Code Geass (Generic discussion thread)

[ryaken]

Lelouche gave me that 'take control' vibe from the first episode during that chess match. He has a cocky attitude, so seeing this character could get annoying, but play between Lulu and the characters he has backstories with will be interesting.

How many episodes is this btw?

[Skane]

Lelouch already stated in the first episode, just before the OP, that he was going to destroy Britannia.

[Eurys]

Originally Posted by Nightengale

The more I look at it, the more I feel that Suzaku is a bit of an idiot.

Awww poor Suzaku . I know he definitely seems less "cool" and interesting than Lelouch, but I'll wait till he gets a bit fleshed out before judging his character.

God, I've watched only 3 episodes but I already love this anime. I wasn't bored once watching it.

[Nightengale]

True, and we don't even know what C.C's wish is yet either. It probably relates to Lelouch's goals closely (( if we assume that Lelouch's pops knows of Geass and exploited C.C's race )), but at this point, we know too little of the mystery-backdrop to throw in a Shirogane in Lelouch's actions, in which his anti-Britiannian mentality is pushed by his hidden mental existance in his mind. Hell, we don't even know if C.C is living in Lelouch's head, or is she physically alive and well. I'm more interested in how is Lelouch different from other humans now he has the King's power. The more he uses, his hair turns silver white?

Considering what happened in Episode 3...

Spoiler:

It surely has more than just personal revenge for the mother since he had little to no qualms of putting a bullet through his blood-brother even when he clearly had nothing to do with his mother's death and possibly Nanaly's childhood trauma/blindness/disability. He might had puked at the thought of him murdering his brother, but he still had that evil smirk showing he had no regrets.

[Owaranai Destiny]

Originally Posted by Sonhex

I'm thinking that while Lelouch had the desire to do damage to the Empire, it wasn't until C.C gave him the means that he actually begins to do it. Before C.C does the 'mindmeld' Lelouch is rather ineffective, seeking a way to strike back but being unable to do so. C.C gives him the powers he needed, but at the same time I think she's also manipulating Lelouch, or pushing him beyond his limits. The way he reacted to the memory of ...

Spoiler for ep3:

...Clovis's murder...

...suggests he's not entirely at ease with his actions. This is just a wild ass theory though...

There's a lot at play here. For one, I assume that if the theory about C.C having more malevolent intentions for helping Lelouch, we can attribute to the assumption of her deciding to make use of his overwhelming urge to be able to do something about Britannia. I was under the impression that Lelouch didn't think much about any consequences or the price he had to pay when he just grabbed the chance for power.

Considering the case of Lelouch and C.C...

Spoiler:

If (Just if) the OP sequence could possibly hint at something, perhaps Lelouch might see C.C in both physical and mental forms. For the latter...A sort of a bond, perhaps, due to the fact that they might have a 'contract'?

A wild guess...But just assuming anyway.

Regarding Lelouch's reaction at XXX's death...

Spoiler:

Perhaps like what Retsoor said, he might have that kind of a reaction because it seems to be the first time where he has directly killed a person while probably being quite somber. Unless of course, you count the thoughts of vengeance in his head.

Regardless of that, I do think Lelouch's troubles are just starting, if the summaries I've seen about episode 4 and 5 are right...

[jpwong]

Originally Posted by BrokenWingz

Though even Suzuka says himself that "11" aren't allowed to pilot knightmares, so i wonder how he even got his piloting skills.

I guess he could have done simulator, though if you're not ever going to touch a knightmare, I wouldn't see why you'd want to in the first place. As long as it isn't "Seed mode" powering his skill I'll be happy.

[Retsoor]

[minor spoilers for episode three ensue]

Definitely, C.C. is no philanthropist. Her wish might sound innocent and insignificant in the beginning but I have feeling it's a lot more ominous than that. Perhaps she'll claim his life in the end, or capture him in the metaphysical plane she seems to partially exist in, to do acts of fornication.

She is definitely a mystery. Who is she and where did she come from? Who was the green-haired woman in the very beginning? She seemed more mature-looking than C.C., and I think Clovis only began the experimental program after he gained governorship of Japan, well away from his father's eye. So was she the Emperor's spirit whom Clovis "cloned", inadvertently copying her neural patterns and thus making two identical but individual consciousnesses? I realize I'm going on a limb here.

Also, what did she see in Lelouch? What does she really want? The Emperor most likely created his empire using the power of Geass so does she want to supplant him with Lelouch, wreak carnage on the empire she helped create or does she just have a perverse interest in humanity? Or does it have something to do with destiny? I hazily remember her being named the Witch of Destiny somewhere but I can't really recollect where.

Nightengale,

Spoiler:

collateral damage? He wanted to lure Cornelia / other notable royals to Japan? Or maybe he wants to remake the world in his image, the way he deems fit, though nothing so hubristic as that crackpot Light from Death Note.

[Sonhex]

Originally Posted by Owaranai Destiny

There's a lot at play here. For one, I assume that if the theory about C.C having more malevolent intentions for helping Lelouch, we can attribute to the assumption of her deciding to make use of his overwhelming urge to be able to do something about Britannia. I was under the impression that Lelouch didn't think much about any consequences or the price he had to pay when he just grabbed the chance for power.

...

Yep, this is what I was trying to get across. I think C.C saw in Lelouch this overwhelming hatred for Britannia. However it's a desire that he could not convert into action and he wanted the means to destroy it. She passed on her power or awakened his Geass power, whichever it was, because she saw him as a good candidate. Now with the Geass power at his disposal Lelouch can apply his obvious ambitions and cunning.

Originally Posted by Retsoor

Definitely, C.C. is no philanthropist. Her wish might sound innocent and insignificant in the beginning but I have feeling it's a lot more ominous than that. Perhaps she'll claim his life in the end, or capture him in the metaphysical plane she seems to partially exist in, to do acts of fornication.

The alien urge to reproduce, I see it all becomes clear now

Originally Posted by Retsoor

She is definitely a mystery. Who is she and where did she come from? Who was the green-haired woman in the very beginning? She seemed more mature-looking than C.C., and I think Clovis only began the experimental program after he gained governorship of Japan, well away from his father's eye. So was she the Emperor's spirit whom Clovis "cloned", inadvertently copying her neural patterns and thus making two identical but individual consciousnesses? I realize I'm going on a limb here.

It certainly looked from ep 3 that...

Spoiler for ep3:

there was cloning involved.

Undoubtedly C.C's power is what Clovis was interested in, perhaps to bring Japan totally under his control (using the Geass) to prove himself to his father.

Originally Posted by Retsoor

Also, what did she see in Lelouch? What does she really want? The Emperor most likely created his empire using the power of Geass so does she want to supplant him with Lelouch, wreak carnage on the empire she helped create or does she just have a perverse interest in humanity? Or does it have something to do with destiny? I hazily remember her being named the Witch of Destiny somewhere but I can't really recollect where.

I reckon C.C identified Lelouch's appetite for power and destruction, even at the expense of lives. That suggests that the Geass power is best utilized by a strong urge to destroy, or control, or otherwise assume a role of aggressor. Which is probably why the military want it.

[Owaranai Destiny]

Originally Posted by Retsoor

Spoiler:

collateral damage? He wanted to lure Cornelia / other notable royals to Japan? Or maybe he wants to remake the world in his image, the way he deems fit, though nothing so hubristic as that crackpot Light from Death Note.

Spoiler:

Remake the world? That might seem somewhat plausible, but for now, I think all Lelouch wants is simple: Empirical bastids killed Mom. Mom dead because of Empirical bastids. Destroy Empirical bastids.

...Or to put it simply, vengeance, and maybe...Just maybe...

Spoiler:

to free Area 11 from the control of Britannia and restore Japan.

Of course, that would seem more like what Karen wants as a main objective, but you're definitely right about something: He wants change to occur.

[evil|plushie]

It seems like Lelouch wants revenge for several reasons. a) his mother was gunned down by assassins probably hired by other members of the royal family, b) his sister was blinded, c) he and his sister were probably forced to run for their lifes and hide away in Japan, d) then the royal family pretended that everything was fine and that terrorists had done the dirty deed.

IMO, he probably sees the empire as being totally corrupt and unworthy at this point, though whether he's correct or not may be another thing.

[Kaioshin Sama]

Originally Posted by ryaken

Lelouche gave me that 'take control' vibe from the first episode during that chess match. He has a cocky attitude, so seeing this character could get annoying, but play between Lulu and the characters he has backstories with will be interesting.

How many episodes is this btw?

I'm gonna say 50.

[wao]

I'd wager 26 - this isn't a sure-hit megapiece, even the occasional late-night show that runs for so long and is relatively popular, like GitS, had to be split up into two fairly separate seasons...


I'd get worried if this was 50 episodes, really...

[Renegade334]

Originally Posted by Nightengale

I'm more interested in how is Lelouch different from other humans now he has the King's power. The more he uses, his hair turns silver white?

If you're talking about the scan I posted earlier on, then I guess we have to take a dump of salt on Lelouch's white hair. Code Geass scans in Newtype must have beaten all records for inaccuracy. They've lately colored Lancelot with a red/gold color pattern, Lelouch's hair dark-reddish, Shirley's hair black, Lelouch's eye green and even C.C.'s hair hot pink instead of green. The colorist doesn't seem to check the original character design files or it must be several artists working independently from each other without cooperation and checking up previous (released) drawings.

Originally Posted by Riaken

How many episodes is this btw?

I think it was 25 - the posted it was stated in is in the previous pages.

Oh, btw, there are TWO CGHnL manga series running now - one following Lelouch while the other revolves around Suzaku (and it's *apparently* christened 'Suzaku of the Counterattack', no joke). Looks like both deviate from the anime series so I guess it's no good posting spoilers here since I'm not sure they have any influence on the tv series.

Spoiler:

Like Karen and co. giving a lift for Zero (Lelouch) and barging (with a car) inside the courtroom where Suzaku is tried to dispel the charges laid upon him. In SotC, Lelouch meets Clovis already in his Zero guise, which is why I take this with a lot of salt.

Of course, that would seem more like what Karen wants as a main objective, but you're definitely right about something: He wants change to occur.

That simply involves a world where he and his sister don't have to hide in anymore - and it means a big pre-emptive strike to clean out the house. Whether he does it more out of hatred and resentment than mere solicitude for his sister probably doesn't matter since, anyway, both solutions he has to the problem imply rebelling against the Empire.

collateral damage? He wanted to lure Cornelia / other notable royals to Japan? Or maybe he wants to remake the world in his image, the way he deems fit, though nothing so hubristic as that crackpot Light from Death Note.

I'm not sure he wanted to lure Cornelia out. According to Newtype, she's the head general of the Britannian Army. Since the murder of a royal is no small matter to brush under the carpet, it's normal for her to come out and seek for the murderer to avenge the Britannia royal family, if not to quell the smallest thought about going against the Empire.

As for Lelouch I'm not sure he's more of a megalomaniac than he is someone craving for pure revenge. Sure, taking out royals above him in the tree of succession will automatically make him rise closer to the throne but I don't know if he's only seeking to pass a message to the Britannia family ('don't fuck with me you arrogant purists') or if he envies the status of emperor. At any rate, he wants to change the world to one he can live in without problem and it cannot be done without dealing damage left and right.

[Retsoor]

>> I'm not sure he wanted to lure Cornelia out [...]

He did want to lure Cornelia out, whether he knew it or not.

Spoiler:

Letting Clovis live would've changed nothing but made life harder for Lelouch. He shot him to get the gears moving. Now the eye of the Empire has turned to Japan and Lelouch is one step closer to realizing his vengeance or dooming himself.

[monstratboy]

I reckon C.C identified Lelouch's appetite for power and destruction, even at the expense of lives. That suggests that the Geass power is best utilized by a strong urge to destroy, or control, or otherwise assume a role of aggressor. Which is probably why the military want it.

In the first episode his thoughts were towards helping the people in the truck crash when C.C. first identifies him as the person she's been looking for.

Regarding Lulu's character. We know he does have a heart outside of battle as he cares very much for his sister and tried to help C.C. even though he blames her for the shinjuku massacre and Suzaku's death. When he threatened Clovis, a request to treat injured elevens as well Britannians was given at the end of the second episdoe.
There is then the fact that since he was a wee lad he has had the goal of destroying the Britannia Empire; he thinks the royalty is responsible for his mother's and sister's tragedies, unless he stays in hiding they will use him and his sister as pawns for polital power plays, and when he had found a neutral safe haven they came and destroyed that place as well.

He's angry, yes. He thinks that they need to be removed to make his sister and everybody happy. They are a very arrogant people and the show makes sure we understand that the miltary and most of the aristocracy are very much evil in the way they treat the elevens be they young or old. Clovis is his brother, aye. Clovis ordered the destruction of the ghetto to cover his secret and blamed it on elevens while pretending he's nice to them, fact. Clovis played crappy chess even in his youth, fact(with some embellishment). For these reasons he needs to be removed. This is one step in reaching his goal. He has started events that has set Japan as very favourable beginning stage and setting for his quest, and with his new power he's going for it.

He is very much 2 faced. In the third episode well titled 'the lying student' he switches back and forth between regular sometimes silly and forgetful student and evil eyed, cold calculating mastermind of noble upbringing. Its quite funny to see the change after he experiments on his teacher in episode 3.

He always shows strong anger to Britannia after each crime they commit and with his strong will to do something about it. I'd like to think vengence was not part of the equation and that he just thought himself a patriot of his adopted friends the poorly treated lower class and a loving brother, but then we all know if he found out who the persons behind his mother's death were he would be on a plane to get the truth and kill them in the blink of a mind controlling eye while leaving a message for Nanaly saying he may be late for tea(supper). He is seen first a little suprised when the special team all shot themselves on his order but then quite pleased I'm sure of the fact that C.C. and Suzaku were avenged and he's now got a heavy gun to duel the empire with.

The icing on the cake is he is very much the flamboyant, pompous and controlling noble commander his self appointed enemies are.

[JediNight]

I did the *hand on forehead* manuever watching Suzaku pilot the Lancelot last night ... that is just WAY too characteristic of cheesy mecha cliche. Even with supposedly doing well in "simulation" you don't suddenly become the God of All Mecha(TM) when you step into a new unit.

This show isn't directed by the idiot that ruined Gundam Seed Destiny is it? =\

[BlueNikko]

Originally Posted by JediNight

This show isn't directed by the idiot that ruined Gundam Seed Destiny is it? =\

Fortunately...no.

Let's just say Suzaku is so gifted...well, there must have some gifted characters in almost every anime serie.

I'm so glad this serie is not another Gundam seed after watching the 3rd episode. The Storyline's so much more interesting and unpredictable!

Spoiler:

Suzaku is being used as a scapegoat and is gonna be executed even though he did good piloting job. Lelouch's gonna do something crazy to save him in ep4.

[cyoti]

Originally Posted by Nightengale

The more I look at it, the more I feel that Suzaku is a bit of an idiot. It can be percieved that he's a nice, kind-hearted guy who wants a peaceful co-existence between Japanese and Britiannian, and the things he do once he became a citizen is join the Britiannian military (( that seems to be overpopulated with Purist Britiannians like Jeremiah )) and get subjugated to dangerous, lowly task with little to no chance of promotion despite proven capabilities? Sounds like a dumb choice to me.

And becoming a terrorist and fighting against a world spanning Empire isn't?

[ryaken]

Originally Posted by JediNight

I did the *hand on forehead* manuever watching Suzaku pilot the Lancelot last night ... that is just WAY too characteristic of cheesy mecha cliche. Even with supposedly doing well in "simulation" you don't suddenly become the God of All Mecha(TM) when you step into a new unit.

Yeah, I had a disconnect there. It felt jumpy for a bit, like where did Lelouche figure out the train ordeal, I may have missed something. And suddently all the terrorists, who didn't seem to have Nightmares before are doing pretty well in the Sutherlands. The characters are keeping me in check, dark backstories, revenge, lost bodies, it's appealing for some reason.

[nubby]

Originally Posted by JediNight

I did the *hand on forehead* manuever watching Suzaku pilot the Lancelot last night ... that is just WAY too characteristic of cheesy mecha cliche. Even with supposedly doing well in "simulation" you don't suddenly become the God of All Mecha(TM) when you step into a new unit.

This show isn't directed by the idiot that ruined Gundam Seed Destiny is it? =\

We have Lelouch with mind controlling powers killing 10+ soldiers with a single command and here you are complaining about how godlike Lancelot is by disabling grunt units....

How did Lelouch and the terrorist learn to operate the Knightmares? Where the heck did Lelouch get all those Knightmare units? How did Lelouch learn to program a mech he has never touched? How did Lelouch survive the huge explosion that was only a couple feet away? How could a watch stop a bullet and only have its glasses broken? I could go on and on but it's only an anime.