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Code Geass - Hangyaku no Lelouch (Code Geass – Lelouch of the Rebellion)

Genres: Mecha, Sci-fi
Studios: Sunrise, MBS
Character Design: Clamp
OP: “COLORS” by FLOW
ED: “Yuukyou Seishunka” by Ali Project
Official Site: http://www.geass.jp/

Opening Theme:

Impressions:

Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion is one helluva good anime with exceptionally interesting characters, nice character design and high quality. Lelouch, the main character, has already gotten my vote and his personality and past are very fascinating. The main thing is he is a Britannian, the antagonists of the show, but hates his own people. I didn’t expect something like that – my mind has become too simple and I constantly expect generic things, such as the main character being from Japan, which is being oppressed. I also expected this to be another pilot-prodigy type mecha but apparently Lelouch’s skill is something far different from that, though I’ll have to watch a bit more for this power to be explained properly. Another cool aspect about Lelouch is his outstanding chess skills, which will obviously reflect on his battle tactics. He’s already reminding me of Light from Death Note…

The series definitely got off to a good start – already viewers have been impacted with a mystery that I hope will be fairly significant and won’t be solved until well into the story. That mystery is CC, the green haired girl who was thought to be a chemical weapon. What exactly does she do, where did she come from/who created her, what’s her purpose and did she really die? I seriously doubt that last question, but from the outside it seems like she’s been knocked out yet she’s still communicating to Lelouch, probably through his mind. Another thing, how is she able to give Lelouch the power to control others. There are scientific and logical explanations for this, but they’re a bit far-fetched so I’ll just accept her as she is right now. I hope it’s not supernatural and I hope she’s not something simple like ‘an experiment gone wrong’, or ‘genetically engineered with superpowers’.

The animation and character design, which is done by Clamp I think, reminds me of Tsubasa Chronicles. The actual production is shared between Sunrise and MBS. Sunrise was responsible for the Gundam series, while MBS was involved with Macross and Eureka Seven. Both also did many other famous, non-mecha series as well. I’m quite happy with the result as the overall animation quality is quite high. Backgrounds and minor objects are quite detailed; colour scheming works well with the futuristic setting. Only problem is, the mechas don’t look as detailed and original as I hoped they’d be. Hopefully this will be improved as the show progresses and more serious fights begin. I wonder what Lelouch’s will look like, or if he’ll just go around stealing them, as he obviously isn’t part of some powerful organisation who will provide for him like Gundam Seed or whatever. (Wait, he hasn’t turned evil has he?)

Story:

From Anime News Network
Japan has been invaded and conquered by the Britannic Empire. Japan is now known as “Area 11″ and its citizens known as “elevens.” The Britannic Empire takes away Japan’s autonomous power and imposes its rule. The Britannic Empire enforces its rule through the use of ‘Nightmares’. The Empire’s rule has never faltered, but cracks have begun to show…

Plot Outline:

- Seven years ago, the Holy Britannia Empire declared war on Japan and used their Knightmare Frames to overpower the country
- Japan was stripped of its freedom and rights, as well as its name as it was renamed ‘Eleven’
- Currently, in 2017, Britannia is facing terrorism problems
- Lelouch plays chess with an aristocrat and defeats him in 9 minutes by sending his king out first
- At Lelouch’s school, a girl called Shirley (Shaarii) wonders where Lelouch had gone as she is talking to her friend, Millais (Mirei)

- After defeating the aristocrat at chess, Lelouch and his friend, Rival, exit the building to see the prince of Britannia, Clovis, addressing the public and pretending to be very emotional about the recent terrorist attacks
- Off camera, Clovis orders his military general to send Knightmare Frames in order to retrieve a stolen truck
- As Lelouch and Rival are riding down the freeway in their motorcycle, the stolen truck appears behind them
- To avoid them, the truck swerves and crashes into a building
- Lelouch tries to help the people inside but falls into the truck when it starts to move again
- When the truck starts taking fire, the woman in the truck gets in her Knightmare Frame to fend off the attackers, but facers a more skilled pilot and loses, but manages to escape
- The military is informed that the truck contains a chemical weapon and must be retrieved
- The truck crashes into a sheltered area as the driver blacks out
- A local guard spots the truck and approaches Lelouch, who is moving in and around it
- The two lock are about to fight each other until they realise that they were childhood friends since before the war seven years ago, Suzaku
- The container in the truck suddenly opens, but what emerges from it isn’t a gas but a green haired girl
- The military arrives and the commanding officer orders Suzaku to kill Lelouch

- Suzaku refuses and the officer plants a pullet in Suzaku
- The truck driver, who is on the verge of death, destroys his own truck with a bomb
- In the commotion, Lelouch and the girl flee from the scene
- Destruction of the city is ordered because of the girl’s escape
- Lelouch eventually gets caught again because Shirley calls him on his mobile (soldiers hear the ring)
- The soldiers shoot at Lelouch, but the girl, CC, intervenes and takes the shot for him in the head
- CC suddenly grabs Lelouch’s hand and the scene changes
- In some different dimension, CC offers Lelouch a deal; to give him the power of a king in return for one wish
- Lelouch accepts and the two return to the normal world (CC is still lying on the floor looking dead)
- Lelouch commands the soldiers to kill themselves, and as he now has the power of the king (literally), all the soldiers shoot themselves
- In the end, Lelouch contemplates this revolution and his face twists to form an evil grin

Ending Theme:

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