Code Geass R2 - Overall Series Impressions & Total Series Rating

[Nobodyman9]

Originally Posted by bladeofdarkness

he did
it was united under his rule for a few minutes
and united in its hate of him for a while

and after watching the watchmen movie i have to say

Spoiler for watchmen:

ZERO-R seems even lamer now that i know where they probably stole it from

Well, the two do share similarities, but

Spoiler for big time spoilers:

The main thing that makes ZR and Ozy's plan similar is that they kill a bunch of people in order to unite the world against a common enemy. The main difference, however, is that Ozy doesn't subject himself to all the world's hatred and kill himself in the process, whereas Lelouch...well...does. Yes, in a way they are similar, but not totally identical. The situation and circumstance regarding the two plans do have their share of differences. Besides, you may as well accuse Charles' plan of being a rip-off of Evangelion, which I think is much more so than ZR being a rip-off of Watchmen.

Also, for the record, Ozymandias>Lelouch. They're both geniuses, but Ozymandias can physically kick your ass any day of the week. Also, Watchmen>Code Geass.

Incidentally, there's one quote from Watchmen (which is actually a quote from Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche) that reminds me of Lelouch's situation.

"Battle not with monsters,
lest ye become a monster,

and if you gaze into the abyss,
the abyss gazes also into you."

[Xander]

About Watchmen: it's a good superhero movie, but only a decent adaptation which loses a lot of the more interesting points behind the original work for the sake of making an entertaining, Hollywood-friendly story and increasing its "cool" factor. It's not too bad but...it's not an easy work to adapt either.

Kinda like how you could argue Geass R2 lost or cut back on many of the good points from R1 for the sake of being entertaining (which it was) and having a lot questionable (or ridiculous) "cool" moments for the sake of trying to appeal to Bandai's / Sunrise's commercial interests.

[Charred Knight]

Originally Posted by bladeofdarkness

he did
it was united under his rule for a few minutes
and united in its hate of him for a while

and after watching the watchmen movie i have to say

Spoiler for watchmen:

ZERO-R seems even lamer now that i know where they probably stole it from

Considering how super hero books are rarely populoar outside of America I don't think they stole anything.

Also Watchmen's ending has the whole thing with Rorsharch's book, and the villains wondering if his plan will actually suceed implying that the villains plan will fall apart when people began doing research into what actually happened.

[Alpha-1]

Originally Posted by bladeofdarkness

he did
it was united under his rule for a few minutes
and united in its hate of him for a while

and after watching the watchmen movie i have to say

Spoiler for watchmen:

ZERO-R seems even lamer now that i know where they probably stole it from

Sorry, I meant that he deserved to see the world united in peace rather than under tyranny.

[haravikk]

Really enjoyed season 2 (which I've just come here having just watched it!), and season 1 as well of course. The story-line is certainly interesting, and I do like the whole "dark intelligence" type main-characters and the twisted webs they end up-in, I'd watched Death Note in the past and really enjoyed that.

Criticism-wise, I'm not sure the the Knightmare frames were really necessary, they have a certain cool-factor, but I felt a lot of the time that they were unnecessary filler that sometimes stole the show from the actual story. The constant bouncing between various models being the best got tiresome about three episodes into season 1

Also; I really liked the story overall, but feel that it was really crammed into the two seasons, I'd have been happier if they'd done the same story over three or four seasons, as the plot was changing too quickly a lot of the time, causing them to gloss over a lot of details. An extra series or two could have allowed them to reduce the pacing of the plot elements to be easier to follow, allowing more development of main and minor characters and devoting some more time to battle-scenes, as many of them were annoyingly fast.

Not my intention to have criticism for most of my post, but it's always easier to pick out the things you didn't like! On the whole though I really enjoyed Code Geass, and I'm eagerly awaiting dual-audio Blu Ray releases here in the UK (where the show belongs, all hail Britannia!). Since, in spite of a few possible ways to start one, I suspect a season 3 is unlikely, I'd certainly love to see some additional releases filling in gaps in the main story, or fleshing parts out. If they can do it in such a way that it fits into the series timeline neatly then it could solve the problem of the show moving too quickly and lacking detail in places.

I know my post isn't really R2 specific, but there you go, loved it

[Throne Invader]

The R2 series was pretty ok. I liked the characters from season 1 better though. But I still gave it a 10/10. The series teaches a very valuable lesson. You have to be willing to sacrifice your own life if you decide to hold the lives of millions of other people.

[Code Geass]

I gave this series a perfect ten because:

1. The artwork is amazing, about the best I've seen.
2. The voice acting was chosen and acted out perfectly.
3. The storyline is very deep and inspiring (the ending really hit me).
4. The characters' personalities are believable and realistic.

[hyperviper]

Mix Death Note, Gundam, X Clamp, V for Vendetta and even Dark Knight. What do you get? CODE GEASS!!!

No, scratch that...This is beyond all them. Code Geass is unpredictable, deep, intelligent, intense, inspiring, cool, and just nothing like any other anime you've seen. Every episode keeps you guessing what will happen next. The suspense just builds up consistently. It's climax after climax after climax.

The character development here is superb. The story will make you sympathize with a lot of characters (Doesn't matter what side you take- Brittanians or the Elevens) The main character Lelouch is what really makes this show a masterpiece. Yes, you might love him or hate him, but nevertheless, he's even cooler than Death Note's Kira.

It's really up to your perspective to define who the good/bad guys really are, and don't be surprised when you change your mind from episode to episode because there's so much plot twists here. Especially near the end of season 1- one of the shocking moments ever...no doubt. There's some comedic moments; sometimes, not intentional, and very arousing scenes with women- esp. Kallen and C.C.

I finished this anime within the whole weekend (both seasons) because I just couldn't stop. It's just that addictive, and even after finishing it, I would see all the episodes all over again (And yes, even those "pizza" festival almost-filler, laid-back couple of episodes)

The plot is more focused on the "power of the Geass" more than the Meccha themes, but that's what makes it insane. The first season establishes these relations, and develops certain political and moral themes, but in the 2nd season is where the fun really starts. The battles are epic, the storyline becomes deeper and more unpredictable...and for the ones who haven't seen it- everything is not what it seems. The animation is top-notch, music is fine, voice acting was perfect, direction was solid, drama was effectively-told, story was well-written, and the whole series will just change your way of thinking!!! And the ending....is just...wow...perfect

I just can't give this anime enough praise. It's really brilliant, and I would suggest this to anyone, not just to people who like anime, but literally anyone- because the story is just heavensent, and it's one of those things you just have to see before you die

10/10 AMAZING!!!

[Charred Knight]

Considering the massive loss of life caused by Britannia its obvious which side is good. Lelouch biggest problem is that the man is a dick, and somewhat nuts.

Chuck is a crazed lunatic who kills millions in hid dream of renacting the plot from "Children's End"

Also no Britannia is not shown as sympathetic in the least. At no point in time does Cornelia seem to regret her actions, nor does any of the other Britannians. Gino states that he wishes that Britannia was the way it used to be under Charles.

Compare that with say Fullmetal Alchemist where characters breakdown, and half the scenes are of the common soldier being disgusted with their own actions.

[azul120]

Hit the nail on the head. Except that Lelouch was more dickish than a dick by pure definition.

Spoiler:

Roy Mustang did a bad thing by killing Winry's parents, but he didn't waste a second in regretting it.

Not to mention of course Armstrong of the pink sparkle loyalty, and

Spoiler:

the sadly killed off

Hughes. And that's just for starters.

By contrast, there just weren't very many initially sympathetic Britannians in authority postions on display in Code Geass, or very many non-sympathetic ones that actually came to repent/atone for their actions. Then again the OotBKs had its share of jerks as well, so the show was at least fairly equal opportunity there. They're all just lucky Lelouch took the fall for them in the end. (And no, I'm not equating him to Jesus Christ here.)

[Charred Knight]

You might want to put those in spoiler boxes.

If Okouchi wanted to show that Britannians hated their work than he could easily have written in scenes where soldiers talk about how much they hate killing innocent people but they have to follow orders. They could have shown scenes of disagreement and people being tramautized but he didn't.

None of the people on the Britannians care until the FLEIJA scene and that's only Nina and Suzaku.

It's one of the reasons why I hated the wedding picture just because it made no sense and was ridiculous.

[Nobodyman9]

Originally Posted by azul120

Hit the nail on the head. Except that Lelouch was more dickish than a dick by pure definition.

Roy Mustang did a bad thing by killing Winry's parents, but he didn't waste a second in regretting it.

Not to mention of course Armstrong of the pink sparkle loyalty, and the sadly killed off Hughes. And that's just for starters.

By contrast, there just weren't very many initially sympathetic Britannians in authority postions on display in Code Geass, or very many non-sympathetic ones that actually came to repent/atone for their actions. Then again the OotBKs had its share of jerks as well, so the show was at least fairly equal opportunity there. They're all just lucky Lelouch took the fall for them in the end. (And no, I'm not equating him to Jesus Christ here.)

Spoiler:

Well, that's the main difference between Code Geass and Fullmetal Alchemist. In one you've got two opposing militaries going against each other and in the other you've got a single very characterized military with those who blindly follow orders, those who enjoy killing, and even those who are in on the grand scheme on one side, and then you've got the dissenters, who are more sympathetic and deeply regret their reactions as well have the suspicion that something is rotten in the state of Amestris. I agree, I don't think it would've killed them to have a few sympathetic Brittanian soldiers.

[Rising Dragon]

Originally Posted by Charred Knight

It's one of the reasons why I hated the wedding picture just because it made no sense and was ridiculous.

Then again that's your main argument for nearly everything in this anime.

[azul120]

Originally Posted by Charred Knight

You might want to put those in spoiler boxes.

If Okouchi wanted to show that Britannians hated their work than he could easily have written in scenes where soldiers talk about how much they hate killing innocent people but they have to follow orders. They could have shown scenes of disagreement and people being tramautized but he didn't.

None of the people on the Britannians care until the FLEIJA scene and that's only Nina and Suzaku.

Suzaku doesn't fit in there. He wanted to protect Japan, but had just been doing it from the wrong angle.

It's one of the reasons why I hated the wedding picture just because it made no sense and was ridiculous.

I know. For reasons we've both went over, perhaps the biggest wallbanger of the series.

Originally Posted by Rising Dragon

Then again that's your main argument for nearly everything in this anime.

Even if he does, it doesn't take away from the fact that it's particularly true here.

[Senbon Zakura]

I gave it a perfect 10. Here's why...

I stumbled upon Code Geass on a Saturday night (technically, a Saturday morning) in a sort of caffeine rush due to the excessive amounts of Dr. Pepper I had consumed minutes beforehand, and I thought I would give it a shot and see how I liked it. Unfortunately for me, it was about 8 or 9 episodes in and I didn't really understand much of what was going on. Despite this, I couldn't stop watching every single episode, on Saturdays around 2 in the morning. The characters were compelling, believable, likeable, and yes, some were even hateable. I pretty much latched on to each character and instantly got a sense of what they were about. Lelouche, the former prince and the protagonist, Suzaku, the father-killer (LOL) and self-righteous douchebag, Kallen, the hottest girl in anime I've ever seen (who also kicks major ass), and C.C. who comes at a close second to Kallen in hotness, just barely scratch the surface of the plethora of wonderful characters.

One of the other things I liked about CG was the myriad of plot twists. Every so often I would watch an episode twice, because I was sort of in a "lolwut" state of mind after some of the major episodes, but that just made me like it even more. The second time around was just as good as the first. One thing that just makes this show a perfect 10 is the fact that when it killed off characters I actually got sad. I was just so in touch with the people of CG that I didn't want them to die. Except Suzaku. And whats-her-face that made the giant bomb thing...shit, what was her name? Nina? Mina? Anyway, thats beside the point. The point is that CG is a brilliant anime that has not only depth but meaning. And yes, I completely agree with hyperviper - this show will have you switching sides a lot, between the BK's and Britannia. Because the plot twists are just so damn good.

I plan on crying when I finally see the last episode.

P.S. I almost cried when Shirley died.

[Nobodyman9]

^The bomb-making bitch? Yeah, that's Nina, and you're not alone in your hatred of her. Very good review BTW.

[Senbon Zakura]

Originally Posted by Nobodyman9

The bomb-making bitch? Yeah, that's Nina, and you're not alone in your hatred of her. Very good review BTW.

GAH, Nina. I hate her so much. Hey, it's fine if you're a woman that likes women. I'm fine with that. But the scene with the you-know-what with the picture of Euphemia (I don't know if it's against the rules to use sexual terms xD) was just too much.

And I hated it even more when she flipped her shit whenever she saw Zero. Yeah, she obviously loved Euphemia. But she practically never knew her. Nina's face would get all distorted and it scared the shit out of me.

[Charred Knight]

That was my favorite scene in the entire series.

I mean I laughed so hard at it. She was getting it on with a freaking table.

[azul120]

I think you're being too hard on Suzaku. By the time he got back together with Lelouch prior to them beginning the Zero Requiem, he realized how wrong he'd been, and sought to atone for everything he did. Which is why he's one of the few surviving characters who still has a sense of honor.

ETA: I would have been much happier with the ending if we got a snippet of the Ashford Academy fireworks scene from the final PD instead of the wedding portrait. That I actually liked.

[Senbon Zakura]

Originally Posted by Charred Knight

That was my favorite scene in the entire series.

I mean I laughed so hard at it. She was getting it on with a freaking table.

LOL, yeah it was creepy at first because I didn't really understand what exactly she was doing but then someone told me and I was like "EW".