Code Geass

Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion
Image from the opening theme sequence
コードギアス 反逆のルルーシュ (Kōdo Giasu: Hangyaku no Rurūshu)
Genre	Drama, Mecha, Alternate history
TV anime
Director	Gorō Taniguchi
Writer	Ichirō Ōkouchi
Studio	Sunrise
Licensor	Bandai Visual Bandai Entertainment Madman Entertainment
Network	MBS, TBS, Animax
Other networks: Cartoon Network (Adult Swim) TV5
Original run	October 5, 2006 – July 28, 2007
Episodes	25
TV anime: Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion R2
Director	Gorō Taniguchi
Writer	Ichirō Ōkouchi
Studio	Sunrise
Licensor	Bandai Visual Bandai Entertainment Madman Entertainment
Network	MBS, TBS, Animax
Other networks: Cartoon Network (Adult Swim)
Original run	April 6, 2008 – September 28, 2008
Episodes	25
Manga
Author	Gorō Taniguchi Ichirō Ōkouchi
Illustrator	Majiko!
Publisher	Kadokawa Shoten
English publisher	Bandai Entertainment
Demographic	Shōnen, Shōjo
Magazine	Monthly Asuka
Volumes	5
Manga: Code Geass: Suzaku of the Counterattack
Author	Gorō Taniguchi Ichirō Ōkouchi
Illustrator	Atsuro Yomino
Publisher	Kadokawa Shoten
English publisher	Bandai Entertainment
Demographic	Shōnen
Magazine	Beans Ace
Volumes	2
Manga: Code Geass: Nightmare of Nunnally
Author	Gorō Taniguchi Ichirō Ōkouchi
Illustrator	Takuma Tomomasa
Publisher	Comptiq
English publisher	Bandai Entertainment
Demographic	Shōnen
Magazine	Comp Ace
Volumes	5
Manga: A Record of the Strange Tales of the Bakumatsu Era: Code Geass
Author	Gorō Taniguchi Ichirō Ōkouchi
Publisher	Kadokawa Shoten
Demographic	Shōnen
Magazine	Kerokero Ace
Volumes	1
Game: Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion Lost Colors
Genre	Visual novel
Platform	PlayStation 2 PlayStation Portable
Released	March 27, 2008
Light novel: Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion
Author	Gorō Taniguchi Ichirō Ōkouchi
Publisher	Kadokawa Shoten
English publisher	Bandai Visual
Demographic	Male
Magazine	The Sneaker
Published	April 28, 2007 – March 1, 2008
Volumes	5
Light novel: Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion R2
Author	Gorō Taniguchi Ichirō Ōkouchi
Publisher	Kadokawa Shoten
Demographic	Male
Magazine	The Sneaker
Published	June 1, 2008 – Ongoing
Volumes	1
Anime and Manga Portal

Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion (コードギアス 反逆のルルーシュ, Kōdo Giasu: Hangyaku no Rurūshu^?) is an anime television series created by Sunrise. Directed by Gorō Taniguchi and written by Ichirō Ōkouchi, both of whom had earlier worked on the series Planetes, Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion features original character designs by Clamp.

The first season of the series premiered across Japan on MBS from October 5, 2006,^[1] and concluded its run on July 28, 2007,^[2] after running for 25 episodes. A second season and sequel to the series, Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion R2, premiered on MBS and TBS on April 6, 2008 and concluded on September 28, 2008.^[3][4]

Both seasons of Code Geass have been licensed for release in the United States and Canada by Bandai Entertainment,^[5] 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.^[6] In Australia and New Zealand, the series is licensed by Madman Entertainment.^[7]

Plot

See also: List of Code Geass episodes

On August 10, 2010, a.t.b., the Holy Empire of Britannia overpowered Japanese forces and conquered the country with their new robotic weapons, the Knightmare Frames, in less than a month. In the aftermath of Britannia's invasion, Japan lost its freedom, its rights, and even its name, becoming Area 11 of the Britannian Empire. The Japanese people, renamed as "Elevens", are forced to survive in poor neighborhoods, while Britannians live in first-class settlements. Rebel elements persist, however, as pockets of Japanese organizations struggle against the Empire for the independence of Japan.

After his father, the Emperor of Britannia, failed to prevent the assassination of his mother, an attack which also left his sister blind and crippled, the young prince Lelouch vowed to destroy Britannia. Seven years later, he accidentally becomes mixed up with "terrorists" in Area 11 and encounters a mysterious girl named C.C., who gives him the power of Geass. With it, he finally has the power that he needs to defeat Britannia and fulfill his two wishes: to seek revenge for his mother and to construct a world in which his beloved sister Nunnally can live happily.

Settings

Code Geass is set in an alternate universe where the Holy Empire of Britannia, an international superpower, has conquered more than a third of the planet. The world is, for the most part, divided between it and two other superpowers: the Chinese Federation and the Euro Universe. Australia has remained independent of the other powers though it is not significantly mentioned in the story. The three powers maintain a tentative balance for the first part of the series. The balance shifts in the second season. The E.U. has much of its territory conquered by Britannia while Lelouch engineers a revolution in the Chinese Federation and creates a new alliance of countries, the United Federation of Nations, reducing the number of superpowers to two.

Holy Empire of Britannia

The Holy Empire of Britannia (神聖ブリタニア帝国, Shinsei Buritania Teikoku^?) is an imperial monarchy and the most prominent superpower within the world of Code Geass, controlling over one-third of the world at the start of the series, which expands as the series progresses. Its homeland is based in North America, and its imperial city is Pendragon. Britannian society is elitist and is run based on a caricature of Social Darwinism. Society is arranged by ranks of nobility.

During season 1, the Britannian Empire controls the entire Western Hemisphere (both American continents), New Zealand, recently conquered Japan. Early in season 1, Britannia conquers "Area 18",^[8] a desert region that is a part of the Middle East. During season 2, Britannia successfully conquers about half of the rival "Euro Universe" superpower; taking over France, Spain, the western half of Africa, and Russia.^[9] Ironically, Britannia does not control the British Isles, as Napoleon successfully conquered them.

Territories conquered by the Britannian Empire are renamed with an "Area" number based on when they were conquered and the native people are referred to by their area number or just called "Numbers"; Japan, being the eleventh territory conquered, is Area 11 and its people are "Elevens", for example. The Numbers are denied many of the rights of Britannian citizens, and are usually left to live in poverty. They can apply for Honorary Britannian citizenship to earn basic rights, but cannot attain the same status as regular citizens.

In the series, history diverged during Julius Caesar's invasion. A Celtic "super-king" was elected, similar to the Arverni chieftain Vercingetorix, and managed to successfully resist the invasion, beginning the Britannian imperial line. As a result, the empire retained absolute monarchy, suppressed the American colonies' rebellion in 1776, and eventually migrated the capital to America following Napoleon's capture of Britain. The timeline diverged since Caesar's invasion, but the history of the empire began to become drastically different with the death of Elizabeth I: instead of the Tudor dynasty ending, she was instead succeeded by her illegitimate son "Henry IX". "Elizabeth III" died after losing the British Isles to Napoleon, and a new royal line was established from a prominent family of the nobility. The Britannian calendar era is "Ascension Throne Britannia" (a.t.b), known as the Imperial Calendar in the English dub. Its epoch is the date when the super-king was elected, roughly fifty years earlier than that of the Gregorian calendar.

Japan

Japan, renamed as Area 11 under Britannian rule, is the source of over 70% of the world's total supply of sakuradite, a fictional mineral with a high energy content. Japan oppressed and dominated other countries through economic control of the mineral prior to the start of the series, leading to its invasion and eventual takeover by Britannia. Japan serves as the main setting for much of the series, as it is where Ashford Academy, Lelouch's school, is located. Under his alter-ego of Zero, Lelouch attempts to reform it as an independent nation, the "United States of Japan", as part of his quest to overthrow Britannia.

Chinese Federation

The Chinese Federation (中華連邦, Chūka Renpō^?) is an imperial monarchy that spans the Asian and Pacific regions, including Central, South, East and Southeast Asia with Sakhalin and the Korean Peninsula. Its population is the largest of the three major powers, but most live in poverty. Its political structure and organization appears to resemble the real-world Empire of China. The Emperor of the Federation holds absolute political power, but under Empress Tianzi, it is reduced to an effectively symbolic figurehead posting, "a symbol of the state and the unity of the people." As with the real-world Emperor of Japan, the individual who holds the title is regarded as a living divinity whose sovereignty is entirely ceremonial. The Vermilion Forbidden City (朱禁城, Shu Kinjō^?) is the seat of the Chinese Emperor and the government of the Federation — a large palace situated in the capital city of Luoyang. The governmental organization known as the "High Eunuchs" (大宦官, Dai Kangan^?), advisers to the Empress, use her power for their own gain.

In the first season, the Chinese Federation unsuccessfully attempts to take over Japan through the use of former government officials that fled during the war. India has also been trying to overthrow Chinese rule, and already have a large organized resistance movement. As a result, the Indian resistance lends their lead weapons R&D scientist, Rakshata, to the Black Knights in Japan, in the hopes that a future independent Japan will in return aide them in gaining independence from China. In the second season, a Chinese consulate is established with the agreement of the local Britannian authorities, and negotiations are held by Eunuch Gao Hai to the end of obtaining a solid Chinese foothold within the colony. After the Black Knights are exiled from Japan, they are granted control of Horai Island (蓬萊島, Horai Island^?), a fictional artificial land mass built off the coast of China to generate electricity through tidal activity. The Black Knights destabilize and overthrow the government, returning control to the Empress. Shortly after, the Federation collapses and its former member states are incorporated into the new United Federation of Nations.

Euro Universe

The Euro Universe (ユーロ・ユニバース, Yūro Yunibāsu^?), or E.U., is a democratic union. It has long been in conflict with Britannia. It encompasses all of Europe (including the British Isles), Africa, and Russia. Unlike the other countries, focus on the E.U. is minimal. In the second season, Schneizel leads the Britannian forces against the E.U., successfully conquering almost half of their territory.^[10] Territories which fell to Britannia include Portugal, Spain, France, half of Africa and all of Russia. Following this, former E.U. nations Italy and Poland were two of the forty-seven nations to join Zero's United Federation of Nations. The only nations remaining as part of the E.U. are the British Isles, Germany, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Ukraine and an area of Africa near the Congo. Due to the significant decrease in the E.U.'s territory and power, Charles zi Britannia no longer considers the E.U. a threat.^[11]

United Federation of Nations

Following the collapse of the E.U. and the uprising in the Chinese Federation, most of the remaining territories not under Britannian control join forces and form the United Federation of Nations, a new coalition to counter the Empire's advance. The U.F.N. flag is a white dove with three circles merging at the point where the wings and body meet, with a yellow background. Their combined territories literally split the world between the Empire and the Federation.

The U.F.N. is composed of forty-seven countries spread across parts of Eastern Europe, Eastern Africa, and the majority of the Asian continent. Decisions in the U.F.N. are determined by a two-thirds majority vote by the leaders of each country, with the population of each country determining their voting percentage. The individual armies of the member nations are abolished and replaced by a new supranational military force under the Black Knights' control.

Geass

Geass (ギアス, giasu^?) is a mysterious ability which certain people can bestow upon others; C.C. is the most prominent character who grants the power of Geass. The form the Geass takes is different in each individual. C.C. calls Geass the Power of Kings (王の力, Ō no Chikara^?). It is represented by a bird-shaped symbol which glows red when active.

Every Geass has its own unique set of restrictions, limitations, or idiosyncrasies. These factors allow a Geass to be defeated, or its power limited, by someone who is aware of its characteristics. All Geass abilities that have thus far appeared within the canon of the television series have been related to the mind, influencing such aspects as will, thought, memory, emotion, and perception. Geass abilities in the manga spin-off Knightmare of Nunnally have no such limitations.

The power of Geass increases with use, usually starting in one eye. It can eventually spread to both eyes and become uncontrollable with repeated use. At this point, the one who granted the power can relinquish his or her immortality to the recipient, allowing the recipient to continue the cycle while the giver is allowed to die. The immortality is referred to as the giver's "Code," and grants the person immunity to Geass in exchange for their original power.

According to an English edition of Newtype, the power of Geass has something to do with the very existence of humankind, and it may be used to destroy or transform just about anything.^[12] "Geass" may be an intentional corruption of the word geas or geis, a term for a type of magical contract in Irish mythology.

Characters

Main article: List of Code Geass characters

Lelouch Lamperouge

The title character and protagonist of the show, Lelouch Lamperouge is seemingly an ordinary 17-year-old student at the Ashford Academy. In reality, he is the son of the Emperor of Britannia and the late Empress Marianne. His real name is Lelouch vi Britannia, the Eleventh Prince of the Britannian Empire prior to his mother's assassination. When he gets caught up in a battle between the military and Japanese rebels, he gains the power of Geass, which forces others to obey his orders without question. With this power, he begins his quest to destroy Britannia under the alias of Zero.

Suzaku Kururugi

Lelouch's childhood friend and son of Japan's last prime minister, Suzaku is in the service of the Britannia Army as a soldier, and was chosen to test an experiment new model of Knightmare Frame, the Lancelot. Suzaku believes achieving results by wrong or illegal methods is meaningless and does not approve of Zero's actions.

C.C.

A mysterious green-haired girl who bestows the power of Geass upon Lelouch under the condition that he grant her greatest wish. C.C.'s abilities caught the interest of Britannia and she was imprisoned as a part of Britannia's experiments in the past. She passively oversees Lelouch's missions to ensure that he does not die and to help his plans succeed.

Nunnally Lamperouge

Nunnally is Lelouch's younger sister, who is wheelchair-bound due to bullet wounds on her legs, as well as blind due to psychological trauma from witnessing the brutal assassination of her mother.

Kallen Kōzuki

Kallen is a Britannian-Eleven girl who believes herself to be a Japanese person at heart and prefers to be known by her birth name. Her father is Britannian and her mother is an Eleven; her father comes from a prestigious Britannian family and as such she attends the Ashford Academy, where she is a member of its student council and is one of its most outstanding students. Though she maintains a frail-girl image at school, she is a member of a Japanese resistance cell.

Knightmare Frames

Main article: Knightmare Frame

Knightmare Frames ('Knightmare' is a play on "nightmare" and a knight's mare, referring to the weapon itself; frame is the civilian word for bipedal machines in general) are robotic combat machines intended as a replacement for main battle tanks and other conventional land warfare vehicles. The bulk of Knightmare Frame models are produced by the Britannian Empire, who pioneered the design. As the series progresses, Japan, India, and other countries develop their own Knightmare Frames to match Britannia's advantage.

Themes

The columnist Carlo Santos of Anime News Network 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, radical extremism" solved by "Zero's vigilante methods" but Santos expresses doubt in such approach and concludes that "the series is at its best when raising questions rather than offering a final solution".^[13]

Production

Code Geass began as a concept developed at Sunrise by Ichirō Ōkouchi and Gorō Taniguchi, who proposed it to producer Yoshitaka Kawaguchi while they were working on Overman King Gainer and later, Planetes.^[14] The initial concept of the plot consisted of a secret organization led by a "hero," which was later developed into a conflict between two people with differing values of morality, belonging to the same military unit.

During these early planning stages, Kawaguchi contacted the noted mangaka group Clamp,^[14] which was the first time Clamp had been requested to design the characters of an anime series.^[15] Clamp signed onto the project early during these development stages, and provided numerous ideas, which helped develop the series' setting and characters.^[15]

While developing the character designs for Lelouch Lamperouge, the protagonist of the series, Clamp had initially conceived of his hair color as being white.^[15] Ageha Ohkawa, head writer at Clamp, said she had visualized him as being a character to which "everyone" could relate to as being "cool", literally, a "beauty".^[15] During these planning stages, Clamp and the Sunrise staff had discussed a number of possible inspirations for the characters, including Kinki Kids and Tackey and Tsubasa.^[15] They had wanted to create a "hit show," a series which would appeal to "everyone."^[15] Lelouch's alter ego, Zero, was one of the earliest developed characters, with Ōkouchi having wanted a mask to be included as a part of the series, because he felt that a mask was necessary for it to be a Sunrise show. Clamp had wanted to design a unique mask never prior seen in any Sunrise series; said mask was nicknamed "tulip" for its distinctive design.^[15]

Clamp's finalized original character design art, illustrated by its lead artist Mokona, was subsequently converted into animation character designs for the series by Sunrise's character designer Takahiro Kimura, who had previously spent "every day" analyzing Clamp's art and style from their artbooks and manga series.^[15] While working on the animation character designs, he designed them in such a manner which would enable the series' other animators to apply them without deviating from Clamp's original art style.^[15]

The music for the series was composed by Kōtarō Nakagawa and Hitomi Kuroishi, who had earlier worked with the series' core staff in Planetes and Taniguchi's earlier work Gun X Sword. In addition to the incidental music featured in each episode, Kuroishi also composed numerous insert songs for the series, including "Stories", "Masquerade", "Alone", and "Innocent Days", which were each performed by Kuroishi herself, while "Picaresque" and "Callin'" were performed by the singer-songwriter Mikio Sakai, who had also earlier worked with Nakagawa and Kuroishi in Planetes. The bands FLOW, Ali Project, Jinn, SunSet Swish, Access, and Orange Range have provided songs for the opening and ending themes.^[16][17]

When the series was being developed for broadcast on Mainichi Broadcasting System, it had been given the network's Saturday evening prime time slot, which was later changed to its current 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.^[14]

When the first episode was shown during a special test screening, which was attended by Ōkawa, other members of the series' staff, as well as several journalists and other media-related personnel in response to the hype surrounding the series' upcoming release, the audience fell into immediate silence after it ended, followed by "tremendous applause."^[14]

The immense popularity of Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion followed with the development of a sequel, Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion R2, which was first announced on the March 2007 issue of Newtype and later confirmed by Sunrise producer Yoshitaka Kawaguchi on the series' official staff blog on March 9, 2007.^[18][19] Whereas initial additions on the official blog had stated the sequel's exact format had not been confirmed as of July 2007,^[20] the January 2008 issue of Newtype announced the sequel would be a new television series, which would begin airing on MBS in the spring of 2008.^[2]

Media

Anime

Main article: List of Code Geass episodes

Code Geass officially premiered on the Mainichi Broadcasting System (MBS) television network at 25:25 JST on October 5, 2006. Its satellite television premiere across Japan on Animax was on November 7, 2006.^[21][2] Upon the airing of the first 23 episodes, the series went on hiatus on March 29, 2007,^[2][22] and completed broadcast of the first series with a contiguous one-hour broadcast of episodes 24 and 25 at 26:25 JST on Saturday, July 28, 2007.^[23] In the United States, the dubbed version was first broadcast on Adult Swim on April 27, 2008 at 1:30 AM ET. As of September 13, 2008, Adult Swim has broadcasted the show at 2:00 AM ET. The last episode of the first season was aired on October 26, 2008 at 5:00 AM ET on Adult Swim.

Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion R2 premiered on MBS and TBS at 17:00 JST on April 6, 2008. 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' seiyū as well as a pool of 3800 randomly selected applicants. The series has been distributed online via streaming video on the Japanese internet website Biglobe. It is also viewable in English on Adult Swim Video.

On April 15, 2008, at 17:00 JST, the last 6 minutes of the then unaired third episode, Turn 3, was uploaded onto a video sharing website. The Code Geass Production Committee subsequently posted an explanation on the matter the following day on the official Code Geass website on April 16, 2008, clarifying the portion had been accidentally posted onto the Internet due to an error by Bandai Channel, Bandai Namco's online broadcast channel, which is responsible for its online distribution, when, in the midst of testing a system preventing illegal online uploads, Bandai Channel accidentally posted the portion onto the Internet. The Production Committee then confirmed that Turn 3 was scheduled to air, as usual on April 20, 2008 at 17:00 JST.^[24]

At the 2007 Otakon anime convention, Bandai Entertainment announced that they had licensed Code Geass for North American distribution, with a television broadcast confirmed.^[25] On December 8, 2007, Bandai announced at the 2007 New York Anime Festival that Code Geass would air in the United States on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim network from the spring of 2008.^[26] In addition to the scheduled television broadcast, Bandai also announced that each of the three manga adaptations, the light novel, and official Code Geass merchandising such as jackets, bracelets, notebooks, pendants, and other products would be released in the region.^[27] The first two volumes were released on DVD on August 5th.^[28]

Manga

Kadokawa Shoten has published four manga adaptations of Code Geass, each containing alternate storylines.^[29] The first, Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion, by Majiko~!, focused on the protagonist of the series, Lelouch Lamperouge. It was originally serialized Monthly Asuka, starting in October 2006.

The second, Code Geass: Suzaku of the Counterattack (コードギアス 反攻のスザク, Kōdo Giasu: Hankō no Suzaku^?), serialized in Beans A magazine, focused on Suzaku Kururugi. Written by Atsuro Yomino, it is set in an alternate reality where Knightmare Frames do not exist. Wearing a human-sized enhancement suit provided by Lloyd to greatly boost his physical ability, Suzaku takes on the identity of Lancelot, a masked government-sponsored crime fighter and superhero. Opposed is the criminal organization known as the Black Knights.

Code Geass: Knightmare of Nunnally (コードギアス ナイトメア・オブ・ナナリー, Kōdo Giasu Naitomea Obu Nanarī^?), focused on Lelouch's sister Nunnally Lamperouge, was serialized in Comp Ace and written by Tomomasa Takuma.^[29] When Lelouch goes missing in the incident at Shinjuku Ghetto, Nunnally encounters an entity called Nemo, which restores her health and grants her the ability to summon the Knightmare Frame Mark Nemo. Using these, Nunnally attempts to seek out the whereabouts of her brother. However, her actions rouse the interest of the elite covert-ops Britannian Special Foreign Legion "Irregulars," which seeks to capture or kill her.

The most recent manga adaptation, Code Geass: Tales of an Alternate Shogunate ( 幕末異聞録 コードギアス 反逆のルルーシュ, Code Geass: Tales of an Alternate Shogunate^?), was serialized in Kerokero Ace. It is set in an alternate history in 1853 with new characters. Britannia's Black Ships appear in the harbor of Uraga. Some years later, Lelouch Lamperouge (琉々朱・爛縁侍, Lelouch Lamperouge^?) — brother to a young blind girl named Nunnally (那奈離, Nunnally^?) — is the commander of the military counterinsurgence brigade known as the Shinsengumi, formed under the orders of the Shogunate to fight the Black Revolutionaries (黒の維新団, Kuro no Ishin Dan^?), a rebel group led by a mysterious masked individual known as Rei (零, lit. Zero^?). In fact, these two organizations are one and the same, and they seek to combat in influences of Britannia. Geass is the ability to call upon and summon the armored entities referred to as Knightmares (騎士銘亜, Knightmares^?); Lancelot (蘭須露斗, Lancelot^?) is one such Knightmare.

Three of the manga series have been licensed for an English language release in North America by Bandai Entertainment.^[30]

CDs

The music for the series, composed by Kōtarō Nakagawa and Hitomi Kuroishi, has been released across two original soundtracks. Both soundtracks were produced by Yoshimoto Ishikawa and released by Victor Entertainment. The first was released in Japan on December 20, 2006, and the second on March 24, 2007.^[16] The covers and jackets for both soundtracks were illustrated by Takahiro Kimura.^[16]

The series has also 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 and with new volumes released monthly. Featuring audio episodes written by many of the writers of the series, these are set between the series' 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.

As of July 2008, seven drama CDs have been released, with an eighth planned. The first six, released between April 25, 2007 and September 27, 2007, cover the first season of the series. The following two focus on the second season. The seventh, Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion R2 Sound Episode 1, was released on July 2, 2008, and the eighth was released on August 6, 2008.^[31]

Light novels

Code Geass has been novelized into a series of light novels. First serialized in Kadokawa Shoten's The Sneaker magazine, the novels cover the events in the anime series and is divided into two series, corresponding with the first and second seasons of the anime series. The first Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion spans five volumes, with the first released in Japan on April 28, 2007 and the last released March 1, 2008. It has been licensed for an English language release by Bandai Visual USA.^[30]

The second novel series, Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion R2 covers the second season of the anime series. The first volume was released on June 1, 2008 and it is still on-going. A single volume side story novel, Code Geass: Red Tracks (コードギアス 反逆のルルーシュ 朱の軌跡, Code Geass: Red Tracks^?) was released on April 1, 2008 in Japan.

Video games

The series is also slated to be adapted into a series of video games, developed for the Nintendo DS,^[32] PlayStation Portable and Wii platforms, which will be published by Namco Bandai Games.^[33][34][35]

The official website for the first Nintendo DS game launched on July 16, 2007, with the game being released a few months later on October 25.^[36]

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.^[37] It is a visual novel game which follows a new protagonist named Rai (ライ, Rai^?), who suffers from amnesia. He has a Geass ability similar to Lelouch's, but activated by voice.

The third game for the Nintendo DS is a collection of minigames featuring super deformed 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. These include helping Jeremiah grow oranges, racing against C.C. and Shirley in swimming, and a sidescrolling beat-em-up featuring Kallen in Guren-like armor.

Artbooks

Two artbooks featuring illustrations of the series, Code Geass Graphics Zero (ISBN 4048540793) and Code Geass Graphics Ashford (ISBN 4048540807), have been published in Japan.^[29] 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 (ISBN 4048541692), which featured 134 art pieces of the first season. Another 95 page artbook titled Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion - The Complete Artbook (ISBN 9784048541183) has also been published.^[38]

Internet radio broadcasts

It 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, Code Geass: The Rebellion Diary (コードギアス はんぎゃく日記, Kōdo Giasu: Hangyaku Nikki^?), began streaming from October 6, 2006. It featured Sayaka Ohara (seiyū of Milly Ashford) and Satomi Arai (seiyū of Sayoko Shinazaki). The second, Code Geass - Yamayamas of the Rebellion (コードギアス 反逆の山々, Kōdo Giasu Hangyaku no Yamayama^?), was first streamed on December 12 2006, and were hosted by Jun Fukuyama (seiyū of Lelouch) and Noriaki Sugiyama (seiyū of Rivalz).

Corporate sponsorship

Code Geass is sponsored by a number of companies in Japan, and hence their logos and mascots make inside the anime. The logo of the Japanese internet service provider BIGLOBE appears in the background of news programs and web searches. Pizza Hut references are more prominent, since C.C. orders from them constantly and carries around a stuffed toy of the Japanese branch's mascot, Cheese-kun (チーズくん, Cheese-kun^?). Pizza Hut's logo is edited out in the international release.

Reception

Since its premiere, Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion has collected numerous awards and accolades. At the sixth annual Tokyo Anime Awards held at the 2007 Tokyo International Anime Fair, Code Geass won the best TV anime series award.^[39] In noted Japanese anime magazine Animage's 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. In the 30th Annual Anime Grand Prix, Lelouch won first place again and C.C. was voted most popular female character. At the first Seiyū Awards held in 2007, Jun Fukuyama won the award for best actor in a leading role for his performance as Lelouch Lamperouge in the series, while Ami Koshimizu won the award for best actress in a supporting role for her performance as Kallen Kōzuki. Furthermore, Code Geass won the award for Best TV Animation at the twelfth Animation Kobe event, held annually in Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture,^[40] with R2 taking the award in the following year.^[41]

Anime News Network's columnist Todd Ciolek attributes the soaring popularity of Code Geass to "the series hitting every important fan sector," with the audience appeal points ranging from 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."^[42]

Reportedly, Bandai Visual shipped over one million DVD and Blu-ray discs related to Code Geass franchise by November 2008, placing it among the most popular contemporary anime series in both Japan and North America.^[43]

Controversy

On September 14, 2008, the People's Republic of China took action against Youku, one of the largest video sharing websites, ordering the removal of all videos relevant to Code Geass.^[44] In addition to the copyright infringement factors, Code Geass seems to be against the censorship regulations in China, as it has been mentioned in an article discussing sex and violence clips on the video sharing websites.^[45] The order has been revoked since late September, 2008.

References

External links

• Official site (Japanese)
• MBS's official site (Japanese)
• Sunrise's official site (Japanese)
• Animax's official site (Japanese)
• Bandai Entertainment's official Code Geass website
• Bandai Entertainment's Official Code Geass R2 website
• Adult Swim's Official Code Geass anime website
• Code Geass (anime) at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia
• Madman Entertainment's Official Code Geass website