In recent years, a select few anime took the world by storm.  One of those was Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion, created by Sunrise, which brought the world the Mobile Suit Gundam franchise, with character designs by the famous manga artist group, CLAMP.  Like Mobile Suit Gundam, Code Geass features mecha, giant pilot-able robots, in this world called Knightmare Frames.  However, that is only one facet of an extremely complicated story.  It takes place in a world with an alternate history in which the British monarchy began earlier and lost control of the British Isles during the Napoleonic Wars.  Subsequently, a new royal line was created in the Americas, and the Holy Britannian Empire became the greatest power on Earth.  After successfully invading Japan, it reduced the once-proud nation to nothing more than “Area 11,” forcing its citizens to give up their identities and sacrifice themselves for Britannia.

     It is in this situation that we meet Lelouch Lamperouge, a seemingly normal high school student of Britannian descent living in Tokyo.  When a pro-Japanese terrorist group flees through the city, Lelouch ends up getting caught in the crossfire.  He finds out that one of the members of the Britannian Army is his childhood friend, Kururugi Suzaku.  He also meets a mysterious girl named C.C., who gives him the power of Geass, the ability (in his case) to compel anyone to do whatever he says upon making eye contact.  Lelouch then chooses to assist the terrorists, and in doing so, reveals his true identity as Lelouch vi Britannia, the eleventh prince of Britannia.  In order to get revenge on the Britannian Empire for the death of his mother and the blinding and crippling of his sister, Nunnally, Lelouch dons the mask of Zero, a knight fighting for justice and the freedom of Japan.  Along with the terrorists he assisted, he forms the Order of the Black Knights and vows to fight against Britannia, no matter the cost.

     As I mentioned before, this series has many aspects of the mecha genre.  However, it also contains aspects of a thriller/cerebral story, like Death Note, a slice of life story (with all the high school shenanigans), and a historical drama.  So for me, personally, this hits everything I like at once.  Then we’ve got a massive cast and a strong group of main characters.  Lelouch is brilliant, ambitious, and vengeful.  Suzaku is kind, naive, and strong-willed.  C.C. is mysterious, all-knowing, and a tad manipulative.  Kallen Kōzuki, the student by day, terrorist by night, is stubborn, skilled in more ways than one, and just plain awesome.  And that’s only four of the main characters.  There’s also Shirley Fenette, Nunally, Euphemia li Britannia, etc. The story also continued with Season 2, otherwise known as Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion R2.  That brought in a ton of other new characters, like Gino Weinberg, Li Xingke, and Rolo Lamperouge.

     So you’ve got a strong cast and a highly compelling story.  There are constant twists and turns, through a combination of the dramatic plotline and the craziness of the battle sequences.  There are betrayals, strategic reversals, revelations, and so much more.  The soundtrack is absolutely epic, and the first opening theme song, Colors, by Flow, is one of the best pieces of J-Pop you’ll ever hear.  Now, I watched the English version.  However, from what I can tell, this is one anime where you can pick and choose.  Both the Japanese and English versions have their own virtues.  I only watched the latter out of habit.  In conclusion, if you like any of the things I mentioned above, you should watch this show.  It’s extremely touching and thrilling, and even though parts of it get confusing, and some episodes (especially in R2) seem random, you will love this show.  It’s in the absolute highest tier of anime, right up there with Fullmetal Alchemist.

Story: 9.7      Artwork: 9.5      Soundtrack: 9.6      Acting: 9.7      Overall: 9.8

Don’t worry niisan, I’ll ki- protect Nunnally. Leave it to me.

Anonymous 08/03/08@4chan
About Code Geass R2 ~ Turn 17

* Translator Note : Shinpai means Worry

Love is a Crime !

Rolo Lamperouge is maybe technically responsable for the death of Shirley Fenette but he is non guilty due to insanity. In his madness, Rolo acted with courage to protect the life of his beloved brother.

Rolo must be acquitted !

Ali “Rolo” Al-Saachez was on crime scene but there is still nothing proving his culpability.

Suzaku torna a escola. És un moment de satisfacció i tabola. Este xic amb l’ajuda de Viletta sensei, es dedicarà a fer un seguiment més intensiu sobre Lelouch, tan sols que el seu pla té moltes tares de inici.

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Àudio: AAC
Resolució: 1280×720

Torn 05 – Cavaller de les Rondes

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Zero serà assassinat per Rollo que té un Geass més avançat. La Federació Xinesa s’ha tornat boja de sobte. L’Ordre dels Cavallers Negres està apunt de ser executada en públic de la mà de Lord Gilford. Hi ha alguna bona notícia?.

BT Frozen-Layer

Vídeo: MPEG4 Video (H264)
Àudio: AAC
Resolució: 1280×720

Torn 04 – Contraatac en la Forca

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