Guilty Crown wowed many with its epic combat and animation, but die-hard mecha fans hated the series for its blatant theft from much better anime.
Kodoani.com – The Mecha genre is full of anime, which makes sense given the popularity of series like Gundam. However, for every success story, there are many failures that disappoint anyone who watches them. Some of these have a lot of potential, but the chaotic execution makes them average in terms of reception.
An example of the latter is Guilty Crown 2011. Almost a mecha series, this show takes elements from other franchises and combines them into a hot pot medley. Many people loved the series, but many also saw its interesting element and saw it as a poor version of the mecha anime it cut out. This is the content of the series, why some people love it and why many people can’t stand it Guilty Crown.
What is Guilty Crown?
As an original series created by Production IG, Guilty Crown Set in a Japanese version besieged by a disease called Apocalypse Virus. The United Nations responded by establishing GHQ, which contained the virus and saved Japan but robbed the country of its independence. The main character is Shu Ouma, a high school student whose life changes when he meets the famous idol singer Inori. He discovers that Inori is actually part of an anti-GHQ militia group aimed at restoring Japan’s sovereignty. Joining her, Shu gains the ability to extract weapons called “Voids” from other people’s inner souls, using them to defend against the GHQ’s Endlave mechs.
Guilty Crown definitely has some very good value, very good fight scenes and staging. This makes sense since Production IG is the studio behind the legendary cyberpunk anime Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex. Add in epic music from Hiroyuki Sawano, and each episode is often filled with great moments with an even bigger score. The series isn’t afraid to reinvent itself over the course of its 22 episodes either, but while this may be commendable, it’s also the source of its main problem.
Some Mecha fans hate Guilty Crown
People who don’t like Guilty Crown mostly doing so because it feels like a worse ripoff of the high end Mecha anime. Shu’s characteristics of weakness, ineffectiveness, and cowardice are very reminiscent of Shinji Ikari in the still-influential Neon Genesis Evangelion. This comparison is made stronger with the post-apocalyptic Japanese setting in both series, as well as the mutual use of sometimes less subtle symbols of Christianity. Doesn’t help matters that Aquarion Evol, the sequel to another Evangelion, comes out around the same time, making the whole thing all the more pointless. The fact that the physics go back to the backseat for a protagonist with mysterious powers essentially makes the series a Code Geass-style anime, especially since both refer to a Japan that has been conquered by foreign nations.
Even classic anime series don’t have time to rest, as the pop idol-loving aspect is one that’s quite familiar to fans of The Super Dimension Fortress Macross. Likewise, the plot/rebellion element of Inori’s character even evokes a bit of the plot in Megazone 23, showing how unoriginal Guilty Crown is. All of this “inspiration” would be fine if it’s handled well, but by mixing so many other anime into a blender, Guilty Crown is left with only the most basic elements, truncating them to something that doesn’t make any sense. Many fans are not satisfied.
This results in a show that feels uninterested in its own story and ideas, with the plot being a rushed, messy mess. So the main thing Guilty Crown has done is plagiarism, stealing ideas with which it has nothing to do with. It’s no surprise that so many mechanics fans hate the series, as they see it for how unoriginal it is, especially if they’ve also watched all the shows it emulates.
