Guilty Crown, Part 1

This anime series set in the year 2039 finds Japan under the control of a military force called the GHQ. A decade earlier, the Apocalypse Virus arrived in Japan via a meteorite, resulting in violent anarchy that could only be quelled using the GHQ's military might. In the midst of this tumultuous setting is pop singer Inori, who is also a member of a rebel group called Funeral Parlor that is determined to overthrow the GHQ. She teams up with an awkward teenage boy named Shu, teaching him how to use a weapon called the Void Genome. Initially, Shu isn't eager to join the rebellion, but he is eventually sucked into the maelstrom and begins to show a heretofore unapparent gift for leadership. Although the plot is sometimes confusing, Guilty Crown moves with a visceral energy and sly humor (one storyline involves a genetic drug formula named “Norma Gene”), and Shu is a genuinely likeable and charming hero. Compiling the first 11 episodes in a dual-language Blu-ray/DVD Combo set, rated TV-14, extras include episode commentaries and a behind-the-scenes featurette. Recommended. [Note: Guilty Crown, Part 2 is also newly available.] (P. Hall)