Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion III-Glorification

Lelouch Vi Britannia’s revolution as Zero failed.  His best friend, Suzaku Kururugi, captured him and his army was shattered.  But fate has deemed Lelouch worthy of a second chance.  Zero and his Black Knights rise again and this time not even the might of the world will be able to stop them.  At last, the true reason for Lelouch’s quest for vengeance is revealed as he faces his ultimate foe.  Revelations rock his resolve and close allies become his deadliest enemies.  But Lelouch has come too far to turn back now.  For the safety of his sister and the chance for true peace across the planet…the Zero Requiem begins.

Well here we are, the end of the beginning of a risky gamble for a beloved classic.  While Glorification is a significant improvement over both of its predecessors thanks to the ground it covers, does it complete the task set forth by this whole trilogy of setting up the return of Lelouch in Re;surrection?  Ehhhhh…I’m actually gonna have to say no on that one.  But before we get deeper into that, let’s look at the movie itself.

Glorification covers the last half of Code Geass R2 which is where the series finally started to regain its awesomness after the terrible first half.  We get to see Lelouch’s ultimate trials and ultimate triumphs; what happens when he’s left with no army and no plan only to topple the world powers in a single stroke and usher in a bold new era with the ultimate plan.  When it comes to material covered from the TV Series, I really enjoyed it all, well most of it.  The sudden shift to Rolo’s false little brother persona meaning anything in this universe when his role has been minimal wasn’t really needed, even if it served the same purpose in the TV Show (to give Lelouch an escape after he’s outed as Zero by Schnizel).  And yet, the Black Knights don’t immediately throw Lelouch to the Wolves like in the TV Show.  They hesitate to accept the news and want to hear him out.  Couldn’t they have aided in his escape for the time being and Rolo could’ve been killed off in Transgression?  The sudden need to have Rolo become important and then try to have an emotional payoff with his sacrifice feels about the same as it did for me in the TV Series…I didn’t feel much.

All of Code Geass R2’s most epic moments are covered in this movie, almost turning it into one big 2.5 hour action sequence.  There is still room for closing out character arcs, though the only ones who get a proper conclusion at all are Lelouch and Suzaku since they’ve been the focal points of this trilogy all along.  Having spent a lot of time with both separately over the course of these three movies, bringing them together as necessary allies with a common goal is still masterfully done, as is their strategy to fight pretty much the entire planet that’s coming after them.  As much fun as the Battle of the Damocles was, it’s Lelouch and Suzaku’s defiant stand against Charles and Marianne that’s still the best.  It’s one thing to take down an arrogant ass like Schinzel.  It’s another to topple a man who thinks he’s both God and Father of the Year with delusions of grandeur, it’s so freaking satisfying. 

But let’s get to the big moment, the moment I was worrying about being trampled over with this “retelling”.  I’m happy to report that the build up to the Zero Requiem and it’s execution are still just as masterfully done as in the TV Series.  The same impact, the same outcome, the same feeling that you’ve just watched the ultimate long game reach a brilliant conclusion.  It again makes you forget the missteps that Code Geass took not just in the bulk of R2 but the latter half of Transgression too.  However, the big finale still feels just that, like a finale, a nigh perfect one.  It drags into question the need for a new sequel after all of this.  Was it worth it to make those little and occasionally substantial changes to the original story when the end result was surprisingly the same?  Why the hell was Shirley left alive when she had nothing to do in this entire trilogy?  Does she really have a major role to play in Re;surrection? (also yes I know not that it’s spelled that way and not Resurrection and I’ll adjust accordingly from here on).  I’m not saying the tweeks to R2’s earlier story in Transgression weren’t without merit but they faltered big time in various places too.  But yeah, Re;surrection is going to have to work extra hard to justify its existence when we get to it tomorrow.

Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion III-Glorification serves up the final and some of the greatest moments from one of the greatest mecha Anime of all time in a pretty good package.  Ignoring the unnecessary changes that may or may not pay off in the future, all of Code Geass R2’s best moments are here and the movie itself flows much better than its choppy predecessor.  And thankfully, one of Anime’s greatest endings is surprisingly preserved and unaltered save for the obvious teaser to show what’s coming next.  All in all, it was a good but flawed revisit to the Code Geass story one more time.  Even with stumbles, I’m glad the high note of it’s ending still worked out.  Cause Lelouch’s final moments are certainly worthy of glorification.

8/10

Well, this is it.  Tomorrow we see if all those little changes make all the difference.  “Lelouch Vi Britannia COMMANDS YOU” to join us tomorrow, July 4^th, for a special review of Code Geass: Lelouch of the Re;surrection right here at the Gundam Anime Corner.