People have been complaining that “Code Geass” is a crossover between “Death Note”, “Fullmetal Alchemist” and “Gundam”, and right there, I have yet to see why that’s a negative, because that sounds completely awesome. “Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion” is set in an alternative realitywhere Japan has been overrun by the country Britannia (I’ll give you three guesses which country that is in real life). Seven years have went on, and Britannia has kept a tight grasp over Japan, renaming the country “Area 11″ and enforcing a strong dictatorship run by the power-hungry Emperor Charles vi Britannia, who’s many children run things down in the dirt while he lives high in the clouds. One of those children, Lelouch vi Britannia, has kept his past and true identity as a prince a secret and resides as a seemingly normal student. However, when he runs into a secret experiment named C.2, a test subject by the government for unworldly powers, she grants him the power of the Geass; a way to control people by altering their minds. Lelouch, having found a new superpower, dons a masked superhero-like appearance as “Zero”, and becomes a freedom fighter for the Japanese people, to liberate them from the grasps of Britannia, and to tear down the dictatorship piece by piece in ingenious ways.
“Code Geass” is one of those riveting shows that you can’t take your eyes away from because it sucks you in completely and leaves you on the edge of your seat each and every episode. This is mainly attributed to the plot, which is stitched together like a wicked puzzle that forms a rather beautiful image in the end. And I can’t use a more fitting metaphor for this show. While it does have it’s similarities to other anime, particularly “Death Note”, it does things its own way eventually and is able to create a world far apart from the norm. Britannia is leaking with political scandals, uprisings, rebellions, and authoritative abuse, but it has a very mature way of presenting its setting. There’s no spoon-feeding here, so viewers will have to really follow each episode down to the bone if they want to keep up with its clever presentation.
The characters are all fleshed out to extreme measures, even to the point where you’ll be cheering for them one minute, and then hoping they’d die the next. It’s the shows balancing act of character arcs and traits that really gets you invested, but at the same time, tends to kick you back in your seat. Lelouch could easily be compared to Light Yagami from “Death Note”, since they’re practically long-lost brothers with all the same motivations and mannerisms. He’s intelligent, suave, and incredibly scheming (by that, I mean capable of planning so far ahead of time, even God doesn’t see it coming… No, I literally mean that last part. It’s actually in the show!). What works between characters is also their fleeting relationships. Lelouch gets more ass than any harem protagonist, but that’s not to discredit the female characters either. Most of them are actually very strong-willed, especially Lelouch’s right-hand lady, C.2, who granted him the power of the Geass. They have a master-slave relationship going on where you can never predict who’s the master and who’s the slave at any given time. Oddly, it works in building the bond between them. Then there’s Kallen, a member of Lelouch’s, or er, Zero’s rebellion who also puts on a mask of her own. In school, she’s a frail girl with no sense of physical strength, but her alter-ego as an awesome mech fighter makes for a pretty great contradiction (yes, this is a mech show too, in case you’re wondering why I said “Gundam” earlier. We’ll get to that in a bit…). Lelouch is by far the most complex protagonist I’ve seen come out of any modern anime, since his motivations waver so much, that you begin to suspect if his actions are really justified or if he’s just becoming another Light Yagami and having a downward spiral, but all of that is tied up and resolved in what I believe is one of the most powerful endings I’ve ever seen, period. Simply masterful.
As I mentioned earlier, there is a fair amount of mech action in the series, since they basically built robots instead of tanks and helicopters (go Japan!). The animation is high-quality, fast-paced, and astonishing to look at sometimes, especially with its very unique character designs that sets it apart from the usual anime. The sound deserves a special mention too, as this is also one of those rare instances where I prefer the English dub to the Japanese dub. With an extraordinary cast of voice actors, including the very talented Johnny Yong Bosche as Lelouch, it adds a level of quality and complexity to it that will leave you satisfied. The soundtrack is especially great, with some beautiful operatic choir thrown in that never indulges itself in being “epic”, but rather something very down-tempo and relaxing. It adds to the mastery of the some scenes, especially the aforementioned ending, which I will say is a triumphant feat in itself. The emotions experienced in the climax was only really rivaled by “Clannad: After Story”, personally. Prepare for tears like waterfalls.
“Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion” is one of the best anime shows I’ve seen in recent memory. It’s cleverly written and plotted, stunningly animated, beautifully composed, and has a knockout of an ending that will leave a huge void in you well after the show is over. While it does have only minor flaws, they’re really not worth mentioning since the overall experience you’ll gain from finishing the show will leave you exhilarated. It’s a fully realized vision of the power of storytelling in anime, and one that simply doesn’t know when to stop hitting you with brilliant moments. “Code Geass” is a masterwork.
FINAL VERDICT:
96/100
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