Watashi wa Anime ga daisukidesu-Code Geass

Yeah it's a R2 image, but to me they're just two seasons of one show.

         So guys, thanks to the ever awesome Arkada I found this cool site called MyAnimeList.net I really enjoy it and put up all the anime I could think of. So, when doing so, I initially gave Code Geass (Original and R2, for this blog post they're the same thing) a 7, or Good. Because that's pretty much how I feel about it, it's good. But when I looked at it again and thought, I realized I was being a bit of a Negative Nancy, and switched to an 8. Let me start this by saying, yes, I think it's Very Good, but I have problems that keep it from being higher.

         For the eleven or so people on the internet who don't know, Code Geass is an anime about an alternate present where Britannia is still a thing, and has conquered a large chunk of the world. The main characters are Britanians living in Japan, and it deals with the revolution boiling against the Empire, with a touch of supernatural fun as well. Really the show is a mix between Death Note (The political and scheming aspects), Azumanga Daioh (The High School shenanigans) and a mech show. (Britannia uses mecha. And no, I don't have an example of a mech anime because it's not my thing.) My favorite thing about Code Geass is how it did something better than Death Note. DN is supposed to be both a intellectual and moral battle, but I never saw any side the it besides the intellectual one. Light is clearly in the wrong here, and L for all his faults is the hero. CG has one morally gray intelligent protagonist who seems to have a better idea, and one misguided and naive average-smarts protagonist. Not only that, but the friendship between them is played really well, and it really hit me in the heart.

        So after all that praise, why do I feel like the rain on everybody's parade? Well, first off most of the High School plot seemed really out of place, and I'm glad it was excised in the second season. It also peaved me that Lelouch, a freaking genius, could have made things infinitely easier at many points by revealing at least part of the truth to certain people. But no, he gets confronted and shuts up, making him seem worse than he really is. I have a friend who tells me it's part of his character, but to me that's like saying that part of a character is that despite being super-intelligent, he can't fix a hole that keeps appearing in his plans over and over despite them being his greatest problem. It's lazy writing. But the worst part has to be C.C. She should be the image for the Plot Tumor trope. Who could easily cut her out of the entire story, and I wouldn't notice. All the things that she did could easily be done by other people, and she could have just stayed dead in episode one. Still, despite these problems I have, the show is still Very Good, and I would recommend it to many. It's just begging for a Fan Edit though. Maybe one that ends at episode 22...