Gino Weinberg

Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion R2 is the second and final TV season of Code Geass, a mecha and political drama from Studio Sunrise. It aired in Japan from April to September 2008 and has 25 episodes. Goro Taniguchi directed it, and Ichiro Okouchi wrote the story. The famous art group CLAMP designed the characters. R2 won the Best Screenplay award at the 2009 Tokyo Anime Fair. The story is set in an alternate world. In this history, a huge empire called the Holy Britannian Empire rules much of the planet. Britannia conquered Japan and gave it a number instead of a name: Area 11. Japanese people there are called "Elevens" and are treated as second-class citizens. The empire fights with giant robot suits called Knightmare Frames, which pilots ride into battle. The main character is Lelouch Lamperouge. He looks like a normal high school student, but he is really an exiled prince of Britannia. In the first season, a strange, green-haired girl named C.C. gave him a power called Geass. With it, Lelouch can look someone in the eye and give them one order they must obey. He used this power to become Zero, a masked leader who fought the empire with a rebel army called the Black Knights. His goals were to get revenge for his mother's death and to build a safe world for his younger sister, Nunnally, who cannot walk or see. R2 picks up about a year after the first season ended with a failed uprising. The rebels are scattered, Zero is gone, and the empire is sending most of its armies to fight in Europe. At first, Lelouch seems to be living a quiet student life at Ashford Academy, with no sign that he was ever the masked rebel. That calm does not last long. Soon he is pulled back into the fight, and the struggle becomes larger than ever. Old allies, new rivals, and powerful groups from other nations all play a part. One of the most important people in the series is Suzaku Kururugi, Lelouch's childhood friend. Suzaku is Japanese, but he believes the right way to change the empire is from the inside, as one of its knights. The two friends want some of the same things but choose very different paths. Their clash is at the heart of the drama. Code Geass is famous for its bold plot twists and chess-like plans, where Lelouch tries to think many moves ahead of everyone else. It also asks hard questions. Is it right to do terrible things for a good goal? Can one person change an unfair system without becoming a tyrant? The show mixes big robot battles, school comedy, and serious war drama, sometimes in the same episode. Its ending is one of the most talked-about in anime history, so it is best to go in without spoilers. It is best watched after the first season.