Code Geass is a Sci-fi/mech anime about a feud between a banished prince and the emperor of his homeland, Britannia. The series starts off by revealing that the nation of Britannia has invaded Japan with large mechs called Knightmares. After conquering Japan Britannia strips its citizens of their independance and renames Japan, Area 11 and its people 11's. The banished prince, Lelouch, is hiding with his sister in a Britannian Academy in Japan when he sneaks away to hustle men out of money in chess. Soon he finds himself caught in a fight between Britannian forces and Japanese radicals. While trying to escape he stumbles upon a secret military weapon, a young green haired girl named C.C.(pronounced C2 when the show is dubbed) who gives Lelouch the gift of Geass, the ability to make others follow his orders to the letter. Soon after Lelouch plans to use his power to overthrow the Britannian emperor by becoming the new leader of the rebel forces calling himself Zero. The series then follows Lelouch as he tries to keep his identity a secret, but at the same time lead Japan to a new peaceful world.
Art/Look of the Anime:
Anime is a form of art and this show proves that fact. This visually pleasing anime is probably one of the best and most unique I've seen. From the "beanstalky" people to the mechs and ships everything is crisp and clean. Some animes (especially mech animes) have an issue of reusing shots but this was not the case for this series. Every battle brings something new and usually a new mech or two. This series keeps wowing you with its visuals until the very last episode.
Plot:
This turned out, surprisingly, to be a very interesting story. When I watched the first couple episodes I felt like I knew exactly where the series was going. I thought it was going to be the typical hero rises from the ashes starts kicking some ass and makes everyone happy. But its actually quite different. Lelouch himself doesn't actually do much fighting, he is the brains of the operation after all. But the devious plots he concocts using his geass (a power that lets him have mind control over people he makes eye contact with) as well as those around him seem to just get more and more intense. At one point I found myself thinking "How the Sam hell could one kid think of all this himself?" But the best part is just when you think you've figured out his plan of action the plan goes in a completely different direction. As far as character development is concerned I was intrigued by the depth that the series went into. Whether it was a blood thirsty warrior or the most gentle girl in the world, I found there was at least some small connection I could make with them. The way they also show the little quarks of the characters is very genuine too. Sometimes it really is the imperfections that make us who we are and the series captured that perfectly.
Sound:
The soundtrack to this show is amazing. From the opening theme to the ending, the soundtrack continues to amaze me. Its very orchestral which can sometimes be a bit boring after awhile but the show will throw in a bit more rock, making battles seem truly epic. As far as the dubbed versions go this wasn't really that bad. Of course I always recommend subbed versions just because you get the full experience of the anime the way it was meant to be experienced, which maybe lost sometimes when its dubbed in English. But it wasn't ear shattering when you feel a bit lazy and don't feel like reading.
Mech Designs:
I am a sucker for mech animes. Anything with any sort of giant robot action gets a plus in my book and Code geass delivers way past what it needed to. Throughout the show the mechs evolve in complexity. At first they can't fly and can barely be agile except for a few extraordinary ones but then while the series goes on the Knightmares get flying and more destructive weapons as well as getting faster in general. The mech fights maybe a tad boring but by the end of the first season you get that rush of awesomeness everyone looks for in a mech anime.
And then it builds on that even more in the second season, so by the end of the show you will see some of the best mech fights you will get to see. Along with the evolving mechs they also have a unique design to begin with. Most of them are bipeds and have a soldier like design. All knightmares also have wheels which enable to do some pretty impressive maneuvers up walls and in tunnels. Another interesting feature I though was a grappling hook like device dubbed a "Harkon" in which the Knightmares use to scale walls, disarm enemies, and use as a back up weapon. Overall Rating: 9/10
Overall this is a very well put together anime with a great plot and even better look. The only reason this didn't get a full 10/10 is that the endings to the seasons just seem to end. They spend episode after episode building these epic scenarios up for them to just end, 20 minutes into a single episode. Also at some point it's sort of like the creators got bored with the current situation and just decided to switch something else.
***Spoiler*** (like lelouch randomly coming back and claiming the throne of Britannia and Suzaku is all buddy buddy with him suddenly.)
But even with the random switching I do recommend this series to anyone who wants a good in depth anime to watch with some awesome fight scenes and a great story.
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