This review may contain Spoilers Note: This will be a review of the entire main storyline of Code GeassR1 + R2. For newer anime fans one of the most frequent recommendations they get is often Code Geass and for good reason its a common stereotype that animation is for kids and therefore a poltical warfarebased show shows that this stereotype is wrong. So how good is it? Visuals The art is weird at first the proportions are overly skinny and thin but you get used to it after a while and some of the Mecha designs are just plain cool despite not being as much of a selling point like other contemporary Mecha shows like Gundam. Not breathtaking but overall its pretty good. The animation is also good you can have a few action scenes that are just a really fun watch however you probably wont be getting any Ufotablelevel sakuga from this show. The directing is not too special but gets the job done. The visuals overall are probably not one of the best out there but theyre great nonetheless Characters If we dissect each character of the show youll find that not all of them are great... Im talking about you Nina. In all seriousness the main criticism I have with the characters is that they can often be inconsistent they do very uncharacteristic things a lot of the time however they are certainly not bad I would say especially the protagonist himself Lelouch who in my opinion is one of the most well written and compelling protagonists of all time and the antagonists do their job but dont really elevate the show to a higher degree like some other villains do. Overall a good cast but with minor problems ehem...Nina. Plot The basic plot is essentially Lelouch obtaining the power of absolute obedience and he uses this to lead a rebellion with the task of bettering the world. It is a political thriller its a mecha show yes but its not exclusively about Mechas which is a great thing It allows the plot to become more complex and less like your generic Mecha show where they fight monsters each week however the problem is that the story can be up and down sometimes you sometimes get really wellwritten episodes that can be an absolute spectacle but sometimes you get an episode dedicated to making a giant pizza or chasing a cat but of course a review of code Geass wouldnt be complete without even a mention of its ending It is what might be the greatest ending in all of fiction of which I cannot get into without getting into major spoiler territory so youll have to watch the show yourself to experience the masterclass of Code Geass ending when people say its good... they arent exaggerating and despite a few problems I have with the show it was definitely worth to watch it just for the ending as it concludes most of the plot threads that the show presents in a meaningful way and exhibits great themes about true sacrifice and peace. Its not a perfect story and can be messy at certain points but overall despite a few minor issues here and there it is still certainly worth your investment if you can stomach a few plot conveniences and plot holes. Sound and Music The Voice Acting is great for both dub and the original especially in the part of Lelouch its solid. Sound Design is good but not especially memorable. It has a bunch of banger Opening themes especially the first one The Ending themes are similarly very good and the OST is great and at times amazing not much too say except that the music is for this show is good. Other Stuff The Geass system is a very interesting concept it provides a strategybased system rather than the often problematic power level system that a lot of shonen have and so it makes for much more interesting battles There is a lot of fanservice... like A LOT not necessarily a bad thing though Overall As flawed and inconsistent as it may be you cannot discredit the ending to the show it is the culmination of everything after all. As a certain monk once said Code Geass is a car crash that somehow perfectly parallel parked and that definitely is the case here. Perfect? No far from it in fact but is it a must watch? Absolutely.
85 /100
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