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Year: 2006- Lelouch of the Rebellion and 2008- Lelouch of the Rebellion R2
Genre: Action, Drama, Mecha, Military, School, Sci-Fi, Super Power
Episodes: 25- Lelouch of the Rebellion and 25- Lelouch of the Rebellion R2
Rating: 5 out of 5
We’re going to switch the review style up just a tad bit. Usually, I would write about the subject matter that relates to the anime. I would try to think of something that resembled the anime as a whole. Well, Ladies and Gentlemen, today with this anime, that has changed. Code Geass is one of the best anime series I have ever seen. For years, I’ve heard how good this anime was. I have heard: “If you haven’t seen this anime, then you just haven’t watched anime.” It has been ranked almost always in the top 10 or even top 5 of the best anime series of all time. Ladies and Gentlemen, I freakin binge-watched this whole series. My god, is it freaking excellent and entertaining. I feel like I should slap myself for waiting this long to watch it. Hold on a second……SLAP! From the story to the action to the twist to the characters, this anime has it all. There are just so many points that this anime touches upon.
Overview
In the year 2010, the world has been divided into three powerful forces. The Holy Empire of Britannia controls the entire North and South American continents, New Zealand, and the Philippines. The Chinese Federation controls all of Asia. The European Union controls all of Europe and Africa. The Holy Empire of Britannia has decided to establish itself as the world power in military dominance by conquering Japan and renaming it Area 11. As Britannia makes Japan their own, it starts seeing massive resistance against their new leadership while trying to regain their independence.
Code Geass follows Lelouch Lamperouge, a Britannian student who spends most of his time skipping classes to gamble on his chess skills against the nobles. During a trip home, Lelouch becomes caught in the crossfire between Britannian and the Area 11 rebel armed forces. While things get to the extreme, Lelouch manages to escape but is caught off guard by the sudden appearance of a mysterious green girl named C.C., who has a strange red symbol on her head. Before they can escape, they are cornered by the military. As they try to escape, C.C. is shot and dies in front of Lelouch. As the realization of death comes into his mind, C.C. bestows upon him Geass: the “Power of Kings.”, the power of absolute obedience, allowing him to plant commands within a person’s mind upon eye contact, similar to powerful hypnosis. With this newfound power, Lelouch sets out on a journey to bring down the very kingdom he lives into the ground and change the world at hand.
Review:
Wow, just WOW! Code Geass is one of the BEST anime series of all time, and I have ever seen. I heard so many things about this anime and, at first, was skeptical about it because I heard so many great things about it. Some put it on the level of Death Note and Cowboy Bebop. I will say that the themes this anime touches upon and explains are just perfect. The style, pace, characters, and everything else makes this anime great to watch.
Code Geass presents a story that has so many perfectly woven themes to it. First is Japan’s annexation of the Holy Britannian Empire and how the citizens of Japan revolt against this idea with rebellious actions. Another theme is how the Holy Britannian Empire royalty is set up and how they look down upon Japan’s citizens. They change their name to make them feel low about themselves. The central go point of the story is Lelouch vi Britannia, an exiled Britannian prince. He gains power from CC and decides to bring down the very empire that betrayed him and make the world in an image where all will be accepted.
This anime’s full go revolves around Lelouch and his desire to change the world as he sees fits. The dude will do anything to get what he wants within his power, and oh, his power is great. Even being an exiled prince, where his whole family thinks he is dead, feels compassion for the people he grew up with and helps them become free while even turning into a villain. The anime shows this as he controls people to do his bidding by moving them to certain places. The man is a chess master while killing off some of his former family. When he finally gains control, he put his final plan in motion to erase the past to set forth a new future. That ending is one where you might go, “DAMN! Didn’t see that one coming.”
What I like about this anime is the class structure and how people of one group view another. Just like with racism in America, the annexation is not popular and is met with resistance. Britannia effectively strips Japan and its citizens of all rights and freedoms. It renames the country Area 11, with its citizens referred to as Elevens. It must be really shitty to be named after a number, and no one respects you from the outside world. The anime shows how the people of Britannian treats the people of Japan by recking their shops or even how the leaders just kill them without mercy. The anime also shows the other side of the equation when a princess tries to help the people and how the royals think it is foolish.
The action and pacing of this anime are OUTSTANDING! The battles are primarily done with mechs, where each side seems to gain a bigger, stronger, and better version of the previous. Yet, the battles really don’t seem forced. They are natural and go with the flow of the anime. Now I will say that I was expecting more people to die from the main cast. It seemed like only five people died out of the whole anime. I was expecting something like Gundam Wing where everyone and their momma died. For the pacing, the story moved at a modest pace that progressively got more and more extreme with each turn and battle. The battles are where the anime was excellent.
This anime has a s**t ton of characters. There are so many characters that it is hard to keep track of them all. I could talk about C.C., who gives her powers to Lelouch. I could talk about Suzaku Kururugi, a total badass and in love with a princess, and tries to do well. I could even speak about Kallen Stadtfeld and how she becomes a total badass in her own right.
Out of all the characters, there is really only one to talk about, and that is muthasuckin Lelouch vi Britannia. The exiled Britannian prince, son of Emperor Charles zi Britannia and his royal consort Marianne vi Britannia and brother to Nunnally vi Britannia. Lelouch is on the same level as Light in Death Note. He is intelligent, moves the world around him like a game of chess, and overall genius. When he takes on the alter ego of Zero, he truly comes into form as he is the charismatic leader and symbol of the people. The change of Lelouch from the beginning to the ending of the anime is extraordinary to watch. The same evolution of Light as Lelouch gains his powers from C.C. and starts making the world in his very image much like Light tried to do in Death Note. Some of the scenes that made Lelouch seem like a boss was when he first gets his powers and has everyone kill themselves. When he gets his powers back with all the flames raging around. Finally, when he gains control of the final battle and the world’s map illuminated under him. An actual badass moment right there.
Code Geass is one of the BEST anime series around. It hits all the right points from the storyline, pacing, complex characters, action, oppression, and many more. This anime is really, really good. Lelouch is one of the most iconic anime characters around. If you want to see the drive and ambition to rule the world, this dude definitely does it—a truly enjoyable anime.
