Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion

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Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion
Image from the opening theme sequence
コードギアス 反逆のルルーシュ (Kōdo Giasu: Hangyaku no Rurūshu)
Genre	Drama, Mecha, Alternate History, Science Fantasy
TV anime
Director	Gorō Taniguchi
Writer	Ichirō Ōkouchi
Studio	Sunrise
Licensor	Bandai Visual Bandai Entertainment Madman Entertainment
Network	MBS, TBS, Animax
Other networks: Cartoon Network (Adult Swim) TV5 ABC2 TVB J2 Rai 4
Original run	October 5, 2006 – July 28, 2007
Episodes	25
TV anime: Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion R2
Director	Gorō Taniguchi
Writer	Ichirō Ōkouchi
Studio	Sunrise
Licensor	Bandai Visual Bandai Entertainment Madman Entertainment
Network	MBS, TBS, Animax
Other networks: Cartoon Network (Adult Swim) TV5 TVB J2
Original run	April 6, 2008 – September 28, 2008
Episodes	25

For criticism see Criticism of Code_Geass:_Lelouch_of_the_Rebellion

Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion (コードギアス 反逆のルルーシュ, Kōdo Giasu: Hangyaku no Rurūshu^?) is an anime television series created by Sunrise. Directed by Gorō Taniguchi and written by Ichirō Ōkouchi, both of whom had earlier worked on the series Planetes, Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion features original character designs by Clamp.

The series premiered across Japan on MBS from October 5, 2006,^[1] and concluded its run on July 28, 2007,^[2] after running for 25 episodes. A second season and sequel to the series, Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion R2, premiered on MBS and TBS on April 6, 2008 and concluded on September 28, 2008.^[3][4] The series as a whole has won several awards at the Tokyo International Anime Fair,^[5] Animage Anime Grand Prix, and Animation Kobe event.^[6]

Both seasons of Code Geass have been licensed for release in the  United States and  Canada by Bandai Entertainment,^[7] and the first season began airing on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim programming block in the U.S. on April 27, 2008; the second began airing on November 2, immediately following the first season.^[8] In Australia and New Zealand, the series is licensed by Madman Entertainment^[9], and began airing on Australian channel ABC2 from January 19, 2009.

Plot

See also: List of Code Geass episodes

On August 10, 2010, a.t.b., the Holy Empire of Britannia overpowered Japanese forces and conquered the country with their new, powerful, robotic weapons, the Knightmare Frames, in less than a month. In the aftermath of Britannia's invasion, Japan lost its freedom, its rights, and even its name, becoming Area 11 of the Britannian Empire. The Japanese people, renamed as "Elevens", are forced to survive in poor neighborhoods, while Britannians live in first-class settlements. Rebel elements persist, however, as pockets of Japanese organizations struggle against the Empire for the independence of Japan.

After his father, the Emperor of Britannia, failed to prevent the assassination of his mother, an attack which also left his sister blind and crippled, the young prince Lelouch Lamperouge vowed to destroy Britannia. Seven years later, he accidentally becomes mixed up with "terrorists" in Area 11 and encounters a mysterious girl named C.C., who gives him the power of Geass. With it, he finally has the power that he needs to defeat Britannia and fulfill his two wishes: to seek revenge for his mother and to construct a world in which his beloved sister Nunnally can live happily.

Settings

Main article: Code Geass Settings

Code Geass is set in an alternate universe where the Holy Empire of Britannia, an international superpower, has conquered more than a third of the planet. The world is, for the most part, divided between it and two other superpowers: the Chinese Federation and the Euro Universe. Australia has remained independent of the other powers though it is not significantly mentioned in the story. The three powers maintain a tentative balance for this of the series, while it shifts in R2.

Holy Britannian Empire

The Holy Britannian Empire (神聖ブリタニア帝国, Shinsei Buritania Teikoku^?) is an imperial monarchy and the most prominent superpower within the world of Code Geass, controlling over one-third of the world at the start of the series, which expands as the series progresses. Its homeland is based in North America, and its imperial city is Pendragon. Britannian society is elitist and is run based on a caricature of Social Darwinism. Society is arranged by ranks of nobility.

The Britannian Empire controls the entire Western Hemisphere (both American continents), New Zealand, and recently conquered Japan. Early on, Britannia conquers "Area 18",^[10] a desert region that is a part of the Middle East. Ironically, Britannia does not control the  British Isles, as Napoleon successfully conquered them.

Territories conquered by the Britannian Empire are renamed with an "Area" number based on when they were conquered and the native people are referred to by their area number or just called "Numbers"; Japan, being the eleventh territory conquered, is Area 11 and its people are "Elevens", for example. The Numbers are denied many of the rights of Britannian citizens, and are usually left to live in poverty. They can apply for Honorary Britannian citizenship to earn basic rights, but cannot attain the same status as regular citizens.

History diverged during Julius Caesar's invasion. A Celtic "super-king" was elected, similar to the Arverni chieftain Vercingetorix, and managed to successfully resist the invasion, beginning the Britannian imperial line. It should be noted that Britain successfully resisted Julius Caesars invasions (both) in real life but without a "super-king". As a result, the empire retained absolute monarchy, suppressed the American colonies' rebellion in 1776, and eventually migrated the capital to America following Napoleon's capture of Britain. The timeline diverged since Caesar's invasion, but the history of the empire began to become drastically different with the death of Elizabeth I: instead of the Tudor dynasty ending, she was instead succeeded by her illegitimate son "Henry IX". "Elizabeth III" died after losing the British Isles to Napoleon, and a new royal line was established from a prominent family of the nobility. The Britannian calendar era is "Ascension Throne Britannia" (a.t.b), known as the Imperial Calendar in the English dub. Its epoch is the date when the super-king was elected, roughly fifty years earlier than that of the Gregorian calendar.

Japan

Japan, renamed as Area 11 under Britannian rule, is the source of over 70% of the world's total supply of sakuradite, a mineral with a high energy content. Japan oppressed and dominated other countries through economic control of the mineral prior to the start of the series, leading to its invasion and eventual takeover by Britannia. Japan serves as the main setting for much of the series, as it is where the Ashford Academy, Lelouch's school, is located. Under his alter-ego of Zero, Lelouch attempts to reform it as an independent nation, the "United States of Japan", as part of his quest to overthrow Britannia.

Chinese Federation

The Chinese Federation (中華連邦, Chūka Renpō^?) is an imperial monarchy that spans the Asian and Pacific regions, including Central, South, East and Southeast Asia with Sakhalin and the Korean Peninsula. Its territory extends further north than real-world China to include Vladivostok; and westward to include  Afghanistan and  Pakistan, but not  Iran. Its population is the largest of the three major powers, but most live in poverty. Its political structure and organization appears to resemble the real-world Empire of China. As with the real-world Emperor of Japan, the individual who holds the title is regarded as a living divinity whose sovereignty is entirely ceremonial. (Further information was revealed in R2.

The Chinese Federation first unsuccessfully attempts to take over Japan through the use of former government officials that fled during the war.  India has also been trying to overthrow Chinese rule, and already have a large organized resistance movement. As a result, the Indian resistance lends their lead weapons R&D scientist, Rakshata, to the Black Knights in Japan, in the hopes that a future independent Japan will in return aide them in gaining independence from China.

Euro Universe

A map of the world in Code Geass during season 2, following the formation of the United Federation of Nations and the fall of the E.U. The red represents the U.F.N. while the blue represents the Holy Empire of Britannia. White nations are non-aligned.

The Euro Universe (ユーロ・ユニバース, Yūro Yunibāsu^?), or E.U., is a democratic union. It has long been in conflict with Britannia. It encompasses all of Europe (including the  British Isles), Africa, and  Russia. Unlike the other countries, focus on the E.U. is minimal in this series.

Geass

Lelouch using the power of Geass.

Geass (ギアス, giasu^?) is a mysterious ability which certain people can bestow upon others; C.C. is the most prominent character who grants the power of Geass. The form the Geass takes is different in each individual. C.C. calls Geass the Power of Kings (王の力, Ō no Chikara^?). It is represented by a bird-shaped symbol which glows red when active.

The power of Geass increases with use, usually starting in one eye. It can eventually spread to both eyes and become uncontrollable with repeated use. The power of Geass is tied to the very existence of humankind, and it may be used to destroy or transform just about anything.^[11] "Geass" may be an intentional corruption of the word geas or geis, a term for a type of magical contract in Irish mythology.

Characters

Main article: List of Code Geass characters

Lelouch Lamperouge

The title character and protagonist of the show, Lelouch Lamperouge is a seemingly ordinary 17-year-old student at Ashford Academy. In reality, he is Lelouch vi Britannia, the exiled son of the Emperor of Britannia and the late Empress Marianne, forced to flee to Japan after his mother's assassination. When he gets caught up in a battle between the military and Japanese rebels, he gains the power of Geass, allowing him to force others to obey his orders without question, and begins a quest to utilize this power to destroy Britannia under another identity known as Zero.

Suzaku Kururugi

Lelouch's childhood friend and son of Japan's last prime minister, Genbu Kururugi. Suzaku is in the service of the Britannia Army as a soldier and chosen to test an experimental new model of Knightmare Frame, the Lancelot. Throughout the series, Suzaku shows a belief that achieving results by wrong or illegal methods is meaningless, setting up a rivalry with Zero. Suzaku also became Lelouch's classmate.

C.C.

A mysterious, immortal, green-haired girl who establishes a contract with Lelouch on the condition that he grant her one wish, to die. She passively oversees Lelouch's missions and occasionally helps them succeed to ensure he does not die.

Nunnally Lamperouge

Lelouch's younger sister, who was blinded and crippled via Emperor Charles Geass power. Lelouch originally got involved with the war because he wanted to create a pleasant world for Nunnally. However in Nunnally's own words just living with Lelouch would have been enough for her.

Kallen Stadtfeld

A red haired Britannian-Japanese who believes herself to be a Japanese person at heart and prefers her birth name, Kallen Kouzuki, over that of her father's prestigious family. She maintains the image of a frail, outstanding student at Ashford Academy, all the while being a member of the Japanese resistance movement and is Zero's most devoted follower. Kallen joined the resistance to fulfill the dream her brother had before he passed away.

Knightmare Frames

Main article: Knightmare Frame

Knightmare Frames ('Knightmare' is a play on "nightmare" and a knight's mare, referring to the weapon itself; frame is the civilian word for bipedal machines in general) are robotic combat machines intended as a replacement for main battle tanks and other conventional land warfare vehicles. The bulk of Knightmare Frame models are produced by the Britannian Empire, who pioneered the design. As the series progresses, Japan, India, and other countries develop their own Knightmare Frames to match Britannia.

Themes

The columnist Carlo Santos of Anime News Network wrote that the franchise "in a way, [...] reflects the malaise of a generation: the realization that old, rich, powerful people have screwed up the world and that the young are helpless to do anything about it". According to him, Lelouch's actions exemplify the wish to see problems like "economic collapse, class conflict, political instability, radical extremism" solved by "Zero's vigilante methods" but Santos expresses doubt in such approach and concludes that "the series is at its best when raising questions rather than offering a final solution".^[12]

Production

Code Geass began as a concept developed at Sunrise by Ichirō Ōkouchi and Gorō Taniguchi, who proposed it to producer Yoshitaka Kawaguchi while they were working on Overman King Gainer and later, Planetes.^[13] The initial concept of the plot consisted of a secret organization led by a "hero," which was later developed into a conflict between two people with differing values of morality, belonging to the same military unit.

During these early planning stages, Kawaguchi contacted the noted mangaka group Clamp,^[13] which was the first time Clamp had been requested to design the characters of an anime series.^[14] Clamp signed onto the project early during these development stages, and provided numerous ideas, which helped develop the series' setting and characters.^[14]

While developing the character designs for Lelouch Lamperouge, the protagonist of the series, Clamp had initially conceived of his hair color as being white.^[14] Ageha Ohkawa, head writer at Clamp, said she had visualized him as being a character to which "everyone" could relate to as being "cool", literally, a "beauty".^[14] During these planning stages, Clamp and the Sunrise staff had discussed a number of possible inspirations for the characters, including Kinki Kids and Tackey and Tsubasa.^[14] They had wanted to create a "hit show," a series which would appeal to "everyone."^[14] Lelouch's alter ego, Zero, was one of the earliest developed characters, with Ōkouchi having wanted a mask to be included as a part of the series, because he felt that a mask was necessary for it to be a Sunrise show. Clamp had wanted to design a unique mask never prior seen in any Sunrise series; said mask was nicknamed "tulip" for its distinctive design.^[14]

Clamp's finalized original character design art, illustrated by its lead artist Mokona, was subsequently converted into animation character designs for the series by Sunrise's character designer Takahiro Kimura, who had previously spent "every day" analyzing Clamp's art and style from their artbooks and manga series.^[14] While working on the animation character designs, he designed them in such a manner which would enable the series' other animators to apply them without deviating from Clamp's original art style.^[14]

The music for the series was composed by Kōtarō Nakagawa and Hitomi Kuroishi, who had earlier worked with the series' core staff in Planetes and Taniguchi's earlier work Gun X Sword. In addition to the incidental music featured in each episode, Kuroishi also composed numerous insert songs for the series, including "Stories", "Masquerade", "Alone", and "Innocent Days", which were each performed by Kuroishi herself, while "Picaresque" and "Callin'" were performed by the singer-songwriter Mikio Sakai, who had also earlier worked with Nakagawa and Kuroishi in Planetes. The bands FLOW, Ali Project, Jinn, SunSet Swish, Access, and Orange Range have provided songs for the opening and ending themes.^[15][16]

When the series was being developed for broadcast on Mainichi Broadcasting System, it had been given the network's Saturday evening prime time slot, which was later changed to its current Thursday late night time slot. Due to this change, the overall outlook and some elements of the series were changed and further developed to suit the more mature, late night audience.^[13]

When the first episode was shown during a special test screening, which was attended by Ōkawa, other members of the series' staff, as well as several journalists and other media-related personnel in response to the hype surrounding the series' upcoming release, the audience fell into immediate silence after it ended, followed by "tremendous applause."^[13]

The immense popularity of Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion followed with the development of a sequel, Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion R2, which was first announced on the March 2007 issue of Newtype and later confirmed by Sunrise producer Yoshitaka Kawaguchi on the series' official staff blog on March 9, 2007.^[17][18] Whereas initial additions on the official blog had stated the sequel's exact format had not been confirmed as of July 2007,^[19] the January 2008 issue of Newtype announced the sequel would be a new television series, which would begin airing on MBS in the spring of 2008.^[2]

Reception

Since its premiere, Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion has collected numerous awards and accolades. At the sixth annual Tokyo Anime Awards held at the 2007 Tokyo International Anime Fair, Code Geass won the best TV anime series award.^[5] In noted Japanese anime magazine Animage's 29th Annual Anime Grand Prix, Code Geass won the most popular series award, with Lelouch Lamperouge also being chosen as the most popular male character and "Colors" being chosen as the most popular song. In the 30th Annual Anime Grand Prix, Lelouch won first place again and C.C. was voted most popular female character. At the first Seiyū Awards held in 2007, Jun Fukuyama won the award for best actor in a leading role for his performance as Lelouch Lamperouge in the series, while Ami Koshimizu won the award for best actress in a supporting role for her performance as Kallen Stadtfeld. Furthermore, Code Geass won the award for Best TV Animation at the twelfth Animation Kobe event, held annually in Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture,^[6] with R2 taking the award in the following year.^[20]

Anime News Network's columnist Todd Ciolek attributes the soaring popularity of Code Geass to "the series hitting every important fan sector," with the audience appeal points ranging from a "complex cast of characters and a fast-paced story, told with Goro Taniguchi's capable direction" for "general-interest fans" to "pretty and just-a-little-broken heroes" for "yaoi-buying female fans."^[21]

Reportedly, Bandai Visual shipped over one million DVD and Blu-ray discs related to the Code Geass franchise by November 2008, placing it among the most popular contemporary anime series in both Japan and North America.^[22]

References

v • d • e Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion Franchise Code Geass R1 • Code Geass R2 • Manga • Episodes • Chapters • Code Geass: Nightmare of Nunnally • Suzaku of the Counterattack • Criticism Topics Settings • Physics • Timeline • Theories • Quotes • Trivia • Criticism • Jupiter Items Geass • Knightmare Frames • Sakuradite Countries Chinese Federation • Holy Britannian Empire Characters Lelouch Lamperouge • Suzaku Kururugi • Zero • C.C. • Kallen Stadtfeld • Nunnally • Rolo • Emperor Charles and his speech Secondary characters Li Xingke • Jeremiah Gottwald • Schneizel el Britannia • Rivalz Cardemonde • Milly Ashford • Anya Alstreim • Arthur Other languages Code Geass • Charles di Britannia şi discursul lui