Review of Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion

Code Geass is an anime that I really *wanted* to enjoy, but no matter how hard I tried, I never really did. I think the setup of the story had potential to be very good, but the execution never lifted it beyond average. The Geass sounds like a very cool, interesting ability, but I think the story suffered for making it too complicated and overpowered at points. The show doesn't seem to know what to focus on; taking elements from genres like mech and high school anime, while also drawing heavily from other popular shows of the time, most noticeably (to me): Death Note. Smart young manis granted God-like power and tries to use it reshape the world around his own views, with no regard for collateral damage, becoming an anti-hero in the process.
While watching, I found it hard to get past my annoyance that the plot seemed a carbon copy of Death Note (which I adore), however; to look at this objectively, perhaps it's unfair to single out Code Geass for doing this, as you can argue that many popular anime subgenres do this all the time - the setup for many magical girl shows is basically the same, the setup for many long-running shounen shows is basically the same, etc. So I guess if this plot setup appeals to you, and you'd prefer to see it against a backdrop of mech fighters and political shenanigans instead of the gothic-detective setting of Death Note, then there's no reason to let that put you off. I would say though, that I don't think Code Geass pulls off these elements all that well. Instead of an intriguing battle of strategic minds, the plot often just comes off as convoluted.

There's not much to say about the characters, as none of them are very memorable to me. LeLouch himself - and I'm sorry to make this comparison again, but it's true - is a carbon copy of Light from Death Note, only devoid of any likeability even right from the start, and not quite as smart. Suzaku and Kallen are...just okay. C.C. is literally just a plot device, and her motivations are never explained at all. The other members of the royal family all blend into one in my mind, to be honest.

I don't really have any complaints about the sound. The score isn't really memorable, but I don't remember it being bad either. There are several very good openings; namely 'Colors' and 'O2', classic shounen opening songs. To note, I watched the English dub, which was fine. I never really watched the Japanese audio so I can't compare.

The art, however, is a sore point for me. The character designs are by Clamp, whose art style is quite distinctive across all their works. The problem, for me, is...I just DON'T like it. It just looks ugly to me. HOWEVER: I don't mean that it's of low-quality, and I don't mean any disrespect to the Clamp artists by that; they are accomplished artists and their designs are a deliberate stylistic choice - I get that. Their art just isn't for me; it's purely down to preference. So while I do think of this as a negative for the show, any viewer who likes what they see of the characters shouldn't have this problem. To each their own.

I can understand why Code Geass is still a popular anime. It has some cool elements that are reasonably enjoyable to watch. There's nothing wrong with an anime combining elements from many different genres - doing this well really has the potential to create a masterpiece. Sadly, I don't think Code Geass achieves that; it has the feel of a story deliberately assembled to appeal to as many viewers as possible, rather than a compelling story written from the heart. Not the worst anime I've seen by any means, but overall, it's uninspiring. Not for me.