Director: Goro Taniguchi,
Starring: Jun Fukuyama, Johnny Yong Bosch, Takahiro Sakurai, Yuri Lowenthal, Ami Koshimizu, Karen Strassmen, Yukana Nogami, Kate Higgins,
Running Time: 625 minutes
Certificate: 15
Extras: Episode Commentaries, Picture Dramas
When anime is done this well, it surpasses almost any other form of storytelling. Along with classics such as DEATH NOTE, CODE GEASS: LELOUCH OF THE REBELLION puts the medium on a platform that should easily engage new and experienced viewers. The series is set in an alternate future where Britannia have conquered the majority of the world. One of the places they have conquered is Japan, now known as Area 11. We meet Lelouch, a Brittanian living in Area 11 with ties to the Britannian government. One day he becomes possessor of a unique gift that allows him to control the minds of anyone, but only once. He sets about forming a rebellion to challenge Britannia but things inevitably spiral out of control.
The set-up may sound simple enough, but the genius of this show is the characters, their hypocrisy, and the moral conundrums we are constantly presented with. As the series expands we meet all types of characters including terrorists, royalty, school children, soldiers, peasants and so on. It gives a wide view of the world in which we find ourselves, forcing us to confront differing opinions. Not a single character is simple in their depiction. Despite fighting for a real cause you may agree with, Lelouch’s personal vendetta often brings out his anger and selfishness. His childhood friend, Suzaku, who happens to be a soldier for Britannia is an idealist and often can’t make the sacrifices required of him. We are never able to side with one person or one idea for long because the show causes us to think and think hard.
The show is gorgeously animated and designed. Real attention has been paid to creating the decadence of the Brittannian empire, with parts of Japan turned into isolated ghettos. The action scenes are astonishing and always involving. Unlike many formulaic shows where an episode has to have a fight/battle of some kind, you feel as though every battle, fight, argument even, has a real purpose. This generates much more excitement that a weekly brawl. Without clear heroes and villains it also makes each fight very unpredictable in regards to its outcome. It was great to show emotions, politics, and tactics playing a huge part of such scenes. This always added an interesting layer, where winning the fight isn’t always the best option. The use of Nightmares (large human piloted robots) also allowed for personal grudges to be settled in a more intimate and heart stopping fashion in the midst of battles.
The writing is spot-on, presenting difficult decisions from different perspectives in visual ways as well as just dialogue. The show’s pacing never lets up and even manages to handle the lighter moments with ease. Seeing a terrorist also trying to integrate with school life and acting like a normal high school girl is a necessary and welcome breather from a lot of mind tiring situations. The show also does well to keep feeling fresh for its entire run, with a constant stream of twists that never once feel forced, and surprises which will leave you stunned. It’s a brave show that will purposefully make you hate certain events in order to enrich its story.
The show is riddled with dense themes such as class struggle, totalitarianism, peace, justice, love, deception, free will and more. It’s a rare show that, as soon as an episode was over, I immediately wanted to discuss and contemplate what I had seen while at the same scrambling for the remote to start the next one. Throughout season 1 CODE GEASS: LELOUCH OF THE REBELLION just gets better and better. Anime fan or not, do yourself a favour and pick up this series, you won’t be disappointed. Never has a 10 hour series flown by so quickly and I have a feeling the wait for the release of Season 2 will feel a lot longer than 2 months.
Extras: The set of Picture Dramas are quaintly drawn segments that aren’t quite motion comics, but are certainly not just still images. They fill in a lot of character background that isn’t necessary but does enhance the show. Some seem to be deleted scenes, whereas others are delivered as standalone segments. Whatever their original intention, anything that adds to exploring this incredible story is an excellent bonus. The drawings are also just great to get lost in. We also have around 8 commentaries by the original Japanese cast and production team. This is a real treat to listen to as it opens up the world of voice acting and animation. I’m not saying I don’t enjoy English voice cast commentaries, but they can usually only fill us in on their interpretation of the character. Here we get all the ins and outs of creating the series.
CODE GEASS: LELOUCH OF THE REBELLION is released on DVD & Blu-ray on 21st January 2013.
