Preface:
I've been debating a review of Code Geass for a while now, and I was really unsure of where to start, given how expansive the story is, and how immense the cast of characters is coupled with everything that I have to say about it. So, that said, this will be a two part review, one for Code Geass part one, and one for R2.
Overview:
Let me first dispel the dismissive "Code Geass is just Death Note with mechas" saying: It's totally different. Similarities can be drawn between tons of shows in which supernatural powers are bestowed upon the main characters, along with their aspirations of changing the world. It's a sleight against this show to say that it's just a rip of Death Note, when in fact, they actually premiered the same season.
Code Geass is set very straight up- You've got Lelouch Lamperouge, an exiled member of the royal family of Britannia, out for revenge against his father, Charles, the Emperor of Britannia. Britannia being the greatest military power and empire since the days of Alexander the Great, Lelouch is powerless to take action against this seemingly insurmountable enemy, until a mysterious benefactor, a girl named C2, bestows the "Power of the King", otherwise known as Geass upon him, giving him the ability to finally wreak the vengeance he so desperately seeks. His power is one that enables him to give someone he can make eye contact with a single command that they must obey. With this, he's out to change the world.
Quick stuff first:
Art: 7 (5 Animation, 2 Character design)
CLAMP character design, and everything that comes along with it: skeletal bodied characters with enormous eyes and a lot of wild hair designs, but not Yugioh or anything. Sunrise did quite a good job animating this show, though. Juicy explosions, fluid fight scenes, and solid key frames. Character design consistency is very high quality throughout, with no loss of detail at any time.
The mechas look great, and while many designs are reused for the no-name mechs, the named ones are pure awesome, very unique, and memorable.
Sound: 9 (7 for Voice Acting, 2 for OP and ED)
A lot of people really seem to hate the 2nd OP by Jinn, Kaidoku Funou, but I thought it was appropriately energetic for the rising action. The 1st OP and both ED are fine, nothing really interesting, but not worth skipping.
Voice acting is on another level in this show: Johnny Yong Bosch leads an all star cast, with names like Yuri Lowenthal as Suzaku Kururugi, Michelle Ruff as Euphemia, Liam O’Brien as the mad scientist Lloyd Asplund, Crispin Freeman as Jeremiah "Orange Boy", the great Megan Hollingshead as Viletta, and the Major herself, Mary Elizabeth McGlynn as Cornelia, and others.
Props to Funimation for putting this incredible group of VA together. They really made the show.
Characters: 7
Story: 8
It's difficult to encompass and accurately describe the collective of characters in an ensemble show like Code Geass. Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood has a comparably large cast, who are also very intricately worked into the plot. So many characters make an impact that it'd be impossible to list all of their complex interactions with one another and on the plot itself in this review, so instead of Kicking Logic to the Curb and Doing the Impossible, I'm going to stick with the mains.
To best understand the characters, we need to first examine their dynamic. Our setup is as described above, a classic revenge tale, Son vs the Father. Lelouch, exiled after the death of his mother, Marianne, at the hands of Charles, flees and lives in secret among the once proud, now subjugated Japanese people, known as "Elevens". He and his younger sister Nunnally, who was crippled and blinded after the attack on their mother, are taken in by the family of Suzaku Kururugi, the best friend and ideological opposite of Lelouch.
Years later, Lelouch, in his guise as a bored high school student, gets wrapped up in a terrorist group operating in Area 11, known as the Black Knights, plot to steal a secret weapon away from Britannia. A series of mishaps later, and Lelouch finds out that the weapon is not inanimate, but a green haired, straightjacket wearing witch named C2. Lelouch sets her free, and she grants him a power, the power of Geass- the absolute control of another being, with the rules outlined above.
The dynamic between Lelouch and Suzaku is definitely the most interesting. As previously stated, they form not just a symbolic Friend/Brother against each other dynamic, but also one of an Anti Hero, Anti Villain. Both make some seriously morally ambiguous choices, both have their tortured past, struggles in the present, but most importantly; their goal for the future. This is what drives their ideological differences.
"A victory won through detestable means is no victory at all" - Suzaku in a nutshell.
Suzaku is a hound of the military. He believes that change brought on by violence and conquest is wrong, and that the racist and oppressive Britannian government should be changed from within, his eventual goal to rise to a position of high military power and use it to influence the outcome of the future. Suzaku's strengths lie in his unwavering loyalty to his ideals, and his almost stupidly overpowered/unparalleled strength in combat, particularly that in mechs.
-- (interesting, in that he starts out as a common footsoldier, and is rescued by Lloyd to be a test subject for an experimental mech, which then turns his complete ignorance of mechs into a godly fighting machine. We'll chalk it up to untapped natural talent.)
Suzaku has a tendency to blindly follow his orders, believing it's for the good of his goals, and by proxy, the Japanese- so long as they're at least partly in line with his thoughts. He takes part in many questionable operations, and begins to have self doubt, which really shows the inner conflict in the character. Outwardly, he's always the knight of justice, but inwardly, he has his own darkness, and doubts about whether what he's doing is right or wrong.
Suzaku is easy to hate at the beginning, for being so foolhardy and unflinchingly loyal, uncompromising. However, he shows a true hero's arc, and improves vastly in R2.
"A life that lives without doing anything is the same as a slow death."
Lelouch, on the other hand; new powers in hand (eye) is finally equipped to fulfill his dual goals of revenge against his father and his idea of world peace, so that Nunnally can live in a kinder, gentler world. Where they differ is in the methodology. Lelouch plays at rebellion like a game of chess, (symbolism intact). The very image of Zero is that of the king piece in chess, (C2's uniform in R2 is also the image of the queen) and while not the strongest piece, is definitely the most important. Lelouch knows his limitations; namely the physical, and fighting hand to hand. He knows that his intellect and Geass power are his best means of fighting, and uses them to set up and manipulate everyone around him, much to the chagrin of Suzaku.
Lelouch may use manipulation, murder, and other detestable methods to achieve his goals, but he's the absolute definition of the Anti Hero. Noble goals taking ambiguously evil or callous means of fulfillment. Despite his cold, calculating Zero personality, or his ever scheming "normal" identity, Lelouch has nothing if not a noble goal in mind- everything he's done, his Raison D'etre is his sister, Nunnally. His life is unimportant in the face of making the world a place that his sister can live in without constant fear for her life.
Now, the antagonistic relationship that Lelouch and Suzaku share is as thusly: they serve as foils to each other, the White Knight with the dark past, and the Black King who looks to a bright future. An eternal struggle of brother against brother, friend against friend, and an intense underlying conflict of ideals vs the facade of an outwardly friendly relationship. Cat and Mouse, but who's which?
The many other characters in the show form a true ensemble, as I said. Screen time is split up very appropriately between the many different threads of the story, keeping parts in suspense when necessary, and most importantly: keeping all the different plotlines up to date where you're not constantly having to keep up with "What year is this?" "Is this the past or present?” For as many subplots as are going on screen in a single episode, Code Geass manages to stay on top of them, keep them relevant, and important to the outcome of the story. The supporting cast has as many scenes as many "main" characters from other, lesser shows. They get their fair share of the time, and the story never felt weaker for it.
*Spoilers from here on*
Enjoyment: 6
Code Geass is a very watchable and engaging series, for the most part. It is one of those stories though, that ends up being a jack of all trades and a master of none with how it tries to fit in a lot of themes, with some success and some failure. What I did not like about Code Geass was namely three things: inner universe inconsistency (which I'll get into), tonal inconsistency, and lastly, the fanservice.
Code Geass has a great setup for a gripping plot, and a lot of fodder to work with. It takes its time explaining many concepts, and never felt rushed, at all. However, there are some obvious filler episodes (giant pizza anyone?) and some plotholes (some of which are patched up in R2, but that has no bearing here.)
1. Inner Universe Inconsistency
--The Geass power is explained to have these rules:
A) Can only be used once
B) Eye contact required
C) Person having Geass used on them will perform *to the best of their abilities/physical capabilities the command issued**
D) The order will be carried out as long as dictated
E) The subject loses all memory of actions carried out under the effects of Geass
Finally, F) No one can resist his command, but someone can resist Geass by sheer force of will... (When convenient to the plot)
R2 aside, Rule A stands. Rules B and D are also always true. The issues arise with rules C, E and F.
The writers played fast and loose with the rules of Geass, bending it to their will when they've written themselves into a corner. Geass comes across as Deus ex Machina in many moments in the first series, and while a cool power, it's sometimes cheapened by its misuse or obvious "why didn't you just use Geass to do 'x'?"
2. Tonal Inconsistency
--All throughout Code Geass, we're treated to a lot of different themes and ideologies. This often comes out as a mish mash of conflicting ideas at inopportune moments. There will be a dark war drama going on, with characters dealing with loss of life, regret, ambivalence about the choices they made and how it affects the future, from victorious highs to the crushing blows of defeat, it swings appropriately. However, interspersed with this gritty narrative will be scenes (or entire episodes) of light hearted comedy bordering on a slice of life tangent. We just went from watching people get brutally mowed down by the hundreds to some schoolkids at a festival with a giant pizza mishap. Alternate comedy with some fanservice moments (Kallen, Viletta) and it really breaks up the pacing and more importantly, atmosphere of the show.
3. Fanservice
--Plain and simple, they really beat you over the head with Kallen and Viletta's bodies. Compromising situations, poses, and just really sexually suggestive scenes. I felt they were very unnecessary in an otherwise very serious drama because they didn't add anything to the plot; detracted from it, minorly, because it was harder to take it seriously when they arose during tense and dramatic moments.
Overall: 7
Code Geass was both a real joy and really infuriating to watch. Chalk that up to how it was written, maybe, but overall it's a "good" show. This season really amounts to a 10.5 hour long exposition and setup for R2, the more emotionally charged, and consequence-filled half of what's a really great story.
+Great MC
+Good supporting cast
+Very entertaining, keeps you guessing
+Voice Cast is among the best
+Great Anti hero/ Anti villain dynamic
+Detestable villains
+/- couple of filler episodes
- Plot holes (some are not apparent until R2)
- Annoying side characters
- Unnecessary fanservice
- Tonal inconsistency
- Inner universe inconsistency
Recommend?
Yes, I would recommend Code Geass. R2 is by far the stronger part, but part 1 is very enjoyable on its own, and necessary to the overarching story.
