Review of Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion
Watching a movie or TV show is sort of like reading a book: the plot must capture your attention, the dialogue must be captivating, the characters must develop, and an overall picture must at first be obscure, only to become more clear as the story progresses. Code Geass does this and so much more, taking science fiction, romance, action, mecha and character and plot development onto an interstellar level. This was one of the only anime I've watched where I had to sit back and reflect: what the HECK just happened? The story was just excellent. The political infighting, friend bickering, resistance fighting, romantic spinand serious hardcore action melded perfectly from the start. The story delves headfirst, without a lengthy intro, and continues at a an increasingly faster pace. The "geass" is revealed early in the show, and it twists the plot this way and that. The last couple of episodes had me gripping my seat, biting my nails, twisting my hands - anything to get the nervousness out of my system. Suspenseful and fast-paced and sprinkled with betrayal and common themes of life, Code Geass starts off light but becomes very heavily serious with plot twist after plot twist. It quickly became very dark and foreboding. I found myself walking away, shaking my head; it was too hard not to simply watch in one sitting.
The visuals are stunning, to say the least. The characters are drawn tall and lanky, with stereotypical straight hair. The backdrops are gorgeous, the environment drawn to the exact detail, the battles are, ahem, FREAKING AWESOME. There really is no other term; being a fan of action, this satiated my taste for some good ol' shoot em' up action flick. The anime did NOT skimp out on any scene.
The sound was merely enjoyable; the OP and ED were nothing special until the second half of the season. There, it really picked up. I never did notice the background music; it never left a lasting impression. Then again, I was probably so absorbed into what was unfolding story-wise that I forgot to notice something as trivial as background music....however, the music did fit the mood when I happened to notice it, and there was always some sort fast-paced beat during the epic scenes, so it all works out.
Lastly, the characters: a huge hit. There was the character for everyone, the tough guy, the strategist, the morally "right" guy. But the way these characters interacted within the bigger context of the Code Geass world: priceless. The way the government was portrayed sounded faintly similar to the British government during the American Revolution; I'll keep it at that. Each character changed and developed, and the main character probably experienced every emotion in the book at some point. Emotions flowed freely: romance, pain, grief, love, betrayal - they were all shown, in exquisite detail, from a variety of characters. It was refreshing to see human characteristics; many anime tend to sort of skip of the ramifications of certain actions, leading to a dull storyline. Code Geass, however, takes it a step further and actually shows what happens to the human condition when we experience major loss, grief, or anger.
Overall, this anime was probably one of the best I've ever seen. At the end, it does leave you hanging; however, the way they set it up shows that the second season won't be disappointing either. The excellently portrayed characters mixed with a few ingredients of epic sound and stunning visuals all in a larger pot of a heart-stopping story leads to a dinner of the gods. Watch the anime; at least give the first couple of episodes a shot. I'll make a contract with C.C. because you won't be disappointed.