Guilty Crown, is obviously cut from the same cloth as those types of anime, but it has something extra that makes it I don’t know different in a sense. And I will elaborate more on that in today’s review.
Guilty Crown is an action, drama, sci-fi anime by Production IG released in the October of 2011. The story takes place in Tokyo in 2039, after the outbreak of the "Apocalypse Virus" during what became known as the "Lost Christmas" of 2029. Since then, Japan has been under the control of the multinational organization called GHQ.
Shu Ouma is a 17-year-old boy who mistakenly obtains a rare and great power, from a beautiful girl named Inori. He can use this power, "The Right Hand of the King," to extract tools/weapons that are the manifestations of peoples' hearts known as voids.
He then joins this group rebelling against the actions of the GHQ known as Funeral Party, and must aid them in their missions with the use of his new found power. The show then follows Shu’s journey and also his relationship with Inori.
Just from hearing me talk about the plot of Guilty Crown, you know that this is nothing original. If you have watched anime as long as me or watch a lot of action oriented shows you know that we have heard this kind of story many times. And after watching this show, Guilty Crown is more or less what I expected it to be.
But, Guilty Crown however doesn’t try too hard to be like those other shows. It has those same components as them but is not a carbon copy of it.The things that will keep you highly entertained are the action scenes, the problems the characters deal with and all the big reveals that will lead up to the finale.
I must point out that Guilty Crown had a horrible first episode because it failed at telling and showing what exactly what the anime is about and also introducing the characters. For twenty minutes, you scratch your head wondering why all of this is happening in the first place but by the second or third episode you will end up getting the gist of Guilty Crown. After, which the plot progresses really well and keeps you guessing what is going to be the final outcome.
The show also talks about this theme very subtlety and that is ‘With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility’. Guilty Crown, does not however necessarily emphasize or deal with how power can corrupt a person like Death Note. No, no, no it talks about how power can be dangerous and how it could come harm to you and the people around you also. It could also lead to people either fearing, worshipping or even loathing you.
Since, we are on the topic of power I must admit I really like what Shu’s power is, which happens to be extracting weapons out of people . It’s kind of like how people turn into weapons like in Soul Eater, but I like this concept too. In fact, his unique power is what makes Guilty Crown a whole better. But, the problem is that they never go into detail in how it really works. I know, that you can’t really explain why someone can fly or lift heavy objects but they should have explored a bit on the mechanism of his power- whether it had some relation to true or false facts.
Along the way, you will notice that certain things are also not explained well, making the plot a little confusing for people to understand. I mean, in a show I don’t like it when complicated facts are thrown in my face expecting me to understand them. Even, if Guilty Crown didn’t include a plethora of them they should have taken a bit more time to go through them.
For the most part the show doesn’t like going in depth of what’s happening, and relies on action to entice viewers. And sometimes, that is just enough to keep you entertained. Also to keep you heavily interested are the great story arcs that revolve on the aftermath of the Lost Christmas, and how it affected so many peoples’ lives. That is something I truly liked about Guilty Crown, because instead of trying to make us feel bad for Shu they also tried to tear our hearts apart by showing some supporting characters’ backstories and how their life ended up being thanks to Lost Christmas.
I guess, the thing that kills this show’s credibility is its main leads. It’s strange how I prefer the slew of supporting characters over the two main leads because I feel like they have been fleshed out more, not to mention given more personality making them more relatable and also those are the people you actually end do up feeling sorry for like I mentioned earlier. Well, actually truth be told not all the supporting characters were like that *cough cough Arisa* because many of them were shoved in despite having no real relevance to the story.
Shu starts of being yet another bland protagonist whose actions can be sometimes cringy to watch because of how idiotic they are at times. It bugs me how Shu can flawlessly kick ass in any given situation at the start, hence the tension in the action scenes just cease to exist- because you're sitting there thinking that ‘Pfftt… he will chuck that motherfucker good!’.
However, despite the fact Shu is introduced and portrayed as this whiny little twat for the first half, as the show progresses he ends up being a decent protagonist that I actually began somewhat began caring for. Sure, he didn’t end up being as cool as one would hope to be but I am glad they made sure he didn’t end up being a total Shinji.
His love interest Inori, is the character that I am the most disappointed in as she fails at being even half as interesting as Shu- which says something. I am not gonna lie, but out of all the deres Kuudere is like my absolute fave, but despite that I could never get attached to her character or even comprehend why she was even the main lead. The only thing that compensates for her very existence in the show is the events related to her that lead up to Lost Christmas. I get Inori is a very attractive girl and I know fans of her might crucify me for saying this but she is just fan service bait for the most part to attract viewers. Now, please don’t kill me! Let me remind you, I love her backstory.
Other supporting characters that I enjoyed watching on screen was Gai, Tsugumi and Ayase and I would have liked Guilty Crown more if they were the main focus rather than Shu and Inori. I swear I will never understand why they didn’t choose the cute hacker girl with cat ears of the badass chick in a wheelchair to be the main female lead. Just like the ending of Neon Genesis Evangelion, I just don’t get it!
In order for a show to be truly memorable and popular, it must stand out in two parts and they are the sound and animation. And boy, does Guilty Crown do more than just stand out regarding those two. The animation was done by Production IG, and they provided the meat for all the thrill and excitement by beautifully crafting out the setting and look of the world of Guilty Crown. In an action anime, it is mandatory for the action scenes to be good and if it wasn’t for how they executed them, then Guilty Crown wouldn’t even be half as good.
The animation especially is noteworthy when Shu demonstrates his powers, in the show and also in the second opening. Even though, the quality is a bit inconsistent it manages to impress during the impactful and memorable moments of the show. In fact, I still remember how the animation literally shined during the last few minutes of EP7. Like that was something good alright!
Now, the music of this show is something I am itching to talk about because I believe that this was hands down the best part of this anime. When listening to the pieces, I feel like they have sucked me into the world of Guilty Crown and gets me into the mood. It’s like they help me empathize with all the characters’ shitty situations. In fact, the music is like a knob where it make me feel sad one moment, and pumped up the next. I would especially like to talk about the song Eutrepe that Inori sings that never failed to give me goosebumps. In fact, Inori singing that song is one of the rare things I actually liked about her. It’s haunting and melancholy tone always helped me understand Inori’s character better.
It is a bit uncommon where I would always end up loving both the openings and this has not be the case since I watched Soul Eater. But, truth be told both the openings of Guilty Crown were just breathtaking and added more value and importance to the anime.
The first opening sounds like Shakira trying to sing in Japanese, which is not a bad thing at all mind you! The second OP on the other hand pumps me up for the show and I never ever skipped it, and I never got tired of watching it and listening to the upbeat song. So, both the Ops were great and now I get why there are countless covers of them on Youtube. Also, shoutout to Amanda Lee for all those amazing covers. Wouldn’t have checked out Guilty Crown if it weren’t for your beautiful covers.
Now, one of the main issues I have with this show is that the unconvincing and forced romance between Shu and Inori. It never made sense why Shu loved Inori so much in the first place and vice versa. It has nothing to do with Inori specifically, but I just don’t get why you would like someone so much who you hardly even know and risk so much for that individual. And please, don’t try to convince me with all that ‘Love at first sight’ crap.
Yes, the importance of their relationship is given more depth as the show progresses but I just didn’t see the point in making it into a romantic one. I believe it was done so that Shu would have some reason to help out Funeral Parlour, but if that’s just it then its fucking disappointing man. Also, I would like to apologize to fans of Shunori for what I just said, but goddamn it I love the ship name Shunori so much.I just love saying Shunori.
Now, as far as I remember Guilty Crown is despised for one thing specifically other than being labelled as a Code Geass rip off and that is its ending. But, truth be told I personally liked the ending, despite the fact it had somewhat of a predictable conclusion. They managed to wrap everything up. But, depending on how you feel about certain characters, it will also affect your opinion of the ending. I wish they would have showed us more about the lives of the characters after the ending a bit more, hence that’s why it felt a bit rushed. Instead of 22, the show would have benefited more with 26.
Guilty Crown , if anything, is a show that will help you fill the void *no pun intended* for stuff like Code Geass, Neon Genesis Evangelion, etc and is something you should watch if you are looking for some action or you want a friend or a relative to get into anime. It’s hence not as bad as some people say it is, and so I will award this anime with a 7 and say that is worth the watch. It is a binge worthy series that I ended up liking more than I expected to.
