The story is now set in an alternate timeline and the world is split up. The premise is melodramatic, stagy and assertive enough. The story is set after the Britannian Empire's hammering on Japan and stripping the people in it off their rights and proclaiming it now as Area 11 and declaring the citizens as Elevens now. Lelouch is a Britannian prince who is ostracized to Japan as a deal along with his sister Nunally after his mother is killed. Lelouch now embarks on a quest to obliterate Britannia through the use of his intellect and Geass, impelled by revenge and virtuously abstruse altruism. He decides to use his Geass, which he can use to command anyone once, and find out about the murder speculation of his mother, blemish the Britannian Empire and create a better world where Nunally and he can live happily. Promptly, in the process he becomes the leader of a resistance group, The Black Knights and seemingly gaining power from other resistance groups for his rebellion.
Frankly, this was my first anime of Sunrise. And also I was never a fan of Clamp nor I'm well-familiar with it. The character designs were original, peculiar and pretty, they as much impressed me. Though, they ARE good and attractive, they look weird and strange when looked at from certain angles. The animation was well done, and the colors were used brilliantly. The music is appropriate and mostly unobtrusive, whether the mood is serious, exciting, relaxed, mischievous, dramatic or tragic. Loved C.C's themes and other characters' themes too. And the opening and ending sequences were decent, now they are good, really good, but a series like this could've orchestrated something more fitting for the milieu of the show.
Lelouch who practically carries the show by himself receives the most character development. Lelouch procures a subtle personality, such as his emotional range and a sense of humanity emerging from his internal conflicts which sets him apart. C.C is enigmatically perplexing character with a mysterious past, as we've only seen bits and pieces of information regarding her background, yet she is an engrossing and fun character by virtue of her interactions. Other characters get decent amount of attention as well, but I feel that too many characters were introduced, though, this shows needed them equally. The secondary characters were fun to watch too.
Spoiler, skip this section if you haven't watched the first season.
The reason there is a separate section for Suzaku is as he is the most despicable and hated character in the series. But, I didn't 'hate' him. There was no reason to hate him. He is way too self-righteous. Most of the people reason that he always puts his life before others and wants to die. There is clearly nothing wrong with this. This may be subjective, the whole Suzaku thing, but he isn't as despicable as people deem. He is weak, thus, he decides to protect anyone and everyone putting his life on the line. Lelouch wants to protect too and he is buffed with human consideration but he has Geass and he can 'change' the world or so he thinks. But, Suzaku being weak and considerate doesn't find anything wrong with losing his life for someone else. He killed his father to prevent a war when he was a kid, this is something people can only think of. He doesn't like unnecessary blood-shed, though his character flaws from time to time. I'm poorly wording my thoughts, but people who've watched Pandora Hearts can juxtapose Suazaku with Oz.
I tried my best to avoid mecha as much as I was capable of. But I made an exception for Code Geass and I have to say that I really liked mecha, or the use of mecha in the series. Though, mecha is the only driving aspect in the show. Code Geass features Knightmare Frames which are of humanoid shape and are considerably tall than someone piloting it. I've really started liking mecha and would love to watch more of those.
I never wanted to compare it, but I might as well do it. I'll most probably contrast Code Geass with Death Note. The animation, the animation used in Death Note was fitting for it, but Code Geass' animation was way better. The audio, Code Geass delivers appropriate and a variety of soundtracks but the opening and ending sequence weren't fitting as the ending and openings of Death Note are. Death Note was rather slow when compared to Code Geass but it was intense. Code Geass has its intense moments as well, but they are not substantial and are not always good. But, Code Geass is wonderfully well-paced and didn't fail to bore me, even in some of the stagy episodes.
I thoroughly liked and enjoyed Code Geass. The first season was appreciably entertaining and seldom boring. I genuinely appreciate both well-done proportions of the show and absurd scenes and flaws. The show is not a masterpiece, for everyone, nor it'll please each and every viewer. However, Code Geass is an iconic anime, it’s not perfect, and maybe a little overhyped, but there’s still a reason people get so excited about it. Watching Code Geass brought me many hours of joy, and that’s something none of its problems can take away.
~ A review by Grail Nikephoros
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