The premise of Code geass is what happens when you mix the genres of mecha, political thriller, high school slice of life, etc into a blender. It tries to do all these genres at once, but it doesnt suceed much in any of them. Some episodes can be overly dramatic (and cheesy) and then the following episodes are far more light hearted like a high school slice of life anime. That could be a very jarring experience. As such, the tone and direction is all the place. The world of code geass is not overly complicated or unique even, nothing memorable about that. The mecha battles are probably the least interesting aspect of this series, nothing original and very derivative from other shows. Not sure if the creators had no direction for this series and thus mixed three genres to see what would hit the wall.
Art
Most of the time, the artwork and animation is great. There are some scenes where characters are off model like overly tall and skinny but those are few and far between. Suzaku really reminds me of Syaorann Li from cardcaptors. Same artist I believe.
Sound
The first opening, COLORS by flow is a banger for sure. Probably one of the best anime openings for a 2000s anime. The second opening is not as impressive but still decent to good. The backround music is decent, but not as overly memorable as the openings or endings.
Character
Lelouch is a decent lead, usually over the top and cheesy but he is endearing. I did not find most of the cast interesting. Suzaku is fairly bland and one note. Same goes for Kallen. The most interesting thing I noticed about CC was her love of pizza. How much pizza does she eat? Is that the only thing she eat? The supporting cast is even more forgettable that I forgot most of their names already.
Enjoyment
Code geass was an anime that came out in the mid to late 2000s. I did not watch the series when it was premiering, but at the time I would be the right target age demographic. More than a decade later, I finally finished the series after all the hype from the series and I would say I was midly dissapointed. I expected better world building with more compelling characters, but what I got instead was a cheesy derivative story that lacks cohesion. I guess that makes sense as the series was sponsored by Pizza Hut for some time. However as a time capsule of the anime landscape of the late 2000s, this series suceeds. It incorporates many of the popular anime tropes of that time. Just watching the series made me feel nostalagic about that time.
Overall
If you want a compelling anime with great world building and characters, it is hard to recommend this series. if you want to experience the epitome of the popular anime in the late 2000s, then this is a good representation. I got most enjoyment when I approached it from this angle. You can also look at the anime as an ambitious Pizza Hut advert. I still wonder if the characters eat anything else besides pizza. Overall this is one of the more unexpected anime watching experiences I had. When I think of this series, the first thing I think of is pizza. I might be hungry.
