Character Discussion - Lelouch
 

The purpose of this thread is to provide a place to discuss all things Lelouch related.
To keep the discussion enjoyable for all Code Geass fans, please follow the guidelines below and stay on-topic!
Note: Please don't use this for the specific episode talk, there are already threads serving that purpose.

---

Thread Guidelines

• No campaigning!
  No "hate" or "xyz must die" posts. Discuss why you do or don't like characters without whining and whining or blatantly campaigning for your favorite.

• Be polite to your fellow forum members.
  Do not insult or harass other members for their likes and dislikes. Do not take it so seriously that you end up in an argument with another forum member because they express a fondness for a character you loathe. Discussion and good spirited banter is always welcome, but harassing people won't be tolerated.

• Discuss, not Chat.
  Please remember that AnimeSuki is a discussion forum, not a chat room, there is a difference. If you wish to chat, then please make use of our IRC channel (#animeuki) on ZiRC.

• Have fun, but post intelligently.
  It's great to have fun, but please try your best to add substance to what you post and make your thoughts interesting for the generation of fans that will follow after you’re long gone and on to watching some other series.

• Use spoiler tags!Spoilers are allowed, but they must be enclosed in spoiler tags clearly marked with a proper title. Failure to do this can result in a BAN.

• Adding a Spoiler tag:
  http://forums.animesuki.com/images/a...al/spoiler.gifJust highlight your spoiler and click the button found
  on the "Quick Reply" and "Reply to Thread" forms.
  Make sure that you include a title for the spoiler!
• Please use the Report button if you see any spoilers:
  http://forums.animesuki.com/images/a...ons/report.gifClick the button found to the left of the post, just under the poster's avatar.
  Using the Report button is anonymous and helps the Moderators
  to locate and deal with problems quickly.
• Posting prohibited spoilers may result in a ban.
  Note: Reporting a post does not mean the poster will be banned instantly.
  The Moderators will use bans if warnings are repeatedly ignored.

I think this a great idea but sort of difficult at the same time since it's impossible to know if people reading this have seen episodes up to a certain point. I'm going to provide Lelouch's biography first since I believe that it helps to shape the character when discussing them. Also most of this information you will already know.

Name: Lelouch Vi Britannia, Lelouch Lamperouge, Zero

Born: Decemnber 5, 2000

For the very early part of Lelouch's life he enjoyed life with his sister, Nunnally, his mother Empress Marianne and his half-sister Euphemia despite not having any friends. He was incredibly intelligent often challenging his older siblings, Clovis and Schneizel to chess matches; remaining undefeated to Clovis while it is hinted that Schneizel proved a difficult match for him.

When Lelouch turned 9 his life was changed forever when his mother was murdered and his sister Nunnally had both legs injured and her sight lost due to the trauma of witnessing the attack on her mother along with her mother's dying body fall on top of her.

Lelouch had always resented his father, the Emperor, for the petty fights between the siblings about who would succeed the Emperor, but he actually renounced his title after his father refused to visit the injured Nunnally in the hospital stating "He had no need for the weak."

Lelouch was then sent to Japan along with Nunnally as bargaining chips, and became political hostages of the Prime Minister. He finally developed his first friend in Kurugi Suzaku. Day after day Lelouch would receiving beatings from other Japanese kids though, including Suzaku when they first met. Lelouch did everything for Nunnally when he first arrived from cooking and laundry to chores and did not let a Japanese person even touch her hand until Suzaku. It was only a few months after they arrived that Britannia declared war on Japan, and Lelouch declared that he would destroy Britannia. It was during this time that Lelouch witnessed terrible tragedies including a massacred village, which I believe hardened Lelouch's personality. It was also during this time that Lelouch changed his and Nunnally's last name to Lamperouge and declared themselves dead to elude possible Britannia pursuers. The two of them took refuge in the care of the Ashford family in the Tokyo settlement and began living peaceful lives attending Ashford Academy after Britannia subdued Japan. This is also when he first meets Millay Ashford.

Seven Years Pass.

The Year is 2017 and Lelouch has become the Vice-President of the Student Council at Ashford Academy while making other friends or student council member associates including Shirley Fenette, Rivalz Carmonde, and Nina Einstein. After a chess match with a noble Lelouch becomes involved in a traffic accident which leads to him meeting the three other main characters including C.C., Kallen Kouzki/Stadfeld, and Kurugi Suzaku once again. Kallen gets Lelouch involved in the terrorist mess while Suzaku has become a Britannian soldier takes a bullet for Lelouch and C.C. takes a bullet for Lelouch, but gives him a Geass ability which can order a person to do anything he commands including suicide. Lelouch decides to use this power to change the world...

Now this is where I will begin his character analysis.

Lelouch is someone who uses any method to punish those who inflict pain upon others. He is what you might consider a world-wide vigilante who became a rebel or vice-versa to create a peaceful world for his sister. He knows as long as Britannia exists his sister will never be safe. If found she and Lelouch would continue to be used as political tools never obtaining true freedom. He carries the burden of being evil especially after Euphemia's massacre while still retaining some of his humanity. He does have a pillar of support or sometimes criticism in C.C. and an incredibly loyal soldier willing to become carnage itself in Kallen. Up until he met C.C. Lelouch believed himself to be dying a slow poison because of his lack of power, and gives no regard to risking his own life. He proves to be a master tactician in battle, and becomes a symbol of hope for the Japanese.

If there is two flaws with Lelouch it is his reluctance to let go of his friendship with Suzaku, who has become his greatest enemy, constantly stopping his plans. He has several chances to kill Suzaku but does not which ends up costing him greatly.

His second flaw is his inability to protect his sister who gets kidnapped twice.

You'll notice I did not list Lelouch's arrogance or overconfidence as a flaw. It is true that it can be with the occasional loss such as with Cornelia but overconfidence is the kind of attitude one wants in a leader. A leader that is unsure about himself will lead to weakness in the soldiers that follow him.

I think this is good enough for a start on Lelouch.

The guy makes the best poses and speeches I've heard. :heh:
I've seen people saying that his hand movements are silly, but I think it's pretty cool. *nodx2*

My favorite male protagonist. Has flaws, but that's just one likable part of him to me (despite it having frustrating results at times).

I think it's fair to say that Lelouch enjoys his theatrics as Zero.

Nice writeup Blue Mercy. I like the bit on overconfidence

I see Lelouch as this:
I think in the beginning he hated injustice but knew that people would have to endure. But when he saw that nothing would be done about his mother's death it began his want to change Brittania. He's fully triggered when he sees Brittania's massacre of Japanese and the military's carelessness in their actions.

And what's funny is that this actually provoked Lelouch, right before he got Geass. that one commander is about to execute Lelouch for no reason, C.C. steps in, and when Lelouch gets Geass and kills him, he knows he's finally going to go for his goal.

this guy amazes me, the way he got hundreds of soldiers at his orders but without losing the "Cooliness".
i remember the chapter when he declares war after Euphie's death and strikes a pose like "wtf" XD! i started laughing so hard in that moment.

I think he absolutely rox and I hope he will succeed where Light has failed.

But I can't help to think every time I see him "sis com"

btw if I have to make an analysis of him with a touch of humor:

Cold calculated bastard that stops bye no means to get what "he" wants, out to get revenge at the murderer of his mother rather then creating a peaceful world for his sister. Gifted tactician with weak physics! Popular with the women and quite the charmer. A pure hearted kid that bye bad parenting from his dads side led to make a pact with a hot "witch".

That is nice and all, but Lelouch really is nothing like Light.

I agree 100%.

For one. Lelouch cares about other people. I could post a dozen more reasons.

and more or less doesn't care at all about himself. :rolleyes:

but yeah, just pay attention to the first season, Lelouch and Light are nothing alike as characters, despite the superficial similarities.

DO keep in mind that caring for others in the situation Lelouch is in could be the death of you.

In this case, it's actually more likely to save Lelouch in the end than kill him.

Caring about others is what gets you allies and friends, especially when you're fighting against usually insurmountable odds. :rolleyes:

but he killed Euphemia and it's all his fault

Really? They both have their wild sense of power either way, as if his expressions and ep 12-14 didn't prove it enough. It's a matter of handling power, yeah he cares for other people, but he still acts like Light towards his enemies. It's all about how you look at power. :heh He also used Geass irresponsibly at one time, causing one of the biggest massacres in the series.

Lelouch did make the worst joke ever at the worst time ever, but that's kinda a bad example. One can argue that because he cares so much for her and her vision, he shot her out of mercy so that she didn't have to make it unravel with her own hands.

Yes, it was his fault, but he didn't really mean to do what he did, so it's at least a little more forgivable.

Your point? What else was he supposed to do in such a situation? Let her keep killing people?

Yeah, but Lelouch has limits and does not allow himself to become drunk with power like Light did. Light would have intentionally caused the massacre while Lelouch would never do such a thing.

He killed Euphemia exactly because it was all his fault. No one else should have to bear any of the sin for what happened in his mind.

As always, what would you have had Lelouch do instead? Let her keep on killing people? Let someone else kill her? Lock her up for the rest of her life, trying to hide her from anyone who might want to free her and cause her to kill more, while she went completely insane?

Light only killed criminals and those like L who got in his way. As for Euphie's death, I agree, Lulu had to do it, or things would gave just gotten to the most worst.

I too am in the camp that Light and Lelouch are more similar than a lot of people would care to admit. I just think the overall tones of the respective shows paint them in different lights, not necessarily their personalities or actions. They both would sacrifice the innocent if they had to. They both try to achieve a noble goal through not-so-noble means. The only real difference is that Lelouch has people he cares about, whereas Light doesn't.

I would argue that by the middle of DN, Light wasn't trying to achieve a noble goal. He was more out to become "god of a new world" than meting out true justice. It wasn't about what was objectively right but what he saw fit. We don't see that with Lelouch.

Lelouch never cared about himself through all this and that hasn't changed yet. It has always been for Nunnally. He doesn't care about his own happiness at all.

Light was always planning on being a god of some sorts and killing anyone that objected to his ideas. This didn't start coming ou in full force until later though.

Lelouch is the kind of person who would likely give up whatever power he achieved once his objective was completed, one way or another, while Light's god complex pretty much guarantees that he'll want to stay on top until his death.

Agreed. I am also doubtful that Lelouch would ever develop a god complex as well. He showed signs of it in 22, but that was all dispelled after the massacre.

I totally agreed and beside he didnt really mean to do that. But he was a man and took responsible for his actions, by killing his first love. But that is the "Power of the King", you will have incredible power but you will be lonely for the rest of your life. He is not like Light at all, period. He doesnt have a god-complex and when everything is completed, he will move on and spend his time with his sister and his friends in peace.

Lulu initially came off as power hungry clone of Lightu . But as the series progressed we came to know he is a multifaceted and a multilayered person . Lulu has made some mistakes but thats due to his inexperience than aggressiveness . Lulu is a very likeable character he has shades of Black and white . But overall a good character as he didnot need to start the revolution as he is royalty himself . If you take away his cocky attitude he is a deep caring person

Yeah, and also Light used his powers to oppress while Lelouch is using his powers to destroy the oppressors. A fundamental difference in my eyes.

I have to agree about Lelouch having noble intentions for recreating world order, but if he wants to earn the Black Knights trust after abandoning them in ep. 24 there are probably be some ground rules.

like pizza for all? no wait! don't leave things half-done? don't let your siblings get kidnapped?

:p :rolleyes:

Maybe be a bit more trusting and honest with his comrades?

Yeah think you guys understand my perspective.

that is the name of the game in season 2: learn to trust others instead of being a completely self sacrificing dummy. :eyespin:

Yeah and without trust, the Order can't function as an effective organization as they were too dependent on Zero in season 1. Of course, trust can lead to a betrayal as well.

To briefly touch on what seems to be the theme of the day, the Light/Lelouch comparison is mainly an issue of summary, in that when you boil down all the specifics of both stories to a paragraph, they do indeed come off as similar. I dislike comparing anything further because almost everything, from intended audience to even the art style indicate a huge difference between the stories.

As to Lelouch himself, he is indeed an interesting character, but a trait that is not yet being talked about is what seems to be his colossal hypocrisy. For example, he is clearly aware that his militaristic activities are influencing both innocent and neutral parties, but he only cares about collateral damage when it impacts someone he knows. I found this bothersome because it strikes me as incredibly wrong to treat SOME people like chess pieces, but to move others off the board because they are precious, or somesuch nonsense. It is particularly irksome when a character that is supposed to be as intelligent as he is seems to be blind to the fact that he allows personal attachment to so often cloud his judgement. Ironically, perhaps it proves that he is exactly the same man his father is, right down to the contempt for those that do not serve his needs.

Btw, the more I watch this series, the more I wonder if we aren't going to get a scene towards the end, with Lelouch's rebellion having nearly succeeded, and the emperor saying,"I always knew you would be the success, Lelouch. When you finish me, you will be the true leader."

It's not a matter of "boiling down to specifics" though, it's "boiling down to superficialities". >_>

If you boil down Lelouch and Light, they are at heart two completely different characters with extremely different motivations, goals, and methods. If you oversimplify to "High school student with fabulous hair who uses a magic power and kills people and wants to change the world", you've lost everything important about their characters, and are instead focusing on mere background settings. -_-

They don't seem to be giving Lelouch that sort of depressing ending from the staff comments and such a line would probably only come if the Emperor's plan all along was to have Lelouch succeed him which certainly does not seem to be the case.

As creepy as Voduars last pargraph is I can't see him as visualizing this as off target. I hope though Lelouch will see through his act to the truth that for weak to have equal say everyone must have a voice. (i.e. Parliament, congress, etc.)

Perhaps you are right, but that thought popped up when I realized that, from a certain perspective, Lelouch is doing exactly what his father wants, assuming that the Emperor legitimately believes in social darwinism to the degree he claims to. Such a person would, in fact, want his successor to tear down his own decadent empire, slaughter all but the greatest of his siblings, and rebuild everything a new with vigor and ruthlessness. Briefly, I was absolutely certain that this was the twist for the series. However, the entire multidimensional aspect of this series allows for a less dreary ending. Also, all of what I just said is predicated on the Emperor not being a hypocrite. If the son is any indication, he is quite stuffed with it.

Your kidding right? What commander doesn't have to treat his subordinates as pawns sometimes, that's the name of the game in war, and its very understandable. The fact that he isn't completely immune, that he has people he cares about, proves his humanity or would you want him to be a cold, emotionless megalomaniac? Does the Emperor even HAVE anyone he cares about? :confused: What he does is logical, viewing his soldiers indifferently in order to make the decisions he needed to make, and even then he grew somewhat attached to the Order after seemingly likely to cut off ties with Ougi in episode 6 because they had grown too familiar and dependent on him. In any event, caring about people close to you and letting their involvement affect your usually sound and clear judgment is what makes Lelouch more understandable and human I think, compared to say Light who really didn't give a crap in the end and focused solely on his goals even after setting up the lose of his father. Lelouch on the other hand, does the exact opposite, giving up the world in order to rescue his sister, and that is what makes him the better man in my view.

I'm pretty confident that Lelouch is going to be anything but his father by the end of the show. I used to see an ending like that being possible, but it doesn't seem as viable anymore.

I'm sure the Emperor enjoys it to some degree. He does have his plan to fufill still though.

yeah, Wakamoto's main plan has to do with this mental elevator/geass thing. Pitting Lelouch and Schneizel against each other would just be a side business of making sure there's a worthy successor.

I think its only natural to do that. People you care about aren´t as "expendable" as people you haven´t even met. Even a mastermind like him would end up giving preference to the people he cares about. Certainly its not fair and its one of Lelouch "flaws", but thats the only thing that separates him and every human being from a cold, calculating machine.

Still, I think that threating everyone like chess pieces is too much. Sometimes he seems to be thruly concerned about his subordinates, but then he suddenly changes and threats them like worthless chess pieces.

Anyways, I really like the character. He needs to make some excercise though, like lifting some weights, or at least practice a lot in a KMF (he can improve his skills a lot by training with Kallen). That would make him a stronger leader and it would make his encounters with Suzaku more interesting, not just simple gun fights like in episode 25.