I keep on hearing some positive reviews about Code Geass for a long time now but when I found out that it’s not my usual kind of anime, I crossed this one to my list. I’m not a mecha fan, I’m not sure why, but the idea just doesn’t sound flattering to me. But I do remember enjoying Voltes V when I was just a kid though.
Christmas last year, I was talking with my cousin about anime and then suddenly he asked if I had watched or read Code Geass. Then I told him I haven’t yet and I don’t think I am planning to. But then he told me that it was really good. A month after that, our conversation kept replaying in my mind and since we usually have the same taste in anime, I decided to give this one a chance and tried watching episode 1. It didn’t happen instantly really, I just saw myself watching every episode and then suddenly I realized that I am enjoying it. Like really enjoying it! It’s crazy!
So how did I end up loving code Geass?
It’s simple. Let me break it up through the following points.
Story
Well, first and foremost, it’s the story. The tactics were really clever that I don’t remember getting bored even for a single moment. Promise. Sometimes when I’m watching anime, if there’s some idle moment, I can’t help but yawn even if it’s a good anime overall. But since Code Geass didn’t have any fillers and it basically gave us action all the way, I was alert the whole time. Some successful anime out there really do anything to keep the anime longer but with Code Geass, it seems like they don’t care how many episodes they could create. They just tell the story and just go with the flow. Though I hated the idea of two best friends turned enemies (actually, their relationship is really complicated) Code Geass didn’t end up creating a cliché story out of that scenario.
I’m not sure if I saw any loopholes, if there were any, I can’t remember at all, haha. This anime rendered me speechless and proved that all the hype was right.
Animation, Design, Effects etc.
I’m not really knowledgeable in this kind of stuff. So I’ll just review based on what I noticed.
I used to believe that animation isn’t really an all for nothing. I guess it was because all the anime I’ve watched since I was a child passed to my so-called criteria, if you know what I mean? But that changed when I encountered an anime that really made me ask myself, “why am I watching this anime again?” I would then proceed to saying “I will kill the person who recommended this to me!”. I am very forgiving about this aspect in anime because I don’t know how to draw, I can’t even draw a perfect heart for goodness sake! But I just realized now that the animation as well as the design and style (especially the coloring) is like the writing style in books. That if it’s not properly executed, even with a good story, it’s all going to be a waste. So yep, just like books, the story and the animation (design, coloring, effects etc.) should go hand in hand to create a really good show.
Honestly, I’m more visual and I love cute and beautiful things, so the first thing I noticed when I started watching this anime was how wonderfully it is drawn. The character design, the background, every little thing about this anime looks beautiful in my eyes plus it didn’t help that the main characters were so good looking, haha. But I’m just not digging the almost daddy-long-legs appearance. Just don’t let me see those cute tiny butts and everything will be fine, haha.
Although it’s very different, Code Geass kind of reminds me of the Cardcaptor Sakura. So after watching both seasons 1 and 2, I searched online and then found out that Code Geass and Cardcaptor Sakura were both designed by CLAMP! Now I know, haha.
Voice actors
I watched this anime with English dub and I guess all of us would agree that nothing can beat the sub right? But I’m not really picky. As long as I can understand the anime and the animation is good in my eyes, then everything would be fine with me. For this anime, I actually think that the English dub was really good. I think all the voices suit the characters but that doesn’t mean I’m not watching it again with English subtitles next time. I am learning Japanese after all, *wink
Conclusion
I guess this time I’m not just widening my horizon only to books but also in anime too (and that includes manga obviously). Code Geass is really good and I bet it would be much better with the manga. And now
I can fully understand why my cousin only has good words for this anime.
Also, I heard there’s season 3 and then a movie coming, and I can’t wait to see it!
