Review by Josh

I’m going to have to stray from the masses in regards to my opinion on this series. Code Geass is not good, it’s not bad, it’s just really really average. I find the popularity of this series similar to the likes of Full Metal Panic, Chobits and Fullmetal Alchemist. I greatly enjoyed those series, however they all suffered the same “downfall” if you will; they appealed to the masses, were extremely popular for 1-2 years, and then simply died off. Few people talk about them anymore, the popularity and available information regarding this type of anime dwindles as they fail to become “classics.”

Alas, I am not here to predict the future for Code Geass, I can only comment on the past and the present. The Empire of Britannia has dominated a third of the world and has overthrown the last remaining opposition, Japan, with high-tech giant piloted machines called Knightmares. In gradually increasing controversy, Britannia renames Japan to Area 11 - taking over the land, they build new cities for Britannia citizens, segregating “elevens” into poverty. They will stop at nothing to accomplish their view of “peace,” few are brave enough to see differently.

In comes our hero, Lelouch, a young prince of Brittania, stripped of his title, hidden for years. Lelouch randomly stumbles across a naked women in a capsule within a stolen government vehicle. Don’t worry about this little detail, it never sees explanation. From this women, Lelouch gains a mysterious power, Geass, with the ability to control any human simply by looking them in the eyes and speaking his commands. He has always had negative thoughts towards Brittania, and has planned since childhood to single handedly overthrow the economic and military giant; this new power will simply speed that up.

Lelouch becomes “Zero,” a hero to the Japanese, a terrorist to the Britannia Empire.

Ok, I’m sorry, I’m going to have to stop there. It pains me to discuss this utterly cliche anime. Lelouch battles Britannia. He gains Japanese support. He loses supporters. He gains supporters. He accidently kills thousands of his supporters. He twists this to gain more supporters. His childhood best friend, an eleven, is sided with Britannia. They want the same thing. They go about their goals in two different ways. This of course makes them bitter enemies. Cliffhanger. War. Oh noes, Lelouch is finally revealed as Zero. More cliffhanger.

The animation is top-notch average, meaning it’s up to the standards of 2007, but it looks just like every other anime. The character designs are done by CLAMP, so they’re excellent (if you like that anorexic and elongated look, not to mention the character’s arms, which have the uncanny ability to stretch an extra three feet)

Code Geass seeks to be a thought-provoking, imaginative anime with one side always one-upping or being in the way of the other. It fails at this. It’s bland and slow. I don’t feel anything for the characters, which is mainly what I look for. Multiple characters die, succeed, or are thwarted, yet I just don’t care what happens in the end. I will admit that the last few episodes picked up my interest, but it was too little, too late. I’ll give the second season a chance, but I’m not expecting much.

Code Geass Screenshots