Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion

Hello everybody! Today we have the highly recommended anime Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion.

CODE GEASS

DIRECTOR: Gorō Taniguchi

EPISODES: 50 episodes

GENRE: Mecha, Alternate history,Supernatural, Drama, Tragedy

YEAR: 2006 – 2008

COUNTRY: Japan

The story is set in an alternative timeline where the world is split into three superpowers, Britannia, the Chinese Federation, and the European Union (previously known as the Euro-Universe). The story takes place after the Holy Britannian Empire’s conquest on Japan in August 10, 2010 a.t.b. (1955 A.D.), by means of Britannia’s newest weapon, the “Autonomous Armored Knight”, or Knightmare Frame. In turn, Britannia effectively strips Japan and its citizens of all rights and freedoms and renames the country Area 11 with its citizens referred to as elevens.

After the invasion of Japan by the Brittannian Empire, the country is renamed to “Area 11”. The young Lelouch, a Brittannian student living in Japan, accidentally gets caught up in a local terrorist attack against Brittannia, reuniting with his childhood friend Suzaku as well as meeting the mysterious girl C.C. Cornered in a life and death situation, Lelouch accepts a power C.C. offers to him, the ability to order anyone to do anything. Harboring a thirst for revenge against the Brittanian Empire for their actions against his family, Lelouch wages war against the Empire. Using his newfound power and tactical ability, Lelouch goes under the alias Zero in attempts to fulfill his childhood vow, to destroy Brittannia!

Code Geass has been one of the most requested anime from y’all, dating since the beginning of the Media in Review Anime Club. Well, now you got what you wanted. Code Geass has some absolutely fabulous characters. It piles on intentional hilarity on top of what seems like serious subject matter. I mean, let’s be honest, the emperor of the biggest country on Earth went on international television and basically said, “All of you are terrible humans. You’re weak and pathetic! You should be more like me and less pathetic!”. There was no way that it wouldn’t be hilarious in some capacity. Adding to this was the over-the-top way he delivers it. Code Geass gets some credit for swapping out the usual “white knight” hero character (see Lancelot and Suzaku for massive irony) with a massive jerkass with good intentions. Yes, the main character is the cool and manipulative Lelouch and not some cool hero character that’s going to save everyone. 

I was overjoyed that I had finally invested the time to watch both Code Geass and Code Geass R2, but by the end I just wanted to finish it. I lost my interest mid-R2 and only finished R2 since I had already put some much time in the series. Some now lets get to the good shit. First, for the most part I didn’t like Lelouch/Zero. I do want to point out that he is an excellently designed character, but there were many moments that I just wanted him to die, and to die horribly. Secondly, nothing about the animation style jumped out at me, it seemed quite generic. Normally there is at least one thing that impresses me, but not this time. Lastly, I felt that the show should have ended sooner. Fifty episodes is a little much for this story.

PROS:

•  Awesome plot points.
• Greatly designed characters.
• No “white knight”.

CONS:

•  Loss of interest.
• Unlikable main character.
• No unique elements in animation style.
• Didn’t stand up to all the hype.

SCORE: 7.0 / 10

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