Code Geass: An Analysis of Perception in Conflict
The following blogpost contains spoilers for the first series entry into the Code Geass franchise: Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion
I was pleasantly surprised by this animé. I didn't really know what to think when I was eased into the plot and setting of hyper-imperialism, empire and mech-suits.
I found the early days exceptionally cheesy and outdated - even for 2006. The concept of an alternate history of a "Britannian Empire" laying siege to Japan and reducing it to a number just too ridiculous. The way they presented it was so over-the-top that I found it hard to get on board with the idea but it must be said that after the first five episodes, it was toned down ostensibly. Whilst I still think that it's preposterous that an all-consuming country would rename a nation to "Area" and then a number, you do buy into the segregation and racism at play. I was also unconvinced by the inclusion of mechs either but in barely any time at all, it ignited the inner twelve-year-old in me which is what animé is supposed to do.
"...I fell in love with the 'political thriller'"
I've always been shut off to anything like West Wing or Crown or House of Cards or any art that incorporated the drama behind political action. I find any warm film to be a complete snoozefest. However, Code Geass incorporates a lot of thrilling action sequences that have you gripped and what I appreciated about them all is how utterly calculated they were. The drama in the conflict was airtight but surprising and unpredictable. There always something special about each and every moment with a wildcard thrown in for good measure.
I slowly came to the stark realization that I had fell in love with the political thriller. I was tapping into the chess moves of it all, which was worrying because I often find my eyes rolling all the way into the back of my head when writers use chess as an analogy for intelligence.
Fatalism and Destination
However, I enjoyed the use of coincidence and luck being more on the side of Lelouch Lamperouge rather than just quick witted intuition. I believe it to be no mistake that beyond the halfway point in the show, Lelouch is relying on luck and random chance in the form of the unpredictable C.C and the over-performing Suzaku. The idea of fate is present as well to underline that there are some things in conflict that are just unavoidable quirks and flips of coins. Obviously, the idea of destination is nothing new in the animé medium as the word destiny is thrown about in fantasy and in science fiction to the point of which it no longer means anything - just the end of the road.
In Code Geass, the word could not be more appropriate but it is rarely mentioned. Rather, words like "will" and "fate" are used to underline Lelouch's compelling transformation and character development to suggest that it isn't actually in his hands at all. Even though the ability labelled "Geass" is the driving force behind everything in the show and Lelouch's success, it is incredibly ill-defined by design. Up until a point, we are sure "Geass" is just Lelouch's ability to persuade people to do anything they wanted on one singular occasion but it's then revealed that another Geass user can read minds - and that he can't switch it off. C.C describes it as "his" Geass. So really, a Geass could be anything at all if you define it as "some kind of mind-reading thing".
This is interesting to me because of the underlying theme of perception.
"The Extraordinary Moment"
It is easy to draw this idea of perception within a conflict just simply through Lelouch's power needing eye-contact as well as Nunnally being totally blind to the world. However, if you look even closer, you can see that the theme of perception is everywhere. Suzaku, throughout the entirety of the series, point-blank refuses to see any other point of view. Whilst he was not necessarily totally sycophantic, he is the opposite to Lelouch in more ways than just the design aspect. Suzaku is the convinced whilst Lelouch is the convincer. He does the will of others not because the royal family have Geass powers but because that's his purpose. Zero and Kururugi are two minus magnets constantly pressing each other - they are unable to empathize with the others situation.
It's also important to note that Suzaku's identity as a soldier is fully public and Lelouch's identity as Zero is private until the very end. The two sides are unable to properly see each other with more ways than just their eyes. Especially in the moment late on in the series where Lelouch loses control of his Geass and accidentally gets a member of the royal family to commit genocide on national television. There's no way anyone could possibly concieve that moment to be Zero's fault and - likewise - there is no way Suzaku could possibly blame Euphemia for her actions. I feel that at that moment that the theme of hypocrisy of the perception in conflict was solidified.
Anyway, I don't know where I'm going with this. I've written all this stuff and realized that I haven't really commented on anything in the show. The problem is that the show is borderline perfect. The only couple of issues I have with Code Geass is that at times, they did go slightly overboard at the end of the show. As a personal aside, I'm not entirely in with the whole cliché of ancient evils beneath the Earth on some mysterious tropical island and I am slightly worried about it becoming a big thing in the next series.
It's definitely an interesting first series. I loved the slow world building, the action, the intrigue of the characters. I thoroughly enjoyed Lelouch living on a constant edge of letting his operation slip through his fingers. I always raise eyebrows at the trope of hyper-intelligent protagonists who just have an answer for everything. Lelouch doesn't have an answer every single time. He's real, logical and sensible. You cannot help but be compelled by everything that he does and says. Code Geass asks that you pay attention to absolutely everything because anything important could happen at any time.
I feel like I've said that before about animé but Geass is intelligent in the way that it approaches it's storytelling because every single moment is of the utmost importance. I wish I was perhaps more freshly academic that I could comment on the show more cohesively.
Quite simply, this show is too good for me. I don't really deserve it. I said I would write about it and I only have by definition. I've just finally gotten around to finishing an animé whilst I've been working on a big project. It's a shame that it is pretty much faultless outside of some personal gripes. I massively appreciated all the effort that was put into this original idea from the music to backgrounds to the many character designs. I loved how ambitious the series was in executed what it wanted to achieve and it actually did achieve their ambitions. From a creative perspective, it was apparent that the creative force got what they wanted no matter the cost.
I would say that I implore you to watch it - like I always do with things that I like - but you probably have watched it by now because it is old as pants. I'll definitely watch the second series but as you've discovered, writing about it is trickier than I thought. Sorry that I did not do it justice.
My Rating: ****3/4 (4.75 Stars) MAL Rating: 9/10 - Faultless.
