Code Geass: Lelouch vi Brittania Commands You!

Lelouch, also known as "Zero" of the rebellion.

I have always liked shows and films with great character development, intelligence, and an ending that doesn't totally crash and burn like a massive flaming train wreck (such tragedy, yet such beautiful destruction!). Luckily, while trolling through lists of anime to watch, I came across one called Code Geass. Many years before, a friend had recommended it to me, but I had totally forgotten about it. The memory of his recommendation triggered something deep inside of me. I felt compelled to watch this show and watch it to the very end.

I watched about two episodes and then said, "meh." I didn't much care for the animation style and mechs. Lots and lots of mechs. (For those of you who don't know the term "mech," it basically refers to robots and robot-based action.) Not being a fan of Gundam and that such, I really didn't want to see another mech anime, as I thought that the story would just be a front for more and more mech battles. Assuming what I did, based on shows like Gundam, I expected an endless upgrade of powers and abilities until these new all-powerful mechs were able to throw galaxies at each other in a comically epic cosmic catastrophe.

C2--the provider of Lelouch's Geass power

After some time, reading a few Geass reviews and consuming far too much Red Bull, I decided to give the show another go. I watched it with enough determination to get through the first few episodes. While the first few seemed pretty sloppy, Geass captured my attention somewhere around episode eight. At that point, I became enthralled by the complex planning and intelligent strategies of the young antihero protagonist, Lelouch vi Brittania. I enjoyed watching his exploits and failures as his character was continually refined through moral conundrums and heartbreaking tragedy.

Kallen Kozuki of the rebellion against Brittania.

This all led up to one of the best endings I have ever seen in an anime. And I will not spoil the ending for you, my lovely readers, while I also suggest that you watch the show all the way through and not spoil it for yourself.  What I will say though is that the ending is just the right amount of sad, triumphant, cathartic, and cheerful. It is hard to explain without totally spilling the beans, so just trust me when I say it's great.

The Brittanian Flag

To tell you a bit more about the show, the plot of Geass begins in an alternate history where the massive Holy Brittanian Empire, which controls a third of the world, invades the sovereign nation of Japan. The main character Lelouch, prince of the Brittanian empire, was sent there with his crippled sister, Nunnally, as a political tool after their mother was killed. In this new place, Lelouch hides at a school where he attends classes like a normal student under the new name, "Lelouch Lamprouge." While there, Lelouch harbors a vendetta against the Brittanian Empire for the death of his mother and for his and his sister's abandonment. Through a series of events, he gains a power called Geass, which he uses to try to make the world a "gentler place" where he and his sister can live in peace.

Nunnaly, or the person who inspires Lelouch to make the world s "gentler place."

I have lots of praise for this show, but I will acknowledge that it certainly has its problems. The animation style (done by CLAMP) can be somewhat off-putting for the first few episodes until you get used to it. For instance, the lanky and often strangely proportioned characters were a little distracting. With that, the mech battles certainly weren't as bad as I thought they would be, but they were a bit too many and too close together. Also, the military strategies presented throughout the show, though brilliant, would sometimes seem like a simple plot convenience. On that same thread, various events in the show seemed thrown in for the sake of adding more drama to the plot.

I really did enjoy Code Geass for its character development and its interesting and complete story. Even acknowledging its faults, it still continues to be one of my all-time favorite anime. I would recommend to anyone reading this to go out and get the complete series. It will be well worth your money. Rating: 4/5 stars. ****

H. Logan Christensen
(Pragmus Alpha)
CEO of Pragmus Media