Anime Fix

Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion : 9.6/10

TV Series; Season 1 – 25 episodes Season 2 – 25episodes
S1 Oct 6/2006 – Jul 28/2007 ; S2 Apr 6/2008 – Sep 28/2008

Genre: Action, Drama, Mecha, Sci-Fi, School, Military

Original Authors: Goro Taniguchi, Ichiro Okouchi, Kunihisa Sugishima
Production Stuidos: Sunrise, CLAMP, Bandai, Mainichi Broadcasting
Director: Goro Taniguchi
Music Compostion: Kotaro Nakagawa, Hitomi Kuroishi

Plot
The nation of Japan, having been defeated in a war with the empire of Brittania and subsequently colonized, is renamed Area 11. Within this colony, high school student and exiled son of the emperor of Brittania, Lelouch Lamperouge, mistakenly encounters, C.C., prisoner to Area 11’s current regent. Upon binding a contract with the mysterious C.C., Lelouch is given the power of Geass, an optic charm, granting him an opportunity to seek and obtain revenge on the royal family of Brittania, whom he believes murdered his mother, and blinded and crippled his sister.
Revenge takes the form of a masked crusader, Zero. Lelouch uses this alter-ego to gather together a faction of dissidents in an attempt to throw the empire of Brittania into turmoil. Amidst the chaos he creates, he seeks to find the truth behind the death of his mother, and obtain the power to allow his sister to live in a better future.

Conclusion
Code Geass opens the window to a broad and detailed futuristic fiction. By means of strongly defined characters a great vision is put on display as the constantly meandering storyline finds its way to an overwhelming finish. A strong recommendation could be made for this anime as one of the most consistent and complete ever created; struggle through its strategic movement, as characters find themselves succumbing to emotions, and sacrificing their own ambitions for their own concept of a greater good.

Characters

Lelouch Lamperouge: acted by Jun Fukuyama
An extremely calculating and ambitious character, he juggles the life of a high school student and the leader of a rebellion, all along using the power of Geass to manipulate persons he encounters in an attempt to destroy an empire and create a new path to the future. Fukuyama’s work is brilliant. His role requires him to alter his voice for different scenes, and often times show deeper knowledge or intent in his inflections, all of which is incredibly accurate and mesmerizing.

Suzaku Kururugi: acted by Takahiro Sakurai
The first friend Lelouch had ever known, he is a character of great physical stamina and strong ethical and ideological beliefs. Suzaku enlists in the Brittanian army, and seeks to change the future by a less radical path than Lelouch. Suzaku believes his actions must always be honorable and moral, and has difficulty finding comfort in the concept of “the ends, justify the means.”[1] The strong emotion and pained decision makings of the character are fully realized through the voice acting of Sakurai. His volume control is one of the greatest I have ever witnessed, were it not for his tremendous skill at utilizing this, I would never have imagined how important such a talent could be for defining a character.

C.C.: acted by Yukana Nogami
Thought of as a witch by all she is involved with, her character transitions between distressed damsel and immortal puppeteer more than once. Having bound to Lelouch by their contract, she soon finds more interest in him than she had originally intended from their bargain. Finding herself with a desire to smile, she moves forward along Lelouch’s path as an aid, guide, and witness. Nogami seemingly plays the role of a few different characters, as C.C. is a person shrouded in mystery and often recreated throughout the story.

Karen Stadtfeld/Kouzuki: acted by Ami Koshimizu
Seeing herself as a Japanese citizen, she becomes a dissident to the Brittanian rule of Japan; all the while, wearing the disguise of a Brittanian student, switching names between those of her Brittanian father and Japanese mother. Her lightning quick reflexes and overwhelming determination to succeed the will of her fallen brother, earn her a place at Lelouch’s side as his personal guard. Never truly certain of Lelouch’s intentions, she finds herself always seeking the truth, and fighting for her own “just” cause. Koshimizu’s passion is the foundation for Karen’s dominating role in the story line, she is easily a character whose actions could have simply served to progress the plot, but becomes an essential piece in the dramatic flow of events.

Genre
From episode to episode, this anime finds a way to recreate its own genre. As a drama, it succeeds as well as any. The enthusiasm of the more youthful characters ignites the screen from scene to scene. As the experiences of a war-torn world begin to weigh on all involved, the greatest egos and the most demure of characters, struggle to change whatever is in their capabilities. Emotions culminate in life or death decisions frequently, and with the influence of Lelouch’s geass, dramatic scenes and realizations are influenced that much more.
The supernatural and science fiction side is not explored to great depth. There is little offered by way of explanation, but the mystery becomes an accepted part of the plot, as the limited understanding does not serve to create doubt in the characters or their actions.
As a mecha anime, Code Geass seems to travel a path of its own. There is little by way of excessive explanation, limited metamorphosis of parts, and very few camera-panning introductions of new machines. The mecha serve their purpose as instruments of war, and though there is plenty of explosions, random energy projectiles, and broken machine parts, the emphasis is more often placed on the strategy behind the battle, and the desires of the pilots within. Code Geass amazingly removes the mecha stigma from this mecha oriented anime, which helps to clearly distinguish it from similar series, but not so much so, that mecha fans won’t enjoy it.

Themes
Individualism and unity are constantly juxtaposed throughout, as the will and ambition of single characters contrast with one another, often in attempts to apply them to the larger populace. What is truly important? A redeeming quality of this anime lies within the happiness and simplicity of its characters; and its conflict with their feelings of responsibility to change the world around them, into something they can more readily accept. Past, present, and future all become ideas worth fighting for, as the path for humanity becomes the central motivation for each character. Are love and friendship enough in life, or will the catalysts of change force all to face the tougher decision of needing to take action for a new world.

Style
The slim bodies of characters in this anime allow for many high speed movements and fluid motion. Backgrounds are well detailed, and serve to shape the world of Code Geass as not simply the characters, but those personas facing a world around them. Magnificent facial expressions convey strong emotions, along with full and frantic battle scenes, making Code Geass’ animation a strong display that can easily rival many other projects in years to come.
Symphonic tracks play in many scenes, and the violins and pianos serve to heighten drama and segue way between scene changes magnificently. Music is central to the mood changes and highlights the grandiose and epic battles as well as the slower, more pensive moments throughout the story.

Opening Theme
#1: “COLORS” by FLOW (eps 1-12)
#2: “Kaidoku Funou” by Jinn (eps 13-23)
#3: “Hitomi no Tsubasa” by Access (eps 24-25)
Ending Theme
#1: “Yuukyou Seishunka” by Ali Project (eps 1-12)
#2: “Mosaic Kakera” by SunSet Swish (eps 13-)
#3: “COLORS” by FLOW (ep 25)
#4: “Innocent Days” by Hitomi (ep 25)
Season 2: Opening Theme
#01: “02~O-Two~ (02~ｵｰ･ﾂｰ~)” by OrangeRange (eps 1-12)
#02: “WORLD END” by FLOW (eps 13-25)
Ending Theme
#01: “Shiawase Neiro (ｼｱﾜｾﾈｲﾛ)” by Orange Range
#02: “My Beautifully Elegant Flower of Evil” by ALI PROJECT

[1] Machiavelli, Niccolo. The Prince Washington Square Press, Inc. 1st ed. C. 1963