[justsomeguy]

The Good:
* Animation and music are phenomenal.
* Endlaves are awesome. I'm still hoping Bandai would release some models or action figures of Steiner and its successor.
* Yahiro, while most people hate him, I think was a good character. He understood the differences between people with power and those without, and how they should act to control others and avoid being controlled. Shu never got those ideas.
* Daryl, while he didn't get much development and was denied a conclusive ending, was a fun character. I think he was a good foil for Shu, as another character who just got pushed around and used by others, except on the opposite side.
* The first half of the show was good in setting up the themes and setting of the story. Episode 20 was the single standout episode of the second half, by finally explaining the full backstory.

The Bad:
* The second half of the show. The Shu in charge and powerless Shu arcs dragged on too long; the final battle deserved at least three episodes.
* Shu's character development. How many times did I think that he's hit bottom, and that the only way to go is up? Three, four, five times? Then after everything, he ends up a disabled bum, with both love interests dead. I can't remember the last the any writer hated on their main character that much. And I can't help but think that this show discourages the idea of heroism.
* Kenji was built up to be a dangerous crazy bomber, but he didn't actually do all that much.
* Daath. This organization/concept/"will of humanity"/"will of natural selection" or whatever it was was introduced very late and poorly elaborated upon.
* Gai as an antagonist. Never mind that his plan all along was a gambit based on Shu regaining his powers and his manhood, at the time of his reintroduction there were already three other villains: Yuu, Segai, and Shuichiro Keido, at least two of whom were already final boss material. The others were pushed aside for Gai and did basically nothing after resurrecting him.
* Haruka. She began as eyecandy, then halfway through she was apparently working willingly with the villains, then she just walked out with the third Void Genome when she felt like it.
* Inori was supposedly a well-known singer, but has only two songs.
* Argo and Kanon were useless characters who accomplished nothing.
* Souta was a loser who deserved much less than what he got at the end.
* ED2, while a good song, does not fit the show.

Final Score: 7/10. I generally reserve scores 5 or less for real dreck (which I refuse to watch), such as the fighting-girls-with-easily-destructable-clothing genre, or sengoku or three kingdoms adaptations, or Xebek ecchi adaptations. I don't think Guilty Crown is that bad.