Anime: Code Geass: Hangyaku no Lelouch R2

Before we start let me give a basic example of what a GOOD written dialogue between two characters must play out :
- Hey pull my finger.
- No, I'm not falling for that again.
- Then walk through that door
- Already seen the trap there
- Pull my leg
- I see sleeping gas bombs.
- then take this cigar
- why thank you.
- *Pulls out his own lighter and finds out the trick behind it while trying not to overlook for something*
And well... That sadly did not happen in Code Geass. OK moving on to the review
- REVISION -
Since most didn't like my Cringe of the Rebellion (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pMTt8x6Kbo) because I was poking fun at Code Geass, I decided to take my time and rewrite some of my points on the review I gave, because. It was vaguely explained, and I could sense it.
As much as I didn't want to do this well... Lets begin.
As mentioned before Code Geass takes a grand-scale war setting with characters taking war seriously, feel discriminated and overwhelmed... It doesn't work here.
A well written war story needs inspirational characters on both sides who don't overshadow the rest because they're smart and the others aren't.
Legend of the Galactic Heroes did the same but the characters there were equal and people could like and decide who to vote for even wwith corrupt nobles. Mobile Suit Gundam 0079 took war seriously, even if it felt Amuro had plot armour because of the Gundam.
Lelouch however... Automatically overshadows and overthrows everyone with almost no effort because of his power, he isn't a tacticion like Char Aznable or Yang Wenli, he's a manipulator taking advantage of his power to earn anything. Sure, there was a moment where he used his brains, before forming the personality of zero.
But at the same time, he's just a child abusing his power to win over anything. (And regarding his questionable decisions and plot armor when it comes to doing something)
Suzaku, the supposedly equal opponent to Lelouch doesn't feel like an opponent as much as a taunt buddy, which is further proven in the second season where he becomes an aristocrat. Which he had hated after seeing what they can achieve just from a nuke. (Also did I mention he killed his father by accident thus gaining the power to a Britannian loyal soldier? And the fact that he denies Zero's choices because he thinks they are wrong and by the end he starts questioning whether the Britannian Empire was a right choice yet decides to join them to the end?)
So he betrays Lelouch and lets him have false memories and live!? Yo Suzaku Didn't you like... Want to kill him for killing your waifu or sth? WHY JUST WHY DID THE WRITERS SAY THIS IS OK?!
C.C the MAIN HEROINE is as dry as any lead can be, she's just a whole pizza hut waifu advertisement for people with really REALLY REALLY bad choices of girls. Nothing much I can say for her.
As for the other characters like Karen, Villa, Orange, Charles, Rolo and other characters which were one of the few far-fetched characters main characters that felt like they were supposed to be left as side characters that wouldn't matter, other than when LELOUCH VI BRITANNIA ... I mean Zero tells them to do something they're characterization is as bad as the characterization of the side characters in Galactic Heroes, 0079, and even Vision of Escaflowne. And the cast isn't even that overwhelming to need more than a few episodes of development but its so niche it's pitiful, if they were more put on as a focus than mostly Lelouch & C.C, it would of had better fleshed out and side characters.
While it could of been better here and there not much complaints in terms of the first season but oh boy, the second one just rocks the boat!
And yes, Galactic Heroes did the same bullshit with its aristocrats they feel one note or barely have any redeeming quality and so do the side characters in Code Geass.
Half of my problems with the show were not fixed with the second season, infact there were MORE problems than less once I had finished it. Regarding the ending well... It was magnificent, well done and perfect. Sadly the show didn't do as much, oh well. Atleast the composer did his job.
Code Geass is plagued by pathetic writing, horribly developed side charactersm shock factor/sudden character deaths for the sole reason to make you cry and nothing more. Plot convinence to extend the series so that the Sunrise to get earn more money than it should so the studio can go on and re-release another gundam each year because the writers/authors of gundam are suffering from brain damage at this point.

SCORE : S1 7/10 S2 : 4/10

You all probobly know why I'm reviewing this. I reviewed R1 sometime last week so I thought I should review R2. That's right, I finish the job. Now then, let's get on with it, shall we? Well, technichally it should be shall I, I'm reviewing it while you're reading this.

STORY

The story picks up where R1 left off. But now Lelouch has lost all his memories of the black knights, that he's a britannian prince, that he has a superpower known as Geass, he's even forgot about Nunally! Lelouch now lives as a regular high school student with his fake brother Rolo. One day Lelouch decides to gamble with a britannian gang boss. He wins but afterwards he is attacked by britannian soldiers. Luckily, he is helped out by C.C. and Kallen. C.C. helps Lelouch regain his memories. Lelouch then decides to finish what he started. The story then goes off to introduce a few new characters, give more depth to the returning characters and kill off a few characters, old and new. I'd say spoiler warning before that but that's not really a spoiler. Another thing about the story that I'd like to mention is the ending is brilliant. That's all. I'm not going to say what happens because that would be a spoiler.

ANIMATION

I praised season 1's animation. Why would season 2 be any different?

SOUND

Again, I praised season 1's soundtrack so why should season 2's be any different? Actually there is one track from the ost that is absolutley brilliant, Continued Story. It's a beautiful song that could make Yuki Nagato cry. Yay for references, digressing a bit and very shitty jokes that I make! Moving on. Now, I know what you're thinking, "He's not going to review the dub and sub if e already praised season 1's dub and he already said that any praise he gives to season 1 means that season 2's done it right." I can tell you that you're completely right. Oh and if that's actually what you were thinking, thank you for looking past the shit jokes I make.

CHARACTERS

I'm not going to waste my time going over all the returning characters because that would be pointless. I will only go over major new characters and characters who showed up at the end of R1 just to set the scene for R2.

ROLO- Rolo is an assassin sent to spy on Lelouch. He gets over the top jealous at how Lelouch favors Nunally over him. He's not very interesting untill later in the series. However, later in the series, he becomes VERY interesting.

TIANZIE- Did I spell that right? Ah well, I doubt anyone actually cares. Anyway, she's the empress of China. She joins the Black Knights after an incident that happened in China.

XINGKE- Again, I don't know if I spelled that right. Again, who gives a fuck? Anyway, he's Tianzie's bodyguard as well as close friend. Xingke and Tianze have a very sweet backstory.

SCHNEIZEL- Remember him from the last few episodes of R1? Well he's back. His main role for R2 is to act as a major antagonist for this season. He's actually a very good antagonist.

V.V.- Do you remember him from the end of R1? Well he, like Schneizel acts as an antagonist. However he is only a minor antagonist for the first half of the season and then he acts a someone who Lelouch and the Black Knights fight.

That does it for the characters that I'm going to go over.

OVERALL

This was a brilliant sequel to a brilliant series. The ending was perfect. I think everyone should watch this. I am very proud to award this series 10/10. That's all untill next review, untill then stay awesome.

This review only covers the second season of Code Geass.
Review
Code Geass laid out an amazing ground. Lelouch built his own army to topple the greatest empire in the world, and by the end of the first season he set out to a major battle to free Japan. There, however, Lelouch was forced to choose between his desire to save his sister or his lust for power.

The second season starts after the crushing defeat suffered by the resistance forces after Lelouch decided to go to his sister. It moves one year forward in a world where the Black Knights lost their battle, were imprisoned and dismantled. Can Lelouch rise again? Can Brittania be really defeated?

---

1. Oh, a bit of amnesia
   Sadly though, after so many good surprises given to us in the first season, this second part kicks off with a very boring trope: amnesia. To be more specific, the Emperor Charles rewrote the memory of Lelouch and his friends, traded Nunnally for a young assassin to keep watch over Lelouch, and finally sent him back to Japan. Why do all that? Well, he wants to lure CC out of the shadows.
   
   Not so much for vigilance
   You see, by the end of the first season the high school setting was already a massive turn down. It was forced down our throats, but it still had the excuse of Nunnally being there. Now this is not the case any longer.
   
   Sadly though, Code Geass R2 wants to keep the high school around for the sake of satisfying some shitty audience. This time, however, the school is basically a prison for Lelouch, and the ways he uses to trick the vigilance around him are simply ridiculous, such as going from Japan to China without anyone noticing, developing a Mission Impossible-like mask to cover his absence, etc. No one notices that, no one. And this is a system put in place by the fucking emperor himself.
   
   It goes around too
   Well, Lelouch regain his memory, as expected, and he must rebuild what he lost. The way this happens, however, is a very big, long, and unnecessary walk around China, introducing us to a few dozen of new characters in the process and making the cast as bloated as it can get in any shounen. There are still some good surprises and it can be an entertaining saga, but ultimately it feels as if everything happening in the first twelve episodes could simply be scratched out.
   
   It gets back on track later
   Finally, Code Geass returns to its track, exploring the origins of the geass power, tackling emperor Charles' craziness, and moving toward the fight between royal siblings, which was always what we wanted to see. It finishes things up with a massive mecha fight and somewhat rushed progression, but still delivers us the thrill and surprises the series built itself upon.
   

---

Comments
Code Geass R2 could be said it is a disappointment, yet that would be harsh. It does, however, fail to keep the quality of the first season, resorting to too much flashiness, unnecessary arcs, a bloated cast, and some forced events even for the series' theatrical standards.

While the first season was a lot more personal and low-key, this second tries to hard to be grand while forgetting that what made it great was the zoom on Lelouch, Suzaku, and their struggles to achieve success through their chosen paths. It still keeps surprising us, delivering exciting moments, and doing a superb job at being a theatrical play about a fictional world, yet it seems everything it does is a lot more superficial and forced this time around.

Anyway, it is a worthy finale, but one that could have had a much better path towards it.

It had been years since I last wrote a review on an anime series. To be frank, I gave up on it after wasting almost a day of my life on such an overrated piece of trash that is "Monster". However, only recently I had been advised by a friend of mine to give "Code Geass" a shot. I am glad I did that. I might even start watching anime again.

I am not going to go into such trivial technicalities as animation and sound in a great detail. The animation is fluent and sharp. There is all well on the aesthetic front as well. The dubbed version has a voice acting that ranges from passable to good. Johnny Yong Bosch does his usual shtick as Lelouche. But that's okay, he is good at what he does, even if he doesn't deviate from that routine. Better ordinary than sorry. The main cast is pretty good, but side characters could be voiced better. The musical score is unremarkable and forgettable, but isn't as bad as to dissonate with the overall series. It is just passable, no more, no less.

Enough of the obligatory banalities. I warn you: this is a review of both seasons of the series. There is no need in reviewing them apart for the simple fact the they are two pieces of a greater whole. Storywise "Code Geass" is brilliant. Unfortunately I cannot say the same for its exterial integrity. Fortunately "Code Geass" is far better than the sum of its parts.

This anime series just touches so many fringes we face as a species: prejudice, discrimination, human suffering, hatred, genocide, evil, good, sacrifice, atonement, friendship, love and the universal human condition. And above all it challenges our perceptions on morality that had been grafted to us by our cruel and cold master, our society. It is without a doubt one of the smartest japanimations out there.

The protagonist, Zero, is the most complex character I had come across in an anime. He does what he must, even if it means sacrificing something or somebody dear to him. He is human, he is torn apart by what he does, yet he understands fully well that which ought to be done must be done. He is weak in both spirit and body, yet his intellect, his allies and the mask he wears, both figuratively and literally, balance him out into an unstoppable force. He strives to be a sociopath, yet he is not. There is an eternal struggle within, robbing him of his peace. Gradually his realizations expand, he learns and changes perspectives. All that makes him human. Something that most fictional characters, especially your run-of-the-mill everyday hero, shall never be able to achieve despite all the effort (or more common no effort at all) their creators put into them.

"Code Geass" burrows a lot of its ideas from "V for Vendetta" none the less managing to create something original and fresh. There was a twist in Zero's tactics in one of the episodes that closely resembled a similar event in the said film, yet its outcome set it apart. And that's just it with this series: it will keep on surprising and mentally stimulating you until the very end.

The only real trouble with the story is that there are too many unnecessary elements in it. You could cut a lot from it, without compromising its structural integrity. Remove the worthless villain of the emperor and a moronic "shamamalamanian" twist that goes along with him. Remove good for nothing A2. Remove the unlikely return of the "orange boy". Remove most of the useless characters. Yet you will still have a superb story. The overwhelming majority of the stuff that is good in this anime is really, really good. And the things that are not well explained or are not explained at all are not that important to the plot. Sure, you have your atypical typical, pardon the paradox, plot device (typical because it is a plot device, atypical because it is a very unusual one). But it is not important to explain it: the story is not about it. The ending is absolutely perfect. It's one of the best endings to an anime I had witnessed.

Still the second season is guilty of the gratuitous fan service, plot threads that lead nowhere, raw mecha power dominating over the tactical genius, nose running loaded with hormones angsty teenage girls and your usual anime stupidity, it spoils the overall package somewhat. To paraphrase one of the reviewers here: the suits turned its second season into a farce. But they always do, that is to be expected. Not many of the creators can create freely in the environment we live in. That is the harsh truth of modern life. There will be many that will not overlook the many flaws of the second season. I, for one, am willing to. There is a pure diamond buried underneath all the rubble here and I am willing to dig for it.

Code Geass R2 has provoked conflicting reactions among the fan base, just like the original series did. Viewers still loved or hated it outright, even as many others laughed, and once again it's not hard to see why.

I think R2 was a relative disappointment, but not without redeeming qualities. It is an enjoyable sequel that could have used more foresight and additional planning. Maybe a little less ambition, a smaller cast of characters or better pacing would have been very welcome improvements. In the end, I appreciated Code Geass as a whole in spite of its flaws. Not the best show out there, but then again it doesn't need to be.

Story:

After having to go through strangely familiar territory, Code Geass R2 finally reaches a grander scale. What began as a local rebellion ends up having larger repercussions, both directly and indirectly. But that is just the big picture. The protagonist, Lelouch, continues to keep everything together here. What remains at the core of Code Geass and its themes is his development as a character. I believe the main plot was brought to a rather satisfying conclusion in those terms. Unfortunately, that same element was a little too dominant in the long run, at the expense of others.

We are taken through many more twists and turns this time around, which is both good and bad. From the exciting to the absolutely ridiculous, from the dramatic to the cheap, most are at least amusing. Yet there are clear pacing problems, especially towards the second half of R2, and that did affect the overall flow. I never felt really lost, but certain events were dealt with too quickly, including one climatic confrontation in particular. In retrospect, several early episodes were ultimately unnecessary and wasted valued screen time that later developments could have used. As things stand, the show is rather messy and certain ideas received uneven amounts of attention.

The writing and direction are competent, at heart, but suffer from trying to do too much, too quickly. The first half of the series has increased fanservice, which can be occasionally distracting. Some mysteries were resolved but, unfortunately, a few unanswered questions of varying importance were also left behind and this can be annoying. The show's mecha action is acceptable but lost some of its appeal due to technological progression. It's still not as much of a factor here as it would be in other series though, in my opinion, since it isn't really the main focus.

Finally, the last story arc seemed out of place at first, only to be rehabilitated by the ending and a brief epilogue. The final episode of Code Geass R2 gives the viewer the ability to make up his or her own mind, which is a double-edged sword. I can say the resolution worked for me, but there are different opinions.

Animation:

Production values are still above the average. The animation was generally alright and, in specific places, even great. Some background frames did lack quality, but not to a bothersome extent unless you know where to look. The original character designs by CLAMP continue to be fairly effective, and the mechanical side of things was also quite competent overall.

Sound:

Code Geass R2 had good music and, for the most part, it was used well within the show itself. Several tracks from the first season make a comeback here, but there is plenty of new material. The insert songs, in particular, were very nice even if a little more elusive. The opening and ending themes are a little less memorable but certainly not bad. With one exception, maybe. Opinions may easily vary here.

Character:

Lelouch is what drives Code Geass and he was still fairly successful in this regard, but he wouldn't be nearly as interesting without the ongoing dynamic between him and Suzaku, who once again played the most important supporting role. Kallen and C.C. got some attention and closure in their own right, at least when they were given enough screen time, even if certain expectations were not met. Overall, these four characters received some development, though not without problems here and there. I suppose Rolo, Shirley and Nunnally also had their moments too, all things considered, but just barely.

That sounds fine, so what lowered the score then? An old issue which wasn't helped by rushed pacing: the huge cast was often misused and certain plot threads were left unresolved. Too many minor characters were introduced without giving them enough weight to stand on. Many of them didn't require much attention in the first place -I can see that the story works regardless- but others did seem to demand either more screen time or more convincing motivations. The show's antagonists, some more than others, were noticeably lacking. In the end, the picture is definitely mixed here and I can't help but feel that a lot more could have been done with a smaller number of characters.

Value:

Surprisingly enough, a few details and symbols might be ignored or dismissed by most viewers the first time around but during a second watch these may prove to be at least a bit intriguing in terms of foreshadowing and thematic analysis. However, I doubt this series will ever become a classic. It probably won't be remembered as anything truly remarkable in the long run but, for better and for worse, it's become one of the more prominent and profitable titles of the decade.

Enjoyment:

Code Geass R2 was an entertaining show, in many different ways, and I do not regret watching it. From the serious to the absurd, from cliffhanger to cliffhanger, the series succeeded in making me anticipate almost every upcoming episode. There are specific events which can't be taken seriously, at all, and the staff must surely be aware of this. But there are also some genuinely effective moments in the mix, depending on what the viewer is willing to put up with.

In short, R2 benefits from simply being fun to watch, even though it is very true that there were problematic issues along the way. As a sequel, Code Geass R2 feels appropriate yet also disappointing. Not everyone will be happy with the end result and I have my own complaints, but Code Geass, as a whole, was a worthwhile experience.

As Code Geass R2 currently sits 2nd on the AniDB ratings, I feel compelled to write my first review, as I can not fathom it being the 2nd best anime ever made.

*DISCLAIMER* I do not consider myself to be an otaku, and I consider anime to be a hobby in my life. Thus, this review and others I write in the future are intended to help "regular people" in their search for something good to watch.

PLEASE LEAVE HELPFUL COMMENTS; I LIKE GOOD ADVICE/CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM

Code Geass R2 starts 1 year after the events of Geass R1 (as I'll refer to it in the rest of the review). Immediately in the first episode, Geass succumbs to the pratfall that many good shows before it have as well (think shows like Heroes): reusing similar ideas in following seasons, rather than having the show taking new directions. As a result of this decision by the director/writers, most of R2 involves the same old stuff we saw in R1, except in slightly new ways: Lelouch gains some power, Britannia gets in the way, cliffhanger before next episode, repeat.

Another pratfall that Geass R2 succumbs to, as many good shows do as well, are the addition of too many secondary characters (think Bleach, Naruto, DBZ, Heroes (again)), thus resulting in the lowering of importance of original secondary characters. Kallen, who was my favorite character from R1,

However despite these shortcomings, Geass can still please a viewer. Admittedly, while watching R2 during its original run, I was pretty hyped about what Lelouch and the other characters would do next. However, a couple months after its original run, I realize that Geass is FAR from being a "classic" anime/TV show, a TV show that can be watched years from now and still be considered just as good and better than shows that come in the future.

SECTIONS:

Animation: 9

The animation of Geass R2 is very pretty, and actually a slight improvement over R1 as well, with Mech designs and backgrounds being lush with color and interesting to the eye. The only problem with the animation is that CLAMP's character designs call for every main character to be outrageously skinny. There's no way anyone as skinny as Suzaku could be anywhere near that strong in real life.

Sound: 9

The Seiyuu for Lelouch, Jun Fukuyama, definitely deserved the award for "best male voice actor" for this role. Every time Lelouch is onscreen or heard, he commands the viewer's (and often the other character's) attention, which is what any good voice acting job does. The other seiyuus also do a pretty good job throughout the series. Only complaint I might have is that I didn't like either ED, though I share that complaint with nearly all animes/TV shows, plus music taste is not going to be something I judge in my reviews.

Story: 4

The only reason that the show was enjoyable was because it was hooky because there was very nearly always an over-the-top cliffhanger waiting at the end of every episode, creating a want to watch yet another episode. Other than those over-the-top cliffhangers, there is very little consistency in the plot throughout the series (as a side-effect of those very same cliffhangers). Characters that start out the series doing one thing will be doing/thinking something completely different in 3,4 or 5 episodes, and another 3,4, or 5 episodes after that, something different, etc etc etc.

Character: 7

The ONLY reason that my character ranking is at 7 is because the character of Lelouch is a very iconic character, and one of those characters "you don't forgot" (AKA Kamina from Tenga Toppa Gurren Lagann, Light Yagami from Death Note, Admiral Adama from Battlestar Galactica (the "remake")). However, Lelouch's character basically carries the weight of the entire show; I found that by the end of the show, there were NO other secondary characters that I felt any empathy or sympathy for. All Hail Lelouch!.... and no one else.

Value: 3

In 2,3 years, I expect Code Geass to be forgotten to the etches of time and replaced by whatever hyped-up anime is airing at that particular time.

Enjoyment: 6

At the time, I was very hooked on Code Geass. I looked forward to Sundays (when they would usually get released by the subbing groups), for a reason other than American football (which I enjoy watching greatly (Go Skins/Ravens!)). However, I've had many other friends watch episodes consecutively, rather than on a weekly basis, and gotten not nearly the impression that I had at the time. Thus, I give enjoyment a "6" because it can still be enjoyable watching it consecutively, but not nearly as enjoyable, plus the fact that I am fairly certain that Geass will age badly.

FINAL VERDICT: Watch it if you've got nothing better to watch.

Recommended TV shows/animes/Movies similar to Geass:

Death Note (Has that "battle-of-wits" that Lelouch gets into through the series, but doesn't fall for the pratfalls that Geass fell for)

Gundam 00 (At least for me, very nearly completely re-interested me in the awesomeness that mechs are, the politics of 00 are MUCH more realisitic than in Geass (00 spoiler))

Tenga Toppa Gurren Lagann (Better action, MUCH better characters, better over-the-top-ness, better plot)

The Last King of Scotland (A very gory movie, but Forrest Whitaker (who won a very well-deserved best actor award for this) playing Idi Amin is a more ruthless, very real version of the dictator that is Lelouch)

Heroes (Though only if you ACTUALLY ENJOY those over-used plot twists. I myself hate them.)