Code Geass Hangyaku no Lelouch

Title:Code Geass Hangyaku no Lelouch
Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion
コードギアス 反逆のルルーシュ (Japanese)
Overall:Rent
Keywords: , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Notables: Animation - SUNRISE
Music - Ali Project
Original Concept - OOKOUCHI Ichirou
R1 License - Bandai (Defunct)
Having been invaded and conquered by the Britannic Empire, Japan now struggles under its rule. The country once called Japan is now known as Area 11 and its citizens are called Elevens. The iron-rule of the Empire’s subjugated areas are enforced by mobile armoured combat suits called Knightmare Frames. But when one of their secret projects is captured by terrorists, a force strong enough to threaten their control is set loose ...

Series first aired on Japanese TV in Oct 2006, and began airing as an English dub on April 27, 2008 on the (US Cable channel) Adult Swim.

23 TV Episodes.
+ 2 additional OVA episodes (episodes 24+25), the 2nd season Code Geass 2, and side-story: Code Geass: Bōkoku no Akito.

Animation by Sunrise.
Characters designed by the CLAMP team.
R1 Licensed by Bandai.

For images, see Cute Girls with Guns wikipage.

Winner 6th Annual ↗Tokyo Anime Awards (2007) – "Best TV series."

2min Series Opening - Crunch Roll Video


See also: Code Geass: Hangyaku no Lelouch - Nunnally in Wonderland, an OVA side story to be released from July 27, 2012.
Episode Details 
01, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 99A
OverallArtAnimationCharacter Design MusicSeries StoryEpisode StoryReviewer
Rent 8 10 9 8 7 10 Silence [series:1470#2939]
FYI: Geas comes from the Irish word, Geis, which is a spell of sorts which enforces an obligation or a condition usually set on a man by a woman. Hence, CC is able to set a geis, or geass, on Mao and Lelouch, allowing them to obtain powers, which she could not possess herself.

As an action anime with heavy political settings, Code Geass showed surprising maturity and understanding of the world. Its maturity is somewhat reminiscent of GITS (though not as much), hence within the first few episodes, Code Geass easily overcame my disdain against such genre. Furthermore, I have a bias against humanoid mecha (do not see any practical reason why a machine has to be humanoid), even with this, I was won over early on. Perhaps this can be testiment to the quality and promise of this series.

The storytelling was certainly intense and very addictive. Each episode ends with a nice hook that leaves me wanting for more. I think most people would agree. The leadership style of Zero is very clearly illustrated; seeminly giving choice, but actually leaving very little room for his subordinates to deviate from his plan. Constantly telling people that they can go if they want (when times are going well of course) is a very nice example of reverse psychology. The gradually buildup of arms for the Black Knights is believable and nicely done. The way that Zero manipulates and plans is very evident of a great leader and strategist.

The most characters have good depth, including that annoying and xenophobic Nina, though i do not see how she contributes in this series. We can see the motivations and fears of the more relevant characters, so that is a job well done. However its kinda hard to see why Lelouch goes so far to "protect Nanaly" (i think this has the opposite effect of attracting danger to her. After all, they no longer had any claim to the throne or influence in politics.), and it cannot be easily explained away. Perhaps he is rather broken inside, and has twisted ways of thinking, hence together with his arrogance and ego, he decided on the most attention grabbing way. Oh well.

However, I agree with ggultra that the whole Mao incident was out of place, and the insights into CC should have been integrated in a better way. And the ending lands a crushing blow on the series story. I do not believe it to be a legitimate ending, as no issue is resolved at all. It would have been an excellent cliff hanger had there been just 1 more episode to resolve the main problems posed, but no, the series ended. Looking at say, Spice and Wolf, we can see how a series can end properly and still give a nice hook for the next season. If they cannot finish this in 25 episodes, then they should just have made it into say 50. Now, the entire resolution of this series depends on the next season, which is really not a good thing.

The ending is very very important to me. This series worked very very hard to build up my expectation, only to let me free fall at the very climax. Had the rest of the 24 episodes been less enjoyable, the series story could easily have been a 5. Could have easily been a buy, so very disappointing indeed.

Last updated Thursday, October 01 2009. Created Thursday, October 01 2009.
Rent 9 10 8 7 8 8 Ggultra2764 [series:1470#1552]
It's a couple years late for me, but I finally found some space in my anime viewing to check out Code Geass. Unfortunately, this series threw out enough twists one after another that it just made itself into one big mess. When the series first started off, the premise and buildup had me thinking it was gonna be an anime take of the movie V for Vendetta with mecha thrown into the mix with Lelouch taking on the role of V and the oppression of the Japanese by Britannia being like Britain taken over by the fascist Norsefire regime. Lelouch is playing double duty as supportive older brother/ high school student and masked leader for a vigilante/terrorist group. Not to mention he's an exiled prince. The main characters and environment of Britannia do get enough development where you get a sense of what these people and settings are like, especially the prejudice faced by the Japanese/Elevens. There's enough interesting developments regarding the conflict between the Black Knights and Britannia, that I couldn't help but be hooked to what took place.

But the show has issues in enough places that kept me from giving it a Buy. The shocking developments late in the series change the mood of the series enough where it just made me feel it was out of place. The whole Mao incident, while providing depth into CC's character, also seemed out of place for me as well. I also got dumbfounded enough over the random foreshadowing moments that popped up yet weren't addressed at all in this season. What interest did the Emperor of Britannia have in ruins? Who is CC exactly? Who was the strange boy that appeared towards the end of the series? And don't get me started with the ending. That had to me one of the most irritating points that I've seen for an anime ending to date (not counting anime adaptations of an ongoing manga series).

Scenery made use of enough detail and bright colors, especially with mecha designs. Character designs are of the attractive and pretty variety for male and female characters. Animation is clearly the best feature of Code Geass thanks to the mecha battle scenes that Sunrise has milked enough out of their popular mecha titles. Soundtrack was okay, though there was nothing notable that really hooked me in.

Code Geass, as a whole, is a mixed bag of an anime title for me. The focus on Britannian-Japanese relations was an interesting premise. But this show was trying too hard at shocking me with plot twists that just didn't deliver it in a way that retained the show's mood from the start of the series. It's a decent series where I'm interested enough in seeing the second season. But I wouldn't be tempted to buy the entire series.

Last updated Friday, September 04 2009. Created Friday, September 04 2009.
Watch 10 10 10 10 10 10 Violet D [series:1470#1393]
Well let me see. I started watching it last month and even though the plot goes real fast and I have a short attention span. I still like to watch it. Also I like to figure out what is going on. Not like Death Note but it does have its moments. I enjoy the art and animation along with the story plot. I look forward to this weekend when I can watch more of it.I would say it is a good one to watch.

Last updated Tuesday, October 28 2008. Created Tuesday, October 28 2008.
Buy 10 10 10 10 10 10 Xenoknight [series:1470#2967]
HONORABLE MENTION ANIME WINNER - The Greatest Story Ever Told

HONORABLE MENTION ANIME WINNER - Most Shocking Final Episode

Easily, The Greatest Story Ever Told!



I believe the aforementioned statement to be true in any and every instance possible.

Never have I seen a more morally corrupt anime in my entire life! The characters' very existence were constantly put to the test and the main lead (certainly a candiate for "Main lead who carried the most burden in his life") knocked on insanity's door on a regular basis! This is the only anime to my knowledge (I know there is no other, but to be politically correct...) that the main lead was pushed to such drastic measures and his intentions would be viewed as completely evil! "A person that fights for the right reasons but takes an entirely evil approach to achieve results".

The very fabric of the notion right vs. wrong, good vs. evil, and Heaven vs. Hell were thrown completely out the window with this anime! By the last episode, I was convinced that there was no difference between the two conflicting views! That is how morally twisted this anime was! The constant contradictions, the excessive use of right vs. wrong scenarios, and the "fear-provoking" thought of watching certain characters nearly go insane from the pressure of dealing with their individual life choices are the weapons this anime uses in it's undeniable presentation during the 25 episodes. Truly the best of the best... The "crème de la crème"...

This is one of those titles where you might (should) purchase two seperate copies! One for normal viewing, and the other to remain untouched in it's package never to be opened as testament to it's brilliance!

Code Geass 2 will start airing in english dub beginning November 8, 2008. Look out for it... I'll see you there...

Check out my award list to see some of the best anime titles in the world!

Never forget Xenosaga.

Last updated Friday, February 27 2009. Created Sunday, September 21 2008.
Unevaluated Stretch [series:1470#628]
(Approximately five episodes watched):

I tend to be skeptical of shows that are wildly popular--what’s good isn’t necessarily popular, and what’s popular isn’t necessarily good, you know. I’ve been reading a lot of internet and magazine articles about Code Geass, about how it’s all the rage in Japan, has been voted best show of the year, and is set to premiere on Adult Swim over here. So, I became curious and decided to watch the first episode. My expectations had been inflated to the point that I expected a brilliantly complex yet understandable plot, intriguing characters with interesting motivations, wild and exciting action, basically a sort of pizzazz that can’t be put into words. I finally watched the episode and I’m sorry to say that I was not particularly impressed. This actually seems rather simplistic to me; the Britannians are mostly bad with a few good people while the subjugated “elevens” are mostly good with a few bad ones. Blatant atrocities are used to sledgehammer the viewer into taking one side. Obviously any Britannian with the slightest ethics and knowledge of the horrors that are going on would defect immediately. I can't help suspecting that simple-minded patriotism is the source of a good deal of this show's popularity in Japan. For a show that’s supposed to be so wildly popular, I’d have thought it would be more three-dimensional. From what I’ve seen, the premise of Code Geass seems like little more than an excuse for mecha action; in that sense, it kind of reminds me of Eureka Seven, which I lost interest in as well. Lelouch’s mind control ability was fairly interesting; though I’ve got a feeling that it won’t come anywhere near the sophistication of the fellow Adult Swim series, Death Note.* I guess I’ll casually watch the English dubbed version on Adult Swim, to see if it gets any better.

I watched yet another episode, to see if my first impressions of such an important show had really been accurate. I'm still getting pretty much the same vibe. One thing that didn't make sense to me was that Lelouch is already vowing to overthrow the entire Britanian Empire, because a friend of his was apparently shot dead by a Britanian soldier. That's kind of a stretch; I mean, if a US soldier killed a friend of yours (and you were an upper class US citizen), would you want to overthrow the entire United States, or would you want the individual soldier who fired the shot (or whoever ordered him to do so) punished? The mecha combat seems like the usual I-never-miss-you-never-hit stuff (which I am really tired of). The Knightmares shoot some sort of guided blades attached to cables to bring down aircraft, which seems absurd to me. Obviously the reason these were included is to provide a little change from the usual gun- and missile armed mobile suits, but it seems rather implausible--all the aircraft have to do is increase their altitudes a little and this weapons system will be rendered useless. One thing that is interesting about Code Geass is that instead of being some sort of heroic freedom fighter, Lelouch seems to be treating warfare as a new form of gambling and gaming.

What I meant was, both Code Geass and Eureka Seven strike me as shows in which the mecha action was supposed to be extremely "cool", but I found it uninteresting. Of course this is coming from a person who watched To LOVE-Ru immediately before episode one of this show!

*Actually, doing some internet review reading has made it clear that a lot of people do draw comparisons between Lelouch and Death Note. Both Light and Lelouch have a paranormal ability to kill people, after all. But I felt that Death Note seemed to have such extreme sophistication, and Lelouch not nearly so much, that the two shows seemed to come from different universes to me. Still, the average viewer will probably be perfectly satisfied with this series. After all, how can a show be wildly popular if even average people don't like it?

Last updated Saturday, February 28 2009. Created Tuesday, April 08 2008.
Buy 10 10 10 4 8 9 aoneish [series:1470#1615]
wow. i am really impressed with this series. honestly i don't know why i never took to gundam, but this series really pulls me in. it also helps that the characters are uber pretty haha.

so, politics and intrigue galore in what's a pretty much alternate reality. and while that's really dull sometimes, this isn't too bad. actually code geass has the kind of "v for vendetta" vibe. he's even got the mask to boot. but this series carries it beyond the beginning of the revolution and puts us smack dab in the middle of it. and thusly with the ongoing war we get character angst and drama.

lelouch is an interesting...actually the entire cast is pretty impressive, but you'll either hate or love lelouch, he's not your typical "good" guy, good being the relative term. you see motivations behind nearly every main character and even some secondary characters. the plot moves pretty evenly, not too slow but haha definitely not in hurry. however, there are only two episodes left and that's a lot to wrap up.

just who is CC? will we learn more about the geass? will lelouch succeed? what about suzaku?

*sigh, so it's really likely that they're going to carry on in the next season (season 2 has been confirmed), but i wanted a resolution heh.

the ost is nothing to pay attention to. some pretty tracks but the ops and the eps are pretty bad.

and the mech fighting is top notch, heh. no budgeting there.

*and btw, shinsen-subs has released a fandubbed episode 23 as an april fool's joke. *wince it's pretty bad, so lol, make sure you've got the right one.

so episode 23 ends with the literal destruction of order. it's quite impressive. characters are killed, masses of people die, the lines are drawn and Cornelia and Lelouch prepare to go head to head. i can't wait to see what happens next.

Last updated Thursday, April 12 2007. Created Tuesday, April 03 2007.
Rent Jan-Chan [series:1470#967]
Did I like the series - Code Geass? Yes! But not enough want to watch it again, so I could only offer a RENT rating.

With lots of mecha action, Code Geass tells the tale of a fallen member of the Brittannia Royalty, who has taken to hiding in Japan at the time that it was invaded. During an attack on the city by independence rebels, LeLouch chances on an abandoned Brittannic transport vehicle and frees a mysterious woman who was imprisoned within. The green-haired woman grants him a strange gift, (never a good sign - don't trust women with green hair), an advantage that just might give Lelouch enough of an edge to help him to realize his dream of freeing Japan from the oppression of Brittannic occupation, while dealing a humiliating defeat to the family that killed his mother and injured his sister.

The series is really entertaining, at least until episode 20. And like BF mentioned, the storyline twist at the end had me wondering if it was going to do a nasty MELTDOWN – which has been the downfall of a number of other series. But there is enough merit in the originality of the story and depth & development in the characters to keep me hanging in there and hoping for the best.

The characters of Code Geass were developed by CLAMP. So you can expect a gaggle of very cute Bishounen boys and a flock of super saccharine girls. Beyond this, the story is interesting and focused. I think that there are only two or three empty filler episodes, which is a plus.

At the end of episode 23, there are a number of significant unanswered questions, which have me wondering if they were just going to be dropped or overlooked. But since there are two more OVA episodes and a '2nd season', I will withhold any judgment.

And the animation is also great. Check out the images posted to the Episode Details section if you would like to see more.

Last updated Monday, September 22 2008. Created Sunday, April 01 2007.
Buy 10 10 10 10 10 10 Big Fire [series:1470#2441]
In Summary, Code Geass is about a boy Lelouch who happens to be britannian...Yes one of the bad guys...In fact Lelouch's dad is the emperor, but no one knows he is alive kinda sort of living in exile as a student...But because he was at the wrong place at the wrong time he gets caught in the cross fire of Britannians trying to squash out a terrorist threath...He discovers a mysterious woman who saves his life by stepping in front of a bullet...From there, he aquires the mysterious power of Geass...with this power, he will use it to destroy Britannia...Why destroy Britannia you say? Because his father the emperor did nothing to pursue the terrorist who murdered his mother and also so he can give his sister who is crippled a better place to live...So begins our journey to see if lelouch with his new found power GEASS is able to beat the Britannian Empire...The struggle between the Elevens and Britannians continue...Good and Bad can be debated in this story, you have an Eleven fighting for the Britannians, and Lelouch a Britannian fighting against them...and I question wether Lelouch is the good guy...That is up to you to decide...But regardless, I like this story because it incorporates aristocracy Mecha, SPECIAL Mecha(lancelot), and a normal human who gets a special power...and I love special powers(big fire)...Lelouch is not weak(Shingi from Evangelion) or the stud Mecha Pilot(Amaro from Gundam) and there are other characters to like and get to know...Code Geass did it for me as I hope it can do it for you...Season 2 has just started and it is just as good...

Comments during the season
(one episode watched)

So I decided to start watching this because of an entry in Mecha Chicks... So far VERY good...I like the art, the story, the action...I guess I just like anime done by sunrise...Everything about it just works for me, and I am only on episode one...I like this story so much, that Soukou no Strain and Coyote Ragtime Show is going to take a back seat to it...

(five episodes watched)

Still VERY Good, i have been looking for an mecha anime to catch my interest for a long time, and this is working really well for me...Highly Recomended!!!

Ok, I have finally rated it...I love this series!!! Yes it is still going on, but it has got everything...school, aristocracy, mecha, superhuman powers, character development, fan service :-P EVERYTHING!!!

(23 episodes finished)

I have to say, with every great anime, there is always a messed up twist...Code Geass is no exception, as we near the end, my head is getting played with much like Evangelion...yes I like all the fighting, the mecha, but I am not sure I like the direction this is going...and what up with making us wait for the ending!!! Oh well, i have enjoyed the ride so far...

Last updated Thursday, April 10 2008. Created Thursday, March 15 2007.

Other Sites
NameURL
Official Japanese Series Web Site http://www.geass.jp/
English Language Wiki Posting http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_Geass
(Warning - this web-site includes plot-spoiler details)
English Language Fan Site http://www.self-destruction.co.uk/
Code Geass Image Gallery (English) http://anime.akichigo.org/codegeass/1.php

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