Character Discussion - Rolo

[darkdarkdark]

Originally Posted by aya_kari

Somehow to my eyes this makes Rolo adorable instead of a pervert

I don't know why, but Rolo has always bothered me. Maybe because he isn't normal, and it isn't his fault, but he bothers me.

[lovelyzombie]

Originally Posted by darkdarkdark

I don't know why, but Rolo has always bothered me. Maybe because he isn't normal, and it isn't his fault, but he bothers me.

So you know he is screwed up, not his fault and still bothers you? Nice thinking fella.
I have always found his death one of the most touching part in the series, even Lelouch was really sad, which is rare.

[Roloko vi Britannia]

Originally Posted by lovelyzombie

So you know he is screwed up, not his fault and still bothers you? Nice thinking fella.
I have always found his death one of the most touching part in the series, even Lelouch was really sad, which is rare.

I also thought Rolo's death was the most touching too I never cried so much over an fictional character like that in my entire life

[Lolipopo]

Originally Posted by Roloko vi Britannia

I also thought Rolo's death was the most touching too I never cried so much over an fictional character like that in my entire life

Like TOTALLY.
I mean, there is always Lelouch's death, who was even more amazing for me, cause it was Lelouch, but while I never really cared this much about Rolo before, his death scene was one of the best scene of the whole serie.

How he came to save him, how the song began to play when he was using his geass again and again to run away from those who wanted Lelouch's butt, and his little speech about how Lelouch made him human again.

That was beautiful and I think the little death scene in the woods, with the soft light, really suited him. In the end, even Lelouch fell for his little brother and was genuinely sad when he died, being all nice and kind to him.

And he buried him. Lelouch, with his physical capacities which are similar to those of a sponge, he digged the grave all alone.

All of this, tied to the wonderful song from Hitomi made of this scene something worth watching. I remember, back at thos times in AS, while most weren't rabid Rolo's fans, most of us were genuinely sad, and got our little "IhavesomethinginMyeyeImnotcrying..." moment :/

Lelouch's death for the pain, the awesomness and the terrible irony
Rolo's death for the softness, the sadness, and Lelouch's kindness
Euphie's death for the violence, the pain, and the terrible irony (she was dying while everyone was spating on her because of a terrible mistake :/)

Most beautiful death scenes ever. And those three did get amazing songs, which I guess, did play a part in how great those were.

[Kittenlady]

Another here who didn't like him till he died. It was very sad, especially the music and Lelouch acknowledging him at the very end. His Picture Drama actually made me cry a little, too.

Though to be really honest, his death would have been much more touching if wouldn't have made more sense for him to just kill the ungrateful bastards instead of sacrificing himself. I certainly wouldn't have missed most of them at that point.

I dunno. I definetely feel sorry for him and think he's an interesting character, but it really kind of annoys me the way he keeps being shoved in all the recent images instead of other, quite frankly, more important characters.

[Lolipopo]

Originally Posted by Kittenlady

Another here who didn't like him till he died. It was very sad, especially the music and Lelouch acknowledging him at the very end. His Picture Drama actually made me cry a little, too.

Though to be really honest, his death would have been much more touching if wouldn't have made more sense for him to just kill the ungrateful bastards instead of sacrificing himself. I certainly wouldn't have missed most of them at that point.

We all wouldn't have missed them. That's the biggest CG tragedy, the bad guys get their happy ever after :/
But maybe they were too many, thus why he couldn't kill them all :/

As for not liking Rolo, personally, I never disliked him. I didn't care, that's about it, but he wasn't on my gravelist. I mean, we know the guy was basically nothing but a pawn since his childhood, and in the end, we know he wasn't really sane, because of that, thus, can hardly blame him for anything.

What stand out in his PD (for me) was the scene where Lelouch is cutting his hair (I'm sure RoloLulu fans prefered the candlelight dinner though XD SUNRISE !), the biy had such QSFHSKJHGSHG*wannapinchyourcheeksandmakeyousmile* expression !
And Lelouch, all in his brainwashed state, was adorable with him.

Btw,if someone remember, how was Rolo introduced as Lelouch's brother at first (I mean, to Lelouch ? I don't even remember the content of the PD :/)

Lol about the pics, it's about marketing as usual, it's not this much a surprise, and quite francky, I kinda like those. Even though I'd rather see others, when they aren't trying to turn him in a drag, it's fine with me :'P

[azul120]

Rolo's death was a Redemption Equals Death moment for me, really. While I do understand he had been a pawn since he was young, the moment he killed Shirley and subsequently intended to go fully into offing Nunnally as well was when he proved too dangerous to exist.

[Kittenlady]

Originally Posted by Lolipopo

We all wouldn't have missed them. That's the biggest CG tragedy, the bad guys get their happy ever after :/
But maybe they were too many, thus why he couldn't kill them all :/

As for not liking Rolo, personally, I never disliked him. I didn't care, that's about it, but he wasn't on my gravelist. I mean, we know the guy was basically nothing but a pawn since his childhood, and in the end, we know he wasn't really sane, because of that, thus, can hardly blame him for anything.

What stand out in his PD (for me) was the scene where Lelouch is cutting his hair (I'm sure RoloLulu fans prefered the candlelight dinner though XD SUNRISE !), the biy had such QSFHSKJHGSHG*wannapinchyourcheeksandmakeyousmile* expression !
And Lelouch, all in his brainwashed state, was adorable with him.

Btw,if someone remember, how was Rolo introduced as Lelouch's brother at first (I mean, to Lelouch ? I don't even remember the content of the PD :/)

Lol about the pics, it's about marketing as usual, it's not this much a surprise, and quite francky, I kinda like those. Even though I'd rather see others, when they aren't trying to turn him in a drag, it's fine with me :'P

Rolo had his moments, but I wuved Shirley. I liked him before that, then I didn't like him, then I liked him again when he died. I never actually thought he was that cute, I actually preferred him when he was all 'slasher smile' and 'I'm so going to shank you', and the 'bitch expression' at Sayoko was great.

Yeah, if you're a sibling he likes, Lelouch would be the nicest person ever. Rolo never stood a chance. What got me was at the end of the PD, "That was the best time of my life. Even if it was all a lie, I'll never forget" ;.;

The time they first meet's in the PD, too. I have a translation (that you should probably take with a pinch of salt) if you like.

The reason it bothers me is because it's been made pretty obvious that the only reason he's been featured so much is just because some of the higher ups decided they like him, and I know that he's just not that popular a character. Emperor Siscon would probably like more shots with Nunnally anyway.

[Roloko vi Britannia]

Originally Posted by Kittenlady

Rolo had his moments, but I wuved Shirley. I liked him before that, then I didn't like him, then I liked him again when he died. I never actually thought he was that cute, I actually preferred him when he was all 'slasher smile' and 'I'm so going to shank you', and the 'bitch expression' at Sayoko was great.

Yeah, if you're a sibling he likes, Lelouch would be the nicest person ever. Rolo never stood a chance. What got me was at the end of the PD, "That was the best time of my life. Even if it was all a lie, I'll never forget" ;.;

The time they first meet's in the PD, too. I have a translation (that you should probably take with a pinch of salt) if you like.

The reason it bothers me is because it's been made pretty obvious that the only reason he's been featured so much is just because some of the higher ups decided they like him, and I know that he's just not that popular a character. Emperor Siscon would probably like more shots with Nunnally anyway.

actually he is pretty popular in Japan and outside of the states since he made the top 100 best anime characters list in 2009. So with that maybe Sunrise decided to feature him more since people preferred him to other less popular CG characters to make more money off of magazines and stuff Rolo is another cash cow along with Lelouch, CC, Kallen, and Suzaku.... I like his character song especially the part where he tells Lelouch "You gave me the heart known as 'happiness' " since he never known any emotion until he met him. I watched the PD and someone gave me the translation through e-mail, but I think I might have accidently deleted it, but I did know that I cried again I'm such a sucker for sad stuff like that

Spoiler for ref pic:

[azul120]

Maybe it's sort of an Americans Hate Tingle kind of thing then, as well as him being a Wesley.

[Lost Cause]

I too saw the irony of the pendant that Arbitres spoke of. And the fact that he died saving Lelouch was indeed, redeming in my eyes! Even though I hated him for killing Shirley, he did grow on me!
And his death was one of the more traumatic in the series! Rolo had possibilities!

[Nobodyman9]

Originally Posted by azul120

Maybe it's sort of an Americans Hate Tingle kind of thing then, as well as him being a Wesley.

Yeah, or maybe it's an Americans-hate-guys-that-kill-innocent-girls-for-no-good-reason thing.

[Lolipopo]

In France, I never saw much hate against him.
Actually, I'm always surprised to see how people can look through Rolo's past like if that was nothing and tag him as terrible for killing Orange girl.

If Rolo were to be judged, he'd be put in a medical institution, cause the guy, because of his BG, is was you might consider as an unable person. He is basically a little boy who doesn't see the difference between an human being and some lifeless stuff.
Actually, what happened is all the agency fault, since they let him hang out with civilian so that he'll be Lelouch's brothers.

It's like those children who are soldiers. They are endocrinated, manipulated, and don't have much of a choice. You can hate them for what they do but in the end, the real responsible is behind, it's the person who made of them what they are.
They are nothing but victims for me, and so is Rolo.

@ KittenLady : I read the translation a long time ago and I'd love to read it again :') Thank you !
And yeah the last line is really beautiful, thats basically the RoloLulu thema isn't it : "Even if it was a lie, the times we spent together were real !"
Sad, but so, so true :')

And I think he is pretty popular actually ! Like Roloko says, polls said so, and you have to take only a look at LJ to see that fangirls love him (it was pretty much the purpose of his creation anyway, since japanese have a thing for shota XD)
When you see most of the promo stuff, it's either LuluSuza or LuluCC, not this much of a surprise to see LuluRolo, since well, the purpose of marketing is to sells, and you gotta love your shonen -ai :P

And Lelouch doesn't have anything to say ! They put him on the page, give him fancy clothes, crazy finges, a piece of cloth, and a partner, that's about it :P

[Roloko vi Britannia]

Originally Posted by Lolipopo

In France, I never saw much hate against him.
Actually, I'm always surprised to see how people can look through Rolo's past like if that was nothing and tag him as terrible for killing Orange girl.

If Rolo were to be judged, he'd be put in a medical institution, cause the guy, because of his BG, is was you might consider as an unable person. He is basically a little boy who doesn't see the difference between an human being and some lifeless stuff.
Actually, what happened is all the agency fault, since they let him hang out with civilian so that he'll be Lelouch's brothers.

It's like those children who are soldiers. They are endocrinated, manipulated, and don't have much of a choice. You can hate them for what they do but in the end, the real responsible is behind, it's the person who made of them what they are.
They are nothing but victims for me, and so is Rolo.

@ KittenLady : I read the translation a long time ago and I'd love to read it again :') Thank you !
And yeah the last line is really beautiful, thats basically the RoloLulu thema isn't it : "Even if it was a lie, the times we spent together were real !"
Sad, but so, so true :')

And I think he is pretty popular actually ! Like Roloko says, polls said so, and you have to take only a look at LJ to see that fangirls love him (it was pretty much the purpose of his creation anyway, since japanese have a thing for shota XD)
When you see most of the promo stuff, it's either LuluSuza or LuluCC, not this much of a surprise to see LuluRolo, since well, the purpose of marketing is to sells, and you gotta love your shonen -ai :P

And Lelouch doesn't have anything to say ! They put him on the page, give him fancy clothes, crazy finges, a piece of cloth, and a partner, that's about it :P

I was going to say something similar to that, but it looks like you beat me to it. I would understand the hate better if Rolo knew what he did was wrong and just did it for the shits and giggles just to make Lelouch suffer, but no he was never taught it was wrong to kill people and on episode 4 he states "nobody counts the time they brush their teeth or eat breakfast it the same for me when it comes to my missions" (thats not the exact quote, but I'm fairly sure that was close) so all his life he was told killing was ok and not that it was an evil act. Then when he met Lelouch he found out what it was like to have a family and Lelouch was the only person who ever treated him like a human being and was kind and gentle towards him. Then when Shirley came along and said "I'm going to reunite Nunally with Lelouch" he knew that if Nunally were to have reunited with Lelouch he would have been tossed away and Rolo did not want that cause the only person that gave him the heart known as 'happiness' would disappear from his life forever and he would be left alone without knowing what to do since he already betrayed the geass cult he didn't know how to handle the situation properly so he did the only thing he was taught to do and killed her.

Well with that in the end it all comes down to character preferences and opinions everyone has different views on things if people decide not to see the full picture and only a fragment of it then thats ok I guess......

[Kittenlady]

Spoiler for 19.01:

Hey, brother, remember?

The first time we met?

I’d took a lot of work before but…

They’d changed your memories, I’d never done anything like this before.

I was very nervous.

You were Zero and a Prince abandoned by Britannia

But more importantly, you’re the one who saw me as his only little brother.

That’s why I was so nervous.

Rolo: Um, excuse me…

Lelouch: Welcome back. Was in a long trip? There’s no cure for our parents then?

Lelouch: You’ve come so far from home…

Lelouch: Hey, are you alright?

Rolo: I’m fine

Lelouch: I see… and? How are our parents?

Rolo: G-good. I only said to them “Brothers should be together”

Lelouch: That goes without saying. We’re family, we’ve always got on well.

Rolo: Family?

Lelouch: What?

Rolo: No, it’s nothing. So… I’m home, big brother.

Lelouch: Welcome home, Rolo.

Family.

For the first time.

I had a connection with someone. A single family tie that…

Lelouch: Happy birthday Rolo.

Rolo: Thank you brother.

Lelouch: Don’t you think it’s a bit too girly? It seemed like a good idea at the time, but…

Rolo: No, I like it and I’ll look after it.

Lelouch: Alright. Let’s eat. Today we’ll have what you want
Yes.

When I saw you I understood something.

Even when you were with your friends you hid you’re true face, but...

To me, you’re family, you gave a real smile.

Rolo: In the end I was chose as a model for the photography club.

Lelouch: Then you should accept.

Lelouch: When the president has a goal in mind, nothing will stop her till she gets what she wants.

Lelouch: Rolo

Rolo: What, brother?

Lelouch: If you’re going model… don’t you think you should cut your hair?

Rolo: You’re right, but I don’t have time to get it done.

Lelouch: Oh? I’m here aren’t I?

Now that I think about it, the report said…

That you always cut Nunnally’s hair when you were with Kururugi

Lelouch: Nothings changed. You’re hair’s still very difficult to cut.

Rolo: Oh?

Lelouch: Yes, it takes some work. Mine’s straight and I can do it quickly.

Lelouch: But yours is a bit wavy and has lots of little details.

Lelouch: You must take after mother.

Amid the trees and under the rays of the sun, the sound of the scissors was very loud

The fingers of my brother went smoothly through my hair

As if it were the most precious thing in the world

But that affection wasn’t for me. It was for Nunnally, your real sister.

But I didn’t care. I didn’t want to give it up.

You… the only family I’ve ever had.

Because I…

I…

Hey, brother, remember?

I’ll never forget. Those days we spent together…

And even if they were only a lie.

I was probably created with a temporary magic.

But for me…

Those are the happiest memories I’ve ever had, and I’ll never forget.

It's could probably be more accurate, but you get the gist of it.


I agree that Rolo was a wonderfully twisted character, but I just wished they'd focused more on that rather than "Ooh, isn't he cute!". I've never liked that whole 'moe shota' thing. Just doesn't work for me. I liked Rolo more when he was like this:





RoloLulu is actually one of the few couples I don't like (the one's that actually have a following, anyway). Reciprocating Lelouch just strikes me as very, very out of character, so I have difficulty believing it. Unless it's a creepy stalker-ish onesided thing on Rolo's part, that's pretty cool. I swear if he'd lived longer he'd have eventually raped Lelouch or something.

[Sol Falling]

Originally Posted by Arbitres

GodI can relate to him when I say something like that. I still don't like what he did to Shirley, but he did it for Lelouch... Even though he unwittingly caused him suffering.

'Did it for Lelouch' um...guy? No, just no. Like Roloko just said above, Rolo did it 'cause bringing Nunally back would threaten his happiness, not Lelouch's. If Rolo gave a flying shit about anybody's happiness but his own, he wouldn't have tried to kill Shirley and Nunally.

The comparison to Luciano is actually interesting. What's to say Luciano didn't have some sort of miserable background that justified his psychotic tendencies? It's not like psychopathy comes out of nowhere, y'know. If Rolo 'deserved' treatment and therapy instead of a death penalty in court, that'd probably go for Luciano as well (they'd both still be locked up anyway).

Originally Posted by Roloko vi Britannia

I was going to say something similar to that, but it looks like you beat me to it. I would understand the hate better if Rolo knew what he did was wrong and just did it for the shits and giggles just to make Lelouch suffer, but no he was never taught it was wrong to kill people and on episode 4 he states "nobody counts the time they brush their teeth or eat breakfast it the same for me when it comes to my missions" (thats not the exact quote, but I'm fairly sure that was close) so all his life he was told killing was ok and not that it was an evil act. Then when he met Lelouch he found out what it was like to have a family and Lelouch was the only person who ever treated him like a human being and was kind and gentle towards him. Then when Shirley came along and said "I'm going to reunite Nunally with Lelouch" he knew that if Nunally were to have reunited with Lelouch he would have been tossed away and Rolo did not want that cause the only person that gave him the heart known as 'happiness' would disappear from his life forever and he would be left alone without knowing what to do since he already betrayed the geass cult he didn't know how to handle the situation properly so he did the only thing he was taught to do and killed her.

Well with that in the end it all comes down to character preferences and opinions everyone has different views on things if people decide not to see the full picture and only a fragment of it then thats ok I guess......

Y'know, the line 'nobody counts the times they brush their teeth; it's the same for me with killing' isn't supposed to inspire pity, it's supposed to set off psycho-yandere warning bells that tell you 'get this freak away from normal people!'. Disliking Rolo isn't about blaming him despite his background, it's about a repulsion to a destructive personality that never improves over the course of the series. When Rolo met Lelouch, he went from an emotionless killing machine to a killing machine that only cared about sustaining it's own delusion of happiness (the 'lie' that Lelouch loved him). By Rolo's death scene, this is still true: Rolo still wouldn't give a shit about Nunally or Shirley, all he cares about is insisting that Lelouch really loved him after all. So, hypothetically speaking, let's imagine what would have happened if Rolo didn't die in that scene, and Shirley/Nunally were still around: what would Rolo do to them? Hell, he might hold off on killing them on sight a second time, but he'd still knife them the moment Lelouch paid too much attention to them . Lessons learned/character development for Rolo: zero.

lol, I'll say it frankly: the majority if Rolo's appeal/popularity comes from the fact that he is psycho-moe shota Yaoi-bait. Sure, he's got a pitiful past and redeeming death scene and everything, but you can do that for any character (like I said above, take Luciano Bradley: give him a sob-story past and redeeming death scene, and I bet everybody'd be going "Oh I felt sorry for him at the end" as well ). I don't go for generic author tricks like that. If the character itself, what's inside them, isn't inherently likeable, then they're not going to earn my sympathy. I've seen dozens of better done death scenes than Rolo's, so with no hint of any changes from his "I'd shank anybody who threatens my relationship with Lelouch" personality, he goes into the 'generic psycho-moe shota Yaoi-bait who I would've forgotten completely long ago if he hadn't killed Shirley' bin for me.

To make my position clear: there is no 'blaming' of Rolo going on, from me at least. He's just a non-character as far as I'm concerned.

[Nobodyman9]

Originally Posted by Arbitres

He did do it for Lelouch's happiness, or in my perspective if Lelouch is in a good mood, so is Rolo.

How does killing Shirley make Lelouch happy? No. Rolo only killed Shirley because she wanted to bring Nunnally back into the picture, which Rolo didn't want for fear that Lelouch would discard him and Nunnally would take his place. Rolo later came up with the excuse that Shirley was waving a gun around trying to kill him, making his excuse for killing her seem more acceptable.

Alot of his characteristics is because of his background. Nurture vs nature can't be applied because we don't know what he would be like if he wasn't taken in by the Geass Cult. He had destructive and homocidal tendencies because of his scenario.

Well, at some point we all have to be held accountable for our actions. I mean, should we all feel sorry for Charlie Manson because he may have just had a terrible upbringing? I mean, this logic could be applied to any "evil" person, or anyone who has committed some heinous crime.

Oh well. I don't like him for killing Shirley, but he is tolerable as a character. That is what I meant to say.

I think I would find him tolerable as a character if he actually did grow as a character and actually did come to some realization that killing for one's own gains is wrong. Frankly, I just think it's a bit sick how Sunrise tries to push him on us as this endearing likeable character.

[azul120]

Yeah. Makes him a bit of a Sympathetic Sue.

[Lolipopo]

Originally Posted by Roloko vi Britannia

I was going to say something similar to that, but it looks like you beat me to it. I would understand the hate better if Rolo knew what he did was wrong and just did it for the shits and giggles just to make Lelouch suffer, but no he was never taught it was wrong to kill people and on episode 4 he states "nobody counts the time they brush their teeth or eat breakfast it the same for me when it comes to my missions" (thats not the exact quote, but I'm fairly sure that was close) so all his life he was told killing was ok and not that it was an evil act. Then when he met Lelouch he found out what it was like to have a family and Lelouch was the only person who ever treated him like a human being and was kind and gentle towards him. Then when Shirley came along and said "I'm going to reunite Nunally with Lelouch" he knew that if Nunally were to have reunited with Lelouch he would have been tossed away and Rolo did not want that cause the only person that gave him the heart known as 'happiness' would disappear from his life forever and he would be left alone without knowing what to do since he already betrayed the geass cult he didn't know how to handle the situation properly so he did the only thing he was taught to do and killed her.

Well with that in the end it all comes down to character preferences and opinions everyone has different views on things if people decide not to see the full picture and only a fragment of it then thats ok I guess......

I guess that the problem with Rolo, is that he came only in the second second, was obviously created to appeal yaoi shota fetish fangirl, and that in the end, his BG was barely touched.

There were some powerful lines like the one you mentionned, but they didn't strike people enough, and I guess most'd rather go "oooh he is batshit insane, he has to die" or whatever.

So easy to judge.
Anyway, the guiy got an awesome death scene, and is pretty much loved by the staff, and not everyone can claim that. At least, Rolo's fans can enjoy what come out of this.
And there is the fact that in the end, Lelouch forgave him. For whetever things he did he forgave him. That is awesome.
And Rolo got a nice pause in Lelouch's flashbacks as well ^^ Guess their moments as brothers were really some good memories for him.

[Har0]

Originally Posted by Kittenlady

I agree that Rolo was a wonderfully twisted character, but I just wished they'd focused more on that rather than "Ooh, isn't he cute!". I've never liked that whole 'moe shota' thing. Just doesn't work for me. I liked Rolo more when he was like this:

I agree. He was cooler when he was creepy. I hated when they made him more "stereotypical little brother". It made him far less interesting.

Originally Posted by Kittenlady

RoloLulu is actually one of the few couples I don't like (the one's that actually have a following, anyway). Reciprocating Lelouch just strikes me as very, very out of character, so I have difficulty believing it. Unless it's a creepy stalker-ish onesided thing on Rolo's part, that's pretty cool. I swear if he'd lived longer he'd have eventually raped Lelouch or something.

Agreed. Poor Lelouch, that would have been scary. O.O
Not to mention the whole scene on episode 7. Creepy!

As for Rolo, I hate what he does on episode 13, however he is actually quite interesting.
The ONLY thing that really bothers me besides that, is how he does whatever Lelouch says. I can understand that no one had ever loved him before, but seriously.