Let's just start off with what REALLY gets my goat with this show because there's a lot of that stuff that just doesn't sit right with me one way or another. First up, there's the character designs. Believe it or not, the character designs were the very reason why I never bothered watching Code Geass when it was on [adult swim] way back in 2008/2009. Whilst I do happen to like CLAMP's mangas (i.e. X/1999, Chobits), it's their artwork that just doesn't sit right with me. Why am I mentioning this? Well... CLAMP was contracted to do the original character designs for Code Geass and nothing more. I don't know about you, but I'm not too fond of lanky pretty boys with long arms and big eyes, girls with small waists and melons that realistically should make them collapse under their weight, etc. I'm more of a fan of Naoki Urasawa or Inio Asano's artwork than I am CLAMP's from a character design standpoint. Thankfully, not every character on the show is drawn like such (i.e. Charles zi Britannia), but our boys Lelouch and Suzaku are and we see more of them than we see Charles so... yeah. Why can't we have humans that look like regular humans? I don't fucking know, but it is what it is.
That brings me to another problem I have: fan service. As much as I love my lascivious animated women, the fan service in Code Geass got to a point where I was wondering if I was watching Rosario Vampire again. Any time that there was a serious moment going on where shit was about to go down, in pops Shirley changing into her swimsuit or a shot of Kallen's ass, or Kallen entering a conference room in a bath towel because she wanted to yell at Lelouch, or some other bullshit like that. Yeah... I'm not a huge fan of the girls in this show barring C.C., Cornelia, Euphemia, and a couple of others if only because of the fact that virtually every girl in this show is no better than a fan service character. Would you believe me if I told you the fan service got to a point where there was an out-of-place masturbation scene? Well, there is. When did this show turn into End of Evangelion? I don't know, but that's another story.
Going off on a tangent, another problem that Code Geass has is the fact that it just loves to jump between all that plot-heavy rebellion stuff with light-hearted slice-of-life school stuff and let's just say that in between the fan service and this crap, I had a hard time deciding which was a bigger buzzkill. As stupid as the actual plot of the show got at some points, it certainly managed to keep me engrossed until the episode ends, I load up the next episode, and I see Suzaku and Lelouch chasing a cat for 20 minutes. I'm not even joking, that was actually the plot for an entire episode. You know, it's moments like these that make me see why the uber elitists here on MAL tout Legend of the Galactic Heroes as a superior alternative to Code Geass. At least that show managed to maintain a consistent tone throughout the entire narrative. Of course, there are a lot of reasons why LOGH isn't high on my priority list, but let's not get into that.
On the subject of writing, Code Geass has some of the most glaring plot holes that I've ever come across. It took me a while to actually pick up on them since I was too caught up in my own enjoyment to actually bother analysing the show crtically but when you actually use your critical faculties whilst watching this show, you start seeing more and more stuff to use as snark bait. For example, Lelouch's "Geass" power is so unbelievably broken (broken as in "overpowered," mind you). He can only issue a command once to any individual, but that command is absolute. Basically, Lelouch has the ability to turn anyone into his slave if he so chooses. Sure, there are some arbitrary rules thrown into the mix as a half-hearted attempt to balance out his powers but really... you have to wonder why Lelouch didn't just order a whole bunch of people to be his slaves until he did something else.
On the subject of Geass, the way it's handled is just so bizarre. Geass is supposed to be absolute, but shit like sheer willpower and even a kiss from a sexy green-haired chick can override its influence on you depending on what the episode demands (that last one is not a joke; that's how the R2 actually gets going). At one point in R2, there's a "Geass Canceller" introduced but it's only given to a character who seems to suffer from a severe case of multiple personality disorder and he only bothers using it whenever he wants to. Now, Geass users are prone to having their powers go rogue and this actually does happen to Lelouch at some point. However, this plot point was quickly dealt with and we never hear from it again. Even if you factor in all the other Geass users, the entire conflict surrounding Code Geass feels meaningless at some points. The entire show could've been condensed to 12-15 episodes had Lelouch actually made better use of his powers and there was less bullshit along the way. Alack, that's another story of what could've been.
Speaking of Lelouch, the characters here in Code Geass are so variable in terms of quality. Motivations change at the drop of a hat, characters that were once likeable become complete assholes, and even at that point, the writing behind the bulk of these characters just isn't good most of the time. Let's just say this: Lelouch may very well be a genius, but the anime certainly doesn't do a good job of showing any sort of actual intelligence on his part. In fact, Lelouch may very well be the predecessor of Kirito when it comes down to how perfect he apparently is (right down to the harem of girls waiting to drop their panties and bend over; thankfully, Lelouch has no time for these hoes).
The only indicator we actually have for him being a genius is the fact that he's a chess master and that he somehow has the gift of clairvoyance. Any time some major shit's about to go down, he's able to predict certain events with such a remarkable degree of accuracy to the point where you gotta wonder if Charles and Marianne had Lelouch while a voodoo witch doctor was delivering him. Now, despite his genius status and how he's able to weasel himself out of almost any situation, the guys at Sunrise decided to not make him 100% perfect. He gets cocky and because of this, he makes some REALLY stupid decisions over the course of the show. He ALWAYS ends up letting his emotions get the better of him in battle whenever shit doesn't pan out the way he wants to, he kills off potential allies whilst sparing enemies, and he gets caught up in completely unnecessary battles because of his apparent lack of foresight. Seriously, this guy doesn't seem to understand what back-up plans are and the only reason why he ever makes it out in the first place is because of some "ingenuity" on the battlefield.
Now with Lelouch's failings out of the way, let's talk about Suzaku. A lot of people hate him, but I don't. In fact, I'm rather fond of him at some points if only because of his relationship with Lelouch. What I don't particularly like is the fact that Suzaku is apparently trying to change the system from the inside but he ends up becoming a rank-and-file soldier who effectively slaughters his own people despite the fact that he wants to save them. Question: if he really wants to change the system from the inside, why doesn't he become a politician? Okay, maybe there's some kind of Britannian law that prevents Japanese people from getting into politics but the fact still remains that he's so stupid to the point where he fails to realise that he's NOT helping his own people by becoming a person who's contractually obligated to slaughter the Japanese for whatever reason. People rag on him for his idealistic views, but there are a lot of great characters who have idealistic views on whatever (i.e. Kenzo Tenma from Monster) so that alone isn't enough to make him a bad character. If you really want to give him shit, bitch about how he's incapable of realising that he's NOT helping his own cause whatsoever.
The other characters aren't exactly much to speak of either... at least, in a positive manner. For one thing, there's Nina Einstein... and let's just say that I can't wait to read a fan fiction where she dies a mercilessly brutal death. She has to be one of the most irritating and infuriating characters out there, and she's the one who's responsible for that out-of-place masturbation scene. We have Kallen, whose potential is overshadowed by the size of those melons and that ass of hers. We have C.C. who's quite a hilarious snarker but she's not really good for anything except plot conveniences, fan service, and Pizza Hut product placement. We have Nunnally, an irritating paraplegic who has no use outside of being a damsel-in-distress with a brother complex. There's also a pot-pourri of other characters but I'm not about to waste more of our time talking about them.
For all the shit I've said about Code Geass in general, the first season on its own was quite entertaining (provided that you don't think too much and just let your inner filthy casual run wild), and it did manage to do some stuff right. For starters, the dynamic between Lelouch, Suzaku, et al was quite lovely and if anything, it's that very relationship that made the ending to the first season that much more intense. The second season on the other hand takes everything I didn't like about the first season and then dials that shit up to 11. We have MORE unlikeable characters (lookin at you, Rolo!), MORE inconsistent characterisation, and MORE disjointed storytelling with all the plot holes you've come to know and love. Oh, and let's not forget the fan service! You know how much I love seeing Kallen's knockers or that sweet ass of hers.
Honestly, the second season is a HUGE drop in quality compared to the first one. Now despite all of that shit I said before, what I really hated about the second season was just how slow it actually was. Say what you will about the first season, but at least it felt like shit was actually progressing from point A to point B. I'm not even joking when I say that I came close to dropping the second season twice because I was so bloody bored out of my mind. Was there stuff happening? Well, yeah but nothing of consequence actually occurs until the final ~6-7 episodes of the season. As strange as it sounds, the second season actually did get off to something of a decent start and it was obvious as to where it wanted to go with the story but it just took so fucking long for ANYTHING of substance to happen. What happened in the meantime you ask? Mecha battles for the sake of having mecha battles, plot twists that would only make sense to someone who's hogging the blunt for too long, and character interactions that just make you wonder if this really was the same show as the first season.
Amazingly enough though, people seem to give this season a pass purely because of that ending. I'm not gonna lie, Code Geass has one of the most intense and ultimately satisfying conclusions of anything I've ever watched. However, that alone isn't enough to excuse all of the bullshit that went on in this season. Yeah, the second season doesn't have as much slice-of-life bullshit as the first season but R2 made up for that deficiency with all of this bad writing. For starters, characterisation is worse here, and I don't even think Sunrise was trying to hide it anymore. For example, we have Lelouch who HATES Rolo because he's not Nunnally and he intends to use Rolo and then kill him once he's outlived his usefulness. However, Rolo ends up kicking the bucket at some point and then apparently, Lelouch loved him like a brother all along even though there was no such interaction that went down between the two which would imply anything of the sort. Suzaku on the other hand ends up doing a complete 180 on his original characterisation. Remember that idealistic idiot who didn't realise he was killing his own people by being a rank-and-file soldier instead of becoming an idealistic politician trying to change the system from within? Well he was all like "fuck that shit" and only cares about the end result rather than the means used to achieve them. On the one hand, at least he acknowledges that he was being an idiot but on the other hand, that gets rid of the one trait of his I actually liked.
Going back to the plot twists, they just really got stupid after a while. I mean, the first season was flawed to high heaven but the plot twists still managed to get me on the edge of my seat until the mood was killed by Bulma, wait I mean Kallen. For example, we find out that Marianne (Lelouch's mother) didn't really die but she was alive all along. Right before she was about to die, she somehow developed a Geass that allowed her to transfer her soul into another body. I'm not making a single word of that up. Can you smell the contrivance anywhere in this whatsoever? Let's not forget how Charles apparently sent Lelouch and Nunnally so that they'd be safe or some bullshit like that (even fans of Code Geass can see the plot holes in this one) or how despite being a racist and cold-hearted jackass for 90% of the show's run, Charles was actually a good guy the entire time. Yeah, I don't buy a single lick of any of this. Oh, and that's not even getting into how Lelouch could apparently control GOD of all things with the sheer power of his own Geass.
Yeah, this show is amazing, right? It's so brilliantly written, so gripping and enthralling and it's a master of manipulating your emotions whilst keeping you on the edge of your seat for more! The characters are the best of their kind, and I wait for the day when common literature could even hope to push out characters as brilliant as Lelouch, Suzaku, and Rolo. Oh God, I couldn't type any of of that with a straight face. From a critical standpoint, Code Geass is BAD. There's no two ways around it, it's a bad series in general. This show really knows how to keep it real, real stupid that is. You know what though? All of this stuff combined isn't enough to dampen my enjoyment whatsoever. I mean, for all that Code Geass got wrong, it must've done *something* right along the way. How else could it have gotten so popular in the first place? A lot of the reasons why I enjoy this show are superficial in the first place. The mecha battles were enthralling (by my standards, anyway), Lelouch's hammy behaviour kept my eyes glued to the screen, and the dubbing across both the English and Japanese tracks was absolutely spectacular.
Make no mistake: if you try to take this show seriously, you *will* hate it. The biggest reason why so many people adore Code Geass in the first place is because of the so-called "rule of cool." Code Geass is one of those shows that just oozes awesomeness (well, by my standards anyway) and at some points, it had me cheering on all of the senseless stupidity just like I do whenever I'm watching Gurren Lagann (yeah, it really does get THAT dumb at some points). Code Geass is the functional equivalent of a Michael Bay movie in anime, except it actually gets some more stuff right that Michael Bay would otherwise get wrong. For one thing, it's actually entertaining to watch for a good ~65% of its run as opposed to the gut-wrenchingly appalling pacing that usually makes his movies painful to watch after the first hour (I'm looking at you, Age of Extinction!). Hell, even if you don't find this show cool in the slightest, you'd definitely have a fun time snarking at how stupid it gets. It would be hard NOT to find a reason to enjoy this programme to some marginal degree.
Now where does this leave Code Geass? Well, I'm painfully aware of its shortcomings but that doesn't stop me from enjoying it. For what it's worth, Code Geass isn't a show that's average in the slightest. If it can evoke all kinds of of reactions out of people, it would only make sense for anyone to give this show a shot and see what they'd get out of it. Besides, it's good popcorn material if you're in the mood for something stupid that you can watch with friends while eating pizza. I mean, the uber elitists and hipsters here on MAL would beg to differ but this show ISN'T the worst thing to come out of humanity. That, my friends would be Kodomo no Jikan but that's another review for a different day. Anyway, that's all for now. Feedback is always welcome and with that, I'm out. Peace :)
