I've been interested in this one for a while now and been intent on getting it, this review has tempted me to try harder, save for your comments on the ending. I really hate it when a season doesn't tie itself up nicely and am quite bored with cliff-hangers by now, yet it appears the base content is solid enough to make it worth while. (Also a theme by ali-project......take me!) Also the heavier themes in this one seem to be a good change from things I've been watching recently.
Lelouch of the Rebellion tv Review
Lelouch was a prince until the day his mother was murdered; his little sister Nunnally became paralyzed and blinded. Now in high school, he's bored with life, playing chess with rich aristocrats to stave off boredom while caring for Nunnally. One day, he meets a mysterious woman named C.C. who offers him power through a contract which he accepts; C.C told him that this power is called "Geass" and it can forcibly make other people obey his command with eye contact. With this new found power, he adorns a mask calling himself Zero. He then begins to gather warriors calling themselves the Black Knights, with the ultimate goal to overthrow Britannia and recreate a perfect utopia where his sister can live a life of peace.
R2 is a direct sequel to the main series. Lelouch is back to his old ways of playing chess with aristocrats, his life and memories of being Zero suppressed and his sister Nunnally somehow replaced with a brother named Rolo. A year later, C.C. finds him and is able to restore his memories and his power. Remembering who he really is, he's determined to get back to doing what he'd started a year ago as well as find out what happen to his sister!
Story & Characters
The following review of Code Geass is brought to you by Pizza Hut maker of everyone's favorite Pepperoni hand-tossed pizza. Mmm Pizza Hut, order now!
Nothing like a story of war, rebellion and backstabbing to get your motor running. Code Geass follows a thought to be dead Brittanian prince by the name of Lelouch Lamperouge. His mother was killed and his sister Nunnally seriously injured by the Brittanians. Brittania is an empire (from the looks of it that originates in the US and Canada, which is crap because Canada sucks) which has all but conquered 1/3 of the world, taking away freedoms and identities. Japan has become simply known as Area 11. During one of the many operations by the Brittanians to remove dissenters, Lelouch is cornered and nearly killed while transporting a mysterious green-haired girl. She protects Lelouche and gives him the power of the Geass; which ultimately is one time per person Jedi mind power. Lelouch uses this new power and his Hitler-esque way with words to create a rebellion to take down this tyrannical empire, avenge his mother and create his ideal world for his sister.
Code Geass' brilliance comes in that the show feels much like a chess match where anybody and anything is a pawn in the great game of war. Friendship, love, respect and history mean absolutely nothing in this show as long as you can be a nice chess piece for the furthering of an objective. Lelouche is constantly using his mastery of language to manipulate people as well as devise masterful plans to take down the empire in an extremely systematic and devious way. He takes a group of terrorists and turns them into the Order of the Black Knights so as to not only strengthen his numbers, but win the favor of the public. This is what makes the show a perfect '10' in its manipulative and deceitful way of story telling.
But of course giving this show a '10' wouldn't be right. While the entire show throughout is engaging and an absolute ball to watch, it ends up being entirely too ambitious. While the show was in it's last few episodes you got a sense that it had presented too much and too many questions that weren't going to be answered by show's end. I know that the argument will be made that it is a set up for season 2, but based on the merits of this show it feels all too anticlimactic to have all these questions and all this suspense only to be left on an episode 25 cliffhanger. It's seriously like being told you won the lottery and then subsequently followed up with a swift kick to the groin. Too many loose ends to call this a '10'.
Rating:
Art
Animation in Code Geass is pretty and extremely familiar. Just watch the opening credits and even if your handle on Japanese is like mine (read nil) you will still notice the word... CLAMP! Character designs are headed by CLAMP and is especially evident in our protagonist Lelouch. As usual with CLAMP designs, we are given overly drawn eyes so as to emphasize emotion which plays a huge part in the series.
The animation is handled by Sunrise so it ends up with a very Gundam-esque feel to it the whole time. From the lanky character builds all the way to the piloted mechs it again has a sense of familiarity. As expected from the usual high standards of Sunrise we are treated to well drawn characters and smooth frame rates throughout. While mech battles are not the main attraction of the show, they are drawn quite well in their speedy reaction times and over the top attacks. Wonderfully enough the backgrounds also are well done and never detract from the on screen action, which is quite rare. Never any love for the backgrounds...
It's pretty but I'm taking a point away for all the Pizza Hut product placement. Advertisement has invaded everything I know but please leave it the hell out of my fantasy world. I swear to God if they ever remake Final Fantasy VII and Sephiroth is wearing his Lebron James sneakers and swigging on Colt 45 I am becoming a hermit.
Rating:
Sound
Gotta say... not much of a fan of the opening and closing sequence music. Much of the music was boring as sin or just sounded overall bad. In particular "Kaidoku Funou" by Jinn just stands out as appalling. The actual music isn't all that bad and maybe the lyrics make sense, but the vocals are just ear piercing and terrible. Disagree if you must (and I know you will). I did however enjoy the third opening (ep 24) "Hitomi no Tsubasa" by Access and the closing song "Yuukyou Seishunka" by Ali Project. The latter is just that I'm a sucker for Ali Project.
The background music faired considerably better. Many long time anime viewers may consider the soundtrack to be rather average or simply status quo for this type of show, and it may very well be. However the placement within the show with the perfect atmospheric melody was what made the soundtrack shine. But enough of the dabbling...
Voice acting... phenomenal. Much of the show depends on emotions. Ranging from rage to love and disbelief. There were no weak links in the overall cast as even the most minor of character was given their own time to shine when the time came. The meek and line deprived classmate of Lelouche, Nina, was even given her chance to completely rage out when her friend and mentor is killed (is that a spoiler? I wont tell). But by far the best voice acting goes to Jun Fukuyama as Lelouch. It may be easy to go with the main character but he is truly the one that evokes the most emotion in not on the on screen characters, but you as the viewer. He portrays such a hardcore badass that is willing to do anything to reach his goals but is also able to turn that off when he is just an average school kid. He carries that sly tone when he is trying to manipulate or that cocky tone when he knows he has you right where he wants you. Besides Xerxes from the 300 (whose voice was awesome), Lelouch would be the voice I wish I had.
Rating:
Presentation
It almost pains me to hit a mere '8' as the presentation score. I enjoyed every last minute of the show and was probably more engrossed in it than I have been in anything for a long time. Fantastic story with characters to love, hate and admire. Attractive animation and paired with perfect voice acting. All this and more made Code Geass once hell of an anime to watch. But it went for the half court shot at the buzzer and missed big time. The ending fell flat and instead of leaving me wanting more, left me enraged that they could do something like this. You are supposed to tickle the viewers fancy for future adventures of your favorite characters, not pull the rug out from underneath them and laugh. The future is bright for Code Geass, but by the time I get there, the suspense they worked so hard for and the story they crafted so finely will likely be nothing but a distant memory of what could have been and the worry that they may break my heart when that season is over.
I will revisit this review upon release of season 2... whenever that may be.
Rating:
Final Verdict
8.0000 (good)
Reviewed by shoujoboy, Jul 31, 2007
Comments
-
littlejonny100 Retired Moderator Jul 31, 2007
-
MapleRose Retired Moderator Jul 31, 2007
Quote: (from the looks of it that originates in the US and Canada, which is crap because Canada sucks)
Hey! That was uncalled for! *grrr*hmm, Lelouch sounds like Light from Death Note, personality-wise.
Why did they have to split it into seasons, instead of making it like 50 eps or something (like Gundam SEED/Destiny, FMA etc)? that might give them more time to answer those questions.
The first ending song by Ali Project quite reminds me of Noir... though the images were pretty.
I've watched 2 eps of this and I'm actually kinda bored ^^'' but reading your review, maybe I'll stick with it a bit longer to see how it goes.
... pizza hut? O_o ...
-
Bloodlust Aug 03, 2007
Quote: (from the looks of it that originates in the US and Canada, which is crap because Canada sucks)
you arrogant ....
but for this review I must admit that you made a really accurate description of this anime.
-
ridersofthestorm Aug 03, 2007
I dont wanna see Suzaku again.. he's really annoying..
-
shinsengumi Retired Moderator Aug 06, 2007
Quote: Brittania is an empire (from the looks of it that originates in the US and Canada, which is crap because Canada sucks) which has all but conquered 1/3 of the world
From what I understand, Britannia is simply an extension of the British Empire, except in this alternate history the United States and Canada never gained their independence, or were simply re-conquered at some later point in time. Geopolitical nuance aside, I must say that I was never all that impressed with the series. Certainly the artwork (including, of course, the designs by CLAMP_ and animation were excellent, as was the voice acting, but the plot was pedestrian at best, with barely a creative element anywhere.Moreover, the melodrama is really grating. Why is everyone so intensely angry all of the time? That is, except for when they're at school, which brings me to another grating aspect: the dissonance between the school scenes -- where everything is bright and beautiful and cheery and happy -- and scenes everywhere else, where everyone just rages at anyone and everything. I'm convinced that there's something in the water at Ashford Academy.
Anyhow, that's that. This post NOT brought to you by Pizza Hut.
-
davidh01 Aug 15, 2007
Quote: (from the looks of it that originates in the US and Canada, which is crap because Canada sucks)
Nah, let's get this straight. Brittania came about after Canada annexed the US! After all, Canada is still a member of the Commonwealth, formerly the British Empire, and may have regressed back to its colonial roots. Then again, why they would want to do that would escape most reasonable people.
This position is put forth from Oz - entirely neutral :)
-
flyindreams Aug 28, 2007
Haha hmm... overall a leetle disappointing I think. I mean, I've wanted to watch this series for a while now and I do plan to get around to it sometime, but it's definitely a bummer to hear about that ending. Mixed reactions from comments too. I tend to watch one (or sometimes half of one) episode to decide if I like a series, and drop it like a hotcake if I don't. From your review I get the feeling that I'll either really like it or really dislike it xD;;
-
Rosegirl18 Sep 25, 2007
I'll be a bit strict in my response, since I was the one who was spamming all over the place saying that I would review Code Geass one month before and suddenly you went and reviewed it. And then you called Canada crap, and I'M WRITING THIS FROM CANADA, MISTER. And Shinsengumi is quite right about Britian - British = Britannia. And the fashion style too - didn't you notice the British shoulder pads?
Okay, on to the review. I think you could have mentioned some things about character designs, as there is quite a number in the series, and there a whole wack of personalities within them. (*Like Orange-kun, for example* Ehem, such as the differences between Lelouche and Suzaku that CLAMP painstakingly tried to put across).
It's good that you mentioned the flat ending. For this you could have given Code Geass's presentation a lower score. There were much too many plots going on at once. Combined with multiple characters and excessive mecha action, it just wasn't going to work. A 2nd season just isn't good enough if they started it out like this.
Oh well...it's not as if anyone cares, since anything clamp even TOUCHES immediately goes mainstream.And as a last note -
Quote by undefinedI dont wanna see Suzaku again.. he's really annoying..
I believe spam like that can go in the forums.
-
Kukuru Jan 01, 2008
Can I say firstly that I really enjoy reading your reviews - they manage to engage and crack me up all at the same time. You don't hesitate to tell it like it is, something I think we could all take from.
Having said that: I agree with Rosegirl18 about the mentioning of Character designs would have been nice to see but I think everything else was reviewed quite well.
This anime sounds very good to watch - but the idea of this giant cliff hanger ending has me a little skeptical about making a start on this anime. I hate shows that do that T_T gah, it's one thing to leave you wanting more, it's another sitting there wondering why in the world you spent time watching the thing if it wasn't going to end...
-
hellzcode Aug 25, 2008
i think that CLAMP art truly defines the cultural anime. the review is great and after watching almost toward the end of season 2... code geass is just awesome. i truly hope there are more to come but i think it's gonna end at that. sigh.
-
athrun-yume Nov 04, 2008
if i were you i'll rate 9 for almost everything, maybe except the animation, which i'll rate 8. cos the characters are really too skinny.
yepp. this is a GREAT anime!
-
angel26278 Nov 17, 2008
I love this anime....
The story and the mechas are so great
And of course character design by CLAMP is great too
Although the characters are too slim -
GMeister Dec 14, 2008
My favorite anime. Strategic battles + mecha + clamp design, all you need ...
The R2 was disappointing sometimes but that's still a good anime. -
xellon Feb 26, 2009
fav anime of all time. I think I said that already on all the code geass reviews. The story was real nice. And it ended very well.
-
beryl0402 Mar 18, 2009
thanks for the review! code geass is awesome
-
rukasu04 Mute Member Aug 17, 2009
Niiice :D
-
SchRita Aug 24, 2009
Thanks for the review!
-
Sanisa Sep 21, 2009
Coooool))
-
Warpten29 Oct 12, 2009
For me code geass is number one anime....
... it has the best ending and best plot ever...
... though it maybe impossible i want an R3...
anyway the review seem fine. but why didn't you mention mao
-
SchRita Oct 31, 2009
Thanks for the review!
-
Sanisa Feb 24, 2010
Thanks for the review! Nice ^__^
-
Warpten29 Mar 19, 2010
this is great!
merged: 03-25-2010 ~ 05:22am
Well you did your best.
So i guess its fine
page 1 of 1 22 total items
Only members can post replies, please register.