Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion

Its been a few weeks since my last review, and it looks like the older I get the less time I have to watch and review great anime shows like this one...Code Geass Lelouch of the Rebellion.

I decided to check this one out primarily because I was looking for something that would play on my tablet without having to be converted (this was before I got my Android tablet and was only on the BlackBerry PlayBook). The circumstance for me choosing this series aside, I'm glad I ended up finally watching it. There are two seasons at 25 episodes each. So far I've managed to get through the first 25 episodes, or season 1, and I have to say that I'm thoroughly impressed. There are so many captivating elements that you can't help but want to continue watching episode after episode.

The story in Code Geass is about a teenage boy named Lelouch, who is the estranged son of the Royal Family of Britannia. At the time the series takes place, Japan has been overthrown by Britannia and renamed Sector 11. Subsequently, the Japanese people are no longer considered Japanese and instead referred to as "11s". During an attack by a Japanese terrorist group, Lelouch crosses paths with a mysterious girl who provides him with a power called Geass, which allows him to control peoples actions by making eye contact and issuing a command. With his new found power, and hatred for the Royal Family, Lelouch decides to become the liberator of Japan, posing as a masked man named Zero. As the story unfolds, Lelouch begins losing more and more control over the situation and his tactics begin to fall apart.

Aside from the intense plot, this Code Geass also boasts some other great features. Being a huge geek for anything with robots, this show certainly delivered. Not only are the action scenes fast-paced, but the design concepts used on the various mechs was conventional yet still original. To quickly sum up the design concept, many of the mechs mirrored a hybrid of Nirvash for Euraka 7 and the Veritechs from Macross.

The concept art is very much what you would expect to see from Clamp series. The characters are designed with a very serious, mature, and almost dull set of expressions. The actual colour use was quite vibrant and made for great viewing during the evening. In terms of the music, I have to say that I enjoyed about 75% of the soundtrack. Some of the intro and exit tracks were not the greatest, however, the in show music was excellent in helping to set the tone of the scene.

Overall, I would highly recommend this series to a variety of audiences, whether it be drama, action, robots/mech fans, romance, or politics junkies. Having watched the first 25 episodes, I'm really looking forward to finding out how the story ends in season 2. Very much like Gundam 00, there really is little transition from season 1 to season 2.