By Cheyenne Ewulu
Hello, and welcome to Funimation Flashback, the series where I, Cheyenne, revisit some of my favorite anime from my childhood, so that means the late ’90s through the early ’00s!
But, before we get into today’s topic, don’t forget to follow the homies at Funimation on all of their social media for more anime content just like this. Lelouch vi Britannia commands you to do it!
Today, we are talking about the one, the only, Code Geass. Yes! This 2006 animation needed a spot in my series. And before anyone says, “It’s just 2006,” need I remind you that was, oh, I don’t know, 14 YEARS AGO? It’s definitely Flashback-worthy!
The year is 2017. Code Geass follows the story of a teenager named Lelouch Lamperouge, an exiled Britannian prince, who crosses paths with a strange but gorgeous girl named C.C. who ends up gifting him with a great but terrible power known as the Geass.
With this power, Lelouch has the ability to get anyone who crosses his path to submit to him and do his bidding. Lelouch has plans to create a new world for him and his loved ones, but he quickly learns that this newfound power might be more of a curse than a blessing.
The anime is centered around a now-colonized Japan, or Area 11, and their ongoing war with the powerful Britannian Empire. And this anime really brought in a lot of feels. It’s an anime that really never gets old for me. If you are one of the newer anime fans who hasn’t had the chance to see this show in its entirety yet, I actually ENVY you. I wish I could turn back time and experience this masterpiece for the first time all over again!
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One of the great things about Code Geass is the characters. The characters in this anime are super-complex and extremely well-written and developed. I don’t think I remember there being a character who didn’t have some sort of emotional backstory that influenced their every move throughout the show.
My favorite character is obviously Lelouch. Lelouch was a bit of a mastermind, the type of character who viewed the world as a game and the people who inhabited it as pawns. There are times when he makes foolish choices, and you aren’t sure if you should be rooting for him or not. I felt he was really easy to relate to. I mean, if you had the power to make anyone submit to you, you’d probably make some of the insane choices he does throughout the anime.
He has this idea that the world would be a better place if everything was controlled by him, and that godlike mentality is what ultimately makes him and his Geass dangerous to his enemies.
Then you have his best friend Suzaku Kururugi, the opposite of Lelouch. He doesn’t see the world as something that needs to be controlled. He’s the type of character who believes he can change things from the inside, but being anti-Britannia, Lelouch doesn’t vibe with that. So throughout the series, there are tons of discourse between these two characters in general. Their friendship definitely gets tested time and time again throughout the series.
This anime has you feeling for every single character you come across. It doesn’t matter if they’re an extra or an integral part of the story.
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This anime is heavily rooted in politics and war, but that shouldn’t scare you away from giving it a shot if you haven’t already. While the all-around theme is pretty hardcore, there are also times when the anime shows its soft side with humorous moments. Of course, with any anime, no matter the genre, there is always some sort of love story to be told, and the romances displayed in this anime are spicy.
This is also an anime that really knows how to create some tear-jerking moments. Nope. I said I wouldn’t cry anymore! But real fans know how these moments made us feel.
Love, war, action, romance. This anime has it all. It’s a show that is gonna make you feel so many different emotions all at once, and I think fans of the anime would agree with me on that much.
Code Geass fans, sound off by sharing this post and letting us know what kind of Geass power you would want to have. I personally think Lelouch has the best one, but I wanna read what you all come up with!
