Code Geass (Generic discussion thread)

[KJlost]

It's episode 1 and I'm already annoyed as hell by this show. For an empire that supposedly rules the world in terms of power, the 'Britannia' sure as hell don't know how to subjugate the people, do they? Well no wonder, as their mind set is stuck on 18th centuary time frame, and the 'empire' appears to be the replica of the Imperial Japan rather than anything else.

[Kaioshin Sama]

Originally Posted by KJlost

It's episode 1 and I'm already annoyed as hell by this show. For an empire that supposedly rules the world in terms of power, the 'Britannia' sure as hell don't know how to subjugate the people, do they? Well no wonder, as their mind set is stuck on 18th centuary time frame, and the 'empire' appears to be the replica of the Imperial Japan rather than anything else.

You're experience seems to be mostly rooted in Shoujo or H-Game conversion type anime (based on your posting history). Are you sure you know what to expect or what you're getting into when trying to watch a mecha anime? I'm not sure this is your type of show, because most people tend to expect mecha shows to have gimmicks such as the 18th century power thing you are describing or Lelouch's eye of Geass. Thats just the way it is.

[Darkman.exe213]

After seeing part of the raw(still waiting for subs), I'd say that this series is pretty interesting. I don't have much of an idea of what the characters are saying, but nonetheless, it's pretty interesting. It doesn't really have the excessive-mecha-action-blasting-you-in-the-face sort of thing, but I don't think that's what the director was trying to portray in this series.

btw, does anyone know of any groups that will be subbing this series?

[Nightengale]

^

gg fansubs has expressed interest in subbing this, but I don't think anything's finalized yet.

[W-General]

After watching episode 1, I say Code Geass is the anime to watch this season - alongside Kanon 2006.

I don't really care about the 'zomg evil gaijin empire' because hah that does not concern me at all. It's just a pretty generic imperialistic empire that's very common throughout the 19th century that happens to have the name "Britainnica" and rules over Europe and America...

What I'm enjoying is how the main character's a freaking badass. Final scene evil laugh for the win. I like the set up - evil empire oppresses people, main character gets amazing powers and start pwning the empire. Sounds good to me. It really sent the chills down in me when I was watching the last 1/4 of this episode.

Looks like this'll be my 'quality mecha fix' for this season...

[Guido]

Is Code GEASS airing on the prime time slot or late-night slot? and for how many episodes consists of?

[solomon]

Originally Posted by Guido

Is Code GEASS airing on the prime time slot or late-night slot? and for how many episodes consists of?

The show airs friday nights (early saturday) at 2am in the tokyo area at least, all over japan it airs in graveyard hours on various days of the week.

[Kaioshin Sama]

You know I'm really glad, now that I think of it, that the anime production companies decided to throw me a bone here. It's like saying "We understand your not interested in Kanon or other H-Game shows Kaioshin Sama, so we've prepared a mecha series for you and some others instead." It makes me happy that companies still care about people like me who enjoy mecha anime and have provided an alternative for the non Kanon watchers, because I was really losing hope that the deluge of Lolis and Moe girls this season was unstoppable, I was this close to caving and becoming sentimental. Now everybody wins and I get to stop being bitter and shut the hell up for once. YAH!

[Omniscient]

Originally Posted by Guido

Is Code GEASS airing on the prime time slot or late-night slot? and for how many episodes consists of?

Originally Posted by solomon

The show airs friday nights (early saturday) at 2am in the tokyo area at least, all over japan it airs in graveyard hours on various days of the week.

CODE GEASS' first airing each week is at 25:25 Thursday nights (ie. Friday mornings at 1:25AM) Japan Standard Time on MBS.

[Sinestra]

havent much in terms of subbers wanting to pick this up i hope someone does i really want to check it out if not then ill just watch the raws

[KJlost]

Originally Posted by Kaioshin_Sama

You're experience seems to be mostly rooted in Shoujo or H-Game conversion type anime (based on your posting history). Are you sure you know what to expect or what you're getting into when trying to watch a mecha anime? I'm not sure this is your type of show, because most people tend to expect mecha shows to have gimmicks such as the 18th century power thing you are describing or Lelouch's eye of Geass. Thats just the way it is.

You're quite right, mecha isn't my type of show, not usually (some exceptions like FMP and Nadesico). It's probably the incompetent evil that's getting to me.

It may also have something to do with Japan being victimized as a colony in the show. I find it highly annoying given the modern history. Well it really doesn't matter since I think I'll drop the show anyhow.

[JarOfMayo]

Originally Posted by KJlost

You're quite right, mecha isn't my type of show, not usually (some exceptions like FMP and Nadesico). It's probably the incompetent evil that's getting to me.

It may also have something to do with Japan being victimized as a colony in the show. I find it highly annoying given the modern history. Well it really doesn't matter since I think I'll drop the show anyhow.

This sort of situation could be transposed... to all sorts of places... lol honestly most of the modern world knows this since at one time or another only a few megapowers ruled large portions of the world. Spain, France, Britain, Rome, Nazi Germany, Imperial Japan, the Mongols, Austrian Empire, and the multitude of nations which have conquered, reconquered and been conquered.

I don't understand why anyone would find this story annoying "given the modern history". Its a fictional work.

To say some studio in some nation can't make a work making themselves the victim in some regard because modern history records that they conquered others... Seems to suggest that the nation in question and now the people in it (some many many years) later are incapable of understanding what it means to be victimized... If such reflection... such thoughts on reversal of roles and etc. are never allowed then how is any nation with such a past ever supposed to know better? If this is so wrong... so many people... from many nations are terribly wrong... Am I not allowed to be in sorrow over the deaths of Japanese people at Hiroshima?

The reveral of roles... and the basic question above is a moot point I believe. Its a thing we do all the time because the very actions we do are not "depending" on whether or not they are good or bad, but that they are good or bad as of the result of the particular action taken. Is this understandable? Its like saying (claiming that) I can go around cheeringfully saying "Hello" to everyone on the planet and never run into anyone that reacts negatively to the greeting. Anyway... sorta off topic.. sorry ;-;

The article on him has actually changed a bit but the executive producer Takeda is well known to be against war (SEED), among other things... his JP wiki reflects this Takeda Seiji The only comment I have... and this should be an important one since people have already suggested that Lulu's Revenge is anti-americanism is... that:

If anti-american is the rebellion against the empire... Then what constitutes americanism? Being imperial? Please be careful what you imply by your "anti's" Anti is the denial of the phenomenon... not the absence (like 'a-thiest'). Perhaps some are jumping the gun on calling it anti-americanism, at best it is anti-imperialism. To think it the former seems to suggest you have your own worries about what "americanism" is being imaged into.

That concern is mine as well. No worry.

[aardvark]

Stumbled upon something interesting while checking out a blog linked at 2chan...

Seiji Takeda taking about his good relations with Koreans and going on about(in relation to Geass):

- Japan in the show is based on Japan right after WWII, colonized Korea and colonized Taiwan
- Wanting to tell the truth of the world to the younger viewers
- Why America is going on starting wars and killing
- Japanese responsible for the deaths of Iraqi's

etc...

http://blog.livedoor.jp/dqnplus/archives/818732.html


I see that quite a few of Japanese are pretty unhappy about this politicization in their animation and pretty against Takeda. While it was more silly and downright ridiculous in series like GSD and Blood+, (while oddly enough, this type of thinking was kinda the opposite of E7, unitive as opposed to divisive) I dunno waht to think if he's just going to use a show as just a shoutbox for his political opinions. And not only that, but how do the creative staff feel about this?

[Nightengale]

gg fansubs is gonna do this.

[JarOfMayo]

Originally Posted by aardvark

http://blog.livedoor.jp/dqnplus/archives/818732.html

I see that quite a few of Japanese are pretty unhappy about this politicization in their animation and pretty against Takeda. While it was more silly and downright ridiculous in series like GSD and Blood+, (while oddly enough, this type of thinking was kinda the opposite of E7, unitive as opposed to divisive) I dunno waht to think if he's just going to use a show as just a shoutbox for his political opinions. And not only that, but how do the creative staff feel about this?

I read a ton of that page... Yes.. many concerns about what we (American) viewers would think of Japan (as a whole). Its an interesting concern since its something we have had to learn the hard way about. Especially when public opinion is not so for us. As is the way some portions of the middle eastern world views us. Japanese are very conscious about the image they send off collectively so such a independent stander (no matter how looney his views) like Takeda is troublesome. Some people thought it was very dangerous to offend the US. And even some reflected (whether or not they understood what it would mean to do so) that they should have made Britannia attack (the map image) from China+Korean coasts. In my opinion... a producer who did it this way... or even the China+Korean variation would be getting heavy flak anyway.

I put a reply of my own in the comments in that page. If you can read JP your welcome to comment on it. I like to leave it here for future reflection.

Spoiler:

アメリカ人や外国の方がよくたずねるBBSからここにきました。
俺たちのBBS
http://forums.animesuki.com/showthread.php?t=35498
ではあなた方が考えてることはなんとなく理解しています。英語を読めるなら、どぞ読んでください。日本語は JLPT２級ていどうですから、間違えがあったらごめんなさい。

まあ。。。竹Pは妙な人物であっても、この作品はアニメです。芸術の一部。

俺はこのスレ―ドをけっこう読みまして…何か…
あなた達、アメリカの事、怖がり過ぎてると思います。なんてゆうか…
こちには色々な面倒な大統領とか問題があるんだ。
ただのアニメ一つで。。。ただのエグゼクティブプロデューサーがなんだかんで。。。アメリカは日本から放れ とでも？
animesukiのBBSでは私は書きました：「竹田せいじはおそらくamericanism＝impe rialismと合体してるでしょう（頭の中で）」
「それで、君たち(animesukiの方）が「コードギアスは反米だ！」、「ブリタニア帝国はアメリカか らモデルされてる！」と言うのなら。君たちがどんな風に自分の国を見ているの？あの人（竹Ｐ）と同じ用に考 えているだけだぞ。」今はそれを言い残して考えさせるべきでしょう。他の国を見るのがいいのですが、自分の 国を真面目に見るのが大事です。あなた方が「日本がどう見えちゃうだろう？」と言う不安は我々はこの作品が なくてもよく考えて、考えれればならない事です。イスラムとの関係でその事が我々の前に明らかになったんで す。

おそらく、竹Ｐはこの作品での目的は反米であっても。フツのアメリカ人は。。。そんな馬鹿じゃねよ。事情が わからないやつらじゃねよ。アメリカにはちゃんとそんな事は自由に話していいと、竹Ｐみたいな奴を最後まで 守てやる、憲法 (US Constitution)があるんですよ。

読んでくれてありがとうございます。
Thank you for the concerns,
JarOfMayo (SD, California)

Some peeps there also mentioned putting in apologizes around Youtube on media from CodeGeass... And there are some now. Honestly... its not like we would take heavy offense... lol But I do admire their concern which is what I wanted to express.

[Renegade334]

BTW, I've just read the two first chaps of the manga (serialized in Asuka) - and it's not drawn by CLAMP, but by someone named Majiko - and it looks like the next episode (anime) will be centered around character development (that is, if the manga follows the tv series and vice versa) and perhaps the

Spoiler for episode 2:

beginning of a partnership/cooperation (well, sort of) between Karen and Lelouch. And...

Spoiler for Suzaku:

Lelouch learns (already) that Suzaku survived the bullet thanks to a (quite important) pocket watch he was wearing when he was shot.
And it looks like Lelouch doesn't fully control his power yet.

It should also be noted that in the manga, Karen isn't shown in the first chapter as one of the activists driving the truck where C.C. was in. And, as a matter of fact, C.C. was inside a plane that crashed inside/near Shinjuku. I still wonder how she managed to survive, completely unscathed, the crash without seatbelt and whatnot...

Here's a Nightmare Frame scan from Newtype with some information about the CGLR world:
http://satsuki.bwys.net/other/sept_06-geass1.jpg

Also, it should be noted that the scan says that Lelouch's power 'can be used to destroy or transform just about everything'...and 'it has something to do with the very existence of humankind'. I wonder if this means we'll have the 'lost civilization with psychic abilities' or some theory about people from outer space having to do with humankind's birth, evolution or history. Time will tell.

[solomon]

Taking in interest of free speech, i don't really mind if there is some nationalist bent if any in the show. I don't see any of it to be really threatening at all (save if youre ultra-conservative or have no imagination). Probably the best arugument that one could make is that the show was exploitative, i.e. it could be using a point like Britannia's supposed location and heritage to just drum up interest in what would probably be "just another robot show". That's how i see it, as just a harmless gimmick, one that has caught my attention anyway. At any rate, unless theres any real big evidence of subliminal messaging in the story, i don't think people should dwell too much on it.

[Ori]

I don't know, I have to say I am finding it kind of funny that Japanese keeps portraying themselves as a victim and American as the big evil in anime.

Anyone who has taken Asian mordern history would know that Japan is far from a victim in WWII until the end of WWII when the neuclear bombs dropped and the consequences of their earlier actions sink in.

Yes, the US probably should not have dropped the bombs, but Japanese probably shouldn't have conquered/robbed/killed people/raped women in China, Fillipines, Taiwan, and Hong Kong, now should they?

Not saying the USA is awsome and right, but the Japan has some responsibility in the incident also.

EDIT: The fact, Canada is part of the new Brittanica is also really funny. Canadians, of all people!

Even so, the main character looks interseting, so I think I will give this show a chance.

[Kaioshin Sama]

Originally Posted by Ori

I don't know, I have to say I am finding it kind of funny that Japanese keeps portraying themselves as a victim and American as the big evil in anime.

Anyone who has taken Asian mordern history would know that Japan is far from a victim in WWII until the end of WWII when the neuclear bombs dropped and the consequences of their earlier actions sink in.

Yes, the US probably should not have dropped the bombs, but Japanese probably shouldn't have conquered/robbed/killing people/raping women in China, Fillipines, Taiwan, and Hong Kong, now should they?

Not saying the USA is awsome and right, but the Japan has some responsibility in the incident also.

EDIT: The fact, Canada is part of the new Brittanica is also really funny. Canadians, of all people!

Even so, the main character looks interseting, so I think I will give this show a chance.

We're kind of at home with the whole being a part of an empire thing. Now its just a commonwealth though.

[Owaranai Destiny]

It isn't really all that strange. After all, one would try to portrait his own country as the one being wronged or the one on the side of justice.