GUILTY CROWN PART 1

Guilty Crown Part 1
Released By: Manga Entertainment
Rating: 15
Running Time: 252 Mins
Audio: English DD 5.1 & Japanese DD 2.0
Release Date: 18/11/2013
Reviewed By: Sandra Scholes

Just about every anime you see will remind you of another and it's the same with this one. As soon as I saw it, I thought of The World God Only Knows as Shu Ohma is a similar high school kid who is averse to talking to his classmates and lives his life inside computer games. He doesn't know how to interact with others and just goes along with whatever they want to do. He does have class mates but they aren't friends in the real sense, just people he knows at school.

You wonder if Shu has always been like this or whether it is the result of the Apocalypse Virus that once ravaged their land. Their government is on the verge of collapse, and constantly reliant on foreign aid plus there is no sign of them being truly independent to the other nations so far or in the future. Shu prepares to go to an abandoned warehouse to eat his lunch and work on his computer when an intruder shocks him. It turns out to be a young girl he knows as being a popular girl at school, but who tells him she has to get a vial to a man named Gai. Shu thinks he knows her, but maybe he doesn't and when she is captured by the authorities right in front of him, he starts to wonder who she really is.

Gai, it seems is a sexy type who though being a "pretty boy" has some nice moves when it comes to fighting off his enemies. Shu is told by a little robot that sat with her that he has to take the vial to him or it will get into the authorities hands, and they don't want that. If you've not already noticed it yet, they are pretty bad to mess with. Shu has one last chance to help the girl and the resistance as he sees her again after a transport carrying her was overturned. Shu can either walk away from the incident, or face the enemy head on. Which always happens in anime but not in real life, Shu decides to help, putting his life at risk as well as the girls. He plays the hero,. dashing over to save her, but in the process breaks the vial. Without giving too much away, Shu isn't prepared for what happens next.

As well as being reminiscent of The World God Only Knows there is a cool science fiction element in this to do with the vials. There aer only three in existence, and Shu had one that has been destroyed. Like in Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion, Shu has a choice to join the rebellion along with Gai and Inori as each of the vials are known as Guilty Crown. It gives the one exposed to it a king's power to be able to fight for a cause. As far as Shu is concerned, he can't turn back and hide away or deny that they don't need him as their world and their people depend on him. For those who enjoy science fiction series like Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion there is a strong super hero quality in this anime that fits in well with the story. I enjoyed finding out the lives of the different characters and how they had endured the problems they faced as a result of the Apocalypse Virus. 

Bonus Material: Episode 2 Commentary, Episode 4 Commentary, Episode Previews 1-11, Guilty Crown 4 Panel Theatre: Part 1-60 Into the Void: The Creative Vision, Text less Opening Song Version 1, Text less Opening Song Version 2, Text less Opening Song Version 3, and Promotional Videos and TV Spots.

Verdict: Excellent production value, strong story and amazing fight scenes.