Review of Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion
*This will be a review for the entire series, both Season 1 and Season 2* INTRODUCTION: Code Geass is set in an alternate Earth, in which there are three major political entities - the Holy Britannian Empire, the Chinese Federation and Europia United. The former one, led by Charles Zi Britannia, is the world's current superpower. They invaded and took control of Japan, renaming it as "Area 11" and its inhabitants as "The Elevens". Britannians living in Area 11 act in superiority towards the elevens, which face prejudice and mistreatment by their conquerors. About ten years after the conquest, resistance can still be found in the area fromgroups that still call themselves "japanese" and want to free their country from Britannia's tyranny. Using mechas to fight one another, the conflict is far from being over, and that is when the story starts. The show features mind games and strategic planning throughout the entire series, while stakes keep getting higher and higher. Politics and its implications are a major part of it.
PLOT:
Lelouch Lamperouge is a brilliant, just and genius britannian student that finds himself in the middle of an act of resistance, where he meets C.C., a misterious girl that was imprisoned. For some reason, C.C. proceeds to give Lelouch a "geass", a power which lets the main character literally command people to do whatever he wants. With it, he manages to contact the resistance under the name of Zero. Suffering imminent defeat, the resistance listens to Zero's orders and manages to turn the tides of the battle due to his privilleged strategic planning and information. With that, the common student naturally becomes the misterious leader of the resistance under this exotic, unknown persona.
The plot follows the struggle of the resistance, now under new leadership, as well as Lelouch's student life. It is a fine balance between his own personal objectives and the world's political struggles. Characters are introduced throughout the story and, in general, they are all well-written, interesting and unique in their own ways. With a huge roster, some of them are bound to not be as interesting as others - in that regard, there is only a single character whose existence I completely despise. There's fine character progression for most of them, which helps to define the tone of the story. Some characters face moral dilemnas throughout the story as well, which makes us wonder who the "good guy" is, if there's even one. Do the means justify the end or not? Is it right to sacrifice one for thousands of others?
Regarding the art style, it is nothing to marvel at, it just fits the environment and the tone. In general, I'm not a fan of the mecha genre, so I couldn't care about the action scenes nor about the mechas' powers. In some episodes, fan service is present, both in the form of tight clothes and partial, explicit nudity, which is also something that does not interest me at all. When it comes to the original soundtrack, the anime features amazing sound design in some critical plot points, though it lacks in other parts.
The first season does a good job in setting the world, its rules and the events that happen. Its pacing is great, slowly building hype towards each new major plot point. It makes us care for different characters. It makes us crave for the next episode. It makes us want to know more about Zero's plans. The end of the season is incredible, ending on a high tone. There was one specifically scene that made me literally shiver in anxiety and worry, which is something that rarely happens.
The second season starts slowly. It takes some time for the plot to advance and, when it does, it is not as significant as it could have been. Some subplots just take way more time than it should and, up until the second half of the season, I was not thrilled by the show. I can safely say it was the least interesting part of it - it wasn't bad, but it simply wasn't as enjoyable as it used to be. Some of it feel like "more of the same", though without being as important. However, the second half of this season is on par with the first - that is when questions are answered and things move in a great pace. The last few episodes are simply brilliant, featuring one of the best endings I've ever experienced.
CONCLUSION:
All in all, it is a brilliant anime. It suffers from power creep and has, eventually, pacing flaws, though nothing is critical to the enjoyment of the show. The story is amazing, featuring charismatic characters and moral dilemnas that makes it worth it to watch the anime, even if you are not a fan of the mecha genre.