"Too short. Its stoic but caring hero and his bubbly companion make up a likeable cast, and its plot has potential. "8" may be overrating it, but the desire for more than just the taste you've been given makes this a possible redeemer for GC's disappointment."
Notes on the art, sound, and characters:
+ Redjuice's art doesn't disappoint. The same budget obviously wasn't poured into this 11 minute OVA, hence the CGI'd mechs. Otherwise, the slightly downgraded animation in Lost Christmas reminds us of one of Guilty Crown's best features - jaw dropping visuals.
+ A fantastic ending theme, courtesy of the fictional band, Egoist. Beautifully composed piano ballad accompanied by great vocals. Hats off to supercell and Ryo!
+ Recurring characters. I've always wondered how our uber-creepy Major Segai started on his plight to insanity.
+ A fantastic new cast. We all know that the audience loved to hate the ultra-whiny, indecisive blubberfest Shu. Lost Christmas's protagonist "Scrooge" is much more no-nonsense, without coming across as overly stoic. More importantly, the female lead "Carol" had personality! Sure she and Inori shared the resemblance in that their odd outfits were overly sexualized, but the fact that her role involved more than being eye-candy to be used by the protagonist makes the MCs in Lost Christmas much more likeable.
- Too. Damn. Short. However, even if you're not a fan of being teased with content that might never be produced, Lost Christmas is worth a look. Hell, even if you didn't like Guilty Crown (or became disenchanted with it like I did), I recommend watching this prequel. It definitely lights up the imagination to what Guilty Crown could have or should have been.
All in all, a great teaser. It's a shame that there's no news of a follow-up (considering those cocky producers had promised two seasons before airing). Guilty Crown may have been a huge let down, but I would absolutely love to see more of the visual novel content presented in Lost Christmas animated.
