Review of Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion

As a big fan of mecha anime, I kept hearing lots of great stuff about Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion or just Code Geass for short. I've recently came back to watching anime seriously again and I thought I'd start with possibly one of the most revered shows in recent years. So without any further delays, let's see what Code Geass has in store. Story: Code Geass takes place in a future where Japan has been invaded by the largest nation in the world, Britannia, and its natives are now known as "Elevens" and have been stripped of their rights. The story follows a young princenamed Lelouch Lamprouge who seeks revenge at his father, the Britannian emperor himself for the death of his mother when he was a child. He gains a mysterious power known as "Geass"-- which let's him control anyone through eye contact-- from a mysterious girl known as C2. With this power, he dons the mask of "Zero" and starts a rebellion against the empire with the help of the Japanese resistance force. Throughout the the story, we'll learn much about Lelouch, his family of royals, and the nature of Geass itself. The story does a great job of hooking you in with lots of twists and a cast of chracaters that I found interesting.

Characters:

The cast were another sign of the show's strength as the main and side cast were all equally interesting. Our "hero" Lelouch comes off as a quiet, "lone wolf" type at school though his alter ego Zero is the opposite of that, in the sense that he's a far more charismatic and cunning rebel. Lelouch's childhood friend Suzaku Kururugi is the complete opposite of Lelouch, who believes in change through more peaceful methods like within the law, often contrasting Lelouch's personality. Things really get heated when the two clash many times throughout the show. The rest of the cast including Lelouch's sister Nunnally, mech pilot Kallen, his royal family, the resistance force, and his school friends were all fleshed out characters and I enjoyed seeing them on screen. The villains were interesting, with them being Lelouch's family after all. Though sorry for spoiling a bit but Lelouch himself is the by far the best one as he slowly walks down that path towards the end of the series.

Presentation:

For an anime that debuted back in 2006, Code Geass doesn't look like one. The art-style drawn by artist group CLAMP and backgrounds holds up so well that you'd think it just came out a few years ago. The mech designs-- mainly the Lancelot and Gurren mark II-- were nice and interesting to look at, no surprise since Gundam studio Sunrise is behind it. The voice acting (Dub) was fantastic and I enjoyed the performances from Johnny Young Bosch and Yuri Lowenthal as Lelouch and Suzaku, respectively. I also enjoyed the soundtrack, which complemented the show's setting and the first opening theme "COLORS" by FLOW was amazing.

Overall:

I had a fun watching Code Geass. The story, characters, and bittersweet ending were memorable and I'm honestly thinking of doing a second watch. That and the art and sound were great as well. Being a mecha fan, I wished that the story put more emphasis on the mechs since I felt that they were secondary to Geass. Other than that, it's among my favorite shows in recent years. Fans of action, mecha, and good anime in general will defiantly enjoy Code Geass.