And now, the second anime in my series: Code Geass.
At its heart, Code Geass is about giant robots fighting each other. There, I bet you’re interested already. 😀
Code Geass is set in an alternate universe, where three superpowers control the world: the Holy Britannia Empire, the Euro Universe, and the Chinese Federation. Britannia controls both American continents, the E.U. controls Europe (including Russia) and Africa, and the C.F. controls the rest of Asia. Australia, however, remains an independent state.
In the year 2010, the Britannian army, the greatest military force the world has ever known, invaded the nation of Japan, conquering the country in less than a month. This was in order to secure Japan’s rich supply of Sakuradite, which is a highly powerful explosive. It is used to power almost all machinery, most prominently the Knightmare Frame war machines.
Knightmare Frames are the pride of the Britannian military. The closest thing to them in the real-world military would be a tank. But Knightmares are so much more than mere tanks. Operated by a single pilot, they are bipedal units, equipped with rollerskate-like appendages on their ankles. These allow the Knightmares to achieve high speeds and mobility on most any terrain. They are armed with an array of weapons, most notably the Slash Harkens. Harkens are a kind of rocket-propelled anchor, generally used to smash holes through things. Quite handy.
Anyway, so that’s what the playing field looks like at the start of the series. Enter Lelouch Lamperouge: a brilliant high school student who is a master at chess. He is a student at Ashford Academy, located in the former nation of Japan, now renamed to the cold-sounding Area 11. There are still pockets of resistance in Japan, and Lelouch accidentally boards a truck being used by Japanese (called ‘Elevens’ by Britannia) operatives. Inside the truck is a mysterious girl who calls herself C.C. The truck gets surrounded by Britannian forces trying to recapture her. But before they are able to, C.C. offers Lelouch the “Power of Kings”, or the mythical power of Geass. The Geass manifests itself in Lelouch as the power of absolute obedience, which allows him to make anyone obey his orders without question. He uses the power to order the soldiers to kill each other, allowing him to escape.
With this new power, Lelouch joins the rebellion. He hates the Britannian royal family due to the murder of his mother, and would see the destruction of the Britannian Empire. He forms The Order of the Black Knights, and takes up the identity of Zero to lead them, gaining popular support from the Japanese people. Zero wears a mask at all times, and only a few people are allowed to know that Zero is actually Lelouch. He is an extremely formidable military leader, using his Chessmaster skills to determine what the enemy will do next, and acting accordingly.
My favorite character is Kallen Kouzuki, ace pilot for the Black Knights. Using her super-awesome Guren Mk-II Knightmare Frame, she can take down almost any enemy Knightmare that has the misfortune of coming too close. She is one of the most loyal people to the rebellion, but hates Lelouch because she views him as someone who only knows how to complain and does not take any action, not knowing that he is actually Zero. And she also manages to be one of the only main characters that failed to annoy me at one point or another. 😛
Watch the series (both subbed and dubbed versions) here: http://www.youtube.com/show?p=_ibnU74o6y4
Purchase Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion Complete First Season
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