Story: 9
Let’s get the negatives out of the way.. My complaints on the story are largely based on fillers like the infamous cat episode. Don’t bother watching the fillers because they really kill the mood of the anime and aren’t even slightly funny. There is also a significant amount of fanservice during these episodes (and sometimes even in the main episodes) that distracts from full immersion but it’s not too excessive that the anime because a “high school of the dead with mechs” anime. In the end, I did not find that these issues detract from how good the story really is.
When a Code Geass episode is not a pointless filler and following the main story, it’s simply awesome The world is well crafted and possibly inspired by George Orwell’s 1984, but in a future setting. Lelouch Lamperouge is an exiled prince of the Holy Brittanian Empire that vows revenge against the emperor and creates an insurgent organization known as the Black Knights whose goal is to destroy the Empire. He does this with the help of Geass, a power that lets him control people completely. The story is very interesting to watch as Lelouch dismantles the empire on battle at a time and grows a strong reputation in Japan (area 11). The tension in this show can only matched by Death Notea’s as the viewer sees Lelouch’s plans unravel. The story has excellent build up, despite the fact that the first episode was a bit too fast paced and the anime struggles to easy the viewer into the world. However, once you’ve been sucked in it’ll be hard for you to escape the magic :D
The Art and Animation: 9
My major complaint with the art is the character design. At first they looked like stretched pieces of spaghetti to me, but I got used to it quickly enough. In the end, the art and animation are superb. The environments are beautiful and there is clear attention to detail, the mechs look great, the animations are smooth and precise, etc. Basically, all the things you expect from a very well animated anime will be present here. It should not disappoint.
Sound: 8
Soundtrack is awesome and played well. I didn’t like most of the opening themes after the intial one and hated all the ending themes. However, I will still give it an 8 due to the fact that the soundtrack within the anime (outside of OPs/ED) are fantastic and the voice acting is great in both the sub and the dub. Furthermore, all the sound effects sound as expected and I did not kill immersion.
Characters: 8
Lelouche is easily the best character in this show. All the other characters are interesting, but some are downright annoying. I deeply hated Suzaku’s idiotic view of the world and his hypocrisy sickened me. Nina was also extremely annoying so thank god she didn’t get too much screen time. The student council members are sometimes annoying and sometimes great depending on the episode. I would rank them as below average slice of life characters. Well, that basically sums up all the “meh” or poor characters in this show. The rest are fantastic and trust me, there are a TON of fantastic characters in this show.
Enjoyment: 9
The fillers sometimes ruined the experience, but I would consider Code Geass as one of the most entertaining anime’s I have ever seen. Its main story is exciting with an excellent protagonist; it has a cool setting, awesome mecha action and finally, some of the best tension and suspense in anime. If there is one thing Code Geass can do, it’s entertain an audience.
Overall: 9
+ excellent story
+ cool and well developed setting
+ Excellent protagonist and mostly great supporting characters
+ some of the best tension and suspense in anime
+ Awesome soundtrack
-- Fillers
-- Fan service
-- Some bad and annoying characters
