If there’s one thing Guilty Crown is good for, it’s making its viewers realize the utter depravity of humanity. Anyone watching this show has by now realized that Ouma Shuu is one of the lowest specimens our species has to offer. Let’s do a compare and contrast with our friend Adolf Hitler. Apologies for Godwinning my own post.
Single Parent Households
✓ Adolf Hilter. His father died when he was 14.
✓ Ouma Shuu. Shuu’s father seems to be dead. It’s more likely he’s become a biological weapon or something, however.
Dual Loyalties
✓ Adolf Hilter. Although he was born in Austria, and his father served the Austrian government, Hitler considered himself loyal only to Germany.
✓ Ouma Shuu. Shuu serves in the resistance to make Japan a nation for the Japanese.
Nationalism
✓ Adolf Hilter. Hitler strongly believed in the superiority of Germany.
✓ Ouma Shuu. Shuu believes Japan should overthrow the international occupation. (well, he seems to, once he manages to roll out of bed and witnesses a massacre)
Leadership
✓ Adolf Hilter. One of history’s most charismatic leaders.
✗ Ouma Shuu. Couldn’t lead a horde of lemmings over a cliff.
Ambition
✓ Adolf Hilter. After extended artistic ambitions, becomes one of the most powerful leaders the world has ever known.
✗ Ouma Shuu. His biggest dream is to meet a TV idol.
Military Service
✓ Adolf Hilter. Fought in the great war.
✓ Ouma Shuu. Fought with the Undertakers.
Raging Hormones
✓ Adolf Hilter. Married a woman 23 years younger than him.
✓ Ouma Shuu. Fell in love with a TV idol.
Revolutionary
✓ Adolf Hilter. Staged a coup d’etat.
✓ Ouma Shuu. Fought in the resistance against the international occupation.
Incest
✓ Adolf Hilter. Hitler claimed to be in love with his niece, Geli Raubal.
✓ Ouma Shuu. Shuu’s sister was in love with him. He probably loved her too.
Rise to Popularity
✓ Adolf Hilter. Went from a homeless shelter to the world’s most charismatic dictator.
✓ Ouma Shuu. Went from playing by himself in an abandoned house to king of school.
Usurpation of Power
✓ Adolf Hilter. Party democratically elected to Reichstag, installed Hitler as dictator.
✓ Ouma Shuu. Elected president (in a sham vote, by clapping) and named himself King.
Magical Powers
✗ Adolf Hilter. No historical evidence exists of Hitler possessing magic powers.
✓ Ouma Shuu. Draws out voids.
Fear-based Politics
✓ Adolf Hilter. Staged a fire, used as an excuse to suspend habeas corpus. Engaged in violence against political opponents.
✓ Ouma Shuu. Voted president because his powers are the only thing that can protect the school.
Rearmament
✓ Adolf Hilter. Broke the Treaty of Versailles to expand the German army.
✓ Ouma Shuu. Arms students by extracting voids.
Terrorism
✓ Adolf Hilter. Used U-Boats to disrupt merchants and commerce.
✓ Ouma Shuu. Attacked disease control teams with Undertaker.
Harem
✓ Adolf Hilter. Believed to have had quite a few affairs.
✓ Ouma Shuu. Quite the player.
Multi-front World War
✓ Adolf Hilter. Fought against the entire world, on at least two fronts.
✓ Ouma Shuu. Fought against the entire world, which surrounded him with moving walls.
Blaming the Other
✓ Adolf Hilter. Blamed the Jews and Marxists for losing the first world war.
✓ Ouma Shuu. Blamed those with weak voids for killing Hare.
Discrimination
✓ Adolf Hilter. Killed off Jews, Roma, homosexuals, the disabled, and more.
✗ Ouma Shuu. It’s not discrimination, it’s distinction.
Sororicide
✗ Adolf Hilter. Did not kill his sister.
✓ Ouma Shuu. Killed his sister. (and his best friend)
Rape
✗ Adolf Hilter. Not that I know of.
✓ Ouma Shuu. Groped Inori and took her void, after she said “no.”
Eugenics
✓ Adolf Hilter. Murdered millions in the Holocaust.
✓ Ouma Shuu. Formed a caste system based on “usefulness” of voids, where the weak will not receive the vaccine and die.
Dead
✓ Adolf Hilter.
✗ Ouma Shuu. Loses this category.
Winner: No One
As for this episode… well, you can probably tell that I’m losing interest. It’s becoming too easy to make fun of.
The big development this episode is that Hare died. She was the kind of character that I would have probably liked had she not fallen in love with Shuu. The other big development is that Shuu raped Inori.
Looking on the bright side, my hatred of Shuu is becoming more and more justified. But it’s starting to become too easy as well. Are they trying to make him into an antihero like Lelouch? If so, they failed miserably, because we hated Shuu in the first place. Lelouch did reprehensible things, but you couldn’t help but like him.
Wait, wait, wait.
Hitler didn’t have magical powers?
In all seriousness, I think this anime would’ve done better if they wanted to actually make good entertainment rather than to sell and market this as “THE BEST DAMNED THING EVER”. Everything in this show is so calculated that it becomes obvious (also boring), which makes it an easy target as the but of this season’s jokes.
For something that’s being marketed as the bestest best thing ever, it’s pretty impressive that the show itself is only watchable for comedy value.
From some screencap summaries I looked at, it appears Hare has been killed off. Guess I wont even bother skimming an episode a month of this show anymore..
T_T
Yeah, she was more or less the only character I didn’t utterly despise. As became more and more attached to Shuu recently though, I had already begun to lose my respect.
Code Geass is my favorite anime series and I really hoped GC would be nearly as good as CG (especially considering they have the same writers).
So I just want to know if you think there is any way Guilty Crown can redeem itself? (because I really want that to be good…).
The fact that until now GC sucked just seems to me as a sad waste of potential. 🙁
No, I don’t think this has any chance of redeeming itself. We’re already on episode 15, nearly 2/3 done with the show, and it’s only been getting worse and worse since episode one. The rest of the show would have to be ridiculously good to make it worth watching what we’ve already seen.
Nice work Draggle! Yes OH MA HITLER is on the rise! Thanks to Skype and other bloggers I couldn’t help but make a few similar remarks about Shu’s new view on the world.! Yes some out there might be like oh you are just leaching of 4chan and other bloggers…but I have no issues there.
Guilty Crown will probably never…ever..ever…become anything amazing! That ship set sail long ago, but as far as making fun of it, I agree 100% on this with you. If I couldn’t crack jokes the show would loose interest and steam for me, and I would drop reviewing it and just watch it instead.
Hare’s death seemed like OH HEY SHE LOVES SHU! So let her die and become his reason to finally become the King at last…I hope something great happens next week I noticed in the preview he starts to round people up xD
RIP Hare the only healer they had…well that we know of.
Leeching? The Hitler comparisons are pretty obvious… I think mentioning them is as much “leeching” as pointing out that Hare died is. You copycat, people on 4chan mentioned that too!
Yes, concentration camps! I think the best end would be if Inori and the rest of the terrorists joined the government to fight against Shuu. Maybe they are going for the Code Geass ending too where Shuu becomes all the evil in the world (except he doesn’t plan it). That would be hilarious.
Lelouch was a dick but hell, you can’t help but LOVE how much of a dick he is. And they went off and killed my favorite character in the lamest way possible.
Exactly. Likewise, Suzaku is even a bigger dick, and you can’t help but HATE how much of a dick he is and want to strangle him. With Shuu, you just want to roll over in bed and pretend he doesn’t exist. Or cry about the fact that someone like him could possibly exist.
Adolf Hilter. No historical evidence exists of Hitler possessing magic powers.
But there are tons of people who say that he had alien technology, and doesn’t that virus crystal stuff come from space?
Indeed. There are tons of theories that the Nazis were somehow involved with the occult. Space doesn’t seem like much more of a stretch.
Can i get a shot of speed?
Just watch Guilty Crown, should be all you need
I’ve only read two of your posts and I loved them! You uses good vocab, comparison and humor to criticize this anime.
I don’t know if it is because I watched a lot of anime that I start to hate characters like Shuu. I normally really like characters falling into a dark state, you know, it is after all a phase a hero/heroin must go through for their transformation of adulthood. Maybe Shuu reminds me a little of myself, I despises him. Useless, always crying out loud (hopefully it will get better with the next few episodes). He did not think much of his best friend (Gai) and Mana’s death. He doesn’t think about other people’s death. This episode clearly shows that he is thinking of himself, only protecting his darn weak self by being evil. He does not think of what Hare might think. Gawd. As you said so, I also started to hate Hare too.
I am just wondering what in the world are Inoreen, Ayase and Tsugumi doing, letting Shuu become like this.
Welcome to the site, and thanks for commenting! Glad you enjoy it.
I hate Shuu too. Normally I enjoy the transition and transformation to maturity, as well. I think a big problem with Shuu is that everything about him seems so *fake*. He starts out being sad he doesn’t have a famous idol as his girlfriend. Then he does. Next he’s weak and cowardly. Then he gets magic powers. Then his friend dies. He blames other people and takes it out on them. He doesn’t learn anything from his mistakes. He just blames other people for all his faults and gets helped by magic. I don’t know how he has any friends. As you said, it’s all about *him*. It’s the same for the other characters. They’re treated as stand alone plot devices. The characters don’t interact with and influence one another at all.