I started this show out of the blue, thankfully free of any hints of what to expect (only that I should find some parallels between it's protagonist and Kira from Death Note). And I'm glad for that. This is an experience that I savoured alone without any opinions to bias my judgement - not that that'd be a problem. It's a general consesus that this show has a lot going for it.
I was immediately hooked by a thriller that took on many different shades. You can't pin it as a mecha, but it has mecha elements. You can't pin it as action, but it sure has it's healthy doses of those. The intelligence and brilliance of the characters, and the tense plot developments from what should be a simple plot tool - the geass.
By the time I was going on to 20 episodes I had long discarded labelling Code Geass as an anime. In your hard drive you know sometimes when you divide up your shows between 'Anime' and 'Series?'(as in live action series). I silently dropped Code Geass into the 'series' folder. And I just kept watching from there.
Fantastic piece of work, and a great story. I write this review with the second season in mind as well. It's pretty much a given that if you watch this you'll watch the second season, and you should expect a great ride. Make what conclusions you will, this is a great show.
For those not sure what's happening in this show you're best bet is the recommendations: The story is driven by a protagonist very similar to Kira from Death Note. Mecha fans will also be able to find some refuge in this show, and anyone in for a good psychological thriller will be interested in this. By the way. I really mean it when I say psycological thriller, I just want to make that clear..
