Code Geass: Difference between revisions

'''''Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion''''' is a two-season anime series that aired from 2006 to 2008. The story is notable for playing with a lot of common tropes in interesting or entertaining ways and for having one of the most extreme examples of a [[Broken Base]] in recent memory.

The series takes place in an [[Alternate History]] where Britain won the American Revolution but lost a later war against Napoleon, who went on to conquer the British Isles. Many years later, this nation evolved into Britannia, a [[Social Darwinist]] empire which controls over a third of the world. Several years before the start of the main story, Britannia invaded Japan to secure [[Green Rocks|a rare mineral that will make a new power source possible]]. Thanks to their [[Humongous Mecha]], the conflict is ended in short order, with Japan only winning a single minor battle. The Japanese nation was stripped of everything -- includingeverything—including its name -- forname—for almost a decade and is now referred to only by a numerical designation based on when the territory was conquered ([[Airstrip One|"Area 11"]]).

''Code Geass'' is noteworthy for producing an incredible amount of [[All There in the Manual]], including [[Radio Drama]]-like Sound Episodes, [[Picture Drama|Picture Dramas]]s and DVD-exclusive short stories that help flesh out the show's universe or expand on its characters. In addition, there are also four [[Alternate Continuity]] manga:

* ''[[Code Geass|'''Code Geass Lelouch of the Rebellion]]'' -- the'''—the most faithful adaptation of the anime, but removes the [[Humongous Mecha]] and most of the military action in favor of more comedy and Shojou elements.

* ''Suzaku of the Counterattack'' -- skews—skews more Shonen, focusing on Suzaku rather than Lelouch and turning the Lancelot into a powersuit so he can act like a [[Kamen Rider]].

* ''[[Code Geass: Nightmare of Nunnally|Code Geass Nightmare of Nunnally]]'' -- a—a vast departure from the normal ''Code Geass''. It focuses on Lelouch's [[Ill Girl]] sister Nunnally, who becomes a [[Little Miss Badass]] in an [[Neon Genesis Evangelion|Evangelion]]esque mecha and battles similarly-powered girls (oh, and Lelouch returns later on, channeling [[G Gundam|Master Asia]]).

* ''Strange Tales of the Bakamatsu''/ ''[[Code Geass: Tales of an Alternate Shogunate]]'' -- a—a [[Universal Adaptor Cast]] story, placing the characters in the Bakamatsu era of Japanese history; Lelouch becomes the head of [[The Shinsengumi]] while secretly opposing the Meiji reforms brought on by Britannia (here standing in for Admiral Perry). It is more light-hearted than the other adaptations/spin-offs, with a semi-[[Super-Deformed|chibified]] art style and less melodramatic story elements (Zero and Black Knights, here renamed the Black Restoration Order, are transformed from their [[Your Terrorists Are Our Freedom Fighters]] in the original canon to something more closely resembling a '[[Robin Hood]] and his Merry Men' idea). It also plays faster and looser with realism; one example is the existence of a pizza delivery service despite the setting being well before pizza was popularised in America, let alone the rest of the world.

In December of 2009, it was [https://web.archive.org/web/20110817143125/http://www.ggkthx.org/2009/12/07/new-code-geass-manga/ announced] that there would be a new manga titled ''Code Geass: Renya of the Dark'' (script by Goro Taniguchi, art by Tomomasa Takuma), wherein the eponymous protagonist encounters C.C. and [[Identical Stranger|a man bearing an incredible]] [[Expy|resemblance to Lelouch]] in Edo-period ([[Alternate History|or at least its equivalent]]) Japan. In April 2010, plans for a new OVA -- ''Code Geass Gaiden: Akito the Exiled'' -- were—were revealed; this new production will be a sidestory set around the same timeframe as the first season, but will focus on a different group of Japanese pilots fighting on the European front. Further details on this [[Spin-Off]] project were confirmed by the producers in [http://www.animenewsnetwork.comcc//news/2011-08-01/producer/next-season-of-code-geass-aimed-for-2012 August 2011] and [http://www.animenewsnetwork.comcc//news/2012-01-12/code-geass/bokoku-no-akito-to-screen-in-theaters-this-summer January 2012]. Separate plans for a film adaptation of the original ''Lelouch of the Rebellion'' story have also been [http://www.animenewsnetwork.comcc//news/2012-01-12/code-geass/lelouch-of-the-rebellion-gets-film-project announced].

In July 2012, yet another spinoff will appearappeared: ''[http://www.animenewsnetwork.comcc//encyclopedia/anime.php?id=13974 Code Geass: Nunnally in Wonderland]'', a [[Storybook Episode]] [[OAV]] featuring the characters as the cast of ''[[Alice in Wonderland]]''.

The first season is available for viewing [http://www.youtube.com/show?p=_ibnU74o6y4 on YouTube.] (Be aware that it will not work for viewers in the EU, who might want to try [https://web.archive.org/web/20131203062025/http://www.animefreak.tv/watch/code-geass-lelouch-rebellion-english-dubbed-online-free anime freak instead]).

Compare and contrast with [[Production I.G]]'s ''[[Guilty Crown]]'', initially considered to be at least a partial [[Spiritual Successor]] to ''Code Geass'', where Ichiro Okouchi worked as the assistant writer to [[MaiMy-HiME|Hiroyuki Yoshino]] under director [[Death Note|Tetsuro Araki]], using a completely different protagonist instead of Lelouch.

** The series is even ''taking place'' in an alternate history; if you look up [[All There in the Manual|the information about the timeline of]] ''[[Code Geass]]'', you'll see that it takes place in what would be the 1960s by real-world reckoning. That's right, they got flip-phones about half a century earlier.

** [[Sliding Scale of Anti-Heroes|Type III]]: Lelouch,<ref>At times, especially at first.</ref>, The Black Knights.

** [[Sliding Scale of Anti-Heroes|Type IV]]: Lelouch,<ref>On average.</ref>, Suzaku,<ref>At best.</ref>, C.C., {{spoiler|Jeremiah}}, {{spoiler|Ohgi<ref>Once he sells out Lelouch, that is</ref>}}, {{spoiler|Guilford}}.

** [[Sliding Scale of Anti-Heroes|Type V]]: Lelouch,<ref>At times.</ref>, Suzaku,<ref>At worst.</ref>, {{spoiler|Rolo}}, {{spoiler|Diethard}}.

* [[Anti-Villain]]: Various characters. Some characters count for more than one type.

** [[Sliding Scale of Anti-Villains|Type II]]: Lelouch, Mao, Suzaku.

** [[Sliding Scale of Anti-Villains|Type IV]]: Suzaku, Guilford.

** [[Artistic License Geology]]: When {{spoiler|the F.L.E.I.J.A. bomb}} is deployed, leaving at least a [https://web.archive.org/web/20130513080010/http://codegeass.wikia.com/wiki/F.L.E.I.J.A./ 1300 meter-deep crater], the now exposed terrain is completely uniform. No geological layers at all. Though considering the forces involved, it can be imagined that an uniform crust would have melted on the sides of the crater, consisting of all the matter vapourized in the explosion.

* [[Badass Family]]: Played straight and subverted by the royal family of Britannia, the subversion being that they're fighting ''each other''.

** Empress Marianne, nicknamed [[Red BaronSobriquet|'The Flash']]

** CC's own abilities as an immortal can count for this too, given {{spoiler|she just wants to die.}}

* [[Brick Joke]]: Lelouch tests his Geass by telling a girl to once a day make a new mark on an unmarked brick of the building. Several times in the series, you see her walking to and marking the building, and during episode 5 of R2, you see the marks on the wall with {{spoiler|the last mark being only half done}}.

* [[Broken Aesop]]: {{spoiler|although Villetta, Ohgi, and Cornelia were already ready to be killed, it wasn't because they were ''killing people''; in fact, if anything, they had even less problem killing people than Lelouch (at least initially) did, and all 3 are still [[Karma Houdini|Karma Houdinis]]s after what they did}}.

* [[Brother-Sister Incest]]: So many examples, it has [[Brother-Sister Incest/Anime and Manga/Code Geass|Itsits own page]].

* [[Bulletproof Human Shield]]: Cornelia has no qualms about using one of her ''own subordinates'' as a Knightmare-flavoured shield should the need arise.

* [[Cast Fromfrom Hit Points]]: Most Geass users have some kind of drawback, such as Lelouch's {{spoiler|where he can only use his Geass on a person once.}} In Rolo's case, stopping time causes a lot of physical stress to his body, so he can usually only use it for a short amount of time. {{spoiler|He then does a [[Heroic Sacrifice]] in order to save Lelouch from getting killed after the Black Knights find out what he did using his Geass ability, and how he apparently played them all for fools.}}

** Kallen has Char's piloting ability and his penchant for red mecha.

* [[Chess Motifs]]: Let's start with Zero's uniform -- whichuniform—which could almost literally be a human-sized [https://web.archive.org/web/20140604021623/http://www.atkmchesssets.com/images/wei-english-staunton-chess-set-zm.jpeg classic Staunton chess set king] stuffed into a superhero cape. This was done intentionally - designer Kenji Teraoka revealed in an interview that the King and Queen from the show's eponymous chess set are modeled on Zero and C.C.. And the list goes on and on and '''on'''.

** Kaguya Sumeragi -- headSumeragi—head of the influential Sumeragi House; High Chairman of the UFN; Japan's representative on said council -- iscouncil—is only about fourteen by the events of R2.

* [[Color Coded for Your Convenience]]: Excluding the first few episodes,<ref>Britannia was colored red for those</ref>, on maps the nations have been colored blue for Britannia, yellow for the Euro Universe, and red for the Chinese Federation/UFN.

* [[Conspicuous CG]]: No, not the mecha -- duringmecha—during Kallen and Suzaku's final battle, there's a 30 second clip in which the surrounding scenery seems to be made up of cel-shaded 3D graphics. Also, flags in the wind and trains.

* [[Crapsack World/Anime and Manga|Crapsack World]]: The Britannian Emperor invades nations because of his "survival of the fittest" philosophy {{spoiler|even if he doesn't believe in it}}. If he wins, you and others like you, will be relegated to ghettos where you will live in poverty. The ghetto is subject to army raids. If you want a better life, swallow your pride and head to the government building where you can sign a document that says you are now an honorary Britannian. You are now eligible for employment (the really demeaning ones). Life in the settlement is marked by racism. Britannians can beat you up in the street and no one, not even police, will help you. Being a Britannian in Area 11 is especially dangerous because of clashes between the army and the Black Knights. The Chinese Federation is no improvement. The only bastion of freedom and democracy in the world is the European UniverseEU, and they're losing their war to Britannia. Even ''then'', the EU is implied to have its own share of corruption and decadence.

* [[Evil Brit|Evil Britannian]]annian: Aside from a few sympathetic named characters, most Britannians are portrayed as evil or at least uncaring. Note that Britannia is an alternate-history country where the American Revolution failed and Napoleon conquered the British Isles. Britain and the United States ''have no equivalent country'' in this series.

** The series using mecha at all is a case of executive meddling, but the show's staff was obviously able to run with it well enough. Of course the level of mecha use seen in R2 is definitely a product of the aforementioned round of meddling, with the show becoming even more of a Gundam clone as a result.

* [[Exotic Eye Designs]]: All Geass users have their pupils change into a bird-shaped sigil. Those that fall into the command of a Geass have their sclearas highlighted with the color of the Geass itself.

** The [[CLAMP]] lineart design for Nunnally is a direct recycle of [[XxxHolic×××HOLiC]]'s Kohane Tsuyuri.

** The Britannian Royal family are the Zabi family, with Charles being both Degwin and Gihren (passionate speeches), Schniezel being Gihren (hands-on leadership, want his dad's place in the hierarchy) and Clovis being Garma. Nunnally certainly shares personality traits with Mineva (used as a pawn).

** [[The Chick]] - Kallen.

*** [[Big Bad]]: Charles zi Britannia.

*** [[The Brute]]: Cornelia li Britannia.

*** [[Token Good Teammate]]: Euphemia li Britannia.

*** [[Sixth Ranger Traitor]]: {{spoiler|Lloyd Asplund, Cecile Croomy, Sayoko Shinozaki and Nina Einstein, who also count as [[The Quisling]]}}.

* [[The Fog of Ages]]: CC complains of this, {{spoiler|until Lelouch has a [[Journey to the Center of the Mind|journey to the center of her mind]] and then Marianne returns all her memories.}}

* [[Form-Fitting Wardrobe]]: Skirts cling more closely to contours than should be possible, particularly at the rear. Displayed by too many characters to count.

** Never heard any better than in the [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRIAw6LkqlE Britannian anthem].

* [[Informed Ability]]: Lelouch's skill at playing chess -- thechess—the game, as opposed to his [[The Chessmaster]] status. We see him playing chess about five times, twice he wins, and the only time he loses his opponent cheats (Schnizel by somehow checkmating by ''placing his own king into check'', and Mao by reading his mind.)

* [[Insistent Terminology]]: Done both ways. When called Elevens, characters of Japanese origin will angrily say "We're not Elevens, we're Japanese!" and during the scene that Nina makes at a ball in the Chinese Federation, Kallen tells her that she isn't Britannian, she's Japanese. Nina then rather hysterically says "No you're not! You're an Eleven!"

* [[Instant Death Bullet]]: Common with [[Mook|mooksmook]]s; usually averted with major characters. But not always....

* Irony: Three-quarters through season 1 of ''[[Code Geass]]'' when Suzaku is going to sacrifice himself to hold Lelouch/Zero in place for a massive missile strike, Lelouch whips out his Geass and commands Suzaku to 'live' thereby making a [[Heroic Sacrifice]] impossible. Exactly one season later in R2, while fighting (and losing to) Kallen the Geass activates {{spoiler|causing Suzaku to fire the [[Nuke'Em|FLEIJA warhead]], destroying most of Tokyo and supposedly killing Nunnally.}}

** A case of Cosmic Irony occurs early on in [[Code Geass]] when nobody can figure out who Zero is, but Lelouch almost gets unmasked by a cat.

** Also ironic is that at the beginning of the series, Lelouch took on the title of Zero, to become a symbol of Justice against he Britannian emperors tyranny, while Suzaku had joined the military hoping to change Britannia from within. At the end of the series, {{spoiler|Suzaku and Lelouch had {{spoiler|Theirtheir roles switched}}. Suzaku {{spoiler|became Zero, as a symbol of Justice, never to live again as Suzaku Kururugi}}, while Lelouch became {{spoiler|the Britannian Emperor, and gave his life in the process of changing the system from within. }}

* {{spoiler|[[Legacy Character]]}}: Zero.

* [[Lensman Arms Race]]: After the end of the first season, the main [[Humongous Mecha]] of the series start to steadily shift from [[Real Robot|Real Robots]]s to [[Super Robot|Supers]] in terms of their weaponry or equipment upgrades, as new technologies have been introduced and distributed among the warring factions.

** One of the most jarring examples in any series is when {{spoiler|Rolo}} perishes in Episode {{spoiler|Episode 19}} right after {{spoiler|the Black Knights expel Lelouch}}. {{spoiler|Even though Lelouch has been spending the entire season up to that point trying to punish the imposter by getting Rolo "accidentally" killed this impostor "brother" narrowly saves Lelouch's life then proves he'd rather die protecting the only family he's ever known - even if that family started out as just another group he was supposed to infiltrate}}. To his credit {{spoiler|Lelouch actually shows some compassion}} by begging {{spoiler|Rolo}} not to sacrifice himself. As {{spoiler|Rolo}}'s illness finally takes the toll {{spoiler|Lelouch reassures the totally unaware Rolo that he sees them as true brothers now}}. Since he was just {{spoiler|expelled by the Black Knights Lelouch is left completely alone now}}, burying {{spoiler|the impostor}}, who was the only person he had left. This all happens in the wilderness, where he has to mark the lone grave all by himself, {{spoiler|after burying Rolo with Lelouch's own bare blood-stained hands.}} This entire plot twist feels like the writers were trying to deliberately give the most sympathetic and gut-twisting send-off {{spoiler|to the single character that was most despised by the fans}}. If you had to do this to your {{spoiler|brother}}, be they {{spoiler|real or not}}, you'd probably wind up going {{spoiler|insane}}, too.

* [[Lightning Bruiser]]: The signature role of (almost) every Knightmare Frame depicted in Code Geass; even the early model Glasgows tore through slower and more conventional armored vehicles during the invasion of Japan (as is seen in many early [[Cold Openings]] of the first season). New models--''especially'' the Lancelot and Gurren in all their forms--trumpforms—trump older Knightmares by being [[Lensman Arms Race|even]] ''[[Lensman Arms Race|more]]'' [[Lensman Arms Race|of a Lightning Bruiser than they were]].

* [[Love Hungry]]: In {{spoiler|the character CC's}} backstoryback-story.

* [[May-DecemberMay–December Romance]]: Directly implied between Tianzi & Xingke.

* [[Mook|Mooks]]s: Almost a given in an action series.

* [[Multilayer Facade]]: Lelouch has three or four identities: Lelouch Vi Britannia, Lelouch Lamperouge, Zero, and the king of geass. The second series adds another identity, since there are two different Lelouch Lamperouge identities depending on who he says his real {{spoiler|sibling}} is. People who are close to him, like Nunnally, Suzaku, and Milly might know two of the identities, but C.C. is the only other person who knows all of them. In the last five episodes, he complicates it further by {{spoiler|pretending that Lelouch Vi Britannia is a [[Complete Monster]]}}.

* [[Nostalgia Filter]]: A rare in-universe example. The drug "Refrain" causes hallucinogenic flashbacks to pleasant past experiences.

* [[Pretty Little Headshots]]: When one character is shot in the head at point blank range, all you see is him falling to the ground, and it's clear that there's no exit wound. Might be explained by the fact that all or most of Code Geass' firearms (throughout its entire parallel history, no less) are actually some form of [https://web.archive.org/web/20120617121205/http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20100111133658/codegeass/images/b/bb/Fire_arm.jpg coilgun], which means that bullets are of a smaller caliber and that they travel slower than in real-life. It ''might'' make sense, since we see people getting shot multiple times with them and still getting up/recovering. This would also explain the odd, tinny pop the guns make when fired or when the bullets strike something metallic.

* [[Psychic Radar]]: Mao is shown to be able to detect the presence of other minds and hear their thoughts if they're within 500 meters. It's utility is somewhat hampered by his inability to turn it off.

** Suzaku does this to Lelouch, with a mixture of [[Get a Hold of Yourself, Man!]], when {{spoiler|Lelouch finds out that Nunally is alive, and begins to despair. Suzaku tells him to suck it up and remember Zero Requiem.}}

* [[Relationship Upgrade]]: Happens to Shirley and Lelouch in episode 12 of R2. {{spoiler|It doesn't last very long however...}}

* [[Rule of Sexy]]: For example, the position the Guren forces its pilot to assume would be absolutely terrible for the lumbar. The result: [[media:kallen_dat_asskallen dat ass.jpg|this]].

* [[She Is Not My Girlfriend|She Is Not My Fiancée]]: Lelouch, regarding C.C. In Season One, episode five, when C.C. [[Back Fromfrom the Dead|pops up unexpectedly]] at Lelouch's place, chatting away with Nunnally, she makes some cryptic remarks about a bond between her and Lelouch and a promise he made about their future together. Nunnally, not having any way of knowing about the Geass, makes the not altogether unreasonable assumption that C.C. is referring to secret wedding plans. When Lelouch tells Nunnally that C.C. is just joking, [[Deadpan Snarker|C.C. claims she never jokes]].

** Suzaku's lines to Lelouch about the latter betraying the world before it betrays him hearken back to one of the most famous quotes from ''[[Romance of the Three Kingdoms]]'':<ref>For context, uttered after he kills his father's sworn brother whilst mistakenly believing the latter to be plotting to kill him, and getting called out on it by Chen Gong</ref>:

** While Lloyd was the first to start clapping, it was really only after Andreas Darlton gave applause that the remaining Britannians joined in.

* [[Suggestive Collision]]: Kallen falls over Leleuch in a suggestive position, lampshading their uncertain relationship.

** R2 (and only R2) appeared earlier in the series' [[Armored Core]] based spinoff, ''[[Another Century's Episode]] R'' for [[PlayStationPlay Station 3]] and ''Portable'' for the PSP.

** Occasionally averted, such as with the Knights of the Round--theRound—the original Japanese had them as Knight of Rounds, which makes little sense. The hotel hijacking episode also had some [[Engrish]] on the news cast.

* [[Sword of Damocles]]: ...The Damocles. Inverted as Schinezel is the king and holds it over everyone else's head.

* [[Tanks for Nothing]]: Japanese tanks are no match for Britannian [[Humongous Mecha]]. Oh, the irony.

* [[Tempting Fate]]: "''Don't worry Nina, there are a lot of Britannians at the convention center. It's not dangerous like the ghetto."''

* [[The Thing That Goes Doink]]

* [[Unexplained Recovery]]: {{spoiler|Guilford}}, who somehow survived his mecha getting caught in the FLEIJA.

* [[Zero-Percent0% Approval Rating]]: {{spoiler|Toward the end of the series, Lelouch gets the Britannians to disapprove of Britannia, resulting in world unity when he's assassinated.}}

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