code_geass ◾ Lelouch: Hero, Anti-Hero, or just Batshit Insane? (Reply)

Well, with R2 kicking off, I suppose it's as good of a time as ever to discuss Lelouch, and where we think his character is gonna go with Season 2.

The first thing everyone notices about Lelouch is that in ways of personality, he's practically a Yagami Light clone. Well, sure, they've got the sidekick that gave them the awesome power, the strive to create a better world, the intelligence, and the questionable sanity, but there was always one thing about Lelouch that seperated him from Light in my mind:

While Light would kill anyone, for even trying to catch him, or heck, if they insulted him and he got pissed (in the case of Lind L. Taylor), Lulu seems to still have retained a bit of his soul, and most of the time, does feel sorry about the more innocent people he has to kill. While I suppose "Lelouch Vi Britannia commands you to die", awesome as it may be, is still a bit shocking, usually, if Lulu is in a sticky situation, uses his Geass to get people out of his way instead.

That, and he also cares deeply for his family, and his friends (and Suzaku, though the hate!love there opens up many more layers that I won't be getting into), and at the end of it all, does feel sorry for what he has done to achieve his goal. (He did angst quite a bit with the Shirley and Euphie things).

And because Lulu is doing an arguably good thing, trying to defeat Britannia, which, I'm sure, we can all agree needs to be defeated, it makes me wonder if we're supposed to view him as a hero or an anti-hero.

While there are many connotations for the word "anti-hero", the most widely accepted definition is a protagonist that is doing bad things to achieve a goal that the audience may not agree with. Take Sweeney Todd for example. He went around killing people, yet we were supposed to sympathize, heck, even root for him.

So, applying it to Lelouch, it's not so cut and dried. True, he does do bad things, but is goal is of a more noble cause than most anti-heroes; he's not doing it for himself, but for someone else, and his cause is a righteous one. However, he does not fit into the archetype of a "hero" because "heroes" are supposed to be noble (Like Suzaku before he went apeshit at the end of season 1) and not manipulate people for the cause.

Which is why, for me anyway, it's hard to place Lelouch into either these categories. He stands up for a right cause, but he understands and willfully kills innocents for it (not to mention using the Japanese just so he could wage war on Britannia). And, while many anti-heroes seem to have "sold their soul" and will do bad things without a second thought, Lelouch always has his angsty "what have I done?" moments in the series.

He was created this way, I know, but it goes to show that sometimes, there really is no clean cut distinction between good and evil, unlike stories like Harry Potter would lead us to believe.

Also, the study of his character brings into the question of his sanity. There is a fine line between genius and insanity, I know, but Lulu...with this kid, you never know. He seems almost normal sometimes, in the happy schooltime episodes, and then he goes and starts cracking up and laughing his ass off when he finds out he's fighting his best friend. I suppose no one wholly sane could have pulled off what he did, but it also makes me wonder if Lelouch was like this from the start ("Suzaku...I will destroy Britannia!") or if it was a by product of his Geass and what he realized he had to do to achieve his goal over time. (And that Epic Grin in episodes 1 and 23...I'm sorry, but no one completely sane can make that grin).

If he's insane by Geass, then it makes sense...after all, Light Yagami could have been considered sane until he got his hands on the Death Note. Absolute power corrupts absolutely and all that. Or it could be that he thought it would be easier to deal with what he had to do for the sake of his goal if he cast aside most of his sanity.

If he was insane from the start...well, I'm not surprised. Given the amount of incestuous subtext in the Britannian Royal family, there's probably a lot of inbreeding going on there.

So, those are my thoughts, think of them what you will.