The Okouchi interview is so long and I can't do it all in one go. So, until somebody provides a more detailed and accurate translation of it, I'll post a loose summary for the meantime.
Pink-chan, I'm borrowing your links. That alright?
DISCLAIMER: This is only a loose translation/summary, not word-for-word.
Feel free to correct any mistakes in translation.
Animage November 2008 Okouchi Interview Part 1:
"Code Geass" is a story about seeking tomorrow
Upper half of the page:
The characters who sought tomorrow
(Will add more soon. I'm just going page by page):
Lelouch vi Britannia - He understood people's desires through the World of C. That was, the desire for tomorrow. To compensate for continuing to involve the people he used geass on, he decided to carry the burden of fulfilling the wishes of the people. He sought not his own tomorrow, but the tomorrow that the world sought for.
C.C. - Her wish was to die as a human, but after spending time with Lelouch, C.C. also wished for tomorrow. She made up her mind to ensure the tomorrow of the world that Lelouch had left.
The Lelouch who is always facing forward
Animage: One of the themes of this work is "Rebellion". Do you think Lelouch succeeded in his rebellion?
Okouchi thinks that Lelouch did succeed. Despite being opposed by the whole world, he was able to go through with it until the very end.
The themes that Okouchi considered depicting in the series:
Okouchi mentioned themes like mecha, school, tactics, super powers, and many other things, but the first thing on his mind had to be the character named Lelouch. The title was "Code Geass Lelouch of the Rebellion" after all. He had written a script that felt like a biography of the man named Lelouch.
Feedback regarding the script:
Okouchi had already decided the outcome of the story from Stage 1. He talked about it with a number of the staff, but he never got their opinion back then. Even after half a year, when he had a more concrete idea of the ending, he still did not have others' opinions.
About the staff's consensus regarding the last scene:
The staff contemplated about how they would like the epilogue to be and had a survey from which they picked the ending they would like.
What Okouchi felt after completing the script:
Okouchi was silent after finishing the script. Because the script of Code Geass was demanding on production, as much as possible, he wanted the production team to finish earlier than scheduled, but consequently, he did not feel much.
Animage: The production of Code Geass certainly seemed to have taken a lot of time, didn't it?
This part talks of how a lot of cuts in the story had to be made, and how the production team had to work hard. Even as cuts were made, more (character and story) settings were established and the number of images that had to be drawn also increased. Character and mecha elements were plentiful, so skillful staff were needed. Code Geass exceeded everyone's imaginations with the help of the staff.
About how Code Geass contains so many things and if Okouchi did not find it difficult to write the script:
Okouchi said that it
was difficult for him, what will the mecha and school elements. In the first place, when the story was being planned out, he had to work with many things. Compared to the first season, the stage of second season moves from Japan to a wider stage - the world. The amount of information that had to be provided would definitely increase. And at the same time, because R2 was considered a new program, they had to make adjustments for the new followers and those who were already familiar with the series from before. Because Okouchi was challenged to take the story to another level, to advance it further, it was difficult. When the outcome was decided, that was only the time Okouchi felt assurance.
About the last part portending an opportunity to change the world:
Okouchi thought that it was nonsense think that the world could completely change by Lelouch's actions. The world can't be change as easy as that. But, if we people given the chance, they can find direction. Certainly, Lelouch and the others had ended the war. However, it doesn't mean an ever lasting peace. The constant efforts of the people who remain are very much needed to maintain that peace. What Okouchi meant by that was, Nunnally, Kallen, and Zero (Suzaku), the ones who remain, will play an important role. They will live the story by the meaning of experiences lie there.
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Part 2 may be up later, tomorrow, or never, if somebody else already plans to translate.
Also, according to 2ch, Lelouch's profile on geass.net says:
Quote:
186 ：名無しさん＠お腹いっぱい。：2008/10/17(金) 13:15:04 ID:bt5QORZ/O
自分の命と引き換えにゼロレクイエムを完遂させた
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He accomplished Zero Requiem in exchange for his own life.
^
This and the last question on the first page of Okouchi's interview clearly says who is alive and who is not.