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Even without his Geass, Lelouch is a formidable opponent. By using his genius intellect, he is capable of devising and executing
strategies with fantastic speed and precision. He rarely battles opponents physically. Instead, he usually attacks with coordinated
groups or armies focused under his direct command, or using clever plots, schemes, or deceptions to gain an advantage. He thinks of
his battles as chess games, at which he is a masterful player, always beating anyone who played against him. Before he received his
Geass power, he often gambles on his chess games against Britannian nobles and other skilled players out of boredom. As a teenager,
he makes use of his masterful skills as a commander in real battle, anticipating his enemies' moves and giving orders to his forces,
and utilizing plans that were strategically put in place to destroy the enemy. In contrast, his physical state is poor; however, he
displays above-averagehand–eye coordination, both with firearms and the keyboard-based control system of the Shinkirō. Lelouch is
also shown to be very charismatic and persuasive, able to win the support of the populace through well-delivered speeches combined
with his ability to make miracles through superior strategic planning. In episode 14 of R2, V.V. remarks that Lelouch is a lot like his
father.
Lelouch usually operates standard Knightmares, but pilots such as Suzaku and
Cornelia, both of whom are masterful pilots who use more advanced models,
are commonly able to overwhelm him in single combat. Lelouch is typically
accompanied by Kallen, who serves as his personal guard. After stealing the
advanced model, the Gawain, Lelouch co-pilots it with C.C., controlling the
weapons and command functions while C.C. handles navigation and flight,
until it was lost in the ocean, when trying to deal with Jeremiah. After the
Black Knights are exiled from Japan, Lelouch pilots the Shinkirō, which has
the strongest defense of any Knightmare, but it requires an intellect of his level Lelouch's Knightmare, theShinkirō
to perform the complex calculations needed for it to be ef
fective.
In Code Geass
First season
Lelouch is introduced in the first episode of the series as a student of Ashford Academy, where he is a member of its student council.
He accidentally boards a truck used by Japanese resistance operatives. Within the truck is a capsule holding a witch known as C.C.
(pronounced "Cee Two"), who sacrifices herself to save him from the military forces trying to recapture her. When it seems as if her
sacrifice was pointless, C.C. offers him the "Power of the King", the mythical power of Geass. The Geass manifests itself in him as
the power of absolute obedience, which allows him to make people obey his orders without question.[3] With his new power, Lelouch
begins his rebellion against the Britannian Empire, starting by killing his half-brother, Clovis la Britannia, after extracting
information about the murder of his mother, Marianne.[4] He takes up the identity of Zero and later forms the Order of the Black
[5][6]
Knights, becoming a revolutionary and gaining popular support amongst the people.
The turning point in his rebellion comes when his half-sister, Euphemia li Britannia, declares the region under Mount Fuji the Special
Administrative Zone of Japan, giving the Japanese people their name and country back, albeit in a much smaller area. Lelouch
confronts her at the opening ceremony and tries to have her shoot him, hoping to make himself a martyr. When she says she plans to
give up her royal title, he surrenders and agrees to work with her. However, at this moment his Geass permanently activates without
him knowing, and an offhand comment about ordering her to kill the Japanese causes Euphemia to do just that.[7] Lelouch reluctantly
kills her and uses the massacre as an excuse to spark the Black Rebellion, in which he declares Japan to be an independent nation and
leads an attack on the Tokyo Settlement.[8] The attack goes well at first, but when Lelouch learns that Nunnally has been kidnapped,
he abandons the battle, leaving his forces helpless against the better-organized Britannian military. Lelouch makes his way to Kamine
Island to search for Nunnally, but is confronted by Suzaku.[9] The second season reveals that Lelouch is defeated by Suzaku, who
arrests his former friend and brings him to his father
.
Lelouch makes a few appearances in the miniseries, first seen in Suzaku's custody as he clutches his right eye while begging his
friend for water, only to be silently turned down. In his second appearance upon arriving in St. Petersburg, Kingsley proudly declares
that the Emperor has placed him in charge of all the Eastern front operational planning for Britannia's military
.
In the third episode, Lelouch encounters Shin Hyuga Shaing and others for a meeting. In which he tries to arrest the others in his
plan. Lelouch showcases a clip to create fear and havoc within the city. Later on, he plays chess along Hyuga, but starts hallucinating
Kingsley and past memories from Rebellion. Later on Hyuga figures out that he was both Zero and Lelouch and calls his squad.
Suzaku, in an attempt to defend the secret, kills most of the squad whilst Lelouch rips off his eye-patch. Eventually, both are
captured, with Hyuga later declaring Kingsley executed and revealing that he is Zero.
From here, Lelouch begins to regain his memories in a traumatized fashion, prompting Suzaku to strangle him, until Lelouch begins
to cry and beg Suzaku to kill him. They are saved byRolo Lamperouge, and from there Charles is forced to use his Geass on Lelouch
again. This time, he is unaware of his royal heritage or being Zero, but still lives a life strikingly similar to the one he led at the start
of the series.
Second season
A year after the Black Rebellion, after the Emperor wiped out his memories, Lelouch is living as an Ashford student with Rolo
Lamperouge assigned to oversee the delusion under the guise of Lelouch's younger brother. Lelouch's memories are restored by C.C.,
and he resumes leadership of the Black Knights, gaining Rolo's trust in the process.[10][11] When Nunnally is appointed as Governor
of Area 11 and announces her plans to reestablish the Special Administrative Zone of Japan, Lelouch engineers the legal exile of the
Black Knights by getting the Britannians to agree to exile Zero in exchange for bringing one million participants for Nunnally's new
Japan.[12]
The Black Knights escape to the Chinese Federation, where Lelouch begins forging an alliance with the other world powers to create
a force that rivals Britannia. He starts by destabilizing the Chinese Federation, returning control to Empress Tianzi from the High
Eunuchs. Once Lelouch's new alliance, the United Federation of Nations, is formed, their first act is to liberate Japan. Despite
Lelouch's desire to protect his sister, his Geass forces Suzaku to shoot a nuclear weapon, destroying a large portion of the Tokyo
Settlement and presumably killing Nunnally. Schneizel then convinces the Black Knights to betray him with a despondent Lelouch
willing to be killed by his former comrades, until Rolo sacrifices his life to save him.[13] Lelouch decides to go to Kamine Island and
defeat his father. Joined by Suzaku, he learns the truth that his mother faked her death and has been aiding the Emperor in their goal
to wipe out individuality from the world. Lelouch, awakening his full Geass powers while rejecting the reality his parents intend,
controls the will of the C's World entity itself to erase the Sword of Akasha and his parents out of existence. One month later
, Lelouch
[14]
usurps the Britannian throne and appoints Suzaku as his knight to set the stage for their ultimate plan, the Zero Requiem.
As Emperor, Lelouch dismantles the Britannian class system and frees every colony. He then requests that Britannia join the U.F.N,
but proceeds to take the council members hostage after it is revealed that Britannia's large population would give him a majority
voting block. This brings him into conflict with Schneizel, who has Nunnally in his custody and commands the Damocles (a floating
fortress which he intends to place into a position which would allow him to fire nuclear weapons worldwide), and the Black Knights
now under Kaname Oghi. In the final battle, as Suzaku fakes his death, Lelouch outwits Schneizel and places him under a Geass
command to serve Zero. From there, learning that Nunnally has regained her sight and has been acting on her own plan to unite the
world through the destruction of theDamocles, Lelouch uses his Geass on her to give him the Damocles' key. With Schenizel and the
Damocles both under his control, Lelouch declares himself the ruler of the world. Two months later, Lelouch arranges for the public
execution of the Black Knight leaders and the U.F.N. representatives. It is then, as Nunnally, the U.F.N and the Black Knights learn
afterwards, that the Zero Requiem's final phase takes place with Lelouch being killed by Suzaku in the guise of Zero. With Lelouch's
death, Nunnally succeeds him as Empress and the world unites in a new era of peace and cooperation. In the spinoff OVA,
Miraculous Birthday, he briefly uses his power in the afterlife to say goodbye to Suzaku, Nunnally, Rivalz, Nina, and Kallen before
departing.
The Code Geass manga follows the same basic plot as the anime, but with several differences. Knightmares do not exist. As for
Lelouch's character, he is still the same as he was in the anime. He takes on the identity Zero, but rgely
la focuses on his activities with
the Black Knights.
Nightmare of Nunnally features Lelouch's transformation into Zero by merging with C.C. This time the Geass grants Lelouch
supernatural strength allowing him to battle the Knightmares in hand-to-hand combat.[15] Surprisingly Lelouch knows the same
martial arts as Suzaku. After several fights against Britannia, Zero orders the Black Knights to side with the army to defeat the
Emperor as Euphemia is due to take over the empire.[16] Once the Emperor is defeated, Zero's death is announced, as Lelouch
inherits C.C.'s name and immortality, becoming C.C. The Demon King and goes forth to spread Geass and to promote conflict around
the world.[17]
In the manga Suzaku of the Counterattack, Lelouch obtains his Geass in the same way as in the anime series, except that his Geass
symbol is slightly rendered. Many of the Black Knights are not loyal to Zero and often split off into renegade factions or act without
his knowledge. Lelouch is held responsible for a terrorist attack when a Black Knights faction had gone renegade without following
his instructions. He later goes to kill his father only to discover that he was already killed by Schneizel, his half-brother; however
, it is
later revealed to be Schneizel's scheme to get Lelouch executed and to take C.C.'s Code. Near the end of the manga, Lelouch tries to
use his Geass on Schneizel, but the latter punctures his left eye, leaving him never to use his Geass again.
In Tales of an Alternate Shogunate, set in 1853 at the Bakumatsu Era, Lelouch is the commander of the military counterinsurgence
brigade known as the Shinsengumi, formed under the orders of the Shogunate to fight the rebel group known as the Black
Revolutionaries, but was secretly the leader of that group as Zero and has gained information from within. The event is set in Kyoto,
[18]
and Lelouch had recently acquired his geass from C.C. and had stolen Britannian's new Knightmare, Gawain.
In a special Code Geass Picture Drama episode, Lelouch appears on December 5 for Ashford Academy's school festival, helping
Rivalz, now school president, along with some of his friends. However a battle erupts in school grounds by the Neo-Chinese
Federation, led by a former eunuch, whom takes everyone hostage. With help of his friends, Lelouch manages to stop the Federation
soldiers. In the aftermath, the entire episode is revealed to be a dream which the ghost of Lelouch used to thank everyone.[19] In a
special OVA parody episode, based on the Alice in Wonderland story, Lelouch is narrating the story and appears in the role as the
Mad Hatter.[20]
During the early planning stages for Lelouch's alter ego, "Zero", Clamp had wanted
to create a mask never witnessed prior in any Sunrise series.[22] Zero was one of the
earliest developed characters. Ōkouchi wanted a mask to be included as a part of the
series, because he felt that a mask was necessary for it to be a Sunrise show.[23] In
early designs of the character, Zero possessed long silver nails.[21]
Reception
Early designs of Lelouch and his
alter ego, Zero, (top right), by Clamp. Lelouch's character has been well received by viewers of the series, appearing in
various anime polls. Lelouch was chosen as the most popular male character of
2006, 2007 and 2008 at Animage magazine and Newtype magazine named him the
best anime male character of the decade.[24] He was chosen the most popular male character of 2006, 2007, and 2008 at Animage
magazine's annual Anime Grand Prix.[25][26][27] In the Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation Awards from 2008, Lelouch
was nominated as one of the best male characters.[28][29] In 2014, NTT customers voted him as their 13th favorite black haired male
[30]
anime character.[30] His voice actor Jun Fukuyama also won the "Best Actor in a Leading
Role" award for his portrayal of the character at the first Seiyu Awards in 2007.[31]
Fukuyama's work as Lelouch's voice actor also lead him to win the Tokyo International
Anime Fair in the category "Best Voice Actor".[32]
Critics for anime and manga series have also commented on Lelouch's character. Anime
News Network's Carl Kimlinger stated that Lelouch "is hard to like" because of his
narcissistic personality, but noted that his bonds with Nunnally and his friends make up for
that.[33] Bamboo Dong from the site agreed with Kimlinger, though noted that Lelouch'
made the character interesting to watch.[34] Gia Manry from the same site listed Suzaku and
him as the third best "frenemies" in anime due to how their friendship falls apart as a result
of their rivalry.[35] Mostly positive response were given by Danielle V
an Gorder from Mania
Entertainment due to Lelouch's differences from most of anime's protagonists and how his
Johnny Yong Bosch has
double life as a Zero and as a student is shown across the series.[36] Chris Beveridge from
received praise, fans and
the same site praised Lelouch's actions in R2 when he becomes Britannia's Emperor,
critics often describe Lelouch
describing him as "the classic angle of the villain with good motives" because of the as his best role and allowed
dangerous actions he does for a greater good. Beveridge also commented on his him to break typecasting.
confrontations with Scheizel and Nunnally, mentioning the rivalry across the series in the
former and citing the latter as heartbreaking.[37]
IGN compared him with Light Yagami from the Death Note series, due to his double life and his questionable methods, respectively.
The double life aspect has also been praised due to how such change also differentiates the show's tone from a high school comedy to
an action show, and how he "winds-up" between his two selves. Moreover, his reasons for evil actions have also been found to help
viewers to like the character.[38] Also from IGN, Ramsey Isler found Lelouch's double life trait as rather comical as after short
prologue of his role as Zero in an episode, he is seen doing homework at school for being absent to classes.[39] Kevin Leathers from
UK Anime Network enjoyed Lelouch's personality as his cold persona made the series "refreshing" from other mecha anime.[40]
[41] and 18th on IGN's 2014 list.[42]
Lelouch is ranked 23rd on IGN's 2009 list of best anime characters of all time,
References
1. "Stage 1: The Day a New Demon was Born". Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion. 2006-10-12. MBS.
2. "Code Geass Picture Drama 1". Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion DVD 1. 2007-01-26.
3. "Stage 1: The Day The Fiend Was Born". Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion. 2006-10-05. MBS.
4. "The False Classmate".Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion. October 20, 2006. MBS.
5. "His Name is Zero". Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion. October 27, 2006. MBS.
6. "The Black Knights". Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion. November 24, 2006. MBS.
7. "Bloodstained Euphy".Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion. March 23, 2007. MBS.
8. "At Least with Sorrow". Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion. March 30, 2007. MBS.
9. "Zero". Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion. July 29, 2007. MBS.
10. "Plan for Independent Japan".Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion. April 13, 2008. MBS.
11. "Counterattack at the Gallows". Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion. April 27, 2008. MBS.
12. "One Million Miracles".Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion. May 25, 2008. MBS.
13. "Betrayal". Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion. August 17, 2008. MBS.
14. "The Ragnarok Connection".Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion. August 31, 2008. MBS.
15. Takuma, Tomomasa (2009). "Code 15".Code Geass: Nightmare of Nunnally, volume 3. Bandai Entertainment.
ISBN 978-1604961614.
16. Takuma, Tomomasa (2010). "Chapter 18".Code Geass: Nightmare of Nunnally, volume 4. Bandai Entertainment.
ISBN 978-1604961621.
17. Takuma, Tomomasa (2010). "Last Code".Code Geass: Nightmare of Nunnally, volume 5. Bandai Entertainment.
ISBN 978-1604962048.
18. Takuma, Tomomasa (2011). Code Geass: Tales of an Alternate Shogunate. Bandai Entertainment.ISBN 978-
1604962598.
19. Code Geass: The Miraculous Birthday コードギアス
( 反逆のルルーシュ キセキの誕生日, Kōdo Giasu: Kiseki no
Tanjōbi)
20. Code Geass: Nunnally in Wonderland
21. Clamp (2008). Code Geass x CLAMP: Mutuality. Kadokawa Shoten. p. 48.
22. Newtype, May 2007 issue.
23. "Interview with Ichirō Ōkouchi".Code Geass DVD Volume 1. Sunrise.
24. "Newtype's Top 30 Male and Female Characters of Each Decade". Newtype (in Japanese). Kadokawa Shoten.
March 2010.
25. "Anime Grand Prix 2006–2007".Animage (in Japanese). Gakken (6). May 2007.
26. "Anime Grand Prix 2007–2008".Animage (in Japanese). Gakken (6). May 2008.
27. "Anime Grand Prix 2008–2009".Animage (in Japanese). Gakken (6). May 2009.
28. "Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation Announces SPJA Industry ward
A Finalists at Tokyo International
Anime Fair" (http://www.comipress.com/press-release/2008/03/27/3442). Comipress.com. March 27, 2008.
Retrieved May 7, 2014.
29. "SPJA Industry Award Winners are Up" (https://web.archive.org/web/20080802023439/http://giapet.net/2008/07/06/s
pja-industry-award-winners-are-up/). Giapet. July 6, 2008. Archived fromthe original (http://giapet.net/2008/07/06/spj
a-industry-award-winners-are-up/)on August 2, 2008. Retrieved May 7, 2014.
30. Dong, Bamboo (May 5, 2014)."Japanese Fans Rank Their Favorite Black-Haired Anime Characters"(http://www.ani
menewsnetwork.com/interest/2014-05-05/japanese-fans-rank-their-favorite-black-haired-anime-characters)
. Anime
News Network. Retrieved May 5, 2014.
31. "Results of Japan's First Ever Seiyuu Awards Announced" (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2007-03-05/res
ults-of-japan's-first-ever-seiyuu-awards-announced)
. Anime News Network. March 5, 2007. Retrieved April 4, 2011.
32. "Ponyo Wins Tokyo Anime Fair's Animation of the Year" (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2009-02-19/pony
o-wins-tokyo-anime-fair-animation-of-the-year)
. Anime News Network. February 19, 2009. Retrieved April 4, 2011.
33. Kimlinger, Carl (August 31, 2008)."Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion DVD 1–2"(http://www.animenewsnetwork.
com/review/code-geass-lelouch-of-the-rebellion/dvd-1)
. Anime News Network. Retrieved April 4, 2011.
34. Dong, Bamboo (August 31, 2008)."Shelf Life Cracking the Code"(http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/shelf-life/2008
-08-18). Anime News Network. Retrieved August 18, 2008.
35. Manry, Gia (December 10, 2013)."Shelf Life Cracking the Code"(http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/gia-list/anime-
7-best-frenemies/2011-10-29). Anime News Network. Retrieved October 29, 2011.
36. Van Gorder, Danielle (September 2, 2008)."Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion DVD 1"(http://www.mania.com/c
ode-geass-lelouch-rebellion-vol-1_article_80469.html)
. Mania Entertainment. Retrieved April 4, 2011.
37. Van Beveridge, Chris (April 26, 2010)."Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion R2 Part 4 (also w/LE)"(https://web.arc
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-4-also-wle_article_119422.html)on December 10, 2011. Retrieved April 4, 2011.
38. Smith, D.F. (September 4, 2008)."Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion Part I"(http://dvd.ign.com/articles/907/9076
48p1.html). IGN. Retrieved April 4, 2011.
39. Isler, Ramsey (September 22, 2008)."Code Geass: "The School Festival Declaration" Review"(http://tv.ign.com/artic
les/911/911971p1.html). IGN. Retrieved April 4, 2011.
40. Leathers, Kevin (October 12, 2009)."Anime Review: Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion Box 1"(http://www.uk-an
ime.net/anime/Code_Geass:_Lelouch_of_the_Rebellion_Box_1.html) . UK Anime Network. Retrieved April 4, 2011.
41. Mackenzie, Chris (October 20, 2009)."Top 25 Anime Characters of All Time" (http://www.ign.com/articles/2009/10/2
1/top-25-anime-characters-of-all-time?page=1)
. IGN. Retrieved December 12, 2013.
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5-greatest-anime-characters?page=2). IGN. Retrieved March 13, 2014.
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