Directed By: Tetsuró Araki
Studio: Production I.G Division 6
Audio: Japanese, English
Subtitles: English
Episode Count: 22
Licensed By: Manga Entertainment UK
Format: DVD, Blu-Ray, Netflix
During an event known as “Lost Christmas”, a biological disaster struck the entirety of Tokyo. Known as the “Apocalypse Virus”, those that were infected suffered from an incurable disease that ultimately destroyed them. Japan sought assistance and aid from abroad, which led to the United Nations dispatching an organisation known as the GHQ.
Ten years have gone by and the GHQ is still controlling Tokyo. A group or resistance fighters known as Funeral Parlor wage a campaign against GHQ, in order to liberate Japan once again. One of their members is the popular vocalist Inroi Yuzuriha and through her connection a young high school student Shu Ouma is pulled into the fight for liberation. This series is filled with action, battle tactics, rescuing each other and survival.
So this is kind of an older anime that I came across whilst scrolling through Netflix one evening. Originally came out in 2011 from Production I.G Division 6, best known for Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, Eden of the East and Psycho-Pass. It was an original anime production, but following it’s initial anime release it later had a number of manga and a novel adaptations. It was later picked up for physical release by Manga Entertainment UK and was released in two parts back in 2013, however their physical releases have become very difficult to find brand new nowadays. Which is grand, as the entire show is available to stream over on Netflix which is where I watched it.
Now at times during the show, it was a bit hit and miss. Feeling as though it was almost a chore to watch it around the mid way point. The plot was decent, characters were good, their personalities at times – kinda meh! The show could have ended at 12 episodes for me and I would have been happy, however they stretched it out until episode 22. The battles were exciting, the second half of the show went in a direction I wasn’t expecting. There were a number of sad moments, of which the ending was a tad bittersweet. Which is kind of similar to another show I am watching at the moment, a certain season of SAO.
If you enjoy your dystopian animes, then Guilty Crown is worth watching. Not only have you got just groups of teenagers acting like soldiers, fighting for their country’s liberation. But you also have political thrillers as well, with the actions taken by Funeral Parlor and even Shu, determining just how an entire population’s futures will unfold. We have ‘magical’ weapons known as ‘voids’, that can be drawn from an entire demographic of people, by just one guy – Shu Ouma. Not its never just by chance in anime, that the main character just ends up being ‘gifted’ a powerful ability such as this. Shu has a rather interesting past, family members and even a direct connection to the origins of “Lost Christmas”. All of which is fairly well explored in this show.
You can catch Guilty Crown right now over on Netflix, but best of luck finding the physical releases online!
Overall: 7.5/10
