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.
