I think this 12th review was one that I've been putting off for the longest, mostly because I started this series, stopped it, and then started over. Not to mention that I was watching it at a sluggish pace. And to top it all off, I've been under pressure for about a month to do this review. Because this review was requested by Charlie a while ago. And now the wait is over. Thanks for waiting so "patiently".
Well, this is a pretty well known anime series, not only from it's own quality, but because it also spawned a sequel series, Code Geass R2, which, I heard, was very good. And we might be covering that later, too.
So what makes this series so unique? Well, it's kind of a paradox, because if you asked me, the best way to describe this series is a cross between Death Note and Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann. So it's not incredibly unique, but it did have some things about it that set it apart from a few typical series of its genre.
Whoops, I almost went into the story. And that's not how we do things here. Because as everyone knows, now is the time for the...
ROLL CALL
Lelouch Lamperouge - The main character of Code Geass. In a lot of ways, this character is very similar to Yagami Light from Death Note: He's very intelligent, he thinks the current world is rotten, and he wants to create a new world from it. The main difference between the two is his special ability: the Geass (pronounced GEE ahs, not JEE ahs). This ability allows him to control people into doing what he orders them to do. For example, if he told you to tell him your deepest darkest secret, you'd do it. He has a younger sister that he cares very much about, and I'll talk about her later.
C.C. - I don't know why, but in Japanese, it's pronounced "C2". Only Lelouch knows her real name. She is not human, but she appears as one. Lelouch first found her in a capsule, and that's where she gave him the power of the Geass. She is probably Lelouch's closest friend/accomplice because for some reason, she can't let him die. It's revealed later that she gave the Geass to one other person, and I'm not sure if she gave more out. We'll see in R2.
Nanaly Lamperouge - Lelouch's younger sister. Her name has various spellings in the English language, but this is the one I'll use. Since childhood, she is blind and crippled in her legs. She cares very much about her loved ones. She is the reason that Lelouch wants to create a new world. And yes, Lelouch loves her very much. Like all brothers should do to their sisters. *gag*
Kururugi Suzaku - Lelouch's friend since they were 7 years old. For some reason, in the present day, they're not together, but instead meet again in the first episode, Lelouch as a Britanian student, and Suzaku as a warrant officer in the military. He is a very moral person and bases his actions on what he thinks is right. Unfortunately, that brings him into conflict with Lelouch and some other people, as you will see by watching the anime.
So those are the mainest of the main (yes I made up "mainest"). There are a whole bunch of other characters out there that I haven't mentioned. No kidding. Probably in this series alone there are at least 30 characters. Some important groups are the Ashford Student Council and the Black Knights. So I'll give a quick description of each.
The Ashford Student Council is (OBVIOUS ALERT!) the student council in Ashford Academy. It consists of Milly Ashford, Revalz Cardemonde, Nina Einstein, Shirley Fennette, Lelouch Lamperouge, Karen Stadtfeld, and Kururugi Suzaku. Everyone except Karen and Suzaku were original members, as Karen and Suzaku joined the council during the series. This is the main group of people we see when the show switches over to Lelouch's school life. They do have an involvement with the story's main conflict, but it isn't a very big role.
The Black Knights are the terrorist group controlled by Zero. Zero is Lelouch (I promise I'll explain everything later). As Zero, Lelouch carries out his plan for the destruction of Britannia through the Black Knights. This organization grows in number throughout the show, and is the main threat to the Britannian Empire.
Confused? Sorry. I'll get right into the storyline so that things will make sense.
The Britannian Empire has taken over most of the world's population. Soon, Japan also fell under the control of the Britannians. They were stripped of their name and heritage and instead were given a new name: Japan is now known as Area 11, and the Japanese themselves are known as Elevens. Lelouch and Suzaku were 7 at this time, and Lelouch hated Britannia for it. So he promised his Suzaku that he would crush Britannia one day.
Fast forward several years. Lelouch is now in high school. He lives his life as a Britannian student. When he sees a Japanese resistance force in action, he is immediately interested and accidentally gets himself involved. He then meets C.C. and she gives him the Geass. Not knowing what just happened, Lelouch uses the Geass and realizes its power on people. This is where Lelouch sets his plan into action. He starts with an assassination of a prince by using the Geass to get to him. His friend Suzaku, an honorary Britannian but once an Eleven, was accused for the crime. Lelouch decides to step onto the scene as Zero, by using a mask and a cape. He makes known his existence in the world and immediately makes Britannia his enemy. From there, Zero gathers many other Japanese terrorists and calls them the Black Knights. Suzaku was found innocent, because Zero claimed to have killed the prince. Suzaku is freed, but people are still suspicious of him. He joins the student council and builds up his reputation from there. Both Lelouch and Suzaku are best friends in school, but they are worst enemies at war without even realizing it, because Suzaku pilots a special mecha for Britannia, and Zero is masked and against Britannia. Neither of them is aware that they are trying to kill their own best friend. And that's what this series is all about.
Interested? You should be. Don't worry if the series picks up a little slowly, it'll go at a much faster pace later on. Like I said before, this series is like the baby of Death Note and Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann. Lelouch very much resembles Yagami Light because of his superior thinking ability and his motives. The Gurren Lagann part starts with the Knightmares. Knightmares are used commonly in battle in Code Geass. What a Knightmare is is a big humanoid robot piloted by a human. These Knightmares have awesome capabilities, such as: being able to wield a firearm or a blade, grappling hooks, and high speed manuvering. Some special models are able to fly or fire powerful beam cannons.
While the Knightmares are interesting, the actual story is even more intriguing. Code Geass accurately portrays the racism people face in real life. In Code Geass, Britannians see themselves as superior to the Japanese (Elevens) and show discriminatory behavior towards them. Britannians might gang up on Elevens and start beating them up. Elevens are especially looked down on by the nobility. Even Suzaku, who was an Eleven (but now an honorary Britannian), is treated with disrespect at school. So besides being an entertaining series to watch, Code Geass really does have a hidden message for all of us.
I think my favorite thing about this anime is the different sides we see to each character. Lelouch is Lelouch at school, but outside, he's Zero. Very few people knew about this, so it was interesting to see him in his daily life trying to hide the fact that he was Zero. Karen Stadtfeld, in the student council, dresses as a Britannian student, but is really a Japanese terrorist in the Black Knights. And she works close quarters with Zero and STILL doesn't know that he's actually Lelouch. There are so many things hidden from people that we see just by watching. We get to know almost everything about the main characters. So the REAL entertainment came from how the characters acted toward each other in different situations, which would include different identities for someone like Lelouch.
So overall, I thought this anime was a very good 3 gigabytes well spent. I am very much looking forward to watching R2 and reviewing that for all of you guys. This anime was not incredibly unique, but made up for it in everything else. The characters were awesome, the storyline was incredibly complex and exciting, and the music wasn't bad either. So give this one your time, if you have any to spare, and I'm pretty sure you won't be disappointed.
Storyline: 10/10
Characters: 9/10
Mood: 9/10
Uniqueness: 5/10
Overall: 9/10
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