Code Geass: Lelouch of the Re;surrection

Two Years Later.  The peace that Lelouch Vi Britannia died to bring about is thriving.  That is until a sneak attack by an unknown group in the county of Zilkhistan results in the kidnapping of Represenetive Nunnally Vi Britannia and her protector, Zero, secretly Suzaku Kururugi.  The world is desperate for answers to this attack, unaware that the leaders of Zilkhistan have their own plans for its domination.  In their time of greatest need, those who have believed in Lelouch pray for a miracle…and that miracle has come.  Lelouch Vi Britannia returns once more to rescue his beloved sister.  But is even his brilliant mind enough to deal with a threat so powerful it can predict his plans down to the smallest detail?  The Resurrection has come at last.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion has one of the greatest Anime Series Finales of all time.  It’s brilliant, it makes sense and it still hits the right spots every time I watch it.  It’s an ending worthy of applause, especially given the rough road to get there with Code Geass R2.  It was fine when it ended and it didn’t need more.  We did get more in the form of the occasional spin off Manga or OVA (most notably 2012’s Akito the Exiled).  But an actual sequel?  Nope, we didn’t need it.  But someone apparently wanted it.  For reasons I still don’t understand, three compilation films were commissioned to get viewers back up to speed which not only retold the series --story but made some changes to the plot as well, including changing the tragic fate of Lelouch love interest Shirley.  Which FINALLY brings us to Code Geass: Lelouch of the Re;surrection.  Love it or hate it, we have it, so how was it?

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.

Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion II-Transgression

The Revolution has Begun.  Zero and his Black Knights have gained several victories against Britannia, earning allies and the support of an oppressed people.  But every revolution bears within it, the seeds of its own destruction.  And with each new victory, Lelouch himself falls into a deeper hole of madness and insatiable desire to see the people who wronged him and his sister crushed.  As his army faces its greatest challenge, Lelouch faces Suzaku with the fate of a nation and his family on the line.  The end of this battle will change everything forever.

Transgression, the middle chapter of the Code Geass Compilation Trilogy, was always going to be the most difficult part of this project for that very reason: it’s the middle chapter of a Trilogy that should have been four films instead.  Transgression closes out the back half of Season One while transitioning a little awkwardly into Season Two and the results are as I said: each season should have been two movies each. 

T5W#255-Top 5 Otakon 2010 Cosplays

While I’ve made my peace with it, the fact that Otakon and every other Summer convention isn’t happening this year still hurts like Hell.  Many cons are making strides to compensate with online interactive special events though, which is a plus.  For me, this whole endeavor has given me time to look back on years of amazing travels, the friends ive made during them and all of the cosplay ive seen over the last ten years.  While I’ve covered several of them on the blog already since the Anime Corners inception, I haven’t covered the cosplay ive seen before the blog went live.  So for the next few weeks, I’ll be looking at my Top 5 Otakon Cosplays from 2010-2015 (my first cosplay Top 5 for Otakon was 2016).  And we kick things off today with my Top 5 Otakon 2010 Cosplays, my favs from the very first Anime Con I ever went to.

Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion I-Initiation

The once great nation of Japan has been conquered by the Holy Britannian Empire.  Stripped of it’s name and title, redesignated Area 11, it’s citizens live in fear of Britannia’s overwhelming power.  Through a twist of fate, one young man, an exiled Britannian Prince with his own scores to settle, attains the power of Geass.  With the ability to make anyone do what he wishes, Lelouch Vi Britannia becomes Zero, the man who will save Japan and bring Britannia to it’s knees.  To follow through with this dream means he will make many enemies…including Britannia’s top ace pilot and his best friend, Suzaku Kururugi.

I normally tend to stay away from reviewing Compilation Films here at the Gundam Anime Corner.  Most ive seen don’t really add anything more to the experience of a certain title I didn’t get watching the full TV Series run.  I do make exceptions from time to time and do think there are good ones out there like the Madoka Magica Movies and the Mobile Suit Gundam Compilation Trilogy from the Early 80’s.  I’m making another exception for the Code Geass movies this week too.  The reason for this is that I’ve heard these films are doing more than just recapping the events from both seasons of the TV Series.  They’re also apparently a sort of create an alternate reality in the process.  I can see how this is necessary given how I and many others believe that the original ending of the Code Geass story is basically perfect, so much so that doing a sequel would be difficult, if not impossible.  But apparently this was the plan to pave the way for Lelouch of the Resurrection.  So over the next three days I’ll be looking at each chapter of the Code Geass Compilation Movie Trilogy before we get to the much anticipated Code Geass: Lelouch of the Resurrection on Saturday, July 4^th.  Now, with that lengthy intro out of the way, how is the appropriately titled “Initiation”?