Code Geass

Code Geass

コードギアス 反逆のルルーシュ
2006 -2008 Sunrise MBS / TBS 50 episodes Completed
Action Mecha Sci-Fi Political Drama
Details & Synopsis
Lelouch vi Britannia is seventeenth in line to the throne of the Holy Britannian Empire, exiled to Japan, now called Area 11, a conquered territory with no rights and no name, following his mother's assassination and his sister's crippling. He attends school, plays chess for money, and waits.

Then a mysterious girl named C.C. gives him the Geass: the absolute power to command anyone to do anything, once, through direct eye contact. He puts on a mask. He calls himself Zero. He tells himself he is doing it to destroy Britannia.

He might even be right.

Produced by Sunrise and directed by Goro Taniguchi, who made s-CRY-ed five years earlier and clearly spent the intervening time thinking about political violence and what it costs, Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion aired on MBS from 2006 to 2008. Fifty episodes across two seasons built around a chess match played in real time between a revolutionary who cannot stop lying and a childhood friend who joined the empire to reform it. The show understands that both positions are correct and neither of them will survive being correct.

The plot moves. This is the understatement of the decade. Code Geass was downloaded faster than most fansub groups could release it because no one watching it was willing to wait a week between episodes. The cliffhangers are not cheap, they are the load-bearing structure of a narrative that never stops accelerating. The Knightmare Frame battles are spectacular. The political maneuvering is genuinely intricate. The character work earns what it asks of you.

The ending of R2 is one of the most argued finales in anime history. It is also the correct ending. This is not up for debate.

Fifty episodes. Clear your schedule.
Alt Title コードギアス 反逆のルルーシュ
Studio Sunrise
Network MBS / TBS
Aired 2006 - 2008
Episodes 50
Genre Action, Mecha, Sci-Fi, Political Drama
Status Completed
← All lore

R2: Memory, Return & Betrayal

The Emperor Rewrites Lelouch's Life

R2 Opens With a Manufactured Normal

SPOILER!

Turn 1 · Rolo · Missing Nunnally

After the Black Rebellion, Emperor Charles uses Geass to rewrite Lelouch's memories. Nunnally is removed from his life and Rolo is inserted as a younger brother while Britannia watches Ashford for signs that Zero will return. C.C. and the surviving Black Knights attack Babel Tower not just to rescue a leader, but to give Lelouch his own history back.
C.C.

Zero Returns on Different Terms

One Million People Become Zero

SPOILER!

Turn 8 · Special Zone Reopened

When Britannia revives the Special Administrative Zone, Lelouch cannot simply repeat the first rebellion. Instead he exploits the promise that Zero may be exiled by having a million participants dress as Zero. The trick protects the movement, evacuates supporters, and turns the mask from Lelouch's disguise into a political identity anyone can wear.

The Black Knights Turn on Zero

Schneizel Wins by Giving Them the Truth Selectively

SPOILER!

Turn 19 · Geass Exposed

Schneizel does not defeat Zero with a stronger Knightmare. He gives the Black Knights evidence that their commander has Geass and has manipulated people around him. The information is selective and self-serving, but enough of it is true to break trust already weakened by casualties and secrecy. The betrayal works because Lelouch built an organization that depended on faith in a masked leader while refusing to let that organization really know him.
Schneizel el Britannia Diethard Ried

Rolo's Final Choice Is the Opposite of How Lelouch Used Him

SPOILER!

Turn 19 · Escape

Lelouch spends much of R2 manipulating Rolo's desperate need for family and privately intends to discard him. When the Black Knights turn on Zero, Rolo saves Lelouch anyway, repeatedly using his Geass despite knowing the strain will kill him. His death leaves Lelouch with one more person who loved him more honestly than Lelouch treated them.
Lelouch vi Britannia