takashichea (Level 21)

Overview

In this news article, Kuro and I will cover what the New York Comic Con Panel got from the staff of Guilty Crown: Koji Yamato of Fuji TV, George Wada of Production I.G, and Ryo Oyama of Aniplex. In the second half of the blog, we will cover updates of Guilty Crown's manga adaptation.

Plot

For those who do not know Guilty Crown, my partner Kuro wrote this on the franchise's page.

After the spread of the "Apocalypse Virus" in Japan in the year 2029, the country has been placed in an emergency state. Since the spread of the virus, the Japanese government lost all of its foundations, and the reign of the international organization known as GHQ began ruling the country. Now Japan is in a state of martial law, which is enforced by the GHQ, and is considered a "quasi-independent" nation.
10 years pass, and we see the story through the eyes of Shu Ouma, an average 17-year-old teenager who lives a normal life. However, his normal life style is soon shattered after his chance encounter with Inori Yuzuriha, who eventually involves him with the anti-government group she is a part of, known as Funeral Parlor, or Undertaker.

Guilty Crown Panel

Source: Guilty Crown ANN by Todd Ciolek October 16, 2011

**I will reorganize and summarize the information from Todd's article to make it easier to read. Be sure to read his original article.

Shu and Inori

First, the three producers talk about the original concept of Shu and Inori.

Shu Ouma

According to Wada, he states that the story is based on how Shu and Gai foiled each other. While Shu is a timid and average high school student, Gai is the charismatic, handsome, and respected rebel leader of the Funeral Parlor.

Inori Yuzuriha

Yamatmoto stated that the inspiration for Inori is the hot trend in Japan where young teenagers revered online divas. Plus, Wada explain that her egotist outfit is inspired by a band called Egotist which is popular among teenagers.

For both Shu and Inori, the producers link them with the story of a boy who meets an unusal girl.

Minor Characters

Ayase Shinomiya

Oyama stated that her outfit should be recognizable to Neon Evangelion fans because of her body-hugging tights. Oyama and the producers asked Redjuice Graphics to make Ayase sexy with this suit.

Funnel

Wada informed the audience that Funnel might be the most important character and that his gender is male. Also, Funnel's design is similar to Gundam's Haro and the Ghost in the Shell's Tachikomas.

Funnel is the white robot, Tachikoma is the blue, and Haro is the green one

Influences

Code Geass - Due to Ichiro Okochi's involvement in Code Geass, the mechs have some connection. Yamamoto stated that the settings are quite different because Guilty Crown had a more modern setting.
Eden of the East - According to Wada, the creators saw Eden of the East, so they asked I.G Productions to make Guilty Crown like Eden of the East
Ghost in the Shell - Same as Eden of the East
Death Note - Wada stated that Tetsuro Araki's work in Death Note inspired the music in Guilty Crown.
Fullmetal Alchemist -Oyama states that he wanted to make a conflict between those who have special powes and those who don't. This is reflected in Fullmetal Alchemist's homunculi. Furthermore, Oyama stated that he was also inspired by X-Men's conflicts between humans and mutants.
Darker Than Black - Oyada worked in that show, but there is no info on its influences (in the article).

[KuroNekoXIII stated that Darker than Black has individuals who have special abilities, Contractors.]

Questions from the Audience

Why is it shorter than a typical anime broadcast?

Yamamoto state that this is because of Fuji TV's broadcasting timeslot issues. He inform the audience that they would like to have a sequel series, a movie, or an OVA, and he kindly ask the audience to support the series for Guilty Crown's future.

Why does Guilty Crown mean?

According Oyama, the "crown" comes from the central theme of this show, "Who will become the next generation's kings?" Furthermore, he explains that the growth of Genom makes guilty feelings and how Shu feels guilty using his friends as weapons due his power to take out Voids from his friends. This is where the "guilty" part comes in. When a fan asks about how Shu will feel if he pulls out a Void from a stranger, Oyama stated that they will find out in episode 3.

Unanswered Questions

How did Shu acquired the Void Genome?

Anime Vice's Questions for Guilty Crown's Staff

I did this for the New York Comic Con's interview with Hiro Mashima blog on Anime Vice. It's nice to hear from fans of Guilty Crown to voice comments or questions that they still have. I'll start it off.

Taka's Questions

Since Ayase is inspired by Neon Genesis Evangelion, what character from that show is your favorites?

What characteristics of Eden of the East and Ghost in the Shell does the creators and the producers aspired to replicate in Guilty Crown? How will they distinguish their work from those influences?

What singer is the inspiration for Inori's character?

I looked up possible Japanese females who match the words Egotist and Idol: Yui Aragaki (a famous actress and seiyuu), Reiko Nakane (head of a fashion store called Egotist), and Eiguchi Aimi of AKB48 band (Eiguchi is computerized model, so she isn't a real woman).

Will there be other countries outside of Japan have some involvement in the story?

Be sure to comment.

KuroNekoXIII's Questions

Was the Leukocyte inspired by the actual Quasi-Zenith Satellite System that Japan is working on? If so, how is the Leukocyte similar and/or different than it?
Why did you choose Redjuice to create the character designs of the anime?

Other Sources

None.

Guilty Crown Gets a Manga Adaptation

According to Square Enix's Monthly Shonen Gangan's November Issue, they stated that Guilty Crown will get its first manga serialization.

Staff

Shion Midzuki - illustrator
Yousuke Miyagi - writer

Not much info is given in the ANN's article. According to Capsulecomputers, the series will have one chapter per month.

Sources

Takashichea

Member of Team Guilty Crown, and my partner is KuroNekoXIII.