Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion

Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion

The anime series Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion (コードギアス 反逆のルルーシュ, Kōdo Giasu: Hangyaku no Ruruushu) was created by series director Goro Taniguchi and writer Ichirou Ohkouchi. It was produced by Sunrise Inc., who are famous for the Gundam franchise and the S-cryed anime, and licensed to the U.S. by Bandai Entertainment. The season contained twenty-five episodes and ran on the Japanese television network, Mainichi Broadcasting System (MBS). The first episode aired on Oct. 5, 2006, and the season ended Jul. 28, 2007. A second season was created, called Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion R2 (コードギアス 反逆のルルーシュ R2, Kōdo Giasu: Hangyaku no Lelouch R2). It began the following year on Apr. 6, 2008.

The Code Geass brand became so popular that it eventually branched into several alternate versions in manga, video games, and other merchandise. A third anime was announced in Dec. 2009, to be called Code Geass Gaiden: The Ruined Land of Akito (コードギアスGAIDEN 亡国のアキト, Kōdo Giasu GAIDEN: Bōkoku no Akito).

Similar to most Sunrise animes, Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion is a wartime themed anime series that is set on the real Earth, in the not too distant future. Many of the countries shown are real, but events in history are vastly different; in the world of Code Geass, for example, the American Revolution of the 1700s failed. The show is filled with political intrigue and drama, but balanced by the occasional comedy and fanservice.

A new form of mechs was created for the Code Geass series. They are called Human Autonomous Automated Knights, Knightmare Frame (KMF) for short. Unlike with other Sunrise productions, however, the mechs are not the focus of series. The main plot of the anime instead surrounds a mystical power called the Geass.

Plot

Invasion of Japan

After decades of war, the Holy Empire of Britannia has conquered much of the world and placed it under their thumb. In each nation they control, they have stripped the land and its people of their name, replacing it with a mere number. On August 10th, 2010, Britannia declared war against the neutral island nation of Japan in order to claim the precious mineral known as Sakuradite. Using the Knightmare Frames, they easily conquered the Japanese Army and subjugated their people. The country was renamed to Area 11.

C.C. released

Seven years after the end of the war, a young exiled prince of Britannia, Lelouch, has been living in secret in Japan with his younger, crippled sister, Nunnally. His normal, boring school life is changed when Lelouch accidentally gets involved with a Japanese terrorist group that believes they have stolen a biological weapon from Britannia. The capsule, however, turns out to contain an immortal witch who gives Lelouch the power called Geass. With this power, he is able to control others and make them do his bidding. Now gifted with a power to oppose the Empire, Lelouch gathers the strength left in Area 11 to form his very own rebellion: the Black Knights.

With his army, the Geass, and his tactical genius, Lelouch plans to utterly obliterate the Britannian Empire, find the truth behind his mother's murder, and build a new world where Nunnally can live in piece. The only thing standing in his way is his childhood friend Suzaku, the son of the former Japanese Prime Minister. Suzaku has joined Britannia and is determined to change it from within.

Main Cast

Code Geass main cast

Code Geass has a large cast filled with numerous characters of original design, but most of the events follow four main characters: a Britannian prince, an immortal, a half Britannian-Japanese girl, and the son of the former Prime Minister of Japan. As with most anime series, the main cast is a group of older teens in school, but since the story takes place over several years, the characters age and develop by the finale. The designs for the cast were done by the famous all-female anime/manga design team known as CLAMP.

Lelouch Lamperouge

Lelouch Lamperouge

Lelouch Lamperouge (ルルーシュ・ランペルージ, Ruruushu Ranperuuji) was originally born as Lelouch vi Britannia. He is a prince of Britannia and son of the Britannian Emperor, Charles di Britannia. He and his little sister Nunnally were sent away to Japan by their father before the start of the war, shortly after the assassination of their mother, Marianne. Despite being a prince, Lelouch despises the Empire for its callous treatment of people such as his crippled and blind sister. Though Lelouch is a tactical genius, he is physically weak. His personality comes off as arrogant and self-righteous to those who first meet him, but he has a deep kindness that few experience other than his little sister. He is given the power called Geass by a mysterious, green-haired girl. With this power enhancing his natural intelligence, he creates his own army, called the Black Knights, and leads them as the masked hero for justice, Zero.

Voice Actors:
Japanese- Jun FukuyamaEnglish- Johnny Yong Bosch

C.C.

C.C.

C.C. (シー・ツー, shii tsuu, pronounced "C Two") is an immortal girl with a fondness for pizza. She appears to be about sixteen, but has lived for longer than anyone knows, always alone. She is the holder of the Code, the source of both her immortality and her ability to give humans the power called Geass. She was captured in Japan by the Britannian Empire as part of a secret Code R project. She is the one who gives Lelouch his Geass, and she works as his accomplice. She often guards Lelouch and acts as his shield so that he can live to fulfill his part in their contract, the terms of which are never made clear. Much of C.C.'s past is a mystery, although she appears to have a connection to Lelouch's mother, Marianne.

Voice Actors:
Japanese- YukanaEnglish- Kate Higgins

Kallen Kozuki

Kallen Kozuki

Kallen Kozuki (紅月カレン, kōzuki karen) is an ace Knightmare pilot. Her mother is Japanese, but her father is a Britannian, making her a half-blood. However, she identifies herself as Japanese above all. Before Japan was conquered, she lived as a Japanese girl with her mother and her elder brother, Naoto Kozuki. After the war, her mother gave up her parental rights to Kallen's father to try and make a better life for her daughter. Kallen lives under the name Kallen Stadtfeld (カレン・シュタットフェルト, karen shutattoferuto) and attends the prestigious Ashford Academy. She pretends to be sickly and weak in order to explain her frequent absences, but in reality she is working with Japanese rebels that were led by her brother before he died. She hates everything Britannian because of her brother's death and the destruction of her happy life with her mother. She eventually becomes a member of the Black Knights who pilots the powerful Knightmare Frame called the Guren Mk-II, and is one of Zero's most devoted followers, although she has no idea that Zero is actually her classmate, Lelouch.

Voice Actors:

Japanese- Ami Koshimizu

English- Karen Strassman

Suzaku Kururugi

Suzaku Kururugi

Suzaku Kururugi (枢木スザク, kururugi suzaku) is a young Japanese boy who was the son of Japan's Prime Minister, before Japan was conquered by Britannia. Now, he is an Honorary Britannian who fights for them against Japanese rebels, and plans to change Britannia's corruption from within. When Lelouch and Nunnally were sent to Japan, they lived at the shrine of Suzaku's family, and Suzaku and Lelouch eventually became close friends. Suzaku is at the peak of physical fitness, and can perform almost insane levels of acrobatics. He is given the ability to pilot Britannia's most advanced Knightmare, the Lancelot, and quickly proves to be an ace pilot. He fights the Black Knights, who he sees as terrorists, completely unaware that their leader, Zero, is his old childhood friend.

Voice Actors:

Japanese- Takahiro Sakurai

English- Yuri Lowenthal

The Geass

Lelouch's Geass to Obey

Unlike most mech-heavy anime, the true focus of Code Geass is not the mechs, but the power of Geass, sometimes referred to as the Power of Kings (王の力 , Ō no Chikara). Throughout much of the first season, the Geass is never completely explained, and its origin is unknown. The Geass is always present in the user's eyes, and is given by a person who holds the Code. These people, identified by the red crescent design on their bodies, are immortals that can survive any form of physical damage and recover. In addition to immortality, the Code gives these people immunity to all Geass powers, as well as the ability to grant a human the Geass power and form a contract with them.

When the Geass power is active, the users' eye will glow a bright red and the crescent of the Code will appear in the eye. The more the power is used, the stronger it gets, until it can no longer be hidden or even controlled. The exact power the Geass gives varies from user to user, and seems to be dictated mostly by the user's deepest desire at the time the power is granted.

Knightmares

Knightmare Frames

The Knightmare Frames (KMF) are the major military power in the Code Geass universe. They were originally created and developed by the Britannian Empire, and Britannia has used them to conquer over two-thirds of the world. Their power and mobility contributes to their supremacy in warfare. Unlike many other mechs, where the cockpit is built inside the mech, the Knightmares have cockpits attached to the rear of the mech. This makes them more of a remotely controlled tank than a mobile suit.

Lancelot & Guren Mk-II

Lancelot vs. Guren Mk-II

Two of the more famous Knightmare Frames are the Lancelot and the Guren Mk-II. The Lancelot is the white knight of the Britannian Army, piloted by Suzaku Kururugi. It was created by Lloyd Asplund and Cecile Croomy. The Guren Mk-II is the first completely Japanese constructed Knightmare Frame, and was given to the Black Knights. It is piloted by Kallen Kozuki, and it was designed and created by the East-Indian cybernetics specialist, Rakshata Chawla.

Theme Songs

Opening Theme 1 - (Ep. 1-12)

Version 1 (Ep. 1-8)

Version 2 (Ep. 9-12)

"Colors"

Lyrics by Kohshi Asakawa & Keigo Hayashi

Composed by Takeshi Asakawa

Arranged by FLOW & Koichi Tsutaya

Performed by FLOW

Lyrics-

Opening Theme 2 - (Ep. 13-23)

Version 1 (Ep. 13-17)

Version 2 (Ep. 18-23)

"Kaidoku Funō - 解読不能 (Indecipherable)"

Lyrics by Jinn

Composed by Jinn

Arranged by Jinn

Performed by Jinn

Lyrics-

Opening Theme 3 - (Ep. 24-25)

"Hitomi no Tsubasa" - 瞳ノ翼 (Eye's Wing)'

Lyrics by Akio Inoue

Composed by Daisuke Asakura

Arranged by Daisuke Asakura

Performed by Access

Lyrics-

Ending Theme 1 - (Ep. 1-12)

"Yūkyō Seishun Ka - 勇侠青春謳 (Chivalrous Youth Song)"

Lyrics by Arika Takanaro

Composition / Arrangement by Mikiya Katakura

Performed by Ali Project

Lyrics-

Ending Theme 2 - (Ep. 13- )

"Mosaic Kakera - モザイクカケラ (Mosaic Fragments)"

Lyrics / Composed by Junzo Ishida

Arranged by Masayuki Sakamoto

Performed by SunSet Swish

Lyrics-

Endorsement Deal & US Edits

Pizza Hut

Japanese and US versions

In the first season of Code Geass, it was quite common to see ads for the Pizza Hut company. These were an example of on-screen advertising, the practice of having a company pay for a series to endorse a real world product in an attempt to increase sales. One of the main characters, C.C., is a habitual pizza eater, and the only brand of pizza that is ever shown in Code Geass is from Pizza Hut. The company's logo is frequently displayed on pizza boxes.

These promotions were never in the anime for the U.S. release, however. On both the broadcast versions and the DVDs, all the Pizza Hut labels were completely removed. The boxes for the pizzas were also changed to be a generic brand.

Biglobe Internet Company

Biglobe Search

Another major sponsor of the Code Geass anime was the Japanese internet search company Biglobe. When a character is using a computer, the Biglobe logo is often clearly seen. Oddly enough, this example of product placement was not removed for the U.S. release.

Produced by Sunrise Inc.Licensed by Bandai Entertainment