- Note that this review is on both R1 & R2. Preferably watch them both before reading this one.
Code Geass starts with a story of a highly intelligent boy named Lelouch who later on become known as a British prince who can see the corruption of the current system and planning to CHANGE it.
Characters:
Lelouch Vi Britannia : "One must destroy before creating."
The idea is reminding us the famous mythical creature, Phoenix, the beautiful bird that when gets old builds itself a nest of twigs that then ignites; both nest and bird burn fiercely and are reduced to ashes, from which a new, young phoenix arises, reborn anew to live again.
In the first episode of R1, he encounters a mysterious girl who proposes to give him power in exchange he has to fulfill her one and only wish. Gaining the power, Lelouch put a mask of a rebellion leader, Zero, and start his rebellion against a world of corruption which in his point of view isn’t worthy of any attempt to repairing it but rather destroying it for good so that a new system gets born in the ruins of the older one with the hope of getting better.
Suzaku Kururugi: “I am going to change this world from the inside.”
Suzaku is the embodiment of the idea of using the resources at hand in the current system to build the better future within, trying hard to be abiding by the rules. He has a paradoxical character who stubbornly believes in being able to achieve a peaceful society without breaking the rules. In the first season he says that “I believe that using the ends to justify the means is wrong.” but as the story goes we see him struggling to hold on to his idealistic perspective which wounding him in every step on the way till he breaks and finally come to terms with the side of himself who desired gaining RESULTS.
C.C.: "Without death, all we have are random events, accumulation, you can’t call that life!"
The mysterious girl name C.C. is an immortal being who can give power to humans. She seems to be apathic to humans’ struggles and the reason for her to giving power to Lelouch is wanting him to fulfill her one wish. Living for a long time she seems to have forgotten the taste of winning and losing.
What this character adds to the anime is a point of view in which so much of the humans’ sadness and excitements are for nothing. As she tells Lelouch “No matter how great you make yourself sound, you're still just a naive boy who's all talk and who only dreams of victory in his head.”
On the other hand she finds herself at a loss by not being able to feel the change through endless flow of time.
Soundtrack & sounds
The music along with the opening and ending theme songs are great. The gentle themes along side with the some scene of murderous attempts allow the viewer to see beyond the excitements and observe the rapid flow of events.
The voice actors and actresses are very well chosen; especially the voice for the leading role, Zero performed by Jun Fukuyama which was the best.
Story
What I like the most in Code Geass was the fast narration despite the eventful story line. The other positive point about it was the great ending in which the last judgments were left for the viewer. Does it worth to rebel against the current system and pay the prices? Can we approve of the works of the rebellious leaders who use people as their mere pawns?
Does destroying the current system mean achieving the peace? Hell no. As we see the survivors to keep on struggling to build a new world based on the false/true hope they gained after successfully (!) destroy the old regime.
Lelouch Lamperouge: Yes... I... destroy the world... and create it... anew.
