Review of Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion

Is Code Geass worth visiting in modern times? It took a few episodes for me to actually get into it, taking my time with the first few before finally deciding to pick it up and take it seriously. The animation still holds up decently in my opinion but I also have a knack for the 90s-early 2000s style. I do think it might come across better in a more modern style with more deliberate shots but that's being picky. It knows what it wants to portray and has all the pieces but it seems to be afraid of close-up shots in order to focus on what's makingthe scene at first, which is highly irregular for any medium and makes it stand out but it seems to remedy itself during the second half.

The character designs can seem goofy but that seems intentional. Some of the tech strikes me as odd, like it resembles the flip phone era, I mean just look at those antenna they wear. Now when CDawgVA said in that crunchyroll event that his favorite waifu was Nina, I knew it was a joke but I didn't understand it and oh boy, I certainly do now, man is she- not what I expected. It's a little NSFW, there were some things that I was actually shocked by seeing in an anime like this.

One of the more tames ones was Pizza Hut (a somewhat dying pizza chain, which makes it even funnier) and I mean REALLY sponsored to where it's in almost every episode enough to make it a running gag. Plus it's pizza so it doesn't bother me one bit. When Lelouch uses his powers, you can see the gears turning in people's heads which is kind of cool but it tends to seem like Jimmy Neutron's brain blast after a while after seeing it every time he uses it.

The story can seem a little cringy putting it all into context with Lelouch in his mask named 'Zero' to the point where if there was ever a live action movie, I doubt anyone would be able to take it seriously but the actual plot is still pretty good, it kind of reminds me of Legend of the Galactic Heroes with the two sides of the same coin bit. Sometimes you're not sure who to root for, so if there's a character you're not exactly fond of, there are plenty others to see take their wins and losses.

I initially had a bit of confusion as to what this show was actually about because it's considered a mecha/school/military/sci-fi/super-power anime which doesn't sound too hot but it seems to get the right mixture because none of the genres are too overbearing to overtake any of the others. I'd consider it a somewhat equal amount. But it's actually set in a year that has already passed in our world but takes place in an alternate universe where things have happened to changed the course of history, putting it back to 60s. Don't get me wrong, this is a futuristic anime and the year is outdated for us but the fact that it's an AU validates it in its own right. And it's more 60s than I think it initially lets on with it's jazz like music and floppy discs.

So, I understand why it might have been considered in an anime masterclass of its time, but now? Still great and different but it doesn't come without its falls. For instance, they set the rule that Lelouch can only use his powers when he's looking someone in the eye but that isn't always the case *cough* 24 *cough*.

As for this season. It gets around an 8 overall. The ending set up the pieces and everything but it needs the next piece to continue. I can't help but think that the first 3/4 or even 4/5 were better than the final few episodes, perhaps because I haven't seen the full picture yet. Could it have been just one season? Is continuing justified? That's to be determined, I've watched some of R2 already but I honestly didn't like what I was seeing and I doubt it could surpass this one, whether it remains that way is still up for decision over time but for S1 as a whole, it's fine.