Guilty Crown

Well I shouldn't have had high expectations to start with but I thought the average scores for it had no real basis, oh man, was I wrong!

First 12 EPS: 8/10 - The Rest: 3/10 - Conclussion: 5/10 - It's watchable but not really enjoyable if you watch it completely, it tries to develop characters but they just feel unreal and you don't really care what happens to them other than perhaps Inori, but even she loses much appeal after the first 12 Episodes...

The Anime clearly tries to go the way Code Geass went. The only problem here is, that the main protagonist isn't fit for ... the role of Lellouch and the Anime overall wasn't able to build up any relationship with the characters as a whole.

They should have made this a 13 EP Anime with a good Ending EP instead, then it would be worth an 8 I think. That way it's just a 5 for mediocre, with a stupid plot and uninteresting characters but at least with good visuals and audio.

At this point in time as I'm writing this review, I've watched 17 out of 22 episodes of guilty crown, and to be honest, I'm not sure I'll be finishing it.

I'm not one to whine about cliches or similar plot elements to other series, because there is nothing wrong with re-using what other series have already explored. My biggest gripe with this series is the execution of the project.

Let me go about this review with Shu Ouma as the focus, since my interpretation of guilty crown is a show portraying the chaos in an apocalyptic world through the eyes of protagonist.

As I first started, ... I felt that this story had good potential to build up wonderfully. It wasn't a unique development of any sort, But the development was acceptable, and fits in to the story.

Shu Ouma's weak outlook at the start was great, although to some, it might seem like he has no character (frankly this no character business is what people seem to be calling characters that end up dragged along by circumstances, and while shu did end up being dragged around later on, his internal conflict struck with me.)

What screwed Ouma over was how the plot played out. I'm not sure why, But the writers went ahead to add in many unnecessary plot twists, with the characters hopping from one boat to another, switching their allegiances all of a sudden, without any clear motivation.

Perhaps their intent was to create more chaos and confusion, to produce the mood for the post apocalyptic setting. If they were trying to do it by removing anyone that Shu could really trust, it was poorly done and the only thing that betrayal after betrayal by everyone around will achieve is many haters on every forum.

The writers could probably have cut down on the complexity by reducing the number of characters, devoting screen time to a few characters, and developing them well. As it is, it seems like none of the characters know what they want, except keeping their most important people alive and close to them.

Apart from the characters, some events seemed to have been added just simply to bring Shu on an emotional journey, fighting with his fears. Take the rescue inori mini arc which concluded the first half of the series. Shu started off by moping, which was fine, Then events lead to him deciding to take action. Up till Then, it was perfectly OK. Then he met inori, and shit happened. He got dragged into another dimension, took a trip down memory lane, and... for what? The most significant development for me there was that gai died. But gai could have died outside too, and the memory lane wasn't necessary was it? But no, they had to make things more complicated, by adding some underlying plot that started 10 years ago. Completely unnecessary.

Overall, guilty crown struck me as a pity. It had such potential to become wonderful, plenty of room for character development, plenty of times to make use of the setting, the concept of void. The script writers though need to properly iron out how they want the story to play out. Stories that mix in many elements without clear direction age bound to fail.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR USE

Okay in my reviews i am going to tell my opinion on three things: plot, characters and overall. I may write some additional note if something was particularly good or not (like art or the characters voice).
I am going to try to be impartial, even if i like the anime a lot or i dislike it like the kechtup on the pasta and put things in the right context (i can't expect a complex plot for an harem)

REVIEW
Ok this is hard. GC really looks a cool anime and just my type. After the first episode i was screaming "MORE! MORE!" because i can't ... help love it. After each episode the things becomes more and more "weird".

Plot - 6
The plot it's somehow cool but it rely too much about characters: is this a problem? well yeah, it's the best problem, i'll tell you why later. The action scenes are really well done and the "deep" plot sounds interesting.

Characters - 4
Why? All i can think right now is just ask to writers "why?". As i stated before this anime got a LOT of good promises: a singer and cute girl a terrorist, a boy that got problems about talking with others (or so he stated) and an amazing power: take weapon from people's souls. Mark my word: IT'S A TRAP.
Ok listen: a cute girl come to your home with a weird vial and after a bit the police rush in and arrest her as a terrorist, what you "normal" people should do? Well our protagonist blame himself for not being able to protect her so he take the vial and go to deliver it the terrorist chief, seems legit.
As other helpful reviews says (you should read them too) the proganist is totally too "unstable": he may like a thing, the moment after he dislike it, and the moment later he again like it; he has no time for a clear devolpment.
Other characters are ok: gai it's the best, really the "real" protagonist somehow while izuna got some problems like the protagonist (but she is really cute, even if her battle outfit doesn't look a battle outfit) while other secondary protagonist got everyone a well defined personality, simple but efficient.

Overall - 5
All of this is totally wrong: you can't focus a story on a character that unstable because if you start to hate him, the whole anime become hard to watch. I can't say it's THAT bad but seriosly this "protagonist centered" plot doesn't make me able to watch it anymore. I really loved it from the start so you should really give a try; if you manage to still watch this nonsense protagonist this show may be really a great one.

Personal tastes
I really loved shu, i like that kind of characters and he really broke my heart with this nonsense devolpment. This anime should be a lot better, i am pretty sad.
Keyword: Guilty Crown - The Betrayer

Guilty Crown (GC) is a series that I have always thought had some real potential to be great, and I genuinely wanted to like it so much more than I did. However, the series lacks a clear focus and direction. GC is not a bad show, and is worth your time for any number of reasons, which I will explain below. That said, those people who are looking for a well written, tight, and coherent narrative that drives the viewing experience might want to look elsewhere.

Art (9):

One of GC's strengths is its animation and visual style. I assume that the series was pitched around the ... concept of creating a highly stylized and rich world. The action scenes are well choreographed and the level of animation is fairly consistent throughout. It is clear that a great deal of money was invested into making GC look and feel like one of the best produced shows out there, and to that end, mission accomplished. Everything looks great.

Sound (9):

GC has great sound work to accompany the great visuals. While the effects themselves are good, the real star of the show is the soundtrack, which features some great original tracks that fit the mood of the show. I particularly enjoyed the opening track from the intro sequence of the first season. I also liked how the soundtrack was tied into the show via Inori, one of the protagonists, who is the lead singer of a pop group called Egoist.

Character (6):

The characters of the show are difficult to peg into a numerical score because there are some inherent strengths and weaknesses in almost all of them. On the one hand, many of the supporting characters are very strong, and are consistent throughout the series. Although not every supporting character has a clear arc or any real reason for the audience to become invested in them emotionally, they often serve their purposes well within the framework of the story.

On the other hand, the aforementioned supporting cast is also a major pitfall of the show. Often these characters are much stronger, more relatable, and more likeable than the main characters.
GC's main protagonist, Shu, is a real conundrum. During the first season, Shu is a very cookie-cutter archetype. His character arc is fairly predictable, which is certainly not always a bad thing. Yet, it works against him in this case. He is particularly annoying for a large portion of the show (an argument can be made that he never stops), and there is very little incentive to be emotionally invested in him as a person, or the things he experiences throughout the course of the show. During the second season, Shu's character makes dramatic leaps in personality on an almost episode-to-episode basis that is unrealistic considering the set-up of the show and the world it creates. Again, this works to Shu's detriment, since he is supposed to be the driving force of the show, yet who he is, why he is, and how he changes never follows any sort of reasonable arc. It's hard for me to invest in a character that is so confusedly schizophrenic.

GC is a character driven series that does not take care of its characters very well. Some of the strongest characters are the least important given context, and some of the most important feel much less substantial and underdeveloped than they should.

Story (5):

Unfortunately, GC's narrative is the weakest and most baffling part of the series. Without divulging any real plot details, the easiest way to sum up the main problem with GC is that the story has a severe case of mistaken identities. The first season sets up its story arc in a very specific way and ends on a pseudo cliff-hanger, which is fine. However, the second season is written as a completely different show from almost the first frame. The two halves of the show could easily be watched as stand alone series, and work fine. They do not necessarily add anything to each other, and the change from the first to the second series is actually pretty jarring. Each season has a first, second, and third act, but there is no real overarching structure to the series as a whole.

The other main problem with GC's story is that it is pretty poorly written. Many Interesting concepts are introduced into the show and promptly left alone. These concepts and plot points then stack on top of each other to the point of general confusion. Nothing is really explained in very much detail, and there are several plot twists and developments that are introduced out of nowhere without any logical explanation or reason behind them. Granted, this problem is much more prevalent in the second season than the first. But, it does not really matter. I do not expecting to have every detail laid out and explained in detail, but GC has more than its fair share of head-scratching, "what the hell just..." moments.

Enjoyment/Overall (6):

Despite the significant problems I have with GC, I do not think it is a bad show, and I liked it just fine. The quality art and soundtrack are well worth giving this show a fair shake, and to be fair, I kept watching every week until the final moment. Ultimately, what holds GC back is that all of the creative effort was seemingly spent on the art and sound. The characters and storytelling - overwhelmingly the most important aspects of any television show - were confusing, slapped together, and not well constructed. I would definitely recommend this show to people who are looking for eye-catching action, stylized visuals, and a killer soundtrack. GC is a great show to watch without having to invest too much brainpower.

However, as previously mentioned GC is not a show that will satisfy those who are looking for a well constructed narrative that is thought provoking and easy to become emotionally invested in.

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If you have any questions, feedback, or just have something to say, let me know in a message or on my profile page.

VERY MILD SPOILER WARNING


At the very start of watching Guilty Crown, one thing was going through my mind.. And that was "I'd much rather be watching Code Geass". I had this anime dropped for several months due to the fact that I couldn't bring myself to watch it, I liked nothing about it. I later picked it back up to clean out my dropped list and I am somewhat glad that I did because the show certainly gets better after episode 14 or so.

Story - 4/10
The story was pretty standard and I didn't get engaged at all by it, the first half of the series ... was so boring that as mentioned before I dropped the show. The second half of the series turns up the pace and actually becomes watchable. One thing the story does well is making you hate characters, which is why it's satisfying to see them die.

Art - 8/10
Art doesn't make an anime good, but it's always nice to look at and Guilty Crown does a great job setting atmosphere, with an ensemble of well drawn characters with unique designs (for the most part)

Sound - 8/10
Again like with the art, the soundtrack actually does a good job of presenting an atmosphere especially during battle scenes, nothing to write home about though.

Characters - 3/10
This... This is where the show became unwatchable, the worst part of this show was the bland characters, the unnecessary attitudes of some characters, the pure unlikeable heroes, the only good characters in this show were side characters. A lot of the drama of this show stems from poorly written characters being needlessly dramatic.
Inori is the poster girl of this show and you're MEANT to like her, but I was not given any reason to like her other than the fact she is well drawn, but that doesn't cut it for me, she had nothing going on for her except her voice acting.

Enjoyment - 3/10
If not for the heel turn in episode 15 or 16, I would've given this a 1/10


First half of the series: 2/10
Second half of the series: 8/10
Overall I would give it a 5/10

(Some SPOILERS) Read at your own risk.
(Also, for the review, Code Geass = CG)

Since this is my first review, I would like to be brief here.
In all honesty, I would call Guilty Crown a CG Spin-Off. More so, both the anime are the work of the same writer. So it really is fair to call this anime a CG Spin-Off.

Story: 6/10 (Since it's almost the same story as CG)
The Story revolves around a guy given mysterious superpowers by a girl (Wow this is so unheard of). The power’s name is “The Power of the Kings” (CG much?). He joins a terrorist group and uses these ... powers to try to save Japan, from being controlled by a foreign organisation. (Again, totally not similar to CG). I would like to end this here since I feel like exposing more of the story would be too “spoil-ey”.

Art: 7/10
I loved the art in this anime, especially the vivid use of blue. It’s very eye-catching and one of my favorite colors.

Sound: 8/10
The music in this anime is very catchy. The centre of it, of course, is Inori’s voice actor.

Character: 4/10
I would have given 8/10 for character if MC wasn’t such a whiny kid.
Again, most of the characters are very very similar to CG characters. Like, I couldn’t believe that they would even recycle personalities. Especially some of the scenes.

*****Spoiler*****
- Both the anime involve MC’s being anti-hero at some point.
- And at one point when the MC’s are in big despair, they try to take advantage of the girl who has a crush on them.
*****Spoiler End*****

Enjoyment 7/10
Overall 6/10
All and All, I enjoyed this show a lot. Even though it was a Spin-Off, it was fun recalling CG which I happened to have watched about a year ago (10/10).
For CG fans who have watched CG a long time ago, I would suggest this series as it would be a good way to refresh CG memories.

Thank You for reading.
Bye.

Ohhh Guilty Crown, you started off strong but then ended off weak...really weak. I must say when i started this show, I was excited after the first episode, Animation was amazing, Soundtrack was top-notch, story was a little scratchy but i thought they could clear it up in the later episodes. Turns out, they didn't. So without further ado, lets begin my review

STORY --> 7
Honestly, I was interested in the story at first. But the reason I gave it a 7 is because of the WAY Guilty Crown told the story. I genuinely liked the concept of voids, and how everyone has a different void ... depending on the person's personality, and also how voids lead to drastic character changes. As mentioned before, they didn't tell the story well and it felt plain compared to how complicated and interesting it could have been. .The pacing wasn't very good and they left many questions unanswered. You will just end up getting frustrated the more you watch it since there is still so much you don't know and don't understand. It isn't one of those stories where it lets the viewers decide, it IS a concrete story but they told it horribly. If they had put more effort in the story and hadn't rushed it, it would've made this anime from fair to amazing. .Overall story was interesting, storytelling was horrible.

CHARACTER --> 5
Some characters in this particular show were actually interesting, like Inori and Gai, but the main protagonist was boring and typical. The character development in the show, was at some points good, but at most points it was boring. The Character start to become interesting halfway through the series, but rather than that, it was the same dull characters. Gai and Inori were probably the only interesting characters, since they had unique personalities and also how they change throughout the course of the show. Shu was an alright character, what I liked was how the show actually made you hate the protagonist at some points of the show, which i found new and interesting. I feel that the character's could have been made much better and developed better.

Art/Animation --> 9
I gave art and animation 9, because it was actually amazing. The art was top-notch and the animation was smooth and not choppy. It made the fighting scenes that much more better and makes the enjoyment that much higher. I was surprised by how unique and amazing the art for this show looked.

Overall I would recommend this show to anyone who just wants a time waster or a show which is great for the eyes. If you enjoy good battle scenes, then this show will satisfy. Don't expect much from the story though. I would still recommend this show to anyones since it is sort of interesting at some points

Enjoy.. :D

Yes, it is code geass clone.

The show feels like code geass had sex with gundam seed, and the resulting child hung out with evangelion and to aru majutsu no index in Middle school.

I'm fine with the fact that it's a code geass clone, but the main- he's like another freaking shinji ikari. Like, seriously. Some more subtle similarities: There's a crippled kallen, a swig out of bakuretsu tenshi's cyber-loli after a few years, and then a bad play on renton/euruka/holland A La eureka seven with shinji as renton, lacusclyneXreiayanami's odd fusion as eureka, and gai as holland.

The whole thing reeks of WTF storyline, ... but the rest of the series could (dear god please) turn out better. I take solace in the fact that the audio is wonderful. Apart from that, I'm hoping that this series gets it's rudders up because the whole damn thing is nose diving from take off.

Art's okay. Doesn't suck, but nothing ground breaking over here.

There's potential, but like hell is it realizing any of that right now. I pray that the next however many episodes that it runs for don't suck. I feel like I just watched micheal phelps slip off the diving board.

Ah, before I forget. The opening sequence starts off with some horrible engrish. It bothers me so much that I rip off my headphones everytime I hear that one line in the song. It's the only thing stopping me from bumping the sound score up a notch.

Guilty Crown is a series that had great promise from the getgo. Excellent artwork, a great director (Araki Tesurou - Deathnote, Highschool of the Dead), and an interesting and deep story.

The plot is about a resistance group fighting to protect Japan from UN interference after a strange alien disease devastates the nation.

An interesting plot, but at times it feels the plot is rushed and others like it is taking it's time.

The characters are a mixed bag and their inconsistency detracts from the story. Several of the secondary characters are great and could have used some more elaboration on their backgrounds. The main characters were ... erratic and seemed to jump to bizarre conclusions without enough explanation. The Protagonist Ouma Shu was terrible. He starts off as your typical shy student without any confidence, but every time he take a step forward in development, he takes 5 back. How many times can a character chose the singe worst choice available to them before you start to root for the bad guys? Inori was drawn well, but was not really interesting at all. Meanwhile you have Ayase Shinomiya, whom while handicapped, is strong willed, interesting, loyal, tries her hardest and makes you want to root for her. The characteristics you wish would develop in Shu.

I think the biggest problem with this anime was that it is only 22 episodes. An additional 2-4 episodes, which would have made it a normal 2 season length, would have gone a long way to filling in the holes and flushing out the characters and giving some redeeming qualities to Shu.

So after what started to be a promising anime, it ended up being rather irritating at points. If you are bored, feel free to watch it, otherwise, you aren't missing anything.

When I watched the first episode of Guilty Crown I had high expectations for this show. I, like many others, was amazed at the first episode. The fluidity of the animation and the clear, beautiful artwork was very appealing. I am in fact a fan of this show, I do not hate it. However, I am very disappointed with the way it turned out.

Story - The story is terrible. That's my point, short and simple. Although the animation and artwork was topnotch, the writers really screwed the pooch here. The story was all over the place, in short it was very disorganized. I had hope ... for this show at first. The first four episodes were explosive. They were beautiful, had great animation scenes, introduced a few new characters, and set a foundation for what the story could have been. I expected something amazing, but then everything started fading away. I felt as if I had been backhanded by the writers. What was waiting for me instead, was much worse than I could have imagined. There were far too many plot-holes in Guilty Crown, more than you would see in the average anime. Not to mention the pacing was horrible. One important thing to mention is that Guilty Crown uses countless Deus Ex Machinae in its story to advance the already crumbling plot. Far too many details in the story were left unexplained such as the Da'ath organization. The one thing that could have changed my views on this show was whether the ending was good or not. Sadly, it wasn't. In fact, it was the worst ending I have ever seen in my life. You may ask me why I care so much about the ending. Well, I am easily satisfied. Just have a good storyline and an acceptable ending that matches said storyline and I will be happy. Guilty Crown accomplished none of the two. 3/10

Art - The art was simply breathtaking. The clear backgrounds and special effects were the few things that enticed me to finish this series. The colors in the environment would clearly match the scenes nearly EVERY time. Character designs were also exceptional. In my opinion, Guilty Crown had the best art compared to other anime series released in it's timespan. 10/10

Sound - The music in Guilty Crown was outstanding. The voice acting was great. The opening and ending themes were memorable. The music is also something I regret about watching Guilty Crown. The music was so beautiful that it still haunts me ever since I finished the last episode. I also loved the way the writers managed to place Inori's songs in the plot. That is probably the only thing the writers did that appealed to me. However, it is still unclear why they would actually make Inori's music a part of the story. What really won me over was the background music. Whenever something happened, I always looked forward to the music that would accompany the scene. 10/10

Characters - The characters were mediocre at best. I hated Shu for most of the show. Inori may have been the more memorable character of the series, but she was nothing more than an emotionless, doll-like character who contributed nothing to the story. She also had no back story, like the majority of the characters in Guilty Crown. My reasons for hating Shu was that he was a complete coward until late in the series. He had to have a character die in order to basically "man" up. I have seen the same trick done in so many different shows. It's not that it's bad, it's just that the show is already far too cliched already to be using the same trick that many shows have used over the years. Gai was an average character, I have no complaints about him. Ayase was one of the few character I liked in this show. She was a beautiful, strong-willed, and independent character who was also a paraplegic (something you don't see everyday in anime.) Seiga and Daryl are also two characters that I particularly liked. However, in the end, they did not play as big a role than I expected them to. Daryl's fate is also left unexplained, hence another plot-hole. Luckily, I managed to find one character that I adored, Hare. Her role in the story actually meant something to me. Her involvement in the story was also very limited unfortunately. Overall, most of the characters were lackluster, unoriginal, unmemorable, and had too little screen time. 5/10

Enjoyment - I did enjoy this series. I enjoyed the music and the art but I was very disappointed by the characters and storyline. Had the story and characters been of the same quality as the sound and visuals, Guilty Crown could have been the best anime series of 2011-2012. I cannot stress this enough, I hated the ending. I hated it so much, that when the show ended, I was left speechless with a frown on my face. Afterwards I started screaming profanities at how terrible the ending was. I have never acted like that before, so obviously it was a surprise for me. I mean, I heard it was bad and many people raged at the ending, but I had no idea it was THAT bad. 6/10

Overall - Speaking as a fan, this show had potential, too much potential to be honest. It had a great cast, a large budget, amazing music, and it had nothing to base itself on. It could've been as original as the writers wanted. Honestly, I believe the writers doomed this show. Guilty Crown did not leave me satisfied, in fact, it made me angry. Not at the story or ending this time, but at the arrogance of the writers. Good artwork and music do not make up for a horrible plot. I would much rather watch an anime with a great plot but bad animation and music. The storyline, in my opinion, is the more preferable element. I am hoping for a continuation of the story, but then again, the ending nearly destroyed all hope for a second season. I can only rely on the poorly introduced Da'ath organization and the numerous plot-holes for a second season. I only want a continuation of the story to clear loose ends. An OVA is also acceptable. If we're lucky, it won't be atrocious as the original story. If you're are looking for an anime series that has a great story then I suggest you look elsewhere. If you watch mainly for artwork and music, then this series would be great for you. Just don't watch this show expecting a masterpiece, this show is far from one. 6/10

Guilty Crown. I discovered this anime when i was looking for good music on youtube. I saw some pictured and thought, "wow, this looks amazing!". When i started it, i was very impressed the first few episodes. I absolutely loved the music and it was just plain fun to watch. For the review I'm gonna split the series in 2. The first part ends at (if I'm not mistaking) episode 13.

Part one:
Music is awesome, especially in episode 13. Characters develop somewhat, but satisfying enough and even though there coudl be so much more in the story you feel it this is it. It was ... actually surprising that the story continued in my opinion, though i was happy for it because I was enjoying the series.

part two:
from episode 13 on, you get confused. The episodes are enjoyable to keep watching, but you're just plain confused why things are happening and why other things aren't happening. A main character gets a personality transformation, and suddenly a few episodes later he gets another one and then a few later ANOTHER one. I understand that humans aren't predictable either, but personally I found it plain weird.
I believe I finished the series only because I knew that in the last episode there was the last OST I hadn't heard yet, but the story went haywire and made absolutely no sense at all. The ending I didn't even understand until I read another (spoiling) review, it was very unsatisfying.

So in the end, the series is fun to watch the first 13 episodes, after that it becomes blah. The art is very well made and also somewhat original. Though the main thing that kept me going in this anime was the music. Well done with the OST! though try your best on making a better storyline the next time ;)


Love
Kelsey

Wouldn't be awesome and fun to watch a 10 year old kid deflecting nukes after nukes with his supreme powers that is meant to blow his hometown into smithereens? I guess it is indeed fun for those who want to watch an action-packed anime. But what if the cause of this said event was never explained? What exactly happened to Guilty Crown was exactly like that.

Things happened without any warning and explanation.

The story is about Shu who has an ability to draw out Voids (a person's heart that materialized) from any person. A Void could be a sword, a kettle, a bandage, or whatever ... that best represents the person's heart. While the logic of this phenomenon can be left without any explanation, the one thing that bothered me is that when Shu draws out a Void, he is able to obtain flashy movement skills. He began to learn how to jump high, run at incredible speed etc. How exactly these things happened when he just equipped himself with a Void was not explained, or if it was explained, the explanation was lame and had no impact to the viewers to be considered as an "explanation" at all.

A lot of events and key points have not been explained especially near the end of the end series. Things just happened for no reason. Who in the world anyway wants to watch an action story filled with randomness? If this is a comedy show, maybe I'll let this pass, but it is not. The plot was very vague, it picked its paced half-through, and then it went down to the core of the earth near the end. It was a directionless plot.

Leaving the "no-reason" flaw, I will commend Guilty Crown for having a lovely soundtrack and beautiful animation. The placement of each soundtrack was alright; it brings out the mood that needs to be brought out from the viewers. The OP and ED was also awesome. I rarely watch the OP and ED every episode but this series made me break my rules. The animation as I said earlier is beautiful. It becomes flashy when it needs to be. It presents the battle as very intense one. Despite the pointlessness of some events, the battles always puts me on the edge of my seat because of the well done animation.

For the characters, some of them are absolutely annoying. May that be a good point or a bad point for the series varies.

Of course, being annoyed for the characters that brings illogical philosophy and that tries to destroy the human race is worthy of our emotion. There were also events that will make you frustrated because of those character's action towards the protagonist. I think these are good points. On the other hand, having a clichéd whinny protagonist is just... annoying.. (oh boy, how many times did I say that word). Some characters are ripped-off and many of them are "empty". Dwelling into this more deep will just be pointless. I guess any reader of this review will get what I mean.

To end my first review (or rant) here on MAL, I can say that Guilty Crown is a very fun series indeed. It has flashy battles, great soundtracks, awesome powers and a somehow great voice acting. Though this may be the case, it failed as a story.

Apocalyptic wars over a crystal. It's like Tiberium Sun all over again. But on that note, we've never experienced an apocalypse on an extinction event level, so we will never know to cause of any apocalyptic event until its upon us.

Guilty Crown has a story line that acts almost as if the producers didn't expect to be able to make 22 episodes instead of the standard 13 as it almost completely finishes in half the episodes only to have a slightly new threat arise with the same plan as the old threat which comes across as milking it as long as they can. The feels ... portrayed in the second half are more common then the first half but didn't have anywhere near as an emotional climax as the first half.

Art style is an interesting point as apart from backgrounds and scenery, not much detail or effort in put into items or things at distance. Standard cell shading the most common form as par the norm for most animes with the addition of shades when the environment lighting deems it. In every action scene no matter for big or small, the special effects are perhaps a bit overused as on occasion as they tend to draw more attention than the actual scene itself.

Sound is very well used despite a a few songs or background music reused many times in the anime to the point where signature song of a character gets somewhat annoying after a while. however the use of other musical pieces such as ones that almost force a giggle out in humorous or lewd scenes or others such as orchestral or a dramatic piano in heavy or meaningful battle scenes. The downfall of the sound actually comes from the VA's and their occasional lack of emotion when saying their lines.

Character development that lasts the entire season is all built up in the first 10-12 episodes while other characters, key to the story line progression of the second half, is only progressed there after. However while this may seem a downfall, it makes for the more frequent, lesser feels in the animes second half where as the first half, had already built up and thrown a chuck of feels at the viewers already so in order to prevent them from easily predicting a very similar story line of the second half to the first.

The anime, despite having a rather disappointing ending, did have a lot of enjoying moments from its crude humor to high paced action scenes to its extremely detailed and thought out plans that most time don't make sense until later on when its all revealed for the final stage. However with that it also more then evened itself out with how damn long it takes for anything interesting to happen at some points and sometimes when something finally does happens, it ends all too quickly.

Guilty Crown is one of those anime's where there are a wide cast of opinions. I have personally have had some enjoyment with it, not because of the story, but rather of the transformation of society and the characters. The major criticism comes from the poor characters and that the plot kills itself. Admitingly by the end of series the anime is drowning, concluded by a poor resolution and isn't in tune of the rest of the anime.

Majority of the character cast is bound to hated because of their irritating attitude and irrational thinking. Empathy was meant to be created for the characters, however it ... simply does not happen because of the anguish felt towards the characters. Shu, the leading protagonist, has a complete transformation of characters which is astonishing when comparing him with the character at the start. Despite this change there is still a feeling of remorse of the character because of his overall negative character.

Visually it is up to scratch, which is expected from such a hyped anime. The action is fluid and the changes of settings are interesting but not very meaningful in most cases. However, the settings become duller and duller as the series progresses due to limitations and becomes a draw back.

The soundtrack is by far the greatest inclusion of the anime. It ranges from a soft melody to intense pieces of music. Guilty Crown is full of perfect music, and used effectively to enhance the moment.

Guilty Crown has more downfalls than positives, especially with the plot and the characters. Despite this you'll likely watch all 22 episodes because of expectations, which are unfortunately never met. Guilty Crown could of been a masterpiece but falls as it loses its sight.

Even if you don't end up watching Guilty Crown, at least listen to the soundtrack.

Good things:
1) I really liked the style i thought it was very smooth and
had some good and strong colors.
2) I guess the plot was ok, not really my favorite but that is just my opinion.
3) I loved the sound track it made the anime very emotional, so you really could get into the anime and feel the characters and the world in general.
4) It was very emotional, so if you don't like that don't watch this anime.

Bad things:
1) I found the characters unlikable and boring sometimes.
2) As i got further into the anime i felt that the MC was being toyed
with ... and played for a fool, i know some people like that but i didn't, so i have
put that as a bad thing. (this was the thing that made me drop the anime)
3) It felt like the MC was very weak, even after he got his powers and i
didn't like that.

As i said before i dropped this anime at episode 8, i think
so this isn't a full review of the anime.
Hope you will find this useful :D

In many ways I feel as though this show is a perfect example of what could be called a perfect disaster. Its concepts and ideas are fantastic, its soundtrack is amazing, its art design is crisp and dynamic; its execution? Well it's a bit flat. The problem with Guilty Crown is that it had too many ideas, and subsequently had no focus. So many different things were incorporated into the show, there was so little time to flesh them all out (some were introduced and simply forgotten after). Voids, Mechs, Social Darwinism, Utilitarianism, Healthcare, Amnesia, a convenient plot concerning the protagonist's parents, some dabbling with ... incest; it's hard to really keep track of it all. And the plot itself; you're kind of just left to accept that things happen without much explanation, whether it be out of convenience or just a 'gotcha' moment. Lots of holes.

But as many flaws as the shows has (there's a lot), I think it's still a good show and worth watching. It was original in its material, and showcased the potential of an ambitious anime. I honestly think that if the characters weren't so one dimensional, it'd easily be one of my favorite anime.

Lame world building, unrelatable characters (other than Gai; Gai is awesome), but nice music and art.

It seems as if the writers thought, "let's put together everything teenage boys like: scifi, flashy magic sword moves and guns, over-the-top fanservice, and a faux-serious post-apocalyptic atmosphere".

This is something which annoys me to hell and back: when various scientific terms are thrown around haphazardly, without any thought for what they actually mean. For instance, the main conflict arises from "resonance genomes" powered by a magic space virus pulsating gigantic radio waves which induce crystallization of tissue which is called "cancer" for some odd reason. Does that make any sense? ... It doesn't. Radio waves don't instantly cause "cancer", folks.

I can tolerate the frequently abused "power of friendship" and "power of love" tropes. It's a common theme in TV and anime, and it's something you have to live with. But when they're used over and over to solve **unsolvable** problems, I start screaming on the inside. I'm not a fan of deus ex machinas -- especially when they're as unoriginal as giving the protagonist a magic sword which destroys everything in his path.

Looking past the lackluster storywriting, plot, and one-sided characters, we surprisingly have some beautiful art and music.

And that's the only reason I would give to watch this anime -- the gorgeous art and the lovely voice of Ai Kayano in "Euterpe". Various ethereal motifs scattered throughout the anime actually make it bearable -- almost enjoyable?

I don't really know what drove me to watch this in the first place. Was it the hype? Hate? Both? Inori? Hey, I do appreciate good waifu material.

Sadly, I found none.
And plenty to hate.

I tried to be as unbiased as possible, as I'm aware how being aware of foreign opinions can affect the entertainment factor. I tried to look at the show for what it is, for what it tris to portray, and I tried. But there were times when I simply couldn't, which I'll mention later.

The story is a mess of epic proportions. It completely defies the old law of storytelling that states, "Thou ... shall not derive too much", which is good, I love watching shows breaking the rules. Not as much when they don't manage to achieve it, though.
The plot began with a rebellion, a corrupt government and a guy who, upon contact with a mysterious waifu, earned a very strong power (sound familiar?) and it ends so off topic it doesn't even seem like the same anime. Plot points just went all over the place, and I may be being too kind to say it is mediocre. This is a mess, and a mess gone really bad.

Art and sound are completely different matters. Even haters will say these departments are excellent, and they're completely right. No one can deny the OST can make or break a scene, and more often than not it was the soundtrack that salvaged events from complete absurdity. Special mention to Krone, which to this date is one of my favorite OSTs in all of anime. The OPs and EDs were all great as well, I must admit.
The animation is borderline flawless. The movements are smooth and natural, which is a big plus. The art style is very pleasant to the sight and the characters themselves are all very beautiful, particularly Inori.

Her character, though, is quite the opposite.
I actually liked Shuu for the first half. If I could tolerate both Shinji Ikari and Amano Yukiteru, why not him? However, the second half wrecked his development completely. I could see they were trying hard to make him into a tragic character much alike certain purple-eyed protagonist from another mecha. But with a plot like that, it was almost impossible. From the second half forwards he kept just randomly switching personalities from the shy guy to the ruthless dictator to the 'woe is me' kid he used to be at the beginning. I can see what they tried to achieve and give my merits to it, but I'm sad to admit it was a fantastic epic fail.
Inori, the female lead, is the sort of thing you should only appreciate by her beauty. She is very attractive to eyesight and a big factor in the show's fame, but her character is among the stupidest I've ever seen in all of anime if not fiction. Her development is even worse than Shuu's and she goes from ruthlessly killing people in one episode to having a panic attack over not being able to pull the trigger on another, and then back to the start. Everything about her felt forced, and her kuudere nature wasn't cute at all. She was annoying and I hardly hate any characters more than her to this date.
When it comes to the rest of the cast, it all goes downhill from there. Another important character named Guy goes through such an idiotic development I won't even geet there. The only ones worth saving are Shuu's friend Hare, the fourteen-year old hacker, Tsugumi, and the sociopathic Daryl. I liked their dynamic, and Daryl is a special standout because I feel he was the only one whose development wasn't such a mess, and he actually became likeable!

The worst part? The ending left his fate completely hanging.

Also, and this is a pet peeve, but why the hell would any terrorist organization have kids and teenagers as their officials? I am a teen, and still I know that's highly improbable, but then again it seems to be the norm in anime. It just bothers me more in this particular show. Maybe because there's Inori.
Speaking of which, I don't see how anyone can take her seriously with that outfit. Just look at it.

I must admit, I didn't hate watching the anime, sans the aforementioned pink-haired character I despise (seriously though, what's with anime making unlikeable pink-haired girls?). It kept me entertained the way a B-rated movie does: I don't have to go deep or analyze, thus I'll just go along with the ride. Sure, Guilty Crown had its good themes and I did appreciate them, but just...
Just...
Well. Guilty Crown had the potential to be of epic proportions. It had the base and superb quality animation. What exacly went wrong with the anime? To me, it seemed as though it relied too much on other shows. The borrowed ideas seem very obvious in a couple shows I won't mention, both mechas, and good ones that give honor to the genre. The only original idea I could find in the show was the idea of the Voids, which I found to be really good, actually.

This show tried hard, too hard. Excessively hard. And it tripped under its own weight. What is this, really? A post-apocalyptic world? An anime about rebellion? Pseudo-despotism in high schools? Alien diseases? Incestuous villains? If there is an anime that suffers from an overload of plot points, it is this one.
It seems as though the writers just plucked ideas they liked from other anime and tried to mash them together. And failed.

i got to say it: guilty crown is one of the animes that more dissapointed me. don't get me wrong, it has some good stuff, like the spectacular fight scenes, really great done, and the soundtrack has really cool songs, but the rest is mediocre. i saw on this show scenes i've already seen in bleach, ergo proxy, neogenesis evangelion, elfen lied and mirai nikki, but told in the most boring, unbelievle or annoying way. the characters are too cold to made feel sympathy, like izori, too unrelayble, like gai, too boring, like shou, or too twisted, like mana. others are just annoying assholes, like ... daryl or yahiro. the only ones i liked,tsugumi and ayase, were the worse treaten. a poor development and characters you won't feel any sympathy makes this anime a waste.
18/03/2015
Okay, when i first wrotte this review, after a few days, i decided continue the series, thinking maybe after watching a couple more of episodes, my mind could change. I could watch until the half of the series, then dropped it. i've had enough. Guilty Crown is the most look-like in anime to all that Hollywood superproductions you expect a whole year to release, and when it finally did it, you feel like it was better as you imagineted. Cool soundtrack, characters design and spectacular animation, like i've said before, but it fails in one basic element: screenplay.

So this will be my first review on here i apologize for any rookie mistakes. Attempting to be spoiler free.

When i went into Guilty Crown unlike many people with fairly low expectations this is due to watching a fair while after release and not having the hype that many others entered the series with but i can say that while Guilty Crown has (Admittedly quite a lot) of flaws it also has a number of redeeming features, unfortunately not enough to make this a very good show but enough that i can say i am fairly happy to have seen it. I will start with ... some of what i like about this show.

Art and Animation-9
Right of the bat this show displays some stunning visuals and as it progresses it gets better, many off the scenes involving Shu and his Void powers are simply phenomenal as well as much of the artwork getting many feelings of sorrow happiness and everything else you will feel across. The animation follows the same pattern with brilliant work across the board and few moments where it lapsed.

Sound-9
If i had to pick my favorite element of GC it would most likely be a tie between visuals and the soundtrack, some of the tracks allow for perfect reactions to every scene and the tracks when Shu mans up or tense moments are simply perfect. Some of the background scores are a little common which is the only thing keeping this from getting a 10. The two OP and END tracks are both very good in my opinion and suit most episodes quite well, however music is obviously very subjective but i did enjoy them and feel they related well to the anime itself. The voice actors overall did a very good job in getting a broad range of emotions across and while a number of characters lines are very poor the voice acting almost makes up for it (Almost).

Plot/Story-5
The first failing of the show for a number of reasons, the basic premise is okay with a semi apocalyptic military setting and at the beginning of the show it does a fairly good job of introducing you to the universe and has an interesting and fairly acceptable way of introducing the main cast however the problem arises that GC does nothing to get you more introduced to this cast, over the entire series you get perhaps 3 minutes of backstory on the side characters and not one minute of it involves good writing. Overall even the main characters are devoid of backstory and while this is somewhat cleared up later down the line it leaves the watcher confused for a good portion of the show.

The plot follows an unfortunate resemblance to the characters in that it starts of interesting however does not develop massively and even when it tries to become more interesting it just leaves plot holes and flaws lying around it everywhere.

Enjoyment-6
While i did not love watching GC i did not feel that i had wasted my time and if just two things (Shu being an exceptionally irritating lead at times, and a poor ending) then i could give this show a seven however unfortunately it falls short.

Overall-6
Despite major plot holes, a badly developed cast and an irritating main character the Phenomenal artwork and sound manage to drag a few points back for the show and due to its somewhat interesting setting and decent antagonists combined it can score somewhat respectably.