Code Geass Episode 1: Discussion!

[gods-debris.livejournal.com]

Sorry for posting this so early. I just know I will not have time all day on Thursday (well, technically where I am it is Thursday...). This isn't the normal for me--I'm your standard stay-at-home girlfriend at the moment--so this won't happen frequently. I'm so excited for this! I hope a lot of people participate. I'll check the comments Thursday night if I can talk my mother into letting me borrow her computer. :)

For those of you who haven't gotten the episode yet, check out the information I posted here. Anyways, onward!



Code Geass Episode 1: The Day The Evil God Was Born
We are reminded once again what happened to Japan and the power of Britannia—how they were able to invade and take over Japan with their new weapons called Knightmares, and how Japan was stripped of its culture and name; and renamed Area 11.



Once again we're thrown into the world of Code Geass with a melancholy Suzaku and a vengeful Lelouch!


How can you say no to that face?! (Lelouch's)

Lelouch always seems to carry himself in a different way from others. He's confident, charismatic and seems to know exactly what to say as far as speeches go. I feel we really get a taste for his character when Rival asks him why he moved his King first in the game of chess he had between the noble: "If the king doesn't move then his subjects won't follow."

While Rival and Lelouch are on their way back to school they're almost run over by Kallen who is part of the terrorist group against Britannia. I always somewhat felt that for a terrorist group they were awfully generous to swerve so they didn't hit them. I always imagined that a terrorist group on a mission would have no time to be merciful to those who got in the way of their plan, but it left a nice opening for Lelouch to run to the rescue and get caught up in the action.



You know, did Rival not see Lelouch climb onto the truck? Did he not see him fall into the opening on the top? Did he not see the truck drive away? If he saw all that, why does he stand around shortly after yelling for him and reminding him that they have to get back to school? C'mon, Rival. I know you're not that stupid!


There is so much win in these pictures... Anyone else happy for Spinzaku?

It's nice to see Lloyd doing what he does best which is sticking his nose into everybody's business while looking for data. I imagine him doing crazy silly things while yelling, "FOR SCIENCE!" In the end they didn't have a pilot for Lancelot... so what happened to the previous pilot they had lined up? Did I miss something?

Suzaku and Lelouch meet up again, but under interesting terms. Suzaku is now part of the Britannian army! It's nice to see that Suzaku is still putting others before him (covering Lelouch's face with his air mask when C.C.'s capsule opens up). Suzaku even ends up taking a bullet for Lelouch because he refuses to shoot him.



Also, you know, I love Shirley but there are times she can be pretty annoying. Could she have picked a better time to call? I guess it can't be expected to silence your phone when you are trying to dodge being caught. I like it because it's the human error. It makes Lelouch seem more human.



When Lelouch receives his power and uses it for the first time he seems surprised by his own actions. One of the many themes throughout this series is lies and the lies people tell. Lelouch tells us from that day on he's been lying to himself. I wonder what Lelouch is telling us this.



Lelouch, it's good to have you back.

Comments

Re: SPOILERS - Part 3

[jjblue1.livejournal.com]

Interesting also how Lelouch is surprised by Suzaku's declaration of not wishing to kill him and weird how he doesn't get hurt at all when the vehicle explodes. He was close he should have been injured.
Clovis is again theatrical when he orders the destruction of the ghetto, which makes me thing maybe he is a theatrical person. After all Lelouch is very coreographic as well.
The massacre is rather disgusting. The Britannians commenting that people is scum and all those apparently harmless looking people killed... even kids and old people... -_-
The series underline how this is horrible, while there wasn't even a dramatic shot when the terrorists attacked to steal the CC capsule.
Disgusting is also Clovis' satisfied smile
More interesting glimpses of Lelouch's character are when he accuses CC of being responsible for all this and how he seems shocked by Suzaku's 'death'.
Oh, and now I too think Jeremiah should have been Lancelot's pilot. In fact they called him back (although it's said it was because they wanted him to take command of team 2) but he refused to stay on the first line and once Lloyd asked about his pilot Cecile informed him he was in the first lines.
Can I say I find ridicule CC's prisoner clothes include high heels? -_-
Lelouch's misfortune is spectacular in a fashon. Not only when he reaches the only exit the Britannians are already there but his phone rang!
Interesting also how CC hadn't spoken until when she scream not to kill Lelouch. It might be she was gagged but the gag came away just in that moment. Same is with the sleeves binding her arms.
Silly how the hair on CC's forehead open up to show the simbol before she's shot. Typical of anime but still...
Horrible how everyone is willing to distoort the truth. Clovis, the Britannian soldier... no wonder Lelouch thinks the world is rotten.
Interesting how Lelouch's hand is stretched toward CC but he doesn't touch her and how, in time of troubles, he thinks to Nunnally.
I kind of hate the fact the scene of all those people wearing the same mark as CC on their forehead will stay unexplained. Also I think CC's rambling during the pact was a bit too vague and that's rather weird how Lelouch got anyway he would get the power to order people around.
Also the Ragnarock connection feels a bit random at this point in the story.
Oh, and am I weird if I like the scene of the two gears connecting?
It's also strange how the Britannian commander suddently felt something weird in Lelouch. He should be too far to see the symbol in Lelouch's eye yet he's scared (and how could Lelouch know he would get a symbol in that eye so that he covered it? but maybe the eye hurt at first...).
I'm impressed by how the soldiers smiled before shooting themselves and how, for them, it was easy to do so. Their self preservation instinct didn't kick in at all to fight the Geass but maybe they were also trained to die/kill themselves if a commander would order them so, so they couldn't really rebel.
Great the scene with Lelouch. His expression as blood dirty his check and shook starts to settle in, the fact he's in the light as if he had a light pointed on him as if he was in a theatre, his expression turning from shocked into a cruel grin as he left his sentence unfinished... it's all very cool (as a sidenote in a video a fan had transposed child Lelouch's expression as he said he'll destroy Britannia to this grin, to the sad smile he had at the end of the series. The contrast between the 3 expressions is quite interesting).
Interesting how many episodes of CG will end up with an open/unfinished sentence.
As a personal opinion sometimes I feel like Lelouch's evil expressions like this one and laughs are a sign of his mind cracking under an histeric crisis more than a sign of evilness but maybe it's just me.

Re: SPOILERS - Part 3

[nayami.livejournal.com]

It's also strange how the Britannian commander suddently felt something weird in Lelouch. He should be too far to see the symbol in Lelouch's eye yet he's scared (and how could Lelouch know he would get a symbol in that eye so that he covered it? but maybe the eye hurt at first...).

This scene has always dogged at me since most people show absolutely no reaction to the Geass at all. The common interpretation is the commander is reacting to Lelouch's sudden change of confidence and manner. He was a scared boy a moment ago, and now he shows no fear and instead arrogance in his stance. That's something that might catch a Britannian off-guard.

I also want to point out how brutal S1 is compared to R2, which is illustrated perfectly in this episode. I know it had much to do with the timeslot change, but I also felt the graphic style of S1 was better suited to Geass than the more toned-down version of R2. Though R2 definitely had its brutal moments. Imagine how Rolo would have been portrayed in R2 if Geass had its original shot.

Re: SPOILERS - Part 3

[jjblue1.livejournal.com]

I thought this but it's more like the man is scared since his hands start trembling. Now, even if Lelouch had switched behaviour... well this alone was no reason enough to be scared, it was more likely to think fear had turned Lelouch insane.

Definitely the first season is more brutal and looks a bit better planned out. Details that seems meaningless become important later, bigger groups of episodes are more tightly connected, it's definitely a series with more adult tones... I would have liked to see Rolo in it, though I seem to remember Rolo wasn't planned to exist when the first season was being transmitted so maybe we wouldn't have had him, had the series kept on its original shot (which would have been a pity because I liked him)... though it's possible they would have kept him anyway, maybe with another role...

Re: SPOILERS - Part 3

[carlenne.livejournal.com]

Definitely the first season is more brutal and looks a bit better planned out. Details that seems meaningless become important later, bigger groups of episodes are more tightly connected, it's definitely a series with more adult tones...

Yeah, I definitely feel that S1 had a more planned out feel than S2. It's a shame really, I wish things had turned out differently with the whole time slot thing. While I still enjoyed R2 I feel like we really missed out on something because of it.

Re: SPOILERS - Part 3

[jjblue1.livejournal.com]

Adapting things is always difficult. I guess/hope if things had gone as planned we would have gotten a much better background story for CC, for example. But when you've to redo a plot to mak it fit some new requisites and still have it meaningful and logic... well, you'v to keep things a bit simpler or you're going to end up in troubles.

Re: SPOILERS - Part 3

[gods-debris.livejournal.com]

I have never thought of the time change before until I read this, but you're totally right. R2 did have some moments, but they weren't as graphic, it feels, as S1. I guess when I think of when things get graphic I think of the massacre with Euphie.

But I guess there was the massacre in R2 as well when the Black Rebellion infiltrated the Geass study base.

Re: SPOILERS - Part 3

[nayami.livejournal.com]

Actually, I mean bloodshed. Compare the massacre of the Cult to the massacre of the Japanese in terms of close-shots, blood and lingering long shots of the carnage. The difference is HUGE. It happened a lot. I think Lelouch's death was as bloody as things got, and I think it got special treatment for what it was.

Re: SPOILERS - Part 3

[jjblue1.livejournal.com]

I think part of the care put in the massacre is because it helps put the Britannians in the role of the bad guys.
CG asks us to side ith the terrorists. Now, normally, when you hear the word 'terrorist' you don't feel that prone to side with them.
But after you see the Japanese massacre and the way Britannians mistreat Japanese... you can justify it.
Of course this can be just my impression but well, the tv said that in the incident caused by the terrorists there was people killed as well and yet CG didn't show us a single shot about it. Actually it's shown as news in the background and we forget it pretty quickly due to CG plot advancing, pushing us to be more intrigued by the action taking on than by that previous 'incident'.