Review of Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion
Which did it better? Season 1 or Season 2? That is the real question. That's honestly the only real comparison here. Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion, while drawing on a lot of genres and anime that came before it, there really is nothing quite like it. I don't pretend to be some expert on mecha anime. I watched a bit of Gundam on Toonami when I was young, and I watched most of canon Evangelion. But how can we really compare Code Geass to anything, if it's a war drama mecha philosophical action-romance, and then we throw in some superpowers to spice thingsup?
Well? Imagine being the poor soul who pitched this at Sunrise headquarters in 2005. What horrible chimeric beast would they have let out of their storyboard panels. What it was was absolutely beautiful.
If anything, Code Geass deserves praise for being so complex and wrapped up in its own intricacies, and yet never failing to deliver in any department. The action is great. The characters, although there are mainly four characters, they are all compelling. Music, GORGEOUS. And then there's that little-important thing, called, idunno, plot? Yeah, Code Geass's plot is a beautiful trainwreck, but it's one we all want to ride and then cheer when we're upside down and inside out, crying tears through our nostrils.
Code Geass is frankly one of those series that is so well-thought out that often I feel that any attempts to amend or add to this universe is extremely difficult: every action has an action and a reaction, leading to its ultimate finale in either season. That said, because it's so difficult to get your bearings on where the story will end up, unless you are some sort of clairvoyant or professional skeptic, once you begin this series, you will be led by the nose from one point to another, not knowing who what or how unless the story tells it to you. Perhaps this is why each week seemed infamously long when waiting for the next episode, because the amount of cliffhangers in this series could hang all of Nordstrom rack.
What honestly can I say about this series that you would not get by watching it on your own? Well I suppose I can tell you what it's not. It's a very thematic anime, and it is absolutely strewn with themes of rejection of the status quo and societal callings. If we're talking an anime that talks about lies and hiding one's emotions, Code Geass is probably the first one to think of. However, it's not to say it's particularly an introspective study on these philosophies. It moreoften presents them in certain lights that makes sense given the world, but it doesn't really care to explain it. In other words, if you as the reader are already aware that these themes exist, watching Code Geass won't convince you one way or the other of a stance being any more legitimate than it is on paper.
And for that matter, while Code Geass often means to speak some truth through it's themes, it can come off as a platitudinous quite often. It's those scenes where those who are more annoyed with simple 8th-grade philosophies might stare at the ceiling to let the scene pass.
However, I should concede that as my opinion because I'm sure some people might really have a change in perspective by watching this show. I'm not one to speak of these things like they're beneath me, because I DID watch this when I was growing up, so it's natural these themes were pretty cool and new to me back then.
Anyways, lightning round finish-ups:
Art: 10/10. Great. A little bit flat at times, but no style comes close to this anime, and there is a lot of charisma and beauty to be found in the designs.
Story: 9/10. It is a VERY compelling watch. Once you start, you will not put it down. However, when we're done with the season, we'll be ending up asking ourselves "What in the heck did I really just watch?" because plot points travel so darn fast in this series. Sometimes, slow and steady does win the race, for us with sub-5000 IQs.
Character: 9/10 Each character is basically a moral parable. They are pretty iconic as of this point, and definitely interesting in the stories and relatable in a point of discussion.
Enjoyment: 9/10. Just watch it, you'll see.
Overall: 9.5/10. Great! Excellent. Read the review for more.