Yup, he died.

It’s official:  Okouchi (Writer of Geass) himself confirmed that Lelouch died.  I guess I won’t have to really wait for the Picture Dramas after all, since it won’t change anything, and there goes any ideas for R3 short of a retcon.  Thoughts anyone?

And yes, this is because I decided to read Code Trainwreck again after 3 weeks. ^^;

This was supposed to guard against spoilers but…o.o

Sorry for the delay:  I’m sure most of you have already visited other blogs that covered this, and have probably RAGED from 4chan and back over the whole “CODEGEASSCODEGEASSCODEGEASSCODEGEASS” weekend.  Without further ado, I proudly present to you our last post for Code Geass R2.

Nunnally remarks that it’s been 8 years since the last time she was able to see his face and that it must be what the face of a murderer looks like while also saying that she must have a similar appearance. She admits to being the one responsible for firing the FLEIA warheads during the battle, and, if it’s to stop Lelouch, that she cannot hand over FLEIA or the Key to Damocles to him even if he uses Geass to do so.

Outside, Kallen and Suzaku have landed on Damocles to talk from their Knightmares. Kallen states that she misunderstood Suzaku, knowing that he probably had a vision of Japan’s freedom even if it wasn’t necessarily the same as hers or carried out through the same means. When Suzaku tells her that he and Lelouch are trying to accomplish something, Kallen retorts that he can’t be here if all they’re trying to do is accumulate power and that she will stop Lelouch. Suzaku won’t allow that; Guren and Lancelot open their Energy Wings and engage in battle. Meanwhile, Jeremiah and Anya engage in battle while Toudou tries to take off into battle again despite Chiba’s protests, as well as his injuries.

Back in Damocles, Nunnally states that Lelouch, who used the name of Zero to manipulate others, has no right to control the world. Lelouch argues that the life they were leading, one of running and hiding for fear of assassinations, isn’t one that should be preferred and claims that his actions were all for her sake; Nunnally counters that she never asked for such a thing and that she would’ve been if they had just been living together like they always have. The scenes than switch to a character with their own causes for fighting and their beliefs with each one being relevant to the others: Lelouch believes that it was necessary to rebel against the powers who control reality, Kallen fought as part of the resistance to fight those powers when she couldn’t join the system, Suzaku joined Britannia because he had no choice but to do so, Toudou refuses to acknowledge invaders by yielding to their power, Xing Ke continues to fight despite his illness in order to protect, Cornelia knows the current wars have lost their pride and aesthetics while Viletta and Ougi want their own place in it despite that, Nina did what she could in order to not make the same mistake. C.C. herself has watched the history of mankind being that of constant rebelling.

Anya manages to place a well-aimed shot at the Sutherland Sieg, whereupon it is engulfed in flames. However, the Sutherland ejects from the weapon system and is able to reach Mordred before it can raise its energy shields. It explodes as Jeremiah leaps into the damaged cockpit of the Mordred, telling Anya to carve into her memory the name of the man who made her taste defeat. Anya cries and tells him it’s pointless due to her own memories being fragmented. Jeremiah activates his Geass-Canceller to negate the Geass effects done by Charles to her, therefore knocking her out for the remainder of the battle.

Suzaku says that people will not play into the plan to make peace the way one would desire them to, while Kallen follows up by asking if he intends to force them to instead. With their Energy Wings destroyed, Guren’s Radiation Wave out of juice, as is Lancelot’s Energy Shields, the two continue to do battle in the same way they did back in Narita, before the advent of flight units. Although the Guren is a better unit according the specs, Suzaku’s Geass to live on enables his piloting skills to surpass Kallen’s and thus make it an even match. As the two climb Damocles, Guren lunges with the Raidation Wave hand closed into Lancelot. Lancelot launches its Slash Harkens to take the arm out, but it’s already been implanted into the chest area beforehand. As Kallen collapses and falls from Damocles, Gino is able to get Tristan to fly in time to catch. Gino quietly declares that Kallen won while Lancelot explodes. Having news of this, Kaguya captures C.C. and asks if she’ll beg for her life for Suzaku’s sake. C.C., however, only remarks how Kaguya, who only knew Lelouch’s face recently, was able to understand at least a part of Lelouch’s true nature and that she is a gentle person.

Nunnally denounces the use of Geass, calling it a vile instrument that bends man’s will. Lelouch, in turn, questions if Damocles is any different as it’s use forces people into subjugation through fear. Nunnally then unveils her plan: that under Damocles, people will come together to revile it, uniting them as one against the thing they all hate the most. Lelouch then settles to use Geass on her in order to retrieve the key; like Euphemia, Nunnally’s beliefs initially help her resist at first, but eventually she is overpowered and hands the key over to Lelouch. Lelouch tells her in her Geassed form that he can now walk his own path, seeing as how she has her own admirable ambitions. He tells her he loves her before taking the key, snapping Nunnally out of her Geass and waking up to an evil grinning Lelouch who begins to walk away. Nunnally follows but she cannot traverse down the stair and instead falls onto them as she curses Lelouch, calling him devious, vile, and a devil. With Schneizel bowing before him, Damocles in his hands, and the Kuro no Kishi-dan with no power left to rebel against him, Lelouch fires a FLEIA warhead whilst announcing his victory and commands the world to obey him.

TIME SKIP AGAIN LOLZ

2 months later, Lelouch has captured the all of the Kuro no Kishi-dan and an entourage will transport them to the execution grounds. Suzaku has died, but he has still succeeded in unifying the world under him. He’s lost face as the Emperor of Justice, and his tyranny is reported as good deeds by the media. The captured even includes those who surrendered to Xing Ke earlier (with Nina questioning why Lloyd and Rakshata argue with each other while Cecile only answers that it was a minor thing and it was an innocent starting point), but a small number of the resistance, which include Viletta and Cornelia, are watching from closed windows, waiting for the right moment to make an attack. Despite this, the parade stops and the Knightmares in front scan the road ahead of them. A black figure is seen in the background and is revealed none other to be…

Kallen looks in disbelief, knowing that Lelouch is right there. As she begins to realize what Lelouch’s plan was, Zero dashes straight towards the parade, dodging enemy fire and leaping over Jeremiah. As Lelouch pulls out a gun to protect himself, Zero disarms him with a swipe of his sword. As Zero prepares to lunge his sword…

After Damocles was apprehended, Lelouch hands over the mask of Zero to Suzaku, telling him to proceed with the promise to kill him. Lelouch’s takeover as a tyrannical Emperor was a ruse: by directing the hate of people towards a common enemy, the assassination of him will put an end to the chain of hatred. The Kuro no Kishi-dan still have the legend of Zero with them because Lelouch was never revealed as him and continues to be the symbol of freedom for the UFN. The world will then be able to unify under negotiation and not through militaristic means. In the world of C, both of them understood that people desire the future, and Lelouch smiles at the fact that wishes are the same as Geass: to seek assistance from others when your own power is not enough. Lelouch chooses to gamble on the Geass known as the people’s wishes. This was the plan known as Zero Requiem: the savior of the people, Zero, shall be the rescuer from the enemy of the people, Lelouch vi Britannia.

As Suzaku silently weeps, Lelouch states that Kururugi Suzaku will die as well; Suzaku will carry the burden as becoming Zero, forever behind the mask, forever sacrificing his own happiness for the happiness of the people. Through his tears, Suzaku accepts the conditions of this “Geass.” When the sword is withdrawn, Lelouch falls and slides down to where Nunnally is held captive. Lelouch lies smiling while Nunnally grasps his hand; through this, Nunnally realizes his intentions and cries as she declares her love for her brother. Lelouch’s last words mirror the ones he first said as the persona of Zero: that he is the one who destroys worlds; that he is the one who creates them.

Cornelia orders to her team that the hostages be released, Toudou ponders Zero’s identity but is interrupted by Kallen, who says through her own tears that it is merely Zero. Nunnally cries hysterically for Lelouch to open his eyes, that it’s unfair that she goes on through a future without him. Her cries however, are drowned by the people who chant Zero’s name…

An undisclosed amount of time later, Kallen is living with her mother in a smaller house in a Japanese-style town. No longer hiding her true persona, she fastens her hair the same way she put it during her days with the Kuro no Kishi-dan as she prepares to go to Ashford once again. Grabbing her bag, she stops to look at a bulletin board filled with pictures of her time at Ashford among others, particularly one of Lelouch. She silently smiles at it as her narrative muses that the world has become a much better place since the collapse of Lelouch’s Britannia: the energy spent on wars is now focused on reconstruction, Milly’s career as a reporter continues, covering the meeting with the successor of the Britannian Empire, Nunnally vi Britannia, and CEO of the Kuro no Kishi-dan, Ougi Kaname. Accompanied by Zero, the two shakes hands. Meanwhile, Tamaki has opened a bar and is watching the new coverage with a heavily pregnant and newlywed Viletta. Jeremiah and Anya now work in an orange plantation, and Damocles has been sent to the sun to be destroyed for good.

At the same time, C.C. has taken her belongings and is seen lying on the back of a hay wagon. Though Geass, the power of kings, is supposed to bring one solitude, she laughs and remarks that that isn’t quite true…

“Right, Lelouch?”

——–

When the episode drew into a close, I sat in my chair a few moments crying…it’s really too bad ALI PROJECT had to fuck it up with the same hateful ending song!  Where’s my COLORS or Mosaic Kakera!? >: 3

While you can still argue if the series ended up being a train wreck or not, I always like to be optimistic and think that R2 was overall good, certainly not as good as Season 1 was, but good nonetheless. Some say that the ending was a bit rushed, but I attribute that to them focusing on only one battle (Kallen and Suzaku) and the conversation between Lelouch and Nunnally. I would think the ending would feel more rushed if they didn’t devote half the episode towards the time skip if they hadn’t.

“This is good…isn’t it?” ;_;

Lelouch’s “death” scene did a very good job of making things sad, revealing bit by bit the true intention of Zero Requiem, and Hitomi’s “Continued Story” was simply beautiful. I say “death” with quotes because I’m one of the people that believe that Lelouch is alive. The ending provides enough evidence towards that being the case, including the infamous situation that Lelouch may have acquired Charles’ Code back in the Sword of Akasha, therefore being immortal; dying is merely the requirement of activating it, much like how Charles died by being Geassed to shoot himself. The flood of Lelouch’s memories could also be interpreted as a the transfer of memories to Nunnally, which is how she may have found out the truth. Jeremiah’s smile also can be taken into consideration: I don’t think he would want to kill one of the only two people eh wants to serve, and he can’t simply switch to guarding Nunnally since he is associated with Lelouch’s Britannia; therefore, it might be possible he might have known something. Along with the fact that C.C. addresses Lelouch in the same manner she does Marianne, and that Lelouch can’t match that exact situation due to his Geass not being the same, it’s possible that Lelouch survived his initial death and is the one driving the hay cart that C.C. is in the back of.

Of course, with anything, this is all wishful thinking, mainly from the people who refuse to believe in Lelouch’s death. Open-endings leave a lot to interpretation, and there’s usually no official word from the higher ups to help give us a clear interpretation of what actually happened; even now, there are still arguments whether Spike died at the end of Cowboy Bebop, or if it was Kazuma or Ryuho who won the final fight of s-cry-ed. And then there’s Eva…

But remember kids:  The Boss did it first.

Regardless, there’s more than one way to die as well: at the end of Zero Requiem, Lelouch will forever be remembered as a tyrant, not only hated by some Britannians for destroying the nobility, but hated by the world who he threatened through the destructive force of Damocles and enslaved it through his plan to unify it. Future generations will revile him as the last symbol of the old tyrannical Britannian, and no one will ever understand him, he who had sacrificed his life and status for the greater benefit of the world. The only ones who will ever know the truth are limited to a handful of people; I’m not even sure the people of the Kuro no Kishi-dan will know it besides Kallen and possibly Kaguya.

The same situation is blatantly explained with Suzaku as well. As said in the summary for Zero Requiem, Suzaku will never again be able to live under his name again, having died as a traitor who served as the Knight of Zero under Lelouch’s command. To serve the rest of his life as Zero seems to be a suitable fate, given all he’s done. From RAGEing over dead princesses, to drugging classmates, from moral fag to just plain fag, Suzaku’s come a long way in this series (and is it just me, or is it delightfully ironic that Suzaku’s situation ends the same it begins: by stabbing someone close to him? Wakka wakka wakka! ^^;). I shall miss his quadruple spin-kicks and roof dropping capabilities. Shine on, you crazy diamond!

The most emotionally hurt person definitely goes to Nunnally: while I certainly hated her change of character upon her return, along with claiming to know everything that’s been going on, her own plan to use Damocles as a symbol of hatred and a common enemy to unite the world was pretty well thought, with the only, but fatal, flaw being that it’s a system rather than a single person, and thus responsibility can be blamed on those who helped manufactured it, those who defended it, and those who used it respectively. To denounce her brother, whom she had loved most in the world, when he had appeared to be a power hungry tyrant must have been a painful blow, and she would feel even worse about it when she had learned her brother’s true intentions, and that he wasn’t the devil she had called him. Immediately telling Lelouch he loves him, and watching him die while she fruitlessly screams his name really made me a crying mess, and Nazuka Kaori handled acting very well (though, a little towards the end, her increasing screams kind of sounded painful; either it was exaggerated or it’s an actress’ excellent interpretation on how a girl would react upon losing her brother). Nunnally states twice that she would’ve been happy living out the same life she had with Lelouch back in Ashford, but I think like Schneizel that she was only really thinking of the present; Lelouch knew he couldn’t let her live a life like that, and that she had to live out in a better future even if he wouldn’t be there to watch it with her; and because Nunnally had her own set of ambitions to follow, it was enough for Lelouch to continue Zero Requiem the way he did, knowing that Nunnally would be alright.   Lelouch was right: now that it’s over, it can be the time to regret and shed tears for those who were lost, because they have that ime now.

Kallen’s talks through the battle with Suzaku, along with the other characters stating their beliefs and all, brought to my attention regarding the factions in Code Geass, and why there might have been so much switching around with who to favor and all: because there’s no wrong side here, each one is just following their own beliefs to achieve their goals, even though they may conflict with one another. An excellent way to wrap up the conflicting ideals of the various characters I would say (like anything, better than SEED Destiny). Despite the Koshimizu Ami interview giving me hope that something would’ve happened regarding Kallen and Lelouch in this episode, once again I am disappointed. It’s not a total loss though: Kallen becomes one of the very few people to understand Lelouch’s intentions to set himself up as the source of the world’s hatred, and is therefore able to forgive him and feel compassion for his assassination. Lelouch continues to be a strong presence in her heart, being the one picture she looks and somberly smiles at before she leaves for Ashford, and narrating to him what’s happened to him since them, her voice seemingly cracking a bit when she says that people aren’t imprisoned by the past and can move on toward the future, and jokes that he’s probably laughing at her for not realizing that it was part of his plan, signifying how well she knows him. It may even be logical to conclude that she, along with Nunnally, may have spread the truth of Lelouch’s sacrifice among the Kuro no Kishi-dan, along with Cornelia. I didn’t get my LelouchXKallen END, but I don’t think it was a complete let down despite the outcome of Zero Requiem (and hey, at least she didn’t end up with that douche bag Gino, amirite gaiz?).

And Pizza Butt?  Not much can be said…she was in on the plan as well, and disappears just as quickly as she appeared.  I’m actually a bit surprised that she only had a few lines this episode, despite being a much more important character rather than people like Viletta or Cornelia.  I guess that at this point, it was time for her to become the observer once again.  The biggest question is if she was really talking to Lelouch or not:  on one hand, the Code scenario, on the other, maybe she’s like Kallen and is addressing the dead man she once loved?  Mind-boggling!

To sum it up:  Lelouch died and everyone’s happy... What.  The.  Fuck. O.O

As for everyone else? Ougi and Viletta rush marriage as well, holy shit. Cornelia could’ve been informed by Nunnally of Lelouch’s deeds; this I hope. Guilford was never blind you guys, haven’t you seen Zeta Gundam?  The mystery behind “Pudding Earl” will never be unveiled (until the next Picture Drama ^^;) Xing Ke, despite his terminal illness never died (although, he’s not in that picture either…)! Even Tamaki is portrayed nobly for once! (and he finally gets that everyone hates him! ^^;) An Anya is fine, but where is my Orange-Meido END!? (and if she’s on the run with Orange-kun, why was she in the picture!?)

Rivalz, at least we’ll always love you.  ;_;

And finally: fucking Sunrise, why dangle this couple in our faces in 2 episodes, then punch us in the face for believing it?  Assholes…

Conclusion: It’s been a wild ride for Geass.  As I look back, I remember this being the alternate fix for Gundam I was looking for.  With anything that ends, one always wonders how one will live without looking forward to it anymore, but as always there’s something new on the horizon.  And I’m definitely going to enjoy watching Dub Geass R2 as I try to stomach the horrendous version of Shirley’s death, as well as Nunnally sounding as if she has a permenant case of asthma.  Of course, I’m always hopeful for anything to help bring closure to the series, maybe through the Picture Dramas, or perhaps even an OVA or movie, but the passage of time is cruel and waiting for something that may not come has never been my strong point.

lulz See you in R3!

As always, there were things that were never realized besides any coupled characters:  Lelouch’s Geass never got too powerful for his contacts as hinted by C.C., Clovis never came back, Schneizel knowing the truth was never put into play like Cornelia was,  there were no Knight of 2 or 4, Nonette appeared for all of 5 seconds, and Rai was never found sleeping in Kaminejima.  Also, what happened to Pollux, did he get nuked like everyone in Pendragon Palace did?  In fact, was Odysseus really in this episode, or did all of the other brothers (and sisters) from another mother die?  I guess we’ll never know (or it’s material for the OVA! Wakka wakka wakka!)

I’d like to thank everyone for dealing with the change in authors for AniAri.  I’d also especially like to thank Shirukii for letting me take over the posts for the series as well (and thus indirectly thank him for allowing me to join, again).  I hope everyone’s enjoyed my posts of the final 5 episodes (and also my application post for 18 as well ^^;).  Tune in next time for my first original coverage post next week (I’ll give you a hint, Pizza Hut supports the Fons o.o).  Until then…

 You’re gonna carry dat ass.jpg

JIBUN WO!

 Freedom Lancelot:  Full Burst Attack!

Apologies for the lack of a Geass post last week, writer’s block is a killer (even more so when all you do is review stuff T_T), so much so that I needed Shirukii to help me on a part of this post.  While most of this has to do with 24 more than 23, I hope the extensive analysis makes up for it.

Note:  Since R2 is hitting it’s end, it seems like Bandai won’t stop dubbing Geass at Stage 25 of Season 1.  They’ll be continuing the series after that as well.  Fancy that.  Means we can buy the DVDs as an entire 50 episode set!  You know…buy anime?

…No?

As much as the Kuro no Kishi-dan hates Lelouch for apparently using them all as pawns in his game,  in trying to avoid that happening to them, they foolishly revert to positions in worse conditions under Schneizel’s command.  Putting aside Schneizel’s lies regarding Lelouch’s Geass activities, though Lelouch sometimes let his emotions affect his actions and ability to lead (such as his statement that he could replace Ougi when the latter was shot, and the raid on the Geass order), he’s never been one to sacrifice them or use them as bait in order to defeat an opponent, not more so than sending one’s troops to attack anyway; as opposed to Schneizel, who could care less about their trust, and would gladly sacrifice them in order to use FLEIA to win a battle.

Figures that the best way to rush an underdeveloped romance is to have someone knocked up.  We’re only given a vague hint of this during Viletta’s decision to stay onboard the Ikuruga, and even then I was expecting some tsundere action with conflicted feelings.  Hell, at least give us some hawt secks (R2 could use more nipples).  Nope, fast forward montage, Ougi tells Viletta he’s going to war and makes her sit her ass at home, presumably to make sure the baby doesn’t become born on the battlefield like Revolver Ocelot, and have a pie ready for him by the time he gets back.   Mmmmmm…pie…

Nina’s feelings regarding Zero’s murder of Euphemia is finally resolved.  Having created the ultimate weapon of destruction,  I think Nina’s constructing a counter weapon goes a long way in redeeming her, and ultimately finding her own answer for carrying out peace.  In my eyes, she’s definitely earned the right to live.

As his ambitions and thoughts were stated one after another, it’s finally explicitly stated that Schneizel is just one big emotionless robot who calculates everything by logic.  From his “I’m gonna show people the fear of war and make them desire peace” reminiscent of Zech’s drop Libra plan from Gundam Wing, to his “Peace first, Nunnally second” copy pasta’d from Spock, the guy makes himself to be even more so of a prick than Charles with none of the awesomeness, which makes it even more delightful when he’s finally beaten by Lelouch (using the same video trick that Mao fell victim to in Season 1).  While it could be argued that Schneizel wanted peace as much as Lelouch did and that it was only his way of thinking that resulted in differences in execution, he makes the mistake of forcefully enforcing a peace in a manner people don’t want; in this case, Suzaku’s old philosophy that the ends don’t justify the means would apply (this is, however, biased since we have no idea what Lelouch’s plan exactly is, but it doesn’t seem to involve nukes). A part of me wonders if, in the space of 1 episode, Schneizel will be able to break the Geass, or maybe had a backup plan to carry out should he fall to the Geass, maybe through Kanon.  Seems unlikely at this point, but I won’t be surprised if that’s the case.

As much as I’ve liked Nunnally, upon her recent return, it seems her character has changed a bit, and not for the better.  Her declaration to Lelouch that she knows “everything” ironically reveals how much little knowledge she really has; while being led to believe time after time to finally have the power she can use to help the world gain peace, in reality she’s been nothing but a tool throughout the entire series, only given whatever knowledge her manipulators want her to have at the time, whether it be Schneizel, Charles, or even Lelouch.  It also seems unnatural for her to want to shoulder the responsibility of ending lives with FLEIA when in the past she’s always shown to have solid morals.  I don’t care if Schneizel’s lies about Lelouch being evil or even Lelouch’s lies about himself being evil were the cause,  the fact that she is willing to stand up to Lelouch and instead cling to Schneizel, especially when she was trying her hardest as Governer to be independent for Lelouch’s sake, is infuriating.  You don’t need a Geass to lie and manipulate, honey, that’s something you really need to open your eyes to-

Oh shit…

C.C.’s gotten awfully sweet all of a sudden, showing as if she regrets giving Lelouch a Geass,  making his life turn into something like this, and questionning if what he’s achieved now is enough.  She asks if Lelouch hates her for changing his fate, which he states is not the case, since she enabled him to take the first step.  C.C. explicitly shows that she cares for Lelouch, acting as his shield as Suzaku asked her to be, and fights for a reason other than the salvation of death: her promise to Lelouch.  She’s even questionned by Kallen if she loves Lelouch, to which she herself doesn’t have a clear answer.

Kallen, on the other hand, I have a hard time liking right now.   According that recent interview with Koshimizu Ami (thanks to Kris for bringing it to my attention), the motivation from Taniguchi during the kiss scene would be Kallen’s realization of her feelings of love toward Lelouch.  At this point, there’s not much those feelings will do for the LuluxKallen shippers, other than the whole “I’m crying, but I’ma kill you anyway” part.  There’s not much satisfaction to be had either way this goes:  if this isn’t taken into account at all, I feel it was a big waste of time, the interview shouldn’t have been posted, and if Kallen hooks up with Gino to top it all off, I will carry a deep hatred for Sunrise’s romance properties (…at least, until Tales of the Abyss starts airing).  If it is, then it’s likely to be rushed, and I’m sure to feel cheated if they handle it the same way they handled Ultimate Attack and his preggers woman.  Short of an h-scene with moar Kallen nipples, I expect to be disappointed in this department.

I had been wondering since Lelouch’s takeover if Suzaku has really commited in aligning himself with Lelouch or if he’s using him to achieve peace through the same means thanks to Suzaku’s change of philosophy.  I don’t thinkI have that question anymore: while harsh, his words for Lelouch to continue their plans for Zero Requiem seem to be more of a reinforcement to keep fighting rather than a selfish desire to keep the promise they made in regards to the future.  While his actions for helping Lelouch get into Damocles and find Schneizel may be seen to be the most logical method in achieving their goal, the teamwork they carried out when getting through Damocles’ shield truly outline the often stated words by Lelouch that together the two can achieve anything.  He just as well is fighting for his desire for tomorrow to take place.

Finally we get to Lelouch, who at this point has solidified himself into the light in doing things for the greater good, despite him being the cause of countless Geass-puppet soldiers deaths in using them as meat shields against FLEIA while the Avalon retreated (but hey, plot characters first amirite?), and being motivated by Suzaku to keep fighting even if Nunnally is on the enemy side.  I especially adored his analysis of the ambitions of himself, Charles and Schneizel, and how Lelouch still desires tomorrow.  Unlike Schneizel, Lelouch has mingled and observed the actions of the common man, and knows their pain and suffering, as well as their own desire to fight for tomorrow as well.  The only thing left to wonder is what exactly the planned Zero Requiem actually does, and if he will live to see the creation of the future he desires.

Now that the main character analysis is done, let’s analyze some of the minor boobs, shall we?:

Diethard dies rather quickly, though fitting seeing as how he was one of the few characters in the series that changed sides depending on the conditions of victory on one side.  R.I.P. Diethard, I’m glad I never tried bonding with you in Lost Colors.

 “I’m here to kick ass and chew bubble-”

“!”

“…gum…” ;_; 

I guess Tamaki is the only other candidate that sorta fitted with Diethard in sidding with Zero, though as hard as it is to believe, Tamaki’s a lot more noble in that sense. ^^;

Oooooooh, Orange-kun and Ninja Meido talk chivalry.  Could we potentially see a JeremiahxSayoko END?  Ninja-kun?  Orange Meido?

Oddly enough, Chiba still isn’t dead, even though I had thought she set herself up by retrieving Toudou’s cockpit.  Guess Nina’s survival means that everyone a chance…

Hell, even Cornelia made it, after being mowed down by Schneizel’s machine guns.  Though relieved, I’m sure a lot of us can agree that randomly killing off characters just to bring them back seems unnecessary, especially considering all this suspicion of Cornelia’s death was resolved in two episodes…

“…It didn’t work when Char called himself Quattro Bagina, so take em off.”

Yup, a lot of this shit seems unnecessary.

Then there’s Kanon…seriously, there’s probably enough yaoi of Kanon and Schneizel stemming from that little comment to Milly way back when Tian Zi was getting married to manage a small booth at Yaoi-con, and Kanon in ecstacy while looking at his superior’s Geassed form isn’t going to help much…

 And while I just bitched about Ougi and Viletta only getting vague hints before some offscreen ass-tapping took place, the sudden implications of Milly wanting Rivalz (as awesome as he is ^^;) in the span of about a 10 second scene takes the cake as far as rushed relationships go.

PREVIEW SHOTS:

…How do you pronounce that?

Yep, there’s only one since the previews show scenes of the first episode.  At least we have a few things to look forward to:  we’ll see if Lelouch can convince Nunnally in time to carry out Zero Requiem, if Lelouch can gain the favor of the world once again, and the final battle between Guren and Lancelot!  Oh, and hopefully there’s a new OP too, maybe!  Tune in next week to see the final battles played out!  Jikai!  Code Geass Ar Tsu: Re semi-corin.  o.o

Tobe!  ORANGE-KUN!!!

Use your chivalric powers to save the world from exploding Mt. Fujis!

-Jay

 Nickname of the day: Buffzaku.

Earlier, when I asked Shirukii if I’d be doing writing the entry for this episode again (I’ve been using this as an excuse not to do to-LOVE-ru, which I’ve decided to post a series entry once it’s done), I got the okay to do so with one of the reasons being that he was RAGE-ing about the way things turned out.  I see he had a reason to…see, while today’s episode certainly wasn’t bad, the way they turned out for some reason today left me scratching my head wondering why I was mystified and disappointed at the same time.  Maybe I’m on drugs…or maybe they slipped something in my drink when I went out last night…oh well…

 Lelouch finally decides to be the most ambitious he is yet by announcing the time-old cliche of taking over the world.  All while talking to Suzaku.  While I’m still very curious as to whether Lelouch revealed the entire truth to him or not, I’m pretty sure I’d be more correct to lean towards the former, citing that discussing Euphemia’s and Nunnally’s deaths (”death” in Nunnally’s case…) were a great loss to him.

And then we come to the reason for taking over the world: for something called Zero Requiem.  Now from what I can remember (thanks to watching last night’s Dub Geass), the whole reason for Britannia taking over Areas, according to Schneizel, was to secure the Geass ruin areas like the ones found at Kaminejima.  And from the looks of it, Lelouch is looking to do the exact same, and I wonder if this plan he has will involve anything involving Geass as well.  Well, more questions thrown here to make up for the answers from last episode.

Wing ZERO?  Strike Freedom?

Lancelot Albion finally makes it’s debut…about 8 episodes after it was shown >.> (Though, to be fair, it could’ve easily been 12-ish episodes to introduce the new mech, a la SEED Destiny).  Twin Buster VARIS Rifles,  more kickass Slash Harkens, and even the ability to shoot pieces from it’s Energy Wings (I can make an obscure X-Men or Yu-Gi-Oh GX reference, but I suppose everything before that comma suffices), this thing is set to sell more model kits faster than you can say “Gunpla!”  Of course, there’s is no big battle going on at the moment to showcase it’s kick ass powers, so what does one do?

Alas, Dorothea Ernst, we hardly knew thee.

By staging a rebellion amongst the other Knight of Rounds, of course!  And the first to go was this young beauty, Dorothea Ernst, a Yoruichi-cosplayer and the only Knight of Round that didn’t star in an episode until this one.  Hell,  she was even important enough to have her own custom Frame (or if she did, they certainly didn’t show it) before she was blasted to bits by Suzaku.

Here lies Monica Kruszewski, the woman eternally known as the girl Charles hung up on.

Mental note to all future mech-anime grunts: although not screaming “It’s a Gundam!” increases your chances of surviving, musing about how much better your enemy’s mech than yours isn’t a better alternative.

 Roofzaku, you are officially my hero.

Gino then comes and tries to intervene as well, using Vic Viper’s Tristan’s two Slash Harkens, but is easily broken by Lancelot’s hands.  When asked about if Gino is really a Britannian or not by Suzaku, Gino does not follow the musing advice and ends up getting kicked in the face for it.  Unfortunately, as much as seeing Gino get his ass kicked was amusing, this seems to be a foreboding sign in my KallenxLulu relationship…

 “Sharingan!”

“I can see your every move!”

Waldstein reveals his Geass, which is able to show Waldstein the outcome of movements before they happen and therefore dodge them.  He remarks that the only other person he needed to use it against was Marianne.  Really, though, it had to be this kind of Geass?  Shonen Jump aside, come on…ZERO System?  Bio Computer?  A freakin Newtype!?

But all is not lost!  Suzaku is able to use Lelouch’s command to “Live on!” as a weapon, and thus make it impossible for Waldstein to track his movements fast enough to react.  Um…wow…to be honest, I have no idea how Suzaku being Geassed is good enough to stand up to someone using a Geass…makes even less sense than implying Waldstein’s Geass, then killing him off the next time he made an important appearance.

*sigh* I need a drink…

Now here’s what strikes me odd:  although it looks like the two have made amends,  the why and how of this has yet to be revealed, and I was hoping it would be now.    And now, it looks like Lelouch has another agenda for Suzaku, because dramatic closeups of the face like this with enigmatic words don’t just happen for the sake of fangirls.  Is he just using Suzaku until he gets Zero Requiem done, similar to how it was with Rolo?  Is Suzaku planning something for Lelouch?  Are they using each other (…in a non-erotic way?).

O Rly?

Nina’s been on a big redemption streak lately.  I can recall how much I’ve hated her throughout this season, but I’m really glad that she’s slowly reverting to her normal pre-Freya self, and get back to what’s really important to her: tables.  Of course, there’s that whole issue of her being apprehended by Lelouch, so who knows what kinds of shenanigans she’ll be doing in the next 3 episodes.

o.o … ^_^ … O.o … ;_;

Now, you’d probably expect me and the other LuluXKallen shippers to be jumping for joy…but no.  The whole farewell kiss thing to me seems like a giant flag to indicate that at the very least, Kallen will end up with Gino, who’s obviously going to change sides (On a greater scale, it’s another flag that Lelouch will die seeing as how there might not be a rabu-rabu ending for him).

As Ougi stated earlier, letting Britannia into the UFN would create an imbalance of voters and effectively give him the ability to have them accept any proposal he wishes as well as reject any he does not.  Now, exactly why Lelouch needs this, I’ve no idea, seeing as how he’s already loved as the Emperor of Justice among the Elevens.  I’m going throw it out there and say it’s probably for the sake of Zero Requiem again, but since we don’t know what Zero Requiem actually entitles, it’s hard to doubt that Lelouch is really going to create that gentle world he wanted for Nunnally.

Pendragon Palace is annihilated and replaced by the big castle floating in the sky, Damocles. If the OP is any indication (and if we go by the logic of there being 3 episodes left), it looks like it will be the stage for the final battle, though we’ve also yet to see that ship in space launching missiles as well.  Perhaps those were Freya missiles launched and that’s how Pendragon Palace was eliminated?

The Nightmare begins!

And finally, the big revelation at the end of the episode, Schneizel unveils his trump card that is Nunnally.  It’s not surprising to see her alive, but the real meat of it was her declaring herself to be the enemy of both Lelouch and Suzaku.  What lies (or truths?) Schneizel convinced her with is up in the air, but now that she’s turned against Lelouch, it will be interesting to see if Lelouch indeed carries on with his plan by reiterating that he’s not just doing this for her.

PREVIEW

GinoxKallen End!?  Nooooooo!

Will the Luzaku combo disintegrate!?

Sayoko survives!  Learn which option she chose next week!

As seen here, Damocles really is nothing more than a giant anchor.

I guess the reason I felt this episode was weirder than most (and thus harder for me to write things about it besides turning it into a big “Why?”-fest) was because it all felt a bit rushed, though I guess it’s not unnatural seeing as how there are only 3 episodes left.  Which also begs the question: while I have little doubt that 24 and 25 will be shown as an hour episode again, will there be a delay like last time?  Guess we’ll have to wait and see

NinaxRivalz End.  ^^;

Obligatory…Schneizel? o.O

“Commence Human Instrumentality Destiny Plan Ragnorak Junction!”

Holy Brain Fart Batman! Finally, the “Answer all” episode comes to life in the form of Episode 21. Well, enough my of theatrics (I’ll save it for Queen Dopplepopolis), let’s dig in straight into the episode!

With Charles and Lelouch finally trapped together in the Thought Elevator, Lelouch again asks Charles why Marianne had to die, with Charles taunting him about wanting the truth when he’s lied to get to where he is now. While this is nothing new, Lelouch’s little speech here reminds me a bit of what people perceive as what’s socially acceptable, and thus sometimes hide their real thoughts in public…anyways, at this point it’s not clear, but this little speech alone actually sets up the entire episode upon finishing it.

Marianne also enters Thought Elevator, wanting to join Charles, and thus begins the explanation of the truth: half a century ago, Charles and V.V. (whose real name even now hasn’t been mentioned o.o) were indeed to succeed the throne, and subsequently the target of others wishing to gain it for themselves. The one thing they couldn’t stand apparently was the betrayals and lies that arose from this, and that Charles’ mother had also died in the ongoing battles. As such, the two promised each other that they would both create a world without lies, with Marianne and C.C. also agreeing to this later when Charles and Marianne had become young adults (V.V. being the same Gary Coleman midget he was, and C.C. being the same pizza-butt hotness she was).

“..Pff…^^;”

However, when V.V. saw the happiness Charles and Marianne had been sharing in understanding each other (I’m guessing Charles didn’t regard Marianne just another whore he could make children with O.O), he asked for a private meeting with Marianne. When Marianne lessened the security around her palace (including Cornelia), V.V. explained how the pact may be broken because of this and proceeded to kill Marianne. As funny as this little shot of V.V.’s tiny Emmanuel Lewis-body using a gun is, I’m going to predict there was more to it than that: back when V.V. died, C.C. had said how V.V. liked Marianne, so maybe I’m digging into things too much, but I think jealousy might have had something to do with it as well.

Thinking quickly, Marianne used her Geass on Anya Earlstreim (damn last name correction!), who had been staying at Marianne’s palace as an apprentice in proper etiquette. Marianne’s Geass allows her to take control of other people’s hearts, and that she could also now talk to C.C. through her heart. Nunnally was then set up as a witness and had her memories rewritten, as well as her eyesight shut, through Charles’ Geass; the same was carried out to Anya, as she had been a witness to the murder as well. C.C. left the order after learning the truth, and V.V. lied about it in front of Charles’ face, who was already aware of it. Lelouch and Nunnally were sent to Japan as hostages in order to hide them from V.V. while Marianne’s body was secretly hidden in the hopes of Marianne returning to it once their plan had been complete.

Only one immortal”Code” i.e. Charles was supposed to be needed, but later it would be revealed that another would be needed. Because C.C. had already fled, they used Lelouch, Zero, the Kuro no Kisi-dan and the war against Britannia in order to lure C.C. out.

Hey, whaddaya know, she has it again.

The Ragnorak Junction starts to take place: if it’s successful, tragedies like death won’t happen anymore, it will be a world where everyone can be their true selves. What I still don’t get here is what this means: does it mean that no one can lie, a la Jim Carrey? Will no one desire to kill each other in this world? None of what this new world will be is really explained to clearly, or at least if it was, I had no idea when or where it was explained.

Lelouch, upon answering to Suzaku that he started this war to protect those he held dear, rejects this notion, claiming that people lie not because of conflicts, but because they are seeking something. The world they seek to create will not change things, it’s not being alive, it’s a secluded memory world. The both of them are merely forcing their ambitions onto others thinking that it will change things for the better. Lelouch declares both of them abandoned him and Nunnally; as they didn’t stop the war with Japan, they prioritized their plan over Lelouch and Nunnally’s lives, and that them being alive didn’t matter one way or the other because the new world would allow them to become one with those who have died (which is why Marianne brought Suzaku, in order to be with Euphemia).

Lelouch defines what Nunnally’s gentle world really was: a world where you can be gentle to other people as opposed to them being gentle to you. Now that the Ragnorak Junction has already begun, Lelouch takes off his contact lens and declaring himself to be Zero and can create a miracle. Although he cannot use it on Charles, the World of C itself is the will of mankind and that because all humans aren’t equal, Geass will enable him not to tip his victory or his defeat, but to bestow his wish.

“Up yours, Jupiter!”

Lelouch asks the gods not to stop the progression of time and his desire to be a tomorrow. His right eye then gains a Geass as well and he succeeds in destroying the spiral structure connecting to Jupiter and causes Marianne and Charles to both disappear as their plan falls apart. When Marianne questions why C.C. isn’t disappearing as well, C.C. replies that she did not desire their plan any longer as it was beneficial to only themselves. Though Marianne tries to explain it was for Lelouch and Nunnally as well, Lelouch questions why Nunnally smiled even though she couldn’t walk or see: it was to show her gratitude (Gratitude towards what, I’m not sure, but it was too epic to question). Lelouch says that they could not see reality, but the one truth to him is that they both abandoned him and Nunnally.

“Psycho Crusha!”

Charles then warns Lelouch that good and evil are the front and back of the same card (…not coin?), and that if he rejects his world, he will have to deal with Schneizel’s instead. Even so, Lelouch rejects him and both him and Marianne disappear. After this, C.C. points out to Lelouch that he wanted her to smile when she died, and then questions what the both of them will do now that they’ve rejected Charles’ world. Suzaku points out that Lelouch is still the one who killed Euphy, but Lelouch merely asks him what of it, which is eerily similar to what Charles said to Lelouch back when Marianne died…

TIME SKIP LOL

In the month that proceeded after Freya, the Emperor has not made a public appearance and has chosen now to finally make an announcement from the Pendragon Palace. Although the royal siblings are questionning if the report that the Emperor was missing was true and why Schneizel isn’t present either, they don’t have much time to deliberate before the Emperor is announced.

And so Lelouch takes the throne and announces himself as the 99th Emperor. After a bit of confusion regarding Lelouch’s life, and Odyseus’ reprimend of Lelouch’s “prank,” Lelouch announces that he has killed Charles with his own hands and thus is rightfully entitled to become the Emperor. An order of Lelouch’s removal is issued as the vile criminal who killed the Emperor…

“Suzaku Senpuu-Kyaku!”

However, Roofzaku appears to have improved his skills in the month gap as he kicks away the spear aiming for Lelouch. Lelouch then proclaims Suzaku as his Knight and bestows upon him the Knight of Rounds rank above all others: the Knight of Zero.

To silence is non-believing brothers and sisters, Lelouch whips out his Geass and tells them to acknowledge him. The audience proceeds to hail Lelouch.

…Except for Schneizel, who seems to have a trick up his sleeve. He states that it’s okay for Lelouch to have all he wants, because in the end, there are problems ahead of that.

…So, this turned out to be a big summary post rather than a character roast analysis and prediction instead. The summary felt necessary to me for some reason due to everything becoming one big mind fuck. Guess now it’s time to pull a Shirukii and go into a thoughts section after the summary!

“Congratulations, Shinji!”

The biggest impact is definitely on Lelouch here. Not only does he figure out that his father is NOT the most devious badass in the world with a little-to-no sense motive as most of his actions originally suggested, his own mother, whom he had wished revenged for, had used him as a tool in order to proceed with the New World plan. Although I had my suspicions that Marianne didn’t personally hold anything against Charles when I saw her casually talking about him to C.C. last episode, I’m sure most would agree this indeed came out of nowhere. And now, rejecting Instrumentality his father’s ideals, Lelouch finally puts a close to his past after learning the whole truth. For someone trying to avenge his mother half his life, he sure is quick to kill her off. O.O

FUCK YEAH ROOFZAKU!

Apparently, in the one month timeskip, the Luzaku combination was formed, seeing as how his face is very “KEIKAKU DOORI!” when Lelouch takes the throne. While I question whether or not Suzaku really has made amends with Lelouch during this or if he’s merely doing it to regain control of Japan by adapting Lelouch’s “Results over actions” philosophy, I can suspect that Suzaku at least knows enough of Lelouch’s intentions through the exchange with Charles earlier, and perhaps maybe found out the actual truth from Lelouch: that Euphemia’s command and death was an accident, that Rolo killed Shirley, and so on. Now that these two have finally joined, I’m very eager to see if they really can “do anything together.” (…that’s what she said…)

And they’ll have to start by fighting the Kuro no Kishi-dan. I can most likely guess that the reason the KnKd will fight against him will be because of the explanation Schneizel gave them about Lelouch ordering the death of all the Japanese. The only one person who most likely would be somewhat loyal towards Lelouch would be Jeremiah, who was lied to regarding Lelouch’s death, and more importantly, Kallen; and if the previews are any hint, that may not last long…(…My Kalouch! ;_;)

As far as C.C.’s agenda…the contract still stands, but I’m still wondering what her role will end up being in all this. If anything, I could predict that Lelouch would eventually lose face on what he’s fighting for now that he believes that Nunnally is dead, and she could end up leaving him the same way she left the Order…but aside from that, I’m not sure what she’ll be doing from now on besides being able to eat gourmet pizza from now on.

And 10 bucks says these two pull a Lordgenome and come back as heads to reconcile and make amends with Lelouch and help battle a giant mech in order to kick Schneizel’s ass in the future.

Preview Shots:

“Ending artwork outfits are true!? Lelouch holds hands with Suzaku!?”

Waldstein’s Geass is revealed to utilize B1G SR()ds!?

Lancelot Albion: is it that SMALL!? (IS that what she said!?)

“Do the two rule the galaxy, or does Anakin Lelouch break Padme’s heart?”

And now, Jay takes the time to do his (unfunny) gag pic reel…

Guess that makes sense now, don’t it?

Complimentary Mari-Anya…Mariya?

Bonus Nonette for making Lost Colors canon /jk (also Die Gino /Not jk)

Nice Copypasta Sunrise. Save it for Queen Copypastalis!

And the mystery of Roofzaku’s entrance has apparently been figured out by /a/…

Oh Roofzaku, how I love so…(now, anyways)

Jay, out!

“Transcending history and the world, a tale of soul and swords, eternally retold.”

Although I’m a bit unnerved about the fact that now everyone and their mom possesses a sword in Geass, this episode was another nice stage setter for the upcoming, perhaps final battle in Geass. With Lelouch now without an army (at least for now), he must now come up with a way to take down Charles without any support. He of course still has his Geass and his wit, but will that be enough? Probably not, but it’ll get him pretty far. As per standard with episodes with more talking than fighting, revelations and development on the characters usually take place. And how does this particular episode start off?

“Hell, I’m wondering if Marianne died and became Anya. o.o”

“>>Marianne died and became Anya.”

“>>Marianne died became Anya.”

“>>Marianne became Anya.”

*spits out drink* lolwut? I never actually expected that statement to be even close to correct, but since this seemed like the only possible reason for Anya’s Kaminejima spells other than my main theory that Anya held a Code like C.C. and V.V. (Anya Altstreim = A.A.), and after reading up on some of the events that occurred during the 1 year gap between Season 1 and 2 (Anya visiting Marianne’s sealed off palace), I merely threw it out there. Balls, man. O.O

We now return you to your originally scheduled C.C. ^^;

Of course, the other big thing is that apparently, C.C. sealed her memories off by her own will. In other words, they resolve the entire C.C.-amnesia sub-plot pulling a “lol nop juz kidding!” There goes my theory that she was going to get them back an episode or so before she died. -_-

And then of course, as if Anya’s glowing eyes weren’t enough, they clarify that Geass involved, specifically that Marianne was given the power of a Geass by C.C. How it’s utilized will probably be explained next episode or so, but I’m betting it somehow is the reason why the Anya-persona has parts of her memories missing as she explained to Suzaku. Perhaps this means Marianne just possesses Anya and isn’t really her? Or maybe Marianne pulled a Hecate and made a faux vessel? Great, we’re dealing with Shana now too?

Meanwhile, at the Kuro no Kishi-dan’s Ikuruga, Cornelia and Viletta have a brief talk, Cornelia basically explaining that Cornelia’s insolence is so great that she and Prince Weinerschnitzel don’t feel like dealing with her bullshit. She leaves and subtlety encourages Viletta’s love for Ougi.

Nina continues to marvel at the damage caused by Freya. For the first time in a long time, I remembered that as hateful as Nina is, as messed up by her unrequited lesbian-worshipping over Euphemia, her shock at the aftermath, plus Suzaku’s cold statement that the bomb will indeed win the war for Britannia, helped me remember that she is still the age of a high school student, and as such carries the same naïve thought structure; not hardened by battles, and thus more affected by the people she’s killed. For some reason, her brief 20-30 seconds of screen time here seemed a lot more dramatic than it did in the immediate aftermath of Freya.

“What is a weapon? A miserable little pile of violence! But enough talk! Have at you!”

Meanwhile, Snappedzaku is having a hissy fit and orders Lloyd to get Lancelot Albion ready. While seeing him act in a colder way than usual hasn’t exactly been new throughout this season, it seems to be a lot more drastic here, becoming the person who would have drugged Kallen with Refrain and not stopping at the last second.

In fact…he commented on how doing anything to achieve the result would be like what Lelouch would have done, and finally adopts this mindset. With Lelouch being shed in a positive light more and more, I’m pretty convinced that the roles from here on out will be switched and finally put Suzaku in the black area not tread upon commonly in the world of Geass.

“Execute Order 66!”

“Yes, Master.”

And the first thing towards his descent into the Dark Side would be to go along with Weinerschnitzel’s unveiled plan: to assassinate Charles and become Emperor himself. I can’t say I actually believed that it would come to this, but like every epiphany, it all makes that much more sense.

Through Schneizel’s comments, we indirectly find out more about the kind of person Charles is besides a bad father: he’s a lot like Lelouch in treating things like a game, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Lelouch had eventually become like Charles were it not for his RESOLVES and kindness. Of course, Charles could very well have a good side we don’t know about, but…yeah, no…

Gino, however, doesn’t support the coup de’tat (from the look of things, Cecile and Lloyd didn’t either), and his apprehended by Schneizel. Thus, my fear that Gino will become good and sweep Kallen off her feet continues. However, this also means he has a good chance of dying, and since Kallen is one of the few that still believe in Lelouch, maybe there’s hope for me yet.

“Let’s see Morgan Freeman comment on these penguins!”

Charles continues to fuck things up with Geass ruins and disturb the habitat. The Sword of Akasha being broken due to the World of C incident, him fixing it…I’m still as lost as I was before, and don’t have any new theories…I’ll just stop…

Lelouch seems pretty prepared to die in this fight now. Not surprising since he’s lost a lot of people important to him (Nunnally’s not dead!)…

What did surprise me is how I was stupid enough to forget how Lelouch originally ascended to power and fought battles in the first place before the Kuro no Kishi-dan became more than a renamed terrorist group: by abusing Geass against Britannians and fucking shit up. In fact, the last time I recall something as big as this happening was last episode of Season 1 when he took apart the Tokyo Settlement. It’s safe to bet this also will later affect any events involving Lelouch’s Geass becoming stronger, so we may yet see a two Geass-eyed Lulu later.

“You are beaten! It is useless to resist! Don’t let yourself be destroyed as Obi-Wan did!”

Waldstein reveals his knowledge of Geass, and if his sealed glowing eye is any indication, it’s probable that unveiling it will bring his spirit power off the charts and become more than a match for Ichigo he has a Geass as well. See, if this was made more apparent before, and if Waldstein didn’t remind me of Angeal from Crisis Core (especially since he seems to “LAWL B1G SW4R0D!” in and out of the cockpit…come to think of it, is that why Suzaku is LOL BIG SW0rD1inG as well?), I would’ve gone for more Bleach references. Then again, I wasn’t expecting a Bleach reference in the first place. Balls AGAIN! O.O

…I’m not saying it…

Lelouch meets with Charles at the Sword of Akasha again and seals off the exit…I’m guessing you can only exit the same way you came, indicating you can’t enter one in Kaminejima and exit through the Antartica one with the penguins. With no way to get back and not able to influence the outside world’s actions, it seems that Lelouch has Charles beaten…but, since there’s 5 more episodes, it’s obvious it won’t last for long. PREVIEW SHOTS:

Finally, Marianne’s murder becomes clear! ?

“Do V.V. and C.C. come from the same family tree! ?”

“Will Dante (not the Devil May Cry one ^^;) play some sort of role! ?”

“And why does Kaminejima have an aurora borealis! ?”

As awesome as today’s episode was, upon looking this over, I apologize that it doesn’t carry as much jokes and sarcasm as I usually do. Today’s episode seemed a little hard to poke fun at, and the witty captions that accompany screen caps were lessened this time. I hope this doesn’t mean I’m losing steam with Geass. ;_; To make up for it:

Obligatory Anya Marianne. ^^;

Inoue, you are not forgotten! ; _ ;

-Jay

Damn, that was an awesome death scene. The whole OotBK betrayal I saw coming, anyone with a working brain and the attention span to watch last week’s preview should have. However, I definitely didn’t see Rolo going down like that. It was no surprise that he died, but the way he did, for the sake of Lulu, despite being cast away by him, was a bit of a shocker.

I enjoyed Lulu’s breakdown following the (supposed) death of Nunnally, I thought it was very fitting, if only slightly over dramatized. At first I was disappointed at his inability to keep it together and rally his troops with the greater good of the battle at hand prioritized over Nunnally’s safety, but then I remembered that this isn’t the first time he was willing to throw a decisive battle for Nunnally’s sake. Yea, I was a little slow, but eventually Sunrise’s return to the whole mirroring of past episodes clicked and it all made sense.

I’m not sure what to make of Schneizel’s visit to the OotBK, while I understand his intentions in going there to blow Lulu’s cover, what I don’t understand is why he thought he’d get away with it unscathed, or how he did. Transposing the situation into real life leaves some holes, ignoring how he got landing clearance on the OotBK’s flagship, I’d think that anyone would shoot on sight if they saw the commanding officer of the opposing army. I mean, I suppose the sheer badassery of Schneizel waltzing onto their ship is deserving of at least hearing him out, but I personally would have put a bullet between the man’s eyes.

I’m a little torn on how this scene played itself out. On one hand, it’s fitting that they would feel betrayed if Zero had been controlling them strictly with the use of his geass, since free will is usually the one thing that a person can’t be stripped of (barring the use of certain temporary drugs). However, their aversion to being used as pawns was perplexing, even without the use of geass, the relationship between Zero of the black knights has been one of King and pawns, they can’t have just come to that realization. I understand that the OotBKs don’t mind being used as long as it was their choice, but the way the scene was phrased I got the vibe that they were unaware of Zero’s propensity to see the individual as expendable towards the overall goal.

Another scene I’m on the fence with. By extension of Lulu’s depression after having lost Nunnally, it somewhat makes sense that he would resign his defeat after his comrades betray him. However, what irks me is how he just rolled over when he saw Schneizel, his hate for this man, his desire to show him up was almost as strong as his desire to overthrow the emperor. For him to just accept defeat at his provocation, to concede defeat, to accept that because it’s Schneizel that there’s no way out of his check, was severely out of character, even factoring in the loss of Nunnally.

And boy was I disappointed with Diethard, the man who revered Zero as a symbol of a god, who worshiped Lulu’s abilities of mass manipulation and his skills as a battle strategist. He even stood up for Zero when Schneizel threw out his true identity, a prince of Britannia. The turning point in his opinion of Zero seemed to have come when he realized that all the defections of former Britannians to the OotBK, which is ironic since major defections like Jeremiah and Xing Ke were not influenced by geass.

Returning to the whole deal with Zero being a former Britannian prince, I never saw why this was such a big deal. I suppose that years of oppression by the Britannians have ingrained a deep seeded hate for them, but for someone who has done more than enough for their side to compensate for their race, that should be overlooked. Also, I doubt that anyone could possibly harbor any suspicions that he might be a double agent, given the lengths that Lulu has gone to inconvenience (to put it mildly) Britannia, there’s no question where his allegiances lie. So why the fuss about his origins?

Nice to see that Kallen stood by Lulu until the end, or at least until she was seemingly abandoned by him after her display of continuing loyalty, equally interesting that Lulu spared her a death alongside him. It’s disappointing to think that Kallen and Lulu probably won’t get any romantic closure by the end of the season, Sunrise is most likely to leave things ambiguous so as not the anger either the C.C. or Kallen fancamps, letting the imaginations of doujin writers to fill the gaps instead…oh, and the Suzaku shippers of course, can’t neglect those fujoshi either!

And of course there was Rolo’s death, by far the most touching death scene in the entirety of Code Geass so far, moreso than the likes of Euphie or Shirley. I never really liked Rolo, at first I had a gripe with his geass and the inconsistencies that were inherent in it, and after he defected I found him to be annoyingly clingy to a person he was ready to kill on command. But damn if his death scene wasn’t really well done, he may have been guilty of always having a one track mind, but it was touching to see him carry through to the bitter end. I’ll miss you, you haxed bastard ;_;

As for where we go from here, there are a lot of things to consider. I’m thinking that Kallen will leave the OotBK to join Lulu, given that she heard his plea for her to live on as she walked off. Suzaku seems to have gone off the deep end as well, Lloyd will probably bestow him with Lancelot Albion either next episode or in 21, it’ll be fun to see whether he sticks with Britannia, joins Lulu or goes batshit and flies around randomly blowing shit up. I have no clue what’s going on with C.C., Charles’ master plan, or the geass plot in general, so no speculation there. One thing that i did think of though, is Anya’s story, I finally figured out how they’d be able to rush in her backstory, if Orange-kun were to geass cancel her, her true memories would come rushing back. At the same time, we’d probably find out she had some connection with Marianne, and would get her story as a bonus.

LOL Nina. “Oh my god, the bomb that I designed, capable of killing millions of people actually killed millions of people! BAAAAAW ;_;”

And finally…

Yea fucking right. Hax. The OotBK should have just holed up in Ashford, the place is a freaking indestructible fortress.

~ Shirukii ~

And just like that, Code Geass seesaws back to global warfare from the fantasy geass plot, leaving unanswered questions lingering in the air, seemingly for suspense purposes, but in my case serves only to annoy. It’s like being served a gourmet double chocolate cake only to have it snatched away when you’re halfway through it and given a filet mignon steak in its lieu, individually succulent, but try to eat them in alternation and you end up with a terribly awkward meal.

The absence of the emperor in the first half of this episode gave Lulu the false sense of security he needed to finish his preparations for all out war on Britannia, which I personally find weird. Lulu was suddenly transported into that alternate realm and just as suddenly transported out of it, and he had no knowledge as to the advanced workings of geass, the true meaning behind contractors, etc. Why would he automatically assume that Charles, who was infinitely more knowledgeable about the complexities of geass, would be stuck there? Lulu was careless, while I understand that he wanted to take advantage of the window it bought him, his blind belief that he had taken care of the emperor permanently came back to bite him later, as minor an inconvenience it was at that point, just wasn’t like Lulu to let his guard down like that.

As for C.C.’s amnesia, what a load of crap. I hate when the amnesia card is played without due cause, of which certainly isn’t apparent in this case. Amnesia is one of the laziest plot devices in story telling, its overuse has completely diminished any sense of shock or drama that its intended to create. Sunrise did this either because they actually thought that amnesia would be an effective drama creation tool or they realize that C.C.’s popularity is immense and they can milk it even more if they show her cute and vulnerable side, however they built her character such that doing so by conventional means would be impossible and thus have to resort to a personality reset. Either way, stupid lazy writing. A final alternative is that C.C. is for some reason faking the amnesia, the explanation for which will be a complete deus ex machina that no one could have possibly seen coming, at which point I will never watch another Sunrise show ever again.

Anya continues to interest me as little bits of her are revealed through her nonchalant nature. She mentions to Suzaku that she has a diary of memories from nine years ago, none of which correspond to her actual memories, suggesting that Charles geass’d her ass. Her past is something that I want unraveled asap, she comes off as such a minor character, but the hints at her affiliation with Lulu are curious, even more so since Lulu himself doesn’t remember her.

Nina is still alive, which saddens me, I figured Schneizel would of her as soon as she was done making her nuke, Freya, which obliterates all matter within its blast radius (a preposterous concept, as matter can NEVER be destroyed, only transformed into energy). Upon Nina’s suggestion, the bomb is loaded up on Lancelot, a convenient selection for the racist bitch, since should it be used it will simultaneously eliminate Zero and Suzaku, which Nina undoubtedly despises for his position despite being an eleven and the fact that he was unable to protect Euphie.

The stage for what I can only assume (but probably am wrong) is the final battle has at long last been set. Lulu has conscripted the aid of all non-Britannia affiliated countries and formed the UFN, the United Federation of Nations, complete bs naming as a “federation” is a political system in which power is divided amongst a central government and numerous subdivisions with a considerable degree of political autonomy, which isn’t the case as power lies solely in the hands of the OotBK, controlling both military force and political agenda.

Anyways, I digress, while the naming is stupid, the result is the final confrontation between Zero and Britannia’s forces, a 1v1 winner take all war. Furthermore, the battle is greatly simplified as the outcome depends solely on the UFN’s ability to capture Japan before their forces elsewhere are overpowered, as they so quaintly put it, the outcome of the war hinges on this decisive battle.

The battle commences and the strategies on both sides are quite simple. The UFN launches a diversionary frontal assault on Japan while the OotBK’s subs lie in wait to surprise buttsecks the capital. Meanwhile, Britannia does the only thing it can, fortify defenses of Japan while invading UFN territory, forcing the time frame of the Japan battle.

Again, I must note how much I’m disappointed in the battle mechanics of Code Geass. Formerly it was about efficient allocation of forces, flanking maneuvers, terrain knowledge, etc. This battle had great potential to be highly tactical, the UFN having to carefully balance the fight on two fronts, making sure that their mainland holds out long enough to conquer Japan while bring careful not to skimp out on the invasion force to the point where its too weak, likewise with Britannia, with vantage points swapped. Instead it all boils down to whose research and development team rolls out the more hax knightmare frames, might as well toss all the mass production units into the sea, that’s where they’ll end up anyway, seen any make it to shore lately? Case and point, the battles are nothing but dick waving competitions between Lakshata and Lloyd.

The confrontation between Lulu and Suzaku was executed quite well. As much as I rag on Suzaku, what with my track record of having at least one “Suzaku is a faggot” per CG post somewhere in the ninetieth percentile, I forget sometimes how much pain he’s been through due to Lulu’s actions. Where Suzaku stands out as a bastard for upholding his skewed morals and principles, Lulu is often equally as bad standing by his logic, reasoning and tendency to discount the importance of the lives of individuals. However, I still found myself hating Suzaku in this exchange as he couldn’t pick up on the fact that Lulu isn’t remorseless, that he does feel bad about the outcomes of many of his decisions, most notably the ones resulting in the deaths of Shirley and Euphie. As for the result of the exchange, that was to be expected, powerful figures like Zero and Knight of Seven are never far from surveillance’s eyes, especially given the peculiar relationship the two have displayed in their confrontations on the battlefield. Lulu obviously saw this coming, as he pre-geassed Guilford to use as an escape route.

Suzaku will likely uphold his promise to Lulu and protect Nunnally in the face of danger, even if that means betraying the emperor. Lulu, on the other hand, walked away from the temple with even less faith in humankind’s propensity to act on impulse and emotion than before, a greater cynic, if you can even fathom such a low level of belief in your fellow man. On the bright side, this means that his raw logic tactics will return more powerfully than ever, the result of which I can’t wait to see.

Speaking of hax tacticians, Schneizel seems pretty snug where he sits, having probed the final info card, knowledge of the geass, out of Suzaku. He claims to hold all the cards now, or at least enough to take down Lulu. Perhaps it’s too simple minded of me to think so, but I’d like to see the war pan out to mirror the game of chess the two played. While Schneizel offering his king to Lulu was illegal in terms of chess moves, the symbolism of it still stands, I want to see him do the same thing on the field of battle, only to have Lulu turn it down again but come out on top anyways with a plan that surprises even Schneizel. Cliche? Yes, but effective.

Lastly, a word on Waldstein, I don’t like this guy, he’s such a useless character. He’s essentially what Charles would be if you threw him into the cockpit of a Knightmare, which begs the question, why didn’t they just put Charles into the cockpit of a Knightmare?! Ignore how stupid that is tactically, sending the leader of the nation to the front lines, and you’ll see how badass that could have been. Instead we get this pretentious old fart who hates war on principle but it a breathing weapon of mass destruction, wielding an equally pretentiously named sword, Excalibur.

Obligatory Pizzabutt

Note: The lack of Kallen is purposeful, she’s just not as interesting when sitting in a cell dressed in a frilly dress.

Lastly, sorry for the laziness of this Vadigor, but here’s your Kure-nai review: It was awesome, finish it.

~ Shirukii ~

…and it’s actually not half bad

Whoo, first post in almost three weeks, feels good to be back…for now. I’ll give a brief explanation of what the hell happened to me tomorrow, possibly Saturday if I get lazy, but for now, time to play catch up!

Code Geass R2 took a really weird turn since the last time I posted on it. Many, including myself (if memory serves me correctly), predicted that the inclusion and development of the supernatural geass element in the plot of CG would necessitate a shift from a relatively believable world to an apeshit one with gods and faeries running around. Rather than when this shift was to occur, I was more concerned with -how-, worried that the intense focus on the war against Britannia would accustom the viewer so much that any change towards the supernatural would seem like an abrupt and jarring change. Guess what? It was.

The rapid descent into sheer mindfuckery with “geass this, geass that” being the talk of the town had me sitting back wondering what the hell was going on, on two accounts. In the foreground, I was wondering how I managed to get blindsided by all this geass bs, secret organizations, underlying contract motivations, etc. And lingering in the back of my mind was the gnawing question of what happens to the war at hand when everyone is chasing the truth behind the geass. What of the conflict in Chinese Federation? The EU? The continually fluctuating state of Area 11, which could very well turn out to be an amusement park by the time everything is said and done.

That having been said, although the shift introduced many new questions and left many others hanging without an answer, the overall presentation and development of it all was surprisingly good. Enough so that I still enjoyed the series for the past three weeks, despite the amount of newly concocted plot they threw in my face.

Now I don’t have enough luxury in the way of time to comb over every single event and summary thereof in the past three episodes, so I’m going to focus on some key points.

First up is the whole deal with Jeremiah “Orange-kun” Gottwald. What a let down this was. As Orange-kun’s reintroduction was built up over time, I found myself extremely excited at the prospect of his return and said that if he didn’t come back in a blaze of vengeance fueled rampage, it’d all be for naught. Well they delivered on that part, giving Orange-kun a bionic body and the h4x geass canceler, allowing him to plow through Lulu’s guards (even Sayako!) with relative ease.

And then what do they do? Retcon his past to make him a loyal follower of Marianne, Lulu’s mom, and thus by retarded logic a subject of Lulu’s by extension, completely erasing all the pent up rage he had for the guy, who ruined his life. The scene was reminiscent of Anakin Skywalker’s betrayal of the Jedi and defection to the Dark Side in that it happened way too fast and with seemingly little mental anguish and conflict.

EDIT Ookay, so his past with Marianne wasn’t retconned, my point still stands, if only slightly weaker than before, haha.

This is the shining beacon of my titular assertion, there’s no way that when they introduced Orange-kun early in R1 that they had any idea that he would eventually come to serve Lulu under the precept that he was once a loyal servant of his mother.

Next up, Shirley’s death, which was plastered over all outlets of the anime community the second the raw aired, if you were on the internet during the weekend of this episode’s airing and had even the most remote interest in Code Geass, you knew about this before watching the episode. Which isn’t all bad actually, spoilers suck, but when you know something is coming, you’re more readily able to examine the circumstances of how it came to be.

Again, the “how” of Shirley’s death was far more interesting than the “why”, which was just Rolo being selfishly gay for his nii-san. The impact that Shirley’s death had on Lulu was severe, yet somehow his sincerity was still lacking. During her passing, Lulu tried desperately to save her, going as far as to try geassing her into living, let alone that he’s geassed her before and had no evidence to suggest that he could do so again, even after Jeremiah geass canceled her.

Aside: Is Shirley’s pupils lined with red during Lulu’s attempt to geass her indicative of Orange-kun’s geass canceler giving him the ability to geass someone again? Or has Lulu’s geass progressed to the point where he’s no longer limited to one geass per person?

Anyways, the desperation Lulu showed during Shirley’s death, while heart breaking, was overridden by his interaction with Rolo in the aftermath of the event. Despite the emotional anguish that Lulu displayed, he was able to recover in an instant, wipe away his tears and -THANK- Rolo for killing Shirley, consider that he had a gun in his hand AND was staring into Rolo’s eyes with his geass during all this. Would Lulu have been able to remain that calm if it had been Nunnally on the floor, dead from blood loss? Not a chance. What this means is that despite Lulu having said that he won’t stand for the loss of those close to him anymore, he’s still willing to make compromises, that his resolution was nothing but words. If he had truly shifted his motivation for fighting from Nunnally to all his friends, he would have popped a cap in Rolo’s ass the moment he confirmed him to be Shirley’s murderer.

VV and his underground geass research lab. Be honest, who saw this coming before the arbitrary mention of a secret, always on the move, geass cult some episodes back? This was a complete blindside and it quickly became the main plot driving element, completely overshadowing the significance of the ongoing war against Britannia. Let alone the fact that there was no foreshadowing, no prior indication that something like this geass research institution existed all along, its significance to the overall plot is still up in the air. We don’t know who has been acting with this knowledge and for how long nor exactly how it effected the decisions we saw on the surface.

From flashbacks, it’s suggested that Charles has known about this all along, that he’s been VV contractee for the entire series, so how is that supposed to change our perception of the emperor. Are we to assume that he’s only a midboss, and that his constant blabbering about taking down gods is the true conflict of the series? Have Lulu’s efforts been targeted at the wrong person, is Charles really the good guy, trying to go after the true source of evil in the world, the origin of the geass? If so, why has he kept it hidden from Lulu, it not, what are his true motives? And finally, how long has Lulu known about this organization and how extensive is his knowledge of the specifics and origins of the geass and these so called gods?

See what happens when you shove too much fantasy into a mecha show.

However, despite all the problems that are presented by the sudden shift in focus from world conquest and empire toppling to the realm of gods, Sunrise is (surprisingly) doing a decent job at covering it. Charles’ succession of VV’s contractor status and the bid at CC’s gave us a flashback that explained some of the details behind geass and its mechanism of passing on, indicating that Sunrise has at least some idea where they’re heading with all this.

While it was nice to see CC’s past and all, I can’t help but find myself disappointed at how cliche her motives are, how bland her “true wish” and the reason behind her contracting Lulu was. The blessed curse of immortality, a literary horse that has been ridden until death, beaten, flogged, autopsied, then beaten some more. It’s played out. Immortality is fun at first, but the inevitable toll it has on one’s humanity, one’s ability to enjoy life’s beauties sucks. Life is made all the more precious by the threat of death, take that out of the equation and it becomes a bore. Etc etc etc. Boring.

Let’s hope there’s a twist to this. CC wasn’t able to bring herself to use Lulu to fulfill her contract, perhaps he was able to penetrate her shell of devoid emotion and cause her to fall in love with him.

And finally, more of a nitpick than anything. Nina’s bomb is finished and she hasn’t got a bullet in her yet, Schneizel, you disappoint me D=

Here’s where an obligatory Anya shot would usually go, but since she’s been MIA along with Gino for these episodes, have some Kallen

With any luck, expect a Macross Frontier catch up post along the same lines tomorrow. Thanks for the patience everyone!

~ Shirukii ~

The Lulu Who Leapt Through Time (Alternatively, FABULOUS!)

First of all, happy belated Canada Day to all the Canadians out there, whose festivities are partially responsible for the lateness of this post.

Another contributing factor was the fact that, put bluntly, it sucked. Code Geass fillers aren’t exactly the shining example of story writing the world’s ever seen, but they come off as a lighthearted, mildly entertaining break to the action nonetheless. However, this episode’s asshat competition was just stupid, as was Sayoko’s overbooking of Lulu’s schedule with dates with countless Ashford ladies.

Thankfully, the episode was redeemed with some major “OSHI-” mindfuck moments, as is usually the case with these fillers. However, given how bad the filler part was along with the fact that this post is quite late, rather than do my usual summary & thoughts, let’s try something else…

Do want.

FUCK YEAH ORANGE-KUN!

Jeremiah, Orange-kun, Gottwald returns to the stage with a figurative bang. Seems like all his talk about coming back more powerful than Zero or C.C. wasn’t for naught, as he returns with quite a unique power, the “Geass Canceler”, which does exactly what the name suggests, canceling the effects of any previously cast geass.

The repercussions of such a powerful tool are immense. The backlash of having every single instance in which Lulu used the geass on someone reversed would be crushing. I’m not about to go back, track down all the times Lulu’s used his geass and analyze the effect of its reversal, but seeing Shirley hit with one such reversal should give you an idea of how much Jeremiah’s new power changes this little game.

Not only will Lulu be in trouble, the Emperor’s memory rewrite geass will be affected as well, and who knows how many people are under its influence, all of Ashford Academy at the very least.

It will be interesting to see how Orange-kun uses his newly acquired toy, whether he turns it into a tool for exacting revenge on Zero, who essentially ruined his reputation and life as a Britannian noble, or whether his aspirations are even more far reaching than that.

One thing I hope to see come out of this is for instances in which Lulu or the Emperor geassed someone, but it was never made known that they had been geassed. While this reeks of retcon, which I usually abhor, the possibilities of “WHAT A TWEEST!” moments are too tantalizing to get caught up in the details of.

FUCK YEAH CORNELIA!

And so the theorizing over the fate of Princess Cornelia comes to an end, alive and well, she seems to have gathered quite a bit of information over the past year and change, not only managing to find Bartley hiding out in Jeremiah’s cave, but barging in with what seems to be an extensive knowledge about the geass.

I can’t wait to see the explanation of where she’s been, what she’s been up to and her new agenda. Not to mention Guilford’s inevitable creaming in his pants upon seeing his highness alive and well.

Sort of want.

D’AWWWW, shota Lulu

More development for the AnyaXLulu relationship, not in the romantic sense of course, although that would be incredibly hot. As the only logical conclusion suggested, Anya seems to know Lulu from childhood, having a picture of him in shota form. With all of Lulu’s lies piling up, it’s sometimes easy to forget the most basic of ones, like the small detail that no one in Ashford knows that Lulu is an ex-Britannian-prince, I know I did, which is why I was so surprised Lulu managed to dodge this bullet. I love Anya’s character (most of the time) and am glad to see that she’s much more than background scenery along the walkway that is Code Geass’s plot, can’t wait to see more of her.

Oh god kill it with fire

Despite the insanely annoying background character pictured above, this scene was well played, showing that it’s Schneizel who wears the pants in this family, second only to the head of household, Emperor Charles, himself. Quelling the talks of a war with the Chinese Federation, Schneizel suggests gathering a small platoon and basically strolling around China telling people to join them…or else, and hoping they don’t call his bluff. It’s a brilliant strategy when you consider the state of unrest in the Chinese Federation, which makes it highly probable that there will be those who are quick to side with the Britannians.

Can’t say I liked the Emperor in this scene though, who is quick to pass off his warmongering and haughtily state that “Only fools wage war” when he was a step away from doing so.

Isn’t that the outfit that C.C. lounges around in?

Having been captured by the Britannians, Kallen’s spunk has taken a serious decline as she greets her latest prison visitor with an apathetic rant about how she doesn’t care what they do to her, whether it be questioning, torture, or even execution. Curious that it would be Nunnally who was sent (or perhaps came of her own accord) to see Kallen. While their time together was relatively short, the two did spend time together at Ashford, apparently enough so to establish a bond strong enough to warrant a visit. The conversation between these two shall be an interesting one.

Wasn’t too sure what to make of this one. I don’t really care much for Milly, she’s a character whom I neither hate nor particularly like, but is always there, often the driving force behind the god awful filler episodes…hmm, maybe I do hate her. Anyways, I digress, Milly’s sudden graduation and career change, one which killed her shot at nobility was a jarring one, mostly because I, as probably many other people, thought she was nothing more than a comic relief character. The whole issue of her “all talk, no action” attitude, which Nina looked down upon, wasn’t such a big deal that they needed to do this for her character, but it didn’t waste too much time and was a fitting, albeit sort of cliche, move.

FUCKING STUPID.

Asshats. What the hell were they thinking?!

This was beyond the realm of stupid, beyond cat chase stupid, and I’m sure you all know how much I hate the cat chases. Not even the ShirleyXLulu development was worth this crap, well not to me at least, but then again, I don’t really care about Shirley.

…dame?

This was so stupidly out of character for Anya. Given, she’s a noble and that’s going to lead to some culture shock when she attends a normal school, but Anya has never been shown to be an illogical person without common sense, so I don’t know where this came from. Anya is a deadpan loli, not an idiot, no matter how naive she’s supposed to be, I’m pretty sure that launching in Mordred for a game of tag wouldn’t have been a good idea, to even the thickest of characters. What’s worse is how she reacted to the whole ordeal, with a simple, overly cute “…dame?”. She’s a fucking Knight of Rounds, the best of the best knightmare pilots, whose duties I’m pretty sure include rational decision making. It’s one thing to whore out moe appeal, Sunrise, but damnit, there’s a time, place and character for doing so, and that was not it.

Anyways, next episode is titled “Assassin from the Past”, to whom which I can only assume they’re referring to Jeremiah. Lulu’s monologue has him worried about diplomatic issues as well as how to deal with Shirley, who is shown walking around with Lulu like everything is right as rain, which we can only assume to mean that she chooses to sit on the whole Lulu being Zero and responsible for the death of her father issue for the time being.

Complementary Miyu screencap, because her voice is teh sex

~ Shirukii ~