Review of Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion

Best Review: 10/10 Worst Review: 9.8/10 Average Review: 9.9/10 Review: Code Geass First off, this review is for the entire code geass series, meaning both seasons. I see no point in separating them. *Also Beware of Spoilers* This was a breathe taking spectacular anime that doesn’t disappoint. Right from the start, you get foreshadowing of what the story will be about. Lelouch sitting in rubble from a war stricken country, tells his friend Suzaku that he will obliterate Britannia. From there, you know what the story will be about. A beginning is set with an end goal in mind, and thenthe story is told of how it all happens from then on.

It jumps right into the story; Lelouch is thrown right into action as he accidentally gets involved in an incident between terrorists and the Britannian army. He meets his friend underground in the stolen terrorist truck and C2 from the capsule; from there on he is forced to run in mortal danger as his life is at risk. He is put into a life or death situation where he is helpless. Then C2 jumps in and grants him an amazing power which saves his life and consequentially speeds up his initial plans. He has gained the magnificent power which allows him to compel others to do his bidding.

This story is one that is filled with action and all sorts of drama that will leave you wanting more. There is little to almost no filler as almost everything has a significant role to play throughout the story.

All sorts of characters are brought to life that all have their own significant history and purpose in some way. The characters are introduced one at a time. Kallen whose mother was an “eleven” and her father who is Britannian has her story and her reasons why she joined and fights with the terrorists. Nunnally who is blinded and crippled has her story of hardship as she endured what Lelouch has and stayed with him the whole time. Suzaku who killed his father when he was young, endures the torture of living as he wants to die but can’t die due to the geass Lelouch put on him telling him to live. He joins the army and does whatever he can as a sort of way to repent for his previous mistake, which in the end is what he ends up doing as he gives up his life to serve as the icon of zero for the rest of his life. C2 who is immortal and cannot die is burdened with living for eternity as she struggles through points in time that she would not otherwise wanted to live through. Her tale is a tragic one and explains much about her and her nature. Euphy, who is much like a princess, cannot escape her child like state where she is constantly guarded and used as a figure head as she is protected and binded down. Shirley who is in love with Lelouch would even give her life for him despite the fact that he killed her father; she dies a very tragic death as she killed by Rolo. Rolo was also an interesting character who loves Lelouch as a brother and ends up giving his life to protect him as the only time that felt real to him was when he was with Lelouch despite it being fake. All the characters portrayed were simply all amazing in their own way and truly added to the story in one way or another.

The way that Lelouch and Suzaku both take opposing sides and have different views of justice really adds to the action and drama. Two best friends that cannot agree with each other destined to clash at some point. Though it’s slightly tragic, it certainly adds to the overall appeal. It’s also quite unexpected that they ended up working together in the end to realize their plan for the world.

Lelouch’s goal is a farfetched one as taking down such a predominant country is very unlikely, this one goal that starts it all is brought into a real perspective as Lelouch gets the power of Geass and slowly gains more power with his group/ allies/connections. It’s quite interesting to see how his complicated and ornate plans will turn out and what sort of plot twists will come up next.

This anime introduces and combines all sorts of popular aspects that can be found from other relevant material; Gundam like robots, Death Note like properties, 13 Knights of the Round Table, The Order of the Black Knights , Romeo and Juliet, etc. If you look hard enough you can find a lot of reference material that you wouldn’t think about at first. It’s all brilliantly meshed together in one awesome anime.

The anime truly keeps you guessing and on edge wanting more as you progress further into it. The battles are fantastic and action packed filled with excitement. The ways Lelouch uses his Geass power in very intricate ways to get his plans to work is quite fascinating as well. As things progress, it gets more serious, the whole slip up with using Geass on Euphy, then the huge battle afterword. Nunnally getting kidnapped, the cliffhanger mid-way through with Suzaku and Lelouch, then the events that follow, all the people escaping out of Japan, the china forces joining Lelouch, King Charles being betrayed by his country and Schneizel. Everything sort of builds up you could say. Throughout the story, all the plot twists really take you for a spin but will leave you wanting more. When I think about this anime, I think that I couldn’t have made it better myself even if I wanted to.

Lelouch’s goals initially included getting revenge on Britannia, his father, and making a better world for his sister Nunnally. Once he got his revenge, he then decided to follow through with his decision to improve the world for the better for his sister’s sake.

The ending was also quite significant as Lelouch was killed by zero, the hero he invented at the beginning. He formed his plan with the symbol of zero in mind. Zero stood for freedom and prosperity and it served as a icon for the people from the start. Zero wasn’t necessarily represented as one person. Anyone can be zero so long as they represent what he stands for. That idea and thought was shown as the end as that’s what occurred. Lelouch allowed himself to be killed by zero as zero was their icon that brought the people hope from the start.

The ending, as tragic as it was, you have to admit, there could have been no better ending. It fits perfectly and really goes with the story quite well. The ending really gets to you as well.Whether or not you’re the emotional type, you have to admit the ending was extremely sad and emotional. I personally cried at the end, and I’ve never really done that over any anime before. But it was also a quite fair anime with a brilliant ending that gave you a choice on how you chose to perceive it. You could think that Lelouch died or that he somehow survived and was there at the end with C2 on the carriage. An ending that gives you that kind of choice is certainly a well thought out one that deserves its credit. If anything, it was a certainly different perspective compared to those generic endings which all end up happy.

No matter how you look at this anime, it is one of a kind. Whether you do or don’t agree with some certain aspects about it, you cannot deny that it is one of the best out there. I don’t really see much wrong with it. I give it a 10/10. I would even go as far as to put this in my top 10 anime list as it was an amazing anime that left an impression on me. If this isn’t a 10, then I don’t know what is. Others that would give this a 9 are just buttheads because they don’t really know what an amazing anime really is; on their scale no anime is perfect, so screw them. Anyways, that about sums it up, hope you liked my review.