Hosts: Evan "Vampt Vo" Minto, Hisui and Narutaki
Topic: Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion (both Season 1 and R2) (2006)

In part two of the Reverse Thieves' podcasting extravaganza, I chat with them for a lengthy hour-plus podcast about the 2006 TV anime Code Geass, from studio Sunrise. The show, a modern take on the classic 50-episode Sunrise mecha formula, follows the events of a political and military revolution, masterminded by the exiled prince Lelouch Vi Brittania. We get pretty in-depth regarding the series, so a massive SPOILER ALERT is in effect throughout the episode.

Let us know what you think of the episode, and please feel free to chime in with your own thoughts on Code Geass in an e-mail or the comments thread. Show notes and links are after the break.

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(Runtime: 1 hour, 22 minutes)

[00:00] Opening Song: "COLORS" by FLOW (Code Geass Season 1 first OP)

[00:20] We've got the beat! And we've got the Reverse Thieves back on for more anime podcasting shenanigans.

[01:46] Let's get right into things with the summary of Code Geass, provided by Alain because Evan gets too confused when he tries to sum up all of the ridiculous events going on in this show.

[7:53] Is Lelouch a hero or a villain? Is he neither? We also begin comparing him with Light Yagami from Death Note, who is also a morally gray mastermind, despite distinct differences in their personalities.

[20:01] Discussion of Lelouch's blind, parapalegic sister Nunnally, and how she's totally the best character in this show.

[25:48] Everybody else seems to hate Suzaku, but we find him really interesting, especially in how he interacts with both Lelouch and Nunnally.

[35:14] Evan's not a huge fan of C.C. (pronounced "C-Two"), but Al and Kate are fascinated by her vague past and subtly revealed motives.

[44:01] Promo: Viga the Otagal Podcast

[44:33] A big argument ensues around our hosts' opinions about Princess Euphemia. Evan hates her "stupid pink hair" and the "accidental Geass" scene, while the Thieves think she's a particularly strong character.

[52:30] We discuss how much we love the ending of Code Geass, while reminding shippers and wishful thinkers of THE TRUTH about the ending. Shut up Cart-Driver-Theorists, we will hear none of your lies!

[1:03:10] Finally! Time to talk about the robot fi aw never mind, the fights suck in this show. It's not really about the robots. Also, we make fun of Kallen (a.k.a. Karen) and her badonkadonk for about five minutes.

[1:10:10] Uh-oh, now we're talking about Ashford Academy. Evan thinks it's a ridiculous waste of time, but Alain cites Shakespeare in defense of the comedy episodes.

[1:19:20] End of the show. The Reverse Thieves pimp their awesome blog and their new podcast, The Speakeasy. Follow us on Twitter (Ani-Gamers, Evan, Alain, Kate) and please leave us a review on iTunes.

[1:21:59] Ending Song: "WORLD END Instrumental" by FLOW (Code Geass R2 2nd OP)

[1:22:15] Enabled by the story of a futuristic robot revolution, Kate's trying to usurp Evan's host powers once again!

Medium: TV Anime (25 episodes)
Genres: Action, Mecha, Political, Science Fiction
Director: Goro Taniguchi
Studio: Sunrise
Original Run: Oct. 5, 2006 – Jul. 28, 2007 (MBS–Japan)
Release Date: Apr. 27, 2008 (Bandai Entertainment–N.America)
Rated: PG-13

Sunrise's 2006 anime series Code Geass, in addition to being about a revolution, happens to be a prime representation of a real-world revolution in anime fandom — namely, a merge of the demographics for shōjo and mecha anime. It's a revolution that has been in progress at least since the '90s, when Mobile Suit Gundam Wing provided male fans with explosive robot battles and female fans with attractive, possibly homosexual robot pilots. Sunrise (the studio behind the Gundam franchise) has once again brought these two aesthetics together in a show that combines the studio's experience with giant robots and the character designs of shōjo superstars CLAMP (Cardcaptor Sakura, Chobits, Tsubasa). The revolution is under way, for better or for worse.

Code Geass's melodramatic protagonist is Lelouch vi Britannia, a former prince of the Britannian Empire who escaped with his younger sister Nunnally after witnessing his mother's still-unsolved murder. The siblings now live a fake life as students in Area 11 (the conquered province formerly known as Japan) with childhood friend and Britannian soldier Suzaku Kururugi.

But Area 11 has some problems of its own, in particular a populace forced into Britannian rule and brutally discriminated against, causing a variety of fringe groups to crop up and oppose the occupying force. After an unfortunate run-in with one of these terrorist groups, Lelouch meets a strange, green-haired girl named C.C. who grants him the power of "Geass" — the ability to command the actions of anyone via eye contact. With his newfound power, the prince rises up under the masked persona of "Zero" and leads the revolution of Japan, with the intention of uncovering the truth of his mother's death and making a new world for his sister.

Indeed, that IS a mouthful! In reality, the story can be summed up in a simple comparison: Code Geass is what happens when you smash the original Mobile Suit Gundam together with Death Note. Zero is essentially Gundam's Char Aznable (a son of royalty who wears a mask to protect his identity) mixed with Death Note's Light Yagami (a teen gifted with a strange, highly manipulative power). All three shows also examine the idea of justice attained through a personal vendetta, and the consequences therein.

With such a strange combination of influences, Code Geass is one of those modern anime that can appeal to a broad range of fans. Girls can ogle CLAMP's tall, thin pretty-boys, while fans of the intricate plotting of Death Note will find more than enough to love. Unfortunately, mecha fans will find that, despite the number of robots in Code Geass, the show is not really about them. Kenji Teraoka's (Ghost in the Shell, Gundam 00) mechanical designs for the "Knightmare Frames" are certainly interesting, but their battles are often fought with overpowered one-hit-kill weapons or by no-name redshirts, so they lack the gravity and personal investment of most fights in the Gundam series.

Don't get fooled by the presence of robots, though. Like an anime version of 24, Code Geass is all about the twists and turns. The entire fate of Japan can hinge on the momentary impulse of its viceroy or a carefully thought out move by Zero, and that inevitable modification of the status quo is what makes the show so compelling. I found myself feverishly watching episode after episode, just to see what Lelouch would do next to extricate himself from situations in which failure is nearly guaranteed. Naturally, the constant stream of twists can get tiring, and lend the series a sizable air of absurdity, but they sure do manage to keep it interesting episode after episode.

Geass's art and animation are sharp, brightly colored, and stunningly clean, and the the robot fights — animated in CGI with cel-shading — are surprisingly well-integrated into the 2-D environments. Still, where the show really shines, technically, is in its depiction of CLAMP's character designs. Their distinctive aesthetic provides for some wacky hair colors and costumes, but Sunrise's more angular approach to the designs creates powerful depictions of emotion (usually anger) when the need arises. Lelouch and Suzaku in particular manage to look distinctive yet believable, a difficult feat in a show where two lead female characters have pink and green hair, respectively.

Of course, don't miss out on Bang Zoom!'s (EDIT: Animaze's) fantastic dub, which utilizes the series' Western cultural aesthetic to implement English dialogue that fits its context much better than the Japanese. The dub also happens to be quite sonically accurate to the Japanese, thanks in no small part to an appropriately dramatic performance by Johnny Yong Bosch as Lelouch and an irritatingly high-pitched, yet accurate, depiction of Princess Euphemia from Michelle Ruff.

When it comes down to it, the glue that holds the show together is the three-way relationship between Lelouch, Suzaku, and Nunnally. Lelouch's desire to create a new world for his sister puts him in direct conflict with his childhood friend (albeit anonymously), and since both of them care deeply for Nunnally, this secret war between friends creates some truly affective melodrama. Lelouch is the main character, but his haughtiness and willingness to sacrifice almost anyone for his goals make him a villain, making Suzaku a hero and mucking up the show's moral thermometer. Such bold moves on the part of series writer Ichiro Okouchi (RahXephon, Stellvia, Turn A Gundam) are commendable despite many of Geass's other failings.

Through all of the rebellions and back-door dealings, Code Geass is ultimately a show that see-saws between bursts of genuine quality and entire episodes of unbelievable silliness (i.e. every comedic episode that takes place at Lelouch's school). At its best, it is a dark moral and political drama that emphasizes the consequences of war and asks if and when good ends can justify evil means. At its worst, it is a dumb sitcom about a superhero and super-villain who happen to go to school together.

Available now on Bandai Entertainment's YouTube channel, the first season of Code Geass is an enjoyable ride overall, despite quite a few frustrating bumps along the way. Fans of fast-paced political dramas who enjoy some interesting moral questions in their anime should find much to love here, though the occasionally inane plot twists and weak mecha tie-in might set a few people off.

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This review is based on Bandai Entertainment's YouTube stream of the series.



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According to today's press release from Bandai Entertainment, the hit television anime series Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion is now streaming on website CrunchyRoll, the quickly-growing provider of online, streaming video anime distribution.

For those unaware, CrunchyRoll began its life in 2006 as a provider of primarily Asian user-submitted videos. When questions of copyright infringement started to come up regarding the high number of fansubbed (and even licensed) titles on the service, Bandai Entertainment expressed particular concern with the popular website. After the introduction of licensed titles on the video service, CrunchyRoll made it an official policy that users would no longer be able to submit video content.

Bandai has been slow on the draw in terms of digital distribution of their (typically very popular) titles, but announced in February their plans to stream some of their anime titles – including Code Geass – on YouTube. The move to CrunchyRoll represents a natural transition for the fan favorite anime, and can only signal Bandai's willingness to stream even more shows on the service in the future. Is that, perchance, the smell of Haruhi season two in the air, my friends?

[via Anime News Network]

Our third and final Top 3 list is for anime. This section has slightly stricter rules than the other two Top 3 lists (manga and video games). To be eligible for this list, a title had to have begun its legal release in North America during the 2008 calendar year. Yep, that means no fansubs.

You might notice that a certain American anime company has a rather large share of our votes. We swear that we haven't sold out. Seriously. We chose these titles because this company made some great licensing decisions this year. These are shows that have touched people's hearts, spawned countless cosplays, and for the lesser-known among them, sparked some real intellectual thought over their deeper meaning. In a year that saw the anime industry nearly collapse and miraculously rebuild itself, in a year that saw both the fall of ADV and the rise of legal anime streaming, these shows are examples of how anime is still going strong. If you need a reason to support the American anime industry, look no futher than the following three anime.

A special thanks goes out to Yumeka, who provided some much needed tie-breaker votes to solidify this list.

Below, our choices for the best anime of 2008. The writeup for each winner has the author's nickname next to it. [Vampt Vo], for example.

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Third Place ••• The Girl Who Leapt Through Time Directed by: Mamoru Hosoda Animated by: Madhouse Distributed by: Bandai Entertainment Mamoru Hosoda, whose only major directorial achievement until now was two Digimon movies, hit one out of the park in this feature film based on a novel by Yasutaka Tsutsui (Paprika). The story of the high school girl Makoto – who has just discovered an ability to "leap" through time – quickly changes from a light-hearted attempt to improve her day to a frantic struggle to retain everything she loves in life. The film is funny, down-to-earth, and very subtle at times. Animated beautifully by studio Madhouse, featuring character designs by Evangelion designer Yoshiyuki Sadamoto, and sporting a unique directorial style from Hosoda, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time is a beautiful, poignant film, and an experience that no anime fan should miss this year. [Vampt Vo]

Second Place ••• Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion Directed by: Goro Taniguchi Animated by: Sunrise Distributed by: Bandai Entertainment Anime is used to genre-bending, and Code Geass was 2008's American televised blending masterpiece. Loaded with mysterious characters, outrageous mecha designs and gripping political pathos, the Faustian epic of Lelouche VI Brittania's descent behind the mask of Zero took most of us by surprise. School life, mecha, super-powers – all of them come together in a show able to create intense suspense anywhere, from a single pawn on a chessboard to an international guerrilla free-for-all. Featuring CLAMP's character designs and Taniguchi's melodramatic direction, this colorful masterpiece NEVER loses sight of the key struggle: Lelouche's ambition to create a peaceful world. With cosplay options, sprinklings of fan-service and pretty boys galore, Code Geass earned its place as one of the best new anime of 2008. [Uncle Yo]

First Place ••• Gurren Lagann Directed by: Hiroyuki Imaishi Animated by: Gainax Distributed by: Bandai Entertainment Wait, there's a giant robot anime with a well-crafted, meaningful story? Studio Gainax (Evangelion, FLCL) has answered with a resounding yes. With some of the most lovable characters ever created, Gurren Lagann is simply fantastic, whether you're into the robots-kicking-the-crap-out-of-other-robots genre or not. It kicks off with a kickass escape, quickly turns to heartbreak, and only gets better before it peaks with mechs chucking galaxies at each others' faces. What more do you need out of a cartoon? [MitchyD]

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Personal Choices
(The top anime choice from each of our staff members that voted)

• Karl "Uncle Yo" Custer: Tekkon Kinkreet (Studio 4°C)
• Mitchell "MitchyD" Dyer: Gurren Lagann (Gainax)
• "Ink": Welcome to the NHK (Gonzo)
• Maxwell "Pigeonflu" McGee: Gurren Lagann (Gainax)
• Evan "Vampt Vo" Minto: The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (Madhouse)
• "Yumeka": Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion (Sunrise)

Code Geass, the popular Sunrise anime featuring character designs by CLAMP, is finally making its way to America. Under the licensing of Bandai Entertainment (dubbed trailer above), Code Geass will premiere on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim block this April, on a currently unannounced date. I sadly missed out on Code Geass when it was fansubbed, so I'll definitely try to catch it on Adult Swim. Anyone here a fan of the show?

[via ICv2]