On August 10th of the year 2010 the Holy Empire of Britannia began a campaign of conquest, its sights
set on Japan. Operations were completed in one month thanks to Britannia's deployment of new mobile
humanoid armor vehicles dubbed Knightmare Frames. Japan's rights and identity were stripped away, the
once proud nation now referred to as Area 11. Its citizens, Elevens, are forced to scratch out a
living while the Britannian aristocracy lives comfortably within their settlements. Pockets of
resistance appear throughout Area 11, working towards independence for Japan.
Lelouch, an exiled Imperial Prince of Britannia posing as a student, finds himself in the heart of the
ongoing conflict for the island nation. Through a chance meeting with a mysterious girl named C.C.,
Lelouch gains his Geass, the power of the king. Now endowed with absolute dominance over any person,
Lelouch may finally realize his goal of bringing down Britannia from within!
(Source: Bandai Entertainment)
Code Geass is a difficult series to review, simply because all of its defining features are things which some consider strengths and others weaknesses. Perhaps this is why there's such a rift in the fanbase, and it's one of those series which everyone seems to either love or hate. SO, I'm going to step out of my usual reviewing template and go over what exactly Code Geass is, and you can decide for yourself whether these are positive qualities or negative ones. Code Geass is over the top. The characters are over the top, the setting is over the top, the dialogue is over the top, the performances are over the top, the music is over the top, and the battles are over the top... everything is over the top. If it's not over the top at any given moment, something's wrong--you've probably hit your pause button by accident or something. There's no such thing as a non-dynamic entry in this series, or a conflict that doesn't conclude with an epic twist turning the tables grossly in one side's favor in a wild display of military tact. Some might call this hammy. I call it thespian. And man oh man, I do love me some thespianism. Code Geass is powerful... which is not entirely separate from its over-the-topness. Characters live (sometimes die), breathe, and interact, each with their own lives, goals, values, and motivations--and more than often, these wills clash. Everyone is out to change the world for the better, and each in their own unique way, leading the viewer to a good bit of philosophising. This also creates some damn powerful scenes liable to pull a tear or two unless you really find yourself detached from the characters. Some people might find this overbearing. I, myself, love really powerful and over-the-top series (like Death Note), and this more than qualifies. Code Geass is moody. At times it wants to be a political drama series, and at times it wants to be a school comedy series, like jumping between Gundam and Ouran High School Host Club. I think this is what turns a lot of people off--some just don't like their peas and mashed potatoes touching, I suppose. The political drama aspects are much more prominent than the "school hijinx" aspects, which only occupy one or two scenes per episode with an occasional filler-esque episode thrown in (though, truthfully, there's no legitimate filler in Code Geass--good news for those who dislike filler), and the contrast makes sense in terms of the plot, given that the main character is the leader of a terrorist faction leading an undercover life as a student. Because of this, and because of the fact that I enjoy both drama series and school comedy series, I have no problem with this stark contrast. Others might. Finally, Code Geass is pretty. This series is kind of the poster child of the "new wave" of animation, with its angular jaws, bright colors, pretty boy character designs, and shiny... well, everything. I'm a pretty hip old codger myself, but many seem to hold a very bitter resentment for this modern style of animation, so if it's something that really eats at you, you're probably not going to be able to sit through the entirety of Code Geass. If you're like me and don't really care one way or the other what kind of style a series employs as long as it looks good overall and is reasonably unique in its own right (which Geass is, with its exceptionally wiry and "idealized" character designs and well-constructed mecha frames), then this shouldn't be a problem. I think the designs add to the thespian style of the show, myself, looking at how medieval artwork often idealized the human form. If you're a thespian with a love for emotional character interactions, an interest in all genres of anime, and a tolerance for different art styles, like me (or, if you enjoyed both Death Note and Gundam 00), then stop reading this and go watch this series right now--nowhere else will you find entries more dynamic, scripts more powerful, and plot twists less expected. If not? Well, maybe this show isn't for you, but it's worth giving a chance anyway. Code Geass is my personal favorite series of all time, with--in my opinion--the most powerful ending of all time, and while that's not until the second season, the first still ends on a pretty damn powerful note... albeit a cliffhanger. For that reason, I'd suggest waiting to start the series until you have both seasons available to you so you can go the whole distance. Once you do, though, you (hopefully) won't regret it.
Before I start this review, please don't read the description, infact, don't even read this review, there aren't any spoilers, but reading these spoils just _that_ much more of Code Geass. Don't understand the premise, don't even look at the pictures (I guess that can't be helped) don't understand anything, just jump straight into it, you won't be dissapointed. Code Geass is a masterpiece in the true sense of the word- and I don't even throw the word around. I would rate it much higher than 93 (I have only Fate/Zero rated at >93) if it weren't for some _very_ tiny and maybe even insignificant problems, but while writing a review, I can't overlook anything. But we will get to that in a bit. If you are still sticking around, then let's get down to it. Artwork and Animation (18/20) The Artwork of Code Geass (CG from now on out) is aged and withering, that is not to say its bad -its not- it just isn't in tune with what we watch over here in 2014 (CG was released in 2006, almost 8 years back). The artwork is much more realistic, mature and hardy, which gives its own special flavor to the series. I think the original "shock" of a new artwork really only lasts the first 5~ minutes, after that, it doesn't really matter since you will be too sucked in to give a crap. The character models are also great. At first you would probably think that the legs are too long (not Special A long), but they aren't, they are in tune with reality. The faces are also very well done, especially C.C (pronounced C2) and Leouch's. img(http://i.imgur.com/OXiXfro.jpg) img(http://i.imgur.com/57v2Vgb.jpg) Of course, how can I forget mechas? Well, mechas back in the day didn't look and move the way they do now, but they are still very good, I'm not a mecha fan, so i won't comment on this further, you decide. img(http://i.imgur.com/EsbzClu.jpg) img(http://i.imgur.com/rIPmm6Y.jpg) The general animation and artwork is also top-of-the-world quality, and I don't say it lightly. The blood and particle effects (if can call it that) are quite something. The uncensored scenes really get your blood flowing. img(http://i.imgur.com/Z6Jt1HO.jpg) The environment is also quite beautiful,it isn't eye-gaping good, but it _will_ make you look twice. The art section also shines in the way of fanservice, there is fanservice at opportune moments, but it isn't overdone, and is kept low (think 4-5 scenes over 25 episodes), which means while you won't be looking at breasts all day long, you also won't be running along to type "omg code geass hentai" on Google Images. Oh course, there is the occasional Pizza Hut sign, which is annoying advertisement, but atleast it isn't overdone, and I can understand budget constrains. I'm fine with ads as long as they don't go out of their way to get in my face. Music and Sound(18/20) The voice acting is a success. Voices are more than enough convincing and confident. The environment sounds were also very good and contributed greatly to the scenes. That said, all is not well in the music department. The OP01 (colors - by Flow) is just goddamned magic from the skies, it is by far the best OP I ever heard. The second time I heard it, I just watched it over and over six times and even then I wasn't finished. See, that's why I said I wish I could rate higher. Seeing how great the section has been so far, I would have called it "brilliant", but the problem with writing objective reviews is this - All the OPs and EDs are equal, one good OP doesn't negate a shit OP. That said, OP02 was meh at best and OP03 (which showed up like, twice) was utter crap. The EDs were all to the tune of "meh" , well compared to Colors anyways they were. youtube(cZ7zQbMxm28) Story (19/20) The story in Code Geass is downright brilliant. As much as I like to say that a story can't be perfect, I guess I'm just going to have to concede this one. CG starts off very strong and keeps making an even stronger story, with some respite at ep06 (which was just some sort of comedy ep) and then never ever let's up. There are no flashback episodes and there are no fillers, CG just marches over anything and everything with its solid plotline. Sure there are some things which are never explained, but they can be explained most of the time with simple deductive reasoning. Why would you EVER want a series to explain EVERYTHING to you? Which I guess is another good thing about CG - It forces you to use your brain. The story isn't a hand me down, and you have to hold your concentration to engage in CG. It isn't as ridiculously hard to grasp as KSnH, and it is also much more rewarding if you grasp it. The division of focus in CG allows for a greater variety of support and CG never once favours one side over the other, despite Lelouch's skill, he isn't a god, and has to retreat quite often. One thing I found weird about CG is that even though it revolves around the power of Geass, the Geass is almost always used subtextually. Sure, there are times when it is used on screen, but most of the time, you just have to chalk it down to lelouch using it in the background. Characters (19/20) img(http://i.imgur.com/6TKfB8s.jpg) The characters in CG are....amusing. I found that there is absolutely __no__ character in the entire series that didn't get a great amount of development (other than the very very far off supporting crew that appear as often as villager A). Let that sink in for a while. Every single character has a backstory, every single character changes, and every single one of them goes nuts. Which is the correct thing to do when your country gets blown to shit. I found some of the characters annoying to the point I hoped a KnighMare crashed into them and they just die already. Now, that isn't necessarily a bad thing, because the point is - the characters managed to squeeze a response from me, a bad response admittedly, but a response nevertheless. Which means I -at some point- _connect_ with the character that will be negatively effected by the actions of the annoying character in question. How is that a bad thing? Also, the amount of Yuri around a certain someone is so much that the entire series turns into /u/ while she is on the screen. Enjoyment (19/20) Code Geass is by far quite enjoyable. It never has a boring moment, it never feels drawn out and it just continues to surprise you at every turn of the way. Oh, and no cliffhangers in any episode, you know, except the last ep, which would have been annoying when the second season was yet to air, but over here in 2014 it just gives you that NEED to get the fuck off your couch and get the second season rolling already. So yeah, total is 93/100, which makes it the second best thing I ever watched. In case it isn't evident already, go watch it unless you hate anything exciting and fun. img(http://i.imgur.com/Pc7bzpl.jpg)
*Review without spoilers of both season 1 and 2* First of all, I have to say that pls remember this anime is really old and the art is not that good nowadays, and that you have to be patient with this anime, don't drop it after 2-4 episodes, cause this anime is stupidly good. After years and hundred of animes, I can say this anime is in my opinion the most perfect anime ever made (it's not my TOP 1 cause I personally have other anime I like more, but it is a fact this one is the most perfetc anime ever even if it is not my TOP 1 anime). I'm trying to not be subjetive here, even if it doesn't seems like that with that statement. This anime is actually NOT my #1 favourite; I personally have other anime I like more (Toradora!), but even so I have to admit this anime is objectively the most perfect one I have ever seen. - The actual review: Code Geass atkes place on a worlds where the great empire of Britania has conquered a bug part of the world, including Japan. There is a really racist society where japanese ppl is is treated very badly. Japan was called "Area 11" since the invasion, and japanese ppl were called "elevens". Our protagonist, Lelouch Lamperouge is a extremely clever adolescent with a strong sense of justice that hates how britania and his society do things. One day, very similar to Death Note, he gets involved in a situation where he acquires a extrange superpower: By making ppl looks at his eyes, he can order them anything and they will do it. As on Death Note, this power has restrictions and rules that Lelouch himself test the limitations etc. With this power and his very outstanding intelligence, Lelouch will try to free Japan from Britannia an solve a personal grudge he has with the emperor. The battles are small armies of mechas, but the important thing is the mental battle between their comanders to lead their armie to victory. There are really clever and complex strategies kind of like a chess game. Not only on battles, but there are political and social strategies too. Characters are extremely well built, their personalities totally match with their actions at every second of the anime, they really feel like real people. The plot is simply superb, not your tipical plot where something happens but everything is fine anyone of the good guys die and the bad guys lose. In Code Geass, there is a lot of good and bad moments, important good characters die, aswell as important enemies. Is honestly the best plot I ever seen, with characters matching really nice on it, and a lot of sad situations, a lot of happy situations, and a lot of feelings. Every episode on this anime is really important, and enjoyable to watch. Look, you don't know me, but I beg you watch this masterpiece, this anime is something everyone on the world should know about. TRUST ME, you will love it, I'm 100% sure you will.
The crowd sits in suspense. The vehicles have stopped. The music cues and the news puts the spotlight on the stage as the man of the hour waltzes onwards to reveal his persona to the world. The curtain rises in flames to reveal the one who wishes to have the entire world as his audience. The icon of justice, Zero appears, the spark of rebellion sets fire to the nation, and a performance to end them all begins. Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion is the perfect popcorn spectacle; it is the summer blockbuster of a lifetime! It is as bombastic as anime can get, from its sexy and over-expressive character designs to its majestic soundtrack to how it revels in its genius and stupidity (more on that in R2). It is pure, unadulterated fun and glory, stemming from such an interesting and brutal concept. Blending impressive mecha action and revolutionary schemes against a powerful dictatorship, with uproarious school comedy, and a supernatural superpower, Code Geass is certainly an ambitious project and an exhibition of theatrics. In the criminally oft-reviled school portions of the show, we are treated to one of the best running gags ever conceived, a kitten that manages to be a better tsundere than a majority of the archetype’s additions a decade later (more on that in R2), and the best and most whimsical school theme ever conceived. Laughably, our deliciously cunning spaghetti boy finds the presence of a cat wearing his mask more of a threat than most of his “intellectual opposition”, as his worthless physical skills are put to the ultimate test. Such comedic gold is handled with the same musical prowess as scenes of mass murder, ultimate downfall, and glorious accomplishments of plans that can only be described as bullshit batman gambits. Said music also accompanied bullshit like episode 9 and the catastrophic way one of the aforementioned mass murder scenes began. A main character as bombastic and flamboyant as Lelouch needs a true rival to be hated by everyone, and Suzaku Kururugi steps up with the brazen moral obligation to be the king of stupidity and hypocrisy, and the biggest punching bag a show has ever partaken in. A gloriously detestable takedown against the overpowered mary sue mecha protagonist who reeks of hypocrisy, idiocy, and bullshit --see Kira Yamato from Gundam SEED--, Suzaku is the heel everyone grows to hate (more on that in R2). The quality memory does not stop here with the likes of JEREMIAH GOTTWALD THE ORANGE BOY present in this glorious mess, or Emperor Charles, who looks like a buff Russian Czar partaking in 17th century French Royalty Fashion. God forbid any mention of Nina the table rapist, and her rule of 3 Euphemia obsession driving her over the edge harder than a landslide slamming into a city --thanks Ledouche--! These characters would only be roughly 9/11th as memorable as they are if not for their god-tier facial expressions driving the point of their lunacy to levels rivaling Suzaku’s stupidity. The same fact applies when taking in some of these sick costume and outfit designs that just scream “we were born with fashion sense”. One need no further evidence than a glance at Zero’s outfit or the Lancelot Knightmare Frame to truly understand what a thing of beauty this series is. Seeing these axle-skating mechs fight like break-dancing kung-fu fighters is a sight to behold, just as much as seeing them fight like actual military units or use their grappling devices to not get swept up by a landslide. Of course, the hamminess of the characters is matched only by the godly music composed by our lord and savior, Kotaro Nakagawa! From the whimsical to the beautiful, to the bombastic and grandiose, this series excels with nearly every song! “School Days”, “Avalon”, “Stories”, “Alone”, “Final Catastrophe”, “Callin’”, “Last Adolescence”, “Picaresque”, “Cold Nobility”, and so many more have made sweet home in my consciousness, and have been applied into my everyday life when imagining made-up scenes or writing out something such as this! It is almost as perfect as a catalog of songs for a show can be, both in terms of the background music, and the tracks that open each episode and close the second half of them. Just imagine playing these in videos where you slam on a gigantic trainwreck or marvel over the beauty of a show. Imagine using these tracks when you study for an exam or write about what a mostly well-constructed bout of absurdity and talent this show is! Just imagine hearing this while you watch the marvelous English dub with the delicious performances of talents such as Johnny Yong Bosch, Yuri Lowenthal, Steve Blum, and Crispin fucking Freeman! Would it not be glorious?! So, what I’m saying is, this show is the biggest shitpost in anime history, and you should give it some of your money. After all, it is certainly a unique performance that stunned the globe.
Japan is a country that I value as a fellow Otaku, one of the rare attributes/characteristics that encapsulates Japan as a culture is their honour. Even though a lot of it was lost after the second world war, they still hold on to the nostalgic ideology. To an extent the racism found in that country toward immigrants is founded upon honour toward their country, there is an understanding that their traditions need to be held pure especially from outsiders. After WWII the drastic cultural influence from the west tainted a lot of the Japanese culture, so this reaction is absolutely understandable. Code Geass is the epitome of honourable and dishonourable actions. It questions ideologies from both foundations, one for the sake of achieving a goal no matter the cost, the other upholding certain standards perhaps even to the detriment of their goal. Story: If you consider our world and see the darkness within its institutions the destruction that they need go through for the sake of freedom and hope - yet at the same time there is the hope within the human race, which runs particularly deep. We want to see the beautiful the optimistic outcome, this is what we see in a lot of Hollywood and what is deep down a desire in our hearts. Code Geass is fantastic in its story because of these contrary ideologies, it has a focus within a particular world where one nation rules majority of the world. A one world order, one might suggest. The outcome of this is the predictable, but it doesn't leave you with that as the continuity of the show. Instead it is filled with fantasy and mystery. A mystery that won't let you down, filled with thrills and adventure yet not without thought provoking conversations and plot driven outcomes from those conversations. It keeps you on your seat as you wait for the next amazing or tragic outcomes. But what it achieves is a battle of ideologies, and one that seems impossible to decide. Story - 3/3 Character: If you have ever played chess against yourself you will realise the difficulty involved in attempting to be both your enemy and your ally at the same time. The characters in Code Geass is in experience of them, very similar. You get to know the characters very well because there is a lot of time passing and they do a good job involving you straight into their lives. The characters pull you into their world, their past and what they want to push toward in the future. I want to clear a stigma you might have heard of the show, that this show has characters that just want to take over the world. This is a over-complication of a really simple character drama. The characters love to flaunt ideas that are sometimes philosophically appropriate other times just feels a bit much. But there are some great quotes that can be grasped well according to context. Some of them you won't understand at all if you don't understand what is going on in the characters hearts. Code Geass challenges you to look further than surface level character, and it doesn't always help you get there. The characters can sometimes be so mysterious that a lot of the time subtle hints will be your only open door into their heart. Other times its written on their forehead. The characters are good and enjoyable, sure there are flaws when comparing to some aspects of the story building but the experience overall is fantastic. Character 2/3 Art / Animation If you like pointy chins this Anime has the perfect character design for you! But don't worry they not only have pointy chins going for them, abnormally long legs are the thing these days and to accompany the legs we have long arms to balance things out a bit. But in all honesty the character design for this show is not that great, but the eyes are really well done and you know what they say "The eye is the window to the soul". The soul of the characters are really expressed well in the animation, and eyes take a big focus in Code Geass, for various reasons including the saying I gave. However bad the character design may be, the rest is not at all comparable in quality. The action scenes, are smooth and interesting they keep you on your seat with the world design - which is simply a Japan that has advanced in certain ways and stayed the same in others. If you like sci-fi then you will particularly appreciate the world architecture aesthetically. Art - 1/2 Music Straight out of the bat, the music was good and only good. What to expect from the music is not much more than this. I have a big problem with classical style of music within Anime. The reason for my critical view on classical style is that its not memorable, tracks often fade into the background way to easily and is perhaps one of the charms of it not distracting from what matters in the scene. I enjoyed particular tracks in action scenes and there is a lot of variance in style, even though its all instrumental - excluding the opening and ending tracks. There were certainly some scenes that gained a lot of value from the tracks, especially emotional scenes. Overall the music was just, good. Nothing special but not bad either. Music 1/2 In the end what you should expect from Code Geass is simpler than most people think, yet it is presented with characters that are reasonably human (Speaking in regard to realism). The story allows for a good foundation for these particular characters to be played with as a writer, and was utilised well. In the end if you can't relate to the main character, in some form or another eventually, then you won't enjoy this show. But keep in mind that the soul is a complicated space, a character can be presented as simple on the surface (first episode) but really most people are complicated. Even a written character.
First Anime Review ever, so here goes... Non-Spoiler Review For Both Seasons, so read without worry (if you want to) Anime: Code Geass Seasons: 2 Total Episodes: 50 (25 per season) Genre: Psychological, Military and War, Mecha, Action, Super power SYNOPSIS: The anime starts with the explanation of how the world is divided into 3 superpowers The Holy Britannian Empire, The EU and The Chinese Federation. Lelouch (the protagonist) is shown as a student with remarkable intellect but is an exiled prince from the Holy Britannian Empire, he's the 11th Prince and son of the 98th Emperor of Britannia. He wishes to destroy the Holy Empire namely his father the 98th Emperor for abandoning him and his sister Nunnally and later sets off on his mission after crossing paths with a mysterious girl named C.C. PLOT/STORY-LINE: The anime IMO started off slowly the first 3 or 4 episodes but they gradually picked up momentum and maintained it through out the series to the last episode of the 2nd season. To avoid some potential spoilers, I'll keep it short. Britannia won the war with Japan and is now in control of it with its name changed to Area 11 the people there referred to as "Elevens". The 1st season R1 was about the start of the rebellion by Lelouch in order to make a world suitable for his younger sister Nunnally to live in peacefully (who is blind and crippled). Lelouch using the code name "Zero" forms an organization with the purpose of defeating Brianna and taking back control of Area 11 (Japan), but it isn't all that serious 24/7 in the anime we do get some comedy relief moments. The 2nd Season R2 goes further into his plan to destroy Britannia, before I continue lemme say this the 1st episode of R2 may seem confusing but it's the correct sequence (i.e R1 then R2). Things get explained later. After the events of R1 Lelouch and his organization is still battling Britannia but with time Lelouch has to be more careful in his dealing because of some changes in conditions. In R2 Lelouch is shown using his masterful intellect to oppose Britannia while he stays in the spotlight. Though as one would expect there are plot holes present in the series some being downright stupid, some others that could've been due to not paying much attention, it isn't perfect but comes pretty close IMO. CHARACTERS/CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT: Lelouch Vi Britannia (Zero): Is the main character of the series, he had an dual personality throughout the series, one of an easygoing student and the other being Zero who plans for the destruction of Britannia. He is shown to be Prideful, Stubborn and very intelligent. IMO his character remained almost similar (as stubborn characters are usually hard to change) but as he progresses through his goals he comes across great losses be that his missions or people, which changes him and his plans (somewhat). Suzaka Kururugi (2nd Main): He's the childhood best friend of Lelouch they meet when Lelouch and Nunnally are send to Area 11. He's shown to be caring about others and excels at combat. I'd say his character changes quite a bit because of all the suffering he goes through (you might even hate him at some point), he believes in changing the system for within itself rather than confronting it by violent means like Lelouch intended, this obviously creates a gap between these two. C.C: She's a mystery girl who gives Lelouch a rather special power when both of them make a contract with each other. She mostly shown doing her own thing (not really too curious about what's happening around her), her main and possibly only priority is that Lelouch survives. Oh, and she loves Pizza... Lots and Lots of Pizza.... ANIMATION: The art-style was different from what I'm used to but it was watchable, all characters had some unusually long legs and arms. Searching on the internet I came across a term for it "noodle people". You can try searching for "art style noodle people". The action sequence were pretty well animated there weren't many "bad animations moments". Overall I'd say it had decent animation. MUSIC: Ah, this... The OSTs were wonderful and synced perfectly to add to the impact of scenes. Here are the names: Madder Sky Ver1 - Main Theme (My 2nd fav) Across the Borderline If I Were a Bird Continued Story Ver1 (also pretty good) Yuukyuo Seishuka Innocent Days Madder Sky Ver2 (I'd prefer Ver1) Masquerade Mozaiku Kakera (right in the feels, most fav) Noblesse Oblige Nunnally Continued Story Ver2 Openings: Colors by FLOW (Ep 1 to 12, R1) (my fav) Kaidoku Funo by Jimm (Ep 13 to 23, R1) Hitomi no Tsubasa by Access (Ep 24 to 25, R1) O2 by ORANGE RANGE (Ep 1 to 12, R2) World End by FLOW (Ep 13 to 25, R2) Endings: Yuukyou Seishunka by ALI PROJECT (Ep 1 to 12, R1) Mozaiku Kakera by SunSet Swish (Ep 13 to 25, R1) (my fav) Shiawase Neiro by ORANGE RANCH (Ep 1 to 12, R2) Waga Rotashi Aku no Hana by ALI PROJECT (Ep 13 to 25) FINAL WORDS: This anime was really different for me, really interesting and really amazing. Those constant plot twists had me on the edge of my seat with me left wondering after each episode what expect next, but it wasn't without its bad deals like those plot holes I mentioned earlier but they didn't spoil the fun too much either so it's all good. It also had a pretty good amount of psychological scenes which left me in awe! FAVORITE QUOTES: "If the king does not lead, how can he expect his subordinates to follow." - Lelouch "In their heart, everyone has faith that their victory exists. However, in the face of time and destiny, the act of faith is fruitless and fleeting at best.". - C.C RATING: Plot: R1 and R2 combined 9.7/10 Character Development: 8.3/10 Animation: 8.3/10 Music: 8.5/10 Overall: 9.4/10 Remember this is a combined review about R1 and R2 And my first anime review so it might not have included some things
Honestly i'm blown away, to think an anime could outsmart even to the levels of death note, this anime was so surprising to the point even now I feel so moved to write a shitty review just because I need to tell everyone, this anime is one of the best, it starts you off with making you dive headfirst, and then you get to see life itself evolve, while watching someones life go complete 360 the fact he could even betray his own just goes to show his hatred, and understandingly so, the anime also has you watch these blind bats of a squad, who always feel like they know everything, when infact even calling them anything higher then pawns is a joke, I think even though that is so our MC sought out the best for everyone who never wished for blood in the first place, and were forced to do so, so it was really sad ~!seeing one of the best characters and best MC's of all time die, but he'd planned that since the beginning, which is kinda insane seeing as every step of the way people thought it was for his sake, when all along even if he didn't admit it, some of the deaths we're pure accidents that he had forced to take full knowing credit of doing, which seems really painful, but why would it matter if in the end he would knowingly kill himself!~ ~!The ending is tear jerking phenomenal I was just so confused as to what and how it even made me question my own morals, to sum it up, only those ready to sacrifice even themselves to seek victory, are only those who will succeed in the end!~ I think this just has to be a new favorite (although I always find myself loving even the shittiest anime to the fullest, which I admit is kinda why I love anime in the first place, I can just never find myself hating any of it, to sum it up this anime is the best of the best, and I recommend it to anyone who wants to challenge their own brains, ideas, and morals, also those who just adore great, sad anime, so if you're contemplating watching it and find yourself reading this, just go for it, its better if you shoot head first, knowing nothing of this anime at all, that how I found it, just randomly getting recommended in my Netflix feed, thanks for reading my first review (maybe the last god knows) 2200 characters is a shit ton. 100/100 or 10/10
Seriously, this anime is the proven proof that if the script is really good, you don't need to be too original to succeed. And the script is really good! It looks like it came out of Shakespeare's typewriter (although he didn't have one). I believe that Lelouch is one of the protagonists most tortured by his author at all, and the torture takes place through events and plot twists that, if at first they displace you, after a few minutes with a cool head you can not do anything but accept, according to the verdict of your mental slow-motion (Michael Night Shyamalan take notes on how to make a twist!). In fact Lelouch is really looking for them all alone: you can't make an omelette without breaking any eggs, and the omelette that the Prince of Britannia wants to make is as big as the whole world! Many times I excluded them: "But no, come on, the authors cannot be so ruthless!", And instead they are really so ruthless. But there are also some complacent aspects that I don't like about this show: the useless parts of slice of life, the fanservice really out of place, the hidden publicity wasn't even "Christmas Holidays"! And then the dwell too much on the battles between robottoni ... yes, I know that this is an anime of robottoni, but nobody really looks at him for robottoni. If instead of mecha there had been planes, helicopters or SUVs, the highlights of the anime would have remained intact. We are interested in seeing how Lelouch, starting from nothing, will destroy the established world order. This is worth the sacrifice of some fillers! Despite being always very reluctant to take in view series that have received great popular support (I can't help it, like a modern hipster I am wary of souls who have received great favors from critics, it is a question of expectations and in what proportion they are actually maintained ), after about ten years from its first release I allowed myself the luxury of looking at "Code Geass". Lelouch, then, is a multi-faceted and full of elements also opposed to each other, since he is cynical, calculating, but he also has a big heart and really knows how to feel affection. Its poor physical ability, then, makes it credible, because it makes it not a mister perfection, but a normal person. It does not seem at all a second Light, indeed, in its own way, it constitutes the parody or, I should say, nemesis. As is the rest of CC, beautiful, sad and elegant, a true nemesis of Ryuk, looking much better. But all the characters will prove to be much broader and more complex than what they seem at the beginning, making this work very interesting as a characterization. From this point of view, indeed, Suzaku is its second emblem, because, opposite to Leoluch, it seems so calm and innocent, but in the end, to achieve its goals, it will prove worse than him. But also the second challenge, to make "Code Geass" the new "Gundam", is won big: the battles are won based on tactics, like in a chess game, and we don't have the super-robot that wins everything , but only tactics and strategy. As can also be seen from the last episode, where the advanced robots will be several and the tactic will give the victory ... but no spoilers! Then, in the second, we will return to the more advanced mecha, but it is another story. Even the two episodes in mid-series with CC's second apprentice sounded great, a series in the series.
# (Note: This is a review for both Season 1 and 2 of Code Geass spoiler-free) . _"The only ones who should kill are those who are prepared to be killed!"_ I really loved this series, and I definitely did not see that happening! __STORY/PLOT : 9/10__ The plot is really good and nothing feels rushed or drawn out. Amazing. Never thought a mecha anime would get me so invested and engaged but I just came to love every part of the anime. The plot moves at a great pace and keeps you interested at all times. The twists and reveals were always a great surprise to me and the cliffhanger episode endings keeps you always on the edge of your seat. Honestly sometimes some anime’s plot feels dragged or repetitive but that’s not the case with CG. Oh and the last episode is a brilliant ending and I’m not exaggerating it was really so awesome also it made me cry that I never expected it, it just came on so suddenly. Oh I hope no one gets spoiled for this anime ever honestly the surprise element is just everything. _Code Geass fav eps-_ _(1)S2 Ep25 (2)S1 Ep22 (3)S1 Ep25 (4)S1 Ep14 (5)S2 Ep15_ __CHARACTERS : 8.5/10__ The characters are really well written. They all are good and they all made the whole show amazing. I didn’t particularly hate a character but Nina was the one I thought I would hate a lot but the ending eps of S2 made up for her. She didn’t become a character I loved but was fine enough to not completely hate. The protagonist Lelouch is a great character honestly in just a few episodes I knew he would end up as one of my fav and can you believe it just keeps getting better and better. Lelouch really proved to be a great protagonist. I loved how he was not portrayed to be some perfect character whom you can’t relate to or connect to. His flaws were shown. He was shown as much as humane. Every human is with flaws no one perfect exists and the same applies to Lelouch. He had flaws and he faced them and kept working toward his goal to give his sister Nunnally a kinder world. By his human side I mean how he was also shown to have emotions, he cries, he loves, he cares and struggles as well and that really made me love him. I liked how amazing his goal was the one he was working for all the time. Then I also loved his conflicts with Suzaku who portrayed just the opposite characteristics from Lelouch. How they would always clash with their different ideals and thoughts and methods. Their conflicting ideologies and philosophies were fascinating. I love the character dynamics as well. What I was always feeling throughout the show was how Lelouch always hid his deepest feelings deep inside him and never showed it outside to others. I think he was really open with C.C. only. I loved their dynamic C.C. became my fav in only a few eps her voice is on god amazing. I love how she stayed so mysterious for long and how strong her bond with Lelouch became. She really is the best. Her voice is so mysterious and soothing just takes my heart away. _Fav characters -_ _(1)Lelouch (2)C.C. (3)Suzaku_ __ANIMATION : 8/10__ Liked it a whole lot. It was one thing I didn’t think I would come to like much but just as I watched more I started appreciating the beautiful animation and character design. My fav character designs are of C.C., Lelouch and Euphemia. The animation was handled pretty well in the fight scenes as well. __SOUND/OST : 9/10__ Love the OST it’s amazing and all of the OPs and EDs are good too. ED has some of my fav visuals. Voice acting. What can I say about it It’s splendid. I love the voice of Lelouch, Jun Fukuyama has done a great job portraying Lelouch. I love his voice and how it changes when Lelouch changes from Lelouch to Zero or back to Zero. His so leader-like deep voice is just amazing and gave him a great presence. And C.C.’s voice is so delicate and pretty. I love it, her voice was the first thing I fell in love with. _My favs in order - OPs - S1OP1 > S2OP1 > S2OP2 > S1OP2 > S1OP3 EDs - S2ED2 > S1ED1 > S2ED1 > S1ED2_ __ENJOYMENT : 9.5/10__ Enjoyment was hella awesome. Code Geass has been unexpectedly an amazing watch. I went in without knowing anything about the anime and without any spoilers and I’m glad for that because that totally made my experience amazing as the surprise element plays a good part in Code Geass. Code Geass is a totally worthy anime of binge watch cuz of its cliffhanger episode endings you can’t help wanting to watch more eps. __OVERALL SCORE: 10/10__ Incredible anime. It was a memorable watch!! Before watching the show I wasn’t interested in it much mainly because of the mecha genre, did not see it as a really interesting genre, and some other little reasons but I’m glad I watched it thanks to a deal I made with a friend. Also, the ending of season 2 is a solid ending which even made me cry, I didn't see that coming really so unexpected. Honestly, if a show makes you cry you already know how incredible it is you cried because you felt connected to the characters you got so connected to the plot it's amazing when a show can achieve this!! ___Definitely a show worth watching so I HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT.___ __QUOTES__ The way Code Geass makes you think about different stuff is amazing. Some of the best quotes arise from CG even without context they’ll make you think. So some of my favs are - _"False tears bring pain to others. A false smile brings pain to yourself."_ _"The only ones who should kill are those who are prepared to be killed!"_ _"In this world, evil can arise from the best of intentions. And there is good which can come from evil intentions."_ _"A victory won through dishonest means is no victory at all."_ _"Win or lose, you won't gain anything unless you give everything for it! That applies equally to both countries and to individuals"_ _"In their heart, everyone has faith that their victory exists. However, in the face of time and destiny, the act of faith is fruitless and fleeting at best."_ _"Don't confuse borrowed power with your own ability."_ _"What do results gained in the wrong way leave you in the end? Just regret and an emptiness that has nowhere to go."_
NOTE: This review applies only to the first 2 seasons of Code Geass. Introduction: Code Geass takes place in an alternate future, wherein Britannia (Great Britain, except Nazis and armed with mecha, basically) has conquered Japan. Lelouch, an exiled Britannian Prince, seeks to topple the Britannian tyranny, avenge his mother and create a kinder world for his blind younger sister, Nunelly. He is aided by a mysterious power called Geass, which allows him to give irresistible orders and bend other people to his will. The Positive Side: In addition to the intriguing premise, Code Geass has some vivid (if hammy) portrayals of war, racism, drug addiction, colonialism and cultural erasure. One of my favorites aspects of the setting is that under Britannian rule, Japan and the Japanese people have been stripped of their name, and live under the designation, “Area 11.” It’s a brilliant detail that shows the lengths to which Britannia goes to destroy the Japanese sense of cultural and national identity, and one of the reasons the show made a strong and positive impression on me early on. The Positive Side: Through the first season, Code Geass exhibits strong characterization on all sides of its conflict. Lelouch’s friend Suzaku opposes him throughout the first season, and while we are inclined to root for Lelouch, given the horrific atrocities of the Britanian’s, it easy to understand why Suzaku is on the other side. Suzaku's actions, motivations and reasonings make sense, and even if we do not agree with him, it's hard to blame him or dislike him. Another excellent addition to the supporting cast is Kallen Kozuki, a daring young freedom fighter and half-Japanese Britannian student who joins up with Lelouch’s rebellion on behalf of her down-trodden mother. Kallen is at once a parallel to Lelouch and a foil—while both are motivated, at least in part, by anger at an unjust system that has harmed their mothers, Kallen maintains a moral purity in contrast to Lelouch's more questionable methods. War is an immense and difficult topic to handle in anime, or any other narrative medium, for that matter, and it’s not always easy to find a Shonen series that doesn’t reduce it to a conflict between obvious heroes and uniformly sadistic and irredeemable villains. Code Geass refuses this simplification, and for that at least, it deserves a little respect. The Negative Side: Like its protagonist, Code Geass starts off full of promise and blazing ambition, but loses its path, and ultimately, seems to forget what it was trying to achieve in the first place. Code Geass should have been one of the greatest anime ever made, but its faults are so numerous and distracting that it’s often irritating to watch, and ultimately, very hard to take seriously. Let’s begin with the artwork. While the mecha are well-drawn and have intriguing designs, the artists flounder any time they’re required to draw a person. Nearly every member of the cast is suffering from Terminal Anorexia, Chihuahua Head Syndrome and Early Onset Yaoi Hands. There’s a few martial artists and soldiers in the cast, but the quality of the mecha fights makes every fight not involving a mecha look even more ridiculous. Everyone moves like they’re filled with helium instead of blood. Supposedly human characters leap five times their height, defy gravity and inertia and spontaneously spin into inverted round-kicks with nothing to draw traction from but thin air. If this was explicitly a supernatural martial arts anime like Ranma ½ or Fist of the North Star, I’d have no problem with this kind of silliness, but at its most extreme, Geass is somewhere between Real Robot and low fantasy in terms of its realism, and these kinds of exaggerate maneuvers just feel out of place. Even more irritating is Geass’s insistence on cramming fan-service into scenes where it has no business being. There’s a moment late in the first season where Kallen and Suzaku become mysteriously stranded on a tropical Island. Kallen, in an absolutely baffling display of misplaced priorities, decides this is the perfect time to take a shower. Suzaku stumbles on Kallen while she’s naked and bathing in a waterfall. Kallen immediately recognizes Suzaku as a Britannian-aligned enemy, draws her knife and charges him. Kallen and Suzaku have both been built as sympathetic and complex characters, and without a moment’s warning, both are thrust into mortal danger. In theory, this should have been a tense, high-stakes scene where two sympathetic characters are at risk of dying. Instead, we get Kallen's teenage tits, followed by her being pinned and mounted by Suzaku. Instead of witnessing two noble characters in a struggle for their beliefs and their survival, we get illogical and tasteless cheesecake. This is hardly an isolated incident. The fanservice is almost invariably of the creepy variety, either nonconsensual ‘accidents’ or used as a point of shaming the girls. Roughly half the battle-scenes are ruined by pointless, random close-ups of the girls’ breasts and asses. Perhaps the great harm done by prioritizing trashy fanservice is the degradation of otherwise strong female characters. Kallen, introduced as a fearless revolutionary who has been fighting against Britannia even longer than Lelouch, is forced to wear a playboy bunny suit, to her own shame and humiliation. She is later captured and strapped to a table with what is quite obviously bondage gear, forced to wear a dress that exposes a solid fifty percent of her breasts, and is nearly raped by one of her captors. C.C. spends most of the series as a stoic, mysterious ally with her own agenda and desires, and is one of the only characters in the series who calls out Lelouch on his stupidity and immoral hypocrisy. Following a convenient memory lapse in Season 2, C.C. is reduced to a cringing slave-girl, perpetually terrified of being beaten and eagerly subordinating herself to Lelouch, even stripping at his whim. This isn't the only point that begins to hint that Code Geass isn't quite as smart as it thinks it is. The series often uses chess in an effort to deepen its motifs of clever planning and mind-games. This would probably be a lot more effective if anyone who worked on the show had ever learned the rules of chess. Every time a characters busts out a chess board, you can count on hilariously stupid and illegal moves. At one point, a character moves his own king into check. Amusingly, his opponent is horrified. Despite the fact that Code Geass puts focus on tactical intelligence, many of Lelouch’s decisions are mind-blowingly stupid. He walks into obvious traps even he knows they are traps, and is unnecessarily hostile and paranoid towards people who ought to be his allies. Luckily his opponents are often every bit as stupid, as we see in Season 2, when a circle of Britannian nobles dismiss the idea of multiple countries working together in a military campaign as laughable, and claim that the result would be ‘an unruly mob’. ...Hey, Britannians? Remember that whole “World War 2” thing? You know, the one that both Britain and Japan fought in? Turns out countries can actually work together pretty well when they have a common enemy. Despite the strength of the characters, the dialogue is frequently hammy and ridiculous. Sometimes this is justified by Lelouch’s fondness for theatrics, but sometimes, it’s just plain stupid. There is no context in which the words, “Attention, people of Japan. Could you all just die, please?” will not be ridiculous. I really wish I could separate seasons 1 and 2, because season 1 is vastly better, but unfortunately, season 1 ends on a massive cliff-hanger that demands I take both seasons as halves of the same story. Code Geass’s death blow comes near the end of Season 2. I will refrain from giving spoilers here, but will say that the strong characterization given to the main characters is wasted, as they seem to forget their own defining motivations. When characters stop behaving in a way that makes sense for who and what they are, it’s simply not possible to believe in them the way we believe in all the characters we love most dearly. Where there were once compelling and complex characters, there are now puppets, spouting pretentious monologues about vague ideals and coldly marching through whatever actions the writers assign them. No matter how many convoluted schemes or dramatic twists Code Geass hurls at you from that point on, it all ends up feeling hollow and pointless. Final Verdict: Code Geass is riddled with obnoxious faults in taste and style, but beneath these faults, there’s artistic ambition, moral insight and a cast of memorable and exciting characters. It’s truly a pity this show was less than it could have been. If you’re curious as to why this anime is so highly rated, feel free to check it out. Otherwise… I, INKSPIDER VI BRITANNIA, COMMAND YOU… to go watch something better.
# ***Please Read Before You Rate!!*** Okay, so first and foremost, I will warn that this review will have ***many*** spoilers. If you have not watched the show, while I will not recommend you do so, please proceed at your own risk, or watch the show first. I want to start with saying that this is the first show I have written a review for on AniList. The first review I ever wrote was for `Darling in the Franxx` on **MyAnimeList** only because of the mere lunacy in the whole "alien plot twist" at the end. In any case, I want to start by saying that Code Geass is *worse*, which is what spurred me to write this review. Forgive me if the styling or formatting isn't great. With that out of the way, lets get started with the review. We are introduced in episode 1 to a world where the Britannia Empire rules. We are not given much lore on the rise of the Britannia Empire, but we do see a day in the life of the student Lelouch ~~Lamperouge~~ la Britannia, an "extremely intelligent" ~~student~~ prince living in Japan, which is now Area 11 under the Britannia Empire. I will say this right now, the show tries **very hard** to portray Lelouch as a genius, with examples such as him defeating Britannian aristocrats in chess in record time, employing chess algorithms in battle strategies, and outsmarting his enemy using tactics that would impress anyone watching this show. Lelouch, however, is really not so much a genius, but rather takes full advantage of 2 things: > 1. "plot convenience" for Lelouch > 2. "plot inconvenience" for the enemies. Lets take an example. After gaining his Geass, Lelouch then starts commanding the other rebels from a Knightmare mecha he acquired. After spouting a few chess maneuvers that the average person would find meaningless, he is able to use the local rebels with limited experience to easily ambush trained Britannian soldiers, defeat experience-hardened generals, and eventually kill Prince Clovis la Britannia. If the anime had somehow demonstrated or given a portrayal of the significance of the chess moves, and provided a slight explanation on why these chess moves would prevail in the situation, I would recognize Lelouch's intellect here. How the opposition suddenly became cannon fodder, I have no idea, but for Clovis and the many generals/strategists with him to not be able to defeat Lelouch and a few rebels does not make Lelouch smart to me. In fact, it makes me think that the Britannians are mere tools to progress the story, because of course the oppressed Japanese people should prevail, even with their lack of experience in the battlefield. Now, I mentioned plot convenience for Lelouch, but by god, with Suzaku being Lelouch's rival, I must say that Lelouch suffers from an incredible amount of plot inconvenience as well. Suzaku is Lelouch's best friend from 7 years before the setting of the story, when Britannia first invaded. Suzaku suffers mentally throughout the show as he killed his father, a politician trying to stop the Britannian invasion, in hopes for peace in Japan. Suzaku wishes to "change Britannia from the inside", going so far as to die for Britannia if necessary... but this is extremely conflicting due to his principles. As a man who wishes to stick to the rules, Suzaku is willing to comply no matter what, even going so far as to allow the Britannians to kill him if necessary. This is, of course, extremely hypocritical, but most importantly, it is indicative of **bad writing**. To have a main character where their goals and principles differ so vastly causes actions that are not only insensible and illogical, but also convenient for the side that the author wishes to prevail in times of conflict. Lets go through a few examples. In the first episode, when Lelouch meets C.C and is confronted by the army, Suzaku is told to shoot Lelouch, and upon refusing, is shot. Suzaku survives, recovers almost immediately, and takes a training simulation to see if he is a good fit for an experimental Knightmare. He then gets a near perfect score and immediately rolls out to the battlefield where Lelouch is commanding the rebels. The amount of convenience here that allows Suzaku to recover from a gunshot wound so easily, and then go back to serve the same army, is unfathomable, but it gets even better. Lelouch wins and kills Clovis, calling for an investigation. This failed, and as such, Suzaku is framed, even though he has proof that he was in an experimental mecha fighting for the Britannians at the time of the murder. The Britannians decide to televise and publicize it, which Lelouch uses to his advantage by creating a hostage situation. The sheer stupidity of a Britannian general to not realize that Britannian citizens could be hurt and taken hostage in this situation is astounding to me. Anyways, Lelouch succeeds in saving Suzaku, which brings us to the scene that sealed this shows fate: The first meeting between Zero (Lelouch) and Suzaku. Suzaku refuses to join Zero as he doesn't agree with Zero's method, citing that this put citizens in danger. I can agree that putting the life of citizens on the line like that is messed up, but Suzaku is not willing to take the life of his opponents either. Suzaku, even being in the army, doesn't recognize that he is at **WAR**, and in **WAR**, people **DIE**. Moreover, Suzaku said he was leaving to go to court to face the charges, because "those are the rules". Suzaku's naivete, the difference in his principles and goals leading to his hypocrisy, and his insane level of stubbornness just ruined the show with similar events later on. On a side note, lets talk about Ashford Academy for a second. Kallen, being a rebel, doesnt come to school often, but of course, the day she comes back, she's immediately put onto the student council. Guess what, Lelouch is on the council... I smell plot convenience coming. Ah yes, Lelouch being a genius, slipped up, and now Kallen suspects he knows her true identity as a rebel... but of course, with her on the council now, they can have a party with champagne (even though they are teenagers?). Lelouch ends up spilling champagne on Kallen so we can get some fanservice from a Kallen bath scene, Lelouch brings her clothes and a towel, but Kallen tells him to stay so they can talk, then a conveniently timed phone call comes in, which Lelouch picks up and hands to Kallen. On the other end is Zero, or at least, a pre-recorded dialogue that Lelouch made his servant play with his Geass. The timing here is insane, and not only depended on Kallen being in the bath, but also on Kallen asking Lelouch to stay and for Lelouch to pick up the phone. At this point, it's clear that there is 0 intellect in this plan, but rather a dependence on context. Speaking of further examples of convenience, let's talk about how Suzaku is suddenly enrolled into Ashford Academy, into the same class as Lelouch, out of the blue. It gets even better with the complete shit storywriting. After he is enrolled, Suzaku meets Euphemia and a romance between the two is developed, then we see a cat steal Lelouch's helmet that he uses to hide his identity as Zero, then they find the cat and Ashford throws a welcoming party for the cat... but in the same episode, we see the story explore the drug addiction that Kallen's mother suffers from... tell me, how the hell can you have cuts between an extremely serious topic like drugs that the Japanese use to relive their glory days, and a slice of life-like "chase the cat" scene in the same episode? Right when I thought the story was taking a good turn for once by showing more of the suffering of the Japanese, and expanding upon Kallen's character and her hatred for the Britannians, the show goes to ruin it with a welcoming party for a cat that stole the Zero helmet. Then there's Nina... oh my god, Nina... she masturbated to Euphemia using the edge of a table because Euphemia saved her life, then theres a scene to Zero and the rest of the Black Knights strategizing over an operation, and then it cuts back to Nunally walking in on her right after she finishes...? The insane part is, this very same episode introduces Mao, and that brings me to my next complaint: Shirley. Shirley to Lelouch is basically the Hinata x Sakura to Naruto. Not only is Shirley useless, she is so poorly written that every line she ever speaks is about "Lulu". "Why doesn't Lulu pick up the phone?" "Why did he end the call like that? HMPH!" I didn't hate Sakura nor Hinata not Orihime as much as I hated Shirley, cuz her entire personality is her obsession with "Lulu". A useless version of Asuna from SAO is what I think of her. I won't say her ~!death!~ made me happy, I actually didn't want her to go like that because I knew it would throw the story into the shits with Lelouch getting depressed, but lets backtrack for a bit. At first, Villeta managed to deceive her into seeing if Lelouch was Zero, and I must say, Villeta was an exceptional character. She expertly took down Zero, exposed him as Lelouch to Shirley, and even found out that he was a Britannian. She was one character I truly respected and I valued that she was a really intelligent woman, and I honestly thought she would be the one helping Suzaku take down Lelouch at the end of Season 1.... but that didn't happen. Why? Because somehow, after getting shot in the stomach by Shirley, she gets amnesia! Even though she didn't hit her head!!!! Not only that, her amnesia lasted for a long time. It's extremely obvious here that she was taken out of the picture as convenience for Lelouch, which pissed me off because of her daft skills in taking down Zero and figuring out his identity. Now Shirley knows Lelouch is Zero, and Mao capitalizes on this, playing on her insecurity, especially since Zero had inadvertently caused her fathers death (another instance of plot convenience). Mao then traps Lelouch with shirley and Mao pointing a gun at Lelouch, but then Mao goes into a cable car to grab a shotgun, only for C.C to trap him inside the cable car and send him off... convenience much? Anyways, Lelouch manages to use his Geass on Shirley to make her forget everything she knew about him, which is so stupid as everyone knew she loved her "Lulu". Of course, this is hardly addressed, and whenever it is addressed, it is brushed off. He then switches gears and used an extremely smart (no sarcasm here) plan by using Geass on himself so that Mao's mind reading Geass wouldn't work on him. However, Mao abducts C.C to an abandoned amusement park, holding her hostage and threatening to kill her, but Lelouch magically learned how to hack (it was never stated that he was a technological genius of any sort), he perfectly predicted the time to broadcast his pre-recorded message, and even predicted the timing of the dialogue as well as the nature of the conversation, making it look like he was chatting real-time. I guess Lelouch became God for a while, because this is absolutely nuts. To add salt onto the wound, Lelouch was able to make it hacking the broadcast, to using Geass on an entire police squad, to Mao's location, ending with Mao being riddled with bullets from multiple different cops. Keep this in mind for now, this will be important later. Now we have Euphemia coming to Ashford Academy, yet nobody recognized her with her hat on, but once the hat flew off, everyone rushed her... really? Come on. Additionally, at the festival, Euphemia decides to announce that she is willing to treat the Japanese well, even giving back their nationality. Lelouch wants to stop this, but comes to terms with Euphemia and even admits defeat, revealing his identity as Zero and Euphemias brother. He then jokes that "I could make you kill the Japanese if I wanted to", and then his Geass decided that was the breaking point of Geass overuse, losing control on his Geass and causing her to commit mass genocide with all the Japanese gathered. At the end, Lelouch had no choice but to shoot her, which caused her to die even with multiple of Britannias best doctors attempting to save her. Now, remember how Mao had been riddled with bullets earlier? He directly stated that "Britannia medicine had advanced" later when he was shown to have survived that attack, but this "medicine" couldnt save Euphemia from a single gunshot wound? Moreover, this sent Suzaku into complete rage at Zero for killing Euphemia, even though she had just committed mass genocide against the Japanese. As the show progresses, Suzaku stays rooted in his hypocrisy, destroying any chance of good storywriting by constantly piling on convenience on convenience. My god, the scene when the Britannians corner Zero and Suzaku with the Knightmare disabling technology, then try to bomb the two was hard to watch. This scene also reminds me of Kallen, whose shit character I'll have to come back to. I physically cringed when, instead of locating the technology and attempting to destroy it, she entered the field to try to save Lelouch, which got her in danger as her Knightmare was disabled. Moreover, Lelouch was stunned at the fact that Suzaku was stupid enough to let himself get bombed just so Zero would be taken with him. To force Lelouch to use his single use Geass on Suzaku, commanding him to "live", is an issue of its own which snowballs even all the way to the end of Season 2. If Suzaku's suicidal tendencies or self-hate had been expanded upon, maybe his behavior in this scene might be a bit more bearable, but even then, it's extremely hard to watch. Their final confrontation when they end up on the island is pure chaos: Kallen has a mental breakdown after Zero is revealed to be Lelouch. It had been revealed in earlier episodes that Zero was a Britannian, so Kallen having a breakdown here makes 0 sense. The final confrontation also was hard because while Kallen was stuck with Suzaku, we saw how Kallen tried to convince Suzaku of her ideology, but Suzaku wasn't having any of it. Suzaku now knew of the plans that Zero had, and we as the audience till now did not know what Suzaku's plan truly was. How did he plan to change Britannia from the inside? What specifically would he do? This is never answered as nobody ever asked him this question, which is why it is so hard for me to accept that he would stay so rooted to his goal. He even betrayed his best friend Lelouch by turning him in to the king and tried so hard to kill him even if it meant suicide, he even killed his own father to stop the war, but yet he won't kill his enemies on the battlefield? He doesn't want anyone else to die? Suzaku is the biggest hypocrite I've ever seen, is probably one of the most hated characters of the show, and in all honesty, one of the worst written characters I've ever seen. At the end of the day, I feel like the story of this show is no more than a 5/10. Lelouch in the final confrontation said "I don't have the time to argue over which one of us is the bigger hypocrite", and in all honesty, it says a lot about the story here. I know I'm gonna get a lot of hate for this review, but after seeing the high popularity of this show and having watched it for myself, there's no way I can agree to them. The music/OSTs/OPs are amazing for sure, but they definitely cannot carry the absolute shit story here. A story where plot convenience and inconvenience alternates for both sides is a story I simply cannot praise the way the rest of the community does.
As is obvious from the summary this is my favorite show so I am biased in a sense. Although I have 0 nostalgia for this show (I didn't watch it til I was about 18-19) the first time I saw it I must admit I was so encapsulated by the show that I saw none of its flaws. So although I have no nostalgia for the some may say I am biased to it in a weird way as it was the first anime I saw that I considered "my favorite show" Understand one thing, this show is VERY flawed, it is far from perfect but I find what the show does is unlike any other and it gives me a feeling that no show has been able to give me since. Because of this I believe that the majority of this shows flaws are not a big deal. ~~~~~~One of this shows flaws is also one of its biggest strengths. It is VERY ambitious. This show feels like it tries to do everything in a compact 50 episodes. This show deals with a terrorist plot, love, rebellion, racism, mech fighting, all while often taking place in a high school. Because the show is always trying to do so much it often skips around and Lelouch will do things that they don't show you on screen, but that you as the viewer have to put together that Lelouch somehow managed to setup things before hand. This can vary anywhere from a nice subtlety to the show to a "wtf how could he have possibly done that" moment. Another one of the shows plot holes has to do with the fact that the writers of this show constantly had to dig themselves out of holes they dug themselves into. You see this show has no manga so this show was very obviously still being made up while it was airing (similar to something like ATLA, etc.) The two biggest violations of this *SPOILERS* are when Vilvetta has amnesia by falling on a rock, and the whole debacle with Lelouch Dad and Mom near the end of the show. To address the former I suppose it is feasible that Vilvetta could've had amnesia by hitting her head on a rock, but its pretty stupid tbh, but I suppose I can get past it, it just feels like the writers forgot about her and then had to figure out what to do with her. The bigger violation is The scene with Lelouch mom and dad in C's world. So Charles geass', Nunnaly causing her to be blind and fronting that it was done by terrorists, but wouldn't that mean he knew what V.V had done? This whole scene is too confusing and convoluted to get into but as it stands it is the only real problem I have with the show. This also has quite obnoxious fan service and I COMPLETELY understand why people have such a big problem with it, but for me it never got in the way of how amazing the show was. ~~~~~~This show is pure cinema. Everything this show does is bombastic and jaw dropping and it keeps you on the edge of your seat at every turn. From the amazing over the top but insanely diverse soundtrack, to the amazing quotables and dialogue throughout the show, to the great characters, world building and plot twists. This show has it all. Watching how Lelouch plans unfold and hearing how he feels about everything that happens is nothing but engaging and endearing and it makes you want to watch him succeed in all of his glory. This show also has really cool features that I've never seen any other show has, many people I know skip these but at the end of every episode, where most shows would give you a preview of what would happen next episode, Code Geass instead has Lelouch monologuing about all his thoughts on the current situation and what he plans to do about it and its just awesome. This shows dialogue is great to me because of how subtle it is and I constantly pick up new things and understand more on every rewatch of the show. This is something I feel every great piece of art should do, it should get better upon every viewing and with time. There are a lot of characters in this show but I feel the majority of them are great and a lot of the debates are so philosophical and psychological that it makes you really think deeply about what the subject matter they are talking about all means. Put one of the best soundtracks I've ever heard in an anime on top of that with amazing fight scenes, character development, world building, and just pure chaos, and you have yourself nothing short of a masterpiece. On top of that this show has one of, if not THE greatest ending I've ever seen in a show that will make it stick with you forever. I could gush about how amazing I find everything this show does for hours but to not get too repetitive and redundant I'll end it here. This show is a masterpiece and the most ambitious show I've ever seen, although I admit it would have almost certainly benefited from being longer, but as there were contract problems with the studio there was nothing to be done. I would recommend this show to anyone, just make sure you watch all of it or you might not get a good idea of what the show really is.
__~~~Code Geass R1~~~__ img700(https://files.catbox.moe/ow4fap.png) ~~~https://anilist.co/anime/1575/Code-Geass-Lelouch-of-the-Rebellion/~~~ img700(https://files.catbox.moe/ow4fap.png) ~~~Confesso que de início eu estava bastante hypado para assistir esse anime, tanto por sua premissa interessante e até mesmo por muitas pessoas gostarem do protagonista da série. Mas meus amigos, não se deixem enganar por mero "achismo", pois code geass brinca com sua inteligência te chamando de burro diante das coisas que esse anime apresenta. O roteiro é completamente pobre e sem sentido que chega a ser engraçado, é uma bagunça absoluta de ideias confusas nunca tocadas de forma que não seja absurda ou risível, um elenco de personagens que constantemente se degradam em imbecis absolutos e um enredo constantemente rearranjado. No meio do caminho de Code Geass, é como se o foco mudasse de criar uma série realmente fascinante, para essencialmente ver o quão estúpidos eles poderiam pegar a coisa toda e ver quantos espectadores aceitariam com a viagem.+++~~~ img700(https://files.catbox.moe/ow4fap.png) Antes de mais nada... Deixa eu refutar a história inteira logo de início. O pretexto de Code Geass é basicamente esse: "Depois de testemunhar o assassinato de sua mãe e ter sua vida e a de sua irmã arruinadas por seu pai, um príncipe britânico exilado vivendo sob o nome falso de Lelouch Lamperouge, por um desejo de vingança, se levanta para se tornar um líder revolucionário" E no primeiro episódio, Lelouch é inspirado a começar sua campanha contra Britânia quando obtém uma habilidade sobrenatural chamada "Geass" de uma misteriosa garota vestindo uma camisa de força justa. Essa habilidade permite que ele controle a vontade e as ações de qualquer pessoa que escolher, com muito poucas limitações reais. Tudo que ele precisa é contato visual direto com a vítima pretendida e é isso. Como resultado, sua decisão de iniciar uma rebelião no Japão como forma de se vingar de seu pai na Britânia parece uma forma muito indireta de fazer as coisas. Pareceria mais eficaz simplesmente pegar um avião para casa, usando o Geass para passar pela segurança, e assim chegando até o seu pai e ponto final. Não é como se Lelouch não fizesse a mesma coisa com seu irmão Clovis no final do segundo episódio. Claro, se Lelouch realmente seguisse o curso que a lógica simples ditaria, ele não teria começado sua rebelião e Code Geass não teria tido a oportunidade de se entregar a um espetáculo exagerado o suficiente para envergonhar Steven Spielberg. img700(https://files.catbox.moe/ow4fap.png) ~~~__História:__~~~ Enquanto Code Geass tinha uma premissa interessante que parecia ter começado bem, é uma pena que os criadores da série não tivessem ideia de como lidar com a massa de ideias que tinham, ou talvez simplesmente não ligassem. Novos elementos da trama são introduzidos enquanto, ao mesmo tempo, outros são empurrados para trás e atrasados, às vezes por muitos episódios, e às vezes retirados inteiramente da série, deixados para serem resolvidos na 2ª temporada. A escrita é completamente pobre e ao invés da história emocionante de guerra/vingança que tínhamos, nós então mergulhamos de cabeça em um drama de romance totalmente vazio com uma resolução incrivelmente ilógica que a série quase se transformou em uma comédia. À medida que a série avança, quase como se o romance fosse uma caixa de seleção em uma lista de afazeres do enredo, a série gradualmente se constrói de novo, fazendo você pensar que ainda pode se recuperar, apesar da idiotice ainda onipresente, mas o programa considera adequado entregar uma reviravolta na história completamente exagerado e ridículo, os escritores destruíram absolutamente tudo o que a série havia construído em sua primeira metade, apenas para entregar uma das reviravoltas mais estúpidas e patéticas dos últimos anos. Não consigo imaginar que os escritores tivessem outra intenção, ao invés de fazer o público rir do absurdo de tudo isso. A série parece querer ser tantas coisas ao mesmo tempo. Quer ser uma emocionante história de guerra, um drama sobre vingança, quer incluir romance e tragédia, mas sem abrir mão do humor (que por sinal é bem ruim "em destaque no episódio 6"). Infelizmente, não foi possível fazer nada disso direito. ~~~img500(https://i.pinimg.com/originals/63/95/8d/63958d644b8459436055049461f8cc8a.gif)~~~ img700(https://files.catbox.moe/ow4fap.png) ~~~__Um dos pontos que mais me incomodaram enquanto eu assistia:__~~~ 1- A Kallen que é uma amiga de Lelouch ganha inteligência 0 todas as vezes que está ao lado dele em forma de Zero, como caralhos ela não percebe que a voz do Lelouch e a do Zero são idênticas? 2- No episódio 21 o Lelouch não está disfarçado de Zero, ou seja, ele está como um estudante na escola. E na escola, aparece um dos aliados de Zero no festival que estava ocorrendo, e ele acaba vendo o Lelouch falando com a CC (CC é conhecida por ser uma aliada do Zero e por também ser a única a saber o verdadeiro rosto de Zero). Dai eu te pergunto, se o cara viu a CC falando com o Lelouch, como caralhos isso não é óbvio o suficiente de decifrar que o Lelouch é o Zero? 3- O episódio 6 é uma piada de tão ruim que é, ele é basicamente um episódio de "humor" com uns acontecimentos muito estúpidos e sem sentidos. E no final de tudo, quando você acha que era na verdade um filler por simplesmente não acreditar em tamanha barbaridade que foi o episódio, eles usam dessa balbúrdia para apresentar um personagem importante. O episódio inteiro foi uma piada e eles usaram essa piada como uma justificativa para apresentar esse personagem. Cara, só vendo mesmo pra tu entender o que eu to falando. 4- Um pouco depois da segunda metade do anime, a Shirley é sequestrada por um cara que também possui um poder Geass, e o cara da uma arma para a Shirley matar o Lelouch (sendo que eles são amigos). PORRA CARA, se tu quer matar o maluco, mate você mesmo. Pra que esta viadagem toda?? E no final das contas o Lelouch conseguiu escapar porque na hora que o vilãozinho entrou no trem para coletar sua arma, o trem andou e foi embora com ele dentro. Bem conveniente, não? 5- Esse mesmo vilão que possui o Geass deseja ter a CC de volta pra ele, então ele faz uma chantagem e a CC acaba indo de imediato até ele. Como a CC conversou com ele por ligação telefônica, o Lelouch ouviu tudo e bolou um plano mirabolante para salvar a CC. O Lelouch simplesmente fez o impossível, o Lelouch é o maior inimigo da lógica. Quando a CC chega no local combinado pelo vilão, o Lelouch chega poucos minutos depois HACKEANDO OS APARELHOS DO PARQUE E TRANSMITINDO DE EM UM LUGAR NA PUTA QUE O PARIU. Dai tu pensa, beleza, o Lelouch hackeou os aparelhos e ta transmitindo ao-vivo para negociar com o cara sobre a CC. Mas logo depois ele aparece no parque com um exército fortemente armado cercando o cara e FUZILANDO ELE, e com isso, ele revela que aquela transmissão era na verdade uma gravação. DAI EU TE PERGUNTO, COMO CARALHOS O TEMPO QUE A CC LEVOU PARA CHEGAR NAQUELE LOCAL FOI O MESMO TEMPO QUE O LELOUCH TEVE DE IR NA PUTA QUE O PARIU (em cima de uma torre se eu não me engano) FAZER UMA GRAVAÇÃO, ENTRAR DENTRO DAS FORÇAS ARMADAS, ACHAR O COMANDANTE, USAR O GEASS NELE PARA QUE ELE PUDESSE COMANDAR UMA TROPA EM DIREÇÃO AO LOCAL DA CC E AINDA POR CIMA HACKEAR O SISTEMA DO LOCAL PARA TRASMITIR A GRAVAÇÃO??? a física não consegue explicar tal fenômeno 6- Dai esse mesmo vilão aparece vivo no próximo episódio?????????????????? mesmo depois de ser altamente fuzilado em todas as partes do corpo (vale lembrar que o poder do vilão é de ler pensamentos, então nem faz sentido ele conseguir sobreviver por causa do poder dele). E como se já não bastasse, este tal vilão pega a irmãzinha do Lelouch e deixa ela presa com o plano mais inútil e sem sentido de todos os tempos, nem vale a pena perder tempo tentando explicar o que diabos ele tentou fazer. 7- Logo no início quando o Lelouch estava no banheiro, ele iria ter sua identidade descoberta por uma garota que estava no mesmo banheiro tomando banho, e com isso, o lelouch pega um telefone fixo que estava dentro do banheiro?????? e bota uma gravação de voz para provar ser inocente, meudeus. 8- Tem muitos pontos ainda para serem comentados aqui, mas estou cansado e não quero ficar pensando muito sobre isso também ~~~img500(http://37.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m7jhovgSD61qiq1olo3_500.gif)~~~ img700(https://files.catbox.moe/ow4fap.png) ~~~__ Personagens:__~~~ Assim como o enredo da série desmorona completamente no meio da série, os personagens também. Vilões secundários completamente intoleráveis e irritantes são introduzidos, enquanto outros muito mais interessantes são deixados em segundo plano e só reaparecem muito mais tarde. O Suzaku, constantemente irritante ao longo do anime, mal chega a ser um personagem, tanto que sua personalidade e intenções são uma piada. Alguns personagens têm seu desenvolvimento pessoal completamente erradicado da série, novamente apenas para atrasá-lo para uma segunda temporada, enquanto a maioria mal dá uma olhada superficial, incluindo até mesmo os antagonistas supostamente principais. O pior de tudo é Lelouch, cuja queda em uma espécie de mal maquiavélico foi supostamente o principal ponto de venda da série (Episódio 1 "o dia em que o diabo nasceu"), é reduzido a uma estupidez total, cometendo erro imbecil após o outro e constantemente provando ser só conversa e nada mais. Uma completa decepção em todos os sentidos. ~~~img500(https://pa1.narvii.com/6454/46d7ccedd6bb8c19918e773e7776410ef02e0e1f_hq.gif)~~~ img700(https://files.catbox.moe/ow4fap.png) __~~~Som: __~~~ A trilha sonora não é nada espetacular, mas ainda assim é útil. É um soundtrack decente, no mínimo. img700(https://files.catbox.moe/ow4fap.png) ~~~__Arte:__~~~ A animação é suave e bem feita. O design dos personagens é cortesia da CLAMP, então, se você gosta de suas artes, vai gostar do que vê aqui. Se você não gosta da CLAMP, não há nada em Code Geass que o convença do contrário. ~~~img500(https://i.pinimg.com/originals/53/ae/4e/53ae4ee2ac17aadba9ceab5bdbda6372.gif)~~~ img700(https://files.catbox.moe/ow4fap.png) ~~~__ Conclusão:__~~~ Uma série aparentemente promissora que eventualmente se degrada em nada mais do que idiotice. Quaisquer que sejam os pontos que a série parecia querer fazer em sua primeira parte, são totalmente invalidados por sua segunda parte. A falta de qualquer tipo de resolução, para qualquer coisa na série, é tão confusa quanto irritante. ~~~img500(https://i.gifer.com/1VPA.gif)~~~
_A review I made for Mal that I'm posting here since I'm plan to make more reviews from now, and same to S2 of Code Geass_ Code Geass is an anime that everyone comes to find out in their anime journey sooner or later. It is in the top rank 50 in Ranked and Popularity, so it's understandable, so many people go to watch it and learn about it. Though it's odd how the main two things people really talk about are the legendary ending and Lelouch as the greatest protagonist. I find that odd only because when you watch it all, there's so much in one season that I can't imagine what's in the next season. But I did watch only the first season, and is it the amazing masterpiece people say it is? No, not at all. At first, you think it has so much potential, and with all its hype, it can't possibly fuck up...and then it does so hard that it becomes so odd no one talks about the many flaws of this anime. Let's go on a journey to understand why Code Geass is a very flawed and horrible anime. The greatest strength and flaw is how many ideas this series has. It brings out so much potential in a singular season that you only get excited. Because of its multiple genres, you can only imagine how many directions it can go to. The issue with all this? Many ideas either feel unsatisfying when it is concluded, abandoned by the waste side, shoved in out of nowhere, or pushed to the next season. It's really frustrating to watch to see all this potential go to waste, but let me provide examples. Many ideas feel unsatisfying when it is concluded: Lelouch's character feels like a good example. His whole arc is essentially a man trying to do some good in the world. He is given a power that leads him down a path where every time he gets into a moral dilemma, he has to decide whether or not he must sacrifice the moral choice for the logical choice, and this leads him to become insane. Nothing wrong with this idea on the surface, right? Here's the problem with a character arc lends us. We have to understand and care for what he is sacrificing. As a better example of this arc, look at Light Yagami as he goes through the same arc expect we do care for what he sacrifices because we have grown to care for it. Each side character in Death Note is developed enough when certain moral dilemmas cross Light's path, and we also begin to sweat with him. We have seen this character attachment to Light, and we deeply understand it, so when Light makes the logical choice, we are affected as a viewer, and seeing his fall to madness is heartbreaking, whereas Lelouch isn't. There are many and many side characters that are extremely underdeveloped, and that's already a problem, but with Lelouch's arc in mind, it's mind-numbing to go through it when we don't really care for these characters. Frenette's whole character is she's in love with Lelouch, and that's all. Anything shown through her is just done for Lelouch's development, and after she loses her memories, she's just a stock character. But how she loses her memories is because of Lelouch and his plans. This is supposed to affect Lelouch somehow and same with the viewer, but I hardly couldn't care less. I mean, she's practically cardboard at this point and now trying to make us feel something isn't really doing much. Even when that moment happens, it's quickly forgotten and most moments like this happen to Lelouch. Something that is supposed to affect, doesn't until near the end where the arc nears its climax as he truly goes insane. It doesn't feel earn and is unsatisfying for what's supposed to be one of the best protagonists. Abandoned by the waste side: There's not a lot of examples of this but there are in here such as the whole school setting. It doesn't really add much to the show and is sort of there to make sure certain plot holes don't get bought up, but the school itself brings plot holes on its own like Mao somehow got inside the school without anyone noticing and kidnap Nunnally without any problems? But there's so much potential in a school setting in a story like this. Lelouch could get the school system on his side and have funding to help him on his way to taking down the empire, or they could be in the way of his plans. It's all exciting until you realize none of that happens, and the school is only there for the cat episode and the occasional fanservice (which is just annoying to be here in a story like this). There's also not to mention Cornelia and Lloyd's characters and how they're hyped up to have a bigger role, but mostly do nothing that really changes a whole lot. Disappointing to see honestly Shoved in out of nowhere: Let's not mention the scene where Lelcouch tells Euphemia to kill all the Japanese out of nowhere as well written because it's not at all. Even if all the elements are in place to make it work are there, that doesn't mean it will work because it's so out of character for Lelcouh to even joke about that. Let alone use that as an example he can use the Geass in the first place. It's the important plot point yet it's so stupid and out of nowhere that you can't forgive. It would be different if at least it was something small that doesn't matter in the long run but that moment is very important to the whole series plot, that it ruins the story completely. Pushed to the next season: So many ideas are set up that I assume they're there to be bought up later. The thing about that is if you have to set up so many things for later and tell the viewer to keep watching because "one day" it will come to an amazing ending is stupid. What you are watching at that very moment should be great enough that you don't have to wait to "get good." Just because it gets good at episode 10 doesn't mean it's a great show. It means it's secretly shit but you're telling yourself a lie. Near the end, tons of things are set up to be more important later on that it's kind of useless to watch the last few episodes that it's pretty much pointless to watch if you get the payoff later on. I also forget to mention how the show is all over the place with these ideas. With all this setting up and having to conclude ideas in the same season, you run into a problem that the main plot sort of does nothing until specific moments near the end which is kind of boring when the characters are underdeveloped and the side stories have potential but are still bad. The island episode is a sad example of it because this could be a good time for the certain to be developed but also have a thematic debate, but it sort of restates its ideas and moves on. Most arcs are just there to foreshadow or set up things and not really make developments in the plot itself. The themes of Code Geass are very fascinating and are done decently well. It's the matter of following the law or going against it to spark change in a directorship country, but the ideals of a directorship are done so well that it's sad to see it go nowhere. For the brief time that Charles zi Britannia has screentime, he's excellent at his speeches and pushes the themes well, but they are underdeveloped a bit with how it's pushed back a lot of times for the awful side stories and characters, but when it is bought, that's when Code Geass is at it's best. Ah, sadly this anime is also a victim of bad romance as well. Joy to see! For some reason, there is romance in this show which could be an idea until you find out most of it isn't done well. The characters sort of get together without any onscreen development like Villetta and Kaname romance is sort of developed but because both of them side characters that aren't well written, so is their romance that we only get glimpses of but even then, that's really isn't a good romance isn't? Any other romance in the anime is just a character loving another one but no development happens, and it's just there as that whole characters' personality. After explaining why the writing is bad, there must be other good qualities of Code Geass, right? Sort of. The animation is decent enough even if the characters look a bit overdesign and very sexualized. I mean, the animation can't be that amazing because it must be difficult enough animating most of the characters with how much detail there is. The music is pretty good actually and it made some of the stupid scenes bearable with that good soundtrack it has. Not the best one out there, but pretty good still. and the same with the voice acting. That leaves us with a 30/100 for dear old Code Geass. Maybe season 2 is great as they say but even if it is, a bad first season is still a bad season and just because you have an amazing ending doesn't make anything else disappear beforehand.
# Code Geass IMG(https://i.imgur.com/lNq8Mhz.jpg) I just finished this show like 5 minutes ago and man I'm speechless. I just didn't expect code geass to be this good. my mind is blown. firstly I had been holding off on watching this because I just didn't have high expectations for it, I don't know why but I just thought it would be bad but this completely broke through my expectations and now it is one of my favorite shows I have ever watched. so let us just get straight into the review. # Story img(https://i.imgur.com/1gK3wMj.jpg) I honestly thought the first couple of episodes weren't good at all. they were boring, I didn't understand most of it and they just threw every character at you all at once so it was hard to keep up, I would say the first 5 episodes are pretty ok with the cat episode probably being the worst episode in this season but once you pass those first 5 or 6 ok episodes, it really picks up and it suddenly starts to get interesting. I would say that at the 10th episode mark I was hooked on the show. and especially the 11 to 20 episodes are all fantastic and you really get connected to the characters. there is one gripe that I have with it, obviously, zero is Lelouch but at some points, you're just sitting there like, how do these people not know that zero is Lelouch and it is pretty hard to believe that nobody at all thinks that. the mecha elements are very good and this is the first mecha show I have seen so I was presently surprised at how much I liked the mecha part of this show. and the ending is so good, it sets up the second season perfectly and the reveal was super suspenseful and amazing. apart from the first 5 episodes, the story is borderline perfect. # Characters img(https://i.imgur.com/KZ7Qdop.jpg) I just love the main characters but I don't really care for most of the side characters. I will just get it out of the way, Lelouch is the best character, ok happy?. but Kallen is great, Suzuka is amazing, zero especially is amazing also C.C is great. and nunally was also amazing, I also loved Euphemia mao was also a great villain. I just loved all of them except. Nina is freaking annoying and does get on my freaking nerves. Cornelia is annoying. that rakshata girl I thought was annoying. but apart from them, I liked everyone else. # Animation the animation is good for its time. really nothing else to say sooooo I will say that the fight scenes look cool at least. # Conclusion I just loved this season of code geass and I cant wait to see the second season. I loved the story, I loved most of the characters[ I'm looking at you nina] and the animation looked cool. just everything about it is great. it's definitely not a 10 out of 10 like some people give it but it's still great. what did ya think of this review? did ya like it? if ya did then I would really appreciate it if you could slaappppppp that like button, Nah just kidding. that's it, see ya
Forget anime, this is one of the __best television productions__ that I have ever had the pleasure of
watching - __period.__
This is the kind of show that you would show to a friend who "doesn't like anime," but also has never
bothered giving the best of the genre a fair shot. So, yes, _
Note: English is not my first language, so this text may contain some grammatical mistakes. IMPORTANT: This review will contain spoilers about the work, so I will write it keeping in mind that anyone reading the review has already watched at least the first season, so I will not worry about summarizing the series or even presenting events in order, be warned. First of all, I'll point out a few things: This will be an extremely negative review given how bad I think the work is, but in no way is it intended to provoke the fandom, just to present my point of view on the work. I also feel I need to say that this review was made after my re-watch of the work, which I started about a month before writing this text, so it's not based on any vague memories I have about the anime. And also, this is my first review, so I apologize for any amateurism it presents. Well, let's start by giving Caesar what is Caesar's, Code Geass is extremely poorly done in almost every aspect, whether it's its plot, its direction, its aesthetic, its thematic approach, or its characters. Starting with what I think is the elephant in the room, the plot. That's by far its worst aspect, even surpassing any other bad plot I've ever seen. A level of “bad” that crosses the fine line between horrendous and abject, is so poorly written that it offends me, either by the moments when it shows itself completely holed, or when it invents situations from absolute nothing to make the story go on, abusing the use of deus ex machinas. And it's not like it's in just a few moments, it's during the entire show and at key moments for the plot. For example, something that happens early on, when Lelouch gets the Geass. It is extremely convenient for him to know what his power does and how to use it soon after acquiring it without receiving any explanation, but for some reason, he does not know the limitations of his own power. Why? Because the plot needs it. Later this entails a bigger problem, and that exemplifies well how holed the plot of this anime is. Lelouch discovers that in order to use the Geass he needs to look directly into the person's eye, and that after the person receives the Geass, they forget what happened some time before and after receiving the power. However, because the plot calls for it, the character Villeta Nu, in whom Lelouch uses the Geass, starts to remember Lelouch's face later, breaking the rule that the work itself presented. Note, this doesn't happen to ANY other character at ANY other moment, just Villeta because the script needs someone to figure out Zero's identity. Still talking about Villeta, I'll use one more moment with her to talk about the badness of the script. For SOME REASON she decides to follow Lelouch and takes Shirley along with her. Why take Shirley? What the hell does Villeta think Shirley, a completely normal schoolgirl, can do in the middle of a battlefield? There is no logic behind this action, the only justification is that the plot needs Shirley to find out that Lelouch is Zero because he killed her father. It's dumb, artificial and illogical that she's there, but the plot needs it, so she goes. And the resolution of this is even worse, since, even though she knows Lelouch is Zero, Shirley still loves him, and so shoots Villeta to prevent her from capturing Lelouch. After that, Villeta is dropped in the middle of nowhere with a shot in the belly, and stays there for hours, I repeat, HOURS, but, MIRACULOUSLY, Ougi finds her alive there and, for some reason, after receiving a shot in the belly, the sequel of her injury is... AMNESIA??? I can also quote the moment when Lelouch destroys the town's structure for using Geass on an officer. At WHAT POINT did he use Geass on this guy? HOW did he get in there? WHY can a guard who seems to have the function of a gatekeeper DESTROY the entire city structure at the push of a single button? In addition to the work not explaining how Lelouch architected his plan, it also sounds extremely ridiculous that a city is made in such a way as to allow its destruction with only one button that can be accessed by any guard. It's pathetic. But let's talk about the worst scene of the first season, the moment when Lelouch causes a massacre in a stadium for having lost control of his Geass. This happens because he made a joke, which he NEVER DID BEFORE, being the most convenient joke possible, at the most convenient time possible, with the most convenient person possible, in the most convenient place possible. Do you realize how artificial and stupid this is? In addition to all the soldiers obeying an order from Euphy who was acting in a distinctly strange way, who just came out of a conversation with Zero and whose order makes NO sense, but with the exception of ONE GENERAL, NO ONE questions Euphy's order and ALL THE SOLDIERS AGREE TO MAKE A MASSACRE AGAINST CIVILIANS. And WORSE, moments after the Black Knights defeat Britain's troops, they, along with the civilians, decide to declare their independence in a ceremony IN THE SAME PLACE WHERE THEIR OWN FAMILY MEMBERS WERE MASSACRED. Frankly, it's almost offensive. But calm down, there is still one more example in Mao's arc. In addition to being completely frivolous and being introduced out of nowhere (a fairly recurring problem in the work, by the way) it also ends up in a huge plot hole. Remember, Lelouch (with another inexplicable plan) defeats Mao by ordering cops to shoot him, and he gets numerous shots in that scene, but in the next episode, he COMES BACK with only a few bandages, as if he hadn't been shot by nearly a dozen cops. And right after the wonderful scene of Suzaku dodging shots from a machine gun running with extreme precision and cutting a moving wire in the air without cutting the wrong one, Mao is defeated... WITH A SHOT. Now, first the work shows him as a sponge of bullets, but soon after he dies from a gunshot wound to the neck??? WTF. I think at this point it's already made explicit how poorly written Code Geass's plot is, I'm obviously not going to address EVERY scene where the plot proves flawed because it would overextend the review. But going a little bit off the plot, let's talk about how bad its aesthetic is, a point that I see being little commented on by the way. It's not strange that the work is a war anime, which approaches ideological conflicts, prejudice, genocide, but its characters look like malnourished models, with clothes that look like they are from a fashion show or some episode of Jojo, and that the anime spends entire episodes with frivolous passages of slice of life comedy at school, while having an extremely appealing sexual fanservice? Seriously, does this really matches with an anime that's supposed to be about war and politics? OBVIOUSLY NOT, but they are elements that are popular, and since Code Geass is only concerned with selling, damn if there is no harmony between them. And now, talking about the characters a little bit. But really, a little bit, as almost the entire cast can be summed up in poorly deepened one-dimensional doors. This applies perfectly to Kallen, C.C., Euphy, Cornelia, Schneizel, Charles, all of Lelouch's high school friends, and the vast majority of the cast, so I'm not going to waste my time talking about them. However, two in particular are worth my time to criticize them, Lelouch and Suzaku. Lelouch is by far the most interesting character in Code Geass. His relationship with his sister and his obsession with her, his cool reactive moments when he starts questioning his own actions, all of this is interesting, but it's only interesting. At no point does the work bother to build a legitimate character arc for Lelouch, with his supposed arc summing up to reactive moments with a middle beginning and end in the same episode. It's not a singular arc that stretches across the entire series, he realizes something, gets affected by it and in the next episode HE GOES BACK TO BEING THE SAME PERSON. While I feel like I could value the work a little bit more because of these Lelouch moments, I also feel like I shouldn't, because the work takes all the potential that the character has and throws it in the trash, summarizing his arcs to small reactive moments that begin and end in the same episode. Why, Code Geass, why? And now, the one that is THE WORST virus that the work has, my dear Suzaku. What if not the most contradictory, dumb, hypocritical character I've ever seen? In addition to not being well deepened, he should serve as a counterpoint to Lelouch, the "other side of the coin". But explain to me, how am I going to buy this character when he thinks that fighting against an invading country is wrong because it "only generates more violence" and because of that kills his own father, but the country he fights for COMMITS GENOCIDE??? There's no way to buy a character like that Code Geass, sorry, but it doesn't. Taking advantage of the fact that I spoke of Suzaku, I would like to address another problem that Code Geass has, the artificiality of its thematic approach. It tries to sell itself as a deep war anime, which approach different ideals and politics, but the main villain has the most manichean and artificial villain speech possible, being put to tell the audience that "social inequality is good". Heck, can you make a villain more artificial than that? Better, is it possible to make a WORK more artificial than this. Maybe it does, but I haven't found any to this day. Anyway, for the first season that's it, Code Geass sells itself as a mature war anime, but it doesn't address its theme in any depth, getting contradictory at times, doesn't have A SINGLE good character, and has the most holed, poorly written plot I've seen to date. An empty and extremely artificial work that is nothing more than an amalgamation of various elements that are successful and that does not care about anything but selling. And no, that's not because of any amateurism of whoever did the work. You have 50 EPISODES, more than enough to build a good story, a studio like SUNRISE, and directors who have worked on works considered good by critics. It's not for lack of ability, it's for lack of WILL to do something descent. I'd rather believe that this anime is a social experiment to prove that average otakus accept any crap, as I refuse to believe that it's possible to do something so bad unintentionally.
# __Code Geass: Hangyaku no Lelouch__ img620(https://static1.cbrimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Code-Geass-Lelouch-and-C.C.-e1598407568135.jpg) I suspected that Code Geass would align with my tastes. I adore works with elements of strategy, rivalry, or superpowers. Disappointed by the ending of Death Note, I turned to it to improve my mood. However, Code Geass didn't intend to be just a "band-aid" for long and quickly found a separate place in my heart, remaining one of the most important productions for me until now. Why have I watched it three times already, and why am I so enthralled by it? # __Characters__ img620(https://img.jakpost.net/c/2017/05/03/2017_05_03_26324_1493811007._large.jpg) There are plenty of them, and each has their own ideas and goals. Their personalities are clearly defined, and each behaves in accordance with how they were written, yet they can still surprise us with their decisions. Moreover, there are no characters here who are evil just for the sake of being evil. "Everyone simply wants to find a bit of happiness," as was said in one of the episodes. It is what pushes us in a specific direction. The problem is that our directions differ from each other. Even supporting characters are intriguingly written. I didn't feel like they were fillers; I wasn't angry that i didn't see what Lelouch was doing at the moment. Instead, I joyfully watched their actions. # __Emotions__ img620(https://i.imgur.com/OXiXfro.jpg) I'm also full of admiration for how feelings were portrayed. I felt that behind every facial expression, there was depth, anger was genuine anger, and despair was genuine despair. The emotions were presented so beautifully that it felt like I was reading the work of masters of psychological prose. However emotions aren't the primary focus here, as in Evangelion, and we don't get as many of them, but in return, we get a more intricate, clearer plot and a smile on our faces because Code Geass can also be funny. #__ Animation__ img620(https://www.mangaluxe.com/dossiers/code-geass/img/cc-1.jpg) The animation is unconventional, and not everyone will like it, but it must be admitted that the women in it look great. # __Conclusion__ It's the perfect production for people seeking something deeper than the silly, lewd comedies that flood the anime market nowadays. You can also view it as a break from more depressing creations because it offers more than just a feeling of sadness; it present a lighter form without diminishing the weight of the message and depth. I won't hide that part of my enthusiasm is due to the fact that Code Geass touched on my personal fears and dreams. While striving to remain objective, I still believe it's a work where every element is implemented at the highest level.