Review of Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion

"What is this fuckery with my emotions?" This is the question I keep asking myself as I watched this anime. Code Geass surprised me in many ways. I started watching it with an expectation that it be basically a mimic of Death Note, and while I admit that there are fundamental overlying tenets with Death Note, it is pleasantly much more different than I had imagined. Let's start with the good things about CG: The characters. You hate them. You love them. You want to punch them in their faces. You want to hug them during times of tragedy. Ultimately, the characters presented in CG are come offas much more human and are more relatable than the characters in Death Note. Lelouch is a much more complicated. There are times during which his dark side shine, and you really believe he is a demon. However, throughout the season, he faces many more moral dilemmas than Light does. This is simply due to the fact that Lelouch has many more people he deeply cares about than Light does. His intentions are a messy mix of thirst for revenge, corruption by power, arrogance, guilt over hurting those close to him, and his love for his sister. Many of the supporting characters are equally complex, notably Suzaku. One of the most intense and interesting characteristics about this anime is the juxtaposition between Suzaku's and Lelouch's ideology and what Lelouch says, "which one of us is the bigger hypocrite."

Even if you don't end up liking Lelouch or Suzaku (the two central characters), the chances are that you'll find at least one other character you can empathize with or at the very least root for.

I like the setting of the anime and the general framework of the plot. Let's be real. Just because there are megatrons and magical girls running around, this anime isn't completely out of this world. In a colonial society, the Japanese or Elevens have a choice: submit to the higher authority in a state of indefinite subjugation, or risk losing everything to fight for true freedom. Like any war or military conflict, lives will be lost. Morals will be questioned. People will be led down the path of darkness. Many things happen that you don't want to happen, but that's the bleak reality of what happens in a colonial struggle like this one. While this certainly isn't the only theme of CG, it does get you thinking about the world around you. Remove the fantasy and sci-fi elements from this, and you basically have an idea of the questions that arose in most of the countries that exist today as they revolted against their colonial oppressors.

However, for me, the plot was driven mostly be the interactions between characters and their struggle to distinguish right from wrong. Layered atop a complex battle for independence is the emotional fuckery I was talking about. This anime tugged at my heartstrings a lot more than I expected because of the inherent human element to it.

Now, my qualms:

Ultimately, my qualms are pretty minor. One of the things CG tries to do is cover as many anime genres as possible from mecha to slice of life. Tidbits of romance and fanservice are incorporated. While I thought it was done decently well, I can see why people would complain about CG trying to tackle too many things at once and spreading itself out thin.

Another qualm I have is with Kallen's character development. An episode was narrated by her, and although she is a main character (fights in all battles), I feel like there's some empty room for real character exploration that the show doesn't quite fulfill. Essentially, it's lost potential.

Lastly, I find Lelouch's ideology to be hard to follow. Light's was simple: create a world without villains/criminals with him as the arbiter of justice. WHile I like lelouch's complexity, I find his elaborate schemes to be a bit "extra" if his sole motivation is to protect his sister. However, some of these problems are resolved in s2, when he finally gets a better idea of what it is he's truly fighting for.

Overall, it's a must watch anime!