Guilty Crown

A girl, Inori Yuzuriha, is trying to escape pursuers who are after a vial she possesses. After storing the vial inside a tiny robot, robotic mechs attack her with missiles and she is thrown off the bridge in the wake of the explosions. Shu Ouma is a socially awkward 17 year old teen living in Japan where it is under the strict rule of the government organization, GHQ following the outbreak of the Apocalypse Virus ten years ago. While going to his warehouse studio, he encounters Inori, who is also an internet singer of the band Egoist; recovering from her wounds after stealing a genetic weapon called the Void Genome from the GHQ. After mending her wounds and feeding her, Inori is captured by the GHQ Anti Bodies division led by Major Guin and Shu is powerless to stop them. To make amends, Shu brings the Void Genome to Inori's boss, Gai Tsutsugami, leader of the resistance group, Funeral Parlor (Undertakers). However, Major Guin orders the Anti Bodies to exterminate the residents of Roppongi in order to find the Void Genome. As Funeral Parlor and GHQ battle, Shu goes to rescue Inori, protecting her when a GHQ Endlave mech tries to attack them. The attack shatters the vial holding the Void Genome, giving Shu the "Power of Kings" which he uses to extract Inori's Void, and with it, destroy the attackingEndlaves.

After destroying several GHQ Endlaves, Shu, Inori and the Undertakers are forced to retreat when an advanced Endlave joins the battle, ridden by 2nd Lieutenant Daryl Yan. After regrouping with the others, Gai commends his hacker Tsugumi and Endlave pilot Ayase Shinomiya but scolds Inori for allowing Shu to absorb the Void Genome since he had intended to use it. Nevertheless, Gai states that with the power Shu now has, he can no longer stand idly by. Later, Funeral Parlor proceeds to stop Guin, who took a group of innocent civilians hostage. While Daryl and several soldiers execute some of them, Funeral Parlor launches an attack and tricks Daryl to drive hisEndlave away from Guin's command center. Gai then reveals himself and has a standoff with Guin and his men, all pointing their weapons at him. Using the stand off as a diversion, Shu heads to the mobile post holding Daryl's cockpit and extracts his Void; a weapon called Kaleidoscope. As the standoff reaches its climax, Guin orders his men to fire at Gai. Just then, Shu uses the Kaleidoscope to shield Gai and deflect the lasers back at Guin and his men, annihilating them. In the aftermath, despite witnessing the atrocities the GHQ are responsible for and what the Undertakers stand for, Shu declines Gai's offer to join them. The next day, much to Shu's surprise, Inori transfers into his school.

Shu is still shocked that not only has Inori transferred to his school but is living at his home as well. Meanwhile, the GHQ Anti-Bodies director, Shuichiro Keido tasks Major Makoto Waltz Segai with tracking a series of hotspots where a genetic drug called the Norma Gene is being distributed. Later, Gai reveals to Shu that he sent Inori to protect him because a student at his school who is secretly a drug dealer for the Norma Gene nicknamed "Sugar" saw him during Funeral Parlor's battle with the GHQ at Roppongi and confirms Shu's suspicions that Gai can see other people's Voids. Shu is then taught the basic principles of drawing out Voids by Inori and confronts his classmates one by one, checking for the pair of shears Void held by "Sugar." After several failures and escaping the wrath of class representative Kanon Kusama, Shu soon figures out "Sugar" is actually his friend Yahiro Samugawa since his calm demeanor doesn't match his tastes in movies. His identity exposed, Yahiro angrily shows his true self before Shu subdues him by extracting his Void. Inori tries to kill Yahiro but Shu stops her, wanting to believe in Yahiro and when he awakens, they both resolve to keep each other's secrets. The next day, Yahiro betrays Shu by selling him out to the GHQ and is approached by Segai.

Shu is arrested by the GHQ much to his classmates shock and worry and is taken to the GHQ Isolation Facility 4 where he remains silent about Funeral Parlor. Upon learning that Funeral Parlor intends attack the Facility to rescue their "comrade," Segai takes Shu to the Isolation ward. Here he reveals that Yahiro sold Shu out so his brother, a victim of the Apocalypse Virus, can get treatment. Furthermore, Segai justifies GHQ's harsher actions for the safety of Japan and uses Shu's feelings for Inori and his doubts about Gai to his advantage. He reveals that the "comrade" Gai wants to rescue is mass murderer, Kenji Kido, which makes Shu question Gai's trustworthiness. Segai gives Shu a transmitter that he is to use if he comes in contact with Gai. Later that night, a disguised Gai visits Shu and tells him of his plans to rescue Kenji, however, Shu doesn't want to be involved. Tsugumi informs the two that Inori had disobeyed Gai's orders to stand by in order to rescue Shu herself. Shu, worried, goes to save her, forcing Gai to change his plan. Protected by Ayase's Endlave Steiner, Shu heads to where Inori is at until he encounters Kenji himself and uses his Void, a manipulation device to stop the GHQ Endlaves and rescue Inori. After the Isolation Facility's destruction, Gai once again offers Shu to join them and reluctantly agrees, however, he keeps the Segai's transmitter and does not inform Gai of their exchange.

Shu arrives at Funeral Parlor's Headquarters at Roppongi Fort where Gai introduces him to the and plans to hold a trial for Shu before he can officially join them. Gai assigns Ayase as Shu's instructor while he leads a mission to take over the "Leukocyte." Ayase dislikes Shu but follows Gai's orders to train him for the trial. Ayase also holds the pen, unaware it's a transmitter and uses it as motivation for Shu. After some hard training, Shu encounters Inori, telling her that he joined Funeral Parlor for her sake and asks her if she will join him if he wanted to leave. However Inori reveals that she won't because of what she owes to Gai and also that Gai told her to use Shu's feelings for her get him to join Funeral Parlor before entering Gai's room. Dejected, Shu runs away and bumps into Ayase, who consoles him and gives some encouragement for his trial. Unknown to both of them, despite what it seems, Inori is actually giving Gai a blood transfusion. On the day of trial, Shu has a mock battle with Ayase's Endlave Steiner where the goal is to get past and into the vehicle behind it. Shu succeeds the task after using Arugo's Void a flashlight that brings darkness to blind Ayase and pass the trail at. Just as Kenji arrives, and speaks of something akin to Shu's potential of betrayal, they receive a troubling report from Tsugumi. Gai earlier led a team to intercept the arrival of mercenaries and Endlaves at an airport and confiscate their supplies but their position was attacked by the Leukocyte, an orbital satellite laser.