some parts, along with epic fast-paced drum & bass, and even some classic-style compositions, turns the entire sound division an pleasure to listen.

I prefer to consider Guilty Crown as a deviant series. Not for what is on its surface, neither for its concept. But for hidden aspects of the show. First, some subtle dark humor in the villains dialogue aligned to a curious irony in some episodes and twists of the story. Second, for the way it manages to be eccentric at times but still don't loose its main characteristics as a "battle shounen". The final couple of episodes brings ideological senses with a "sweet" sarcasm that you gotta be courageous to try it. That conflict of what is sick and what is beautiful contrascenes with what is right and what is wrong.

It is the most honest truth say this series is fascinating. Fascinating, and this is it.
It failed in so many aspects it becomes hard to give it a higher score. However, it is entertaining, have some alluring elements -I'm not talking about Inori (...) Or maybe I am?- and ends the game with a interesting plot twist plus a acceptable epilogue.
At least, I'm glad this didn't end up being a 200 eps. anime.
Numeric score: Story 10 - Art 8 - Sound 10 - Character 4 - Enjoyment 7 - Overall 8.
(You know you can see it by clicking the hyperlink where it says "overall" right?)

Putting it simply. Definitely worth watching for its uniqueness. For being... Exceptionally ordinary.

Yo dawgs, hear 'bout the new fad of the century, Guilty Crown!

Story:10

So there some guy who is fucking useless and crybaby. Then there some bitch who everyone likes to beat up. Combine them together, and we get the perfect combo!

How you ask? He puts his hand in her breasts and gets a fucking looooooooooooong sword! Holy crap! I want to touch her breasts too you lucky motherfucker virgin! But he gets more action than most of the guys in his age ever get by doing that. LUCKYYYYY MOTHERFUCKER!

Then there some bad guys in robots who kill everyone. They're BAAAAAAAAAAAD, niggas! Real batshit news. So ... he fights against them with his looooooooooooong sword!

In da hood nigga dawgs complain that the show is a complete ripoff from every show ever created. That may be da case, but it's so much better than Code Gayass or every show it tries to copy. It has better animation and better cast than those shitty shows! Who cares about Fukuyama shitass character or double C's ?? We get a motherfucker with a looooooooooooong sword who fights bad guys in robots and the Sexy Egoist girl who part of her tits are visible! Best show evaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

Art:10

DA ANIMATION IS DA BEST LIKE I SAID! it is fluid and there are no signs of QUALITY like most shows these days! RESPECT for da animators!

backgrounds are done FLAWLESSLYYYYYYYYYYY and da character designs hit da spot.

Da best thing about da animation is Egoist girl's partly visible tits! SEXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX BOMB SEX BOOOOOOOOOMBBBBBBB YOUREEEEEEE MY SEX BOOOOOOMBBBBBBBB! wheeeeeerrrrrrrrreeeeeeeee will you find better tits than hers? NOWHERE! she's paarfactoo! MOEEEEEEEE.

Sound:10

DA CAST IS DA BEST LIKE I SAID! Da voices of da characters is what makes them realistic like they are really livin'! Da voice of that crybaby guy fits him perfectly! And da girl voice is so erotic just from hearing it I CUM!

Da OP is by supercell! Need I say more?

Da background music varies from heavy gangsta metal to mellow ballads! Shit's da best.

Character:10

Oh dem characterssssssssssssss! We have a crybaby wimpy guy who turns into gangsta by getting a looooooooooooong sword from da girl's chest! Fukuyama character never got so much action liek dis nigga!

Da best thing about da girl is her tits liek I said and her voice is perfect! MOEEEE OVERLOAAAAAAAAAAAD!!!!!!!!!

Da characters are developing real fast just from da first episode. Crybaby turns into badass and destroys robots! BEST CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT RIGHT HERE!

Enjoyment: 10

NIGGAS! DAWGS! MOST ENJOYABLE SHOW OF THE CENTURY RIGHT HERE!

Overall: 10

Overall this show has proven to be the most splendid experience I have ever experienced. Delightful!

Oh wait, am I out of character here? Deep apologizes, my fine lads. Ha ha Ha ha!

Want some fine English tea to make up for it? Just a moment, it may take some time...

Fans - You're not encouraged to vote "helpful" because you love GC.
Haters - You're not supposed to vote "not helpful" just because you hate GC, please do continue to read the review.
Lurkers - You're not supposed to cast your votes on a whim.

Guilty Crown was flamed, trolled, criticized and then of course loved. Built behind the shadow of ever-popular Code Geass. It's rather hard to tackle a "higher than Code Geass standard", nope more like EVERY series around. There's just one thing I don't understand, just "WHY PEOPLE COMPARE EVERY GOOD/BAD SCENE IN LITERALLY EVERY EPISODE TO OTHER ANIME(S)?" Most good/better/best ideas were used ... or recycled on most in/famous animes and didn't get criticized.

"Whoa, this guy is biased! He even got GC on his Top Favorites O.0" I'm not gonna deny this part since I literally enjoy Guilty Crown. At first I never cared about the plot, I was just excited that Supercell will be a part of a series again(yeah I'm a fan, U MAD?). There were times that when I saw posts in the forums like "This sh*t sucks, too cliche" and alike. And "This show is really predictable": CONGRATS you're one of the elites o/. I just can't agree when I saw the post "Inori is for pure fanservice only", almost every action genre anime always has a girl on it's main character that would either be support him or cheer him (eg. Tessa-FMP, Saber-FSN). It's just either they are successful or not. And being silent and stoic doesn't necessarily mean weak. (eg. Yuki-Melancholy).

Ok sure, enough the rant here's your standard review.

Story - Yeah, the start was a bit too slow and rather predictable. Character developments were out of place. Elite soldiers that can't hit a simple non-moving target (No surprises here, I forgot the term but it's being used on many action films and action-genre series. nb4 Chuck Norris ), Falcon kicks across rooms and swords on Mecha fights, the "Keikakudōri" guy, and the meddling friends. The momentum of the story was just a bit too slow that many users dropped it during the first half.

Art - The colors were like "dancing", just too epic. Basically one reason that people keep watching this anime. Even "haters" agreed so yeah.

Sound - Too biased here, so continuing this might just be a waste of time.

Character - The cast basically contains a "suddenly-became powerful guy", a "black-belted-sharpshooter-silent" girl, a Keikakudōri(again) guy, etc. If you're judging Guilty Crown with this criteria, then it's easy to say it's cliche. Most anime(s) do have those qualities, so what's with the discrimination?

Enjoyment - Read Above.

Overall - Guilty Crown is more like a combination of ideas that succeeded to appeal to the viewers in the past anime(s). Added with some spices and ended up being worse/better. Just watch it as an "independent series and not as a copy of others" then you'll possibly enjoy it more. Those who dropped it should picked it again and those who haven't watched it yet should watch it.

Feedback greatly appreciated, and also grammar correction.

When you build something up to impossibly high standards, it's inevitable that thing will fail to live up to those standards. Guilty Crown was built up to be an epic, God-Tier Anime, and that's understandable. Art by Redjuice, music by Supercell, and directed by Tatsurou-Sensei. That sounds like a pretty epic combination. However, the end result is, in fact, not epic. Not God-Tier. Now, don't get me wrong. It isn't that Guilty Crown is a BAD Anime, by any means. It just isn't as outstanding as most people built it up to be. I would imagine that's why it's getting so much hate. Well, that, ... coupled with plain ignorance (if you haven't seen more then one episode, you have no right to be bashing any Anime).

Well, that's my opinion on why these particular haters are hating. Now, onto an actual review...

Story: 7
Is the story completely original? No. But, what is these days? I'm not saying completely original Anime don't come out nowadays, I'm just saying that, for as long as it's been around, it's to be expected that some ideas would be recycled. I'm not going to go into the comparison of Guilty Crown with another series that has strikingly similar initials. When I judge an Anime, I look at it as an independent work. So, when judging the story, I will look at the story of Guilty Crown, and ONLY the story of Guilty Crown. Which, I must say, is pretty good. It's interesting, but more importantly, it's entertaining.

Art: 10
What can I say? It's beautiful. Even the haters will admit to that.

Sound: 9
See art.

Character: 6
My only real complaint with the series so far is the character development. Sometimes it seems forced, others it's non-existent, which can be infuriating. I mean, really, who want's to see a ball-less protagonist?

Enjoyment: 8
I can honestly say that there has not been a moment watching Guilty Crown that I did not enjoy, and hardly any episode that I was not on the edge of my seat come the credits.

Overall: 8
Guilty Crown is not BAD by any means, it just isn't GREAT. It's good... Very good.

Ok, so less of a review and more of a defense. This is my first review. If you've read this far, then thank you ^^

"My Heart is the Worst Kind of Weapon"

Preface:

Guilty Crown has a bit of a bad rap in the anime community. One side proclaims it as a huge ripoff of popular series like Code Geass and Death Note, and another decries it as a flashy, plot hole and cliche ridden mess with unlikable characters. While I do think that there are very valid criticisms of the plot development and illogical actions taken by the characters, I don't think that it stops this show from being enjoyable.

Without further ado:


Artwork and Animation: 9
...
I've never been a huge Production IG animation fan, but I have to hand it to them- Guilty Crown looks really good. It's extremely fluid, and the character designs are very reminiscent of Ghost in the Shell. The CGI, while not ufotable quality, is also pretty watchable. It, at least, didn't make me want to vomit. The real beauty in this anime comes from the gorgeous backgrounds and fluidity of character movement. Someone at Production IG studied their physiological kinetics, because the characters move excellently. When they get shot, their limbs hang, they limp appropriately, and the expressions on their faces are pretty human as well.

The animation is overall very consistent, and vibrantly colored in juxtaposition to the dark, brooding atmosphere and backgrounds, particularly in the second half. Characters like Inori, Ayase, and Tsugumi really pop where the others are in drab or black.

There's also the hand of Tetsuro Araki, which is very present in Guilty Crown. His feel for dramatics and excellent use of angles don't go unused here. Long uncut shots, deep sweeps and long pans over extremely fleshed out backgrounds give the show a grandiose feel. Small details like reflections of people's faces in glasses, off windows, and computer screens, along with over the shoulder, or through shots really make the cinematography very movie-like.
There are plenty of enormous, illustriously illustrated backdrops that make for epic setpieces. These coupled with the soundtrack really make for a wowing experience on the audio and visual front.


Sound and Voice Acting: 10

Guilty Crown is a bit experimental in this department. Similarly to how FLCL used one group, The Pillows, to record the entire OST, Hiroyuki Sawano used a group called Supercell (actually inserted and fictionalized in the anime as a musical artist named EGOIST) for the openings, endings, and the insert songs, along with some featured artists. Boy, has he outdone himself this time.

The openings and endings are all four very listenable and enjoyable songs, but the award goes to the song "Bios", with Mika Kobayashi as the featured singer. The reader might recognize her from... I don't know... DOOOOOOOOONT LOOOOOOOOOSE YOUR WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!!
Bios has all the makings of a 'successful' and well produced atmospheric and mood enhancing song, and it's a shame it's only used as an insert, because it's incredible. It has a lot of uses in the anime however, so no fear.

On an excellent note, the usage of Inori being a main character, and as an embodiment of the Supercell vocalists in the anime really brought the soundtrack to life, in more than one way.
The English casting director did an excellent job matching up Alexis Tipton with Inori. The parts where she's singing and then directly speak are either dubbed absolutely perfectly, or edited to where they flow flawlessly. Her soft voice also fit with the portrayal of Inori very well. Austin Tindle also did good work portraying the progression of weak and shy Shu, then conflicted and commanding Shu.


Characters: 6

Shu Ouma has been called one of the worst shonen protagonists in all of anime. People cite his lack of decisiveness, weakness of character, and generally failing to take charge when necessary, along with his total 180 of character about 3/4 of the way through the show. He's a loser, he's a whiner, we know.

I think there's more to Shu behind the scenes that a lot of people are missing.
Shu Ouma is autistic.
He wouldn't be the first autistic spectrum character to be shown in anime. The much loved L, (and much hated Near) from Death Note also fall onto the spectrum, with a lot of classic signs and symptoms.

In the beginning, Shu talks about how socially inept he is, and how he just can't understand how anyone thinks (no empathy, no emotional intelligence.) He's very easily frustrated, and that serves to be his undoing. He has no concept of Charisma, particularly when he attempts to emulate Gai, but to poor effect and doesn't understand why. He misunderstands people's intentions constantly, and has poor social cues as well.

Shu makes a number of inappropriate comments and over-reactive measures throughout the show that, while may just be from social awkwardness, could also be part of the explanation. He also has a very routine-oriented life- which is disrupted when he's given the chance to join Funeral Parlor, though he can't deal with the changes it would bring to his life. Later, and throughout the show, we see Shu dressing in his school uniform, complete with the tie, even though the rule of law and social order have all but collapsed. He wears the same type of clothes all the time, and is, generally speaking, rather orderly throughout the show.

He's resistant to friends and people trying to be close to him, aloof, detached, and very much a loner, which lead to his "loser" status.

All of these things lead me to believe that Shu is on the autism spectrum, which, in several ways, explains reasoning for his actions and makes them more believable as well.

The rest of the characters fill their voids. Some of them are mere plot convenience, some of them are genuinely interesting characters. I can see the Code Geass parallels in the characters more than the story, honestly- given that each side has a counterpart for each 'position' in their ranks: the ace fighter, the mastermind, the technology specialist, the conniving lieutenant, the mysterious woman, the parent/child antagonist dynamic, and naturally, the rival.

I personally thought Ayase and Major Sagai to be the most interesting characters, particularly Sagai. He gets stuff done, and doesn't ask questions, along with having a twisted streak to match his stereotypical villain's scarred eye.


Story: 4

Others have covered this one pretty well already, and there's a nice synopsis up there as well. Guilty Crown left me with a lot of questions that went unanswered, and there's also a lot of plot convenience that goes beyond suspension of disbelief, even about a show that involves a guy using his powers to remove people's hearts in order to turn them into weapons. The story watches like a summer blockbuster movie. It might not be the most nuanced and compelling thing, but it's pretty fun to watch for a couple hours and be done. It has some heartfelt moments, and there are a few cheesy spots where I chuckled, but overall nothing particularly remarkable. The second half is a definite improvement over the first, with a change of setting- to a more interesting one.


Enjoyment and Overall: 8, 7

Guilty Crown, like Code Geass (if I really have to go there) is fun to watch. Yeah, not everything always makes sense, but what's the point of a tv show or movie, if not to be entertaining? I do have to say, that were it not for the talents of Tetsuro Araki and Hiroyuki Sawano, Guilty Crown would be yet another rather generic, if flashily animated, shonen super powered protag anime. It's something a little more, when you enjoy other parts of the show than just the plot and characters.


Recommend?

Guilty Crown is fairly anime-culture significant, and a fair visual feast on its own. If you can ignore some plot holes and underdeveloped characters, there's no reason not to enjoy this one.

"The world offers the choice to live or die. Survival of the fittest, that's the only rule this world recognizes." - Gai

If you have read or seen another Guilty Crown reviews you have probably noticed that there is two sides. Those two sides are the haters and the lovers. Also it has alot of romance in it even though MAL's genres doesnt include it.
Anyway lets get onto the review.

= (Story 4) =

The story is not something speciel. Most fo the time i didn't think about it, but after watching the show and thinking bad i realised it was pretty bad. As i said, there's nothing special about the story. It's very sad cause the story could have been so much more then it ... was. Èven though this show made you wanna watch the next episode right away, but if you want a good story don't watch Guilty Crown.

= (Art 9) =

Everything about the art was just amazing. The backgrounds were amazing. It made the scene alot better because of the feeling i got by the backgrounds. The colors were kinder dark which gave the show the feeling it was supposed to have. The character design were also amazingly done. Now the best thing about the art was the crystal virus. It was just so beautiful. This is definitely the best artwork I.G. Production has ever done. I've never seen something like this before.

= (Sound 10) =

The Sound were just as stunning as the art. All the openings and ending were done by Supercell which is one of my favorite bands so that just gave this series a plus. The first opening Euterpe was so beautiful that i couldn't move and do nothing but to listen to the amazing song. Sadly it was only played in the first episode. The second opening My Dearest was amazing as well and quickly became one of my favorite openings i have ever heard. The same goes for the third opening The everlasting guilty crown. It was almost just as amazing and was perfect for a opening. It really pumped up the mood and made you ready for another episode. The first ending Departures ~Anata ni Okuru Ai no Uta~ was amazing for an ending because it was very calm and that's what a good ending has to be. The second ending Kokuhaku was also very good even though i prefer the first ending over the second. Also the OST for this show were fantastic. It could change me from happy to sad in only 10 seconds I've never seen a anime with as good soundtrack as Guilty Crown. If your not gonna check out the show at least give the music a shot.

= (Characters 5) =

Now alot of people has different opinions on the characters. Some says the development were amazing and some says it was very bad because it was to fast. I have to agree with both sides. I'm just gonna list some of the characters and give you my opinion on them because there's so many character that i can't even list them

Inori: Inori is the main Female character. Inoris development were actually pretty good. Now its kinda hard to explain her development because she didn't really change on her outside, but her inside. She was just fighting for what she thought was right. But slowly though the series you could feel for her. You could could feel her love towards Shu, especially in the last few episodes.

Shu: Shu is the completely opposite of Inori in terms of character development. He isn't really relatable because he changes to much. He goes from Jesus to Hitler in 1 episode. In the first half of the series hes this quite guy who just help out the Funeral Parlour, but in the second half hes the evil king. So overall hes just to cliché.

Gai: Gai.... I can't really say that much about him. Hes a badass character who leads the Funeral Parlour. He means a lot to the series, but i just can't relate to him. He dosen't get any development. He just never changes which i find really annoying.

= (Enjoyment 8) =

Even though it was a very cliché anime it's just one of those series i couldn't help but love! I was bored once in this series and it made me wanna watch it over and over again. If your gonna watch this anime you shouldn't really be thinking. And yes i am on the lover side, but i do understand why some people don't like this show.

= (Overall 8) =

Overall i give it 8. Even though the character's where cliché and the story where really odd, i still enjoyed it though out the entire show. Now do i recommend you this anime? Well, i think u should at least give it a try.

~Guilty Crown~

A lot of effort was put into Guilty Crown. This is evident in the overall quality of art and sound. However, what it lacks is a coherent story that can fully engage a wide range of viewers.

Story
Like I said the plot was very loose and weak. Floppy.

Art
Eye candy art. A lot of effort can be seen here, the producers wanted to make this show as gorgeous as possible. The art alone makes this show so watchable, given the lack of sophisticated plot.

... Sound
Great OP. Great ED. Background music also does its job.

Character
Characters may seem a bit dull and robotic. But I predict that this will change in the second half/arc of the show. I believe that the producers intended to create characters that are initially cold and lifeless, and developing into each of their unique persona to create contrast, however, this is only what I hope for.

Enjoyment
The art and character design made this series to enjoyable. So I would say that the selling point of this series wasn't a mind-blowing story, but rather fancy characters doing what the director wanted them to do.

Overall
I recommend this to those who look for a show with stunning graphics and nice looking characters. Also, I hope the show gets better and better in the second half. However, this is only my personal opinion.

*edited* As I've finished Guilty Crown, I'll re-review it, keeping the end of the series in mind.

Guilty Crown had an endless amount of potential. While watching its earlier episodes, I really, really liked the series and fought to support it among the fandom. But then, this happened--

music: I'm amazing.
art: I'm beautiful.
plot: I suck

This pretty much sums it up. Guilty Crown's OST and animation are phenomenal, and no viewer can deny that. However, the plot, in essence, sucked. It seems as if it was made to specifically rely on cliffhangers and events that would excite the audience for a few seconds. You could actually relate the ... plot to the classic penny dreadfuls.

The plot got very lost among those attempted plot twists, as a few elements of the story were not justified or relative. Or even necessary. Details were left unattended, resulting in this very messy outcome.

Still, I quite enjoyed watching it because I was so interested in what was happening next. I must at least commend GC for executing the plot twists so well. All in all, the ending was fulfilling enough, but the way we got there was less than satisfactory.

The characters were also very weak, as many only held a purpose as walking fanservice. Shu doesn't count, because he is the protagonist who starts out all lame; but a large portion of the females were not strong, admirable characters in respect to their role in the story.

Once again, Guilty Crown had incredible art and music, and greatly lacked a good plot, but did plot twists and cliffhangers well. I wouldn't really recommend this. But I'd recommend listening to the OST by itself.

Note: For you OST junkies like me, the OST is exceptional; with powerful orchestral movements full of energy and triumph, or suspense and a somber mood when necessary. Of course, as this show was placed Twenty Minutes into the Future, there is a large influence of techno and guitar that fit right in place. The vocal tracks had some problems with the German and English pronunciation, but it can be easily overlooked as the backing track is amazing. The multiple reprises of a singular theme also deserve praise, as it is versatile enough to be used as an emotional piece or battle music.

Time does a lot of strange things to a show's reputation, doesn't it? Once acclaimed anime like Kill la Kill are now considered terrible disappointments that couldn't live up to the legacy of its infinitely better predecessors, Mari Okada has gone from being cool to hate to cool to like to back again without any real middle-ground, and not getting into Symphogear is apparently the equivalent of suffering a major personality disorder. It's gotten to the point where I'm kind of missing the moe trend a bit. At least cute girl/slice-of-life fans have an understandable reason for why they like what they do. It reminds ... them of a calmer time in their life. Not a reason I can sympathize with, but it's better than your reasons consisting of nothing but shouting memes all the time like you're the reincarnation of fucking He-Man.

And yet, while Guilty Crown has definitely enjoyed a warmer reputation since it invited a fuck-ton of anime fans to smash it over the head with all the hammers at its disposal, people are still undecided regarding how much they enjoyed it. It's not like Samurai Flamenco where they say it's a great show that uses the insanity in order to get a message across. Most people just say it's a fun show to point and laugh at before refusing to put it on their favorites list because apparently being enjoyable in that vein is an automatic disqualification. Then they link Shinmaru's or Draggle's "epic" posts on the anime and relish on the fond memories of dumbness that trainwrecks like Aldnoah Zero could never hope to achieve. You know guys, I don't like it when you consider the show God's gift to anime because nothing spoils a product more than rampant fanboyism, but at least be honest with said gift when you receive it. If I can put the goddamn thing on my favorites list despite my generally pessimistic views on most of what surrounds the show, why can't you?

I admit to having warmed up considerably towards Guilty Crown over the years. I don't find it as funny as most people, I don't consider it one of the most fun anime in years (although it's probably my favorite anime of 2011, a year that had quite a few shows I liked), and it kind of takes a few episodes to get really fun (first arc is okay, but everything after just dwarfs it by comparison). But in a medium that constantly winks to the audience and indulges on the joke to the point of over-the-top weariness in order to produce laughs or "awesomeness" or stupid donut metaphors that the characters in Silicon Valley would find dumb, shows that take their stupidity as seriously as Guilty Crown whilst simultaneously using the stupidity as an essential part of its core message are as hard to find as a five-legged gecko. Not to mention, the pacing, action, and characterization (however fucked up it is) are all solid for the most part, and the animation/music is generally great. And any anime that accomplishes all that deserves quite a few props, even if the stupidity you have to swallow in order to appreciate what it's going for can be a bit too "anime" for my taste, ironic or not.

In case you're one of the few people who haven't seen this show, I'll fill you in. Guilty Crown is about a boy named Shu Ouma, who on paper is your standard teen who's bored with life and treats his friends like they don't even exist, yet refuses to do anything about it, but in practice is the guy whose picture would be used as the definition of the word "chew toy" since everyone in-universe and out-of-universe loves to dump on the dude no matter what he does to the point that Lara Croft is recommending therapy. After discovering his scantily-clad crush, a pop singer named Inori, hiding in his secret place, he ends up getting roped in the middle of the conflict between a resistance group called Funeral Parlor and the Brittania-copy cat organization known as GHQ after acquiring a mysterious ability to pull objects out of people called "The Power of the Kings" (hahaha, insert Code Geass-ripoff joke here). I'd attempt to fill in the details regarding this conflict, but I'd rather not turn this review into an essay and Guilty Crown's plot is such a cluttered pile of bananas that Ikuhara fans wouldn't be able to explain in a way that makes any sense. So let's just say for simplicity's sake that the show is about Shu and his growth from a nobody to the king that Japan deserves. And since Japan is run by a bunch of idiots in this universe, it stands to reason that their king would be the biggest fuck-up the likes of which has never been seen.

As I was doing my third rewatch of the series, watching the show go to more and more desperate attempts to torture our pretty boy main, I kept getting a high school version of Jack Raiden from Metal Gear Solid 2 stuck in my head: a controversial pretty boy in love with a badly written fucktard whose attempts at being cooler than he actually is is both sad and kinda tragic when you realize why the creators made him out to be the protagonist in the first place. And since we're bringing up Metal Gear Solid, Guilty Crown shares a fuck load of similarities with that franchise, doesn't it? Like the horrible dialogue, superpowers mixed with mecha, girls taking every opportunity to show their cleavage even when being shot at, campy military leaders that are at odds with their more realistic underlings, post-modern themes that people are divided on regarding their existence to this day, and the fact that it pulls off the goofiest shit with a straight face. Wonder if Hideo Kojima has ever taken the opportunity to watch this thing. I'd be surprised if it didn't end up in his top five anime series of all-time.

Fortunately for you, Guilty Crown, I really love Metal Gear Solid. Especially 2. And I have a certain amount of fondness for Mr. and Mrs. Fucknugget too. But at the same time, whilst I'm glad we agree that turning Shu into a break-dancing cyborg ninja would have been a bit too post-modern for the series (and we live in a world where an Alexandre Dumas adaptation can have a giant mecha fight out of nowhere and still get acclaims across the board), I will say that not turning Dan Eagleman into a shirtless right-wing nut who body slams people from his giant mecha is a fucking missed opportunity. Because honestly Guilty Crown, I kind of find your villains a bit on the meh side. Scarface ain't bad or anything, but he's no Revolver Ocelot or Liquid Snake or Solidus...uh actually Solidus was worse, so never mind.

Anyways, Guilty Crown comes off to me more and more over the years less like a bad anime and more like a good show that nobody wanted because it didn't fit within what they were used to. Mainly, being offensive on purpose, because this show is clearly trying to offend you and it's not getting any of the context wrong whilst doing so like, say, Cross Ange. Shu is not as inconsistent a character as people say he is. He's a nice but REALLY stupid dude who just can't win and goes to more and more extremes to try and compensate for his personality flaws, only to fuck up in a very consistent rate. Every time he tries to grow, he finds himself unable to do so because something (really stupid) always happens that gets in his way. Even when he turns into a neo-Nazi wannabe, he (hilariously) reassures us that he's doing it for the good of the school and that after they were free, he could drop the act. And when that plan failed, he went through the standard character growth we expect from an underdog protagonist before finally becoming the Jesus Dalai Lama Christ the cast deserved. A very dumb one, but it's not like the characters surrounding him were much better at that point. Specially Inori, who's so blatantly wish-fulfillment-y that it gets hilarious.

I'm gonna be straight with you guys here. I laugh more at Guilty Crown whenever somebody (particularly Shu) worships Inori like she's every man's fantasy when it's plainly obvious she's the sexist caricature that the underbelly of the Evangelion fans picture Rei to be. When Shu does something incredibly climactic to him, but to an outsider's view, it's just something people see as normal. When he's being a wannabe Neo-Nazi, because don't we all? The segway joke that the Internet seems to have latched onto is cute, but I honestly think it's an overrated thing to focus on, and Shu getting tortured can be a bit hit-and-miss. That joke when the entire school zoomed in on him after he touched a classmate's boob whilst testing out his voids was cool. The one when Ayase put him through the crapper after he took pity on her handicapped status, not so much.

But something about that first joke really sticks with me, probably because it's Shu's entire motivation for even being the main character before all his convoluted backstory gets revealed (and even then, it's the major reason for why he does everything even when he says he's doing it for his friends). I know a lot of people, including me, have criticized that relationship in the past, seeing it as nothing more than a joke that makes Raiden's and Rosemary's relationship drama look well-written. But also like Raiden and Rosemary, I can't help but see it as intentionally bad given how it's an attraction that's entirely based on lies and even when something genuine comes from it, it never works out to the characters' benefit. The final scene in particular makes me laugh like a hyena when it's revealed what came out of the relationship. It's just so fucked up and so fitting that Shu can't move on from a relationship with a living sex doll even when she doomed him to a life of blindness. In fact, my only complaint with the relationship is that it was never consummated at all. What? Like it would have been more out of place than anything else in this show?

Having said that, Guilty Crown still has moments of dumb that not even being satirical/ironic about can excuse. The fact that Shu can only pull voids from those under 17 years of age is incredibly contrived with no good (or any) explanation given for it whatsoever. And the final act sort when an important character is brought back to life on the opposite side...without wishing to spoil much, remember the final climax in Metal Gear Solid 4 when Snake and Liquid Ocelot had their last showdown? Then after the latter is defeated, another character shows up at the last minute to put everything into perspective whilst trying to make his side in the right despite the many lives that were lost in the process? Well let's just say Guilty Crown's final bad guy fares no better at justifying himself, and I doubt we'll be getting another sequel sometime down the line that paints his journey towards peace as Evil vs. Evil.

I'm not really sure what the reaction to Guilty Crown would be if it came out now, or what my reaction would be if my current self saw it for the first time, especially if I wasn't marathoning it. Nonetheless, the fact remains that no other trainwreck has really caught on as much as this show has to the point that it was put on a now defunct comedy watch with people saying "it's enjoyable, but not for the reason it thinks it's being". You wouldn't hear them say the same thing about Sword Art Online and Psycho-Pass 2. And Aldnoah Zero just bored folks a few episodes into the second season. Whilst I can say what I enjoy about this show fine (mainly by being Metal Gear Solid 2 if converted through an anime filter whilst removing most of the parts that would work in a video game but not in a series), what exactly was so special about this particular trainwreck that made it constant entertainment for them? And why are they so hesitant to rank it amongst their favorites if it kept their eyes glued to the screen the entire way through, especially when stuff like Code Geass, Star Driver, and Symphogear can make it on?

I suspect that both questions share the same answer. Maybe it's the cynical characters. Maybe it's the pretentious tone. Maybe it's the fact that whilst shows like Code Geass and Symphogear make no sense, Guilty Crown really makes no sense.

Guilty Crown had amazing art, a captivating soundtrack, and very attractive characters. I find myself, two weeks after watching the show, still listening to the soundtrack. (Supercell is amazing.) But it lacked in all the basic things important to a show: Outstanding plot, decent character development, and a story that's easy enough to follow. As I watched the show, I was entranced by the action and the background music, but I was almost always confused by what's going on. There were too many things being thrown at me. The protag, Shuu was a bit cliched and the motives of the government were sometimes unclear. ... As for Inori, it felt like she served no other purpose than to be everyone's mold. The first few episodes were amazing, don't get me wrong, but by episode 6 and 7, I started losing interest. But I pushed through, and I was rewarded with an amazing second half opening; That's it. There was no salvation in the ending either. I might try to watch it again to try to get a better understanding, but it's upsetting that I even have to do that. I really like Guilty Crown - but definitely not for the story.

Guilty Crown is one of those animes you either love or hate

Soundtrack is probably the strongest part of the show with ryo from Supercell and Hiroyuki Sawano both at their peak composing beautiful and stunning songs/soundtracks for the show,also this anime marks the debut of Egoist a fictional band created by ryo from Supercell and with vocals from Chelly so if you like Egoist/Supercell/Hiroyuki Sawano you will love this anime regardless of other issues.

Characters Design is second strongest part of the show with illustrator Redjuice from Supercell creating the world setting,its characters and how they look,the mecha designs are futuristic yet unique,the world looks ... colorful,unique and futuristic and the characters and their attire are very unique,beautiful and very recognizable for Redjuice fans.

The animation is another of the strong part of the show with Production I.G animating the characters created by Redjuice in a fluid and consistent way,the use of CGI in the mechas looks great and the mechas dont look out of place or stuck at low framerate unlike other shows.The power up scenes look unique,full of color and very vivid and the actions scenes look very fluid and very polished with a high budget look.
The fanservice is also very strong so for people who enjoy fanservice on both female and male characters you will have plenty to feast your eyes on.
The romance in the show is also very present in the plot accompanied with the beautiful soundtrack by Sawano and Supercell.

However the weakest part of the show has to be its script and characters tropes,the show is full of elements taken from other shows and the plot begins rather good in first part of the show only to become tangled and confusing in the second part of the show,the characters feel generic and nonsensical and a bunch of stuff just happens for the sake of the plot,the ending also felt very rushed almost like they planned to make this a 24 episode anime but they run out of money and had to wrap it up real quick at episode 22.
Mecha purists will also feel a little dissapointed with this anime as the 3 main characters never pilot a mecha in the whole show,only the side characters can apparently pilot them,the action scenes where the mechas take part are beautiful and full of action but sadly they are shortly lived.

TLDR: “Guilty Crown” is a "mecha" anime full of fast paced action,strong romance,heavy fanservice,beautiful fluid and colorful animation,unique and beautiful characters designs and breathtaking songs and soundtracks with Sawano and Supercell at their peak but with a weak messy plot,overused character tropes and a rushed final episode.
People like me who enjoy not too deep cheesy over the top action/romance anime with lots of fanservice and who also happen to be a huge Sawano/Supercell/Egoist fan will love this show but Mecha purists,people who hate heavy fanservice and people who like anime with a character driven story and with a very good script will feel dissapointed.

okay. since the first season[or arc if others would call it] of GC is done, I'm going to give my review!!! X3 ~this is in my opinion so please be kind to me. XD


Overall, I did like the anime because of the following reasons: its beautiful animation graphics and the effects, which is kinda realistic(one of my criteria with the animes I watch); the characters, I liked them. :) ;the songs are also beautiful, which is composed by ryo of supercell[ i must say they chose a good group to make the songs]. Also, the plot, where an ordinary high school student who thinks he ... can't do anything changes and realizes that he can & he has the power to do it if he will believe in his own strength and become a hero...and where people fight for justice and peace. < I think it has a moral/lesson which is really good because most animes now don't have this.hehe..and the situations of people being shown in the anime is something where we can open our eyes with the society we're living in. It happens to us, right?

Though I don't watch these kind of genres, there is something that has drawn me to watch this. I fell in love with the anime before watching it.[true.promise] There aren't parts which were boring and most of the time it has surprising events.

sfx's and bgm's, great. :D

and i think the plot is far from Code Geass and it isn't a total copycat. :(
also, [if you haven't seen this] check out this interview with the producers of GC [http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interview/2011-11-28/interview-koji-yamamoto-ryo-ohyama-and-george-wada-on-guilty-crown]

gomen for the long review! this is the shortest possible i can give and i want to give my review. :) thanks for reading.

After watching this anime, I found myself thinking about how I may randomly lose very good scenes and animes only because of my lack of trust in covers. Of course, if you look at its name, at its description and even at its cover, you (whoever that might be) could consider this anime to be quite another cliché. In the end, maybe it is. But isn't it quite difficult nowadays to choose between fake and true? We are bound to our own personal feelings and reactions when watching an anime; in the end, all we see is our own enjoyment (received while and after watching ... the respective anime). So, after watching Guilty Crown, I got a very nice feeling inside. I thought to myself ”this is not such a wonderful anime; but, even so, this is a very good anime, even with its clichés and traps, I enjoyed every bit of it”. After realising that, I couldn't but understand that whenever one cannot objectively rate an anime, he or she can at least react subjectively with his/hers honest and fresh emotions, feelings, and views.

Guilty Crown is not special in many ways : there are a series of clichés in it: the personalities of the characters are not new, the lines they use are not new, anything they may say or act is not entirely now (the cliche of a very good main character, too kind to bear the burden on his shoulders, the girl who can save the day, but is broken inside... a blonde students' president, a bunch of friends that might easily get hurt, a world in destruction, a twisted past, lost memories, etc. They are all there: but yet, how do we judge the originality of such an anime? I cannot do it, for I have not watched that many animes as to know which took what from another. If you are in search of originality, I might not be the one to entrust you with such a hint regarding this particular anime: for I do not know. What I do know, though, is that you will probably enjoy its fine art and style, its beautiful soundtrack; that you will perhaps enjoy Gai, the handsome, beautiful and mysterious long-haired guy, that you will love and hate Shuu for his shyness, for his kindness, for his stupidity... that you might love Inori, both her songs and her characters, that you might as well get crazy over the plot and its doings, that you might enjoy every second of its action without even realising it... that is, without even realising it, you might get caught in a very twisted, beautiful world: the world of fantasy. A place where you can no longer realise who you are, nor think about that.
What I am trying to say is that I do not think this anime is about originality at all - I do not talk nowadays too much about originality, it's suspiciously hard to really know what is original or not. But you have too look into it and see if it moves any parts of you. And if it does, I think that is a good anime. That is what I believe Guilty Crown is such a good anime: because of the feelings it transmits.

I enjoyed the story, also the arts, the sound tacking and had a very good time watching it (2 days /22 episodes). I strongly recommend the band Supercell also (the ones who provided the song themes for this anime; Inori's Departures is perhaps one of the cutest songs I have heard in anime up till now). So, for a weekend, you might as well try watching Guilty Crown: I believe you will find in it the drop of action-drama-super power- science fiction -and love-and music- you need to relax and fill your mind with fantasy and beauty.