Otakuism

Lelouch likes to shake those hips.

I’ll have to agree with many other people that this is the best episode of Code Geass so far, bar none. The action, the drama, the tension, the emo-face contortions; everything was perfect. Last week I had said episode 22 was the turning point of the series, but now I see episode 23 fits the bill more perfectly. There’s the death of Euphiemia, in a sense the end of idealistic, if unequal, Britannian rule, and the “birth” of Zero as a legitimate hero of the people with his consolidation of Kyoto’s power and creation of the United States of Japan. That whole united states thing really got to me. It just feels so ironic that the roles are reversed so much. So should I compare Lelouch to George Washington now? Though, I don’t think he killed his sister in cold blood. I really don’t think Zero is going for any kind of democratically republican form of government (do those even exist in the CG world?), probably something more like a “benevolent dictatorship,” eh? Lelouch really hasn’t addressed so far who’s going to rule in his “equal” world. Source of future tension perhaps?

It’s not human anymore!

So everything has basically gone to hell for the Britannians. A colony is in open rebellion and actually has a chance of being successful in gaining freedom. History has shown that if one colony becomes free, others will soon be clamoring for that same right. To maintain order now they basically have to raze Japan to the ground, and that’s not exactly a good PR move. “Euphie’s Massacre” certainly won’t go down well with other colonies, who could perhaps see the exact same thing happening to them. On the personal side of things, I thought Cornelia was going to go emo the whole episode, but fortunately got it together and is determined to kill Zero now. Dalton is still alive and urgently rushing to her aid, but there is the lingering doubt of whether he was geassed or not. Nina has, literally, gone insane and is now turning the Ganymede into some kind of weapon. Personal prediction: Nina will either give the Ganymede a nuclear reactor (she is Einstein) and detonate it with her in it, or just detonate it remotely. All I’m saying is, Nina has to make an atomic bomb. It would be such an “ohshi-!” moment for Zero to achieve victory only to see a blinding light and a mushroom cloud. It’d be the ultimate trumpcard, because nothing that destructive exists in the CG universe, except maybe Gawain’s Hadron cannons. How did Britannia conquer the world without such weapons of mass destruction?

And you have an exceptionally large forehead.

Meanwhile, Jeremiah is apparently ready for battle. I wonder if he still has his memories or if he was brainwashed. Hard to tell from that one “Good morning,” could of been sarcastic. Viletta isn’t doing too good, with a mob of angry Japanese about to attack her. She’ll probably remember some soldier skills and kill them all, thus triggering her memory. C.C. has some new mystery added to her, since it looks like she’s been talking to Marianne the whole time. Marianne could still be dead, though, since the Emporer was talking to a dead Clovis, or so I’ve been told. This, however, does open up some interesting possibilities. Lelouch and C.C. got a little bit closer, confirming that, out of everyone, they can only trust eachother. A very tender, yet slightly disturbing, scene. And then there’s Kaguya. Good God, is Kaguya not just the cutest thing ever! She’s moe, she’s hyperactive, she’s voiced by Satoko, she’s like three feet tall! Lelouch can now add a (not crippled) loli to his harem. Kaguya comparing herself to a goddess and Lelouch comparing C.C. to the devil was the funniest thing.

Lelouch finally gets the Kira look down.

Finally there’s Suzaku. Poor old Suzaku. Euphie dies right in front of him and there’s nothing he can do about it. He even has to lie to her on her deathbed, something that probably tortured the honest Suzaku inside. Then V.V. has to show up in all his androgynous shota gloryness and tell Suzaku all that’s going on. I have no doubt that V.V. told Suzaku about geass and that Lelouch is Zero, or something to that effect. Suzaku is a man with a mission now. He won’t stop till Euphie is avenged and that means killing Lelouch and anyone who stands in his way. Lelouch seems to expect this, that as long as he was Zero it was inevitable that their freindship wouldn’t last. By either hand, only those two can kill eachother. It looks to be an epic confrontation, a personal battle mixed in with the larger battle for Japan. Too bad we have to wait until summer for 24 and 25 . What exactly does that mean? Early summer? Late summer? Code Geass has definitely been a great series so far, and now that the plotlines are all straightened out and set I know S2 will be even better. Let’s hope I can wait that long.

Ah, Kaguya-sama~!