25 Days of Anime - #25: Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion

This year's twenty-five days of Christmas special is one that I have wanted to do for quite a while now - a list of my twenty-five all-time favorite anime. However, prior to this year, I felt I lacked sufficient viewing experiences with many classic anime. And while I cannot say that I have yet viewed every anime that I feel I ought to or even those I just plain want to, I think my experiences have included a wide range of genres as well as anime from both present day and yesteryear. With all that out of the way, let's kick things off with number twenty-five on my list...

What happens when you combine mecha action with socio-political pressures stemming from an alternate world where one super-nation holds most of the world in its grasp? You get Code Geass, a series that, despite what the brief summary above might suggest, is one of the most fresh and entertaining mecha anime of the 2000s. A large part of this comes from the fact that the story is presented through the eyes of Lelouch, one of the heirs to the throne of Britannia who was long forgotten by his family members. Having lived among the Japanese people in Area 11 for most of his life, Lelouch has witnessed the iron-fisted rule that the Britannians enact, and sees it as cause to launch a counteroffensive. What begins as a small uprising soon snowballs into full-scale conflict for Area 11's indepence.

Though Lelouch is ever-passionate toward his cause, he realizes his role as a former Britannian prince makes him an easy target for either side. While he makes a few missteps early on, he uses his Geass power to ensure that individuals do what he wants and even has them forget him entirely. The series presents a curious combination of a sci-fi world with fantasy elements, though the rules concerning Lelouch's Geass as well as his alter ego Zero ground the series and force him to plan each phase of his rebellion carefully.

Though there are many interesting and entertaining characters in Code Geass, Lelouch is by far the most intriguing. Because he is fighting for something so significant, he recognizes that certain sacrifices will have to be made. He is willing to destroy and kill his enemies if it means a better world for his sister Nunally and the Japanese people. Lelouch walks a fine line between anti-hero and anti-villain, hoping to reach his ultimate goal through methods that are not exactly virtuous, but still holding true to his intentions. As the series progresses and Lelouch learns more about his powers, there is a sort of spiraling that occurs - the more time he spends using his Geass and manipulating people, the more he has a tendency to behave in a darker manner.

Anime review: Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion R2

One year after the events of Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion, members of the Black Knights have either been imprisoned, disarmed, or are on the run from Britannian forces. Following the chain of events at Kamine Island, Lelouch has forgotten who he once was and is living out an average life in Area 11. Viewers are tipped off pretty early on that things are not going to stay calm for long, as Lelouch is seen travelling with a younger student named Rollo, who he calls his ‘brother’, and Lelouch even crosses paths with Kallen Kozuki on his way to play a round of chess. The building which all three have entered is then attacked by Black Knight forces who seemingly come out of nowhere, led by C.C., and attempt to bring Lelouch with them, though he doesn’t understand why. Eventually, C.C. restores Lelouch’s memories, which he then uses to clear an escape route for the Black Knights. The group reconvenes at the Chinese Confederation Consulate, where Lelouch (under the guise of Zero once again) calls forth the remaining Black Knight forces and plans out rescue operations for those imprisoned.

Suzaku, on the other hand, joined the Knights of the Round after bringing Lelouch before the Emperor of Britannia, and is now among the elite Knightmare pilots Britannia has to offer. While Suzaku’s story is fairly interesting towards the end of R2 and helps to drastically change the focus of the story, overall it’s pretty much the same as it was in Lelouch of Rebellion, save for Suzaku’s military rank. His character is still engaging enough, unlike the other Knights of the Round. Many of these knights don’t appear until very late in the show and just show up to be tough and then die. Those that do receive significant roles are fairly stereotypical and don’t change much.


With many Britannian spies watching Lelouch’s every move, the series is much more tense when covering Lelouch’s time at the Ashford Academy. The fact that Zero has so many comrades, yet Lelouch must play everything off as if he has not yet recollected his memories makes for a very interesting dynamic and the writers go the extra distance in both pushing Lelouch and Zero apart as well as bringing them closer together. Lelocuh/Zero's cunning nature leads him to manipulate many people in R2, often without the aid of his Geass and solidifies him as a truly intriguing anti-hero.

Much like Lelouch of the Rebellion, R2 incorporates some strange situational humor, the majority of which occurs at the Ashford Academy, such as when Lelouch must partake in a ‘love hunt’ game put on by Milly. These scenes are fewer and farther between than in Lelouch of the Rebellion, so it’s nice to see that the writers opted to make the story more serious this time around. That said, not a single one of the scenes really advances the plot or develops the characters in any way and the show would have greatly benefitted from these being reworked or completely removed.

R2 is much darker than its predecessor and the story does benefit a great deal from that, for the most part. The return of Jeremiah and his new Geass-canceller shakes Lelouch’s plans up quite a bit, and the hunts led by Zero to wipe out humans being trained with Geass abilities paints a much more adult narrative than in Lelouch of the Rebellion. Lelouch even enters a depressive state during R2, using his Geass on Japanese thugs to toy with them for his own amusement, and almost using Refrain, the memory-resurfacing drug briefly introduced in Lelouch of the Rebellion.


While Zero’s methods never ceased to surprise me, R2 did lose some of its luster about halfway through, when the Black Knights headed out to China and the focus shifted to Suzaku for a large portion of the story. With the other Knights of the Round being relatively flat characters that receive little development, things got to be quite stale in regards to Suzaku’s story. Thankfully, Suzaku’s story is largely overshadowed by the backstory of C.C., one of the most intriguing twists to the overarching story of the two seasons. The mystery surrounding Lady Marianne’s death comes to a close late in R2 as well, though it may not be the conclusion every viewer was hoping for. It makes sense in the context of the story, but the buildup it receives from Lelouch’s conspiracy theories and interrogations with fellow royal family members is far more interesting than the actual resolution.

The soundtrack puts heavy emphasis on percussion instruments including chimes and bells, as well as higher brass and woodwind instruments. The attempts to make R2’s soundtrack seem more epic and dramatic than that of Lelouch of the Rebellion may come off as reminiscent of old 1950s and 1960s horror films, and no piece seems to fit any given scene as well as in its predecessor. The animation has received a boost and colors are far more vibrant during occurrences at Ashford Academy, and dark and cool when dealing with the mysteries surrounding Geass and its origin. The action scenes in R2 are great improvements over those in Lelouch of the Rebellion, and a number of different fighting styles mixes things up. Some of the Knightmare frames seem a bit ridiculous at times, though only on a handful of ocassions.


The voice actors return to reprise their roles, both in the Japanese version as well as the English dub. Jun Fukuyama (in the Japanese version) and Johnny Yong Bosch (in the English dub) both one-up their performances from the first season, bringing forth spectacular (and sometimes spine-tinglingly believable) portrayals of Lelouch. However, in both versions, the newcomers to the cast seem to either fit their respective character very well, delivering believable lines, or they miss the mark completely and come across as particularly uninspired.

Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion R2 is a bit more fast-paced than its predecessor, and it feels like many of the inner-weaving stories of R2 could have been introduced in the first season. The returning characters are just as enjoyable as before or in some cases, even more intriguing. R2 is more focused on C.C., Geass, and Zero, as opposed to the focus Lelouch of the Rebellion put on Britannia and the Black Knights. The introduction of both the Knights of the Round and the events taking place in the Chinese Confederation seem a bit forced and these aren’t nearly as engaging as many of the other stories explored in the combined seasons of Code Geass. The darker themes within R2 fuel both Zero and the Britannian royal family in going to drastic measures to achieve their own ends. Every question asked will receive an answer, but viewers will probably find some to be more satisfying than others.

My rating: 8.5 (out of 10)

Anime review: Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion

The name might be a mouthful, but I found Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion to be a surprisingly enjoyable and well-written anime. The series follows Lelouch Lamperouge, a boy in his mid-teens who attends Ashford Academy with his childhood friend Suzaku Kururugi. Lelouch lives with his younger sister Nunnally, who is both blind and wheelchair-bound.

The series doesn't waste much time in explaining the back story of all of the key characters. Lelouch and Nunnally are really the former heirs to the Britannian throne. Because of his father's apparent lack of care for either Nunnally or himself, Lelouch escapes Britannia with his sister at a very young age. They end up in Japan where they meet Suzaku, who becomes the closest thing they have to a family. However, the happiness is not to last, as the Britannian Empire seeks to control Japan, and Suzaku moves away for many years. As Japan is transformed into Area 11, Lelouch and Nunally change their last name from 'Britannia' to 'Lamperouge' so as not to draw attention to themselves. Due to the culmination of all these events, Lelouch develops a deep hatred for the Empire and his father, Emperor Charles Zi Britannia. Lelouch seeks to change the world so that his sister Nunally might live happily in it. His hatred and his desire to alter the world are kept secret from, Nunnally, however.

During one of the Britannian raids on the Shinjuku district (essentially a slum for former Japanese citizens now dubbed 'elevens') Lelouch encounters Suzaku who has recently joined the Britannian military forces as a test pilot for new prototype Knightmare mech, dubbed the Lancelot. The two come across an unfamiliar container which they discover carries a girl. Lelouch and Suzaku take separate routes back to the street level of Shinjuku. The girl is shot by Britannian soldiers, but is able to grant Lelouch special powers if he agrees to her contract. The terms of the contract are unclear to Lelouch, but he accepts anyway, and is given the ability to control any person's mind. He is only able to do so once per individual person, however, and the eye contact must be direct.


Lelouch then commandeers a Knightmare mech and issues commands via radio to the local Japanese freedom fighters. These rebels cause a distraction while Lelouch infiltrates the command ship and assassinates another member of the royal family, Prince Clovis. After causing complete chaos for the Brittannians in Shinjuku, Lelouch creates for himself a disguise and an alternate masked identity known as Zero. And this is just the beginning of the series.

Code Geass is from Sunrise, the company famous for distributing Mobile Suit Gundam. At first glance, Code Geass does seem to be some sort of spin-off of their flagship Gundam franchise, and there's no doubt they drew inspiration from it. Code Geass does involve a large deal of political conflict, but it is carried out in a manner of fighting unjust rule with unorthodox combat tactics. Lelouch understands that the Britannian military adheres to specific rules and regulations, whereas he and the Black Knights are not bound by these limitations. The mech designs are named after knights of Arthurian legend, and these titles prove fitting as the Knightmares often rely heavily on close-range weaponry and command units are usually decorated with gold and silver armor plating.


Lelouch is an incredibly interesting lead character, as he tries to justify his actions by constantly stating that every action he takes is for Nunally's sake. While all this seems honorable enough, his methods are dark and manipulative, due to both his Geass and his spiteful attitude towards the royal family. From a very early point in the series, Lelouch is shown to be both an effective and confident leader. As the series progresses, Lelouch leaves command of the Black Knights in the hands of Ohgi and Todou in order to deal with his own personal matters. Lelouch must constantly balance his school life and his role as Zero without the two ever crossing paths with one another, and his cover is almost blown a few times over the course of the series.

Kallen Kozuki is one of Lelouch's classmates, though she is unaware of his role as Zero - ironic, as she joins the Black Knights very early on, proving to be one of their most capable Knightmare pilots. Kallen is more focused on completing her missions and seeking revenge against Britannia for their treatment of the Japanese people. C.C. (pronounced: C-two) is the girl who granted Lelouch his powers and seems to die on many occasions only to reappear unharmed. She is usually seen in Lelouch's presence, though for both their sakes, Lelouch wishes C.C. to remain unseen by others. C.C. is key in Lelouch's intent to destroy Britannia and helps out with each plan of attack. She promises to remain by his side to the very end, but doesn't explain what it is she desires from him in exchange for saving his life and granting him the power of Geass.

As the series plays out, viewers are introduced to some side characters such as Lloyd and Rakshata who, while not the most important players in the conflict, both play the role of engineer to the Knightmares of their respective faction. Each embodies the reasons that normal people (i.e. not Lelouch or members of the royal family) decide to choose a side and fight until victory or death. As Lelouch encounters his family on the battlefield (often without them knowing the difference between Zero and Lelouch), he uses them to dig deeper into the mystery surrounding the death of his mother. The sheer number of characters playing significant roles in Code Geass may seem daunting, but each is developed to a level where viewers will either sympathize with them or be vehemently opposed to their methods.


The art style is bright and colorful when focusing on Lelouch's studies, yet dark and moody when the Black Knights engage in battle. The visuals may not be the most mind-blowing, but they look good nonetheless. The soundtrack trumps the art style with its heavy focus on brass, percussion, and string parts, creating more of a full orchestra sound than a specific niche sound as heard in many other mecha series. Code Geass may not have the most memorable orchestrated soundtrack of all time, but it certainly fits the series' events well. The Japanese voice actors and the English voice actors both play their roles quite well. The English dub has a few odd casting choices, though any performances that seem uninspired are by those playing characters with brief appearances, so it doesn't exactly throw a wrench in the flow of things. As brilliantly as Johnny Yong Bosch portrays Lelouch, I have to give Liam O'Brien props to for his portrayal of the ever-eccentric Lloyd.

Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion is a very interesting spin on the sci-fi and mecha anime genres, including fantasy elements and rewriting history. The series is not particularly Gundam-esque, but that isn't a bad thing, as it shows Sunrise's ability to mix things up a bit. The broad range of characters combined with their various backstories and reasons for joining the conflict is deeply entertaining and keeps the human element of the story the major focus. It's not often that a series attempts to place an anti-hero in the lead of such a large series, and the fact that Lelouch keeps from becoming the stereotypical scheming kid keeps things engaging, as viewers can't ever be too sure as to what Lelouch's next move will be.

My rating: 9.25 (out of 10)