Code Geass

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<body id="page" class="yoopage left green"> <div id="content"> <h1 align="center">Code Geass</h1> <hr id="system-readmore" /> <h1 class="contentheading">Code Geass Special</h1> <p class="dropcap">C<em><strong>ode Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion</strong></em > (<span xml:lang="ja" lang="ja"> ,<em>Kdo Giasu: Hangyaku no R s simply <em>Code Geass</em>, is a Japanese anime series created by Sunrise, dir ected by Gor Taniguchi, and written by Ichir kouchi, with original character design s by Clamp.</p> <p class="p1ji">Code Geass first ran in Japan on MBS from October 5, 2006, to Ju ly 28, 2007. Its sequel series, <em><strong>Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion R2</strong></em> (<span xml:lang="ja" lang="ja"> R2 ,<em>Kdo Gi ), ran on MBS and TBS from April 6, 2008 to September 28, 2008. Both seasons hav e won several awards at the Tokyo International Anime Fair, <em>Animage</em> Ani me Grand Prix, and Animation Kobe event.</p> <p class="p1ji">The series is set after Japan's conquest by the Holy Britannian Empire on August 10, 2010, a.t.b. with their powerful new robot weapons, the Kni ghtmare Frames, stripping Japan and its citizens of all rights and freedoms and renaming the country Area 11. The titular Lelouch is an exiled Britannian prince , who has vowed to destroy his father, the Emperor, and Britannia. He gains the ability through the mysterious power of the Geass, becoming the leader of the re sistance movement to fulfill his two wishes: to seek revenge for his mother and to construct a world in which his beloved sister Nunnally can live happily.</p> <p class="p1ji"><em>Code Geass</em> is set in an alternate universe where three superpowers, the Holy Britannian Empire, the Chinese Federation, and the Euro Un iverse have divided up control of the world (with the exception of an independen t Australia) and maintain a tentative balance for the first part of the series. The balance shifts in the second season as the E.U. has much of its territory co nquered by Britannia while Lelouch engineers a revolution in the Chinese Federat ion and creates a new alliance of countries, the United Federation of Nations, r educing the number of superpowers to two.</p> <h1 class="contentheading">Code Geass Special</h1> <p class="p1ji">2006-09-29</p> <p class="p1ji">This was the special preview of CODE GEASSLelouch of the Rebellio n.</p> <p class="p1ji">They did interviews with the three main character's seiyuuFukuyama Jun (voices Lelouch), Sakurai Takahiro (voices Suzaku), and Yukana (voices C.C.wh ich they pronounce <em>shi-tsu</em>), along with interviews with the director Ta niguchi Goro and series composition Oukouchi Ichiro. There were segments introdu cing the series, CLAMP's character designs, the mecha designs, the 17-year-old gir l Hayashi Miki who won a role on the show through the B-Girl Audition, and endin g segments for ALI PROJECT (who are performing the ED) and FLOW (who's performing the OP). The announcer Tsuchida Teruyuki was hilarious.</p> <p class="p1ji">This preview did its job because I'm very interested in this show now. They showed a total of maybe 3 or 4 minutes of scattered footage from what I assume is the first episode, and it seemed pretty good. Please look forward to CODE GEASSLelouch of the Rebellion, coming next Thursday.</p> <h3 class="articleheading">Special Screenshots</h3>
{yoogallery src=[/images/stories/code_geass_special/]}
<h1 class="contentheading">Code Geass Episode 1 - The Day the Evil was Born</h1> <p class="p1ji">2006-10-07</p> <p class="dropcap">Two boys had been playing together one day when they had seen something in the distance. It was on this August 10, 2010 that the Holy Britann ia Empire had declared war on Japan. It was a fight between the neutral Japan an d the super-power Britannia, but the latter had used their Knightmare Frames to ov erwhelm Japanese self-defense forces. Japan became a possession of the Empire, m eaning that freedom, rights, and even its name was taken away. Area 11 was the n ew name of the defeated Japan. Back then, one of the boys had vowed that he woul d smash Britannia. It is now seven years after the war, in the year 2017. With n ews reports of terrorist bombings on the TV, a student named Lelouch faces off a gainst a noble in a game of chess, which Lelouch is confident he can finish in 9 minutes. In fact, he pulls it off in just 8 minutes and 32 seconds. As Lelouch and his friend Rival are exiting the building, they see the third prince of Brit annia, Clovis, on a nearby TV screen. Addressing the empire's citizens and the peo ple of Area 11, the prince makes an impassioned speech about terrorism and fight ing for justice. He has the people pray for the lives sacrificed for justice, bu t Lelouch and Rival just ignore it.</p> <hr id="system-readmore" /> <p class="p1ji">Two boys had been playing together one day when they had seen so mething in the distance. It was on this August 10, 2010 that the Holy Britannia Empire had declared war on Japan. It was a fight between the neutral Japan and t he super-power Britannia, but the latter had used their Knightmare Frames to overw helm Japanese self-defense forces. Japan became a possession of the Empire, mean ing that freedom, rights, and even its name was taken away. Area 11 was the new name of the defeated Japan. Back then, one of the boys had vowed that he would s mash Britannia. It is now seven years after the war, in the year 2017. With news reports of terrorist bombings on the TV, a student named Lelouch faces off agai nst a noble in a game of chess, which Lelouch is confident he can finish in 9 mi nutes. In fact, he pulls it off in just 8 minutes and 32 seconds. As Lelouch and his friend Rival are exiting the building, they see the third prince of Britann ia, Clovis, on a nearby TV screen. Addressing the empire's citizens and the people of Area 11, the prince makes an impassioned speech about terrorism and fighting for justice. He has the people pray for the lives sacrificed for justice, but L elouch and Rival just ignore it.</p> <p class="p1ji">After the speech, the prince receives word about some medical eq uipment and orders out a Knightmare squad in response. Around this time, Lelouch and Rival are on the road when they get almost run over by a large truck. The t ruck veers off the road and crashes into a building. Lelouch goes to investigate and briefly sees a figure made up of light particles floating above the truck t railer. With more and more people gathering to see what's going on, Lelouch runs i n to help the drivers, but they don't respond to his calls. When he climbs on top of the truck, he suddenly hears a female voice say that she's found him. Lelouch i sn't given much more time to think because the drivers of the truck put it in reve rse and pull back out onto the road, causing Lelouch to fall into the trailer. A s the truck speeds down the highway, it comes under attack by military helicopte rs, so the female driver Kallen goes to the back and boards her own Knightmare F rame. With it, she easily brings down a pair of the helicopters, but then a Brit annia Knightmare gets air-dropped to challenge her. To compound their problems, another Knightmare appears and shoots at the truck, forcing it to escape down a different road. Outmatched, Kallen manages to fire her Knightmare's arm and escape s in the smoke.</p> <p class="p1ji">The military believes that what the terrorists stole in that tru ck is a chemical weaponpoisonous gas. The terrorists are of course Kallen and the other truck driver, who is bleeding as now he drives down a subway passage. Unf ortunately, the truck gets stuck in a large hole in the ground. The noise alerts
a nearby Britannia soldier, who spots Lelouch in the trailer and assumes he's a t errorist after the poisonous gas. After getting attacked, Lelouch wants to know from the solider why Britannia created the gas. It's when Lelouch says that he wan ts to crush Britannia that the soldier realizes Lelouch identify. The soldier is actually Suzaku, Lelouch's friend from before the war seven years ago. As the two are trying to figure out how it ended up like this, the container that supposed ly houses the poisonous gas suddenly starts to open up. Suzaku tackles Lelouch o nto the floor and covers his mouth, but no gas comes out. Instead, a green-haire d girl emerges. Soon after, the two of them and the girl are discovered by anoth er Britannia force. The commanding officer wants Suzaku to shoot the terrorist L elouch, but he refuses, so the officer shoots Suzaku in the back instead. Howeve r, before they can do anything to Lelouch or the girl, the dying truck driver ac tivates the self destruct and blows up the truck.</p> <p class="p1ji">Upon receiving word that the terrorists ran away, Clovis decides to order the destruction of the Shinjuku Ghetto. Various squads of the military set out and start slaughtering the population and shelling the city. Still unde rground, Lelouch is blaming the girl for what's happened as he reacts to Suzaku's ap parent death. As the two emerge above ground into a warehouse, Lelouch sees seve ral civilians, including children, getting shot by the military. Unfortunately, Lelouch's friend Shirley calls him right then, causing his cell phone to ring and alerting the Britannia men. The officer in charge shoots Lelouch, but the girl g ets in the way and takes a bullet to the head for him. After she falls and start s bleeding all over the ground, Lelouch is angsting about not being able to do a nything when the girl's hand springs up and touches him. She wonders if he doesn't w ant it to end since she can see that he has a reason to live. She asks if he can live if he has power, and says that this is a contract. In exchange for giving him power, she wants her wish to be granted. If they contract, he will live in t he human world but live for a different reason than everyone elsea different prov idence, a different time, and a different life. The power of the king will make him isolated.</p> <p class="p1ji">Lelouch agrees to the contract and stands back up in front of th e soldiers. With the new power of his left eye, Lelouch commands the soldiers to die, so they point their guns to their necks and commit suicide. By the time Le louch realizes what's happened, there are dead bodies lying everywhere. In retrosp ect, he recalls that from that day on, he had been telling lieslies about his nam e, lies about his background, nothing but lies. He's sick of this world that doesn't change, but he can't give up the lies because of despair. However, he obtained po wer.</p> <h3 class="articleheading">Opening Sequence Screenshots</h3> <p class="p1ji">COLORS by FLOW</p> <p class="p1ji"><strong>Watch the OP!</strong> Mirror 1 Mirror 2 (8.4MB, XviD)</ p> {yoogallery src=[/images/stories/code_geass01_op/]} <h3 class="articleheading">Episode Screenshots</h3> {yoogallery src=[/images/stories/code_geass01/]} <h3 class="articleheading">Ending Sequence Screenshots</h3> <p class="p1ji"> (<em>Yuukyou Seishunka</em>) by ALI PROJECT</p> <p class="p1ji"><strong>Watch the ED!</strong> Mirror 1 Mirror 2 (11.9MB, XviD)< /p> <p class="p1ji">I like the OP about as much as I liked it when I heard it on the trailer and on the special, which is to say I LOVE it. FLOW music always has th at catchy tune, and this is no different. I'm not a big fan of ALI PROJECT, but th e ED wasn't too bad. What really caught my eye in the ending animation was that th ey kept what appears to be a tiny bit of nudity.</p> <p class="p1ji">Well, this series starts off with a fairly big action episode th at throws our main character right into the middle of things. I was pretty impre ssed by the pacing of the episode and how two of the main characters have been s hot already. Odds are that neither Suzaku nor C.C. is dead, but that doesn't mean that Lelouch can't angst about them anyway. He picks up a rather interesting power of king that seems to make Britannia people obey him. But if the opening animat
ion and what C.C. said is any indicator, this power isolates him from the people around him. That's probably where Suzaku comes in: as the friend character who ha s to save Lelouch from himself or his power or whatever. Anyway, I really like t he anti-hero vibes I get from Lelouch, and I think Fukuyama Jun did a great job on his voice.</p> <p class="p1ji">So I originally thought Britannia was referring to England or so mething, but then I saw this shot and which makes me slightly suspicious of an a nti-American message. It kind of reminds me of the US government in Blood+. Come to think of it, for whatever reason, this series gives me the same overall feel ing Blood+ did. That and Eureka 7. It's somewhat hard to describe, but I have a fe eling that this will be a great show. It is of course a Sunrise series and I've ha d fairly good luck with those. This story has proven itself interesting from the get-go, and the animation and music are the usual Sunrise high quality.</p> <p class="p1ji">I'm pretty sure that I'll be picking this up as a second Thursday sh ow (next to Kanon). We'll see if the second episode can cement that decision.</p> {yoogallery src=[/images/stories/code_geass01_ed/]} <p class="p1ji"></p>
<h1 class="contentheading">Code Geass Episode 2 - The Awakening of the White Kni ght</h1> <p class="p1ji">2006-10-21</p> <p class="dropcap">Addressing C.C.'s body, Lelouch questions what she wanted him t o do by giving him this power. An enemy Knightmare frame suddenly bursts into th e warehouse and the female pilot sees all the dead bodies lying around. She trie s to learn what happened here from Lelouch and uses gunfire in an attempt to int imidate him, but he doesn't budge. Instead, Lelouch uses his left eye to try to ge t her off the Knightmare. When the effect doesn't take hold, Lelouch realizes that it only works if he has direct sight of the person, so he uses a story about be ing a being the son of a duke. This causes the pilot to come out of the Knightma re to confirm his identity by checking his ID card, allowing Lelouch to make her give up her Knightmare with his eye. When the woman regains control of her mind , both Lelouch and her Knightmare are gone.</p> <hr id="system-readmore" /> <p class="p1ji">Addressing C.C.'s body, Lelouch questions what she wanted him to d o by giving him this power. An enemy Knightmare frame suddenly bursts into the w arehouse and the female pilot sees all the dead bodies lying around. She tries t o learn what happened here from Lelouch and uses gunfire in an attempt to intimi date him, but he doesn't budge. Instead, Lelouch uses his left eye to try to get h er off the Knightmare. When the effect doesn't take hold, Lelouch realizes that it only works if he has direct sight of the person, so he uses a story about being a being the son of a duke. This causes the pilot to come out of the Knightmare to confirm his identity by checking his ID card, allowing Lelouch to make her gi ve up her Knightmare with his eye. When the woman regains control of her mind, b oth Lelouch and her Knightmare are gone.</p> <p class="p1ji">Meanwhile, Suzaku wakes up inside a Britannia medical trailer un der watch of Knightmare frame developers Lloyd and Cecil. The reason that Suzaku survived the bullet from before is because his pocket watch protected him. Lloy d tells him of the official story about what's going on, which is that the poisono us gas spread throughout Area 11 and that the culprit hasn't been found yet. To Su zaku's surprise, Lloyd decides to give him the keys to a special Knightmare frame. Around this time, Shirley is getting into her swimsuit at school when she gets a call from Lelouch. He asks her to check the TV news, but there's nothing about S hinjuku except for a traffic restriction. Lelouch guesses that this will allow t he military to report whatever is convenient after it's all over.</p> <p class="p1ji">Lelouch takes a walkie-talkie and contacts Kallen in her damaged Knightmare, directing her to the west entranceshe should trust him if she wants to live. With no other options, Kallen pilots her Knightmare onto a set of train tracks and heads for a train coming her way. Following Lelouch's orders, she leap
s over it while her pursuers stop the train with their frames. The pilot of one of the Britannia Knightmares, Jeremiah, watches as his comrade gets suddenly des troyed by a hidden KnightmareLelouch's. Since he's getting double-teamed by Lelouch a nd Kallen, Jeremiah decides to eject and get away. By the time Kallen turns arou nd to talk to Lelouch, he's already gone. But when Kallen's comrades come running, L elouch contacts them via walkie-talkie and informs them of the contents of the t rain: a whole set of Sutherland-class Knightmare frames. He also tells Kallen to get a new energy pack and to wait for his next instructions in 10 minutes.</p> <p class="p1ji">Under Lelouch's command, the rebels start rapidly taking out the e nemy forces. The Britannia leader Clovis decides to attack what he perceives to be Lelouch's forces' positions from all sides, but it turns out to be a trap and Clo vis loses all his units. He calls upon Lloyd to deploy his toy, which Lloyd call s Lancelot. With Suzaku piloting despite being still injured, the Lancelot easil y starts taking out the rebel Knightmare frames with its amazing speed and super ior array of shielding and weaponry. Lelouch realizes that something is wrong, b ut his Knightmare also gets found and attacked by the Lancelot. Fortunately for him, Kallen distracts and saves Lelouch, though doing so completely wastes her m echa. And the Lancelot is so fast that it can quickly catch up with Lelouch's flee ing Knightmare. This time, however, it is Suzaku's compassion for human life that spares Lelouch because when he sees a woman and child fall from a high-rise, Suz aku breaks off the chase and catches them instead.</p> <p class="p1ji">Afterwards, Kallen returns to her friends and other refugees, bu t the warehouse they are in gets raided by the military. The soldiers raise thei r weapons to fire, but an order by Clovis surprises everyone with a ceasefire. C lovis appears to be doing this because Lelouch has a gun trained on him after he snuck into Clovis' command center with the ability of his eye. Lelouch asks if Cl ovis remembers them playing chess together and how he always won. It's been a long time since they've seen each other, and Clovis is shocked when Lelouch introduces himself as the successor of the 17th imperial throne: Lelouch V. Britannia. Clo vis thinks that Lelouch should be dead, but that is clearly not the case. Lelouc h declares that he has returned to change everything.</p> <h3 class="articleheading">Episode Screenshots</h3> {yoogallery src=[/images/stories/code_geass02/]} <h3 class="articleheading">Preview Screenshots</h3> <p class="p1ji">Wow that was a lot of mecha fighting goodness. Lelouch remains an awesome character, one of my favorites this season. That mix of craziness and c alculating is very much like Light from Death Note as some have suggested, but I prefer Lelouch's character so much more. We find out here that Lelouch is indeed Britannia royalty, perhaps killed/sealed away/something to prevent him from succ eeding the throne. I imagine his true identity has something to do with the mask and the outfit he's wearing in the OP. For now, Lelouch's intentions appear to be f airly good, but that's mainly because the Britannia Empire is portrayed so unfavor ably, and so overthrowing them isn't a bad thing. But I'm sure that as the story goe s on, that'll get more complicated.</p> <p class="p1ji">The other highlight of this episode was the Lancelot frame. As e xpected, it's really powerful, which made for some rather one-sided but entertaini ng battles. They did a great job on animating those fights, with the quality as good as last week if not better. Anyway, it doesn't look like Lelouch is going to get his own special mecha to combat Suzaku's Lancelot, but it's also not certain tha t the two will continue fighting through the entire series. And there's still C.C. , who played virtually no part in this episode. How she lives through a headshota nd I'm sure she did, being a main character and allis a question that will be answe red in a future episode, maybe as soon as next week.</p> {yoogallery src=[/images/stories/code_geass02_pre/]} <p class="p1ji"></p>
<h1 class="contentheading">Code Geass Episode 3 - A Lying Classmate</h1> <p class="p1ji">2006-10-28</p>
<p class="dropcap">As the group of people known as the Eleven are set free, Lelo uch is holding Clovis at gunpoint. Clovis tries to express his happiness that Le louch is alive since he had heard otherwise, but Lelouch still has memories of h is mother being gunned down. She had been looked down upon by the other princess es because she had been a commoner, but Lelouch is angry at how the royalty woul d go as far as to pretend her death was the fault of terrorists. Fearing for his life, Clovis denies that it was him, so Lelouch uses his eye to force Clovis to reveal who the culprit was. As it turns out, Clovis truly doesn't know, but he th inks that the second prince Schneizel and second princess Cornelia would. When L elouch releases Clovis, the ruler returns to being afraid of the gun, so Lelouch briefly lowers it. But then he points it back at Clovis again and pulls the tri gger.</p> <hr id="system-readmore" /> <p class="p1ji">As the group of people known as the Eleven are set free, Lelouch is holding Clovis at gunpoint. Clovis tries to express his happiness that Lelou ch is alive since he had heard otherwise, but Lelouch still has memories of his mother being gunned down. She had been looked down upon by the other princesses because she had been a commoner, but Lelouch is angry at how the royalty would g o as far as to pretend her death was the fault of terrorists. Fearing for his li fe, Clovis denies that it was him, so Lelouch uses his eye to force Clovis to re veal who the culprit was. As it turns out, Clovis truly doesn't know, but he think s that the second prince Schneizel and second princess Cornelia would. When Lelo uch releases Clovis, the ruler returns to being afraid of the gun, so Lelouch br iefly lowers it. But then he points it back at Clovis again and pulls the trigge r.</p> <p class="p1ji">When Lelouch regains consciousness, he's at school in the student council room being smacked on the head by student council president Millais Ashf ord. After he and his friends discuss the budget for club activities, the group returns to class where they see the news reporting about poison gas in the Shinj uku ghetto. Not hearing anything about Clovis, Lelouch wonders why that informat ion is being hidden and recalls how he shot Clovis in the heada memory that cause s Lelouch to want to throw up. When he returns from the rest room, Lelouch overh ears the familiar voice of one of the nearby girlsvery similar to the female Knig htmare pilot he had been helping the day before. His friend Rival catches him st aring and asks if Lelouch is falling in love, but Lelouch claims that he only fi nds it unusual that she's here now after not having been around since the commence ment ceremony. Rival identifies the girl as Kallen Stadtfeld, someone who seems to have a weak body, gets outstanding grades, is from a rich family, and has a q uiet personality.</p> <p class="p1ji">During lunch, the girls who are eating with Kallen run away in f ear of a bee that appears. Kallen follows their lead and runs to the bushes to h ide, but the bee comes after her. Seemingly out of sight of everyone else, Kalle n slices the bee into three with one quick motion of her hand, but she notices t oo late that she was seen by Lelouch. He realizes that she is indeed the girl fr om yesterday, so he uses his eye to interrogate her about why she was committing terrorism in the Glasgow Knightmare. Kallen claims that it's because she's Japanese , though she admits that she actually has half Britannia blood in her. As Lelouc h's questioning comes to an end, Shirley sees him and Kallen talking from a nearby window. After Kallen reverts back to normal, Lelouch turns to go, but then reme mbers one more thing. To his surprise, when he uses his eye again to instruct he r not to say anything about Shinjuku, she doesn't seem to respond and instead ques tions what he means about Shinjuku. Lelouch attempts to order her back to the cl assroom, but she continues to press for an answer. Fortunately, Lelouch is saved when Shirley calls out to him and Kallen, urging them to hurry to science class .</p> <p class="p1ji">At home, a blind girl in a wheelchair and her maid are waiting o n someone to come back. The maid makes an origami crane for the girl, named Nunn ally, to feel with her hands. LelouchNunnally's brotherthen comes home and apologize s for being late. Meanwhile, the general who was under Clovis is telling his sci entists that their plans have failed, their lab here is to be destroyed, and eve
rything will be moved. It seems that these experiments, like C.C., have been goi ng on in secret, unknown to even the Britannia emperor. Back at home, Nunnally t ells Lelouch over dinner about the origami she had learned earlier. She explains that when she folds 1000 cranes, a wish will be fulfilled, so she wants to know if her brother has any wishes. Lelouch doesn't really answer and instead asks Nun nally what she wants. After a brief moment, Nunnally decides that she wishes for a gentle world. Lelouch promises that this will comes true when Nunnally is abl e to see again, but to himself, he thinks that the futures they can choose are l imited. Though they are being sheltered here now, he wonders how long the Ashfor d family can support them. Lelouch feels that the future becomes the victim of t he political conspiracy, and he wants to create a world where even just Nunnally can be happy. Going off the earlier promise, Nunnally takes Lelouch's pinky and s ings the yubikiri song. Lelouch tells Nunnally that he wouldn't lie, though privat ely he thinks that he would not lie to only her.</p> <p class="p1ji">The next day, Lelouch decides to test his eye ability on his tea cher by asking about a test problem. The first time he asks, the eye seems to wo rk and the teacher gives him an answer, but the second time he tries, the teache r brushes him off as if he were joking. From this, Lelouch realizes that his pow er only works once on any one person. Meanwhile, Kallen becomes reminded of what Lelouch had said earlier about Shinjuku and starts to suspect that Lelouch was the person behind the voice during that battle. Both of them have an interest in talking to each other, so when Lelouch asks her to go out with him because he's g ot something to say to her, she agrees, much to Shirley and all the other girls' s urprise. He takes her to the student council's club house, but their conversation gets interrupted by the arrival by the other members. Everyone is here for a par ty celebrating Kallen's joining of the student council, which was a request from M illais' grandfather, the board chairman. All the members introduce themselves, inc luding Nunnally, who happens to be here even though she's in the junior high secti on. Rival wants to uncork some champagne, but in the struggle with Shirley, he p asses the bottle to Lelouch. While trying to get the bottle from Lelouch, Shirle y falls on him and the cork of the bottle accidentally pops off. It flies straig ht for Kallen, but she easily swats it away with a quick swing of her hand. Unfo rtunately, she doesn't notice until it's too late that there's a stream of champagne c oming straight for her.</p> <p class="p1ji">Having been soaked, Kallen goes to take a shower and Lelouch bri ngs her a change of clothes. Through the shower screen, she asks him to hand her a small pouch from the nearby sink, so Lelouch brings it to her while looking a way. Kallen grabs his wrist and starts asking him about being at Shinjuku on tha t day, but when he answers her question with a question, she takes out a knife f rom the pouch and threatens to cut his wrist. Before she can ask anything else t hough, the bathroom's phone rings and Lelouch answers it. It's apparently for her, s o Lelouch hands Kallen the phone. On the other end is the familiar sinister voic e, making Kallen realize that it can't be Lelouch on the other end because he's stan ding right next to her on the other side of the shower screen. She demands to kn ow who the person is, but he hangs up on her after telling her to come alone the day after tomorrow at 16:00 to the observation room of the old Tokyo Tower. Lel ouch wonders if she was talking about a game of some sort, and Kallen nervously confirms it. In any case, Lelouch points out that he can see her naked, causing Kallen to panic and try to cover herself as he leaves the room. As for the voice on the phone, it was indeed Lelouch, but it was a recording he had made earlier that he hypnotized Nunnally's maid to play over the phone. Afterwards, Lelouch an d Kallen hear about Clovis' death from the TV news featuring a press conference by Jeremiah. In addition, a report comes in that someone has been arrested: Suzaku .</p> <h3 class="articleheading">Episode Screenshots</h3> {yoogallery src=[/images/stories/code_geass03/]} <h3 class="articleheading">Preview Screenshots</h3> <p class="p1ji">This episode proves why I love this series. I thought that this might be a more boring episode where we get introduced to all of Lelouch's school friends, but it was far from that. They introduce a KallenXLelouch dynamic, thou
gh it's at current far from romantic and Lelouch has the upper hand in the relatio nship. The phone call feint was pretty ingenious, and it once again draws parall els in my mind between Lelouch and Light in Death Note.</p> <p class="p1ji">Kallen is also quickly rising as one of my favorite characters o f this series. The elongated shower scene doesn't hurt, though I thought she would have become self-conscious a lot sooner about being nude with Lelouch so close by. Oh yea, I think this counts as nipple. But I guess it shouldn't be too surpris ing considering that they showed some nudity in that ED screen (see episode 01 e ntry). I wonder how much they can push before they need an R-15 rating</p> <p class="p1ji">Anyway, now it looks like Lelouch is going to have to go save Su zaku. And here I thought it'd be the other way around with Suzaku saving Lelouch f rom himself first. In any case, the preview shows that Lelouch will be donning h is cape and helmet for a public appearance in next week's episode.</p> {yoogallery src=[/images/stories/code_geass03_pre/]} <p class="p1ji"></p>
<h1 class="contentheading">Code Geass FlowColors</h1> <p class="p1ji">Date</p> <p class="dropcap">FLOW's latest PV is <em>COLORS</em>, the opening song to the po pular CODE GEASS: Lelouch of the Rebellion. I first heard this when it was featu red on the CODE GEASS special that aired several weeks ago, and I knew I'd like th e song immediately. Like I said when I reviewed the first episode, it's a very cat chy tune that's very much in FLOW's style of music. In fact, I have found myself lis tening to the TV-size version of this song for the past couple of weeks whenever Thursdays and CODE GEASS came around. So of course I was very excited to hear t he full version, which clocks in at 3 minutes and 41 seconds. I love the entire song, though it felt like the end of the song doesn't have the same oomph as the r est of itmaybe because it was KOHSHI singing a couple of lines after the final re frain. Anyway, the PV features the five band members in a room with a moving flo or that changes colors. There's also sign on the far wall that indicates FLOW, Voice, B ass, Guitar, Drums, or MC^2 depending on who's on screen. It's not quite as fun to wat their DAYS PV, but still good.</p> <hr id="system-readmore" /> <p class="p1ji">FLOW's latest PV is <em>COLORS</em>, the opening song to the popul ar CODE GEASS: Lelouch of the Rebellion. I first heard this when it was featured on the CODE GEASS special that aired several weeks ago, and I knew I'd like the s ong immediately. Like I said when I reviewed the first episode, it's a very catchy tune that's very much in FLOW's style of music. In fact, I have found myself listen ing to the TV-size version of this song for the past couple of weeks whenever Th ursdays and CODE GEASS came around. So of course I was very excited to hear the full version, which clocks in at 3 minutes and 41 seconds. I love the entire son g, though it felt like the end of the song doesn't have the same oomph as the rest of itmaybe because it was KOHSHI singing a couple of lines after the final refra in. Anyway, the PV features the five band members in a room with a moving floor that changes colors. There's also sign on the far wall that indicates FLOW, Voice, Bass , Guitar, Drums, or MC^2 depending on who's on screen. It's not quite as fun to watch eir DAYS PV, but still good.</p> <p class="p1ji">The single release for <em>COLORS</em> is coming out on November 8th, 2006.</p> <p class="p1ji">On a side note, my friend thinks that <em>COLORS</em> sounds too much like Eureka Seven's OP <em>DAYS</em>. I agreed with him that it does sound s imilar, though that doesn't change how much I like this song.</p> <h3 class="articleheading">Episode Screenshots</h3> {yoogallery src=[/images/stories/code_geass_pv/]}
<h1 class="contentheading">Code Geass Episode 4 - The Name is Zero</h1> <p class="p1ji">2006-10-29</p>
<p class="dropcap">Jeremiah, who is personally taking part in the interrogation of Suzaku, shows his captive the murder weapon. He's also done his research and kn ows that Suzaku is Japan's last Prime Minister's son, which gives Suzaku plenty of m otive to kill Clovis. Suzaku denies having committed the crime, but gets beaten for speaking out. Meanwhile, Lelouch is putting Nunnally to bed. She's very concer ned about having heard Suzaku on TV, but Lelouch reassures her that the news was lying. The next day, Lloyd is telling Cecil about the loss of the vital part th ey need for the Lancelot, Suzaku, who has an operating efficiency of 94%. Howeve r, in control of the military now is the Pure-Blooded Faction, which believes th at the Britannia army should only be made up of Britannians. Lloyd believes that Jeremiah wants to use Suzaku as a chance to abolish the honorary Britannia syst em. In short, Lloyd doesn't think that Suzaku will be innocent.</p> <hr id="system-readmore" /> <p class="p1ji">Jeremiah, who is personally taking part in the interrogation of Suzaku, shows his captive the murder weapon. He's also done his research and knows that Suzaku is Japan's last Prime Minister's son, which gives Suzaku plenty of moti ve to kill Clovis. Suzaku denies having committed the crime, but gets beaten for speaking out. Meanwhile, Lelouch is putting Nunnally to bed. She's very concerned about having heard Suzaku on TV, but Lelouch reassures her that the news was ly ing. The next day, Lloyd is telling Cecil about the loss of the vital part they need for the Lancelot, Suzaku, who has an operating efficiency of 94%. However, in control of the military now is the Pure-Blooded Faction, which believes that the Britannia army should only be made up of Britannians. Lloyd believes that Je remiah wants to use Suzaku as a chance to abolish the honorary Britannia system. In short, Lloyd doesn't think that Suzaku will be innocent.</p> <p class="p1ji">At school, Lelouch tells his friends that he's found something mor e challenging to do than betting. He seems to glance in the direction of Kallen, who is going to the Tokyo Tower just like he had instructed her to do. She arri ves there with the other rebels and hears an announcement calling her to the ser vice counter concerning her lost property. The lady at the counter gives her a p hone, which soon starts ringing. With the Caller ID displaying ZERO, Lelouch instr ucts her to get on a specific train with her friends. He calls her again once sh e's on the train and asks her to look to her right and then her left. On her right , Kallen sees the Britannia city, and on her left, she sees the ruins the Eleven's city. Lelouch then sends her to the front of the train, and the other rebels he ad up there with her. Along the way, they don't notice that every single person th ey pass has a red hue in his or her eyes.</p> <p class="p1ji">When arrive at the front car, they find the costumed person call ed Zero waiting for them. The rebels concede the hopeless difference between the Britannia city and their ghetto, but claim that that's why they have the Resistan ce. However, Zero says that terrorism will not defeat Britanniait will never be m ore than childish harassment. The guys start to take offense, but Zero tells the m that their enemies are not the Britannia people, but rather Britannia itself. They are going to war, so they can't involve civilians and they need to prepare th emselves to carry out justice. Silent up until now, Kallen finally questions why they should believe him if he won't even show them his face. Zero agrees to show them something, but it won't be his faceit will be his power. He thinks that if the y see him accomplish the impossible, they'll believe him a little.</p> <p class="p1ji">Leading up to his military tribunal, Suzaku is paid a visit by L loyd. He believes that the truth will be clarified in court, but Lloyd thinks th at there are more truths that aren't told. Suzaku feels that if that's how the world is, then he has no regrets. When the time comes for Suzaku to be transported to the tribunal, the convoy route is lined with people and the event is televised. Jeremiah is personally leading the Sutherland Knightmare escort through the str eets, but he gets a message indicating that Clovis' private car is coming. Since h e's not too concerned, Jeremiah stops the convoy and waits for the car, driven by Kallen, to arrive. Kallen recalls how Zero's plan involves only her and the rebel leader Ougi, and how he had wanted them to make a vehicle that needed to look li ke Clovis' car from the outside. She stops the car in front of the convoy and Zero appears standing on the platform behind her.</p>
<p class="p1ji">Everyone is shocked when Zero introduces himself, but Jeremiah's n ot so impressed. Announcing that it's the end of Zero's show time, Jeremiah fires hi s gun into the air to signal the drop of four Knightmares around Kallen's car. He wants Zero to remove his mask, but Zero instead snaps his fingers and reveals th e device on the back of the car: a poisonous gas capsule. Suzaku realizes that t his is the capsule C.C. was found in, but his neck restraint prevents him from s peaking out. Since Zero just took all the Britannia citizens around them hostage with the poison gas, Jeremiah asks what he demands. The answer is Suzaku, but J eremiah refuses to give up Clovis' killer. Zero disputes that claim and announces directly into the TV camera that he was the one who killed Clovis. Kallen is los ing faith in the plan, but Zero continues on by telling Jeremiah that one Eleven can save many precious Britannia livesit's not a bad deal.</p> <p class="p1ji">Feeling that Zero has gone mad, Jeremiah has his Knightmares rai se their guns. As he has Kallen drive forward, Lelouch opens a slit on the left side of his mask, revealing his left eye. Using the power of GEASS, Lelouch orde rs Jeremiah to overlook everything they're doing. Despite the objections of his su bordinates, Jeremiah lets Suzaku be given to Lelouch. With the other Knightmares about to react over what's going on, Lelouch activates the poison gas and creates a scene of chaos. He takes Suzaku and jumps with Kallen off the bridge that the y're on, right down into a net released by Ougi's hidden mecha. Jeremiah's subordinate s start firing, but he personally stops them because he's still under the influenc e of Lelouch's power. Upon their escape and return to the other rebels, Ougi wonde rs who else other than Zero could have done all this. He thinks that he personal ly cannot liberate Japan, but the war against Britannia that everyone thought wa s impossible is now probably doable if it's Zero.</p> <p class="p1ji">In an abandoned theater nearby, Lelouchstill in his Zero costumeis talking with Suzaku. Believing that Britannia is rotting, Lelouch asks Suzaku t o join him if he wants to change the world. Instead of answering, Suzaku wants t o know if Zero really killed Clovis and confronts Zero about taking everyone hos tage with the poison gas. Lelouch responds that this is war and asks if there's a reason to kill the enemy general. As for the gas, he claims that bluffs are an i ndispensable part of negotiations, and consequentially, no one is dead. Suzaku a grees with Lelouch's assertion that Britannia isn't worth serving, but that's also why he wants to change Britannia into a worthy country from the inside. Obtaining t he result through the wrong means has no value. When Suzaku turns and starts to head out towards the military tribunal that he was saved from, Lelouch calls him an idiot because that entire tribunal was arranged to make him a criminal. Howe ver, Suzaku considers it a rule; if he doesn't go, the Eleven and the honorary Bri tannians would become oppressed. He simply doesn't care if he dies. Hearing this, Lelouch calls him an idiot again, causing Suzaku to remember that he had a frien d a long time ago who often said the same thing. Suzaku feels that if he's going t o be killed anyway, he wants to die for everyone's sake. To Lelouch's frustration, S uzaku then walks off with a thank-you.</p> <p class="p1ji">At home, Nunnally is relieved to hear on the news about the poss ibility of Suzaku's acquittal. The door behind her suddenly opens and a person wal ks in: C.C.</p> <h3 class="articleheading">Episode Screenshots</h3> {yoogallery src=[/images/stories/code_geass04/]} <h3 class="articleheading">Preview Screenshots</h3> <p class="p1ji">So Lelouch went to all that trouble of saving his old friend, bu t in the end, Suzaku still goes back to his captors. I can only imagine how frus trating that must be. But going through all of that did have its uses, since it now seems that Suzaku might be acquitted because Zero confessed to killing Clovi s, making it unclear who the real killer is. Assuming that Suzaku is indeed free d, like the preview implies, then I guess he can try to change Britannia from th e inside while Lelouch wages a more public war. But being on opposing sides stil l, odds remain pretty good that they'll get to fight each other again. Hrmm, I'm rem inded of the plot of Gundam SEED again, except with a much more sinister main ch aracter in Lelouch.</p> <p class="p1ji">Speaking of GS though, I'm eagerly waiting for the females in this
series other than Kallen to take larger roles. The end of this episode does hav e C.C. sneaking up on Nunnally for some reason, and the preview shows some new c haracters. This shot made me wonder if something is going to happen in the roman ce direction, but I'm not going to get my hopes up just yet. Lelouch doesn't seem li ke the kind of person who'd get himself involved in a relationship unless it had c ertain advantages (again, much like Light in DEATH NOTE). In any case, I'm looking forward to next week.</p> <p class="p1ji">And remember folks, Pizza Hut supports the Rebellion! (quote cou rtesy of mangaka-chan).</p> {yoogallery src=[/images/stories/code_geass04_pre/]} <p class="p1ji"></p> <h1 class="contentheading">Code Geass Episode 5 - The Princess and the Witch</h1 > <p class="p1ji">2006-11-04</p> <p class="dropcap">On a desert battlefield, Princess Cornelia and her forces des troy their enemies and establish Area 18. In Japan, Lelouch returns home to find C.C. making origami cranes with Nunnally. His sister thinks that C.C. is his lo ver, but C.C. says that they're connected by having promised their futures. Nunnal ly wonders if that means marriage, but Lelouch denies it. By intentionally dropp ing and breaking her teacup, Lelouch then pretends C.C. spilled tea on herself, allowing him to pretend to take her to the bathroom. In reality, he takes her to his room and questions who she is. She knows that he thinks she died, but she c hanges the subject to his new power. Lelouch actually thanks her for it because it allowed him to move up his schedule of destroying Britannia. Since he says th at he was planning on doing this even without the eye, C.C. comments on how he's a s interesting a guy as she had expected. She's planning on staying here and in fac t has already taken off her clothes and climbed into his bed. He tries to ask he r about what happened, but she just bids him good night and falls asleep.</p> <hr id="system-readmore" /> <p class="p1ji">On a desert battlefield, Princess Cornelia and her forces destro y their enemies and establish Area 18. In Japan, Lelouch returns home to find C. C. making origami cranes with Nunnally. His sister thinks that C.C. is his lover , but C.C. says that they're connected by having promised their futures. Nunnally wonders if that means marriage, but Lelouch denies it. By intentionally dropping and breaking her teacup, Lelouch then pretends C.C. spilled tea on herself, all owing him to pretend to take her to the bathroom. In reality, he takes her to hi s room and questions who she is. She knows that he thinks she died, but she chan ges the subject to his new power. Lelouch actually thanks her for it because it allowed him to move up his schedule of destroying Britannia. Since he says that he was planning on doing this even without the eye, C.C. comments on how he's as i nteresting a guy as she had expected. She's planning on staying here and in fact h as already taken off her clothes and climbed into his bed. He tries to ask her a bout what happened, but she just bids him good night and falls asleep.</p> <p class="p1ji">The next day, Lloyd and Cecil are talking about how other groups across Japan are following Lelouch's lead by continuing the revolution and how Je remiah's leadership is gone. And with Britannia in disarray, there are members of the Japanese Liberation Front who think that it's time for the group to stand up, but their leader Toudou warns against being impatient. Still in Lelouch's room, C. C. is reading magazines about Zero and remarks on how everyone is looking for hi m and that the whole world is moving for him. Putting on his jacket for school, Lelouch thinks that the world will be thrown into even more confusion. It is on this very same day that Suzaku is freed because of the insufficient evidence aga inst him for the murder of Clovis. As he's walking out, Suzaku suddenly hears a gi rl call from above and catches her as she falls right in front of him. The girl claims that bad people are chasing her, so she needs his help. Introducing herse lf as Yufi, the girl seems to know exactly who he is. After Yufi talks to and ba ndages up a hurt cat, Suzaku asks her why she lied about being chased. She takes the question as a sign that he's concerned about her, so she drags him to keep he
r company for a while longer. As they have fun around town, Yufi reveals that sh e's on her last holiday and wanted to see Area 11. But then she surprises him by a sking him to show her Shinjuku. Unbeknownst to Suzaku, Lloyd and Cecil caught si ght of him earlier and have been following him by car.</p> <p class="p1ji">At school, Lelouch is approached by Kallen who wants to inquire about the bathroom incident. As he looks up at her, Lelouch is shocked to see C. C. prancing around in the background. Kallen notices he's looking at something and tries to turn around, but Lelouch grabs her and appears to kisses her, which Sh irley accidentally sees. Afterwards, Lelouch takes C.C. to the rooftop where he scolds her for coming because she's an outsider. In response, C.C. says that she's a n outsider wherever she is. She then notices a girl scratching a mark on the sch ool wall, which Lelouch explains is done everyday because of his GEASS power. C. C. quickly figures out that this must be a duration test to see how long the GEA SS effect will last. In any case, she considers herself and Lelouch to be accomp lices now. Meanwhile, Yufi and Suzaku have arrived in the ruins of the Shinjuku Ghetto where there are markers everywhere for dead loved ones. They notice that a nearby pair of Britannian high school kidswho were goofing around and taking ph otosare being confronted by some of the Eleven rebels. Suzaku breaks up what was about to develop into a fight, but in the process he gets his sunglasses knocked away. Everyone recognizes who he is, and the Eleven named Tamaki Shinichiro chi des him for selling his pride, his friends, and his soul to be an honorary Brita nnian. When Tamaki tries to throw a punch, Suzaku easily throws him over his sho ulder. The Eleven rebels decide to leave instead of fight, though Tamaki still c alls Suzaku a traitor as he's walking off.</p> <p class="p1ji">Despite having been saved, the two Britannians aren't grateful at all for what Suzaku did since they thought that he came too slowly. Yufi ends up slapping one of them for his comments, saying that she won't permit them to insul t Suzaku any further. Back in his room, Lelouch is explaining to C.C. what he's fi gured out about his GEASS powers. For starters, he has to make direct eye contac t to use it, though glasses pose no problem. The effective range of it is about 270 meters, and victims have no memory of it. Lelouch attributes that last part to some damage the GEASS is doing to people's cerebrums. And if it is optical info rmation, a reflection is possible. Lelouch's opponent is the empire that covers ov er 1/3 of the world, but C.C. thinks that it's too large and too strong to fight w ith one GEASS, making Lelouch wonder if he only has to become strong. At that ex act same moment, Suzaku is telling Yufi about how the world had looked very sad to him at the age of ten. Starvation, disease, corruption, rotting, discriminati on, and war and terrorism were all repeated over and over in a chain of hatreda f oolish, vicious circle. Lelouch and Suzaku both think that someone should sever this chain, which C.C. calls idealistic. Of course, they aren't arrogant enough to think that they can get rid of all of those things, but they want a world where you can not lose the people precious to you, a world without war. For Lelouch, the fighting will end when someone wins. Suzaku personally isn't quite sure, but h e does know that he can't lose sight of the goal or else his father's death will hav e been in vain.</p> <p class="p1ji">It is at this point that Suzaku hears and sees an explosion comi ng from a nearby stadium. Having been lured there by a report about Zero, Jeremi ah is now surrounded by his former allies of the Pure-Blood Faction who aren't hap py with what happened last time. Outside the stadium, Lloyd and Cecil drive up t o Suzaku and Yufi in their trailer that houses Lancelot. Since Suzaku recognizes this as a chance to gather combat data for the Lancelot, he apologizes to Yufi because they have to part ways here, but he knows that he must go. Right as Jere miah is about to be attacked from all sides, the enemy Sutherlands are stopped i n their tracks by the Lancelot. With no choice but to fight fellow Britannians, Suzaku pulls out the Lancelot's MVS (Maser Vibration Swords) and starts cutting th rough the Sutherlands' weapons. Having learned about this plot earlier, Viletta al so joins the battle to defend Jeremiah. The leader of their opponents decides to pull out a grenade-style weapon that hovers in the air while it rapidly empties its machine gun clip, but he throws it right as Yufi runs onto the battlefield. Thinking quickly, Suzaku deploys the Lancelot's shield and protects everyone thro
ugh the duration of the device. To their surprise, Yufi then orders both sides t o put away their weapons and announces herself to be Britannia's third princess Eu phemia Le Britannia. With this new revelation, the Sutherlands all bow down to h er, as does Suzaku when he gets off his Lancelot. She tells him that she lost he r brother Clovis just like he lost his father and then asks him to lend his stre ngth so that no more people will lose a loved one. That night, Euphemia meets wi th her sister Cornelia who is now bent on capturing Zero. It is on the next day at school that the real ZeroLelouchactually experiences a surprise of his own when he finds Suzaku introducing himself to the class as a new student.</p> <h3 class="articleheading">Episode Screenshots</h3> {yoogallery src=[/images/stories/code_geass05/]} <h3 class="articleheading">Preview Screenshots</h3> <p class="p1ji">This show remains awesome. Last week I had been hoping for more involvement from the female cast, and this week's episode gave us just that. I tho ught C.C. (pronounced <em>shi-tsu</em>) might be like act like an android or som eone unaccustomed to society, but she's actually got a great spunky attitude. Then there's Euphemia, who I can easily see turning into a Lacus-type character. She h it it off with Suzaku, so maybe they'll become a pair. And as for Cornelia, she's pr obably destined to die since Clovis named her as someone who knows about Lelouch's mother's death and because she appears to be the next villain since she's so bent o n capturing Zero.</p> <p class="p1ji">But I guess I was wrong about Suzaku and Lelouch being on separa te paths, since Suzaku joins Lelouch's class at the end of this episodemaybe the Gu ndam SEED Kira/Athrun parallels end here. I'm curious to see how the two guys act towards one another having been reunited a second time after the first time was on the battlefield. From the preview, next week's episode appears to take place mo stly at their school.</p> <p class="p1ji">And remember folks, Pizza Hut supports the rebellion!</p> {yoogallery src=[/images/stories/code_geass05_pre/]} <p class="p1ji"></p> <h1 class="contentheading">Code Geass Episode 6 - The Stolen Mask</h1> <p class="p1ji">2006-11-11</p> <p class="dropcap">The entire class is whispering rumors amongst themselves abou t Suzaku, but he pays them no heed. After class, Lelouch glances in Suzaku's direc tion and pulls on his own collar. Suzaku recognizes this as an old signal they u sed to share that meant Lelouch wanted to talk on the roof. Lelouch is glad that Suzaku saved him back in the subway tunnels, but Suzaku considers it repayment after seven years. When Suzaku asks about C.C., Lelouch claims to have been sepa rated with her during the confusion of the battle. As the two do some catching u p, Lelouch reveals he now goes by Lelouch Lamperouge since the previous him is o fficially dead. Suzaku in turn explains that there was a personEuphemiawho arrange d for him to come to this school. At that time, Euphemia is looking over all of Clovis' paintings, including one of Lelouch, Nunnally, and their mother. Her siste r Cornelia is meanwhile conquering a guerrilla base, looking for Zero.</p> <hr id="system-readmore" /> <p class="p1ji">The entire class is whispering rumors amongst themselves about S uzaku, but he pays them no heed. After class, Lelouch glances in Suzaku's directio n and pulls on his own collar. Suzaku recognizes this as an old signal they used to share that meant Lelouch wanted to talk on the roof. Lelouch is glad that Su zaku saved him back in the subway tunnels, but Suzaku considers it repayment aft er seven years. When Suzaku asks about C.C., Lelouch claims to have been separat ed with her during the confusion of the battle. As the two do some catching up, Lelouch reveals he now goes by Lelouch Lamperouge since the previous him is offi cially dead. Suzaku in turn explains that there was a personEuphemiawho arranged f or him to come to this school. At that time, Euphemia is looking over all of Clo vis' paintings, including one of Lelouch, Nunnally, and their mother. Her sister C ornelia is meanwhile conquering a guerrilla base, looking for Zero.</p> <p class="p1ji">Lelouch returns home and surprises Nunnally by bringing along Su
zaku. She's moved to tears that he is safe and is excited that he's attending this s chool now. Suzaku can't come to visit every day because he is still in the militar y, but he thinks that he's in less danger now that he's been transferred to the Engi neering Department. When Lelouch goes to the kitchen to get more tea, he finds C .C. waiting for him. She remembers Suzaku as the person from Shinjuku and has do ubts about him, but Lelouch thinks of him as a friend. When it's finally time for Suzaku to leave, he tells Lelouch that they should pretend not to know each othe r in school. He doesn't want people wondering why the honorary Britannian is frien ds with Lelouch and then discovering that Lelouch is really a prince. Lelouch ge ts angry that Suzaku is again putting others before himself, but he realizes his mistake when Suzaku catches onto the again implication. After Lelouch drops the subject, Suzaku says his goodbye and notes how happy he is.</p> <p class="p1ji">In a Britannia prison, Jeremiah is finally cleared of suspicion and freed. However, because of what he did, he has been demoted three ranks and must start over as a pilot. At school the next day, the students continue to tre at Suzaku as an outcast. When not in class, Lelouchas Zerocontacts Ougi Kaname and learns about Cornelia's military campaign. Kaname wants to act, but Zero thinks t hat they should wait for an opportunity. Once he hangs up, Lelouch sees Suzaku w ashing his gym t-shirt outside. It seems that someone had spray painted on it GO BACK TO YOUR GHETTO in large red letters. What's more, Nunnally learns that student council member Nina is scared of going to school because of Suzaku. At home lat er, C.C. gets a pizza delivery and unknowingly lets a cat inside while she's talki ng to the delivery guy. She returns to Lelouch, who is in the middle of making a hiding place for his Zero mask.</p> <p class="p1ji">Nunnally comes by and draws away Lelouch's attention, allowing the cat to sneak in and get the mask stuck on its head. Lelouch eventually notices the cat when it walks into the dining room as he and Nunnally are discussing Suz aku's situation at school. Panicking at the sight of the mask, Lelouch chases afte r the cat as it escapes out of the house. When Millay, Leval, and Nina come look ing for him, Nunnally tells them of the cat that took something precious of Lelo uch's. Interested in what this precious thing is, Millay vows to get it before Lel ouch does, so she broadcasts a message across the school to mobilize the student s. She announces that the person who succeeds in catching the cat will be given a kiss by a member of the student council. This scares Kallen because there are now hordes of boys searching for the cat so that they can kiss herwhat she consid ers to be her first kiss.</p> <p class="p1ji">She runs into Shirley, who is worried about the same thing, and the two join forces to track down the cat. They manage to corner it, but the cat gets away when Shirley asks Kallen if she'd use the kiss reward on Lelouch. Suzak u then catches sight of the cat going into the bell tower, and he encounters Lel ouch at the entrance. Lelouch tries to get him to give up the chase, but Suzaku continues to run up the stairs. The students below see Suzaku climb out onto the roof and Lelouch following him, but Lelouch then loses his balance and starts t o slip downward. Reacting quickly, Suzaku catches his friend and pulls him back up. Luckily for Lelouch, the mask comes off the cat when it gets to the bells at the very top of the building.</p> <p class="p1ji">Suzaku brings the cat back down to everyone else, but they aren't quite sure how to act towards him. Shirley finally runs up and thanks him for sa ving Lelouch, and she's joined by the other student council members. Millay is mor e interested in what the cat had, but Suzaku didn't get a good look at it. The stu dent council president is disappointed when Lelouch appears soon afterwards beca use she wanted to find out his weakness. When Kallen suddenly asks if Lelouch an d Suzaku know each other, Suzaku tries to deny it, but Lelouch declares that the y are indeed friends. In fact, he even asks Millay to let Suzaku into the studen t government, which she agrees to do. Nunnally then kisses both boys on their ch eeks as part of the reward that Millay had promised.</p> <p class="p1ji">It is sometime later that the entire school is present in the au ditorium to watch the broadcast of Clovis' state funeral. The emperor of Britannia makes a speech about how people are not equalthere are fast people, beautiful pe ople, people with poor parents, and people with weak bodies. Everyone is differe
nt depending on their birth, their upbringing, and their abilities. It is throug h fighting and competition that progress is born. Therefore, inequality is not e vilonly equality is. The emperor doesn't want Britannia to be under mob-rule like t he equal rights EU or to be filled with lazy people like in the Chinese Federati on where wealth is distributed equally, so he calls for fighting and competition so that they can continue to evolve. He considers the death of Clovis to be pro of that Britannia is continually evolving. Hearing all of this, Lelouch can't help but get pissed off at the emperor, and even Suzaku starts to clench his fist. W atching on TV from home, C.C. wonders if this man is Lelouch's enemy.</p> <h3 class="articleheading">Episode Screenshots</h3> {yoogallery src=[/images/stories/code_geass06/]} <h3 class="articleheading">Preview Screenshots</h3> <p class="p1ji">I thought the whole cat-stealing-the-mask thing was hilarious. L elouch is such a powerful and smart guy, yet he's so easily outwitted by a cat. If they had seen the mask, Lelouch would have had to use his GEASS power or else e veryone would have found out about his secret. And even then, Kallen would still know his secret since she's now immune to his eye. On a side note, this cat gave me nostalgic memories of a certain cat from another Sunrise series.</p> <p class="p1ji">This episode finally introduces the Emperor of Britannia along w ith some top grade propaganda. The Emperor's speech seemed like a big excuse to di scriminate against people and continue war. His singling out of an EU (probably European Union) and a China Federation in particular for equal rights and equal wealth makes me wonder once again about the message that this series is trying t o send. And it doesn't help either that he ends the speech with All Heil Britannia! I don't think that he'll end up being the final boss character of this show, though it's still too early to tell.</p> <p class="p1ji">The preview for next week's episode has some interesting shots, in cluding a young Nunnally, Shirley seeing Kallen pull a knife, and a rather close encounter between Shirley and Suzaku. That last one has me most interested beca use of the relationship web that can develop considering Shirley's current crush o n Lelouch.</p> <p class="p1ji">And as always, remember folks that Pizza Hut supports the Rebell ion. It seems that C.C. has developed a real fondness for Pizza Hut pizza</p> {yoogallery src=[/images/stories/code_geass06_pre/]} <p class="p1ji"></p> <h1 class="contentheading">Code Geass Episode 7 - Destroy Cornelia</h1> <p class="p1ji">2006-11-18</p> <p class="dropcap">It was eight years ago in the year 2009 a.t.b. that Lelouch w ent to see his father, the emperor of Britannia, after his mother's death. His fat her doesn't want to waste time on him, but Lelouch persisted, asking why the emper or didn't protect his mother. When the emperor told him that it wasn't for the weak, Lelouch had decided that he didn't need the right to succeed the throne because h e's had enough of all this conflict and strife. In response, his father said that Lelouch was dead from when he was born and that it was he, the emperor, who had given Lelouch clothes, a home, food, and life. Towering over a now fearful Lelou ch, his father had declared that Lelouch had no rights and sent him and Nunnally to Japan.</p> <hr id="system-readmore" /> <p class="p1ji">It was eight years ago in the year 2009 a.t.b. that Lelouch went to see his father, the emperor of Britannia, after his mother's death. His father doesn't want to waste time on him, but Lelouch persisted, asking why the emperor didn't protect his mother. When the emperor told him that it wasn't for the weak, Le louch had decided that he didn't need the right to succeed the throne because he's h ad enough of all this conflict and strife. In response, his father said that Lel ouch was dead from when he was born and that it was he, the emperor, who had giv en Lelouch clothes, a home, food, and life. Towering over a now fearful Lelouch, his father had declared that Lelouch had no rights and sent him and Nunnally to Japan.</p>
<p class="p1ji">Back in the present, while Lloyd is explaining the seventh gener ation Knightmares to Cornelia, Suzaku is doing his homework under Cecil's watch. I n talking about school, Suzaku mentions meeting an old friend by coincidence, so Cecil tells him to treasure that person. She believes that their reunion wasn't c oincidence, but rather <em>hitsuzen</em> (a foreordained event/inevitable). Over at school, Kallen and Shirley are doing student council work when Shirley sudde nly asks about Kallen keeping a secret. Kallen assumes the worst and pulls out h er knife, but it turns out that Shirley is merely accusing her of going out with Lelouch. She tries to explain that Shirley's got it wrong, but Shirley keeps jump ing to conclusions, so Kallen has to tell her to stop her imagination from runni ng wild. At that time, their president Millay is over in the principal's office ta lking to her mother over the phone about an <em>omiai</em> (marriage interview). </p> <p class="p1ji">Meanwhile, Cornelia has led a Britannia force to surround the Sa itama Ghetto in preparation for an operation against the terrorists there. The T V news specifically reports that the attack is set to start in two hours because Cornelia wants to create the same circumstances that were in Shinjuku in order to lure Zero out. At home, Lelouch is well aware of the situation and is packing to go out since he feels that Cornelia is purposefully extending him an invitat ion. When C.C. wonders whether destroying Britannia or finding his mother's killer s is more important to him, Lelouch answers that they're the same. He feels that t he Britannia royalty are being made to fight by his father for the next emperor's seat. C.C. points out that this does make Britannia strong since the person who remains will be the best person suited to be emperor.</p> <p class="p1ji">Lelouch agrees, but also says that the weak lose everything in t his type of Britannia world. Since C.C. thinks that that's survival of the fittest , Lelouch mentions Nunnally and how he won't give up on her just because she's weak. Before Lelouch can finish his sentence, he notices that C.C. is pointing a gun at him. She claims that it'd be troublesome if he died before fulfilling his contr act with her, but she's not ready to kill himshe'll only shoot his foot. He figures o ut that if he's dead, she can't use the GEASS, so he pulls out his own gun. C.C. thi nks that he's going to shoot her, but Lelouch instead points it at his own head. H e explains that he was dead for a long time until he met her: he lived a life of not doing anythinga life of only livingwhich he considers the same as a slow deat h. As Lelouch prepares to fire on himself, C.C. tells him to wait and lowers her gun.</p> <p class="p1ji">Cornelia eventually starts her annihilation operation in the Sai tama Ghetto by having her soldiers slaughter civilians for harboring terrorists. Lelouch, who has made his way onto the battlefield disguised as a soldier, gets approached and questioned by a Sutherland, so he lures the pilot out by pretend ing to have confiscated something from the terrorists and then uses his GEASS po wer to take the mecha. From inside the Sutherland, Lelouch contacts the local re bels as Zero and gets them to carry out his plans. With his micromanagement, the y score multiple hits and even take out a bridge with several Britannia units on it. Knowing that this is the same as how things happened in Shinjuku, Cornelia orders all her units to retreat, but she's not done yet.</p> <p class="p1ji">Back at school, Shirley is admitting to Suzaku that she didn't sta rt out liking Lelouch because of how insincere he seemed. But during her first y ear of high school, she witnessed a car accident that was the fault of the drive r in the back. That driver was causing trouble for the couple he hit, and since no was helping out, Lelouch had nonchalantly gotten the man towed. He had kept t he uninterested look on his face, which caused Shirley to wonder what he was thi nking about. As she wanted to learn more about him, she started to like him. Suz aku takes it upon himself to call Lelouch's phone so that Shirley can find out dir ectly how Lelouch feels about her, but when she realizes what he's doing, she take s the phone out of his hands and slams it down. Their ensuing struggle causes th em both to fall down, with him landing on top of her.</p> <p class="p1ji">On the battlefield, Lelouch sees that Cornelia's troops are in ret reat, so he believes that she's lost. Cornelia, on the other hand, believes that s he's won and sends out her knight Gilford in her own Knightmare Frame. Lelouch tri
es to lay a trap by having one of the rebels in a Sutherland pretend to be a Bri tannia unit, but Cornelia orders its destruction. Gilford and his two Knightmare guards skewer the lone Sutherland, so Lelouch attempts an ambush next. He soon realizes that Cornelia is encircling with her units, so he orders the rebels to retreat. But when Lelouch tries to give out more commands, he gets no response. The rebels have become scared of Cornelia's bodyguard forces and are giving themse lves up, but she orders them all killed. Lelouch soon loses all his units and is able to see how easily Cornelia suppressed them.</p> <p class="p1ji">To make matters worse for Lelouch, Cornelia orders all her Night mare pilots to open their hatches and show their faces as Gilford does an inspec tion. Lelouch doesn't have his Zero mask and he can't use his GEASS power without di rectly seeing the enemy, leaving him with very little in terms of options. Much to his shock, however, Zero suddenly appears right as Gilford is about to inspec t him. With all the attention turned away, Lelouch is able to make his escape on foot as Zero jumps off some ruins and disappears, never having uttered a single word. It is in the sewers that Lelouch comes face to face with this Zero, so he questions why Zero saved him. C.C. reveals that it was her behind the mask and reiterates that his dying would be troublesome. Lelouch claims that he wouldn't ha ve lost if the conditions had been equal, but she just calls him a poor loser. H e vows to arrange it so that his army, people, and country won't lose to Britannia .</p> <h3 class="articleheading">Episode Screenshots</h3> {yoogallery src=[/images/stories/code_geass07/]} <h3 class="articleheading">Preview Screenshots</h3> <p class="p1ji">If you don't count the Zero mask being stolen by the cat last epis ode, this is the first time Lelouch has been really outplayed. I think that part of the appeal of his character is that although he thinks quickly and has momen ts of genius, Lelouch is still fallible. He underestimated Cornelia, who was pre pared for a repeat of Shinjuku and acted accordingly. Part of it isn't his fault b ecause the rebels he was trying to control fell apart, but that still leaves the fact that he almost got completely screwed. Only C.C. showing up in the nick of time saved his ass.</p> <p class="p1ji">On the topic of C.C., she's growing more and more interesting. Her conversation with Lelouch in the middle of the episode shows that on several le vels, she agrees with the Britannia Emperor about progress coming from fighting and competition. Her own motivations still seem to be a bit of a mystery, as was who she was talking to when she seemed to decide to go save Lelouch. That same scene had her departing from her normal playful voice and taking on a rather ser ious one, which I'm sure we'll get to hear more of in the future.</p> <p class="p1ji">I'm not entirely sure what the point of the whole SuzakuXShirley s cene was. Unless Euphemia dies (which I will admit is very possible), I just don't see them as that plausible a couple. I think Shirley's more likely to end up alon e than with Suzaku (or Lelouch). Maybe they just wanted to complicate the relati onship web a little.</p> <p class="p1ji">The preview for next week seems to show Millay and Nina being he ld hostage by the guys from the Japan Liberation Front. Maybe they'd like to join up with Lelouch. They certainly seem more organized than the normal rebels Lelou ch has been dealing with so far.</p> <p class="p1ji">And finally, CHEESE-kun says that Pizza Hut supports the Rebelli on! I wonder if they actually have a Pizza Hut consultant or if they're just makin g this stuff up</p> <p class="p1ji"><strong>Edit</strong>: I see that the doujin artists are already getting on this (Link is extremely <strong>NSFW</strong>)</p> {yoogallery src=[/images/stories/code_geass07_pre/]} <p class="p1ji"></p> <h1 class="contentheading">Code Geass Episode 8 - The Order of the Black Knights </h1> <p class="p1ji">2006-11-25</p>
<p class="dropcap">On the ride to Lake Kawaguchi with Shirley and Millay, Nina b ecomes afraid when the train passes through a tunnel. Millay reassures her that they're going to a peaceful place with a lot of tourists that's not scary like the g hetto. Lelouch meanwhile has donned his Zero costume and has invited the rebels to his new hideouta large upscale vehicle that was given by someone he calls a li bertine noble. One of the men turns on the TV and sees a live news report coming from in front of the Lake Kawaguchi Convention Center Hotel. It seems that the Japan Liberation Front has taken some hostages, and footage from inside alerts K allen to the fact that Shirley, Nina, and Millay are among those being held. The report states that the leader of this group calls himself Commander Kusakabe, a n ex-Japanese soldier, though their actual leader Toudou is watching the same re port back at their base and is calling Kusakabe a fool. As this situation is unf olding, Lelouch gets a call from Rival, but he ignores it.</p> <hr id="system-readmore" /> <p class="p1ji">On the ride to Lake Kawaguchi with Shirley and Millay, Nina beco mes afraid when the train passes through a tunnel. Millay reassures her that the y're going to a peaceful place with a lot of tourists that's not scary like the ghet to. Lelouch meanwhile has donned his Zero costume and has invited the rebels to his new hideouta large upscale vehicle that was given by someone he calls a liber tine noble. One of the men turns on the TV and sees a live news report coming fr om in front of the Lake Kawaguchi Convention Center Hotel. It seems that the Jap an Liberation Front has taken some hostages, and footage from inside alerts Kall en to the fact that Shirley, Nina, and Millay are among those being held. The re port states that the leader of this group calls himself Commander Kusakabe, an e x-Japanese soldier, though their actual leader Toudou is watching the same repor t back at their base and is calling Kusakabe a fool. As this situation is unfold ing, Lelouch gets a call from Rival, but he ignores it.</p> <p class="p1ji">Cornelia is also present on scene and is getting briefed on how they can't attack by air or sea. However, there is a tunnel underneath the convent ion center hotel through which the Britannia forces are planning to destroy the foundation and sink the building. The problem is that the three Sutherlands they send down there get destroyed by the Liberation Front's large gun. To complicate matters further, Cornelia knows that Euphemia is also part of the hostage group, though the terrorists still aren't aware of this fact. During all this, C.C. is a t school watching the girl who carves into the side of the school building every day. Seemingly talking to herself, she says that she understands and that she'll d o it well next time, but that she's not the guardian. Back at the edge of the lake , Suzaku is asking about participating in the rescue, but Lloyd makes him realiz e that Cornelia wouldn't leave an operation up to an Eleven.</p> <p class="p1ji">Lelouch meanwhile is still considering what to do as he watches Shirley's desperate father on TV. He knows that he needs to organize to fight agai nst Britannia and thinks that if he left the situation alone, Cornelia would act without care for the hostages. But realizing that she hasn't yet done that, Lelou ch suspects that something is up. When Ougi comes by and asks about their unifor ms not being right for the Resistance, Zero declares that they are not the Resis tancethey're aiming to be allies of justice. As night approaches and the situation doesn't change, Cecil is noting to Suzaku how some of the hostages are student cou ncil members. Suzaku, however, thinks of himself as a man of structure, so he gi ves precedence to logic over personal feelings. At that moment though, he sees a group of the terrorists push a hostage over the edge of the building. It seems that Kusakabe is threatening to kill a hostage every 30 minutes as long as there's not a reply of some kind from Britannia about their demands.</p> <p class="p1ji">Cornelia's advisers bring her the option of getting the women and children released first, but she turns it down because any response would be ack nowledging the terrorists. The situation changes however, when Cornelia gets a c ommunication from Zero, who has stolen a TV station van. She surrounds him and i s ready to kill him for Clovis' revenge, but Lelouch poses her a simple question a bout whether she chooses a dead Clovis or a Euphemia who is alive. Cornelia's shoc ked look confirms for Lelouch what he had suspected. He thinks that Cornelia is still the same in terms of how she doted on Euphemia when they were young. There
fore, the reason she hasn't acted is because the tail of affection is hindering he r. Playing on this, Zero declares to Cornelia that he will save Euphemia. Cornel ia isn't happy about it, but she lets him through to the convention center hotel. Lelouch wonders to himself if the Japan Liberation Front will accept him as a fr iend or treat him as a nuisance. Regardless, he knows that they're lured by the te mptation to meet Zero.</p> <p class="p1ji">Cornelia meanwhile authorizes the Lancelot to launch, but Cecil recognizes that Suzaku will be acting as a decoy. Despite this, Suzaku is ready to do whatever he can to help the hostages. His job is to take the underground t unnel and destroy the foundation blocks of the hotel, sinking it. Another force will take care of the rescue and the terrorists. Part of the reason Suzaku is so determined is because he remembers how Shirley had invited him to go on the tri p, and how he had turned her down because of work. At that moment, the situation inside the hotel is worsening after a scared Nina calls one of the guards an El even. The angry guard turns his gun on her because he considers himself to be Ja panese, not an Eleven. Nina's screaming prompts Euphemia to finally stand up and t ell him to stop. Identifying herself as the third princess of Britannia, Euphemi a demands to see their leader.</p> <p class="p1ji">Meanwhile, Zero is already meeting with Kusakabe, asking what th ey intend to accomplish with this. When Kusakabe answers that they want people t o know that the Japanese aren't dead yet, Zero calls them antiquated and thinks th at they can't be saved. An angry Kusakabe draws his sword and attacks, but Lelouch simply opens the eye slit on his mask and uses his GEASS to command Kusakabe to die. More guards are bringing Euphemia to the room when they hear gunshots from inside and burst in to see Zero with a gun. The soldiers and Kusakabe have all killed themselves because they realized that their actions were meaningless, or so Zero claims. And after spotting Euphemia, Zero also mentions that she's the sam e as ever for having volunteered herself as a hostage for the sake of the people . Below ground, Suzaku has launched his attack on the Liberation Front's mecha and is able to dodge the cannon fire. As he approaches the enemy, he decides to use the Lancelot's VARIS (Variable Ammunition Repulsion Impact Spitfire) rifle.</p> <p class="p1ji">Zero is at that time mentioning to Euphemia that he heard she be came the vice-governor-general, but Euphemia says that she's not happy about it. Z ero suggests that it's because her brother Clovis is dead, killed by him, and reco unts how Clovis had begged for his life with the same mouth that he ordered Elev ens killed with. When Euphemia asks if that's the reason Zero killed Clovis, Zero reveals that it wasn'tthe real reason is because Clovis was a child of the Emperor of Britannia. That reminds him that Euphemia is also one of the Emperor's children , so he brings out his gun and prepares to shoot her. However, it is at this poi nt that the building starts to sink because Suzaku has successfully defeated his opponent and destroyed the foundations blocks of the building. As he hovers alo ngside the building, Suzaku sees Zero in one of the rooms, but then Zero trigger s some explosives and the entire floor blows up.</p> <p class="p1ji">Although the Lancelot is fine, all signs would seem to point to the people who were inside the building being dead. Suzaku is frustrated that he couldn't save everyone, but in actuality, all the hostages including Euphemia are alive and on life rafts. Zero and his group of rebels appear on another boat an d Zero starts broadcasting a speech, announcing that all the hostages have been rescued and can go home. He then declares his group to be the Order of the Black , an organization which doesn't have weapons and is everyone's ally. According to hi m, the Japan Liberation Front cowardly took Britannia civilians hostage and crue lly murdered them. He and his people found this meaningless, so they punished th e Liberation Front. Former governor-general Clovis was the same way in how he or dered the slaughter of unarmed Elevens, and so he was punished too. Zero does no t deny the fighting, but he will absolutely not allow the one-sided killing of w eak people by strong people. Thus, it's only ok to shoot people who are prepared t o be shot. Their group will appear again when people with power attack people wi thout power, even if this enemy has a lot of power. By this point in the speech, Kallen is wondering to herself if this is the ally of justice Zero had mentione d earlier.</p>
<p class="p1ji">Zero finishes by telling the people with power to fear him and t he people without power to ask for him. They, the Order of the Black, will judge the world.</p> <p class="p1ji"><em>Translation Note: As you can see, I decided to go with the Or der of the Black for (Kuro no Kishidan). I believe the common translation tha ating around is the Black League of Knights, but league just doesn't seem appropriat esilly even. Knight societies are typically called Orders and I think that would work best in this case given the word and the context. Actually, Knights of the B lack or even Black Knights would be accurate direct translations. My point is that this can be translated various ways, but league is not among the best choices.</ em></p> <h3 class="articleheading">Episode Screenshots</h3> {yoogallery src=[/images/stories/code_geass08/]} <h3 class="articleheading">Preview Screenshots</h3> <p class="p1ji">Holy crap, I think this was an entire episode without a Pizza Hu t reference. Either that or I was just too engrossed in the awesome story. I gue ss Pizza Hut doesn't support the Rebellion this week.</p> <p class="p1ji">But like I was saying, this episode had a great plot that kept m e on the edge of my seat. Lelouch was faced with a predicament that had him faci ng a potential ally and a sworn enemy. I was impressed he managed to get past Co rnelia without using his GEASS power thanks to some good intuition about Euphemi a. I had thought that maybe the Japan Liberation Front would join him, but it se ems like he looks down on them, at least based on what Kusakabe told him. Their real leader Toudou may yet leave a different impression.</p> <p class="p1ji">They also scared me into thinking that Lelouch was going to shoo t Euphemia and thus screw over all the theories about her, but fortunately that didn't happen. I would have hated him if he did. And how the heck did Cornelia go from this to how she is now? That's probably something more you can blame on the E mperor of Britannia's influence.</p> <p class="p1ji">Unfortunately next week appears to be a recap episode. Maybe the y'll add in a few new things, but we'll see what happens.</p> {yoogallery src=[/images/stories/code_geass08_pre/]} <p class="p1ji"></p>
<h1 class="contentheading">Code Geass Episode 8.5 - The Mask's Tricks</h1> <p class="p1ji">Date</p> <p class="dropcap">A Re-cap episode of the events occurring in the previously ai red episodes and some preview of what to expect in the future.</p> <hr id="system-readmore" /> <p class="p1ji">What the Recap Covered:</p> <ul> <li>How Lelouch's mother was killed, how he met Suzaku, and how Britannia invaded Japan.</li> <li>How Lelouch met C.C. and Suzaku again after he grew up.</li> <li>How C.C. got shot in the head protecting Lelouch, how he got the GEASS throu gh the contract with her, and how she showed up again.</li> <li>The restrictions on the GEASS.</li> <li>Clovis and how he died.</li> <li>Cornelia and how she outplayed Lelouch.</li> <li>The appearance of the white Knightmarethe Lancelot.</li> <li>The Emperor of Britannia and his speech.</li> <li>Lelouch and his speech after he established his Black Knights.</li> <li>After the hotel hijacking incident, the world's attention focused on the Zero and the Order of the Black Knights. The reactions ranged from repulsion to fear to adoration to fright to derision to delight. They had become heroes to the ghe ttos and villains to the Britannia settlements. Lelouch thinks that this is ok b ecause they don't need support from everyone. However, they still don't have enough to drag out the Emperor.</li>
<li>Nunnally feels that their reunion with Suzaku makes things like they used to be in the past. Lelouch tells her that he understands, but privately thinks tha t for the sake of that, he will destroy the world.</li> </ul> <h3 class="articleheading">Episode Screenshots</h3> {yoogallery src=[/images/stories/code_geass085/]} <h3 class="articleheading">Preview Screenshots</h3> <p class="p1ji"><strong>Watch the Preview!</strong> Mirror 1 Mirror 2 (4.69MB, X viD)</p> <p class="p1ji">The episode was pretty much a full recap, with only a few new sh ots. While there really weren't any new scenes added in, Lelouch did voice over th e entire thing. The end featured a cell phone promotion/contest for merchandise such as the OP single and a Lelouch figure.</p> <p class="p1ji">Because the only really interesting thing in this episode is the preview, I included extra caps and uploaded it for people who don't want to downl oad the full episode. Next week looks like we're going to see lots of Kallen and h er home situation, along with kitty Millay.</p> {yoogallery src=[/images/stories/code_geass085_pre/]} <p class="p1ji"></p>
<h1 class="contentheading">Code Geass Episode 9 - Refrain</h1> <p class="p1ji">2006-12-09</p> <p class="dropcap">With the news reporting the start of the demolition work on t he convention center hotel, Kallen is lying in bed when she's woken up by a crashi ng sound outside. Her maid apparently broke a light fixture when she fell off a broken stepladder, but Kallen has no sympathy and orders the maid to clean it up because it's almost time for school. The maid comments on how Kallen is going to school often now and attributes it to Kallen's friends, but Kallen tells her that it has nothing to do with her. Kallen privately wishes that the maid would disap pear and keeps a picture on her fireplace of herself when she was younger along with her brother and someone whose face is covered with a sticker. Sometime late r, Zero and his knights attack a building where a dirty deal is going down. Reme mbering the scene, Kallen suddenly stands up in class and says the Order of the B lack Knights aloud. It seems that she had been sleeping and dreaming, and this ma kes her the laughingstock of the class. Rival jokingly wonders if she's Lelouch's di sciple since he's a master at dozing off. He doesn't know what Lelouch has been doin g every night, but it's causing Lelouch to sleep through half of the lesson.</p> <hr id="system-readmore" /> <p class="p1ji">With the news reporting the start of the demolition work on the convention center hotel, Kallen is lying in bed when she's woken up by a crashing sound outside. Her maid apparently broke a light fixture when she fell off a bro ken stepladder, but Kallen has no sympathy and orders the maid to clean it up be cause it's almost time for school. The maid comments on how Kallen is going to sch ool often now and attributes it to Kallen's friends, but Kallen tells her that it has nothing to do with her. Kallen privately wishes that the maid would disappea r and keeps a picture on her fireplace of herself when she was younger along wit h her brother and someone whose face is covered with a sticker. Sometime later, Zero and his knights attack a building where a dirty deal is going down. Remembe ring the scene, Kallen suddenly stands up in class and says the Order of the Blac k Knights aloud. It seems that she had been sleeping and dreaming, and this makes her the laughingstock of the class. Rival jokingly wonders if she's Lelouch's disci ple since he's a master at dozing off. He doesn't know what Lelouch has been doing e very night, but it's causing Lelouch to sleep through half of the lesson.</p> <p class="p1ji">At a Britannia train depot, Cornelia is about to leave and is ta lking to Euphemia about a serious problem in the spread of a drug through the El evens called Refrain. As for the Black Knights, Cornelia is content with allowing them to be around a little longer as a debt for saving Euphemia. Cornelia promis es to make the area clean and then hand it over to Euphemia, so she doesn't want h
er younger sister thinking dangerous thoughts now. Remembering what happened whe n she met Zero at the hotel, Euphemia thinks to herself that there was more to w hat he was saying and wonders what Suzaku thinks of Zero and herself. Back at sc hool, a tired Kallen arrives at the student council room to find everyone wearin g cat costumes for Arthur's (the cat) welcome party. She thinks that they could be come quite popular if they went on TV like this, but Shirley doesn't want to hear anything about that because of all the commotion after the hotel incident. Suzak u starts crying because he's so happy that everyone is back together again, so Riv al tackles him and everyone has a good laugh.</p> <p class="p1ji">Seeing her friends like this, Kallen starts to realize that she was part of saving everyone. After their brilliant entry during the hotel incide nt, the world became dyed in the Black Knights' color. She recalls that according to Zero's declaration, they are allies of the weak. This terrorism involves civili ans, tyrannical troops, corrupt politicians, companies of commercialism, and cri minal organizationsthe evil that was not judged by the law was unilaterally convi cted. In the blink of an eye, they became heroes, and the number of people coope rating with them grew,they even obtained another Knightmare. Kallen knows that si nce their leader killed Clovis, a lot of people want to see his face, including those in his ranks. In fact, she does too, but she also thinks that if they forc ed him, he would leave. And without him, they would be useless. While all this i s going through Kallen's head, the Japan Liberation Front's officers are meanwhile m eeting to figure out why the people are cooperating with the group that saved Eu phemia. It is even said that Kyoto will send the Crimson Lotus Mark 2 to the Ord er of the Black Knights.</p> <p class="p1ji">Millay pays a visit to Kallen's home and sees the cold relationshi p between Kallen, her maid, and the madam of the house. Millay comments on the c omplicated family situation, though she's actually here for her grandfather to giv e Kallen her junior high school transcript. Kallen realizes that she's been expose d to be half Britannia and half Eleven and reveals that the maid is her real mot her. Hearing Kallen talking about her life with her mother and her father's real w ife, Millay says that even though she can endure things one by one, she'll eventua lly get worn out if they accumulate. While those two are together, Kallen's mother returns to her own room and checks her drawer, which is filled with vials of so mething. Over at school, Suzaku and Lelouch are talking about Suzaku's earlier cry ing, even though Lelouch is also glad that everyone survived. The two then get i nto a discussion about the police with Lelouch doubting that the police could do anything and Suzaku suggesting joining the police and changing the force. When Shirley enters the room and sees just the two of them, Suzaku gets up and leaves for work at the army. Shirley works up the courage to talk to Lelouch, but he c uts her off because he's still caught up on Suzaku saying that he's going back to th e army.</p> <p class="p1ji">Kallen is in town taking a call from Kaname about the Refrain, w hen she sees a hot-dog stand guyan Eleven- being beaten up. She wants to go help, but Lelouch appears and stops her. It's not until the thugs see them watching and come over that Lelouch uses his GEASS power to convince them that they've had eno ugh of bullying the Eleven. Kallen goes over and helps the man, but as soon as h e realizes from her uniform that Kallen is a Britannia student, he switches to h is subservient vendor mindset, treating them kindly despite the injuries he just suffered. Sitting down on a park bench with Kallen afterwards, Lelouch explains that it can be said Area 11 is an improvement compared to Japan. With the Brita nnia colonization areas, military affairs and economy are exceptionally stable. By obtaining citizenship and going to a government office to follow a procedure, it's possible to become an honorary Britannian, though there is still the problem of pride. Hearing all this and seeing that Lelouch knows so much, Kallen wonder s what Lelouch wants to do. She thinks his head is going to waste and recounts h ow Shirley laments that Lelouch doesn't try to make an effort despite being so sma rt. Lelouch claims that that's the reason he doesn't do anything and says that the e arlier Eleven understood to bow to the Britannians. Reminded of her own mother, Kallen slaps Lelouch. She can't believe he sees things that way and thinks that sh e was a fool to expect anything from him.</p>
<p class="p1ji">Meanwhile, in a bar somewhere, Villetta is relating to Jeremiah with her own experience of lost memory when Lelouch convinced her to give up her Sutherland. She recalls meeting a male student, but doesn't remember his face. Vi lletta does think that it'll be worthwhile for them to investigate this though. Th at night, the Black Knights are in a warehouse district hunting a drug operation . In a Knightmare, Kallen chases their opponents into a back room, but finds it full of Refrain users. One of them is the hot dog stand guy from earlier and ano ther one is her own mother. After she uses her Knightmare to catch her mother fr om tripping, Kallen notices her mother hallucinating about the past when her bro ther was still alive. She calls her mother weak for clinging to Britannia, a man , and now a drug, but she suddenly comes under attack by a police Knightmare. Ha ving lost her unit's right arm in the initial barrage, Kallen goes on the run with her mother still in the frame's left hand. She tries to throw the woman away, but finds that she can't let go. The police Knightmare eventually lands a hit on her backside that sends Kallen's frame skidding on the ground.</p> <p class="p1ji">When the Knightmare finally comes to a stop, Kallen's mother is ly ing on the ground in front of it. Instead of running away, she gets up and says that she's always been by Kallen's side. Kallen realizes that this is why her mother stayed in that house. At first she thinks that it's a foolish reason, but she kno ws that she's really the one who's the idiot. During all this, the enemy Knightmare brings out its knife and attempts to stab Kallen's frame, but she uses her one wor king leg to defend herself long enough to grapple onto the opposite wall and sli de over. This manages to crush the cockpit of the enemy frame, ending the threat . Looking back over, Kallen hears her mother continuing with her hallucination, talking to a young Kallen about how good it'll be to become a Britannian because o f the freedoms it brings. Unbeknownst to everyone here, C.C. is watching from hi gh up on a shelf and comments on how fake tears hurt someone else and smiling te ars hurt yourself. At the hospital later, a nurse tells Kallen that the aftereff ects of the drugs mean that her mother can barely talk; she'll need time to recove r. Kallen vows to wait for her mother so that they can live normally together in the world and is surprised when her mother touches her hand. In tears, Kallen p romises to do her best, just like her mother tells her to.</p> <h3 class="articleheading">Opening Sequence Screenshots</h3> <p class="p1ji">COLORS by FLOW</p> <p class="p1ji"><strong>Watch the OP!</strong> Mirror 1 Mirror 2 (25.2MB, XviD)< /p> <p class="p1ji">I didn't really expect a new OP sequence, so this was quite a plea sant surprise. Heck, even though it was still <em>COLORS</em> playing in the bac kground (not that that's a bad thing), it almost felt like an entirely new OP. The y mixed in some old shots with lots of new ones, including the ones you see abov e. I'm excited about Kallen's new mecha and this shot of Lelouch's group, presumably a ll his allies.</p> {yoogallery src=[/images/stories/code_geass09_op/]} <h3 class="articleheading">Episode Screenshots</h3> {yoogallery src=[/images/stories/code_geass09/]} <h3 class="articleheading">Preview Screenshots</h3> <p class="p1ji">With all this that we're being shown about the class divide betwee n the Britannians and the Elevens, I wonder if the end of the series will actual ly bring social equality. It's certainly not on Lelouch's list of things-to-do, thou gh I imagine that Suzaku, Kallen, and Euphemia could be proponents for that type of change. In fact, I get the feeling that Suzaku teamed with Euphemia could br ing the most social and political changes to the world, but that may just be the Kira/Lacus parallels talking.</p> <p class="p1ji">This episode was focused on developing Kallen as a character tho ugh, and I thought it did a decent job at that. The realization that Kallen's moth er was enduring being a maid so that she could stay by Kallen's side seemed a bit predictable, though maybe I've just seen too many similar stories on TV or anime. There weren't any huge surprises this episode, though I did get a good laugh when Kallen woke up in class suddenly. I also wonder if Kallen slapping Lelouch means that she had some feelings for him or if it was just because he said a really s
tupid thing (or both). Of course there's no guarantees that Lelouch will pair up w ith anyone other than maybe C.C.whose appearance this episode, incidentally, felt a bit random.</p> <p class="p1ji">Next week will be the introduction of the Crimson Lotus Mark 2 a nd looks to include a lot more C.C. Will Pizza Hut return to support the Rebelli on?</p> {yoogallery src=[/images/stories/code_geass09_pre/]} <p class="p1ji"></p> <h1 class="contentheading">Code Geass Episode 10 - The Crimson Lotus Dances</h1> <p class="p1ji">2006-12-15</p> <p class="dropcap">One night, as C.C. is taking a swim at the school pool, Lelou ch is checking out possible recruits for his Black Knights. He comes across the membership applicant file of Diethard Ried, a Britannian. C.C. and Lelouch talk about how the Elevens support the Black Knights because they hate Britannia and they can't directly approve of terrorist ways. He thinks that everyone loves an al ly of justice, though C.C. teasingly comments that he doesn't have the look of an ally of justice. Meanwhile, Diethard is explaining to Villetta and Jeremiah that he got demoted too after what happened. They want his help in investigating a b oy from the Ashford Academy who they believe to be cooperating with Zero. During this time, they'll be off on a military operation to the Narita Mountains where t he Japan Liberation Front is rumored to be headquartered. Zero is also moving fo rward his plans and presents his men with an army of Japanese-remodeled Glasgows . They also now have the Crimson Lotus Mark II, which Zero gives Kallen the keys for because she's the ace pilot and also their trump card who has a reason to fig ht. After Ougi brings him some news from their Britannian applicant, Zero decide s that they're going hiking this weekend at the Narita Mountains.</p> <hr id="system-readmore" /> <p class="p1ji">One night, as C.C. is taking a swim at the school pool, Lelouch is checking out possible recruits for his Black Knights. He comes across the mem bership applicant file of Diethard Ried, a Britannian. C.C. and Lelouch talk abo ut how the Elevens support the Black Knights because they hate Britannia and the y can't directly approve of terrorist ways. He thinks that everyone loves an ally of justice, though C.C. teasingly comments that he doesn't have the look of an all y of justice. Meanwhile, Diethard is explaining to Villetta and Jeremiah that he got demoted too after what happened. They want his help in investigating a boy from the Ashford Academy who they believe to be cooperating with Zero. During th is time, they'll be off on a military operation to the Narita Mountains where the Japan Liberation Front is rumored to be headquartered. Zero is also moving forwa rd his plans and presents his men with an army of Japanese-remodeled Glasgows. T hey also now have the Crimson Lotus Mark II, which Zero gives Kallen the keys fo r because she's the ace pilot and also their trump card who has a reason to fight. After Ougi brings him some news from their Britannian applicant, Zero decides t hat they're going hiking this weekend at the Narita Mountains.</p> <p class="p1ji">When the time comes, Zero pays a visit to Japan Liberation Front outpost on the mountains and uses his GEASS power to convince the guards to ign ore everything unusual that's about to happen. He then signals the Black Knights t o move their equipment up the mountain. As he's waiting for them, Lelouch notices that C.C. has appeared outside the building. She reiterates that she'll protect hi m and then changes the subject to why he stayed Lelouch even though the name of his house was changed to Lamperouge. When he responds by commenting on how C.C. isn't a human name, she turns to him and explains that snow is white because it ha s forgotten its own color. At the base of the mountain, Cornelia's forces have gat hered and are preparing to attack. Euphemia is also here and is learning that th e Lancelot is too. Zero eventually meets up with his men, but when they see the extent of Cornelia's forces completely surrounding the mountain, they get uneasy. It doesn't help the situation any when Zero calmly says that they need a miracle t o win. Tamaki is about to go for his gun, but Zero pulls out a pistol first. How ever, he then stops pointing it at Tamaki and explains that all the paths of ret
reat have already been cut off. If any of them think that they can win without h im, they're free to shoot him. Zero makes it clear to them that they have only two choices after having joined the Black Knights: to live with him or to die with him.</p> <p class="p1ji">The battle soon begins between Cornelia's forces and the Japan Lib eration Front. With Toudou away and still making his way back, the Liberation Fr ont has a hard time dealing with Cornelia or her elite units, allowing Andres Da rlton and his force to reach the Liberation Front's headquarters. Having regained the allegiance of his Black Knights, Zero sets his plan in motionthe Black Knight s are to launch a surprise attack from the summit of the mountain. Their objecti ve is Cornelia, and on Zero's mark, they are to descend to the third point with th e Crimson Lotus clearing the way. Zero then has Kallen plunge a device into the mountain and use a radiant surge mechanism to heat up a water vein inside the mo untain. This causes an eruption and a subsequent landslide that takes out both J apan Liberation Front forces and Darlton's forces. Zero uses this opportunity to a ttack, but the first major opponent he faces is Jeremiah, who is desperate to re deem himself. With no time to deal with the Purist, Zero has Kallen come in to f inish things. Excited to be able to fight the Britannia forces on equal footing, Kallen uses the Crimson Lotus' speed and almost lands a hit. Jeremiah notices tha t Crimson Lotus' right arm is special, so he tries to time his dodge just right, b ut Kallen surprises him by extending that arm. Grabbing onto the Sutherland's head , she activates the radiant surge mechanism and starts frying the Knightmare fro m the inside. With Zero so close by, Jeremiah refuses to escape, and when the ej ection seat system of his Sutherland finally auto-activates, he's taken a lot of p hysical damage. Surrounded by the flames of the exploding Sutherland, a newly co nfident Kallen declares that she can't lose with the Crimson Lotus Mark II. While Villetta is shocked to see Jeremiah defeated, Lelouch is ready to check his enem y's baseCornelia.</p> <h3 class="articleheading">Episode Screenshots</h3> {yoogallery src=[/images/stories/code_geass10/]} <h3 class="articleheading">Preview Screenshots</h3> <p class="p1ji">Lots of Knightmare action this week, with the introduction of Le louch's Knightmare (which sure is ugly) and the Crimson Lotus Mark II (the claw pa rt reminds me of a Gogg). That cockpit on the latter Knightmare is quite interes ting in how it makes Kallen seem to be riding a motorcycle instead of sitting in a seat.</p> <p class="p1ji">For the record, I don't believe Jeremiah is dead. This being a Sun rise series, I'm going to stick with the Mai-Otome/HiME Principle and say that the re has to be a body for someone to be guaranteed dead. I may be wrong since he d id suffer so much damage before that ejection seat kicked in, but I guess we'll fi nd out soon enough.</p> <p class="p1ji">The preview for next week happens to be particularly juicy and r ipe for discussion. For starters, it shows what appears to be Toudou's Knightmare, which kind of resembles a cricket with those things on its head. The OP suggest s that Toudou joins Zero/Lelouch, and this may be the place where that happens. I also wonder if this will finally be the end of Cornelia, and if it is, how it will affect Euphemia.</p> <p class="p1ji">But the big surprise of the preview is this and this. It would s eem that Suzaku is getting a GEASS power courtesy of C.C, especially comparing t his from episode 01 to this shot from this episode's preview. Maybe GEASS really i s the new SEED mode</p> <p class="p1ji">Next week is episode 11, but there will be no episode the week a fter that. This means CODE GEASS will return with episode 12 on January 4th, 200 7.</p> {yoogallery src=[/images/stories/code_geass10_pre/]} <p class="p1ji"></p> <h1 class="contentheading">Code Geass Episode 11 - Narita Battle</h1> <p class="p1ji">2006-12-23</p>
<p class="dropcap">As the battle rages on, Kallen uses the Crimson Lotus' arm to d estroy Kewell's Sutherland before the pilot can escape. However, several of the Bl ack Knights who are on foot are wounded or killed by enemy fire, and Lelouch thi nks to himself that the ones who survive will become soldiers. In the Britannia control room, Euphemia notices that there's something coming up towards Cornelia's g roup. Those two dots on her map represent the two vehicles of the Japan Liberati on Front forcesled by Toudouwho are going after Cornelia. Invoking what happened s even years ago, the group launches an attack that takes out several of Cornelia's Sutherlands. While Guilford and the others hold off the attackers, Cornelia brea ks through their enemy and gets away. Zero's unit is pinned down by Britannian fir e when he gets news of the Japan Liberation Front. He wonders if they figured ou t his target and are going to help him by keeping Cornelia's bodyguards busy. At t hat time, Toudou is contacting headquarters and telling them to invest all their forces to keep the main Britannia army confined. Back at the Britannia field ba se, Euphemia's advisers want to enter the base into battle to help Cornelia. Altho ugh she is conflicted with the desire to save her sister, Euphemia refuses to do this because of Cornelia's earlier order for her to not move no matter what. Fort unately, she gets a message from Lloyd and Suzaku asking for special permission to launch. Seeing Suzaku silently mouth he nickname Euphie, Euphemia grants them t he go ahead.</p> <hr id="system-readmore" /> <p class="p1ji">As the battle rages on, Kallen uses the Crimson Lotus' arm to dest roy Kewell's Sutherland before the pilot can escape. However, several of the Black Knights who are on foot are wounded or killed by enemy fire, and Lelouch thinks to himself that the ones who survive will become soldiers. In the Britannia con trol room, Euphemia notices that there's something coming up towards Cornelia's grou p. Those two dots on her map represent the two vehicles of the Japan Liberation Front forcesled by Toudouwho are going after Cornelia. Invoking what happened seve n years ago, the group launches an attack that takes out several of Cornelia's Sut herlands. While Guilford and the others hold off the attackers, Cornelia breaks through their enemy and gets away. Zero's unit is pinned down by Britannian fire w hen he gets news of the Japan Liberation Front. He wonders if they figured out h is target and are going to help him by keeping Cornelia's bodyguards busy. At that time, Toudou is contacting headquarters and telling them to invest all their fo rces to keep the main Britannia army confined. Back at the Britannia field base, Euphemia's advisers want to enter the base into battle to help Cornelia. Although she is conflicted with the desire to save her sister, Euphemia refuses to do th is because of Cornelia's earlier order for her to not move no matter what. Fortuna tely, she gets a message from Lloyd and Suzaku asking for special permission to launch. Seeing Suzaku silently mouth he nickname Euphie, Euphemia grants them the go ahead.</p> <p class="p1ji">As he's locked in battle with Guilford and the rest of Cornelia's tr oops, Toudou tells his men that if Zero is the kind of guy he expects Zero to be , then Zero would be doing something about Cornelia. Thus, they can do nothing b ut trust in Zero. At that moment, Guilford is also talking to Villetta about Zer o, who appears to have changed course. She shows him where Zero is heading, caus ing Guilford to realize that this is really bad because that's where Cornelia is c urrently. But when Guilford contacts Cornelia to tell her, he finds out that Cor nelia has already met up with the Crimson Lotus. What they don't know is that Suza ku is preparing to launch in the Lancelot, though Lloyd messages him first and a sks why he joined the military if he disliked people dying. Suzaku's answer is tha t he's in the military because he doesn't want to die. Lloyd thinks that this contra diction will someday get Suzaku killed, but then apologizes when Cecile threaten s him for saying that. As Suzaku is launching, Cornelia is meanwhile finding her self outmatched by both the Crimson Lotus and Zero, the latter of whom declares that it's already checkmate. Cornelia knows that if she can defeat the Crimson Lot us, then she will open a means of escape. However, when she tries to attack the Crimson Lotus, its movements are too fast for her gun. When Cornelia turns to he r lance, Kallen responds with the claw arm's radiant surge ability, forcing Cornel ia to eject her Gloucester's right arm because of the damage. Cornelia then comes
under fire from Zero's Knightmare, destroying her gun and her other arm.</p> <p class="p1ji">The rest of the Britannia forces are also faring poorly. Guilfor d has been herded together with the rest of his force by Toudou, though he's still more concerned about Cornelia. She sends him a message, telling him to go assis t Euphemia with Darlton and promising not to surrendershe'll fight to the very end as an imperial princess. With that, Cornelia makes a charge at the Crimson Lotus with her armless Gloucester, but before she can make it, something bursts throu gh the rocky wall beside them: the Lancelot. While Cornelia is surprised to see the Knightmare and wonders who gave him permission, Guilford is relieved that th e Lancelot showed up. Remembering his previous encounter with the Lancelot, Lelo uch tries to shoot at Cornelia, but Suzaku shields her. Lelouch then orders Kall en to destroy the white Knightmare, and so the two mecha start fighting in a mat ch of lightning fast speed. Kallen is able to dodge most of Suzaku's attacks, thou gh she does use her claw arm to stop and destroy one of his swords. In fact, her claw arm's radiant surge can even stop one of Suzaku's bullets. Unfortunately, the consequence of doing this is that the ground under the Crimson Lotus crumbles, c ausing it to go tumbling down the side of a cliff. The fall damages the Crimson Lotus' claw arm and forces Lelouch to order a retreat because he realizes this wou ld otherwise become a war of attrition. Suzaku then goes to check up on Cornelia , but she orders him to chase after Zero instead.</p> <p class="p1ji">Escorting Kallen away, Shinichirou comments on how they used the Japan Liberation Front as a decoy, but ended up only running away. Kallen doesn't like that kind of talk and Kaname agrees. He explains that humans are not pawns in a game and he feels Zero doesn't think about this. Regardless, he knows that Z ero's anger towards Britannia is real, and a man who knows such anger also knows s adness. While they've been talking, Suzaku has hunted down Zero's Knightmare and for ced Zero to eject. Not knowing that Zero is Lelouch, Suzaku reports back that he's found Zero and will capture him. Thinking to himself, Suzaku feels that Zero ha s helped a lot of people, but he also feels that Zero's way of doing things is wro ng. He points the Lancelot's gun at Zero, but what occurs next surprises both Suza ku and Lelouch: C.C. appears. As she tells Suzaku to stop and to not make a move on Zero, C.C. walks up and touches the Lancelot. When Lelouch questions what sh e's doing, C.C. explains that his death would be troublesome. And although this is indirect contact, she thinks this is worth a try. What C.C. tries sends Suzaku through the same experience Lelouch went through when he got his GEASS power. Ho wever, Suzaku is met up with an image of his now-dead father and becomes fearful of it. Lelouch at first thinks that she gave the Lancelot pilot GEASS, but she reassures that she's only showing Suzaku images to shock him. She then tells Lelou ch to run away, but he asks what she'll do and doesn't want to be indebted to her. A s he says this, he touches her shoulder, starting a chain reaction in both her a nd him.</p> <p class="p1ji">Lelouch begins to see many images, including a mob throwing rock s at a church that's adorned with the same mark that's on C.C.'s forehead and a nun wi th that marking too. This leads to a shot of a red shrine gate marked <em>Kururu gi Jinja</em> (Kururugi Shrine) and then a scene of C.C. naked in a body of wate r, touching the scar that is shaped like the marking on her forehead and stretch es from her left breast down to her stomach. Clutching her chest in pain and beg inning to cry, C.C. tells him to stop and to not go inside of her, but it's too la teshe feels that she's been opened. When Suzaku suddenly yells that he couldn't do an ything but <em>that</em>, both he and Lelouch are taken to the same plane where there is screaming all over the place and featureless people all walking one dir ection. Suzaku gives a final scream, knocking both C.C. and Lelouch out of the v ision, and then proceeds to start firing wildly with the Lancelot. In trying to protect Lelouch and get him to run away, C.C. gets heavily injured by flying roc ks. Meanwhile, the battle between the Japan Liberation Front and the Britannia f orces is winding down. Guilford manages to get away from the enemy and heads for Cornelia's position, but she surprises him by ordering a retreat. She sees no rea son to stake the lives of her men any further and admits to herself that they lo st this time. The Black Knights end up celebrating the victory, though Kallen re mains very concerned about what happened to Zero, afraid that he might have been
captured.</p> <p class="p1ji">Zero has actually taken the injured C.C. to a nearby cave and re alizes that she's not human because her regeneration speed isn't normal. He remember s how she got shot in the head when they first met in Shinjuku and thinks that s he most not be connected to Britannia since Clovis was carrying out his research in private. Lelouch notes that her vitals are the same a human and though he pl ans to investigate her blood sample later, he wonders if he should photograph he r wounds. C.C. suddenly starts saying something in her sleep, so Lelouch brings himself closer to hear her. She surprises him with whatever she said and then te lls someone that they finally called her by her name. Meanwhile, Cornelia, Guilf ord, and Suzaku have all returned to base, but Suzaku remains in a state of shoc k inside the Lancelot's cockpit even when Lloyd, Cecile, and Euphemia come to chec k up on him. Back at the cave, Lelouch drops the handkerchief with C.C.'s blood in to a puddle of water and tells the now-awake girl that he removed the fragment s he got hit by and washed the wound. C.C., however, claims that it wasn't necessary and feels that Lelouch always sticks his pride in trivial places. Lelouch then reveals that he knows her name, causing C.C. to comment on how his eavesdropping hobby is bad. Ignoring what she said, Lelouch continues on, saying that it's a go od name and is much more human than C.C. At first she calls that stupid, but she soon starts crying as she admits that she forgot everything.</p> <p class="p1ji">Lelouch feels that this is a good chance to say something to her for saving him and giving him GEASS, and that something is <em>Arigatou</em> (t hank you). C.C. remembers that this is the first time that he's expressed his grat itude to her and asks for him to return the favor to her by calling her name aga in. Although she only wants him to say it once, she wants him to do it with kind ness and with all his heart into it. Lelouch grants her request, but C.C. tells him afterwards that his gentleness was insufficient, that he said it with a piti ful heart, that his pronunciation was poor, and that above all, his warmth was l acking. In response, Lelouch calls her a selfish woman, and C.C. agrees because she is C.C. Around this time, in the town below where the battle took place, a w eary Jeremiah walks in front of a truck carrying the scientists who were studyin g C.C. Crying out to Zero, Jeremiah claims that he's not Orange and then collapses on the road. Sometime later, Kallen arrives at the cave after Zero called her t here. She is initially concerned about him, but then notices C.C. standing to th e side and questions who she is. Zero tells her not to worry because C.C. is his precious partner. Turning around to address her, Lelouch tells C.C. that he doe sn't know why the snow is white. However, he feels that white snow is beautiful, a nd so he doesn't hate it.</p> <h3 class="articleheading">Episode Screenshots</h3> {yoogallery src=[/images/stories/code_geass11/]} <h3 class="articleheading">Preview Screenshots</h3> <p class="p1ji">Well that was crazy awesomea thrill ride all the way through. In terms of the battles, I was actually a little surprised at how well Kallen was d oing in the fight against Suzaku. If she hadn't fallen off the cliff and damaged t he claw arm, she probably could have won that battle with the way it was going. And Kallen definitely had Cornelia beat if it wasn't for Suzaku's entrance. It was a musing to see Cornelia's Knightmare without any arms since it reminded me a little of the Black Knight from Monty Python. Surprisingly enough though, almost every one survived except for Kewell who died in the first few minutes of the episode. That even includes Jeremiah, whose sanity is questionable, but whose appearance again reinforces the Mai-HiME/Otome principle.</p> <p class="p1ji">Actually, although the first half of the episode had the best ac tion and the funniest moments (courtesy of Lloyd and Cecile), it was the latter half of the episode that ended up being more interesting. The flashback caused w hen Lelouch touched C.C.'s shoulder had a lot of juicy bits, including the shot of the Kururugi Shrine that would seem to imply another Suzaku connection. That se quence was filled with the red bird-shaped symbol that's also found on C.C.'s forehe ad and in Lelouch's eye whenever he uses GEASS. The church scene seems to say that it has religious significance, but there's still a lot more for us to find out.</ p>
<p class="p1ji">The latter half also featured some of the strongest LelouchXC.C. moments to date. Not only did he get a peek into her past, he also learned her real name. That alone was the most frustrating part of the episode because they don't tell us what that name is and instead blanked out the audio or covered it up with water drop noises when its said. I suspect the name has something to do wi th the why-snow-is-white topic that came up last episode when they were talking about her name and then at the end of this one after they went through all the n ame stuff. That would also give Lelouch's last line even more meaning.</p> <p class="p1ji">It's also worthy to note that Kallen seemed to have warmed up quit e nicely to Zero. She had been so worried about him and had addressed him so hap pily when she first entered the cave, but then immediately changed the tone of h er voice when she saw another girl. Kallen's expression didn't get any better after Lelouch said all those things to C.C. either. I wouldn't call it jealousy just yet , but this does seem to develop a little relationship triangle between all of th em.</p> <p class="p1ji">In conclusion, this was a great episode to end the year on, and I can't wait to see where they take the story in 2007. As a reminder, there's no COD E GEASS next week. The show returns with Episode 12 on January 4<sup>th</sup>. W ho knows, maybe that's when the new OP and ED will premiere</p> {yoogallery src=[/images/stories/code_geass11_pre/]} <p class="p1ji"></p>
<h1 class="contentheading">Code Geass Episode 12 - Emissary From Kyoto</h1> <p class="p1ji">2007-01-06</p> <p class="dropcap">Cornelia is in a conference where it is being reported that t he Japan Liberation Front was almost annihilated. One of the men present at the meeting questions if their occupation policy is wrong and asks why they neglecte d the subways and mining tunnels, leaving the ghetto to be a hotbed of anti-gove rnment activity. One of the other men tries to cite the budget, but then admits that it was based on instructions from Clovis. Addressing the vice minister, Dar lton mentions a group called the NAC that he had tried to find out about them du ring the operations that they ran the other day, but the data is now buried unde r the earth. Cornelia calls them an aggregate of noble families and zaibatsu, an d she wonders if they're already relics of the past. Getting nervous, the vice-min ister calls that a rumor and claims that if they arrest those people, the Eleven s' economy won't be able to keep going. As her sister and the others are talking, Eu phemia is examining a list of the names of the dead which happens to include Jer emiah. Around this time, a group of old men are discussing the situation with th e Japan Liberation Front having been split up, though Toudou is alive and well. The woman sitting behind a screen feels that there is hope because of the Black Knights.</p> <hr id="system-readmore" /> <p class="p1ji">Cornelia is in a conference where it is being reported that the Japan Liberation Front was almost annihilated. One of the men present at the mee ting questions if their occupation policy is wrong and asks why they neglected t he subways and mining tunnels, leaving the ghetto to be a hotbed of anti-governm ent activity. One of the other men tries to cite the budget, but then admits tha t it was based on instructions from Clovis. Addressing the vice minister, Darlto n mentions a group called the NAC that he had tried to find out about them durin g the operations that they ran the other day, but the data is now buried under t he earth. Cornelia calls them an aggregate of noble families and zaibatsu, and s he wonders if they're already relics of the past. Getting nervous, the vice-minist er calls that a rumor and claims that if they arrest those people, the Elevens' ec onomy won't be able to keep going. As her sister and the others are talking, Euphe mia is examining a list of the names of the dead which happens to include Jeremi ah. Around this time, a group of old men are discussing the situation with the J apan Liberation Front having been split up, though Toudou is alive and well. The woman sitting behind a screen feels that there is hope because of the Black Kni
ghts.</p> <p class="p1ji">During class, Shirley is examining the tickets she got from her father to the Area 11 performance of the Britannia Empire Symphony Orchestra. Sh e notices that both Kallen and Lelouch are absent, which reminds her of how she previously saw them together. Milly suggests that Shirley tell Lelouch that she likes him, and then proceeds to make fun of Shirley's fear of getting rejected. Tu rning a little more serious, Milly remarks that their current lives are comforta ble, and she tells Shirley that there aren't any people who don't change. Lelouch su ddenly shows up in the student council room and explains that he stayed home bec ause Nunnally is running a fever. He is here to pick up some documents, though S hirley notices only after he leaves again that he accidentally took her tickets too. She chases after him and ends up getting the courage to give him a ticket t o the concert. Watching the two from a window above is C.C., who is once again t alking to someone about Lelouch. At the same time, a silver-haired man wearing h eadphones and a visor is smiling as he stands on a nearby rooftop.</p> <p class="p1ji">Shirley's invitation stays on Lelouch's mind even when he's dressed up as Zero and is hanging out with the other Black Knights. Kaname gives him a let ter from the Kyoto group wanting to meet them and promising financial support if they agree. Zero doesn't feel that they should be having any financial difficulti es, though Tamaki immediately claims that it's not his fault since they're a big org anization. Zero decides that Kaname will settle their finances, but Tamaki compl ains because he used to be the one responsible for their money. When Zero talks about trust, Tamaki points out that Zero is the one not showing them his face. K allen stands up for Zero, saying that his true form isn't a problem since Zero had the ability to outwit Cornelia and since he is their leader. This silences Tama ki, but he's not happy about it. He ends up meeting privately with the old members of the resistanceincluding Kanameto talk about how they used to be Naoto's team and how the leadership had been turned over the Kaname back then. Kallen meanwhile goes to Zero's office and apologizes for earlier. When Lelouch asks her if she wan ts to know his real face, Kallen remembers that C.C. knows, but then she says no and excuses herself.</p> <p class="p1ji">Meanwhile, back at school in the student council room, Nina is m asturbating on the corner of a table to a picture of Euphemia. Nunnally comes in thinking that Nina is feeling ill, but Nina wipes off the table and claims that it was nothing. Later, when Lelouch returns home, Nunnally admits to feeling th at he's been growing distant. Taking her hand, Lelouch promises that he hasn't chang ed and that whatever happens, he'll stay by her side. Nunnally asks him to hold he r hand for a while longer because she feels that she'll see that dream again if sh e sleeps alone. The next day, Lelouch talks with C.C. about needing her help wit h the Kyoto group. He tells her that he needs her, and C.C. says that she unders tands. She also produces the ticket to the concert that she thinks Lelouch forgo t, but Lelouch explains that he didn't forget. In actuality, he doesn't know when he'l l get back tonight, so he's ready to turn down Shirley over the phone. By chance, Shirley calls him just then and tells him that she'll probably be late tonight. Fr eed of this obligation, Lelouch goes through with his plan for the Kyoto group, which includes using his GEASS power on the driver who came to pick them up.</p> <p class="p1ji">Suzaku is spending the day at the remains of the Narita site and remembers how C.C. appeared during the battle. He ends up asking Lloyd what Zer o and the Black Knights intend to do with such sacrifices, and Lloyd remembers h ow Zero said they were allies of justice. As Lloyd is claiming that he and Suzak u are just soldiers, Suzaku notices Shirley being led somewhere in the distance by Villetta. He gets momentarily distracted when Cecile calls out to him, and wh en he looks back, Shirley is already gone. Over by the Lancelot, Cecile and Lloy d have figured out that the woman they know as Laksharta is helping their enemy, and Cecile fears that the Lancelot might not win next time against the Crimson Lotus. By this time, Zero, Kaname, Tamaki, and Kallen have arrived at the Kyoto group's base, which they are surprised to find is overlooking the Fuji mines where the treasured Sakuradite is produced. The elderly leader of the Kyoto group app ears and demands to see Zero's face and holds the group hostage with four Knightma res. Kallen tries to protect Zero, but the elder tells her to be quiet and then
orders Kaname to remove Zero's mask.</p> <p class="p1ji">To everyone's shock, the person under the mask is actually a girl: C.C. Kallen recognizes her and claims that she's not Zero, so the elder asks C.C. if this is the truth. Since it is indeed true, the elder figures out that C.C.'s not Japanese, which she also confirms. C.C. knows that the elder is named Kiriha ra, but everything gets interrupted when one of the Knightmares starts firing on the other ones. The pilot turns out to be the real Zero, and he uses the Knight mare's gun to hold Kirihara hostage. Zero calls their way of thinking and their wa y of doing things antiquated and claims that they cannot win. He recognizes Kiri hara as the person who single-handedly carried the Sakuradite mining business an d was the founder of Kirihara Industry. Zero also knows that Kirihara was the gu y in the shadows behind the Kururugi administration, but after they lost the war , he became a proactive supporter of colonial rule. Though he was known as a tra itor, Kirihara had actually managed the Resistance throughout the entire country and had been the Kyoto leader.</p> <p class="p1ji">Going back to what Kirihara said earlier to C.C., Zero now revea ls that he's not Japanese. Hearing this, Kirihara questions why Zero is fighting a nd what he really wishes for. When Zero answers that he's aiming for the collapse of Britannia, Kirihara wonders if this can be done. Zero does indeed think that it can be done and is glad that he's meeting Kirihara now. He then removes his mas k and tells the elderly man that it's been a long time since they've seen each other . Kirihara remembers that it had been eight years ago at the Kururugi Shrine tha t Lelouch and Nunnally had been entrusted with them as victims. He asks Lelouch that if the other party hadn't been him, then would Lelouch have held the person h ostage? In response, Lelouch claims that he could do nothing but request for the person's help. Kirihara wonders to himself if the seed of eight years ago is bloo ming now and has a good laugh about it. Addressing Kaname across the room, Kirih ara affirms that Zero is an enemy of Britannia and guarantees that he'll follow Ze ro. He promises to help in the flow of information, and for his final question, he asks if Lelouch is going to go the path of carnage. As he puts his mask back on, Lelouch simply says that he will if it is his fate.</p> <p class="p1ji">That night, Lelouch finds Shirley standing in the rain near the symphony hall. She had been shown the body of her father earlier by Villetta and now asks Lelouch why Zero killed her father if he's the ally of the weak. A griev ing Shirley can't understand why and goes crying to Lelouch, causing him to drop h is umbrella. She asks Lelouch to save her, and the two then kiss in the rain.</p > <h3 class="articleheading">Episode Screenshots</h3> {yoogallery src=[/images/stories/code_geass12/]} <h3 class="articleheading">Preview Screenshots</h3> <p class="p1ji">Well, there was no new OP/ED this week. Maybe it'll be there next time. That's not to say that we needed a new OP or ED to make this episode any mor e exciting because it was pretty impressive in its own right. I nearly choked on my tea when I saw Nina in the masturbation scene since that's not the kind of thi ng I expected from this show. I knew she had the hots for Euphemia, but not to < em>that</em> extent. At this rate, maybe we'll have a sex scene before this show i s over.</p> <p class="p1ji">If that wasn't enough, there was also a ShirleyXLelouch kiss this episode. Shirley almost reminded me of crazy Kaede of Shuffle in that scene, and this development would seem to complicate things even further in terms of Lelou ch and his harem. Based on the shock in Lelouch's eyes, I would think that he was at least a little affected by Shirley's grieving, so maybe he does have some feeli ngs for her.</p> <p class="p1ji">Next week's episode looks to be more Shirley, though it seems that the Lancelot will be fighting the Crimson Lotus again.</p> <p class="p1ji">Oh yea, Pizza Hut once again supports the Rebellion!</p> {yoogallery src=[/images/stories/code_geass12_pre/]} <p class="p1ji"></p>
<h1 class="contentheading">Code Geass Episode 13 - Shirley and Gunpoint</h1> <p class="p1ji">2007-01-13</p> <p class="dropcap">During the burial of her father, Shirley watches as her mothe r breaks down in tears. She remembers how she had wanted to become her father's br ide when she was young, but her father had told her that she'd find the person she would like. He had promised to be happy for her when she found the person who l oved her back. All of her friends are also here, and Rivalz apologizes to her fo r feeling that the Black Knights looked cool back during the hotel hijacking. Su zaku, however, declares that the way Zero and the Black Knights do things is cow ardly, and he feels that there is no meaning in results obtained from doing thin gs the wrong way. Milly then gets everyone to go back home, including the concer ned looking Kallen, leaving just Lelouch and Shirley to face each other. As it s tarts to rain, Shirley apologizes for what happened on that night because she fe els that her way of doing things was wrongeven the kiss didn't make her happy. She then runs off in tears, and although Lelouch calls out to her, he doesn't chase af ter her.</p> <hr id="system-readmore" /> <p class="p1ji">During the burial of her father, Shirley watches as her mother b reaks down in tears. She remembers how she had wanted to become her father's bride when she was young, but her father had told her that she'd find the person she wo uld like. He had promised to be happy for her when she found the person who love d her back. All of her friends are also here, and Rivalz apologizes to her for f eeling that the Black Knights looked cool back during the hotel hijacking. Suzak u, however, declares that the way Zero and the Black Knights do things is coward ly, and he feels that there is no meaning in results obtained from doing things the wrong way. Milly then gets everyone to go back home, including the concerned looking Kallen, leaving just Lelouch and Shirley to face each other. As it star ts to rain, Shirley apologizes for what happened on that night because she feels that her way of doing things was wrongeven the kiss didn't make her happy. She the n runs off in tears, and although Lelouch calls out to her, he doesn't chase after her.</p> <p class="p1ji">Lelouch instead goes home and sits thinking silently as C.C. enj oys her new CHEESE-Kun toy. She asks him if he regrets having gotten the father of a friend involved in all this, and then reminds him of what was said with Kir ihara about walking the path of carnage. Though Lelouch tells her to be quiet, C .C. keeps going, saying that he has led to the deaths of many people and that th ese people had families, lovers, and friends that they left behind. Facing her a ccusations of not being resolved to do this, Lelouch claims that he has been sin ce that time with Clovis, but C.C. then questions why he's so in doubt right now a nd wonders if he was swayed by emotion. It is when she calls him an insincere vi rgin boy that Lelouch pushes her onto his bed. Unfazed, C.C. tells him that he h as no right to stop and that he can't disappoint her. After hearing all this, a fr ustrated Lelouch heads to the shower where he hits the wall repeatedly. Remember ing the things that various people have said to him up to this point, Lelouch ca lls up Kaname.</p> <p class="p1ji">Thanks to information from Diethard, Zero has a plan to attack C ornelia while she's going after the Japan Liberation Front. Kaname feels that they should give priority to letting General Katase of the Liberation Front get away , but Zero reminds him that they are the Black Knights with the goal of annihila ting Cornelia's force. After Zero tells the group that they will take back what th ey lost at Narita, Kaname asks what the chances of success are. Hearing Zero cal l it a silly question, Kaname smiles and understands. At the same time, Darlton of the Britannia forces is explaining to Suzaku the mission to capture Katase an d put and end to the Japan Liberation Front. Suzaku's job will be to provide cover ing fire until the marine forces secure Katase. After that, he's to annihilate any remnants. Darlton tells Suzaku to show his loyalty to Britannia and feels that this is a chance for a promotion, so Suzaku should work hard. Having overheard e verything, Lloyd calls it a loyalty test for Suzaku and wonders what he's going to do.</p>
<p class="p1ji">As night falls, Shirley shows up at the docks where everything i s set to happen. She had been visited earlier in the day by Villetta, who had to ld her about the likelihood of Lelouch being involved with the Black Knights. At the time, Shirley called it a lie, but because she had her doubts, she came her e. Meanwhile, Kallen accidentally walks in on Zero without his suit on, but it's t oo dark for her to see him. When he detects doubt in her, Kallen admits that unt il now, she's felt that fighting for the sake of justice was the right thingthat's wh y she killed. However, she now wonders if their way of doing things is really ch anging the world. Zero first tells her that they have to change it, and then goe s on to say that there are people who aren't soldiers who will get involved and di e. But Zero and the Black Knights can't stop and they can only try to win. In orde r to not waste the blood that's already been spilled, Zero vows to spill even more blood. However, he won't force Kallen to do so too and offers her the chance to g et out. Kallen is surprised by this, but she decides that she will move forward with him. Lelouch thanks her and then thinks to himself that it is thanks to C.C ., the person he needs. At that time, C.C. is talking to herself, saying that sh e cannot repeat the same failure any longer.</p> <p class="p1ji">When the time comes, Cornelia orders the start of her operation and the marine units dive into the water. Suzaku leads the Sutherland group in s hooting soldiers the deck of the Japan Liberation Front ship, and because he has doubts about what they're doing, Cecile calls him to remind him that he's a profess ional soldier. Zero meanwhile waits until the Liberation Front shipthat's being boa rded by the Britannian marine unitsfloats over the bomb that the Black Knights se t. By blowing it and igniting the fluid Sakuradite, they are able to wipe out th e boat with Katase on it. Moving his units into action, Zero declares that they will rush towards Cornelia's base and care about nothing else. In order to repay t he blood of the Japan Liberation Front, they will take Cornelia and show their r esolution and power. Watching from nearby with Kaname, Diethard suddenly takes o ff in joy that Zero is such a wonderful subject: the incarnation of chaos. He ru ns laughing happily because he wants Zero to show him more. The Britannia forces , including Suzaku, think that Katase self-destructed, and have to scramble when the Black Knights fly onto the dock aboard a special boat.</p> <p class="p1ji">In their respective Knightmares, Zero has Kallen follow him stra ight towards Cornelia. He uses his Burai to tackle Cornelia's Gloucester, but she manages to knock off his left arm before the Crimson Lotus ties her up. Lelouch is ready to shoot Cornelia, but then notices a heat signature in the nearby shad ows. Looking more closely, Lelouch realizes this person is Shirley, and his hesi tation is long enough for Suzaku to fly in to rescue Cornelia. As the Lancelot s tarts bashing apart the Burai, Suzaku asks if Zero doesn't understand other people's pain in his pursuit of a result. He also calls Zero a murderer for calmly using lives as decoys. Both near their emotional limits, Zero asks why Suzaku always gets in the way while Suzaku asks why Zero spills so much blood meaninglessly. A fter getting hit in the air, Zero is forced to eject the cockpit of his Burai, a nd it goes flying down a path of storage containers. Before the Suzaku can do an ything else, Kallen jumps at him with the Crimson Lotuswhich had been fighting Co rneliaand declares that she's protecting Zero.</p> <p class="p1ji">With fighting going on all around, Shirley approaches the wrecka ge of the Burai's cockpit and sees Zero's body hanging out of it. She picks up the g un at her feet and points it at him, ready to fire. However, Zero starts to rega in consciousness and his helmet comes off in the process. A shocked Shirley can clearly see that below the mask is the familiarand now bleedingface of Lelouch.</p > <h3 class="articleheading">Opening Sequence Screenshots</h3> <p class="p1ji"> (<em>Kaidoku Funou</em>) by (Jinn)</p> <p class="p1ji"><strong>Watch the OP!</strong> Mirror 1 Mirror 2 (16.7MB, XviD)< /p> {yoogallery src=[/images/stories/code_geass13_op/]} <h3 class="articleheading">Episode Screenshots</h3> {yoogallery src=[/images/stories/code_geass13/]} <h3 class="articleheading">Ending Sequence Screenshots</h3>
<p class="p1ji"> !"#$%& (<em>Mosiac Kakera</em>) by SunSet Swish</p> <p class="p1ji"><strong>Watch the ED!</strong> Mirror 1 Mirror 2 (10.1MB, XviD)< /p> <p class="p1ji">The new OP wasn't as bad as I thought it'd beI actually really like t he way the song opens. The new ED, however, is everything I hoped it'd be and then some (based on what I originally heard from the promo). Both the animation sequ ences are only partly made of new shots, and of the new OP ones, the final scene of the Lancelot launching made me laugh because it's almost exactly like a Gundam launch.</p> <p class="p1ji">So thanks to Villetta, Shirley now knows that Lelouch = Zero. It's interesting to see that while Jeremiah became comical relief with all the Orang e-kun stuff, Villetta is actually playing a part in trying to expose the truth. In fact, except for the Britannia group shot, Jeremiah's not even in the new OP se quence whereas Villetta gets her own short scene. Anyway, Shirley finding out ab out Lelouch can lead to any number of things, but the preview this week that con sists of only this shot, which would seem to bode poorly for her.</p> <p class="p1ji">Although they don't really know it, Lelouch and Suzaku grew even f urther apart this episode. Both had to come to terms with the fighting that clai med Shirley's father's life, but they ended up at different conclusions. In part tha nks that C.C.'s tough words, Lelouch became more resolved to do what he needs to, no matter how much blood it spills whereas Suzaku meanwhile seemed to settle eve n further into his position that what Zero is doing is wrong. Their contrast is made stronger by the red versus blue shading that that fighting scene took, and it reminded me a lot of DEATH NOTE's use of those colors.</p> <p class="p1ji">On a lighter note, C.C. finally got a Cheese-kun! I just about l aughed myself silly when I saw that. Of course, this means that Pizza Hut suppor ts the Rebellion! Diethard was a lot wackier than I thought he'd be. Who knew he'd g o so crazy over Zero's plans and run around so happily like that.</p> {yoogallery src=[/images/stories/code_geass13_end/]} <h3 class="articleheading">Preview Screenshots</h3> <p class="p1ji">Next week, <em>GEASS vs. GEASS</em>. Who knows what that could m ean</p> {yoogallery src=[/images/stories/code_geass13_pre/]} <p class="p1ji"></p>
<h1 class="contentheading">Code Geass Episode 14 - Geass Versus Geass</h1> <p class="p1ji">2007-01-20</p> <p class="dropcap">When the Crimson Lotus makes its escape, Suzaku wants to chas e it in the Lancelot but gets an order telling him not to. Kaname meanwhile gets a radio transmission from C.C. informing him that Zero is safe and relaying an order to retreat. By now, Lelouch has woken up from the crash, but he's worried ab out his gun being gone and figures out that someone must have taken it while he was unconscious. And his face had to have been seen by at least two peopleone sho oter and one person who got shotbecause there is a large splatter of blood at his feet. Although he doesn't think of it immediately, one of those people is Shirley , and she brought his gun back to her room. She's now writing and crying, causing her roommate to wake up. The next day, Suzaku and the others learn that Nina wan ts to meet Euphemia. The group then gets a phone call from Lelouch asking if any thing has changed. Suzaku says that there is indeed something and cites Lelouch not being there, but he then tells Lelouch about Shirley not showing up either. Lelouch asks Suzaku to tell Nunnally that he'll be late today, and soon after, Suz aku is forced to hang up because Arthur the cat started playing with the phone c ord.</p> <hr id="system-readmore" /> <p class="p1ji">When the Crimson Lotus makes its escape, Suzaku wants to chase i t in the Lancelot but gets an order telling him not to. Kaname meanwhile gets a radio transmission from C.C. informing him that Zero is safe and relaying an ord er to retreat. By now, Lelouch has woken up from the crash, but he's worried about
his gun being gone and figures out that someone must have taken it while he was unconscious. And his face had to have been seen by at least two peopleone shoote r and one person who got shotbecause there is a large splatter of blood at his fe et. Although he doesn't think of it immediately, one of those people is Shirley, a nd she brought his gun back to her room. She's now writing and crying, causing her roommate to wake up. The next day, Suzaku and the others learn that Nina wants to meet Euphemia. The group then gets a phone call from Lelouch asking if anythi ng has changed. Suzaku says that there is indeed something and cites Lelouch not being there, but he then tells Lelouch about Shirley not showing up either. Lel ouch asks Suzaku to tell Nunnally that he'll be late today, and soon after, Suzaku is forced to hang up because Arthur the cat started playing with the phone cord .</p> <p class="p1ji">With Suzaku not apparently knowing anything, C.C. tells Lelouch that she doesn't think anyone else would have been there aside from the military a nd the Black Knights. Lelouch remembers seeing Shirley there, and C.C. identifie s her as the girl who Lelouch kissed. Meanwhile, Darlton is reporting to Corneli a and Euphemia that it's clear that this incident and the Narita one were both tar geted at the princesses. He thinks that there's a possibility that Zero has a grud ge against the imperial family, which reminds Euphemia of what Zero said to her during the hotel hijacking incident. After Cornelia asks her sister to be carefu l, Gilbert suggests Euphemia get a full-time knight as a bodyguard. Back at scho ol, Lelouch and C.C. are going through Shirley's room looking for the gun while th ey have her GEASS-influenced roommate guard the entrance. C.C. notices that Shir ley's diary only goes up to the 14th of the month, which Lelouch realizes is the s ame day her father died. He then opens a shoebox filled with photos of himself a nd also finds a book of train schedules with a bookmark for the page that has Na rita circled.</p> <p class="p1ji">Shirley has actually gone to a memorial monument in Narita and i s thinking about Lelouch when a mysterious man interrupts her. He knows her name and seems to admire the monument as he claps his hands in the air. Around this time, Kaname is aboard the Black Knights van with the other members, and he's thin king about why the Japan Liberation Front ship exploded. Tamaki reminds him that it was a self-destruction and then Kallen asks if he doubts Zero. Joining in th e conversation, Diethard wonders if Kaname thinks it was too timely and asks wha t he intends to do if the explosion was indeed caused by Zero. The person in que stion is at that moment on a train to Narita with C.C. She asks him if he likes or hates Shirley, but Lelouch doesn't give her a straight answer. When she then as ks why he's going to Narita, Lelouch points out that Shirley might know his true i dentity. In response, C.C. wonders if he's going to deal with Shirley if she knows , and she also comments that the person that you really don't want to lose is the person you keep furthest away from. Lelouch questions if that's her experience tal king, but C.C. claims that it's a way of living.</p> <p class="p1ji">Back at the monument, the mysterious man calls Lelouch cruel and seems to know everything about him, including that he's Zero. The man points out that Lelouch ordered the killing of Shirley's father and stole a kiss from her wit h those same lips. He feels that both she and Lelouch need to be punishedthe reas on for Shirley is because he knows what happened that night she found out about Lelouch. Back then, when Shirley had been staring at the unmasked Zero, Villetta had come up and laughed about how she would be made into a noble for presenting him to Cornelia. But when Villetta turned back around, Shirley was pointing the gun at her and fired as Villetta rushed forward. The mysterious man now calls S hirley a murderer guilty of the same crime as Zero. In fact, he even feels that she got compensation for her father's death in the form of her kiss with Lelouch. Despite Shirley's denials, he suggests that she behaved with grief because she had expected Lelouch to be kind to her. He then wonders if she intended to be the h eroine in a tragedy, but he calls her a disgusting witch instead because she kil led people. Under pressure from all the psychological attacks, Shirley eventuall y crumbles to her knees in tears as he calls her and Lelouch pathetic.</p> <p class="p1ji">By the time Lelouch arrives at the monument, Shirley and the mys terious man are gone. After he and C.C. split up, Lelouch is thinking about the
other person who was at the scene that night when he gets a phone call from Shir ley. However, the person on the phone isn't herit's a male. The mysterious man then a ppears in front of Lelouch and tosses Shirley's phone to him. Since Lelouch demand s to know where Shirley is, the man pulls out a chess piece and challenges Lelou ch to a game. Lelouch accepts and boards a tram with the man, but the two are sp otted by C.C. who identifies the man as Mao. Starting the game of chess, Lelouch wonders to himself if Mao is the other witness. As he tries to think through th ings, Mao suggests that he focus on the game. Lelouch actually is about to lose, but the tram arrives at the station with a jolt that shakes off all the chess p ieces. Mao then reveals that he has the GEASS power too, which Lelouch realizes is the power to read minds. Lelouch gets furious at the thought that Mao did som ething to Shirley, but she appears outside the tram and points his gun inward. M ao decides that the punishment game will start now.</p> <p class="p1ji">On the docks, Kaname is thinking to himself that Zero yesterday didn't seem like himself. when he notices a trail of blood and a body nearby. The person he saves is actually Villetta, and she mutters in pain something about Ze ro. Back at the tram station, Shirley is pointing Lelouch's own gun at him. She fe els that they should die together and atone for their crimes. Since Lelouch does n't understand, Mao reveals that Shirley shot the other witness in order to protec t Lelouch's secret. Lelouch tries to tell Shirley that Mao is deceiving her, but M ao notes that Lelouch was too. With all that Lelouch and Mao are trying to say t o her, Shirley fires her gun and narrowly misses Lelouch's head, but the force of the blast still sends him falling backwards. Out of his jacket come all the pict ures he got from her room, including several of them together. When Mao raises h is gun at Lelouch, Shirley fires again and misses Mao. She then falls forward in to Lelouch's arms as Mao goes back into the tram to get a bigger gun. Much to Mao's surprise, the tram doors suddenly close and it starts moving back down the mount ainside. He realizes that C.C. is the one to blame, but he's actually very excited to see her. In fact, his headphones had a recording of her voice going in a loo p. As the tram pulls away, Mao yells that he'll definitely come to see C.C.</p> <p class="p1ji">With Mao gone, Lelouch tries to comfort Shirley and blames himse lf for everything. Seeing how distraught she is with everything that happened, h e decides to make her forget it all by using his GEASS powers. After apologizing for what he did to her father, Lelouch activates his eye over Shirley's cry telli ng him not to. It is later that night that Shirley faces Lelouch at the monument and asks if he also lost his family. Lelouch tells her that it's not his family, but rather a friendprobably an important friend. He says that there are things yo u understand for the first time after you lose someonehow much has he been saved by her smile? Shirley thinks that he must have liked this person, but Lelouch sa ys that he doesn't know. Hearing this, Shirley tells him that morning will come an d admits that she thinks she probably came up here to put and end to something. She's forgotten what, so she'll never be able to do it, and she feels full of sadnes s. However, she believes that morning will come. Agreeing with her, Lelouch than ks Shirley for everything up until now and then turns his back to walk away.</p> <h3 class="articleheading">Episode Screenshots</h3> {yoogallery src=[/images/stories/code_geass14/]} <h3 class="articleheading">Preview Screenshots</h3> <p class="p1ji">This episode is the perfect example of why there's such an excitem ent for me every week when it comes time for GEASS. There are just so many twist s and turns, some expected, but most not. This is why I love this show.</p> <p class="p1ji">The beginning was a bit frustrating because I wanted to know wha t happened with Shirley in that battle, but they cut to C.C. finding Lelouch aft erwards. We don't learn what occurred until Mao talks about Shirley's crime later at the monument. I didn't think that Shirley would shoot Lelouchand she didn'tbut I woul dn't have predicted that she'd shoot Villetta. Since they didn't show Villetta's body af terwards, it was pretty apparent that she was still alive, and now Kaname has fo und her. This is made even more interesting because Kaname has growing doubts ab out Zero, meaning that Villetta could potentially win him over to her side or so mething.</p> <p class="p1ji">The real focus of the episode, and the reason why it was called
GEASS vs. GEASS, is Mao. His ability is to read people's minds, though his own san ity is called into question by his infatuation with C.C. I would definitely clas sify him as an enemy to Lelouch and his goals given all the things that Mao did and said to mess up Shirley. Perhaps without Mao egging Shirley on, her confront ation with Lelouch about knowing his alter ego and reconciling the fact that he was responsible for her father's death would have gone much differently. Instead o f wiping her memorywhich was quite frustrating for me to watchhe might have been a ble to win her over or something. As you might be able to tell, I feel really sy mpathetic for both of them, and I hope Shirley doesn't get written out of the stor y.</p> <p class="p1ji">The other thing I wanted to point out was Gilbert's suggestion tha t Euphemia take on a knight as a bodyguard. Gee, I wonder who she'll choose I'd be sh ocked if it didn't end up being Suzaku. Anyway, next week's episode looks like it'll b e more Mao and C.C. I can't wait to see it!</p> {yoogallery src=[/images/stories/code_geass14_pre/]} <p class="p1ji"></p>
<h1 class="contentheading">Code Geass Episode 15 - Acclaiming Mao</h1> <p class="p1ji">2007-01-27</p> <p class="dropcap">On the way back from Narita aboard a train, Lelouch questions if C.C. is his enemy or ally since he now knows that Mao has a GEASS power that allows him to read minds. C.C. reveals that Mao's power has a range of 500 meters and she contracted with him eleven years ago. She thinks that his objective is only her, but Lelouch is worried because Mao knows he is Zero. Since Lelouch wan ts to know more about it, C.C. explains that Mao's GEASS doesn't have the eye contac t limitation that his has. The problem with Mao's power is that he can't turn it off , so he can always hear the minds of the people around him whether he wants to o r not. This is actually why Mao wears earphones that repeat C.C.'s voice over and over. Lelouch is now afraid that Mao might go after his biggest weak point: Nunn ally. C.C. recognizes how important protecting Nunnally is to Lelouch, but she t hinks that searching the city for Mao with the Black Knights is a waste of time. Instead, she suggests that he should use her as a decoy since she's Mao's goal. Lel ouch cuts her off before she can finish speaking and asks her if he'd become like <em>that</em> if he continued using the GEASS power or if becoming like <em>that </em> was the result of not fulfilling the contract with her. C.C. admits that u sing the GEASS increases its power, and so a person could be swallowed up by the ir own power. Lelouch then gets angry that she knew that yet still proposed cont racts with him and Mao. He calls her cruel because of how she didn't clean up afte r herself once she abandoned Mao since he wasn't able to fulfill their contract. L elouch thinks that she should have taken away Mao's powers or his life and blames her for what happened to Shirley. In response, C.C. decides to move to the place next door that's currently being used for the school council and the cultural dep artment.</p> <hr id="system-readmore" /> <p class="p1ji">On the way back from Narita aboard a train, Lelouch questions if C.C. is his enemy or ally since he now knows that Mao has a GEASS power that al lows him to read minds. C.C. reveals that Mao's power has a range of 500 meters an d she contracted with him eleven years ago. She thinks that his objective is onl y her, but Lelouch is worried because Mao knows he is Zero. Since Lelouch wants to know more about it, C.C. explains that Mao's GEASS doesn't have the eye contact l imitation that his has. The problem with Mao's power is that he can't turn it off, s o he can always hear the minds of the people around him whether he wants to or n ot. This is actually why Mao wears earphones that repeat C.C.'s voice over and ove r. Lelouch is now afraid that Mao might go after his biggest weak point: Nunnall y. C.C. recognizes how important protecting Nunnally is to Lelouch, but she thin ks that searching the city for Mao with the Black Knights is a waste of time. In stead, she suggests that he should use her as a decoy since she's Mao's goal. Lelouc h cuts her off before she can finish speaking and asks her if he'd become like <em
>that</em> if he continued using the GEASS power or if becoming like <em>that</e m> was the result of not fulfilling the contract with her. C.C. admits that usin g the GEASS increases its power, and so a person could be swallowed up by their own power. Lelouch then gets angry that she knew that yet still proposed contrac ts with him and Mao. He calls her cruel because of how she didn't clean up after h erself once she abandoned Mao since he wasn't able to fulfill their contract. Lelo uch thinks that she should have taken away Mao's powers or his life and blames her for what happened to Shirley. In response, C.C. decides to move to the place ne xt door that's currently being used for the school council and the cultural depart ment.</p> <p class="p1ji">Meanwhile, Suzaku learns from Cecile that he's obligated to get a medical check-up as a Knightmare pilot. He agrees to get one after school tomorr ow, and then inquires if there's a way he can meet Euphemia. Lloyd doesn't think tha t it's possible for Suzaku, but Cecile points out that a person with the position of Earl could. It is here that Suzaku is shocked to find out that Lloyd is actua lly an Earl. The next day, Lelouch asks Milly to make the clubhouse off limits f or a few days because of C.C. Milly reveals that she's got another marriage interv iew coming up and asks him what she should do. Before Lelouch can really answer, Shirley comes running up and recognizes Lelouch from last time, but doesn't know who he is. After Shirley's friends call her away, Lelouch explains to a confused M illy that he and Shirley are having a fight, and she assumes that they're pretendi ng to be strangers. Later that night, Shirley finds her diary missing, not knowi ng that Lelouch actually has it and is burning it. During all this, C.C. is out in the city looking for Mao, as are Zero's Black Knights. Not with the other Knigh ts is Kaname, who has taken in Villetta. He still remembers how she had muttered about Zero when he rescued her, but when she wakes up and he tries to question her, he finds out that she's forgotten all her memories. Villetta accidentally exp oses herself and then covers herself back up, but she's glad that a good personKana mefound her. At the clubhouse, Lelouch runs into C.C. and then gets a phone call from Mao, but Mao wants to speak with C.C. She takes the call and then informs L elouch that she's parting with him because she'll be starting over with Mao. When Le louch asks if she's betraying him, C.C. says that she didn't intend to be partners w ith himthey were only accomplices. He tries to stop her by using his GEASS power, but it doesn't have an effect on her. As she leaves, she promises that she has no intention of talking about him with Mao and that Mao would not appear in front of him ever again.</p> <p class="p1ji">At the hospital, the doctor has good test results, but asks Suza ku if he unconsciously compares himself with his father and notes that Kururugi Genbu was a great prime minister of Japan. By this time, C.C. has arrived at an amusement part and is greeted by Mao riding a carousel. She sees that he's still a kid and tries to tell him something, but he's still caught up with how C.C. suppo sedly loves him, and displays the recording that playing on his headphones as pr oof. She yells for him to stop and remembers how she had taken care of him when he was young. The voices were too much for him, so she had calmed him down with her voice and promised to be always by him. However, as Mao approaches her now, C.C. pulls out a gun on him. A gunshot rings out, but it's not from C.C.'s gunMao act ually drew his gun and shot her in the arm before she could do anything. What's mo re, he interprets her not shooting him as a sign that she likes him. C.C. denies it and declares that she only used him, but Mao doesn't believe it and starts sho oting her repeatedly in her arms and legs. He then rambles about how he built a white house in Australia, and that C.C. is too big to take on an airplane there. That's why he's going to make her compact, which he plans to do so with a chainsaw. As he approaches her again, C.C. wonders if this is punishment, but Mao calls i t gratitude. It is at this point that Lelouch appears on the video screen nearby . He had learned that they were at Clovis Land from the phone recording from ear lier and is now broadcasting from Tokyo Towerout of Mao's mind-reading range. Playi ng his trump card, Lelouch raises the subject of C.C.'s name and reveals that he k nows her real one. Mao can't believe that she revealed it to Lelouch yet she never told him, and he's made even angrier when Lelouch asserts that C.C. belongs to hi m. Lelouch keeps going, saying that he's obtained all of C.C., including the parts
that Mao hasn't seen. As Mao starts to destroy the television screens, Lelouch de clares that Mao has lost.</p> <p class="p1ji">However, Mao then starts to hear voices approaching. These are t he thoughts of the police who soon surround Mao completely. With them is Lelouch , who is also dressed as a policeman, and he rescues C.C. Mao can't believe that L elouch is here since he was just on the screen at Tokyo Tower, but it turns out that that was just a recording. In fact, Lelouch had anticipated all of Mao's answ ers and had pretended to be conversing with him. Mao claims that he still has a way to defeat Lelouch, but Lelouch isn't about to let anything go to chance. He ha s put the police squad under the control of his GEASS, and they now execute Mao in a hail of gunfire. In the aftermath, C.C. explains that Mao was only a six-ye ar-old orphan when she formed a contract with him. At the time, he didn't know how to read or write, didn't know his parent's love, and didn't know good or evil. The GE ASS power that she gave Mao kept other people away from him, and that's why she wa s Mao's friend and lovershe was everything to him. Having been brought to the roof of a building by a police helicopter, Lelouch now tells C.C. that he doesn't want to be defeated by the GEASS. Lelouch vows to control and master this power and d eclares that he will change the world. He will collectively grant her wish and h ishe will fulfill the contract that Mao was not able to. Hearing all this, C.C. w onders if Lelouch is comforting her, pitying her, or feeling an attachment to he r. Not answering, Lelouch suggests that they form a contract, but this time from him to her. Stretching out her hand, C.C. agrees to bind this contract, and the two shake on it.</p> <h3 class="articleheading">Episode Screenshots</h3> {yoogallery src=[/images/stories/code_geass15/]} <h3 class="articleheading">Preview Screenshots</h3> <p class="p1ji">As usual, there a lot of stuff to talk about. I would say that t he big surprise this episode was seeing Villetta's breasts, but taken in context o f Kallen's shower scene and Nina's masturbation scene, that's not <em>that</em> big of a deal. If nothing else though, it once again shows how much they're pushing the limits. I still think that we might see a sex scene before this is all over. Foc using more on Villetta herself, it would seem at first that they took the easy w ay out by giving her amnesia. Still, I'm curious to see where they go with it, and there definitely seems to be grounds for a KanameXVilletta relationship now.</p > <p class="p1ji">However, that was only a minor part, and most of the episode was about Lelouch, C.C., and Mao. In a way, I do hold C.C. responsible for how Mao developed into a crazy nut job, though it's arguable whether she gave him a better life than he might have had as an orphan on the streets. That probably wasn't her intention though, and she's still got a job to accomplish that Lelouch has taken on. Actually, when they contracted again at the end of the episode, I thought Le louch and C.C. would do something more than just a handshakelike a kiss or someth ingbut that didn't happen.</p> <p class="p1ji">As for Shirley, they more or less seem to have wrapped up her in volvement completely, and she seems destined to become a background character ag ain. It's still frustrating to see such an end to her part of the story, though I'm keeping a little hope that this isn't the end. Maybe they were just trying to conc lude things, but it seemed slightly odd that they would go to the lengths to sho w Lelouch burning Shirley's diary. In any case, next week seems to be about Nunnal ly and there seems to be a chance that Mao isn't actually dead. Perhaps that's his s leeve in the corner there.</p> {yoogallery src=[/images/stories/code_geass15_pre/]} <p class="p1ji"></p>
<h1 class="contentheading">Code Geass Episode 16 - Captured Nunnally</h1> <p class="p1ji">2007-02-03</p> <p class="dropcap">On the phone with Zero, Diethard reports that the training of the Crimson Lotus is going according to plan after the re-tuning. They're now wai
ting for the arrival of the development team and Laksharta. The organization is now at 92% with members divided into fourteen levels. As per Zero's instructions, their people have been sent to warehouses owned by Britannians, and there are as many as 564 places in the Kanto region with their personnel dispersed. 32 bases have been discovered and there are 11 dummies. Although 42 people have been arr ested, they cut off the information to level eight and higher personnel. And wit h the backing of Kyoto, cases where the general public tips off the army or poli ce are gone. After hearing Diethard's final note that they're still searching for To udou, Lelouch hangs up the phone. He is at the airport with a disguised C.C., an d she's heading off to be the messenger to the Chinese Federation. As he returns h ome, Lelouch thinks of a scene from his past where he was with Suzaku and was ca rrying Nunnally through a field of dead people. Suzaku had stopped at the sight of all the bodies, but Lelouch told him to keep walking. When Nunnally had then noticed a strange smell, Lelouch had told her that they were near a landfill. Si nce Suzaku hadn't continued walking and had instead started crying, Nunnally tried to comfort him by saying that tears are good for a person's temperature. Back in his room, Lelouch promises to himself that he'll overcome it.</p> <hr id="system-readmore" /> <p class="p1ji">On the phone with Zero, Diethard reports that the training of th e Crimson Lotus is going according to plan after the re-tuning. They're now waitin g for the arrival of the development team and Laksharta. The organization is now at 92% with members divided into fourteen levels. As per Zero's instructions, the ir people have been sent to warehouses owned by Britannians, and there are as ma ny as 564 places in the Kanto region with their personnel dispersed. 32 bases ha ve been discovered and there are 11 dummies. Although 42 people have been arrest ed, they cut off the information to level eight and higher personnel. And with t he backing of Kyoto, cases where the general public tips off the army or police are gone. After hearing Diethard's final note that they're still searching for Toudo u, Lelouch hangs up the phone. He is at the airport with a disguised C.C., and s he's heading off to be the messenger to the Chinese Federation. As he returns home , Lelouch thinks of a scene from his past where he was with Suzaku and was carry ing Nunnally through a field of dead people. Suzaku had stopped at the sight of all the bodies, but Lelouch told him to keep walking. When Nunnally had then not iced a strange smell, Lelouch had told her that they were near a landfill. Since Suzaku hadn't continued walking and had instead started crying, Nunnally tried to comfort him by saying that tears are good for a person's temperature. Back in his room, Lelouch promises to himself that he'll overcome it.</p> <p class="p1ji">The next morning, Suzaku catches up with Lelouch on the way to c lass and warns him that not coming to school will result in him being held back a year. Of course, Suzaku himself has also been busy because the Black Knights h ave been so active. Lelouch then invites Suzaku over to eat because Nunnally is lonely, but their conversation gets interrupted by the arrival of Rivalz. He's in a panic because he found out that Milly had a marriage interview and is angry th at Lelouch didn't tell him it was today. In fact, Milly has already arrived at her marriage interview, and it's with none other than Lloyd. He suggests that they ge t married, but when both Cecile and Milly react with surprise, he decides to put it on hold. Meanwhile, at home, Nunnally hears someone enter her room, but it's s omeone who starts clapping: Mao. By the time Lelouch comes back to tell her abou t Suzaku, she's already gone. Mao left only a picture of her bound and gagged surr ounded by a half-circle of origami cranes. Right as Lelouch is discovering the p hoto, the telephone rings, and it's Nunnally on the other end. She's only able to te ll him that she doesn't know where she is and that she can't move before Mao takes o ver the phone. Mao calls Lelouch careless and wonders if Lelouch thought he was dead. Lelouch tries to tell Mao that C.C. isn't here right now, but it turns out t hat that's the reason Mao came. Having an opponent on whom GEASS doesn't work is tro ublesome, so he's putting off his stuff with C.C. to deal with Lelouch.</p> <p class="p1ji">As Lelouch starts searching the school for them, Mao tells him t hat he has a time limit of 5 hours. This is a game between the two of them, so L elouch isn't allowed to get the police involved. Mao also didn't like being shot, bu t he does find Britannian medicine amazing. Before he hangs up, Mao says that it's
because Lelouch was not careful enough in the final stage that Nunnally is now in trouble. Afterwards, Nunnally tells Mao that she won't forgive him if he makes her brother feel sad. Over in the student council room, Suzaku learns from Rival z that Lelouch and Shirley are having a fight. Kallen believes that they should just leave it alone since she thinks of it as a fight between a married couple. Concerning Lelouch and relationships, Rivalz thinks that he has only the knowled ge and can't put it into practiceLelouch doesn't have enough experience. A breathless Lelouch soon comes into the room, but it's obvious to them that he has something else on his mind. Suzaku decides to follow him and catches him on the stairwell with the photo of Nunnally bound up, making Suzaku realize that something happen ed to her. Even with Suzaku's, Lelouch doesn't have many clues to go on until he rem embers the sound of water rushing from the phone call. Realizing that it could b e the underground water circulation system, the two head for the elevator. While all this is going on, Kaname returns home to Villetta cooking for him. He wonde rs if she went out to do some shopping, but Villetta was just using ingredients from around the house. She still hasn't regained any of her memories, and Kaname v erifies that she's been at home the entire time by checking the camera recordings on his laptop.</p> <p class="p1ji">At the elevator, Suzaku comments on how it's unusual for Lelouch n ot to have noticed the water sound sooner. Lelouch is too engrossed with the loc k system on the elevator to reply and has no choice but to break it. At the bott om level, Suzaku uses a mirror to see a machine gun attached to a surveillance c amera. He knows that this system has a short 0.05 time lag, which makes Lelouch think that they'll have to go back up to turn off the system. However, Suzaku bolt s out of the elevator and rushes the camera. He runs faster than the system can target him and manages to leap off the wall and kick the camera. With that out o f the way, the two proceed to where Nunnally is being held, but Suzaku notices a bomb hung above her head. Lelouch realizes that it's a pendulum bomb set to go of f if some other force is added to it. Suzaku knows that radius of the blast is o ver 500 meters, which Lelouch deduces to mean that Mao is outside of his mind-re ading GEASS range. They can only cut the line coming from the detonator and they have to do it while the thing is swinging. Lelouch doesn't think that this is som ething a person can do, but Suzaku says he'll do it. He believes that Lelouch is m ore adept with intelligence and he's just a soldier.</p> <p class="p1ji">Meanwhile, Cornelia and Euphemia are relaxing together in a big garden, and Cornelia notes that it's been a long while since they've had some time l ike this because of all the unexpected things that happened after they came to A rea 11. She then touches Euphemia's waist, prompting the princess to squeal, and c omments on how Euphemia is getting fat doing desk work. Euphemia changes the sub ject to how this garden resembles the one that was at Marianne's villa, causing Co rnelia to remember how Clovis only fought with Lelouch back then. Euphemia think s that it's because they were rivals, but then remembers that Clovis drew the pict ure of Lelouch and his family. Cornelia feels that they have to hurry in suppres sing this area and capturing Zero so that they can exonerate themselves to Clovi s, Lelouch, and Nunnally since this is the world where those three siblings scat tered their lives.</p> <p class="p1ji">Having left Suzaku underground with Nunnally, Lelouch finds Mao waiting for him in the cathedral with a game of chess and a balance ready. The b alance has a red zone that, if reached, will cause the underground bomb to explo de. By taking Lelouch's black chess pieces and placing them on his side of the bal ance, Mao is putting Nunnally closer and closer to death. In other words, Lelouc h needs to win to save his sister. As they start the game, Mao comments on how L elouch isn't the type who can have nothing in his head, and so he doesn't think Lelo uch can win. Mao starts to get more and more of the black pieces, and Lelouch st arts panicking as the balance nears the red zone. Under the pressure of Mao's mind games and the prospect of losing his sister, Lelouch finally gives up and decla res that he's lost. Mao is delighted to be able to hear that from Lelouch, but he isn't about to stop and tosses one more black piece onto the balance. Lelouch scre ams for him to stop, but it's too late or so they both think. When Mao checks the s urveillance camera, he is surprised to find Nunnally still in one piece. Suddenl
y, Suzaku bursts through the window, dodges Mao's bullets, and smacks Mao in the f ace. After introducing himself, Suzaku is ready to take Mao into custody for dis turbing public peace, but Mao is still shocked that the bomb was dismantled beca use it required a match in speed with the pendulum. Suzaku explains that Lelouch told him which line to cut, and he was supposed to come rushing in when he hear d a scream. Lelouch doesn't remember any of this, but then realizes what happened. Using his thoughts to tell Mao, Lelouch explains that he had given Suzaku direc tions and then made himself forget with his own GEASS powers in order to fool Ma o.</p> <p class="p1ji">Still in disbelief, Mao asks what Lelouch would have done if Suz aku failed, and Lelouch concedes that this is indeed a strategy that could not h ave been taken if he didn't trust Suzaku. In fact, Suzaku has even called in Sayok o to untie Nunnally. When he finally gets over it, Mao starts struggling with Su zaku and refers to him as someone who killed his father. Pushing the topic, Mao confronts Suzaku with how he killed his biological father seven years ago. Suzak u had believed that stopping his fatherwho called for resistance to the bitter en dwould end the war. Suzaku tries to deny it, but Mao calls it a murder. Mao then thinks that Suzaku should be glad that the secret it out since he had been lying to everyone around him. Lelouch realizes that this means the reports that Prime Minister Kururugi's suicide were all big lies. Mao then claims that Suzaku wanted to save people, but it was really his own mind that wanted to be savedhe wanted to die sacrificing himself for that. As Suzaku starts screaming, Mao says that S uzaku's good intentions were only for self-satisfaction and calls Suzaku a spoiled child who wanted only punishment. Having heard enough, Lelouch uses his GEASS p ower on Mao to make him shut up. Unable to speak, Mao stumbles towards the door and finds C.C. waiting for him outside the cathedral. She says that she liked hi m, and as he approaches her, she tells him to go ahead and wait in the world of death. With that, she shoots Mao in the neck, and the GEASS symbol in his eye di sappears as he crumples to the ground. The threat is over, but Suzaku is still o n his knees in shock.</p> <h3 class="articleheading">Episode Screenshots</h3> {yoogallery src=[/images/stories/code_geass16/]} <h3 class="articleheading">Preview Screenshots</h3> <p class="p1ji">I'm not really going to talk much about Mao coming back because I had been expecting it to happen. The only thing I learned from that is that Brit annian medicine able to bring people back from that many gunshot wounds. What I didn't expect to see was Suzaku being such a superman with the way he outran a com puter controlled machine gun and the way he did wall runs. Calling him a superma n may be exaggerating it a bit, but this episode does make the distinction betwe en the two main protagonists even clearer: Lelouch has the know-how and Suzaku h as what it takes to get things done. They'd make quite a dynamic duo, but the fact is that they're currently on opposites sides of the conflict. The only place they can work together as themselves is at school, and it ultimately led to Mao's down fall. Speaking of which, I found it interesting that C.C. stayed outside the cat hedral and never came in. Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but there was that f lashback of the nun back in episode 11, so this might mean something.</p> <p class="p1ji">We also got a lot more of Suzaku's past this episode, most of it c ourtesy of Mao. As the first episode of the GEASS picture drama showed, the Suza ku back then was very different from the Suzaku now, so Mao calling him a spoile d kid isn't really a stretch of the imagination. It would seem that Suzaku did ind eed kill his father, and it's been haunting him ever since. Lelouch now knows too, and although I would like to think that he would help Suzaku get over it, I jus t can't see him doing it without some major motivation.</p> <p class="p1ji">Cornelia showed a different side of herself this weeka side we've s een mostly in glimpses up until now. She had a rather playful and then wistful q uality to her, which made her a lot more likable than usual. I still think she's g oing to die, but I probably won't hate her character when she does. Heck, I'm surpri sed that she lasted this longI had expected her to die a long time ago and Lelouc h to refocus his sights on Schneizel.</p> <p class="p1ji">The big LOL moment for me was actually seeing that Milly's marriag
e interview was with Lloyd. I hadn't even considered him as a candidate, so that c ame as a complete surprise. I dunno if they're going to end up getting married or not, but I'm still rooting for CecileXLloyd. On the subject of relationships, I ag ain found it odd that they spent a little time talking about Lelouch and Shirley again. It keeps making me think that we'll be seeing more of Shirley.</p> <p class="p1ji">The preview for next week shows that Laksharta arrives, Kallen g ets her new uniform, and someone looks to be getting a new Knightmarethe sword ma kes me think it'll be Toudou's. And remember folks, Pizza Hut supports the Rebellion . <em>It's only a coincidence that I ordered Pizza Hut for dinner tonight </em></p> {yoogallery src=[/images/stories/code_geass16_pre/]} <p class="p1ji"></p>
<h1 class="contentheading">Code Geass Episode 17 - Knight</h1> <p class="p1ji">2007-02-10</p> <p class="dropcap">As he sits in a thinking position, Lelouch recalls how he had confronted Suzaku about his past in the aftermath of the Mao incident. He had t old Suzaku that Kirihara (of the Kyoto group) once said Kururugi Genbu's death was to suppress the hardline faction against resistance to the bitter endboth Japan and Britannia needed such a story. Suzaku is fine now and is sketching Lelouch w ith the rest of the class. They are having art class with Lelouch as the model b ecause it's art week, and today is also the inauguration ceremony of Clovis' memoria l art museum. Euphemia is at the museum at that very moment because she has to c hoose a grand prize winner from all the art pieces. She takes a liking to a pain ting of a house by a river, but the director tells her that the painter was foun d out be 1/4 Eleven. He instead directs her attention to a painting of her fathe r, the Emperor of Britannia, done by the son of Duke Nikolai. Over at the Black Knights base, Kaname is opening up a bento made for him by Villetta when he gets interrupted by the arrival of the Toudou's Four Holy Swords. They want the Black Knights' help because Toudou has been taken captive by Britannia. Zero gives the g o-ahead when Kaname calls him up because he considers their group to be allies o f justice. After watching Lelouch hang up the phone, C.C. apologizes to him for what happened with the Chinese Federation. He tells her not to worry and is more focused on what he calls the two chess pieces that have fallen into place, thou gh it is possibility that there could be one moreSuzaku.</p> <hr id="system-readmore" /> <p class="p1ji">As he sits in a thinking position, Lelouch recalls how he had co nfronted Suzaku about his past in the aftermath of the Mao incident. He had told Suzaku that Kirihara (of the Kyoto group) once said Kururugi Genbu's death was to suppress the hardline faction against resistance to the bitter endboth Japan and Britannia needed such a story. Suzaku is fine now and is sketching Lelouch with the rest of the class. They are having art class with Lelouch as the model beca use it's art week, and today is also the inauguration ceremony of Clovis' memorial a rt museum. Euphemia is at the museum at that very moment because she has to choo se a grand prize winner from all the art pieces. She takes a liking to a paintin g of a house by a river, but the director tells her that the painter was found o ut be 1/4 Eleven. He instead directs her attention to a painting of her father, the Emperor of Britannia, done by the son of Duke Nikolai. Over at the Black Kni ghts base, Kaname is opening up a bento made for him by Villetta when he gets in terrupted by the arrival of the Toudou's Four Holy Swords. They want the Black Kni ghts' help because Toudou has been taken captive by Britannia. Zero gives the go-a head when Kaname calls him up because he considers their group to be allies of j ustice. After watching Lelouch hang up the phone, C.C. apologizes to him for wha t happened with the Chinese Federation. He tells her not to worry and is more fo cused on what he calls the two chess pieces that have fallen into place, though it is possibility that there could be one moreSuzaku.</p> <p class="p1ji">When Suzaku comes by later and plays with Nunnally, Lelouch thin ks to himself that sooner or later he won't be able to be by his sister's side. And with emergency cases like Mao, there needs to be someone here to protect her. Le
louch feels that that someone is Suzaku, but before Lelouch can talk to him abou t it, Cecile comes running to notify Suzaku of urgent business from Lloyd. Since Suzaku has to go, Lelouch tells him that he has something important to say when Suzaku gets back. Once Suzaku runs off, Lelouch asks Nunnally what she thinks o f him. Nunnally says that she likes Suzaku, but the person she likes the most is still her brother. Around this time, Shirley is getting herself ready to go out and accidentally drops her hair clip. When she goes to get it, she notices a cr umbled piece of paper lying in the space between her furniture. Over at the art museum, Euphemia is holding a press conference and one of the journalists is que stioning her about Eleven contractors being excluded in the construction of the place. Euphemia attempts an answer, but Darlton cuts in to tell the reporter tha t they're looking into it and are refraining from answering for now. Another repor ter then asks about the rumors of Euphemia deciding her Knight soon, and Euphemi a is once again uncertain of what to say. Cornelia had earlier presented her wit h a book full of candidates, but Euphemia still hasn't chosen one. Fortunately, th e museum director announces that they're limiting questions to those about the mus eum itself.</p> <p class="p1ji">The Black Knights mechanics are at that time working on the Crim son Lotus on a hidden spot underneath the highway when a voice tells them to be more careful. This voice belongs to Laksharta, the mother of the Crimson Lotus. Ze ro comes out to greet her and explains that he's read about her work on medical cy bernetics. Laksharta says that she hates talking about old times and instead cha nges the topic to the uniforms she brought from Kyoto that supposedly increases the pilots' survival rate. Unbeknownst to anybody on their side, Toudou's executione r has been changed to Kururugi Suzaku. The young pilot is at that moment with Ll oyd and is trembling in shock because Toudou used to be his old instructor back when he was still a child at the shrine. However, his thoughts get interrupted b ecause of a large explosion across the compound. Toudou's Four Holy Swords have st arted the attack in their new Knightmares and are making mincemeat of the Britan nia defense forces. Unaware of what's going on outside, a guard has opened Toudou's cell so that the captive can say anything he still needs to say before he's execut ed. When Toudou explains that he doesn't regret throwing away his life, Zero's voice suddenly proclaims that if that's the case, he will take Toudou's life. The Crimson Lotus and Zero's Knightmares then open up a hole in the wall, crushing the guard in the process.</p> <p class="p1ji">Since Zero identifies him as the only person beat Britannia seve n years ago in the miracle of Itsukushima, Toudou wonders if Zero also wants a m iracle from him. Zero, however, doesn't believe that it was a miracle, but rather a victory based on superior intelligence gathering. Seeing that Toudou doesn't car e about that anymore especially since they've now lost General Katase, Zero calls him spoiled and says that Toudou must take the responsibility for the miracle. Z ero claims that the reason Area 11's resistance movement has been especially inten se is because Japan still had strength remaining when she surrendered. People ar e still holding onto the illusions of a miracle, and that's why things like the Re frain drug spread. He then calls for Toudou to struggle until death, until the m iracle namesake is worn out. Zero believes it necessary for the Japanese populac e to accept their defeat, but then he has his own prophetic dream too. Toudou sm iles and allows Zero to transport him out to the new Knightmare that awaits him. As he gets on, Toudou tells his men that they'll be helping Zero and will be taki ng care of the remaining forces here. With Toudou now on his side, Lelouch think s to himself that he's completed all his objectives and Nunnally now just needs he r Knight. As if on cue, the Lancelot appears.</p> <p class="p1ji">By now, the museum press conference has turned into the awards c eremony and is awaiting Euphemia to select a winner. She's torn about what to choo se, but luckily she never gets a chance to do so because cell phones soon start going off around the room with news of the Black Knights attack. They even proje ct onto the large television screen the ongoing battle between the Lancelot and Toudou's Four Holy Swords. Toudou trusts Zero to instruct them on how to deal with the Lancelot, and in fact Lelouch has actually done an analysis of the Lancelot based on past data. He knows that there is a fixed pattern in its movements, so
he directs his new allies in a way that catches Suzaku off guard, allowing Toud ou to attack from behind. Toudou uses his sword to slice open the Lancelot's cockp it, revealing Suzaku in the pilot's seat. Lelouch, Kallen, and Toudou all recogniz e the boy, but Lelouch is hit hardest as he realizes that all the encounters he's had the Lancelot have really been with Suzaku. In addition, his plans for Suzaku to stay beside Nunnally are now ruined. Since the Lancelot can still move, Suza ku continues the battle and locks himself in a swordfight with Toudou's Knightmare . Toudou decides to open his cockpit too and reveals himself to his former stude nt.</p> <p class="p1ji">Since Suzaku can't believe that Toudou would do this, Toudou chall enges Suzaku to execute him according to schedule. In response, Suzaku tries to tell Toudou that denying the current society has no meaning. Seeing Suzaku adama nt in his beliefs, Toudou advises him to go down that path and explains that if you don't do your best with everything you have, you can't get anything. This is app lies for both countries and individual people. Much to Kallen's dismay, the Four H oly Swords then join the fight. Because of the dire situation, Lloyd radios Suza ku to release the Harken Boosters by inputting a passwordLloyd's favorite foodinto t he Lancelot. Suzaku successfully pulls this off and disarms Toudou and three of his men all in one attack. He then throws his sword to take care of the remainin g opponent, but they're all still able and ready to fight. Zero finally ends it by yelling for everyone to stop. Conflicted with his feelings, he tells them that they've accomplished their objective so they should withdraw at once. As if they w ere the reasoning behind Zero's orders, a fleet of Britannia aircraft carrying rei nforcements suddenly appear in the sky. Making the distinction between an unwinn able battle and a lost battle, Toudou admires Zero's knowledge and creates a smoke screen with his men so that they can make their retreat. When Suzaku tries to g ive chase, they shoot up his leg to stop him.</p> <p class="p1ji">After watching the entire battle on the museum television screen , Euphemia thinks to herself that Suzaku did admirably. However, the reporters d on't feel the same way: some of them question why Suzaku didn't pursue and others ca ll him a traitor. Having heard enough, Euphemia announces that she's going to answ er the earlier question about deciding on a Knight. Motioning to the screen, she declares that Kururugi Suzaku will be that person. At that moment, Suzaku sayin g to himself that he is Toudou's enemy now. Back at their hideout, Kallen and Kana me are worried since Zero hasn't gotten out of his Knightmare yet, but then Kallen starts to hear something in her earpiecethe sound of Zero laughing uncontrollabl y. Standing above them, C.C. looks down as Zero's laughs ring through the night.</ p> <h3 class="articleheading">Episode Screenshots</h3> {yoogallery src=[/images/stories/code_geass17/]} <h3 class="articleheading">Preview Screenshots</h3> <p class="p1ji">Suzaku's secret getting out is a pretty big event, though I think that if or when Lelouch's identity is ever revealed to everyone all at once, it'll b e an even bigger shock. In any case, it's clear that Lelouch is the one most affec ted by this revelation because Suzaku was such a close friend that Lelouch was p lanning to trust him to protect his precious sister. However, it may not all be bad. Lelouch knows Suzaku's identity, but Suzaku has no idea that Lelouch is reall y Zero. This means that theoretically, Lelouch can use Suzakuthrough GEASS or jus t pure manipulationto strike at Britannia or do whatever needs to be done. When L elouch finds out that Suzaku has become Euphemia's Knight, he could use the guy to get at Cornelia.</p> <p class="p1ji">This episode also had the biggest evidence yet that Shirley's memo ries could still come back. Although finding the letter she started writing back in episode 14 doesn't necessarily mean that she'll soon remember or figure out ever ything, they would seem to hint that there is a path to recovery. At the very le ast, it means that the writers haven't been giving us extra bits of Shirley for no reason, and I expect her to play a big part sometime in the future.</p> <p class="p1ji">Other notables this episode include the introduction of the very playful sounding Laksharta (voiced by Kurata Masayo), the oddly amusing insert song when the Four Holy Swords were wreaking havoc (Sakai Mikio's '$(# (<em>Picares
, and C.C.'s academy outfit. Unfortunately, next week is a recap episode. I'll of co urse still watch and blog it to get my weekly GEASS fix, but I'm not expecting any thing new. Hopefully episode 18 will more than make up for it</p> {yoogallery src=[/images/stories/code_geass17_pre/]} <p class="p1ji"></p>
<h1 class="contentheading">Code Geass Episode 17.5 - The Truth Behind the Mask</ h1> <p class="p1ji">Date</p> <p class="dropcap">Another Re-cap episode of the events from episodes 9 to 17. M ore light is shed on Suzaku's character.</p> <hr id="system-readmore" /> <p class="p1ji">This is a complete recap of all the Suzaku stuff we've seen so far . The only new part came at the very end where we're shown Euphemia knighting Suza ku. In the voice over, Lelouch realizes that Suzaku was talking about Euphemia b ack in episode six, and he starts to wonder if Suzaku chose Euphemia over him an d Nunnally. Nevertheless, Lelouch feels that he's already won because he now knows that Suzaku is the Lancelot's pilot.</p> <p class="p1ji">The end featured a cell phone promotion for merchandise such as the ED single, the soundtrack, and a CHEESE-kun Cubic Puzzle.</p> <h3 class="articleheading">Episode Screenshots</h3> {yoogallery src=[/images/stories/code_geass175/]} <h3 class="articleheading">Preview Screenshots</h3> <p class="p1ji"><strong>Watch the Preview!</strong> Mirror 1 Mirror 2 (4.45MB, X viD)</p> {yoogallery src=[/images/stories/code_geass175_pre/]} <p class="p1ji"></p>
<h1 class="contentheading">Code Geass Episode 18 - Orders to Kururugi Suzaku</h1 > <p class="p1ji">2007-02-24</p> <p class="dropcap">Aboard their submarine, Zero is outlining the new organizatio nal structure to the rest of the Black Knights. Everyone is happy to hear that T oudou is going to be in charge of military affairs, but they question having Die thard, a Britannian, be in charge of public relations and intelligence gathering . Using himself as an example of someone who's not Japanese, Zero claims that what is needed is the ability to bring about results, and a person's race, past, and w ays have nothing to do with that. Continuing his appointments, Zero names Kaname as vice-commander, puts Laksharta is in charge of technological development, an d has Kallen as the head of the Zero-th squadron. Kallen is happy to hear that t his squad will be directly under Zero's control and can be thought of as his bodyg uards. Once Zero finally ends his list with Tamaki as the head of the second spe cial service squad, Kallen notices that C.C. wasn't given an official position, th ough C.C. doesn't seem to mind and just plays with her hair. Diethard then tells Z ero that he has something he wants to discuss. During all this, Suzaku is attend ing his knighting ceremony surrounded by a group of Britannians who don't think he's worthy. Initially, no one except for Lloyd claps after the ceremony is over. It is only after Darlton starts clapping with Lloyd that the rest of the crowd joi ns in too.</p> <hr id="system-readmore" /> <p class="p1ji">Aboard their submarine, Zero is outlining the new organizational structure to the rest of the Black Knights. Everyone is happy to hear that Toud ou is going to be in charge of military affairs, but they question having Dietha rd, a Britannian, be in charge of public relations and intelligence gathering. U sing himself as an example of someone who's not Japanese, Zero claims that what is needed is the ability to bring about results, and a person's race, past, and ways
have nothing to do with that. Continuing his appointments, Zero names Kaname as vice-commander, puts Laksharta is in charge of technological development, and h as Kallen as the head of the Zero-th squadron. Kallen is happy to hear that this squad will be directly under Zero's control and can be thought of as his bodyguar ds. Once Zero finally ends his list with Tamaki as the head of the second specia l service squad, Kallen notices that C.C. wasn't given an official position, thoug h C.C. doesn't seem to mind and just plays with her hair. Diethard then tells Zero that he has something he wants to discuss. During all this, Suzaku is attending his knighting ceremony surrounded by a group of Britannians who don't think he's wo rthy. Initially, no one except for Lloyd claps after the ceremony is over. It is only after Darlton starts clapping with Lloyd that the rest of the crowd joins in too.</p> <p class="p1ji">Sometime later, Diethard convenes a meeting with Zero and the ot her officers, and he advises that they assassinate Suzaku. Both Toudou and Kanam e disagree with the idea because such a cowardly method won't win them the support of the Japanese people. Since he gets to make the final decision, Lelouch sits in his office thinking while C.C. proposes that all he has to do is to use his G EASS on Suzaku. When Lelouch rejects the idea, C.C. questions if it's because of h is stubbornness, friendship, or pride, and Lelouch admits that it's all of those. Meanwhile, Cornelia is expressing her unhappiness with Euphemia making Suzaku in to her knight and cites that Britannia has a national policy to differentiate th e Numbers. When Euphemia vows to change this, Cornelia wonders if her sister und erstands that this would require becoming the Emperor. Speaking of the Emperor, he is at that moment in a structure above the clouds talking to someone about th e construction of an elevator. When one of his subordinates reports something ab out Schneizel, the Emperor is willing to let Schneizel do what he wants. At scho ol, Rivalz and the rest of the student council hold a party in Suzaku's honor that was planned by Nunnally. Nina is absent from the celebration and is instead loo king at a magazine with Euphemia in it when Lloyd comes in asking for Suzaku.</p > <p class="p1ji">Lloyd happens to notice that Nina's computer has several charts an d simulations up about Uranium-235, causing Nina to happily launch into a long s peech about nuclear reactions and the problems with using Uranium-235 as a fuel. Back at the party, Kallen arrives with her hidden knife, ready to go after Suza ku for Zero's sake. She ignores Shirley calling out to her and makes a beeline for Suzaku, but Lelouch stops her before she reaches him. Not knowing who Lelouch r eally is, Kallen claims that she has some important business to attend to, but t hen while Lelouch is questioning what that business is, Suzaku catches sight of the two of them. Kallen disappears into the crowd after Suzaku comes over to tal k with Lelouch about the important thing Lelouch had wanted to say to him earlie r. But since Lelouch now knows that Suzaku is really the Lancelot's pilot, he does n't need to talk with Suzaku about Nunnally anymore. It is at this point that Lloy d joins the party with Nina to tell Suzaku that they've got more work with the Lan celot and Euphemia. Rivalz is the most shocked out of anyone when he finds out t hat Milly is Lloyd's fiance after Nina asks how Milly and Lloyd know each other.</p > <p class="p1ji">In any case, Suzaku, Lloyd, and Cecile set off for Shikinejima w here Zero has learned that Euphemia is meeting with Britannian nobles. Because t his island is not a strategic base of operations, the Britannian force there is limited, so this is the Black Knights chance to capture Suzaku and the Lancelot. After briefing his men, Zero tracks down Diethard and accuses him of giving Kal len ideas. Diethard claims that he only requested reconnaissance from her, thoug h he admits that he implied a few things. He doesn't see it as a cowardly assassin ation and instead feels that people might think of it as a hammer of justice; th ey can hide the truth through the media. All this causes Zero to question what D iethard's goal is. Diethard reveals that he trembled when he first saw Zero back d uring the Suzaku rescue operation, and he really wants to film Zero. He sees Zer o as the one man who created an organization to overthrow a nation and will, soo ner or later, rule the world. Diethard wants to be the person recording this his tory. Zero, however, points out that if you interfere with an event, then it's not
documenting, it's fabricating. To this, Diethard replies that there is no informa tion that's not subjectiveafter all, journalism is connected with a person's intent. In the end, Zero warns Diethard that he's not in charge of military affairs.</p> <p class="p1ji">The Black Knights attack the base soon after Euphemia and Suzaku arrive on the island. Suzaku vows to protect Euphemia, but she would rather him to go help the base. The Britannian officer with them questions Suzaku's loyalty until Lloyd points out that doing so is the same as criticizing the royal family . Euphemia wants Suzaku to show his power here so that they can eventually quiet all the talk about him. Suzaku then enters the battle by taking out Tamaki's Knig htmare and sees Zero watching from afar. Zero lures Suzaku to a sandy ditch and then has Laksharta activate a Gefjun Disturber field that disables the Lancelot. He tells Suzaku to come out because he wants to talk and promises to treat him as a prisoner of war according to international law. Under threat of being fired on by the surrounding Black Knight forces, Suzaku has no choice but to get out of the Lancelot. Back in their control room, Euphemia is asking why the Lancelot isn't moving. Cecile figures out that something is interfering with the Sakuradit e used for the drive system, and Lloyd identifies it as the Gefjun Disturber. He had thought that it was only theoretical and concludes that only Laksharta coul d be behind this.</p> <p class="p1ji">As soon as he sees Suzaku, Zero explains that he wants him to be an ally. Suzaku refuses and reiterates what he's said before: results obtained by the wrong means have no meaning. In response, Zero questions the peace they hav e today and wonders what would have happened if Japan had kept up with the do-or -die resistance seven years ago. He suggests that the Chinese Federation and the EU would have intervened, and Japan today would be divided into three parts sti ll embroiled in war. In other words, the peace today is due to the prompt uncond itional surrender. Still, Zero points out that surrender is not what Suzaku's fath er was elected for. Instead, this was decided selfishly by whoever killed the pr ime minister. Because the government was subsequently thrown into disarray, Japa n could do nothing but surrender. Thus, the people got their intentions taken fr om them by a criminal who broke the rules. With Suzaku now in shock, Zero tells him that there's only one way to atone for it: show everyone the choices they coul dn't choose, including the path to fighting against Britannia that was stolen seve n years ago. The alternate path is for Suzaku to force his ego onto many people for eternity, and Zero questions if that is really peace.</p> <p class="p1ji">Suzaku then gets a message about some incoming missiles and his duty to force Zero to stay. Zero is shocked to hear this, and Suzaku uses the ch ance to take Zero's gun and turn the tables. Back at the dock, Euphemia tries to g et the officers to call off the attack, but they will only reveal that this is a level-one order they can't stop. Frustrated, the princess boards a nearby Knightm are to go to the battlefield herself so that she'll be in enough danger for the at tack to be called off. Since the missiles are now almost there, Kallen pilots he r Crimson Lotus into the ditch to try to save Zero, but she forgets about Gefjun Disturber field and so her Knightmare screeches to a halt. By now, Suzaku has f orced Zero into the Lancelot's cockpit at gunpoint even as Zero tries to get Suzak u to realize that he'll die too. The military then radios Suzaku to tell him that his death won't be in vain because his story will be told for generations to come. Not willing to give up so easily, Toudou orders his Knightmares to use all thei r ammo to shoot down the missiles. Even more desperate is Kallen who gets out of the Crimson Lotus and tries to get Suzaku's attention by announcing her true iden tity.</p> <p class="p1ji">Even in the face of death, Suzaku declares that a soldier must o bserve his orders. Zero thinks that it's easy for him just to obey someone and cha llenges what Suzaku himself wants to do. Right as Suzaku is saying that this is the rule he decided for himself, a dark shadow suddenly covers the entire area. This shadow belongs to the large battleship now flying overhead which Euphemia r ecognizes to be her brother's Avalon. Indeed, it is none other than Schneizel givi ng out orders. Having failed all his appeals to get Suzaku to understand, Lelouc h finally opens the slit on his helmet that reveals his GEASS eye. In that same moment, however, the Avalon opens up with the double barrels of a devastating ne
w Knightmare-mounted weapon.</p> <h3 class="articleheading">Opening Sequence Screenshots</h3> <p class="p1ji"> (<em>Kaidoku Funou</em>) by (Jinn)</p> <p class="p1ji"><strong>Watch the OP!</strong> Mirror 1 Mirror 2 (25.2MB, XviD)< /p> <p class="p1ji">Just like the last time we had a recap, the following episode sh owed a different version of the OP sequence with some new images. Of particular interest to me was the hand scene we originally saw in OP1.5 that is continued i n this OP to show this shot. Also back is everyone's favorite Orange-kun, Jeremiah , looking as evil as ever. Perhaps he won't just be comedic relief from now on. Ov erall, the really fast pacing of the images matches the song a lot better than t he original OP2 sequence. It almost even makes me like <em>Kaidoku Funou</em> as a song almost.</p> {yoogallery src=[/images/stories/code_geass18_op/]} <h3 class="articleheading">Episode Screenshots</h3> {yoogallery src=[/images/stories/code_geass18/]} <h3 class="articleheading">Preview Screenshots</h3> <p class="p1ji">Well they sure know how to end an episode on a high note. There was just so much action and suspense packed into those last couple of minutes. I had been hoping that Schneizel would appear before the end of this first series , and he ended up making quite an entrance with his shiny battleship and new Kni ghtmare (called the Gawain). Of course, I'm sure that the attack won't have killed a ny of the main characters (or else the series would end here), though I am curio us how they survive. We know that Lelouch was ready to use GEASS on Suzaku at th e end, so it seems possible that he got Suzaku to close the cockpit and move the Lancelot away in the nick of time. But if he did use his GEASS, then he won't be able to ever use it on Suzaku again, and that could screw his future plans.</p> <p class="p1ji">Those of us who have recently wanted to see more of Kallen got o ur wish this episode. Almost all of her appearances emphasized just how devoted she is to Zero now, and while she seems ready to give up anything for him, it's no t clear that Suzaku heard her when she revealed who she was in that attempt to s ave Zero. It's also not clear to me how she can live through a blast like that at the end if she wasn't anywhere near her Knightmare at the time.</p> <p class="p1ji">Other highlights this week include seeing the cool transition fr om C.C.'s eyes to the Gawain opening fire and having the possibility of a LloydXNi na relationship open up. Actually, I suspect that that scene was just so that Ll oyd could take a look at Nina's work and learn about the nuclear stuff. There was also that mysterious girl who we get a brief glimpse of at the end of the episod e during the oh-shit moment. She's also in the preview for next week, so I guess w e'll find out more then.</p> <p class="p1ji">And finally, no party is perfect unless it's catered by Pizza Hut. As always, I can't let such a cameo go by without saying that Pizza Hut Supports the Rebellion.</p> {yoogallery src=[/images/stories/code_geass18_pre/]} <p class="p1ji"></p>
<h1 class="contentheading">Code Geass Episode 19 - God's Island</h1> <p class="p1ji">2007-03-03</p> <p class="dropcap">Suzaku wakes up alone on the beach of an island without the L ancelot or any memory of what happened. As he climbs up the nearby cliffs and en ters the forest, he realizes that this isn't Shikinejima. He heads towards a water fall, and much to his surprise, he finds Kallen bathing there. Kallen reacts to Suzaku by getting her knife and trying to rush him, but he uses his superior ski lls to throw her to the ground. Having noticed that she's a member of the Black Kn ights from her uniform, Suzaku addresses her as Kallen Stadtfeld, but she insist s on being called Kouzuki Karen because she considers herself Japanese. Referrin g to her by this name, Suzaku then restrains her and charges her with treason ag ainst Britannia. After getting her dressed and tying her up, Suzaku concludes th
at Kallen doesn't know what happened back then either. Talking tough, Kallen says that if her comrades come, Suzaku will become the prisoner of war, and she is ab solutely sure that Zero will come save her. Suzaku then asks her about Zero's true identity, but quickly figures out that she doesn't know. When he questions why sh e follows Zero, she doesn't feel inclined to answer him.</p> <hr id="system-readmore" /> <p class="p1ji">Suzaku wakes up alone on the beach of an island without the Lanc elot or any memory of what happened. As he climbs up the nearby cliffs and enter s the forest, he realizes that this isn't Shikinejima. He heads towards a waterfal l, and much to his surprise, he finds Kallen bathing there. Kallen reacts to Suz aku by getting her knife and trying to rush him, but he uses his superior skills to throw her to the ground. Having noticed that she's a member of the Black Knigh ts from her uniform, Suzaku addresses her as Kallen Stadtfeld, but she insists o n being called Kouzuki Karen because she considers herself Japanese. Referring t o her by this name, Suzaku then restrains her and charges her with treason again st Britannia. After getting her dressed and tying her up, Suzaku concludes that Kallen doesn't know what happened back then either. Talking tough, Kallen says tha t if her comrades come, Suzaku will become the prisoner of war, and she is absol utely sure that Zero will come save her. Suzaku then asks her about Zero's true id entity, but quickly figures out that she doesn't know. When he questions why she f ollows Zero, she doesn't feel inclined to answer him.</p> <p class="p1ji">At the same time this is happening, Zero is encountering a very wet Euphemia on the beach of the same island. He points his gun at her, but she knows immediately that he's actually Lelouch. Because of this, Lelouch takes off h is mask and shows her that she's right. Back on Shikinejima, the Britannia forces are desperately searching for Euphemia while Lloyd and Cecile have boarded Schne izel's Avalon. Impressed with the flying battleship, Lloyd is talking with the int erested Schneizel about his work, though Schneizel is equally interested in meet ing Cecile. She gets startled enough to fall off the platform after the rotund G eneral Bartley yells at her for being impolite to the prince. As he checks if sh e's ok, Schneizel formally introduces himself to Cecile and helps her back up. Llo yd and Schneizel have some minor business to take care of and will be taking the opportunity to look for Suzaku. When Cecil starts to realize that Schneizel was the one who gave the order yesterday, the prince admits to ordering the firing of the Hadron cannon and says that he was gambling on it.</p> <p class="p1ji">Back on the other island, Lelouch asks Euphemia when she realize d who he was. She answers that she's known since the hotel hijacking incident, and she hadn't told her sister because she didn't want her sister to be sad any more. E uphemia then asks about Nunnally, and Lelouch reveals that they still live toget her. When he questions her back about his mother's death, she tells him that her s ister has been investigating it because Cornelia admired Marianne. Since Euphemi a is still a little confused about whether to think of him as Zero or what, Lelo uch tells her that right now he is the Lelouch that she knows and addresses her as Euphie. Because she gets hungry, Lelouch heads out to the forest with Euphemi a and starts digging a hole to trap some wild animals. Lelouch quickly gets tire d from doing this, but he doesn't want Euphemia to have to do any physical labor. Hearing this, Euphemia decides to go search for fruit, so Lelouch tells her to b e careful. Suzaku meanwhile is catching fish for himself and Kallen. He is willi ng to untie her if she helps him with getting food, but she turns down this atte mpt to win her over. This causes Suzaku to call her stubborn, and he comments on how she is completely different from how she is at school.</p> <p class="p1ji">Onboard the Black Knights submarine, Toudou thinks that it's too d angerous for them to stay out at sea with all the Britannian forces nearby. Diet hard disagrees because they need to search for Zero, but Toudou points out that they can't even send out search parties and there's no guarantee on the survival of Zero and Kallen. While Toudou is worried about what one wrong step can mean for the organization, Diethard feels that there would be no organization without Zer o. The two continue arguing until C.C. finally interrupts to tell them that Zero is still alive. However, she then trades insults with Tamaki who thinks that sh e's Zero's lover, and Kaname is ultimately the one who decides that they will wait i
n a safe place down in the ocean for a certain amount of time. Afterwards, C.C. walks through the hall addressing someone and blaming their mischief for her hav ing to have a conversation with the boring men. Dinnertime on the island has Lel ouch having to eat the fruit Euphemia found and Kallen relaxing after having eat en too much of the fish Suzaku caught. Seeing her acting like her true self, Suz aku comments on how she's more lively and attractive than how she is in school.</p > <p class="p1ji">Suzaku then tries to get Kallen to leave the Black Knights, but she isn't so easily convinced and reveals that she's already fought with him since s he's the head of Zero's bodyguards. She thinks of him as a dog of the ruling establi shment and feels that she's different because she will change the world. If she do esn't, her brother won't be able to rest in peace, and for that reason, she fights w ithout care for what methods she uses to win. It is at this point that Suzaku re veals that he killed his father. He feels that Zero is the same as his father in that they both think the world exists around them. Suzaku also says that he kno ws obtaining results the wrong way leaves only emptiness and regret. Hearing thi s, Kallen loses the fire in her voice and asks Suzaku to tell her the meaning of her brother having been aliveright or wrong, who decides this? Across the island , Euphemia is staring at the stars as she reminisces about how she, Lelouch, Nun nally, and Marianne used to all look up into the starry sky. Both she and Lelouc h think about returning to back then. As the girls fall asleep, both Suzaku and Lelouch think to themselves about the shameful struggles of looking for the mean ing to live. Both of them also see a search light coming from the middle of the forest, so both also lead their respective girls towards that direction the next day.</p> <p class="p1ji">In the center of the island, Schneizel has brought Lloyd to some ruins in a cave, but Lloyd isn't very familiar with archeology. After Schneizel s ays that his father has an infatuation with these, General Bartley explains that he's found several of these throughout the world, but they've all been taken under the Emperor's control. He guesses that it maps the invasion plans to each country, making Lloyd wonder if the Gawain is going to be used to analyze this data. It is indeed for that exact reason that Lloyd was called here by Schneizel. Meanwhi le, Lelouch and Euphemia are nearing a clearing in the forest when she asks if t heir time together will end when they find a search party. Lelouch feels that it can't be helped and is about to ask her about Suzaku being her knight when he get s interrupted by the arrival of Suzaku and Kallen. He gets enough time to hide h imself and put back on his Zero mask before Euphemia recognizes and calls out to Suzaku. In this situation, Zero pulls out his gun and declares that Euphemia is his prisoner. He proposes a hostage exchange for Kallen, but when Suzaku doesn't go for it, Zero buys Kallen enough time to free herself and restrain Suzaku. Eup hemia tries to get Kallen to stop, but this results in Kallen calling her a doll princess who can't do anything alone. This gets Euphemia mad enough to tell Suzak u to fight without worrying about her.</p> <p class="p1ji">Suzaku frees himself from Kallen's hold and rushes towards Euphemi a, but a large red GEASS symbol suddenly appears beneath them. The ground starts lowering, and the platform crashes down into the room where Schneizel, Lloyd, a nd the Gawain are. Kallen notices the Gawain immediately and points it out to Ze ro, so he goes over and boards it. As he starts up the Knightmare, Lelouch notic es Schneizel below, and, at the same time, Schneizel gets acquainted with the si ght of Zero. After Kallen gets on top of the Gawain, Lelouch pilots it towards t he cave entrance and uses its cannons to try to blow them a path through the ene my. After it fires erratically, he figures out that the weapon's still incomplete. In the end, Zero flies the Gawain away over a pack of Sutherlands, but Schneize l doesn't mind losing the Knightmare because it was just an experimental unit. He's happier that Euphemia and Suzaku are safe. However, Suzaku then gets arrested fo r a class two military violation. Euphemia tries to protest, but the military ha s damning evidence against him.</p> <p class="p1ji">As he flies the Gawain over the water, Lelouch remembers how he had used his GEASS to order Suzaku to live back when the Avalon was about to kil l them all. Under the control of the GEASS, Suzaku had piloted the Lancelot away
from the blast area, and the military has a recording of him saying that he mus t live. In the Britannian military's view, Suzaku lost the once in a lifetime chan ce to take care of Zero back then because he suddenly valued his life, and thus he was disobeying orders. The news about Suzaku soon reaches Cornelia, but more startling to her is the other news that Kyuushuu has suddenly come under attack. Cornelia thinks at first that it's the Chinese Federation, but Gilbert reports th at the enemy vessels display Japanese national flags.</p> <h3 class="articleheading">Episode Screenshots</h3> {yoogallery src=[/images/stories/code_geass19/]} <h3 class="articleheading">Preview Screenshots</h3> <p class="p1ji">I found the Euphemia and Lelouch pairing to be a lot more intere sting than the Suzaku and Kallen one. We actually got to see the nice side of hi m usually reserved for Nunnally, which would seem to imply that he cares about E uphemia as a sister. It was also interesting to watch the contrast of him trying to get food while Suzaku had no trouble catching fish. However, I found Suzaku and Kallen to be overall less exciting because they predictably stuck with their ideals the entire way through, so it didn't feel like either of them gained much from the experience. Of course, now that Euphemia knows Lelouch is Zero and Suza ku knows that Kallen is in the Black Knights, there could potentially be some aw kward or interesting moments in the future if Suzaku runs into Kallen at school or if Euphemia meets up with Zero on the battlefield.</p> <p class="p1ji">The clues from this episode would suggest that the mysterious gi rl is behind what happened both last episode and this episode. We saw a flash of the girl before the incident that brought everyone to this island, and then she was shown smiling again when the GEASS symbol appeared where Lelouch and everyo ne was standing. This leaves me to believe that she may very well be who C.C. wa s addressing and blaming for mischief.</p> <p class="p1ji">Turning to Schneizel now, he wasn't portrayed this episode as such a bad guy, and there could very well be a SchneizelXCecile relationship. I stil l highly suspect that he'll be evil in some way, but things are never quite as bla ck and white as that. Cornelia, for example, is quickly becoming someone who may not be such a bad guy after all. At least according to Euphemia, her sister adm ired Marianne and has been investigating the deathfurther evidence that Cornelia wasn't responsible.</p> <p class="p1ji">Other highlights this episode for me include being amused that b oth Kallen and Euphemia just <em>had</em> to be naked at some point in this epis ode. I'm excited as well to see what will happen now that the Japanese have attack ed Kyuushuu and how the Black Knights will get involved. The preview shows that the Lancelot is getting it's new Aile pack for a large scale battle, but perhaps m ore importantly, it also shows that Nina is finally going to get some one-on-one time with her beloved Euphemia.</p> {yoogallery src=[/images/stories/code_geass19_pre/]} <p class="p1ji"></p>
<h1 class="contentheading">Code Geass Episode 20 - Kyuushuu War</h1> <p class="p1ji">2007-03-10</p> <p class="dropcap">Having taken over the Fukuoka base in Kyuushuu, Sawasaki Atsu shi of the old Japanese governmentwho had fled to the Chinese Federationnow declar es the revival of Japan. Although the media questions the connection between thi s and the Black Knights, they have actually nothing to do with it. Reports state that the Chinese Federation is helping and that Chinese General Cao is calling this humanitarian aid. Lloyd, Cecile, Suzaku are all aboard the Avalon heading t owards Kyuushuu, but Schneizel himself is back in Tokyo. Before he left, Suzaku had told Euphemia that he wasn't qualified to be her Knight because he couldn't forg ive himself for disobeying orders. When Euphemia had asked if it was a burden fo r him to be appointed a Knight, Suzaku denied it and thanked her. He had also to ld her about how he had remembered he killed his father and how he wasn't punished . Schneizel meanwhile is reassuring his men that martial law is unnecessary when
Euphemia comes in asking if she can help in some way. He tells her that those f eelings are enough, and then Darlton goes on to explain that Cornelia didn't want Euphemia to do anything. Euphemia starts to wonder if this is because she decide d on her Knight on her own, but Schneizel simply tells her that Cornelia doesn't h ave the spare time right now.</p> <hr id="system-readmore" /> <p class="p1ji">Having taken over the Fukuoka base in Kyuushuu, Sawasaki Atsushi of the old Japanese governmentwho had fled to the Chinese Federationnow declares the revival of Japan. Although the media questions the connection between this a nd the Black Knights, they have actually nothing to do with it. Reports state th at the Chinese Federation is helping and that Chinese General Cao is calling thi s humanitarian aid. Lloyd, Cecile, Suzaku are all aboard the Avalon heading towa rds Kyuushuu, but Schneizel himself is back in Tokyo. Before he left, Suzaku had told Euphemia that he wasn't qualified to be her Knight because he couldn't forgive himself for disobeying orders. When Euphemia had asked if it was a burden for h im to be appointed a Knight, Suzaku denied it and thanked her. He had also told her about how he had remembered he killed his father and how he wasn't punished. S chneizel meanwhile is reassuring his men that martial law is unnecessary when Eu phemia comes in asking if she can help in some way. He tells her that those feel ings are enough, and then Darlton goes on to explain that Cornelia didn't want Eup hemia to do anything. Euphemia starts to wonder if this is because she decided o n her Knight on her own, but Schneizel simply tells her that Cornelia doesn't have the spare time right now.</p> <p class="p1ji">Over at Ashford Academy, the student council is preparing for th e school festival and discussing what Rivalz perceives as a war with the Chinese Federation. When Milly asks Nina about the outdoor booth that they're borrowing f rom the art museum, Nina explains that she'll be going through the formalities tod ay, though she also mentions Lloyd and getting a present. As Rivalz then talks a bout how everyone is gone and Lelouch has changed, Shirley remembers how she had read in the note that she wrote about being surprised and confused that Lelouch was Zero. She had written back then that she'd confirm it when she saw him, and S hirley now wonders why she's forgotten about all this. Onboard the Avalon, Cecile attaches the Lancelot's new Float Unit and then asks Suzaku why he stopped being a Knight. He explains that he was troubling her, and he feels that she seems to d islike herself. At that time, Euphemia is at the art museum thinking about how s he's just a figurehead. She knew that from the beginning, but she still worked har d on the things she could do. Facing a painting of Clovis, Euphemia apologizes t o her brother for meeting Zero and not capturing the enemy. She also hasn't though t of a way to save Lelouch and Nunnally, and she admits that she doesn't have the power Cornelia and Schneizel have. As she starts to cry, Euphemia explains that she had defied her sister in choosing a Knight, yet that symbol of knighthood ha d been returned to her.</p> <p class="p1ji">In the waters somewhere aboard his submarine, Zero is telling th e Black Knights that they won't be joining Sawasaki because he believes that it's a puppet government controlled by the Chinese Federation. He thinks that they shou ld ignore that Japan, and when Diethard asks him to clarify their policy, Zero a sserts that their goal is to establish an independent state in Tokyo. That answe r gets Diethard quite excited, though everyone else is just surprised. When some start to protest because their enemy is a country that covers over a third of t he world, Zero questions if they're all going to wait for someone to come along an d defeat Britannia. He feels that as long as they don't personally do something, t hey'll never get their chance. Back at the art museum, Nina has learned about Euph emia being there and she proceeds to jump out in front of the princess's car. She's immediately restrained by security guards, but Euphemia remembers who Nina is fr om the hotel hijacking incident and gets out of the car to claim Nina as her fri end. By now, the Avalon has reached Kyuushuu and has come under a missile attack . The Avalon's defenses manage to keep the ship safe so that Suzaku can launch in the Lancelot with its new Float Unit. Cecile, however, warns Suzaku that the Flo at Unit consumes a lot of energy, so he needs to pay special attention to the ti me.</p>
<p class="p1ji">As he's flying towards the enemy, Suzaku gets a message from Lloyd explaining that they need to get Sawasaki Atsushi so that the Chinese Federatio n lose their excuse to intervene and would be forced to withdraw. Suzaku pilots the Lancelot to avoid the weapons fire from numerous attack aircraft and destroy s them all before arriving at the enemy headquarters. Surprisingly, he then gets a communication from Sawasaki who knows he is the son of Kururugi. Meanwhile, E uphemia has brought Nina home and has given her a new dress to wear. When Nina e xplains how she saw Euphemia as a goddess for how she saved her at the hotel, Eu phemia claims that she's not such a splendid person, at least not compared with he r sisters. Nina, however, doesn't believe that's true especially since she feels tha t she herself has no good points. Even when Euphemia calls her cute, Nina still feels that she's no good. Euphemia realizes that Nina dislikes herself, but she th en realizes that this also applies to her. After Nina reminds her of Suzaku too, Euphemia thanks Nina and says that she's glad they met because she understands so mething now. At that moment, Suzaku is telling Sawasaki that this has nothing to do with his father and that he came to end this fight himself. When Sawasaki as ks about the dream of an independent Japan, Suzaku says that the dream must be r ealized through the correct ways. He tries to deny Sawasaki's accusations of an id ea-less justice, but he then comes under heavy attack.</p> <p class="p1ji">After losing his VARIS rifle and the Float Unit, Suzaku finds th e Lancelot running very low on power. Sawasaki promises to treat him hospitably as the orphan of Prime Minister Kururugi Genbu, but that causes Suzaku to say th at he can't forgive them for using his father's name here. Hearing that, Sawasaki co mments on how Suzaku is stubborn just like his father. What Suzaku doesn't know is that Euphemia is getting permission from her brother to privately communicate w ith him. Thus, he is surprised when Euphemia contacts him and asks him to fall i n love with her. In exchange, she promises to fall in love with him. Then, after listing off all his qualities, Euphemia tells him not to hate himself. Suzaku r esponds to all this by noting how everything Euphemia does is so sudden, from th e way they met to how she chose him as her Knight. More importantly though, Suza ku asks her not to hate herself no matter what happens to him. When that time co mes, he wants her to completely erase his existence, and because he doesn't want t o trouble his friends, he asks her to make it a transfer out of school. Suzaku f inally admits that the Lancelot's energy has been used up, and he believes that he's done for, so he sends his regards to Cecile, Lloyd, and Schneizel.</p> <p class="p1ji">Realizing that Suzaku is ready to die, Euphemia tells him to liv e. This briefly triggers the after-effects of Lelouch's GEASS instructions which s aid the same thing, but before anything else can happen, two giant red beams of destruction rain down from the sky and blow up all the enemy units around the La ncelot. Suzaku's savior is the Gawain, piloted by none other than C.C. and Lelouch . Onboard the Avalon, Lloyd is completely shocked to see that the Gawain is able to focus the Hadron cannons since he was supposed to be the one to complete tha t weapon. He doesn't know that Laksharta somehow did this through applying the Gef jun Disturber. However, Laksharta also recognizes that the development of the Fl oat System is a loss for her, and she suspects that her opponent is the Pudding Earl. Back at the Fukuoka base, the Gawain lands and extends an Energy Filler to wards the Lancelot. Zero explains that he's going to strike at the enemy headquart ers now, but Suzaku takes the energy pack and says that Zero's wish won't be fulfill ed because he'll do it first. Seeing the two Knightmares working together and blow ing up his forces, Sawasaki tries to communicate with Zero, but Zero explains th at the Black Knights are enemies of everyone who uses unjust violence. When Sawa saki claims that he's doing this for Japan, Suzaku questions why Sawasaki ran away to the Chinese Federation. He thinks that Sawasaki should have stayed here for everyone's sake.</p> <p class="p1ji">Euphemia is happy to see that Suzaku and Lelouch are working tog ether, though Cornelia, upon learning the news, wonders what Zero is thinking. D iethard recognizes that victory isn't necessary in this battle since the Black Kni ghts have participated, and rumors can now be spread so that their positions are told to the entire world. In the end, the Lancelot and the Gawain corner and ca pture Sawasaki together, though it's Cornelia and the Britannia forces that take a
way Sawasaki the next day. Suzaku returns to Euphemia, but they are now embarras sed around each other and attempt to speak at the same time. This causes them bo th to laugh, and Euphemia finally says that she understands that the ideal natio n or ideal moral cause are not such difficult things. She wants now to see smile s of the person she loves and the people she's loved. When she asks Suzaku to help her, he takes her hand that's holding the symbol of his knighthood and simply tel ls her Yes, your highness.</p> <h3 class="articleheading">Episode Screenshots</h3> {yoogallery src=[/images/stories/code_geass20/]} <h3 class="articleheading">Preview Screenshots</h3> <p class="p1ji">Well this was very much a SuzakuXEuphemia episode, though the en ding leaves me a bit confused as to whether or not Euphemia and Suzaku truly lov e each other. At least for the time being, they don't feel like they've quite reache d the <em>love</em> love point. The whole confessionif you could call it thatpart during the battle scene came off as seeming very odd to me even though I've known (and I'm sure everyone else has too) for a long time that they would probably end up together. Again, I'm just not feeling the love between them, at least not right now. Heck, I got more warm and fuzzy feelings from the friendship-through-mecha scene when the Gawain handed the Lancelot the Energy Filler.</p> <p class="p1ji">Perhaps more interesting is the fact that Shirley's note did indee d implicate Lelouch as Zero, and so Shirley does now technically know the truth again even though her memory is still gone. Here's a shot of a note itself, though the words are a little hard to make out. I'm curious what the writers plan to do with her character, and I think it's safe to say that she'll have a fairly significa nt impact in the near future.</p> <p class="p1ji">Other highlights in this episode for me include seeing C.C. in h er flight suit. She's incidentally wearing that for the cover of the second offici al soundtrack too. I was also amused by the fact that Laksharta called Lloyd the Pudding Earl. Maybe pudding was the favorite food that Lloyd used as a password in the Lancelot back in episode 17. As for next week, it looks like it's finally time for the school festival. I hear big things are coming that have a lot to do with pizza.</p> <p class="p1ji">Speaking of which, Pizza Hut had another appearance this week.</ p> {yoogallery src=[/images/stories/code_geass20_pre/]} <p class="p1ji"></p>
<h1 class="contentheading">Code Geass Episode 21 - School Festival Announcement! </h1> <p class="p1ji">2007-03-17</p> <p class="dropcap">Because they've both missed so much school, Suzaku and Lelouch are forced to stay behind in class with a teacher yelling at them about how they'l l have to repeat a year if they don't attend enough. While the population has reac ted to what happened in Kyuushuu in various ways, the Black Knights themselves a re discussing how everyone was surprised that Zero intends to create his own cou ntry and Tamaki agrees with Zero. He feels that if he hadn't gotten involved with the Black Knights, his dream would have been decided by the drug Refrain. The ne xt day, Milly has the school festival started with Nunnally saying nyaa over the a nnouncement system, and all the noise awakens the sleeping C.C. With the festivi ties going on below, Lelouch is on the phone with Diethard when Milly comes runn ing about a crisis. Although Lelouch hangs up, Diethard still manages to hear a little of Milly's voice. Milly scolds Lelouch for not doing work, and Lelouch turn s the subject to how Milly wants to make a 12-meter diameter pizza to top last y ear's 2-meter one.</p> <hr id="system-readmore" /> <p class="p1ji">Because they've both missed so much school, Suzaku and Lelouch are forced to stay behind in class with a teacher yelling at them about how they'll h ave to repeat a year if they don't attend enough. While the population has reacted
to what happened in Kyuushuu in various ways, the Black Knights themselves are discussing how everyone was surprised that Zero intends to create his own countr y and Tamaki agrees with Zero. He feels that if he hadn't gotten involved with the Black Knights, his dream would have been decided by the drug Refrain. The next day, Milly has the school festival started with Nunnally saying nyaa over the anno uncement system, and all the noise awakens the sleeping C.C. With the festivitie s going on below, Lelouch is on the phone with Diethard when Milly comes running about a crisis. Although Lelouch hangs up, Diethard still manages to hear a lit tle of Milly's voice. Milly scolds Lelouch for not doing work, and Lelouch turns t he subject to how Milly wants to make a 12-meter diameter pizza to top last year's 2-meter one.</p> <p class="p1ji">Ougi meanwhile has brought Villetta to the Ashford Academy and m entions that he used to be a teacher. The reason he stopped is because a childho od best friend died and left him in charge of his friend's dream. Hearing Ougi cal l the dream a little burdensome, Villetta tries to pull him into the festival, a nd a group of students urge them in. Suzaku is at that moment working on choppin g up crates of onions when Kallen approaches him from behind with her knife draw n. She is surprised when Suzaku says that he's glad she's here because he thought sh e wouldn't come to school anymore. When she questions why he didn't tell anyone abou t her real identity, Suzaku affirms that she's Stadtfeld Kallen right now, not Kou zuki Karen. He says that he won't go easy on her on the battlefield, but he's going to continue to try to persuade her here because he wants to choose persuasion ov er fighting at school. All Kallen can reply back to this is that something about him changed. When Lelouch then enters the room and finds them together, Suzaku tells Kallen that what happened before has nothing to do with school.</p> <p class="p1ji">Kallen is then sent back to class to help with the horror house and isn't too happy that she has to be a grave that pops up to scare people. She c omments to herself that she only takes orders from Zero and then notices another couple coming. When she scares them, she finds the couple to be Ougi and Villet ta. Cecile is also here at the festival, and she's outside playing a whack-a-mole game that's populated by actual students, but she's only hitting the one student who resembles Lloyd. Her hammer accidentally hits the sitting Lelouch on the head, so she goes over to apologize to him and recognizes that he's Suzaku's friend. Howev er, before she can say anything else to him, C.C. interrupts them to ask Lelouch where she can eat the best pizza in the world. Over at a Britannia military bas e, Schneizel is getting ready to depart and is being seen off by Cornelia and he r new Glaston Knights. Schneizel embarrasses Cornelia a little by saying that sh e shines more beautifully on the battlefield than any flower or butterfly at a b all. Cornelia then wonders where Euphemia is, and Schneizel only reveals that he talked to her last night. When Schneizel changes the topic to the matter that G eneral Bartley is taking care of, Cornelia wonders if that has any worth. What t hey are talking about is Jeremiah, who is currently suspended in a vat of liquid and connected by several tubes.</p> <p class="p1ji">Back at school, C.C. continues to pester Lelouch about pizza, bu t he's more concerned about getting her out of the view of all the soldiers and me dia who are here. Their conversation is interrupted by the arrival in the wareho use by Kallen, Ougi, and Villetta. Recognizing that Villetta is not an Eleven, K allen questions who she is. As Ougi is struggling to find an answer, Lelouch app roaches them to tell Kallen that this place is off-limits and recognizes Ougi. U nbeknownst to all of them, a disguised Euphemia has also come to the festival be cause she wants to talk with Suzaku. The previous night, she had approached her brother with an idea, and he had said that it was wonderful. Schneizel had also told her that it was fine for her to go down the path that she believed in. As s he's thinking about her brother's approval, Euphemia nearly bumps into a girl in a w heelchair: Nunnally. Euphemia quickly recognizes her, and Nunnally soon realizes that she's hearing Euphemia's voice.</p> <p class="p1ji">Kallen didn't want Lelouch to see Ougi and Lelouch doesn't want them to see C.C, but before either side can act, Suzaku and Shirley come into the wa rehouse looking for a gas cylinder for the burner. Out of sight, Lelouch prepare s a trigger button he has ready while C.C. inches over him to suggest using his
GEASS. Lelouch, however, thinks that it's dangerous to use on Ougi and a person he doesn't know, and plus he's already used it on the others. When C.C. lectures him a bout the consequences of his actions, Lelouch raises his voice with her, only to be heard by Shirley. She wants to talk with Lelouch, but he tries to put it off until later. Deciding to create a commotion so that Ougi and Villetta can get a way, Kallen suddenly cries out and looks up at the ceiling. While everyone is tr ying to see what she was looking at, Kallen cuts the tie on a set of boards. The y fall over, and as Lelouch tries to warn Shirley, he presses the button he had ready and pink gas comes spewing out of several prepped canisters. In the afterm ath, Lelouch and Suzaku are holding the boards from falling on Kallen and Shirle y.</p> <p class="p1ji">Ougi and Villetta made their escape outside during the chaos and he apologizes for getting her involved in something strange like that. She clai ms she actually had fun, but then Ougi turns serious. He asks if she's going to le ave Area 11 because of the person who shot her coming after her. Villetta respon ds by questioning if the previous her was happier and thinks that it's fine for he rself to become an Eleven. Meanwhile, Nunnally and Euphemia have returned home f or some tea, and Nunnally remembers how they once fought about who could be Lelo uch's bride. She questions how Euphemia feels about Lelouch now, but Euphemia does n't answer. At that moment, Lelouch is watching Rivalz start the main pizza event, and he comments to himself about how carefree it is. When Milly enters the cont rol room and Lelouch mentions how optimistic everyone looks, she says that that's the reason festivals are needed. Their conversation is interrupted by the arriva l of Nunnally and the still disguised Euphemia. Recognizing her, Lelouch excuses himself and rushes out.</p> <p class="p1ji">By now, Rivalz has unveiled the Ganymede-type Knightmare of the Ashford Family being piloted by Suzaku. With all the cheers coming from the crow d, Nunnally's maid Sayoko explains to Kallen that there are a lot of Elevens here because the festival is open to everyone and because this is the school that Suz aku attends. In other words, Suzaku is a star of hope for the Elevens. Watching from nearby with Milly, Lloyd notes that the Ganymede is a 3rd Generation Knight mare that had been used by Marianne. Because of Marianne's death, it was removed f rom the next generation competition. These words cause Milly to comment on how h e must be marrying her for this purpose, and Cecile steps in to interject that L loyd doesn't have any sensitivity towards the opposite sex. As Suzaku uses the Gan ymede to toss around the huge pizza dough, Lelouch sits off to the side with Nun nally and Euphemia. He feels that today is the last time they can meet, but Euph emia thinks that they'll find a good way. Lelouch then gets spotted by Shirley who thinks that Lelouch is making a move on some girl. When a strong wind blows awa y Euphemia's hat and unfurls her hair, Shirley realizes that that girl is actually the princess.</p> <p class="p1ji">Everyone in the crowd hears Shirley say Euphemia's name, and they all turn towards her. While Lelouch wheels Nunnally away, everyone rushes toward s the princess. Realizing that she's in danger, Suzaku accidentally lets the pizza dough fly away from the Ganymede's hands and onto a nearby tree. C.C., who alread y had a plate ready, views this with shock because her pizza just got ruined. Ce cile and her co-workers form a protective circle around Euphemia, but that's not e nough to keep them from getting mobbed by the crowd. During all this, Sayoko has approached Diethard, and he tells her to stay in the Britannian settlement as a spy until he eventually introduces her to Zero. Back at the commotion, Suzaku u ses the Ganymede to pick Euphemia up from out of the crowd. Lelouch has brought Nunnally out of harm's way, but she surprises him by saying that Euphemia and Suza ku have done well together and are well-suited for each other. After seeing that Lelouch and Nunnally are safe in the distance, Euphemia decides to make an impo rtant announcement to everyone here and to everyone watching the live television broadcast.</p> <p class="p1ji">To everyone's surprise, Euphemia declares the establishment of a J apanese Special Administrative Region around Mt. Fuji. She explains that inside this Special Administrative Region, the Elevens will regain their Japanese name. They will also not be restricted and the Britannians will not have any special
privilegesin other words, the Elevens and the Britannians will be equal. As she m akes her speech, Lelouch thinks to himself that she should stop because this is an empty dream. To his shock, she calls out directly to Zero and says that she's n ot asking for his past or what's underneath his mask. She wants him instead to par ticipate in this Japan, and she proposes that they create a new future together inside Britannia. The Elevens in the crowd start cheering her on, but the Britan nians aren't so sure of what to think. Some go even as far as to suggest that this is all because she has an Eleven as a lover. Lelouch meanwhile frustratingly re alizes that whatever he ends up choosing, the Black Knights will now collapse. E uphemia thinks to herself that it will be like old times again with Lelouch, but he knows that it's already different from how it used to be.</p> <h3 class="articleheading">Episode Screenshots</h3> {yoogallery src=[/images/stories/code_geass21/]} <h3 class="articleheading">Preview Screenshots</h3> <p class="p1ji">I had expected that the school festival would be a pizza-centric comedy episode almost akin to the chase-Arthur episode, but that ended up not b eing the case. In fact, I don't even think I saw Pizza Hut appear in this episode. It was, however, hilarious to see C.C. so caught up with the prospect of pizza. I thought her gasping from the preview last week was because of something serio us, but no, it was actually just because her pizza got ruined.</p> <p class="p1ji">In any case, the festival brought a lot of people together, but it didn't quite end up being the clusterf*ck I envisioned that it could be. The se cret that Zero is Lelouch hadn't been revealed to anyone who didn't already know, no one saw and recognized C.C., and neither Shirley nor Villetta got their memorie s jogged by seeing each other (and that's assuming that they did see each other in that brief moment). Euphemia did manage to run into Nunnally and then see Lelou ch again, but at best the only thing that resulted from that was her announcemen t at the end.</p> <p class="p1ji">Speaking of that announcement, as soon as she said it, I got the feeling that Euphemia's days are numbered. She may be a hero to the Elevens now, but I can imagine either her getting assassinated by a disgruntled Britannian or even by Lelouch himself. This all smell like a set-up by Schneizel, who I keep thinking is much more evil than he lets on. Cornelia, on the other hand, again s hows that she's almost the opposite of that because she keeps getting more likable with each episode. This week, it was the scene where she takes Schneizel's compli ments.</p> <p class="p1ji">The other thing of note is that Jeremiah appears to be getting r eady for an Orange comeback soon. I wonder if he's getting cybernetic enhancements or something and what will happen if he runs into Villetta again while she's stil l in her amnesia state. After seeing him in the current opening sequence, I've loo ked forward to his return. As for next week, it looks like maybe Kaguya is final ly going to make a significant appearance. I'm kind of hoping that Lelouch doesn't d o anything to Euphemia that he'll regret, but we'll have to see what happens. Given that next episode is called Bloodstained Euphie, I'm doubt things will turn out all right.</p> {yoogallery src=[/images/stories/code_geass21_pre/]} <p class="p1ji"></p>
<h1 class="contentheading">Code Geass Episode 22 - Bloodstained Euphie</h1> <p class="p1ji">2007-03-24</p> <p class="dropcap">With Euphemia's announcement in effect, Suzaku reports to her t hat over 200,000 people have applied for the Specially Administrated Japan. Euph emia attributes Suzaku being here as the representative of the Japanese people t o why everyone believes in this new place, but Suzaku thinks that it's because of Euphemia's proclamation. When she tells him that she'll be needing his help for vari ous things from now on, he at first answers with his usual Yes, Your Highness, but her disapproving look cuts him off and causes him instead just to say yes. The television news is meanwhile reporting that this Special Administrative Zone wil
l be a first for Britannia and is Euphemia's own idea. In addition, tomorrow's cerem ony for this will be broadcast all over the world. At school, Nina tells herself that she'll go with what Euphemia says. Schneizel is meanwhile complimenting Euph emia to Cornelia, and he talks about how this helps them with the Area 11 terror groups and public order. Cornelia says that she is personally opposed, but she's still going to get the public policy moving as the Governor-General.</p> <hr id="system-readmore" /> <p class="p1ji">With Euphemia's announcement in effect, Suzaku reports to her that over 200,000 people have applied for the Specially Administrated Japan. Euphemi a attributes Suzaku being here as the representative of the Japanese people to w hy everyone believes in this new place, but Suzaku thinks that it's because of Eup hemia's proclamation. When she tells him that she'll be needing his help for various things from now on, he at first answers with his usual Yes, Your Highness, but he r disapproving look cuts him off and causes him instead just to say yes. The tel evision news is meanwhile reporting that this Special Administrative Zone will b e a first for Britannia and is Euphemia's own idea. In addition, tomorrow's ceremony for this will be broadcast all over the world. At school, Nina tells herself th at she'll go with what Euphemia says. Schneizel is meanwhile complimenting Euphemi a to Cornelia, and he talks about how this helps them with the Area 11 terror gr oups and public order. Cornelia says that she is personally opposed, but she's sti ll going to get the public policy moving as the Governor-General.</p> <p class="p1ji">As for the Kyoto group, they don't think that a Specially Administ rated Japan is a bad thing, and Kirihara feels that this concession came about b ecause of their resistance efforts. One of the others notes that he heard Kiriha ra had been promised a position in the new zone, but Kaguya is more concerned ab out what Zero and the Black Knights are going to do. At that time, the senior of ficers of the Black Knights are discussing how they're losing supporters and membe rs. Diethard attributes it to how there's no risk in the new zone unlike in the Bl ack Knights. They know that Kyoto is going to cooperate, but Kallen doesn't believ e in the promised equality. All this reminds Ougi of the conversation he had wit h Villetta about her wanting to enter the new zone. Because of this, he wonders to the group about participating in the new zone because it doesn't conflict with what Zero's been saying. However, Nagisa Chiba says that they could be disarmed un der the pretext of peace, and Toudou feels that they would lose their independen ce. Diethard, however, notes that if they don't participate, they would become ene mies of freedom and equality.</p> <p class="p1ji">In town, Lelouch gets dropped off by Rivalz so that he can meet with Shirley for some shopping. Both of them see and hear a noble beating a Japa nese with his cane because he believes that the inferior people should obey the superior ones. Lelouch interrupts and uses his powers on the man's bodyguard to ge t him to go away. When the noble tries to stop his bodyguard, Lelouch says that the noble has mistaken a borrowed strength for the noble's own ability. He is abou t to GEASS the noble to go die, but Lelouch ends up quickly shutting his left ey e right as Rivalz steps in to defuse the situation. Watching from nearby Shirley saw how Lelouch saved the Eleven, but she questions why he was with Euphemia be fore. She realizes that it is dangerous for her to get too involved with this. R eturning home later, Lelouch tells Nunnally that Shirley never ended up coming a nd didn't contact him. Nunnally notices that he's worried and asks if it's about Euphe mia. He takes the chance to ask his sister if she likes Euphemia, and Nunnally s ays that she does. When she asks him the same question back, Lelouch says that h e liked Euphemia.</p> <p class="p1ji">The next day is the day of the ceremony, and the news reports st ate that there are many Japanese here in the arena and even more gathered outsid e. All attention seems focused on how Zero isn't there, but he soon appears standi ng on top of the Gawain right as Euphemia is about to being the ceremony. Kiriha ra isn't so sure what's Zero intends to do and thinks to himself that everything is over if it's found out that Zero is really a Britannian prince. To Euphemia's surpri se, Zero says that he wants to talk with her privately. Although Euphemia's men do n't find any weapons on Zero, Suzaku still thinks that he's dangerous and wants to c ome too. Nevertheless, Euphemia says that it's okay and asks Suzaku to believe in
her. They go inside her command vehicle, and she turns off all the cameras so th at he can take off his mask. After doing so, Lelouch pulls out a ceramic and bam boo needle gun that wasn't found by the earlier detector. Euphemia doesn't think tha t Lelouch will shoot, and he agrees with her because she'll be the one who will be shooting.</p> <p class="p1ji">Back outside, Suzaku suddenly gets a flash in his head of the GE ASS symbol and then turns around to see a green figure materializing beside the Gawain. Inside, C.C. notes that Suzaku can see it and wonders if it's because of i ndirect contact and what happened on the island or if it's because of that person. Because of this, she gets out of the Gawain. Meanwhile, noting that this ceremo ny is being broadcast across the world, Zero proposes that Euphemia shoot him. H e thinks that if she surprise attacks him, Zero would become a martyr and her ow n popularity would plummet. This causes Euphemia to question what Lelouch is jok ing about. She wants to make Japan with him, but he feels that she'd be the same a s Clovis if she forces it unilaterally. He plans to be revived miraculously and explains that people are weak to miracles. Right as Lelouch is saying that a mes siah must be one person and that the people will know she's an impostor, he experi ences pain in his left eye. At the exact same moment, C.C. is trying to question Suzaku about something and gets the same pain.</p> <p class="p1ji">The GEASS symbol on top of C.C.'s head lights up, and when Suzaku goes over to see what's wrong, he touches her shoulder. This results in him seeing another set of visions similar to last time, except that now he's also shown an i mage of Marianne. After Suzaku collapses, Euphemia's guards rush over and also see C.C.'s GEASS symbol. Their eyes all turn red, and they experience visions that ca use them to fall to the ground. Back inside the vehicle, Euphemia tries to help Lelouch, but he swats her away and tells her not to pity him any more. He opens his GEASS-active eye as he calls out her full name, but Euphemia stops him by sa ying that she gave up that nameshe has relinquished her right to succeed the thro ne. Lelouch thinks that she did it for his sake, but Euphemia laughs and explain s that she did it for Nunnally. She reveals how Nunnally had said that as long a s she could be with her brother, she didn't need anything else. That's what led Euph emia to this decision. Lelouch calls her an idiot for doing this, but his tone h as changed and he says that she was always Euphie before she was vice-Governor-G eneral and a princess.</p> <p class="p1ji">Euphemia then holds her hand out to Lelouch so that they can pro mise to work together. Although he says that she was the worst enemy for him, he shakes her hand and calls this her victory. The two then get to talking about h ow he was trying to get her to shoot him, and Lelouch reveals that no one can de fy him if he gives a serious order. He says that it can be any order, but since Euphemia thinks he's joking, Lelouch insists that it's true. Turning towards her, he says that, for example, if he orders her to kill the Japanese, it would have no thing to do with her own will. Suddenly, however, Euphemia comes under the influ ence of GEASS and her eyes light up red. Although she tries to resist the order, she soon falls to its control. Knowing that his GEASS eye is active now, Lelouc h realizes that he has become the same as Mao in that he's unable to turn it off. He then tries to get Euphemia to forget the order, but she picks up his ceramic gun and runs out.</p> <p class="p1ji">Around this time, Schneizel is calling General Bartley to say th at he'll be returning to the home country by the end of the day. Bartley reports t hat their experiment's intelligence is limited to Area 11, so Schneizel suggests t hat they talk with the Rosenberg Laboratory. When the communication arrives, he wants it sent to him with the experimental machine. Bartley then mentions the ru ins on the island, but Schneizel is thinking more about how everything will go w ell thanks to Euphemia. By this time, Euphemia has run back onto stage and asks the Japanese people if they could die. She wants them to commit suicide, but whe n she realizes that they won't, she orders her soldiers to exterminate everyone an d cheerily announces a massacre. Hearing this, Darlton immediately orders all th e microphones and cameras to be turned off. Zero then rushes onto the stage to s top Euphemia, but two Britannian guards get in his way. He opens the slit on his mask to GEASS them, but before he can do that, he sees Euphemia shoot a man in
the audience. When she orders her soldiers to hurry to kill everyone, Darlton qu estions what she's doing and tells her to stop. Euphemia responds by shooting Darl ton in the abdomen, and although she immediately apologizes to him, she also say s that she has to exterminate all of the Japanese.</p> <p class="p1ji">Suzaku wakes up around this time to the sound of screaming and g unfire. He tries to stop the soldiers and is shocked to learn that Euphemia was responsible for the order. Running through the bloody stands, Lelouch calls for Euphemia to stop and realizes that this is all because of his GEASS. A dying wom an grabs ahold of him, but Lelouch now knows that he's not the savior or a messiah . As she breathes her last breaths, the woman tells him that he's their only hope. Feeling that he's been burdened, Lelouch then runs into a wounded Darlton in the hallway. Pointing his gun, Darlton questions what Zero did to Euphemia, but he c ollapses soon after. Outside the arena, there is mass confusion even amongst the Black Knights, and images of the incident are breaking through the normal news broadcast thanks to Diethard. After Lelouch gets back onboard the Gawain, C.C. c omments on how she's surprised with this, but Lelouch says that it wasn't him. Turni ng around, C.C. sees that Lelouch's GEASS eye remains active and realizes what hap pened earlier. Elsewhere, the Emperor of Britannia laughs evilly with all that's g oing on whereas Schneizel is shocked when he learns the news.</p> <p class="p1ji">The rest of the Kyoto group has noticed that Euphemia is differe nt compared to how she was up until now, and they talk about how they're the only ones left. Kaguya finds it shameful that after everything, they consider themsel ves most important. When the men tell her that they remain for the sake of Japan , she asks what they plan to do if only they remain. She then questions what the point of the Kyoto group is if they don't act now. Back at the arena, the Avalon arrives to pick Suzaku up and he then launches onboard the Lancelot. He doesn't th ink that Euphemia could have ordered the massacre and is determined to find her. As Lelouch watches the Britannian forces break through the wall towards the res t of the Japanese population, he decides that the only thing he can do now is to make the most of this. After destroying an oncoming fleet of aircraft with the Gawain's cannons, he starts giving orders to the Black Knights. After explaining t hat Euphemia has become their enemy and that the Special Administrative Japan wa s a trap to lure them out, he says that he wants them to destroy the Britannian military and to hurry to save the Japanese. As Lelouch sheds a tear with his now perma-GEASS left eye, he orders them to find and kill Euphemia.</p> <h3 class="articleheading">Episode Screenshots</h3> {yoogallery src=[/images/stories/code_geass22/]} <h3 class="articleheading">Preview Screenshots</h3> <p class="p1ji">Even though I knew that this episode would be called Bloodstained Euphie, I hadn't been expecting her to personally go out and start slaughtering pe ople. That just made it even harder and more frustrating to watch since I liked her character. I mean, here she was having finally gotten through to her brother Lelouch, and then what amounted to an accident changed everything. A part of me had hoped that she would survive to the end of the series, but that just doesn't seem possible now unless they find a way to get rid of the GEASS control on her mind. If that doesn't happen, then she'll continue her path of blood and violence un til someone kills her. I personally think that it would be fitting if she went a fter Suzaku because he's Japanese, and then he was forced to kill her because of t he GEASS order to live that Lelouch gave him from before.</p> <p class="p1ji">Actually, for everything not working out for Lelouch, everything actually worked out very well for Zero. I make that distinction because Lelouch had agreed to work together with Euphemia, but it's Zero as the head of the Black Knights who profited the most from Euphemia going berserk. With all those dead Japanese, Zero's now got plenty of reason to rally his troops against the Britanni an forces. Still, Lelouch really shouldn't have used that example about killing th e Japanese when he was talking to Euphemia, but I guess there was no way he coul d have known that his GEASS activated. The root of the problem goes back to C.C. and Lelouch both experiencing pain at roughly the same time, and it's still not c lear to me why that happened. Nor do I understand why the image of Marianne appe ared when Suzaku touched C.C. again. It would seem that much would be explained
if and when we learn more about C.C.'s background.</p> <p class="p1ji">I also want to go back to how shocked Schneizel looked after wha t Euphemia did. Certainly he was plotting through Euphie's plan, but that look he had seemed so genuine that I keep thinking that he's not as evil as he initially a ppeared. The Emperor, on the other hand, seems to know what's going on and really is as bad as initially thought. Then again, that's hard to say for sure since ther e's so much mystery surrounding the Emperor. I wonder how much of a conclusion we'll get with these characters in the next three episodes and what will be saved for next season. Next week is the final regular broadcast episode since the air-dat es of episodes 24 and 25 are still undecided. Regardless of when that is, I get the feeling that things won't end well</p> {yoogallery src=[/images/stories/code_geass22_pre/]} <p class="p1ji"></p>
<h1 class="contentheading">Code Geass Episode 23 - At Least With Sorrow</h1> <p class="p1ji">2007-03-31</p> <p class="dropcap">With Euphemia calling for the deaths of all Japanese, Zero mo bilizes the Black Knights. Led by the Crimson Lotus and Toudou's Gekka, the Black Knight forces have no problem taking out the Britannian Knightmares and are even cheered on by the Japanese population. Kallen stops a particular Gloucester tha t is shooting at people and is surprised to find out that Euphemia is its pilot. Euphemia recognizes Kallen's voice as the person from the island, but before Kall en can do anything, Zero arrives on the Gawain to stop her. After Gawain's finger weapons shred the Gloucester so that only the cockpit remains, Euphemia emerges from the wreck with killing still on her mind. She grabs a gun and starts shooti ng at the Gawain, but soon runs out of ammunition. While she's looking for more an d reloading, Lelouch puts on his helmet and goes out to face her. At that moment , Suzaku is searching for Euphemia in the chaos and finally catches sight of her , but he then sees Zero pull the trigger and shoots her. As she falls to the gro und, Euphemia questions in her mind why Lelouch did that. Lelouch, on the other hand, says goodbye to her and also admits that she was probably his first love. The sight of this enrages Suzaku so much that he charges the Lancelot towards th em, is able to avoid all of C.C.'s Gawain cannon fire, and kicks the Gawain onto t he ground. Then, in one swoop, the Lancelot grabs Euphemia's body, knocks the Crim son Lotus down, and flies up towards the just-arrived Avalon. With blood all ove r him, Suzaku takes Euphemia onboard the ship and asks Cecile and Lloyd to pleas e save her.</p> <hr id="system-readmore" /> <p class="p1ji">With Euphemia calling for the deaths of all Japanese, Zero mobil izes the Black Knights. Led by the Crimson Lotus and Toudou's Gekka, the Black Kni ght forces have no problem taking out the Britannian Knightmares and are even ch eered on by the Japanese population. Kallen stops a particular Gloucester that i s shooting at people and is surprised to find out that Euphemia is its pilot. Eu phemia recognizes Kallen's voice as the person from the island, but before Kallen can do anything, Zero arrives on the Gawain to stop her. After Gawain's finger wea pons shred the Gloucester so that only the cockpit remains, Euphemia emerges fro m the wreck with killing still on her mind. She grabs a gun and starts shooting at the Gawain, but soon runs out of ammunition. While she's looking for more and r eloading, Lelouch puts on his helmet and goes out to face her. At that moment, S uzaku is searching for Euphemia in the chaos and finally catches sight of her, b ut he then sees Zero pull the trigger and shoots her. As she falls to the ground , Euphemia questions in her mind why Lelouch did that. Lelouch, on the other han d, says goodbye to her and also admits that she was probably his first love. The sight of this enrages Suzaku so much that he charges the Lancelot towards them, is able to avoid all of C.C.'s Gawain cannon fire, and kicks the Gawain onto the ground. Then, in one swoop, the Lancelot grabs Euphemia's body, knocks the Crimson Lotus down, and flies up towards the just-arrived Avalon. With blood all over h im, Suzaku takes Euphemia onboard the ship and asks Cecile and Lloyd to please s
ave her.</p> <p class="p1ji">Lounging in Diethard's control room, Laksharta listens to the man talking about how he'll show this footage after some editing to the whole world th rough the Internet. Diethard feels that it'll be easy for people to understand whi ch is justice. This causes Laksharta to comment on how he really doesn't have any feelings of loyalty towards Britannia. Diethard doesn't want to serve a Britannia that he considers a finished subject matter, and he then questions why Laksharta is helping the Black Knights. She explains that she only wanted data, but she w ould feel bad abandoning them and finds Zero an interesting man. Back onboard th e Avalon, the outlook doesn't look great for Euphemia. When she wakes up, Cecile a nd Lloyd give Suzaku some time to talk with her alone, and the first thing he as ks is why she gave those orders. Euphemia doesn't seem to know what he's talking abo ut and her eyes instead light up red again as she identifies him as Japanese. Sh e struggles with the control GEASS has over her and eventually opens her eyes ag ain to ask what happened with the ceremony and Japan. It is at this point that S uzaku realizes that she doesn't remember anything. Euphemia asks if the Japanese p eople are happy, not knowing that at that very moment, they are cursing her name as Zero gives a speech about how Euphemia is a symbol of Britannian hypocrisy. Zero continues on to declare independence from Britannia, but he's not going to be reviving the old Japan. Instead, he's creating a new Japan where all races, histo ries, and principles are accepted and where the strong won't oppress the weak. The name of this country is the United States of Japan.</p> <p class="p1ji">Euphemia then asks Suzaku if she did well, and, unable to tell h er the truth, he instead says that it was a huge success and that everyone was v ery pleased. She is glad to hear this, but then she comments on how it's strange t hat she can't see Suzaku's face. Realizing what's happening, Suzaku grasps her hand ti ghtly, and when she talks about going to school, he tearfully says that they can still go to Ashford together where there is happy student council. With tears i n her eyes too, Euphemia starts to say that she was happy to have met him, but s he stops short of finishing, and the nearby heart monitor flatlines. Meanwhile, in the aftermath of his speech, Zero returns to a room where C.C. is waiting. Sh e asks him if he intends to attack the Tokyo Settlement and he confirms that he does because this is their best chance. Taking off his helmet, he looks away so that his perma-GEASS left eye isn't facing her, but she informs him that it has no effect on her. Lelouch then gets a phone call from Nunnally wanting to see Euph emia again because Milly had said that they could redo the school festival that got interrupted. Nunnally doesn't know what happened with Euphemia because the rad io broadcast had ended, and Lelouch doesn't tell her. He instead says that he'll ret urn tomorrow, and they can discuss it then. After he hangs up, C.C. asks Lelouch if anything else changed aside from him not being able to switch on and off his GEASS. Lelouch reveals that Euphemia tried to resist the GEASS order, so he tho ught that its power might have diminished. However, he reasons that it was proba bly to be expected since it was not an allowable thing for her. Hearing this, C. C.walks over and holds him in her arms, saying that they contracted, so only she will stand by him.</p> <p class="p1ji">With the Zero's forces growing to over tens of thousands strong as they approach Tokyo, the Britannian military officers are worried, but Guilford refuses to move without Cornelia's orders. It seems that she has shut herself in Euphemia's room, shocked at what happened, though it's a quiet kind of shocked unlik e Nina over at Ashford Academy. Onboard the Black Knights' commandeered command ve ssel, C.C. is talking to someone again even though she's alone in the hallway. Thi s time, she talks about how happy she is and how she had forgotten how to be kin d. She then identifies the person she's talking to: Marianne. Ougi is meanwhile on the phone with Villetta, but since he doesn't know her real identity, he calls he r Chigusa and tells her that he has something important to tell her when he gets home. She's really happy because this is the first time he's called her by that nam e, and she says that she'll be waiting for him. However, a group of men then break down the door and accuse her of being a spy. At Ashford, Rivalz, Nunnally, and Shirley are listening to the news broadcast, and it causes Nunnally to wonder if this place will become a battlefield too. Rivalz tries to reassure her by sayin
g that Cornelia's forces are here and then changes the subject to how Lelouch hasn't come back yet. Shirley is surprised to hear that name, and Rivalz uses the chan ce to tell her to call him Lelou and to reconcile with him. Shirley, however, di dn't realize that she called Lelouch by that name. Milly has actually gone to tell Nina to come back to the school because the rebels are approaching Tokyo. Sayin g that she knows Zero is coming, Nina continues working on the Ganymede from the festival and vows to avenge Euphemia.</p> <p class="p1ji">As he keeps vigil over Euphemia's body onboard the Avalon, Suzaku questions why she did those things. Suddenly, a voice volunteers to tell him why , and Suzaku turns around to find a young, long-haired boy standing behind him. This boy knows who Suzaku is and identifies himself as V.V. Down in the city bel ow, Cornelia has finally got herself back together and is giving out orders agai n. Zero is at that moment telling his men that defeating Cornelia will win this for them. After ordering the army to stand by in accordance to the strategic pla n, he leaves command of this vessel to Diethard. As he heads to exit the bridge, Zero runs into Kaguya, and she immediately starts talking about how glad she is to have made it in time. Kaguya explains that she's been his fan ever since his d ebut, and she came so that she could see her husband fight. She feels that Zero will need a wife sooner or later if he wins this battle because he'll need someone to compensate in the circumstance that he can't show his face. Kaguya also thinks that he'll win because she's the goddess of victory. Zero, however, tells her that he's already contracted to the devilit's already too late for him to get along with a god. Around this time, in General Bartley's laboratory, Jeremiah's capsule suddenly bursts from a rise in internal pressure. With his body half covered in metal, J eremiah gets on his feet and greets everyone good morning.</p> <p class="p1ji">Flying out in the Gawain, Zero introduces himself to the Britann ia side and intends to start at midnight (which is less than 3 minutes away). C. C. tells him that they can still go back because as things stand, it won't just be Area 11the entire world will get stained with Lelouch's battle. Lelouch says that he understands and starts to explain, but he gets interrupted by his cell phone ringing. He is shocked to see that Euphemia is calling, but it turns out just to be Suzaku using her phone. Suzaku starts by asking if Lelouch is at school, and Lelouch truthfully replies that he's not, though he says that he'll be going back s oon. The reason Suzaku is calling is because he doesn't want Lelouch and the other s to look up into the sky. He then asks if Lelouch has someone he hates so much that he wants to kill, and Lelouch admits that he does. Suzaku explains his feel ings about how not fighting according to the rules amounts to just murder, but h e admits to being controlled by hatred now. He is going to fight to try to kill someone, so he's going to murder in the skies above Tokyo where everyone is. Knowi ng that Suzaku is filled with hatred because of Euphemia's death, Lelouch tells hi m that it's okay. Lelouch also admits that he's already personally decided not to tu rn around, and Suzaku figures out that it's for Nunnally's sake. With midnight rapid ly approaching, Lelouch tells Suzaku that they're friends, and Suzaku confirms tha t they've always been friends since seven years ago. The two hang up the phone at almost exactly midnight, and at that very moment, the ground under the Tokyo set tlement collapses.</p> <p class="p1ji">Starting to laugh, Lelouch says that his hands are already dirty , so he doesn't care if he has to face Suzaku. In fact, he welcomes it because the y are friends. As the buildings of Tokyo are falling in front of him, Lelouch sa ys that destruction is necessary before creation. He thinks that it's okay to get rid of your heart if it gets in the way and feels that he can't do anything but mo ve forward now.</p> <h3 class="articleheading">Episode Screenshots</h3> {yoogallery src=[/images/stories/code_geass23/]} <h3 class="articleheading">Preview Screenshots</h3> <p class="p1ji">Well, I thought that this was probably one of, if not THE, best episode so far (I've probably said that before, but that's how good this show keeps being). It's that mix of action and near-constant twists and turns that kept me ex cited through the entire episode.</p> <p class="p1ji">As expected, Euphemia died, and she was indeed killed by Lelouch
as some of the spoilers had previously said. I actually half thought that she w ould suddenly try to choke Suzaku or something when he was at her bedside becaus e he was Japanese, but it was instead a very touching scene since Suzaku let her die thinking that the Japanese were happy. I liked the song they played there, and I felt really sad when she died. They did a great job contrasting that scene with Zero's speech and the crowd chanting.</p> <p class="p1ji">Suzaku of course took her death rather hard, and V.V. (who is ma le if there were any doubts) appeared in the perfect moment to take advantage of him. It's not clear what V.V. revealed to Suzaku, but I got the distinct feeling that Suzaku knew who Lelouch really was by the time he called Lelouch before the destruction in Tokyo began. There was something very creepy and cold about the way Suzaku asked if Lelouch was at school, and there's also the fact that Suzaku c hose to use Euphemia's phone. The rest of the conversation didn't quite seem to refl ect Suzaku knowing, but maybe Suzaku just wasn't letting on.</p> <p class="p1ji">And then there's the subject of C.C. communicating with Marianne. Theoretically, either Marianne is alive or C.C. and people like her can talk wit h the dead. The latter seems more plausible because, as many people have pointed out, the Emperor back in the very beginning of episode six mentioned that he ha d talked to Clovis even though Clovis was already dead by that point. That being said, I can only imagine how Lelouch would react if Marianne were indeed alive (or if he could just see her again in some way).</p> <p class="p1ji">There's a lot of miscellaneous character highlights this episode t oo, all of which will carry over to the next episodes. First, it seems pretty ev ident that Nina is going to try to join the battle in some way using a modified Ganymede to avenge Euphemia. The question is if she's going to use her nuclear/Ura nium-235 knowledge. She's not very emotionally stable, so anything could happen. T hen there's Villetta, who it looks like is going to be the victim of an angry mob. I doubt she's going to die, but this may lead to her getting her memory back in s ome way.</p> <p class="p1ji">Kaguya meanwhile was almost sickingly cute. I say almost because I do like her character. I hadn't realized how small she was until she was standi ng right next to Zero. She's got to play a bigger role than just being the girl wh o wants to be Zero's wife, but it's unclear to me what that will be. And finally, th ere's Jeremiah. He has now more or less been activated, so I expect to see him fai rly soon. I assume he'll return to the battlefield in some more-powerful-than-befo re form, but I also think that he'll have to be involved with Villetta again someh ow.</p> <p class="p1ji">Now that episode 23 is over, the wait begins. The preview at the end of this episode wasn't really a preview, but rather a notice that confirmed t hat episodes 24 and 25 won't be airing until sometime during the summer. It was ba sically what had been revealed earlier on the MBS GEASS site. I'm looking forward to an epic conclusion and am hoping that episodes 24 and 25 don't end in a huge cl iffhanger for the second series. We'll have to wait and find out</p> {yoogallery src=[/images/stories/code_geass23_pre/]} <p class="p1ji"></p> <h1 class="contentheading">Code Geass Episode 24 & 25 Special Commercial</h1 > <p class="p1ji">Date</p> <p class="dropcap">At the end of last night's episode of Nanatsuiro Drops on MBS, there was a commercial broadcast for the CODE GEASS Stage 24 & 25 Special wi th some very interesting shots.</p> <hr id="system-readmore" /> <p class="p1ji"><strong>Watch the commercial!</strong> Mirror 1, Mirror 2</p> <p class="p1ji">At the end of last night's episode of Nanatsuiro Drops on MBS, the re was a commercial broadcast for the CODE GEASS Stage 24 & 25 Special with some very interesting shots.</p> <ul> <li>It looks to me like the Black Knights will be taking over the school, and n
either Arthur nor Nina will like it. </li> <li>A pissed off Nina appears to have finished her modifications to the Ganymed e-type Knightmare and is probably going to try to kill as many Black Knights as she can on a rampage towards Zero. </li> <li>Sayoko appears to be setting off an explosion of some sort. Is it something Diethard had her set up?</li> <li>Viletta's eyes makes it look like she's regained her memory, though it seems th at she's been captured by the Black Knights.</li> <li>Suzaku appears to have hit Lloyd, probably because Lloyd was trying to stop him from piloting the Lancelot in that state (i.e. the aftermath of this). Rega rdless, it's not very Suzaku-ish to hit someone who's not his enemy, especially a su perior like Lloyd, so that should say something about how he's feeling. </li> <li>Marianne is going to show up (in a flashback probably), and it looks like s he's with Cornelia. If she does indeed get lines, I wonder who her voice actress i s.</li> </ul> <p class="p1ji">There's just three more weeks until July 28th</p> <h3 class="articleheading">Special Commercial Screenshots</h3> {yoogallery src=[/images/stories/code_geass24n25_com/]} <p class="p1ji"></p> <h1 class="contentheading">Code Geass Episode 24 & 25 PV</h1> <p class="p1ji">Date</p> <p class="dropcap">With the special screening of Stage 24 & 25 only days awa y and the television broadcast a week and a half away, the official CODE GEASS w ebsite in partnership with BIGLOBE has released a two and a half minute promotio nal video for Stage 24 & 25 that can be found here. For those of you who get crappy speeds on BIGLOBE's streaming, I've uploaded an avi version in the links abo ve.</p> <hr id="system-readmore" /> <p class="p1ji"><strong>Watch the PV!</strong> Mirror 1, Mirror 2</p> <p class="p1ji">With the special screening of Stage 24 & 25 only days away a nd the television broadcast a week and a half away, the official CODE GEASS webs ite in partnership with BIGLOBE has released a two and a half minute promotional video for Stage 24 & 25 that can be found here. For those of you who get cr appy speeds on BIGLOBE's streaming, I've uploaded an avi version in the links above. </p> <p class="p1ji">This promotional video seems to expand on a lot of the things fr om the recent commercial, but it also has its own share of interesting shots.</p > <ul> <li>Looks like the Black Knights are going to employ the Raikou weapon that the Japanese Liberation Front had previous been using.</li> <li>The promo seems to imply that the button Sayoko presses blows up a plane of some sort, possibly a transport.</li> <li> </li> <li>With Zero standing behind her, Kallen takes off her visor in front of someo ne, likely her friends at school. </li> <li>Viletta appears to be either escaping from the Black Knights, or escaping f rom the mob that was originally after her when we last saw her.</li> <li>The Pudding Earl doesn't look too happy after getting smacked by Suzaku.</li> <li>From all the quick battle shots, it seems that Toudou's Gekka is going to be plowing through a wave of Gloucesters, and the Lancelot/Suzaku will get to fight the Guren Nishiki/Kallen again. A later shot in promo shows the Gawain firing o n the Lancelot, but it dodges. The Gawain will also go up against a new orange-c olored mecha.</li> <li>This must be one of the Glaston Knights, but is there a point to him puttin g on his visor other than looking cool?</li> <li>What exactly does CODE-R mean? Is it another name for her or is it the type of person C.C. is or what? Does it have anything to do with her real name?</li>
<li>Since Cornelia looks fairly young in this shot, I think it's safe to assume i t's a flashback.</li> <li>The cloud and color scheme of the background in the unconscious Nunnally sh ot make me think that she might be with the Emperor of Britannia in that place. Or it could just be evening time.</li> </ul> <p class="p1ji">10 more days until July 28th</p> <p class="p1ji">On a related side-note, the latest issue of TVstation magazine i n Japan is stating that GEASS 2nd Series will be airing in October. I'm not sure I trust this news 100% since it's mentioned more as an assumption than an announcem ent, so take it with a grain of salt.</p> <h3 class="articleheading">PV Screenshots</h3> {yoogallery src=[/images/stories/code_geass24n25_pv/]} <p class="p1ji"></p> <h1 class="contentheading">Code Geass Episode 24 - The Collapsing Stage</h1> <p class="p1ji">2007-07-21</p> <p class="dropcap">Looking at a screen with images of C.C. labeled as CODE-R, Je remiah realizes that they tried to make a reproduction with this experimental bo dy. Bartley tries to calm him down, but they then hear Zero's message to the Brita nnia forces, and it gives Jeremiah great mental anguish. At that moment, Corneli a and her men are getting ready to face off against Zero's Black Knights, but Zero first makes an announcement that triggers a GEASS effect in the operators of th e control rooms under the Britannia settlement. Right at midnight, these operato rs cause the ground to crumble, and the Black Knights soon begin their ground as sault. Toudou finds Cornelia first and tries to attack her, but one of her men t akes the hit. Guilford then jumps in to face him and tells Cornelia to return to wards their base because she needs to live for Euphemia's sake. Cornelia agrees to turn back and let him fight, but only after she orders him to return alive. On the Black Knights side, Lelouch sends the Zero squad and Ougi to the seize Ashfo rd Academy so that they can use it as a command center.</p> <hr id="system-readmore" /> <p class="p1ji">Looking at a screen with images of C.C. labeled as CODE-R, Jerem iah realizes that they tried to make a reproduction with this experimental body. Bartley tries to calm him down, but they then hear Zero's message to the Britanni a forces, and it gives Jeremiah great mental anguish. At that moment, Cornelia a nd her men are getting ready to face off against Zero's Black Knights, but Zero fi rst makes an announcement that triggers a GEASS effect in the operators of the c ontrol rooms under the Britannia settlement. Right at midnight, these operators cause the ground to crumble, and the Black Knights soon begin their ground assau lt. Toudou finds Cornelia first and tries to attack her, but one of her men take s the hit. Guilford then jumps in to face him and tells Cornelia to return towar ds their base because she needs to live for Euphemia's sake. Cornelia agrees to tu rn back and let him fight, but only after she orders him to return alive. On the Black Knights side, Lelouch sends the Zero squad and Ougi to the seize Ashford Academy so that they can use it as a command center.</p> <p class="p1ji">Meanwhile on the Avalon, Suzaku enters the Lancelot's hanger so th at he can join the fight, but Lloyd holds the keys and says that leaving would b e disobeying orders since they haven't gotten a sortie command from Cornelia. Suza ku responds by punching Lloyd in the face, taking the key, and then declaring th at he'll defeat Zero with his own hands. Back in Britannia, reports are coming in to a conference room full of royalty that a Chinese Federation armada has gather ed in the East China Sea. At the head of the table, Odysseus is worried about th e Emperor not being around, and one of the other men suggests preparing a dispat ch of troops. Odysseus, however, lacks confidence, particularly in light of the Euphemia blunder, so Schneizel volunteers to go. Back in Tokyo, Diethard leads t he troops to take over the television station, and Tamaki helps capture Ashford Academy. When Rivalz attempts to protect Milly, Shirley, and Nunnally, Tamaki ra ises the butt of his rifle to hit him, but Zero and Kallen show up to stop any v
iolence from happening. Zero is making the school into a command center, but he first guarantees the safety of the student council members, thinking privately t o himself that he wants Nunnally to stay here for the duration of the battle so that the Black Knights can protect her.</p> <p class="p1ji">Rivalz still continues to protest, so Kallen takes off her visor and requests that he do as he's told. Though she's surprised to see Kallen on the o ther side, Milly asks her to promise not to touch any of the students, so Kallen replies that she thinks the students will be fine as long as they don't go out. S hirley then starts asking about what they did to her, which confuses Kallen, but the conversation is interrupted when Ougi rushes in to report that the Lancelot has shown up. At this time, Suzaku is feverishly searching for Zero while slici ng through all of the Black Knight Knightmares that he comes across. V.V. had ea rlier told him that Zero had a paranormal power called GEASS and had implied tha t this was why Euphemia suddenly changed. Villetta, who managed to kill the thug s who appeared at Ougi's apartment and has returned to her normal self, has also r ealized that Lelouch has the power to control people and make them forget memori es. In any case, Suzaku's rampage soon leads him to Kallen, and the two start figh ting after Kallen tells him to die here and after Suzaku asserts that she and th e Japanese people are being deceived by Zero. At one point, the Guren Nishiki ma nages to catch the Lancelot's left arm and starts frying it, but Suzaku thinks qui ckly and ejects the arm.</p> <p class="p1ji">The Lancelot counters by shooting off the Guren Nishiki's left arm , and when Kallen refuses to tell him where Zero is, Suzaku gets ready to finish her off. Fortunately for her, Zero and the Gawain show up at that moment, and L elouch claims that he wants to settle this in a one-on-one fight with Suzaku. Ba ck at Ashford, the Black Knight soldiers bring in a suspicious person that Ougi recognizes as Chigusa, so he decides to take supervision over her. The student c ouncil members are meanwhile worried about what's going to happen to them, but Shi rley is positive that Zero won't harm them. However, they are then alerted to the fact that the Lancelot and the Gawain are outside their building, with the Gawai n pointing its hand at their window. Suzaku calls Zero a coward for taking hosta ges, but this is all part of Zero's plan that involves Sayoko hiding in the woods. When the Lancelot charges, the Gawain shoots in a direction that forces the Lan celot to touch down on the ground and fall right into the Gefjun Disturber trap, activated by Sayoko. Suzaku is furious with Zero, but with this fight over, Lel ouch leaves the Lancelot in the hands of Laksharta.</p> <p class="p1ji">The Gawain then flies back towards the Britannia forces headquar ters where the heated battle continues and where Britannian reinforcements are a rriving. In response, the Gawain fires its main cannons in a circular motion, de stroying everything around it. Afterwards, Lelouch and C.C. land in the garden o n top of the enemy building, and he recognizes the landscape. To his surprise, C .C. says that it's like Aries imperial villa, but she won't tell him why she knows o f that place yet. The two then get interrupted by Cornelia who had been expectin g Zero to come. Meanwhile, Ougi is questioning why Chigusa came here and apologi zes for hiding his Black Knight identity to her. He tries to say that this is al l for peace and for the sake of them being able to be together, but Villetta tak es his gun and scoffs at the notion that she'd be with him. After revealing that s he's a Britannian Knight named Villetta Nu, she shoots Ougi in the stomach, and as he collapses on to the ground, Ougi finally realizes that her memories have ret urned. Elsewhere in the school, Nunnally asks Milly and the others to go out and help Suzaku.</p> <p class="p1ji">By now, the fight between Cornelia and Zero in their respective Knightmares has started, and Cornelia's Gloucester is able to run circles around t he Gawain. When the Gawain attempts to take off into the air, the Gloucester gra pples onto it and is about to shoot it at point blank range when another Glouces ter lance suddenly pierces through Cornelia's cockpit. This lance belongs to Darlt on's Gloucester, and he's attacked her under the influence of GEASS. As soon as Darl ton regains control of himself though, Zero thanks him and blasts him with the G awain, killing him. Back at the student council room, V.V. arrives in Nunnally's r oom and says that he came to get her.</p>
<p class="p1ji"><strong>Episode 25</strong></p> <h3 class="articleheading">Opening Sequence Screenshots</h3> {yoogallery src=[/images/stories/code_geass24_op/]} <h3 class="articleheading">Episode 24 Screenshots</h3> {yoogallery src=[/images/stories/code_geass24/]} <p class="p1ji"></p>
<h1 class="contentheading">Code Geass Episode 25 - Zero</h1> <p class="p1ji">2007-07-21</p> <p class="dropcap">Having gotten out of the wreckage of her fallen Gloucester, C ornelia finds out Zero's real identity when he approaches her without his mask on, and she figures out that he was doing all this for Nunnally's sake. Lelouch admit s that he wants to destroy the current world and create a new age, but that gets Cornelia angry because she feels he killed Clovis and Euphemia for the sake of such nonsense. Lelouch then activates his GEASS power and asks Cornelia if she w as the one who killed his mother, but Cornelia says that it wasn't herself and tha t she doesn't know who the real culprit is. Since Cornelia was in charge of the gu ard back then, Lelouch then questions why the guard was withdrawn, and to his su rprise, the answer comes out that Marianne asked them to. Lelouch realizes that this means that his mother knew that there would be an attack that day, but he f inds that impossible because he thinks that she would have let him and Nunnally escape. No matter how desperately he asks for what happened that day and who kil led his mother though, Cornelia doesn't have an answer for him, so Lelouch instead asks her who does know the truth, but the only other thing Cornelia knows is th at the Emperor ordered Schneizel to take away Marianne's body.</p> <hr id="system-readmore" /> <p class="p1ji">Having gotten out of the wreckage of her fallen Gloucester, Corn elia finds out Zero's real identity when he approaches her without his mask on, an d she figures out that he was doing all this for Nunnally's sake. Lelouch admits t hat he wants to destroy the current world and create a new age, but that gets Co rnelia angry because she feels he killed Clovis and Euphemia for the sake of suc h nonsense. Lelouch then activates his GEASS power and asks Cornelia if she was the one who killed his mother, but Cornelia says that it wasn't herself and that s he doesn't know who the real culprit is. Since Cornelia was in charge of the guard back then, Lelouch then questions why the guard was withdrawn, and to his surpr ise, the answer comes out that Marianne asked them to. Lelouch realizes that thi s means that his mother knew that there would be an attack that day, but he find s that impossible because he thinks that she would have let him and Nunnally esc ape. No matter how desperately he asks for what happened that day and who killed his mother though, Cornelia doesn't have an answer for him, so Lelouch instead as ks her who does know the truth, but the only other thing Cornelia knows is that the Emperor ordered Schneizel to take away Marianne's body.</p> <p class="p1ji">C.C. suddenly senses something and alerts Lelouch to the fact th at Nunnally has been kidnapped and is being taken to Kaminejimathe same island Le louch, Suzaku, Kallen, and Euphemia had been taken to previously. As Lelouch is re-boarding the Gawain though, a new mecha springs forth from the ground: Jeremi ah's. Lelouch tries to get C.C. to retrieve Cornelia's body, but Jeremiah mecha tack les the Gawain and pushes it off the rooftop. With C.C. piloting, Lelouch places call to Ougi and finds out that he was shot, but more importantly, Lelouch want s to know what happened to the wheelchair girl. Upon learning that the students have disappeared, Lelouch calls up Rivalz and finds out that they left Nunnally back in the clubhouse. He wants to head for Nunnally, but to get rid of Jeremiah first, the Gawain fires on a building to cause it to fall on Jeremiah's mecha. Ba ck at Ashford, the Black Knights are trying to crack into the Lancelot's cockpit a nd have recaptured Shirley, Milly, and Rivalz. Shirley in particular wants Tamak i to call Zero because she believes that Zero will protect them. To prevent Tama ki from hurting his classmates, Suzaku decides to emerge from the Lancelot's cockp it, but since the Black Knights only want the Lancelot, Tamaki prepares to shoot
its pilot.</p> <p class="p1ji">However, before Tamaki can do so, Arthur jumps on his gun and de lays him long enough for the Avalon to arrive. Cecile launches in a Sutherland m ade of test parts, and she and Lloyd help destroy the Gefjun Disturber to reacti vate the Lancelot. After recharging it and giving it a Sutherland arm to replace the one it lost, Cecile sends Suzaku on his way to take on Zero. As Suzaku is t aking off though, he gets a transmission from Cornelia, so he heads towards her. When he gets there, Cornelia tells him that Zero is headed for Kaminejima and g rants him a formal knighthood. Meanwhile, Lelouch contacts Toudou and leaves all operations from here on to him. When news of this reaches Diethard, he question s why Zero would leave in such an important time, and a wave of uncertainty hits the rest of the Black Knights too. Kallen in particular is wondering what to do when she gets a call from Ougi telling her to go after Zero. She then sees the Lancelot flying off somewhere, so she decides to follow it. At Ashford, the stud ents have started boarding the Avalon while it and Cecile trade fire with the Bl ack Knight forces. In the middle of this, Nina suddenly appears in the Ganymede armed with a large Sakuradite bomb capable of wiping out the city, so Lloyd decl ares a temporary truce so that they don't hit it. Holding the trigger in her hands , Nina demands to know where Zero is.</p> <p class="p1ji">At that time, the Gawain is approaching Kaminejima, and Lelouch is questioning what this war for independence was for if Nunnally isn't around. Th ey soon arrive at the island and land at the entrance to the cave there, but C.C . says that she doesn't know the place or if Nunnally's kidnapper is a person with G EASS powers. When a surge of energy suddenly hits the Gawain and causes Lelouch to have visions, C.C. informs him that this is a trap against intruders, but Lel ouch is then shown scenes of her past, including her getting shot on a battlefie ld and getting burned at the stake. In a black and white world, C.C. tells him t hat all that's left is her memories of being a witch, and she doesn't even know if s he was human to start with. All the people who hated her and the people who were kind to her have disappeared in the never-ending flow of time, and she thus fee ls alone. Lelouch, however, tells her that she's not alone: they are accomplices, so if she is a witch, then he feels that he will become the devil. The two of th em are then returning to their normal senses, and just in time for Jeremiah to a ttack again. Jeremiah manages to hit them, so C.C. fires the Gawain's cannons into the ocean to create a wall of water to hide themselves in for a moment.</p> <p class="p1ji">Telling Lelouch to leave Jeremiah to her, C.C. wants him to go a fter Nunnally instead. Lelouch points out that the Gawain doesn't have enough ener gy, but C.C. feels that it'll be okay, though she then admits to feeling a bit une asy. Telling him to win, C.C. kisses Lelouch before setting him down by the cave . When Lelouch tells her not to die, she questions who he thinks he's talking to. C.C. then flies the Gawain to Jeremiah's mecha and attaches to it before accelerat ing it into the water. Back in Tokyo, the tide of battle has turned against the Black Knights and the forces under Guilford have started a counterattack. Even K aguya is now wondering if Zero abandoned them. At that moment, Lelouch has enter ed the cave and approaches the markings on the wall, but he gets shot at before he can get much further. The person with the gun is Suzaku, and as Lelouch turns to face him, he attempts to blame Euphemia for killing innocent Japanese and tr ies to associate Suzaku with it. Suzaku, however, won't fall for the mind games an d mentions how useful a power GEASS is in allowing Zero to hide himself while pu tting responsibility on others. Suzaku has also noticed that Kallen is here, and he asks if she wants to know Zero's true identity.</p> <p class="p1ji">Since he feels Kallen has a right to see this, Suzaku shoots Zer o's helmet, splitting it in half and revealing Lelouch's face underneath. Although S uzaku reacts by saying that he didn't want to believe it, Kallen is much more shoc ked and asks if he had been using the Japanese people. Lelouch responds by sayin g that Japan was liberated as a result, so there should be no complaints. As for Suzaku, he feels that he should have arrested Lelouch earlier, but he was uncer tain and in denial. When he accuses Lelouch of lying to him, Euphemia, and Nunna lly, Lelouch tries to turn the subject to how Nunnally was kidnapped. He asks fo r a temporary truce so that they can save Nunnally, but Suzaku now believes that
Lelouch would betray the world until the very end. Urging Suzaku to shoot if he can, Lelouch then attaches a liquid Sakuradite bomb to himself that will go off if his heart stops beating. He also asks who told Suzaku about GEASS and suspec ts that this person is with Nunnally, but Suzaku declares that what happens from now on will have nothing to do with Lelouch and that his existence was a mistak e. With Suzaku saying that he'll be the one to save Nunnally, Lelouch gets so piss ed off that he draws his own gun, and one of them seems to fire.</p> <p class="p1ji">As she sinks into the sea with the Gawain and Jeremiah's mecha, C. C. thinks about how people desire happiness and how Lelouch had wished for nothi ng more than a small joy. She believes that at least the root of his actions was a natural wish for anyone and questions who can deny such a dream or vow, but b locking Lelouch's way was a past of his own creation. Still, she feels that one sh ould be grateful for humans desiring happiness because it is from despair that a ray of hope is born.</p> <h3 class="articleheading">Episode Screenshots</h3> {yoogallery src=[/images/stories/code_geass25/]} <h3 class="articleheading">Final Thoughts</h3> <p class="p1ji">Well, this was quite an exciting pair of episodes. I find it iro nic that Lelouch is doing much of all this for Nunnally's sake, yet it's because of Nunnally that he leaves his Black Knights to fall to disarray. It also brought m e to question the true reason Lelouch is fighting, especially now that we know M arianne knew she was going to be attacked back then. In essence, it means to me that he didn't need to kill any of his siblings if he had just somehow gotten this information from Cornelia to begin with. As for where we go from here in terms of solving that mystery, the next step appears to be either Marianne's coffin or g oing after Schneizel to find out what happened. Maybe Lelouch will learn from th is experience and try to get the information without resorting to violence first .</p> <p class="p1ji">There were some other good plot twists, like Darlton attacking C ornelia and Villetta shooting Ougi, but at the end, I was left feeling a bit uns atisfied. In the short term, I think knowing that there is a sequel and having t hem prepare the story progression with such a sequel in mind was a bad thing for these final two episodes. They definitely kept my interest the entire way throu gh, but I find it hard to call these a conclusion to the first series because vi rtually nothing got concluded and there are questions left about pretty much eve rything. We're left with a huge cliffhanger of a gunshot between Lelouch and Suzak u, thought I suspect that it isn't that big of big deal because it seems unlikely that it'll lead to either of their deaths, especially with the live GEASS command on Suzaku. But past that, we still have C.C. sinking into the ocean, Nunnally stil l with V.V., the Black Knights in disarray, and Nina with a bomb. Plus, aside fr om Darlton and some relatively minor characters, pretty much everyone made it th rough alive, including several characters I thought wouldn't (Nina, Guilford, Ceci le). I'm not even sure if Cornelia is dead or alive since her body wasn't shown agai n after Suzaku left her side. This all sets us up great for a sequel, but, as I mentioned, it leaves me feeling a little unsatisfied for the moment.</p> <p class="p1ji">With the way the show cliffhangered, it almost doesn't feel right for me to be writing final thoughts since I know that it will continue again som etime in the future. Still, I do have to mention how much I loved CODE GEASS for both its storytelling and its character development. When it was airing regular ly, it seemed that every episode had exciting new developments, and it was witho ut a doubt the show I looked forward to the most from week to week. There's obviou sly a ton of story still yet to be told (I'm still waiting to hear C.C.'s real name) , and hopefully the sequel will be as much fun as this was.</p> </div> </body> </html>

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<h1 class="contentheading">Code Geass Episode 3 - A Lying Classmate</h1> <p class="p1ji">2006-10-28</p>

<h1 class="contentheading">Code Geass Episode 4 - The Name is Zero</h1> <p class="p1ji">2006-10-29</p>

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