The Story - 6
Typical boy meets girl, gets powers, becomes a hero and save the world, no? This is true for the first half of Guilty Crown. The story wasn't that attractive as was along the lines of "somewhat predictable". It even had a typical high school beach scene in it.... Although there are scenes that are simply beautiful in the first half but I feel those scenes are good simply because the art and music were the ones that contributed to the emotional build ups rather than the story itself. However, the second half had a much better story because of the dark twist added to it which keeps you on the edge. So if I had to break the ratings down, it would be 5 for the first half and 8 for the second half.
The Art - 10
This anime probably has the one of the most beautiful animation I've ever seen. With a huge budget dedicated to this Guilty Crown, the animators definitely did an amazing job. Scenes where Shu uses Inori's voids and the mecha battles were top notch.
The Sound -10
All of the openings and endings were marvelous and memorable. Each being different from the other. Euterpe and Departures had a calm and soothing melody. My Dearest was just breathtaking. The Everlasting Guilt was epic. The background music was done by none other than Hiroyuki Sawano. Usually in an anime, there's one or two tracks you would notice however this one had plenty of good tracks. If I had to choose though, it would probably be Krone and Bios. These 2 are without a doubt the best tracks in the series. Give it a listen and I can almost guarantee you will fall in love.
The Characters - 7
The star of the show, Ouma Shu was a horrible character at first. He was the embodiment of what you would call a very kind "p*ssy". Despite all that, he had the best character development in the anime and redeems himself in the second half of the anime. Inori on the other hand appears emotionless (I know the Inori fans will disagree), and she just isn't as dynamic as Shu. Still, I wouldn't go out of my way to hate her because well... she's Inori.
Enjoyment - 10
This is a biased score. Guilty Crown fulfilled my criteria for an anime. A decent story with amazing art and soundtrack. What more could I want from an anime?
Conclusion
Like I mentioned before this anime is a "love or hate" anime. If you cannot overlook the mediocre story and how Shu is in the beginning you probably wouldn't like this anime. I feel that giving it an 8 is a fair score because despite my enjoyment and the overwhelming sound and art, the anime is flawed with a pretty generic starting plot and some plot holes as well.
