"Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion" and its sequel, "Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion R2" are anime television series created by Sunrise. Code Geass won the best TV anime series award at the sixth annual Tokyo Anime Awards held at the 2007 Tokyo International Anime Fair. In a popular Japanese anime magazine Animage's 29th Annual Anime Grand Prix, Code Geass won the most popular series award, with its protagonist, Lelouch Lamperouge, also being chosen as the most popular male character and its OP, "Colors", being chosen as the most popular song. At the first Seiyū Awards held in 2007, Jun Fukuyama won the award for best actor in a leading role for his performance as Lelouch Lamperouge in the series, while Ami Koshimizu won the award for best actress in a supporting role for her performance as Kallen Stadtfeld. Furthermore, Code Geass won the award for Best TV Animation at the twelfth Animation Kobe event, held annually in Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture.
The Plot
On August 10, 2010, a.t.b. (the Imperial calendar), the Holy Empire of Britannia overpowered Japanese forces and conquered the country with their new robotic weapons, the Knightmare Frames, in less than a month. In the aftermath of Britannia's invasion, Japan lost its freedom, its rights, and even its name, becoming Area 11 of the Britannian Empire. The Japanese people, renamed as "Elevens", are forced to survive in the ghettos, while Britannians live in first-world settlements. Rebel elements persist, however, as pockets of Japanese organizations struggle against the Empire for the independence of Japan.
A few years prior to the invasion.....
After his father, the Emperor of Britannia, failed to prevent the assassination of his mother, an attack which also left his sister blind and crippled, the young prince Lelouch confronted his father who then stripped Lelouch off his power and sent him to Japan as a political hostage.
After the end of the war......
Seven years later, living in Area 11, he encounters a mysterious girl named C.C., who gives him what she called "The Power of the King", Geass. With it, he finally has the capability, besides his amazing genius, that he needs to defeat Britannia and fulfill his two wishes: to seek revenge for his mother and to construct a world in which his beloved sister can live happily.
For those of you who have never heard of Code Geass before, I really hope that you know of Death Note. Yup, that is because both stories are pretty much the same in concept, different only in settings. What I mean by that, is that there is a great resemblence between the two. In Death Note, you have the genius by the name of Light who went on to rid the world of villains with a mysterious power in the form of the Death Note. You get to see Light used the Death Note in some really outrageous and clever schemes. In Code Geass, you get to see Lelouch Lamperouge using his Geass, which is the power of absolute command, to orchestrate some really outrageous schemes. I would say that it is Death Note magnified a million times.
When it comes to settings, Code Geass is in a different world from our own. The history of the world in Code Geass has seen differences and alterations starting from the failed invasion of the British Isle by the Romans. You can find more info on the settings over the net, since I really don't want to spoil you.
My Thoughts
Code Geass is a really interesting show. It has a major plot accompanied by many sub-plots that eventually merge together. It also pay a huge attention to character development. The most fulfilling part of watching this show is probably seeing how the protagonist, Lelouch, would orchestrate some really amazing plan, often times destroying enemies in conditions where even survival seemed an impossibility. In most of his plans, you would usually see him being surrounded in battle, then, through some unconventional methods, he would obliterate his enemies and gives off an evil laugh. Yeah, I love that laugh. It was what differentiate this anime from many others, an anime where the protagonist is also the most "evil" character.
Starting from the 7th of July, 2008, I will be putting up my review and rantings on each episode of Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion R2. You may read them at http://darkemperorsrantings.blogspot.com/ or simply access the Imperial Decree which can be found on the bloglist to the right-hand side of this blog. Also, realise that I indicate "R2". This is because I won't be able to spare the time to go through the first season as well. However, there are other sites that you can visit to find out more about them. The second season, in my opinion, has so far (it's still ongoing) shown to be more varied that it's predecessor. While the first season if normally filled with blood and angst, the second season has lots of variety like high-school romance, a tinge of comedy and a larger scale of setting to it. Here below is the First Episode of the First Season of Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion.
