Originally Posted by Triple_R
The setting in Guilty Crown is not significantly different, in overall atmosphere and feel, than the setting in Marvel or DC comics.
In both cases, you're given a slightly futuristic Earth, but one with striking similarities to the real world, in order to accomplish greater viewer immersion.
In both cases, you have people with metahuman abilities and powers that defy the laws of physics, if not common sense (i.e. getting incredible powers from gamma radiation, or by being bit by a radioactive spider, or by going from living under a red sun to living under a yellow sun).
In both cases, cannon fodder antagonist armies are usually not that smart, flawlessly obedient 99% or more of the time, and are primarily there to get blown up and provide nice action scenes.
In both cases, governments and government agencies tend to be portrayed negatively, with a focus on corrupt officials, politicians, and soldiers.
In both cases, you have hammy antagonists. Major Segai may or may not be "as evil as they come", but The Joker certainly is, and he's also widely regarded as one of the very best antagonists/villains of all-time.
Guilty Crown has some anime tropes to it, of course, but it has the sensibilities of a DC or Marvel comic book, simply without the spandex costumes (although, even here, Inori's attire is no less colorful/atypical than Superman's). As such, it's about as serious as a comic book story is.
Which is to say that it's more serious than, say, Excel Saga. But it's not as serious as, say, Serial Experiments Lain.
It should be noted, though, that there are millions upon millions of people who take comic books very seriously. People who have no problem with stories much like the one in Guilty Crown. People who can let Superman's disguise slide, and people who can live with Batman pulling off things that only a metahuman should be able to.
Because at the end of the day, the laws of physics in fiction is not that big of a deal unless your show or story is mainly for people really into science and technology (like Star Trek). Guilty Crown is, like comic books, aimed at a slightly different audience than that. It's aimed at people who just want to enjoy some great action scenes with a passable and easy to follow plot that paints in bold emotional strokes but isn't meant to be high-end intellectually.
Guilty Crown is not pretending to be anything that it's not, and it has no identity issues. It's been showcasing the sensibilities of an action-packed Hollywood blockbuster (including modern superhero movies) from the very first episode, and with the exception of a semi-comedic Episode 3, its remained consistent with those sensibilities. This identity that Guilty Crown has chosen for itself is also not in any way, shape, or form, out of line with what its PVs portrayed.
I think the issue here is that some people have a preconceived notion that semi-realistic setting means that nothing unrealistic and/or very implausible should happen. But that preconceived notion is regularly contradicted by some of the most well-known and popular fictional stories around.
If you (and I'm using "you" in a general sense here) can't get pass this preconceived notion, then I respect that, but just know that it's your lost, not Guilty Crown's. Plenty of people (including myself) are thoroughly enjoying Guilty Crown just the way it is.
Not every show I watch needs to have picture perfect realism. In fact, I would find that rather boring after awhile. The best action shows I've watched only achieved that by being willing to throw realism out the door every now and then.
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