Reviews

For the story, I was caught between a 3 and a 4. I didn't find it 'decent,' but nor did I think it was poor. In the end, I chose a 4, because I thought it was slightly closer to decent. The story was told mainly from Shu's, the main character, point of view. The episodes did not fit neatly together. Many times, I found myself thinking that it's as if different people were constructing the episode from the previous, with only a general idea of what went on. The order didn't make much sense, and neither did the timeskips. At first, the story was quite straightforward, very easy to understand. Over the episodes, however, things got increasingly complex to the point where I've actually gotten bored. The pacing was ridiculous. Perfect in the beginning, but after maybe 6 or 7 episodes, it's either extremely slow or extremely quick. The show is categorized as action, which was quite clear in the beginning, but in the second half it was more of a cheesy love story (which really doesn't go well with action). The action was still there, yes, but it was bland, and more often then not had no significant meaning. The romance was... well, it hurt to watch. The series is a darker one, with plot indicating a heavy atmosphere and high tension. Romance of that caliber really shouldn't be in it. And besides that, it seemed extremely forced. The ending was alright. It actually got quite interesting towards the end, but it just doesn't match well with how the show first started. The original concept was amazing, and I thought it was genius. But the plot shortly went haywire. Many people have most likely said this already, but I will say it myself because I strongly believe to be true; Guilty Crown was wasted potential. With this concept, a truly amazing story could have been created, but this... this is not it.

With Guilty Crown and all its flaws, the art is gorgeous. There's no denying it. The style is similar to many others I've seen, but just somehow more beautiful. The animation was perfect, with smooth transitions and stunning lights. The backgrounds were amazingly detailed, to the point where it's almost realistic. For having aired in 2011-2012, the art is exceptional. The style didn't seem to change through the series, and the character designs were highly appealing and easily distinguishable, and fairly suitable to their personalities. The art itself is one of the main reasons I watched this through to the end.

The voices fit the characters quite nicely, and they did their job extremely well. The background music was perfect for the settings and situation, and made the battles seem more realistic. The OP and ED were absolutely amazing (the first OP was heaven to my ears) , and I'm quite fond of all of them. These songs had some sort of depth to them, and another one of the reasons I enjoyed it as I did.

One of the biggest flaws for this show were their characters. Appearance wise, as I've already said, they are easily distinguishable and match the character fairly well. However, personality wise, they weren't consistent. They weren't well rounded, and seemed to be all over the place. I quite liked the characters in the beginning, but they really became quite random as time went on. I can't find myself relating to them at all, and none were fleshed out very well. Some of the supporting characters were more well rounded than the main, which should never be the case. I particularly disliked Shu, and was quite disappointed in Inori towards the end. (I loved her at the beginning.) I will remember a few of the characters, yes, but Inori mainly for her unusual appearance and Ayase, my favorite character in the entire show. Others I will most likely remember as well, but only because I disliked them.

If you aren't very much into plot or getting into the story, I believe you would enjoy this show just for the amazing graphics. However, if you are one to think about what you are actually watching, I doubt you will. I believe this would apply to non-anime/manga lovers as well. Perhaps I will re-watch this again, but only in the case I'm extremely bored or am curious as to whether seeing this again would make me enjoy or dislike it more. This series wasn't particularly memorable, as the plot was quite dull. Overall, it wasn't too bad, but it most definitely could have been better.