Code Geass

Setting The world is divided into three superpowers (similar to the world of Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell): the Holy Britannian Empire (the Americas; also called Britannia), the Chinese Federation (Asia), and the Europa United (Europe and Africa). The story takes place after the Holy Britannian Empire's conquest of Japan on August 10, 2010, a.t.b., by means of Britannia's newest weapon, the "Autonomous Armored Knight," or "Knightmare Frame." In turn, Britannia effectively strips Japan and its citizens of all rights and freedoms and renames the country Area 11, with its citizens referred to as Elevens. The point of divergence for this timeline appears to be that during the reign of Elizabeth I, though the queen remained unmarried and bore a son (the fictional ancestor of the Britannian Emperors, Henry IX). However, several alternative timelines exist in the Code Geass universe, and the point of divergence may differ between each. The most common point of divergence in all timelines is in the Code Geass universe, with Julius Caesar's invasions of Britain between 55 and 54 BC ending in failure when the British Celts united under Alwin the First. They forced the Romans out and established the First United British Kingdom in 54 BC, which became the first year of the Britannian Calendar (1 a.t.b, first year of Ascension Throne Britannia, with 55 BC as 1 b.t.b., the first year Before Throne Britannia). While other Roman invasions had been followed, by 43 a.t.b.(12 BC) Britannia was recognized as an independent kingdom by the Roman Empire. As such, while many events in the Code Geass universe share similar dates with actual history, in truth they take place about half a century earlier (as with the French Revolution of 1789 a.t.b., or 1734 AD). Almost all timelines share a version of the Geass Order/Cult/Directorate, an organization that controls and uses Geass users and abilities and which is heavily involved with the Britannian Imperial Family. Plot Lelouch vi Britannia is an exiled Britannian prince, the son of Emperor Charles zi Britannia and his royal consort Marianne vi Britannia. Lelouch has a younger sister, Nunnally vi Britannia. Marianne was brutally murdered in the palace, and Nunnally, who witnessed the murder of their mother, was so traumatized that she lost her sight, and stray bullets to her lower body took away her ability to walk. Lelouch is furious with his father, believing he failed his mother and sister by turning a blind eye to their mother's death and failing to pursue their mother's killer. Lelouch and Nunnally are sent as political pawns to Japan to lull the Japanese government into a false sense of security. After the siblings are sent to Japan, Japan is attacked and defeated by Britannia. With the ruins of Japan as a background, Lelouch vows to his Japanese friend Suzaku Kururugi that he will one day obliterate Britannia as an act of vengeance against his father. Seven years later, Lelouch, now under the alias of Lelouch Lamperouge, is a popular yet withdrawn student at Ashford Academy. Lelouch becomes involved in a terrorist attack and finds a mysterious girl known only as C.C. (C2), who saves Lelouch's life from the Britannian Royal Guard by making a contract with him and granting Lelouch a power known as . This power, also known as the , allows him to command anyone to do whatever he wants, including bending their will to live, fight, or die for him. This power can affect an individual just once and only through direct eye contact. Lelouch decides to use his Geass to find his mother's murderers, destroy the Britannian Empire, and create a better world where Nunnally can live happily. In the process, Lelouch becomes Zero, a masked vigilante and the leader of the resistance group known as the Black Knights in the rebellion against Britannia's tyranny, gaining popularity and support among much of the Japanese. However, this comes with a great cost; caught up in a conflict where he does not know the full extent of his powers, Lelouch navigates various conflicts with Suzaku, a resistance member named Kallen Stadtfeld, the incredibly powerful Britannian army (the strongest in the world), his own half-siblings, and many others in a battle that will forever change the world. == Production ==

Code Geass began as a concept developed at Sunrise by Ichirō Ōkouchi and Gorō Taniguchi, who proposed it to producer Yoshitaka Kawaguchi. Kawaguchi had previously approached Okouchi and Taniguchi during the production of Planetes. The basic idea for the plot consisted of a "hero" who led a secret organization, which later developed into a conflict between two characters with different values and who belonged to the same military unit, who eventually became Lelouch Lamperouge and Suzaku Kururugi. Clamp signed onto the project early during these development stages and provided numerous ideas, which helped develop the series' setting and characters. When the series was being developed for broadcast on MBS TV, it had been given the network's Sunday evening prime time slot, which was later changed to a Thursday late-night time slot. Due to this change, the overall outlook and some elements of the series were changed and further developed to suit the more mature, late-night audience. The supernatural "Geass" ability finally came into the show at this point and was first conceived as a special power granted by an "angel" to the main character, though this last part was also modified. == Media ==

Anime Code Geass officially premiered on the Mainichi Broadcasting System (MBS) television station on October 5, 2006 (01:25 JST on October 6, 2006). Its satellite television premiere across Japan was on November 7, 2006 on Animax. Upon the airing of the first 23 episodes, the series went on hiatus on March 29, 2007, and completed the broadcast of the first series with a contiguous one-hour broadcast of episodes 24 and 25 on Saturday, July 28, 2007. Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion was widely popular in Japan, and it was followed with the development of its sequel, , which was first announced in the March 2007 issue of Newtype and later confirmed by Sunrise producer Yoshitaka Kawaguchi on the series' official staff blog on March 9, 2007. Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion R2 premiered on all Japan News Network (JNN) member stations (like MBS and TBS) on April 6, 2008, in the primetime anime timeslot, with the timeslot changing from 18:00 JST on Saturdays to 17:00 JST on Sundays. Prior to the series' television broadcast, three private preview screenings of episode 1 were held on March 15 and March 16 in Osaka and Tokyo respectively, which was attended by the series' Japanese voice actors as well as a pool of 3,800 randomly selected applicants. On April 15, 2008, at 17:00 JST, the last 6 minutes of the then unaired third episode was accidentally posted onto the Internet due to an error by Bandai Channel, Bandai's online broadcast channel and online distributor, in the midst of testing a system preventing illegal online uploads. The drama film was based on a live event held in Tokyo, Japan, on Lelouch's birthday. An original video animation (OVA) anime release titled was announced and revealed through the anime's official website. Takahiro Kimura did the character designs for the series. Makoto Baba was assigned as the director of the OVA, while episode scriptwriter Yuuichi Nomura and composer Kotaro Nakagawa returned for the project. In the story, Lelouch makes the ultimate use of his Geass for his sister Nunnally, who loves Alice in Wonderland. The Blu-ray edition was released by Bandai Visual on July 27, 2012, with English subtitles and bundled with a 40-page picture book. Akito the Exiled A new Code Geass series was first revealed on December 5, 2009. In April 2010, it was officially revealed that a new Code Geass side story anime called would be directed by Kazuki Akane (The Vision of Escaflowne). The side story is an OVA series set in Europe during the Britannian invasion of the continent between Lelouch of the Rebellions two seasons. Originally intended to be released in four chapters, production of a fifth Akito the Exiled episode was announced after the Japanese debut of the third entry on May 2, 2015. Along with the two seasons of the television series, the OVAs are licensed by Funimation. In January 2016, Manga Entertainment, which licensed the series in the UK, listed that they would release the first two episodes on Blu-ray with an English dub on December 5, 2016. They later changed the date to April 10, 2017, but the date was once again pushed back to October 1, 2017. Madman Entertainment has also released the first three episodes on DVD. Funimation announced it would release the series in early 2017. On March 15, 2017, Funimation officially announced a pre-order and release date of June 27, 2017. It was released as a Blu-ray and DVD combo pack with both subbed and dubbed audio. The OVAs have been released in only Japan and Italy. Films A three-part theatrical compilation anime film of the TV series was released, with the first film titled released on October 21, 2017. The second film titled was released on February 10, 2018. The film placed 8th in the mini-theater ranking on its opening weekend. The third compilation film, titled , was released in theaters on May 26, 2018. Each film recounts the events of the two seasons of the animated series and the third film concluding the series and the movie's storyline. movie was announced on November 27, 2016. It was released in theaters in Japan on February 9, 2019. and is a sequel to the "Zero Requiem" arc of that continuity. A new anime titled Code Geass: Z of the Recapture was announced on December 5, 2020, Lelouch's birthday. The new anime project is part of a new 10-year plan for the franchise by Studio Sunrise, with Yoshimitsu Ohashi is directing the anime, Noboru Kimura writing the scripts, and Takahiro Kimura returning to design the characters. It was later announced to be a four-part film series titled Code Geass: Rozé of the Recapture, with the first part releasing in Japanese theatres on May 10, 2024, the second releasing on June 7, the third releasing on July 5, and the fourth releasing on August 2. The film series was also streamed worldwide on Disney+ streaming service's Hulu and Star content hub in a 12-episode series format. In celebration of the new anime, the Code Geass Lelouch of the Re;surrection movie was re-released in 4D in Japanese theaters on January 29, 2021. International licensing Both seasons of Code Geass have been licensed for release in the United States by Bandai Entertainment, and the first season began airing on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim programming block in the U.S. on April 27, 2008; the second began airing on November 2, immediately following the first season. The series finale premiered on June 7, 2009, ending the second season and the rest of the story. On April 23, 2010, Adult Swim's broadcast rights to the series expired. Following the closure of Bandai Entertainment in 2012, Sunrise announced at their official panel during Otakon 2013 that Funimation had licensed both seasons of Code Geass and, in addition, licensed Akito the Exiled, along with a handful of other former Bandai Entertainment titles. In Australia and New Zealand, the series is sub-licensed to Madman Entertainment by Bandai Entertainment USA and began airing on Australian channel ABC2 on January 19, 2009. As of 2018, it is available on Australian Netflix. In the Philippines, the first season of Code Geass premiered on November 10, 2008, weekday nights at 7:30 p.m. PST, and ended on December 15, 2008, through TV5, while season 2 premiered on May 4, 2009, and ended on June 5, 2009, weekday nights at 6:00 p.m. PST, with a weekend afternoon recap of the week's episodes also on TV5. Despite the poor ratings it attained due to competition with local TV newscasts and prime-time soap operas, the series was able to attain a huge following and became one of the most talked-about anime series in the country during its run. Code Geass had its Philippine cable premiere on July 27, 2010 through Hero TV. In Italy, the first season aired from September 23, 2009, to February 25, 2010 on Rai 4, while season 2 was broadcast on Rai 4 from March 4, 2010 to August 12, 2010; both seasons were broadcast at about 11:10 p.m.. Sunrise announced at its official panel at Anime Boston 2018 that Funimation had licensed the recap film trilogy. Funimation announced that they had licensed the Code Geass Lelouch of the Re;surrection film for its North American theatrical release in May 2019. Manga Kadokawa Shoten has published four separate manga adaptations, each containing an alternate storyline. The first four manga series have been licensed for an English-language release in North America by Bandai Entertainment. The first, Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion, by Majiko~! and originally serialized in Monthly Asuka, focused on the protagonist of the series, Lelouch Lamperouge, with few differences from the anime's basic storyline. The most noticeable difference from the anime version is the absence of the Knightmare frames. Its chapters were collected in eight volumes released from December 26, 2008, to March 26, 2010. Bandai's English adaptation of the series was published from July 29, 2008, to February 15, 2011. The second manga is . It was written by Atsuro Yomino and serialized in Beans A magazine. It focuses on the character Suzaku Kururugi in an alternate reality, where he fights against the criminal organization known as the Black Knights. While initially bearing a strong resemblance to its source, the manga is a tokusatsu show where the Lancelot mecha is now a bodysuit that Suzaku wears (the suit makes a cameo appearance as a costume in the 21st episode of the first season of the anime); further, the characters of Cecile Croomy and Euphemia li Britannia are composited as Mariel Lubie. It was released in two volumes on June 26, 2007 and September 26, 2008. The first English volume was released on January 6, 2009, and the second followed it on October 13, 2009. , serialized in Comp Ace and written by Tomomasa Takuma, focuses on Lelouch's sister, Nunnally Lamperouge, who goes into searching for her missing brother when her health is restored by an entity named Nemo. to April 25, 2009. The English volumes were published from June 9, 2009, to March 23, 2010. A fourth manga adaptation, , was serialized in Kerokero Ace. Set in an alternate 1853, Lelouch is the commander of the Shogunate's military counterinsurgence brigade known as the Shinsengumi, which fights the Black Revolutionaries, a rebel group led by a masked individual known as Rei. It was released in a single volume on October 25, 2010, while the English version was published on May 10, 2011. In late 2009, Bandai announced a new project greenlit for 2010. A manga, titled , was the first product announced. The story takes place in the same official Code Geass history as the anime, but in a different era, with the anime director Goro Taniguchi scripting the story. The title character, Renya, is a 17-year-old boy who encounters a mysterious, perpetually young witch named "Reifū C.C." who has appeared in Japan's historical Edo era to seek a new partner for a covenant. It began publication in the May 2010 issue of Shōnen Ace. Bandai Entertainment announced that it will publish the manga in English, as with the other adaptations. On January 2, 2012, as a part of Bandai Entertainment's announced restructuring, they have since, among other titles, revoked publishing of Code Geass: Renya of Darkness for English release. Audio CDs The series has been adapted into a series of drama CDs called Sound Episodes, the first of which was released in Japan in April 2007 by Victor Entertainment, with new volumes released monthly. Written by many of the same writers as the series, these episodes are set between episodes and feature theme songs performed by the series voice actors. They have also been available online on a limited streaming basis on the Japanese internet website Biglobe. In total, twelve drama CDs have been released. The first six, released between April 25, 2007 and September 27, 2007, cover the first season of the series, with the other six focusing on the second season. Soundtrack The music for the series, which is composed by Kōtarō Nakagawa and Hitomi Kuroishi, has been released across two original soundtracks, which are produced by Yoshimoto Ishikawa and released by Victor Entertainment. The first was released in Japan on December 20, 2006, and the second was released on March 24, 2007. All five volumes in the first series of novels have been released in English by Bandai Visual. The first novel acts as a prologue, focusing on how Lelouch befriended Suzaku Kururugi when the former prince and his sister, Nunnally Lamperouge, were sent to Japan as political hostages. The second novel series, Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion R2, covers the second season of the anime series, in which Lelouch continues his battle against the Britannian Empire. It was released in four volumes from June 1, 2008, to March 1, 2009. A single-volume side story novel, , was released on April 1, 2008, in Japan. It focuses on the life of teenager Kallen Stadtfeld, who becomes a soldier for the organization the Black Knights under Lelouch's leadership to defeat Britannia. On January 3, 2012, the English publication of the light novel adaptation of R2 was cancelled as part of Bandai Entertainment's planned restructuring, which had been announced the day before. Video games The series was also slated to be adapted into a series of video games, developed for the Nintendo DS, PlayStation Portable, and PlayStation 2 platforms, and published by Namco Bandai Games. A release on the Wii platform was cancelled for unknown reasons. A second game, titled Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion Lost Colors, was developed for the PlayStation Portable and PlayStation 2 and released in Japan on March 27, 2008. It is a visual novel game that follows a new protagonist named , who suffers from amnesia. He has a Geass ability similar to Lelouch's but activated by voice. The third game for the Nintendo DS, titled Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion R2 – Geass Theater on the Board, was released on August 7, 2008. It is a collection of minigames featuring chibi forms of the characters. The player moves along a board through dice rolls, landing on different spots to activate minigames. The minigames are parody-style events with multiple genres. Code Geass R2 appeared in From Software (''Demon's Souls, Armored Core'') and Banpresto's PlayStation 3 exclusive mecha action game ''Another Century's Episode R'', released in Japan in August 2010 and in which both versions of Suzaku's Lancelot, Lelouch's Shinkiro, both versions of Kallen's Guren, and C.C.'s Akatsuki are playable. A fourth installment of the ACE franchise for the PlayStation Portable, Another Century's Episode Portable, included Suzaku's Lancelot Albion and Lelouch/Zero's Shinkiro. Code Geass characters have appeared as costumes in the Japanese version of the PlayStation 3 game Tales of Graces F. These characters are Zero, Suzaku, C.C., and Kallen. These costumes were never released in the US version for unknown reasons. It was discontinued for download on September 27, 2019. On December 5, 2020, a mobile game called Code Geass: Genesic Re;CODE was announced as part of the 10-year plan by Studio Sunrise. Considered a direct sequel, the smartphone game featured stories about the Code Geass characters, including several new ones. It was released on October 4, 2021. The game's server terminated in April 2023. Code Geass: Lost Stories is a mobile game developed by f4samurai and DMM Games. It is a social game for smart phones and PCs, which launched in May 2022. Artbooks Two artbooks featuring illustrations of the series, Code Geass Graphics Zero () and Code Geass Graphics Ashford (), have been published in Japan. Coinciding with the release of the second season of Code Geass was the publication of another artbook, Code Geass – Lelouch of the Rebellion illustrations Rebels (), which featured 134 art pieces from the first season. Another 95-page artbook titled Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion – The Complete Artbook () has also been published. Finally, CLAMP, the well-known manga artist team that did the designs for Code Geass, put out their own artbook, entitled Code Geass x CLAMP: Mutuality. Internet radio broadcasts "Code Geass" has also been adapted into a series of weekly internet radio broadcasts, which were streamed online on the BEAT☆Net Radio! portal, the first of which, , began streaming on October 6, 2006. It featured Sayaka Ohara (the voice actor of Milly Ashford) and Satomi Arai (the voice actor of Sayoko Shinazaki). The second, , was first streamed on December 12, 2006, and was hosted by Jun Fukuyama (the voice actor of Lelouch) and Noriaki Sugiyama (the voice actor of Rivalz). During R2, a new show named was streamed, hosted by Fukuyama and Takahiro Sakurai (voice actor of Suzaku). == Reception ==

Critical response Code Geass was met with critical acclaim and commercial success. Anime News Network (ANN) columnist Todd Ciolek attributed the popularity of Code Geass to "the series hitting every important fan sector," including a "complex cast of characters and a fast-paced story, told with Goro Taniguchi's capable direction" for "general-interest fans" to "pretty and just-a-little-broken heroes" for "yaoi-buying female fans." ANN's Carl Kimlinger also found that the series "has the skill and energy to carry viewers over the top with it, where they can spend a pleasurable few hours reveling in its melodramatic charms." He also adds that Taniguchi "executes the excesses of his series with care, skillfully intercutting events as Lelouch's plans come together (or fall apart) and using kinetic mecha combat." T.H.E.M. Anime Reviews reviewer Dallas Marshall gave the series 6 out of 7 stars, stating that it was, "a melodramatic piece of science fiction that has more than enough going for it in terms of action and visuals but tends to go overboard with its emotionalism. If this minor flaw can be overlooked, there is an epic story to be told with a rather intriguing main character at the helm. Take away one star if that minor 'flaw' cannot be ignored." A less favorable review was given by Carlo Santos of ANN, who gave it an overall "C" and wrote that the franchise "in a way, [...] reflects the malaise of a generation: the realization that old, rich, powerful people have screwed up the world and that the young are helpless to do anything about it." According to him, Lelouch's actions exemplify the wish to see problems like "economic collapse, class conflict, political instability, and radical extremism" solved by "Zero's vigilante methods," but Santos expressed doubt in such an approach and concluded that "the series is at its best when raising questions rather than offering a final solution" (the review focused on the manga adaptation of the story, which has certain differences compared with the original anime). Code Geass' entry in The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction notes that the original show was commercially and critically successful, both in Japan and internationally. According to SFE, the show is widely regarded as one of the major science-fictional anime productions of the twenty-first century's first decade, notable for bringing the themes of Imperialism, collaborative guilt, and the ethics of political violence – familiar from earlier Sunrise mecha series such as the Mobile Suit Gundam franchise – to bear within an unusually intricate and psychologically oriented narrative framework, while adding a dash of supernatural in the vein of Neon Gensis Evangelion, but with more mature characters. However, the entry also notes that the post-resurrection franchise output has received a mixed critical reception, calling it "mediocre popcorn entertainment", while also stressing that the sequels do not diminish the original that precedes them. Home video sales By August 2008, over 900,000 Code Geass discs had been sold in Japan. Reportedly, Bandai Visual shipped over one million DVD and Blu-ray discs of the Code Geass franchise by November 2008, placing it among the most popular contemporary anime series in both Japan and North America. In 2008, the first volume of R2 was the fourth-bestselling anime DVD and Blu-ray disc in Japan, according to Amazon.com. Box office Episodes 1, 3, and 5 of Akito the Exiled were screened theatrically in Japan between 2012 and 2016, with episode 1 grossing ¥35,112,097 () in 2012 and episodes 3 and 5 grossing ¥216,957,460 () during 20152016. Combined, the three episodes grossed ¥252,069,557 () at the Japanese box office. During 2017–2018, Code Geass launched three theatrical recap movies in Japan (October 21, February 10, and May 26, respectively), across 79 theaters. The first part, The Awakening Path, grossed ¥67,954,086.40 opening night, rising to number #8 on the charts. The Rebellion Path grossed ¥57,241,203.20 during its opening premiere, ranking #7 on the charts. The Imperial Path grossed ¥67,864,834,800 on its opening day and debuted at #8 on the charts. The film trilogy grossed a total of ¥647,802,700 in Japan. The second season also won the award for "Best Screenplay" at the 2009 Tokyo Anime Fair. In noted Japanese anime magazine Animages 29th Annual Anime Grand Prix, Code Geass won the most popular series award, with Lelouch Lamperouge also being chosen as the most popular male character and "Colors" being chosen as the most popular song. At the 30th Annual Anime Grand Prix, Lelouch won first place again, and C.C. was voted the most popular female character. At the first Seiyu Awards held in 2007, Jun Fukuyama won the award for best voice actor in a leading role for his performance as Lelouch Lamperouge in the series, while Ami Koshimizu won the award for best voice actress in a supporting role for her performance as Kallen Stadtfeld. Furthermore, Code Geass won the award for Best TV Animation at the twelfth Animation Kobe event, held annually in Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture, with R2 taking the award the following year. In the 2009 Seiun Award, Code Geass R2 was a nominee in the category of "Best Media Award." == Notes ==