Bundled with the PC game “Guilty Crown Lost Christmas” comes an animated short, an OVA to the original series following new protagonists Scrooge and Carol, a few years prior to Shu’s crowning with the Void Genome. In their timeline, Scrooge is on the run as the GHQ, along with our 2nd favorite mad scientist, Segai, rush to contain and preserve the secret of the Apocalypse Virus from the general public. First things first…oh how I’ve missed Bios in the background, good bit of nostalgia when those tones hit my ears. But also, as far as characters go, I think more than a few people will say Scrooge seems like a much better protagonist as he seems to understand how to fight and look awesome doing so.
To Shu’s credit, in his time as king, the GHQ had fully developed Endleaves, though Scrooge more than handily defeated a pre-fab model that Segai so elegantly dropped on someone’s house…now and then, the GHQ are the epitome of style and grace on the battlefield…Speaking of Segai, ever wonder what happened to his eye? Well, I won’t spoil, because I can’t, though I imagine the game will explain these virus crystal monster-things. One of which dropped down on Scrooge thanks to (who I’m guessing is) a Daath agent.
Scrooge, as well as being a certified badass, is accompanied by the cute tag-along Carol. Much like how Inori was Shu’s sword (literal sword, thanks to her void), Carol gives Scrooge a super-charged chainsaw/long sword, perfect for cutting down endleaves. Unfortunately, the virus monster seemed to be able to disengage Carol’s void. Shu would’ve most likely been screwed, as it seems he never discovered pulling voids from animals, like Scrooge was able to do. But the dog had some genome experimentation, which might’ve allowed it to carry a void…if only until drawn, and then it kinda crystalized with the Apocalypse Virus and died…
Overall, an interesting 15 minute special that I’d wish there was more of. I mean, Scrooge seems like a really good protagonist, and I know a lot of people want a Guilty Crown with a better main character (hence names like “Shoe”). This OVA makes me kinda want the game, which I’d probably get if I were more into PC games. At the very least it’s a nice, short piece for people who actually enjoyed Guilty Crown and can appreciate a little expansion.
In for a bit of a treat this week with the release of the 
Breaking away from the horror trend of the main story, Another 0 really showcases the art style and background of the series. In the words of Misaki, even the most run down things seemed “cute”, or at least well designed and crafted from an animation and design standpoint. I still get goosebumps when I get to see Mei’s faux eye, it’s always so perfectly lit and seems to have a depth beyond what is physically there. I also thought it was cute that Misaki wore an eyepatch too for part of the episode.
The character dynamic between Mei and Misaki was very interesting, it really showed the subtleties of two sisters who hadn’t lived together. And I always love it when twins, although in this case visually dissimilar enough to tell apart, have personal mannerisms that differentiate them, and I like it even more when these mannerisms make me like one more than the other. Don’t misunderstand me, I don’t dislike Misaki, but I adore Mei, especially so when she was smiling and happy. The emotional connection Mei had with her twin before she died also explains some of Mei’s behavior seen at the beginning of the series back in December. Her quiet despair and seeming loneliness make more sense and are more recognizable now that these traumatic events have been shown. Or maybe it’s just me that found this whole prologue to be an enlightening look at what may have caused Mei to just accept her fate as the “extra” student.
I’m glad this episode 0 was released, after all the events of the main story this extra look into the events beforehand shows a more in-depth look into Mei’s backstory that really couldn’t be shown in the main series. A lot of the mystery surround her and the class would’ve been ruined (or at least diluted) if the whole backstory and once-lost twin had been shown as a part of an early episode. Now, seeing this OVA lets one look back at the main series with an additional piece of understanding and appreciation for the character depth that was prevalent through the whole thing.
