Now hearing all that, you might think I'm a mentally insane person that should be locked up in Arkham Asylum, but the reason I had this huge watch party to myself was because I was just completely invested in what I was watching, and I felt like if I stopped watching it, I would start to get an itch at my neck like I was some drug addict. And honestly I got hooked right away. I was just constantly on the edge of my seat wondering what was gonna happen next. Even the stupidest moment in season 1 where the cat steals Lelouch's helmet and it becomes this competition at the high school to find the cat, even I was worried about what was gonna happen. Because usually in a moment like this I would be like: "Yeah there's no way that Lelouch is gonna get caught this early on." But I think the execution and the way they built the tension up to its fullest potential made me think that he was actually gonna get caught over some dumb shit like that.
And even though I haven't seen this show in a good while and I haven't rewatched it since, there are so many moments that have been engraved in my mind and that I still think about to this day. Like the episodes where certain characters meet on that island. I would talk more about what happens but I wanna try to keep this review as spoiler free as possible even though it's kinda hard to talk about this show without spoiling. And I think all the characters are great and the show gives them enough time to shine. And I'm gonna confess a sin to you guys, I did simp over C.C. pretty heavily while watching this show. Which I know is kinda weird because she's a teenager and I should probably say: "sike lol," but I don't know it was hard not to. And I've always hated the excuse: "Oh it's just a drawing who cares." Yeah your right, but it's still kinda weird. But I guess I'd rather look at underage anime girls than watch the movie Cuties ever again.
And I'm willing to bet that other grown men that watched this show did the same thing as well. And if you are a man that has seen this show, don't lie to me. You probably simped over C.C. at least a little bit. Let's not kid ourselves. Let's not be hypocritical. We're not perfect human beings here. And I remember feeling so much jealously towards Lelouch. I mean seriously, Lelouch has to be the luckiest person ever when it comes to women, like I'm convinced he has unspoken rizz. Like Shirley is so down bad for him it's embarrassing, and Kallen wants to be with him as well. And I already mentioned C.C. who's probably like top 5 waifus of all time. You know what we're just gonna move on from this discussion I feel awkward typing this part anyway.
So one great thing about this show is that there isn't really a clear hero or villain. Everybody is just doing what they feel is right and I was constantly going back and forth on who I should side with. There was always a grey area and I think that particular aspect makes for the best stories. This show also does a great job at giving you strong emotional moments without becoming melodramatic. And I also think season 1 ends on one of the most insane cliffhangers I've ever seen. Like I was so mad after it was over, but then I realized there was a season 2 and I was like: "Thank god there's a second season otherwise I'd be pissed for life!"
And speaking of season two or R2, I absolutely love how it started because it completely subverted my expectations. Cause you'd think it would just start right where the last season left off. But this show is like: "Nah fuck that. Let's pull a complete Uno reverse card and start season two kinda like how season one began." I remember watching it and being like: "Wait what? Is this really the second season or is this like an alternative version of the previous season? What is going on?" Like I was getting serious deja vu at the beginning but there was something sus about the whole thing. But once you get deeper into the episode and things start revealing themselves, it's genuinely a mind fuck moment. And honestly I think season two is better than the first season.
And once I got to the ending that people said was amazing, did I personally think it was amazing? No, I thought it was one of the greatest endings in television history. Like it was Breaking Bad levels of perfection. Like this is the first and only anime that legitimately gave me chills during the ending. I would say at what part of the last episode but again, I don't wanna spoil anything for this review. If you want me to go more in depth into this show, let me know however you dm someone on this website. And I don't think I've seen an anime that has nailed the ending this perfectly than this show has. And I think for any story, like movies, TV shows, etc, nailing the conclusion is very important. It reminds me of that one quote from the movie Adaptation. It was when Robert McKee said: “Wow them in the end, and you got a hit. You can have flaws, problems, but wow them in the end, and you've got a hit.” If the ending to Code Geass sucked, I don't think people would remember it as much as they do today.
So yeah, I think this show is a must watch and its definitely in the top 5 for my favorite anime of all time. I understand there's a movie that came out a few years ago and it's apparently a sequel to R2, but I'm not watching it anytime soon. I don't care if it's good or bad I'm gonna boycott that movie for the rest of my life. Because for me personally, R2 is where it all ends. There's really no reason to continue the story after that. And just the title of that movie completely ruins the ending to R2, and I really don't wanna think about it. So if you're gonna watch Code Geass, just watch season 1 and R2, and then move on to something else, because those are the only two seasons that matter. Now my only complaint that I can think of is that I'll never be able to watch this show for the first time ever again.
