Code Geass R2 – A brief retrospect

by eternal on September 3, 2008

I believe it’s safe to say that every anime fan has their own taste in anime; from the GAR of Gurren Lagann to the moé of Kanon to the romance of Special A, everyone finds a few shows from each given season based on their genres or their staff, and follows them in the hope that they won’t disappoint. I, of course, am like this as well, what with my seemingly unnatural tendency to gravitate toward anything connected in some way to visual novels – or, admittedly, anything involving effeminate romance and drama. However, I think we can all agree on one thing: there’s one show that’s been airing since spring that everyone somehow wound up watching, and for good reason, at that. I’m well aware that few (if any) of my readers would be interested in a detailed account of the history of the series and the various twists and turns that lead us to this point, but there’s one thing I CAN do, and that’s give my own opinion on this WTF-fest we call Code Geass.

First of all, if there’s one thing I have to say about this show, it’s that it’s easily the best thing airing at this moment, and I’d bet my Clannad figures (actually, no I wouldn’t) that people will still be talking about it years from now. Considering I’m still relatively new to anime fandom (relative meaning “under a decade”), I have yet to see a “legendary” title go down in history as one of the best shows of all time as opposed to simply one of the best of the season, but in all honesty, I can’t see how people could ever not talk about Geass. I mean, it’s got everything. Manipulation, epic mindgames, jaw-dropping twists, WTF-does-this-mean twists, evil emperors, evil emperors with too many children, mecha, GAR, moe, green hair, pink hair, pink-haired lolis, implied (by the writers or at least by far too many of the fans) yaoi, blindness, memory loss, and last but not least, betrayal. In short, it’s awesome.


Serves me right for thinking she was unimportant

Now, let’s return to the beginning for a moment, shall we? At first, admittedly, Code Geass seemed like a fairly ordinary show, despite it’s (many) unique quirks. The Geass was a breath of fresh air, the setting that mirrored the real world was intriguing, and the general premise was creative enough to keep even a seasoned anime fan’s attention; but in all honesty, just how much deeper did it really seem? Lelouch was the “good” guy doing “evil” things for a good cause, Suzaku was the “neutral” guy opposing Lelouch but also for a good cause, and Charles was the “bad” guy that wanted to rule the world for one reason or another. That’s all there was to it. Even after the introduction of the special powers of the Geass, Lelouch’s challenge of maintaining his anonimity, the rising in power of the Black Knights, the various battles and deaths, the betrayals and switching of sides, and the ultimate discovery of Zero’s true identity, it was all fairly ordinary. It was good, in every conceivable way – it fulfilled the goals the viewers would expect of the genre and fulfilled them to the point of exellence – but it was still ordinary, reasonable, and plausible. However, once R2 got underway, things started to change.


You can see where I’m going with this

Right, things definitely started to change, especially over the last few weeks. Bridging the gap (flawlessly?) between “coherent, suspenseful story” and “……wait, WHAT!?”, this current and final season of Geass has brought us nothing but jaw-dropping surprised, one episode after the other. In fact, I clearly remember myself commenting when the season started about how shocked I was that every single episode somehow managed to end with a twist; I knew the show was fast paced and all, but nothing could be THAT fast paced.

However, if I thought that was bad, then you can imagine my surprise when things really started coming together.


It isn’t a Geass post without a little C.C.

So now, where were we? Last I checked, Anya is Lelouch’s mother, Charles died after failing to be Gendou, Schniezel is with the Black Knights, Spinzaku Suzaku is on Lelouch’s side, and we have a new emperor of Britannia. Yup, that’s right: I’m thinking it too.

What in Haruhi’s name are the writers thinking!?

Now, I don’t mean this as a complaint; I’ve never seen plot twists this shocking since I finished Ever 17, and I’m definitely impressed by that. However, one must admit, things are starting to get just a tad abnormal. Even for Geass standards, this is just plain bizarre. Good, yes; suspenseful, yes; entertaining, YES; but completely, utterly bizarre. Honestly, I’d LIKE to make some sort of prediction for the upcoming four episodes, but how can I? Will Lelouch and C.C rule the world? Will Suzaku spin kick all who stand in his way? Will Nunally rise from the dead after we find out that Schneizel actually has a Geass that can turn back time? I haven’t the faintest clue; and looking at how things have been going, nothing they do could catch me off guard, because I’m already prepared to accept whatever illogical, ridiculous, and all-around EPIC plot twists they pull off next.

P.S. ALL HAIL LELOUCH

~ETERNAL
つづく

{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }

Saku September 6, 2008 at 3:47 pm

My Ending: Spinzaku kills Lulu and Schneizel and becomes the 100th emperor.

Thx for adding me to your blog roll. I will add yours to mine ^^

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xXMaleficXx February 27, 2014 at 2:31 am

Close. Spinzaku kills Lulu then Nunnally becomes the 100th emperor.

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James September 7, 2008 at 5:46 am

Future My Hime ending :o

Oh noooooooooo :p

I SO hope i’m wrong ^^

Anyway i love that show , even if that second season is crazy ^^

btw Ever 17 is that awesome ? i finished it only once (You bad end) so it was not good at all , no real story and twist or anything :o but i guess it’s because i had an early end ^^ . I’m going to try getting the other ends ;)

Jamess last blog post..Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuuutsu Nendoroid Puchi Bon Festival Gift Set (GoodSmile) review

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ETERNAL September 7, 2008 at 7:57 am

@ Saku: at this stage, I think even that would be fair game O_o

@ James: Ever 17 is pretty much a normal (though slightly above average) visual novel until you get the 5th ending, which is about as shocking as ep 21 of Geass. It’s worth playing the other routes, trust me.

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