Code Geass

Without knowing anything about Code Geass before watching, I did not know what I had gotten myself into. Right from the start it grabbed my attention, evoking questions in a compelling way. I will not outline the plot as I believe other reviews do a very good job of that, but I will describe personal thoughts for someone who wants to know what they are in for if they decide to watch. The series has a way on ending each episode on a "what's going to happen next?" way but making you watch episode after episode, back to back. I have watched the two seasons at least 4 times over (no exaggeration).

It most certainly earns it's place with the "must see" list. The plot development is excellent, carrying forward characters who represent certain ideals within the well thought out story. It is one of the few animes I have seen which really does have you guessing left and right, but more often or not, you turn out to be wrong. With an inclusion of a vast array of characters, it contributes to what seems to be an ever growing story. Even though I have watched it over 4 times, I still have the ability to just sit and watch with full enjoyment. To say that Code Geass has a re-watchable factor is an understatement, but what seems to add to that is the time scale at which it all takes place,it feels like a quite long and progressive trip, making you feel as if you have just been on an epic journey with the protagonist. From start to finish it had my full attention. I really do not have any complaints about Geass, aside from the fact that I was left wanting the third series to be released already.

On a final note, everyone that I know that has seen this anime, being an avid watcher or not, has been converted by the likable plot and character development right from the get go, which can tell you something about the power of Geass. 10/10 (wishing it could be 11/10)

This is the most fabulous sequel of any anime. The ending of Code Geass gave a very wide idea of choices for a next season BUT Code Geass R2 was beyond my expectations. As soon as it started, the plot was great and full of amazing ideas. The flow of ideas coming and going was a wonderful experience.

The continuous story of this anime grew and grew...The feeling of sitting on the edge of the couch...That is what I felt. Waiting impatiently for one episode every week.

If u have watched Code Geass, then the sequel is a MUST.

Simply, Code Geass R2 is 10/10 and will stay forever one of the greatest anime of all times.

Before this, Cowboy bebop has the most artistic take on directing anime series, it showcased how each individual 20 minute episode can have the same artistic direction of a feature movie. And now came Code Geass.

Code Geass tells the story of murder and deception (like the starting point of any recent Korean historical soap opera), but influenced by many well-known anime titles like Death Note (Teenage genius obtain manipulative supernatural ability), Akira (beautiful friendship torn apart), a little Evangelion (psychotic kid and "HA-SHIN!!!"), Ghost in the Shell: SAC ( Cecile's uniform and hair style-color looks suspiciously like the Major's). By the first starting sequence you won't find anything so special that created the mass fan-boys out there, but at the end of the episode (cliffhanger) you'll be convinced that this is going to be serious. Code Geass deliver curiosity at the end of any episode and surprises at every episode, following a greatly constructed plot that is so daring, you might think it can crash and burn any time, not only that, it surpasses Cowboy Bebop in making each episode as artistic and moving like a Nolan MOVIE. Speaking of which, the political run of this anime is so fast paced, it reminded me of the first time I saw Nolan's "The Prestige" without subtitles, the sequences sometimes change in such untouched momentum that the viewing experience may get mind-numbing after a continuous five to six episode (it is either a bad side or a good side, your comment). The real stuff here is the issues of morality, the script and the whole idea was to showoff how the director can sustain countless amount of character relations and messages and not to kill someone quick, neither to drag an issue to tiresome lengths, nothing feels too cheesy to make the action sequence boring and the whole story lol-worthy.

The animation is very clean or sometimes feel a little lack of detail, but it is made by the same production that gave us ALL of the Gundam series, Cowboy Bebop and Witch Hunter Robin, so never will you see any scene run short in frame rate. The characters are designed by CLAMP so you'll see big eyes, pretty girls and ridiculously tall schoolboys, but the production takes the thing serious and remove the cliché sweat drops and chibi faces, and add seriousness to the expressions, be it happy or sad, or even downright insane. This anime have mechas (he he he), and the fight sequences are fast and waste no precious time, even though the creators have made them more realistic (mechas runs on visible battery packs now, and they don't run like Gundams, they have legs for tilting and balancing or sometimes kicking in ways of the spectacular, leaving ground contact maneuverability for custom wheels, and they look cool nonetheless).

The music, in short, makes the episode cool like Bebop but I faintly remember that it is not Yoko Kanno's.

In all, I won't spoil anything, and I won't hype it up either, I'll let the experience alone impress you, but from my appreciation: ALL HAIL CODE GEASS !!!

Code Geass is set in an alternate universe, after Japan's conquest by the Holy Britannian Empire, with their powerful new robot weapons, the Knightmare Frames, stripping Japan and its citizens of all rights and freedoms and renaming the country Area 11. Lelouch is a Britannian prince who gave up his right to the throne after his mother was murdered, and has vowed to destroy his father, the Emperor, and Britannia. He gains the ability through the mysterious power of the Geass, granted by the mysterious girl C.C., becoming the leader of the resistance movement 'The Black Knights' to fulfill his two wishes: to seek revenge for his mother and to construct a world in which his beloved sister Nunnally can live happily.

But beware, this is only a short outline of what the two seasons of Code Geass are about. Is this really one of the best anime series ever made (if not the best)? I certainly do believe so, because it does excel in all areas. It is a character driven series first and foremost, and here it makes no mistakes. There are absolutely NO STEREOTYPES to be found in Code Geass. All characters are as real as it gets. This is were most anime series fail, but character development is this series best feature. Apart from the two protagonists, we basically have more than 15 characters than can be considered main. As I have said before they are all full fledged and round personalities and even the gigantic supporting cast only consists of fully fleshed out characters. But make no mistake; Code Geass is a story of war and therefore great tragedy and drama. As it is in war, there is no real good or evil, and all the characters have their own motivation for what they do. Betrayal and changing sides, lies and deception can be found around every corner, along with incredible plot twists and character development. But how can the viewer keep track of these developments on such an epic scale? Easy. Code Geass is set in a realistic environment and a believable world is created (despite Geass and mecha action). All the characters decisions can be reconstructed and their motivation is understandable. Be it love, betrayal, pure insanity or maybe all of them.

However, the anime does not offer any sense of right and wrong, good or evil and the characters even deceive themselves at times. There is no ultimate hero to be loved and no real villain to be hated. Everyone is right and wrong, good and bad at the same time when it comes to revolution and warfare; and everyone who is not shamelessly used by others, follows his/her own egoistical agenda. Sides change often so quickly, especially in season two, that you never can decide who to root for. This may seem like a negative point of the series, but that is actually why the story and therefore the entire anime succeeds. Because it never strays and cops out, uses the deus ex machina device or lets characters decide things they wouldn't, just to make them likable. They have to make decisions and accept the result and keep on living. As they say, ''sometimes you have to choose the lesser of two evils'', but since you know all characters so well and what drives them, you still feel with them, but hate and curse them at the same time for their foolishness and weakness. The animation is excellent and the mecha action top notch. It is the first time they actually bothered to make the machines as realistic as possible. Sometimes the animation seems very clean and cold, suitable for the world it creates though.

Everyone seeking an emotional roller-coaster ride get on, you won't regret it. Code Geass is as epic as it gets.

Code Geass is brilliant. Period. It is one of the best animes ever made to date and stands with the best shows/movies of all time as well. You might very well have heard similar praises for this show before and I'm here to say that it deserves every single one of them. I don't give out 10 stars often, but I would gladly give the double of that for Code Geass. It has every single element required to be amazing. First off, it has and interesting and fairly unique setting. It is in an alternate future where the Holy Britannian Empire has taken over a third of the world, including Japan, which is the stage for this epic. On top of this interesting setting is an even more interesting premise. It may feel reminiscent to Death Note since it also features a High Schooler who receives a manipulative super power from an otherworldly being. Still, it does not feel similar to Death Note in its plot development and keeps complicating things every time the story feels like it's slowing down. Gladly, the story very rarely, if ever, do slow down due to the raw amount of events that happen in Code Geass. While some shows try to stretch out scenes as long as they can in order to make them fill up a 20-minute time span, Code Geass feels as though every episode is packed to the brim with events, character introductions, character deaths, and other amazing sights. Helping this along is a mind-boggling cast of at least 50 named characters who have lines. When I re-watched the series one time, I counted up only the names of characters with personalities, lines, and a life that you felt involved with that died. There were over 30. This will led to some truly spectacular scenes when huge mecha battles will break out with many protagonists on both sides. Speaking of mecha battles, the mechas in Code Geass, or "Knightmares" as they are called, are spectacular in action and feel very action-packed and full of energy. But as good as the action in Code Geass is, the part that you will really grab your interest and keep you fascinated until the end is the way that the characters and their personalities ties into this grand story. You will soon find that every single conflict or battle will have protagonists of both sides clashing with each other. I many cases, characters like the main characters Lelouche appear as both a protagonist and an antagonist which leads to you truly thinking about what is actually good or evil. These conflict, both internal and external will lead to some of the more intense scenes that have ever graced the silver screen. All this is helped along by solid animation and what might be that best soundtrack for any piece of cinema ever made. There is a truly gargantuan amount of musical content here that will any fan of soundtracks truly satisfied.

Never has there been an anime that blended, brilliant character development, amazing music, intriguing moral dilemmas, immersive story, and exciting mecha battles as well as Code Geass has. The number one biggest must-watch anime series of all time.