Code Geass

From Animepedia

Code Geass

Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion (Kōdo Giasu:Hangyaku no Rurūshu),often referred to as simply Code Geass, is a Japanese anime serieas created by Sunrise, directed by Goro Taniguchi, and written by Ichiro Okouchi, with original character designs by Clamp Code Geass first ran in Japan on MBS from October 5, 2006, to July 28, 2007.Its sequel series, Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion R2 ran on MBS from April 6, 2008 to September 28, 2008.

Plot

The series is set after Japan's conquest by the Holy Britannian Empire on August 10, 2010, a.t.b. 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. The titular Lelouch is a Britannian prince who was disowned by his father, Emperor Charles zi Britannia, after his mother was murdered, and has vowed to destroy his father, the Emperor, and Britannia. He gains the mysterious power of Geass, becoming the leader of the resistance movement 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.

Setting

Code Geass is set in an alternate universe where three superpowers, the Holy Britannian Empire, the Chinese Federation, and the Euro Universe have divided up control of the world (with the exception of an independent Australia) and maintain a tentative balance for the first part of the series. The balance shifts in the second season as the E.U. has much of its territory conquered by Britannia while Lelouch engineers a revolution in the Chinese Federation and creates a new alliance of countries, the United Federation of Nations, reducing the number of superpowers to two.

Geass

Geass, also referred to as the Power of Kings, is a mysterious ability which certain people can bestow upon. According to an English edition of Newtype, the power of Geass has something to do with the very existence of humankind and it may be used to destroy or transform just about anything.It is represented by a bird-shaped symbol which glows red when active.

A Geass is set as a contract between an immortal and a human who receives a unique power. It manifests in one eye, and with continued use increases in power, eventually becoming uncontrollable and spreading to both eyes. When a Geass is at full power, a person can then become a recipient of the immortal's "Code", that which grants them their power. This new immortal receives the Geass mark somewhere on their body, immunity to Geass, and the ability to make their own contracts with others, while the giver is allowed to die (perpetuating an endless cycle). This process is not necessarily consensual, as C.C. received her Code and V.V. had his taken away against their wills. Every Geass power has its own unique set of both abilities and limitations (for example, Lelouch's power can only be used once on a given person), allowing for their defeat or victory by someone who is aware of its characteristics.

Main characters

Lelouch Lamperouge The title character and protagonist of the show, Lelouch Lamperouge is a seemingly ordinary 17-year-old student at Ashford Academy. In reality, he is Lelouch vi Britannia, the exiled son of the Emperor of Britannia and the late Empress Marianne, forced to flee to Japan after his mother's assassination. When he gets caught up in a battle between the military and Japanese rebels, he gains the power of Geass, allowing him to force others to obey his orders without question, and begins a quest to utilize this power to destroy Britannia under another identity known as Zero

Suzaku Kururugi Lelouch's childhood friend and son of Japan's last prime minister, Genbu Kururugi. Suzaku is in the service of the Britannia Army as a soldier and chosen to test an experimental new model of Knightmare Frame, the Lancelot.Throughout the series, Suzaku shows a belief that achieving results by wrong or illegal methods is meaningless, setting up a rivalry with Zero.

C.C. A mysterious green-haired girl who establishes a contract with Lelouch on the condition that he grant her one wish, passively overseeing Lelouch's missions and occasionally helping them succeed to ensure he does not die.

Nunnally Lamperouge Lelouch's younger innocent sister, wheelchair-bound and blind from her mother's brutal assassination. Lelouch originally got involved with the war because he wanted to create a pleasant world for Nunnally.

Kallen Stadtfeld A Britannian-Japanese who believes herself to be a Japanese person at heart and prefers her birth name, Kallen Kouzuki, over that of her father's prestigious family. She maintains the image of a frail, outstanding student at Ashford Academy, all the while being a member of the Japanese resistance movement and one of Zero's most devoted followers.

Knightmare Frames

Knightmare Frames are combat mecha, originally developed by the Britannian Empire and imitated by other nations as the series progresses, intended as a replacement for battle tanks and other conventional land, air, and sea warfare vehicles. The name is a play on the word "nightmare" and the Western image of a knight on a horse, with "frame" being the civilian word for bipedal machines in general.