Review : Guilty Crown

After watching Guilty Crown, I found myself thinking about how I may randomly lose very good anime only because of my lack of trust in covers. Of course, if you look at its name, at its description and even at its cover, you could consider this anime to be quite another cliché. And In the end, maybe it is. But isn't it quite difficult nowadays to choose between fake and true? We are bound to our own personal feelings and reactions when watching an anime; in the end, all we see is our own enjoyment. So, after watching this anime, I got a very nice feeling inside. I thought to myself ”this is not such a wonderful anime, but, even so, this is a very good anime, even with its clichés and traps, I enjoyed every freaking bit of it”.

Story

The plot was rather garbed and a bit hard to follow. In the first half the plot follows the "enemy of the week" format before leading to a rushed climax. However, that was expected since the first half of the plot needed to introduce things. While, The second half was better paced and had a more coherent path along the plot. While not exactly original, the story amalgamated enough ideas to make it seem interesting. In sum, Guilty Crown isn't afraid to take chances in the plot and it's presented such that it never feels stale or over-the-top. It weaves a tale of darkness, death, and betrayal with a story of redemption, love, and sacrifice in a way that will appeal to a wide range of audiences. Now for the actual story-line, 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. Ouma Shu is a 17 year-old boy who mistakenly obtains a rare and great power. He can use this power, "The Right Hand of the King," to extract "voids," or tools/weapons that are the manifestations of peoples' hearts. He has been rather shy since a childhood tragedy, but both his personality and life change forever when he meets a girl named Yuzuriha Inori, a member of the rebel group called "Funeral Parlor," whose members seek the restoration of self-government in Japan via the ousting of GHQ.

Characters

The anime was a bit short in the character department! Most of the supporting cast got barely any introduction and they also didn't get a back story, which made them difficult to relate with. Though, the main cast got enough, but even then the protagonist, Shu, can be difficult to relate with when it is critical for the viewer to do so. As such, sometimes it feels a bit hallow when the characters do make choices. Examples are present throughout the series where characters do something that seems totally off-the-wall nuts and ends up badly for everyone. Some of the decisions that the characters made in the anime still doesn't make any sense to me. Though, some people bash on how weak Shu was, but actually that was one of the strong points of the show as most of the beauty of the series lied in the evolution of the lowly protagonist Shu into a "hero", as it were. The trials he faced might be fantastical and unreal, but his reactions to them were very real. Also, the popular colloquialism for this series would definitely be, "It isn't the destination that counted, it was the path taken to reach it" and Shu's path was certainly a compelling one. Overall, The characters in this anime were a bright spot and a letdown at the same time. The characters who were developed the most were all very likable, or at least memorable. And, I think if the writers would have worked more with the character development into the first 12 episodes, this problem would not be as big. Also, The only times I ever felt emotions for a character was in the back half of the series, which should not have been that way.

Animation and Sound

The artwork and animation was amazing. The environments were unique, the characters' appearances were memorable, and the opening and ending credits looked fantastic. Also, The artwork for when a void was extracted looked brilliant, and the character expressions while being extracted from looked very believable. My favorite aspect of the artwork was during the cut-scenes with the crystal-like virus (which I will not describe any further). The crystal effects were menacing and beautiful looking at the same time, which perfectly conveyed the theme of beauty being a symbol of destruction in this anime.

For the sound, The soundtracks of the anime were really ambitious but also extremely effective. Vocal parts aren't uncommon in soundtrack music, but the pieces in the soundtracks of this anime broke all the conventions when using vocals. These pieces also appeared at high action moments in the series. The effect was obvious. On top of this spectacular OST, Guilty Crown featured two of the best openings in any anime. The powerful soundtracks of the anime combined with the stunning visuals to attract a lot of praise for this series.

Enjoyment

I personally enjoyed this show. But, your enjoyment of this anime will depend on how seriously you take the anime. If you keep thinking that it is a CG rip-off, you're not gonna enjoy the show. Also, Every anime has their own share of cliche's so don't complain when you see it. If you also keep hating on the protagonist you won't enjoy it, instead I suggest to try and think that you are Shu and what you would do in the case you are in his situation. Though, I think what you would do won't be any different...

Overall, Guilty Crown was a powerfully presented and beautifully conceived anime that tended to suffer from a rushed and predictable plot. The characters didn't get fleshed out all the way because most of the series was focused on advancing the serial plot. The world was well conceived, but it relied on this universe's unobtainium for everything. I didn't find this a problem, but some people may get miffed by the seemingly all-powerful virus that did everything! This is that sort of series that people who love to watch a main character's journey would be into.

4 STAR ANIME.

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