Review of Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion
Before starting Code Geass, I had heard it was comparable to another well-received anime, Death note. Personally, I didn't find many parallels Code Geass had to Death note except for how the main protagonist was written. Prior to starting the series, I was skeptical of it due to it being considered better than Death Note (which at the time was my favorite anime) and also the art in Code Geass seemed "weird". However, I ended up watching the show and so far it is worthy of being my favorite anime. Before I delve into what I liked about the series, I must discuss what Idid not enjoy. Firstly, episode 9 is the weakest episode of Code Geass and I found it quite boring. Secondly, the entire show is carried on Lelouch's shoulders, and pinpointing who the main antagonist of Code Geass is, becomes a hectic task. The most obvious answer might seem Shneizel (who is still a good antagonist) but he only becomes relevant towards the end of the series. Another thing I hated was this bitch, Nina.
As far as the plot goes, Code Geass is a 10 from my side. Mainly because, I enjoy the concept of complex, political stories, and to top it off, Code Geass has many twists. The last arc itself has like one great twist per episode, some episodes even have two or three. I would divide the plot of Code Geass into eleven arcs: The beginning arc (ep 1-6), Cornellia's Arc (ep 7-11), Shirley's Arc (ep 12-14), Mao's Arc (ep 14-16 or you could also count it as ep 12-16), Suzaku's arc (ep 17-20), Black Rebellion arc (ep 20-25), Season 2's beginning or Return of Zero arc (S2 ep 1-8), China Arc (S2 ep 9-11), Shirley's arc round 2 (S2 ep 12-13), Supernatural arc (S2 ep 14-20), Zero Requeim arc (S2 ep 21-25). Moreover, the ending of Code Geass is the best ending I have seen in anime and is one of the best endings in media overall. Season 1 is better composed as a season while Season 2 had more epic and memorable moments. The mind games and politics the characters display are well written.
The characters are also very good. Lelouch is considered the best protagonist in anime. He isn't as smart as L or Light are from Death Note but he is better written. His motives are understandable and he has a charm. Plus unlike Light, he is actually a good guy. However, besides Lelouch, the other characters in comparison aren't as good. C2 and Kallen are alright. Suzaku has contradicting, dumb, and even hypocritical motives for his actions but he's still decent. Schneizel is also a good antagonist but I would've liked to see more of him instead of just becoming an enemy during the last ten episodes. King Charles is a shitty antagonist. I also enjoyed Cornellia being the main antagonist for season 1. Mao could've been better written. Shirley is a bit difficult to explain. She had character development and depth and became very likable by ep 14, however, all of that is taken away. And then it later reappears in Season 2 before she dies. The character had potential. Overall, if the show didn't have a protagonist like Lelouch, it wouldn't even be half as enjoyable as it was.
The soundtrack is amazing. The first op is one of the best openings I have seen. However, code geass had better endings than openings in my opinion. All 4 endings are really good especially, ending 1 and 4.
The animation is outdated because, well it came out 15 years ago but it still holds up. I also enjoyed the art style the show has. The quality does improve in season 2 but it was still good.
Code Geass is a really enjoyable series I would recommend to everyone. Its dub in my opinion was better than the sub and is one of the few dubs in anime that is not cringy.