Lelouch: Hero, Anti-Hero, or just Batshit Insane?

[inulovinkit.livejournal.com]

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.

Comments

[rainbow-cnxn.livejournal.com]

he's practically a Yagami Light clone

I would vehemently disagree with this assessment. Prior to gaining their respective powers, I would say that Lelouch and Light were fairly similar, but what they did with their powers is vastly different. Light was a megalomaniac who, from the get-go, wished to be the "god of a new world" subservient to him. Lelouch's goals were of a far smaller scope--he wanted to clear up the circumstances of his mother's murder and provide his sister with a safe world to live in. As C.C. said at the end of episode 25, Lelouch is a man who simply wanted a little bit of happiness. Given the ambiguous morality of both their methods, it is easiest to judge Lelouch and Light on the merit of their end goals. And as a result, I argue that it is far easier to sympathize with Lelouch than with Light.

Furthermore, the comparison of Lelouch to Light falls apart when you examine their relationship to others. Light marginally cares for his family over everyone else, but he'll still gladly risk his own family members to further his own benefit. Justice be damned, anyone who gets in his way will be cut down. Lelouch, however, recognizes the value of individual lives, has and cherishes actual friends, and tries to be a decent guy, in general.

But I agree that the geass is sorta getting to his head, albeit I don't think it's a side effect of the power, per se. I think it's more like he's an extraordinarily driven and competent character who has recently arrived at an amazing power. Any craziness would simply be a product of his own inability to deal psychologically with the circumstances. Much like how Suzaku's mind buckled under the weight of his guilt and lack of agency, Lelouch's mind may sometimes also falter beneath his own ambitions and short-sightedness. However, I don't think that Lelouch will be corrupted absolutely. Light was a bastard with evil intent, in whose hands the power of the Note only accentuated his demise to madness. Lelouch has better intents, and the simplicity and justifiability of his end goal helps him retain his sanity in spite of everything.

[nativegirl.livejournal.com]

I think it's incorrect to say that Yagami Light was that way "from the get-go". The Death Note fell into Light's hands; he used it with the intention of serving a higher cause than himself - justice. It wasn't until quite a few chapters later that Light began sacrificing innocent lives to cover his tracks, and departing from his original sense of "justice".

I'm not distinguishing this to nit-pick, but I think the essential difference is that Light's insanity was brought about by his own pride and a lack of rational justification, whereas Lulu's, if he IS insane, is brought about by a power that he can't control or reason. (Light's downfall isn't the Death Note, it's his principles, in other words).

Edit: I guess you & I agree on the essentials, but yeah, except in the anime, he was a bit more sane in the beginning.

[rainbow-cnxn.livejournal.com]

I guess it has been a while since I've watched DN (and I never read the manga--I know, I'm a heathen DX), so I don't exactly remember when he stopped with simply judging criminals and when he started killing people that got in his way. Or when he started with the "god of the new world" crap. Apologies if I got the details wrong.

In any case, he eventually lost it. If he started the judging without a desire to become "god", it was at least clear that he lacked a clear end goal. This, in turn, would allow him to stray down the path to megalomania and injustice. Lelouch, however, seemingly has done a good job of constantly framing his actions within the scope of his end goals. He doesn't seek to destroy Britannia outright or become the Emperor or be the leader of a new world order, although those options are all open to him. If such roles would allow him to more effectively pursue his search for his mother's murderer and his quest for a safe world for Nunnally, then so be it. However, the megalomaniacal aspects of his actions are very clearly just a means to an end. With Light, it may have been the case as well, but lacking a definite end goal, his means became his end

TL;DR: So, uh, yeah. I guess we do agree pretty much on essentials. I just watching myself type way too much, I guess. XD