The Code Geass anime has been a popular series in Japan and America. It has a wide following, which has subsequently led to four different manga, at least two games and two light novels. The first manga, Lelouch of the Rebellion, follows the series’ name sake, Lelouch as he tries to overthrow his oppressive homeland.
Plot Summary
The mighty Kingdom of Britannia has invaded the islands of Japan in the Imperial Calendar year 2010. Britannia has conquered this once sovereign nation within a month, and has stripped it of its privileges, rights and even its name. The country previously known as Japan is now simply called Area Eleven, and all its citizens are dubbed Elevens by the contemptuous Britannian settlers.
Code Geass Volume One Cover
One Britannian, however, loathes his home country and the oppression it perpetuates. Lelouch Lamperouge, a native of Britannia, has a burning desire to crush his homeland, but can’t let his hate be known lest he too share the fate of the Elevens.
He’s impotent to stop the pain and suffering he’s surrounded by, until the day he saves a mysterious girl, C.C. who grants him a strange compelling power.
Lelouch dubs the power, Geass, and sets about gathering allies under the assumed identity of Zero. But Lelouch’s childhood friend, Suzaku Kururugi, disagrees with Zero’s violent and dangerous solutions to the Britannia problem. Never knowing that the man under the mask is his best friend, Suzaku tries to thwart Zero and to simultaneously change the way Britannia treats the oppressed Japanese.
While the citizens of Area Eleven initially cheer Zero, they soon find out, along with the Britannians, that Zero has his own agenda. What Zero’s true plans are have yet to be revealed to the populace, but his methodology is frighteningly obvious- woe to those who stand in the way of Zero!
Review
The first two volumes of Code Geass- Lelouch of the Rebellion are enjoyable, but dragged a bit in places. The story is somewhat unique, the pacing is decent, but a few of the characters take it down a notch. There are bright spots in the manga, and there are some bits which need some additional polishing. The art is good and clean but somewhat stereotypical. Overall, it’s a mix of yeah and meh- not bad, and just shy of good.
Story
Code Geass Panel
The story is entertaining, though not very compelling. It’s unique enough, but feels recycled in places, and reminiscent in others. The angle of giving powers to an angst-ridden teen is nothing new. But the actual power itself is fairly inventive. There’s a balancing act of averageness in Code Geass that tips in favor for the manga rather than against it so far, but the cons keep the story from being gripping. One of the strikes against the manga are some of the characters.
Character Development
All the scenes with Lelouch are vibrant and energized, but whenever Suzaku makes an appearance, things become slow and shallow. Lelouch comes across as headstrong and determined, with a cause so ingrained in his being, it practically oozes from his pores. His purpose is clear, which makes the story where he’s involved concise. There’s focus surrounding him, and that focus drives the story. He wants change, he gets power to make change, he makes change, and carnage, but does he get what he really wants?
Lelouch draws readers in. He’s committed to his cause, enough so that he does some of his own dirty work. Lelouch has a saying, “You can only shoot if you’re prepared to be shot“, and he adheres fairly well to his motto. Though, he’s not above making others get their hands dirty as well.
Code Geass Volume Two Cover
Then in comes Suzaku. His behavior is too idealistic and empty to be anything but annoying thus far. He has a very hazy plan for accomplishing his goal of change, which coincides with Lelouch’s, but Suzaku’s way of doing things is far too simplistic to ever work in reality.
Suzaku himself is complex- he’s athletic and well trained, but hates violence and thinks he can create meaningful change on his own. Suzaku drains the energy from the story at times, averaging out what could be a fantastic story into one that is average. He’s a pacing sink, slowing down the action with his, “violence-is-bad-let’s work-this-out-with-words” spiel.
Other characters are either pawns or scenery in the story and are less interesting than chess pieces and shrubbery. Lelouch is the main attraction, and while he’s violent and manipulative, his convictions keep him sane, and interesting, for now.
Character Design
Character designs are a mix of militaristic/colonial-European and typical futuristic anime. Uniforms are a nod to when the word “empire” meant something to the world, i.e. mid-1800’s. The anime influence is evident in non-uniform style clothing by the large amount of decorative straps and buckles which have no apparent function other than looking good. The clothes do indeed, look good, so let’s hear it for straps!
Code Geass Panel Art by Majiko!
The characters themselves are in line with character designs from the anime, which were created by CLAMP. People are drawn with overly long arms and exaggerated hands and necks. The giant eyes and pointed faces are generic anime, however. The general feel is also generic, but not in too negative a way. The unique character designs by CLAMP, coupled with the generic feel of most everything else in the manga, average out the designs to “fair”.
Art
The art, down by Majiko! is much better than average, though. It’s the one truly fantastic facet of the manga. The lines are super sharp and airy. Pencil lines are light and shading is done with an eye for drama. Nothing is ever too dark, however. All the panels are laid out well and everything drawn therein is crisp and identifiable.
No smudged scenes are evident, no heavy hand with a black marker. Just clean art telling the story.
Conclusion
Code Geass- Lelouch of the Rebellion is not a bad manga, but so far it’s not great. It’s good, but has its share of bad moments. I want Code Geass to get better since the manga has the potential for being fantastic. Lelouch has it in him to be a compelling character, albeit a violent one, who connects with audiences by his convictions and ability to act on them. Suzaku, on the other hand, may end up sinking Lelouch’s boat on its way to glory.
Rating
Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion, Volumes One & Two, get 3 outta 5 Hammies!
Retail Info- Volume One
- Publisher: Bandai Entertainment
- Release Date:August 19, 2008
- Retail Price: $9.99
- Paperback: 180 pages
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1594099731
- ISBN-13:978-1594099731
Retail Info- Volume Two
- Publisher: Bandai Entertainment
- Release Date:November 5, 2008, 2008
- Retail Price: $9.99
- Paperback: 180 pages
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 159409974X
- ISBN-13:978-1594099748
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