For those of you who know Death Note, you can consider Code Geass the same except less based around tactics and more based around character development. Also, Code Geass has a much brighter, lighter feel to it, wheras Death Note feels very dark most of the time. That said, I'll break this down for ya:
STORY: 8/10
Basically, Lelouch the main character is a 17 year old boy who has always disliked the Brittanian empire that conquered Japan long ago, naming it "Area 11". As such, native Japanese people were nicknamed "Elevens" by the Brittanians, who discriminated and continue to oppress the Japanese. Lelouch finally gets what he needs to get started, and begins to rebel against Brittania.
Not horribly inventive, but still engaging. What I love about the story personally is that it seems like no character was forced to do something to steer the plot in the desired directions. Every character does what he/she feels, and the plot develops itself. Very natural feeling. Also no fillers (w00t!)
ART: 9/10
The art is great; love the eye styles (I'm big on eyestyles, in case you didn't know) and the character designs are unique and refresing. There is a bit of recycled panoramas, but I usually dont have a problem with that; it doesnt really negatively affect the anime.
SOUND: 9/10
The OPs/EDs are fantastic, with songs by Access and FLOW (my favs) and they REALLY made me love the music. As for the in-anime sound effects, nothing really struck me as astounding, but the sound in general is very good (Very good is an 8/10... oh well, the OPs and EDs are too good)
CHARACTER: 10/10
The reason I have a 10 in this section is because there is a character (or more) for everyone to love. Like Death Note, Code Geass becomes a battle of morals, and every character has a different opinion on what should happen. Unique designs, great voice acting, very memorable characters.
ENJOYMENT: 10/10
The plot always keeps you engaged. I love the fact that you dont always know what is going to happen next, so it keeps you on the edge of your seat. No huge flashback episodes either (which I personally hate; wasting a whole episode for a flashback is like a filler to me...). You'll root for certain characters, laugh, maybe cry? Who knows, its a whole different experience for me.
OVERALL: 10/10
All of these elements slapped together make a very memorable anime that I will remember for a while. The sequel to this season is great as well, be sure to check that out. Hard for me to say anymore; go give this one a watch!
