miscellaneous CG R2 thoughts (and a poll!)

[susure.livejournal.com]

Since Geass is set to wrap up in six episodes, I decided I'd piece together an entry of my impressions up to this point, plus some nagging thoughts that may never be addressed.

Code Geass is the first series I've followed as it aired, so I hate having to wait a week after each episode. First off, I want to express my ♥ for this community because a lot of people here seem to like Rolo, whereas the blogs I read have been player hating for reals. Rolo is my second favourite CG character, after C.C. and just before Lloyd.

Ever notice people who are completely unsympathetic to Rolo even after his death ALWAYS bring up Shirley? "HOW COULD LELOUCH BE SO NICE TO ROLO AFTER HE KILLLLED SHIRLEY" Stop that crap. Shirley was FILLER (my test: how much Lulu x Shirley fanart is there, vs Lulu x Kallen, Lulu x C.C., Lulu x Suzaku/Xingke/Rolo/Shinkiro/etc) and I believe she should have died in the Mao arc. The fact that Rolo planned on killing Nunnally was way more important, but Lelouch didn't know (had he known, I'm sure he'd have strangled Rolo with his fabulous bare hands but that's neither here nor there since she's 'dead' anyway as of Turn 19). Given that he had earlier told Rolo he hated him, tried to kill him, and the latter STILL saved Lelouch's life at the cost of his own.. How could he not have developed some sort of appreciation by the end? What I don't get is why, the whole time Rolo was spamming his Geass, Lelouch kept telling him to stop, "Do you want to die?!" It doesn't make sense for him to CARE necessarily if Rolo gives up his life; even if he's lost his own will to live. Right?

Enough about Rolo, I guess. Here comes the random.

1. You guys remember Li Xingke? That whole cliche coughing up blood thing was early foreshadowing that he'd have some untimely death. Then there's Xianglin's quote about how he just wasn't given enough time. But here we are, Turn 19 going on 20, and he's still alive. I mean, he could still die, but I think his time was ripe back in the Chinese Federation arc (maybe when he was protecting Tianzi). At this point, he's probably already lost his chance at a poignant death.

2. Does anybody else think Jeremiah switching sides was really sudden? Not just that, but he's undergone a whole personality shift. I know fanfic writers will have SOME way of justifying it, maybe it has to do with having a reason to live again, a method of redemption.. But even though season one is but a distant memory to me, I recall him being way smarmier and underhanded. Now he's like, all about teh loyalty and chivalry. Parking his Knightmare to tell Suzaku thanks. Lame. Personally I don't even know how loyal he is to Lelouch because he does seem to be hesitant to take out members of the royal family (ie, Cornelia) and won't even attack Suzaku unless he's commanded to.

3. Not saying there should be any more Knights of Rounds but I don't get their numbering system. There doesn't seem to be anyone filling spots 11, 8, 5, 4, and 2. Are there just no promotions? Does Nonette Enneagram permanently occupy the Ko9 position because her name is so stupid appropriate? She hasn't even been introduced yet and I'm already so disinterested because if Suzaku is the "benchmark," I don't really care about anyone statistically weaker than him. Nevermind. I fail at wikiing.

4. Knightmares. Does anyone here care about mechs? R2 went insane when it came to upgrade wars, with varying degrees of awesomeness. Guren Aerial was weak, too deus ex machina of an introduction. Guren SEITEN is a bit better (but I might just be glad she killed Luciano). Really dumb question here, but was I the only one who thought Tristan's beam thing was a hasty add-on? OH YA WHEN I RUB MUH HARKENS 2GETHER THEY SHOOT PEWPEWLAZERS. I guess when Tristan was introduced, his selling point was the transformationz while his only weapon was the pole. Then the designers realized they gave everyone else a massive beam weapon, so Tristan had to have one too in order to be taken srsly. Whatever right? NO. Things were chill back when Gawain owned the skies and was virtually unbeatable (..except by Cornelia in her level one frame).

5. C.C.'s memories need to be returned somehow. I thought the new C.C. was cute for about one episode, but she has no place in R2 as it is (which is why they keep her locked in a room). I don't know what happened to her code. Can the Emperor take TWO codes? Is he that much of a pimp? She didn't lose her memory right after whatever he did to her, since she was able to free Lelouch's Knightmare. I just think it sucks that she lost her immortality AND her memories but Lelouch gets nothing out of the deal (presuming that, since he still has Geass). ETA: why did Lelouch's memories return when they kissed? Making out has Geass canceling powers now? It's worth a try.

6. I don't think Nunnally is dead (SCREW THE CHART). When FREI(J?)A went off and they showed her in the light, I just didn't think "onoez, she dead." Like not at all. They didn't show her disintegrating, duh. And it's so easy to animate. FREIA should have been a plot device to cull off minor characters (gj on Miss Romeyer, Guilford, Glaston Knights) but if Nunnally and Sayoko are gone and TAMAKI is still around, something went very wrong. ETA: I should maybe mention that if Nunnally at this point is TRULY dead, Lelouch hasn't wangsted enough. If you consider Nunnally the primary motivating factor for the series thusfar, half of one episode is NOT enough for him to get over it and be lucid again. If he's crazy for the rest of the series then I will allow Nunnally's passing. B-but.. :(

I know this is tl;dr as it is but maybe people will read if they're interested in speculating at length since this is all we can do until Sunday.

OH IN CLOSING: Your top 3 and bottom 3 characters, letting you show me them.

You know my top, so here are the bottom: Kanon, Rivalz (who no longer has any friends, yay), and Nina of course. My reasons for disliking the first two are petty, admittedly. But I got no beef with Schneizel.

There were plenty of opinionated commenters, so here are some of the results.

CHARACTER	+	–	NET
Lelouch	21	0 !!!	21
Rolo ♥	16	4	12
C.C.	13	2	11
Suzaku	12	4	8
Kallen	14	7	7
Anya	6	0	6
Cornelia, Gino	4	0	4
Lloyd	3	0	3
Kaguya, V.V., Euphemia, Xingke	2	0	2
Villetta	3	1	2
Ougi	3	3	0
Nunnally	1	3	-2
Kanon, all of the Black Knights, Miya/NANI MAI HANI	0	2	-2
Schneizel	3	6	-3
Rivalz, Eunuchs, Miss Romeyer, Carline le Britannia	0	3	-3
Diethard	0	4	-4
Luciano, Charles/The Emperor	0	5	-5
Shirley	2	10	-8
Nina	0	26	-26

As of 100 comments (most of which were from me D: ). Past this, your vote won't be part of this table though you should still express yourself for the lulz.

Okay, so maybe my polling methods were broken. People who said the char. was a fave gave them + points and those who listed the char. as a least fave gave them negative points. Net value should hopefully offer some sense of overall popularity. If you listed more than three "tops" or "bottoms" I chose the first three, hoping your hatred or love would order them as such. I didn't count characters with only one vote.

No surprise Nina is the least popular, though Shirley is second least pops, to which I raise an eyebrow. Kallen is disliked by quite a few people too. But if you take a close look, Jeremiah is NOT even on the chart. Surprising for such a meme-tastic character?

Meanwhile Lelouch has NO haters and is the clear winner of most popular. Suzaku is somehow slightly more popular than Kallen, and Nunnally is below the Ougi line (who is so average nobody really has an opinion about him one way or another). I conclude this community is on crack :D

Comments

[hina.livejournal.com]

Top: CC, Kallen, Kaguya. Harem for the win.

Bottom: Schneizel, Schneizel, Schneizel. Suppose I could fit some Emperor hating in their somewhere are well.

5. I highly suspect CC memories will return. LBH, the series is NOT going to end with her in moemoe status. I cannot stand her personality change. Original CC was a strong, independant, unusual character, and I LOVED her for it. I personally hope she regains her memories before Lulu goes totally insane. And saves him. Lulu/CC, yay~

6. I can't make my mind up about Nunnally at all. I don't want her to be dead. I hate the thought of it. I'm quite a big Lulu fan, so I don't like seeing him upset. That said, I can't work out a way for her to come back into the plot in the next 6 episodes, and still wrap the series up in time.

[spleener.livejournal.com]

3. Knight of Rounds positions are filled as the Emperor sees fit, they don't have to all be filled at any time. Aside from One, there's no real meaning to the numbering as far as which one has more skill than the other (which means that Charlie just plain doesn't have a sense of humor, since he didn't make Suzaku the Knight of Eleven.)

And Nonette was in the visual novel game "Code Geass: Lost Colors" that I want to see translated and released here so fucking bad.

Also, top 3: Kallen, Milly, Lulu.
Bottom 3: Schneizel, Luciano... shit, I dunno who the third would be.

[hina.livejournal.com]

"I never did pay much attention to them and I honestly can say I can never remember a single one of their numbers and names." - I agree. I don't know any of the numbers, apart from Knight of One, and even then I don't know his name. >.

[xinue.livejournal.com]

Oh, my where shall I begin?

Well, for starters I totally to agree with you on the whole Rolo/Shirley debate. I agree that Shirley was nothing but a bit of filler to help Lelouch realize just what is at stake in his goals for revenge. Rolo, in my eyes is redeemed and I always loved him - even when he tried to kill Nunnally - the poor boy has had enough and people need to stop hating on him.

As for Li Xingke I think that he is going to have a very rushed death in future episode. In fact, we might have to hear about it off camera - which would ultimately just suck. However, if he doesn't die, well I'll just be glad I was proven wrong about something in this series. Since I seemed to be able to predict a lot of stuff would happen.

Jeremiah - don't get me started on him. While I was glad he switched side I do feel that is was abrupt and I can't imagine why he would do so after all that Lelouch did to him before. I guess Sunrise realized how big Orange's fan base was and decided to make him a good guy and change his entire character direction. It was very OCC, but there is little to nothing we can do to change it. Villetta, however, refused to join his side which is just like her.

Knights of Rounds I never did pay much attention to them and I honestly can say I can never remember a single one of their numbers and names. Gino, Anya tend to hog the spot light along with Cazy!Suzaku.

Knightmares, I much preferred the ground battles that seemed a little bit more realistic. I mean I got enough of the awesome hax skills in gundam seed/destiny and gundam 00. Seriously Sunrise just can't stay away!

C.C. as of right now is a waste of space - and I really despise her memoru loss. I so prefer the smug bitch that she was before, and now I really don't know where her character is going. The series right now is showing how Lelouch is losing everyone, and since C.C. can't die they decided to mind rape her, which is just great.

I hope Nunnally isn't dead, but I thought a chart earlier displayed that she was....but I am still in heavy denial.

In closing favorite characters are: Rolo, Lelouch and Suzaku - yes the big three.

My lowest would be: Shirley, Nina and the first prince of the britannian family I forget his name now, but the damn man was a pedo.

[kadekmoment.livejournal.com]

Top: Suzaku. Then Kallen and C.C., I think.

Bottom: Chinese Eunuchs, NANI MAI HANI, and Luciano.

1. The entire Chinese Arc was a waste of time imho. I think Tianzi and Xingke were adorable, granted, but considering that the directors just revealed that they dropped about three or four subplots (at least) because of lack of time? I think the time spent on them could have been used for much better things. Kallen's backstory and Suzaku's connection to Geass especially.

That said, I agree that Xingke was a character with an interesting set-up that really is just going to be wasted now in all likelihood.

3. spleener already covered the Rounds thing. \o But I will say that the Emperor did have the sense of humor to make Suzaku Seven-Eleven.

4. I have ranted about the mechs this season on many occasions, so I'll just say that all the battles would have been so much more badass if they were still doing the jumping/dodging on wheels. Funky rollerskating mecha, where hath thou gone.

6. I'm sure they're planning some kind of screwiness with Nunnally, but I don't have the heart (or sanity) to try to predict what. Her death scene was definitely way too sudden though.

[kamina.livejournal.com]

3. Yeah. There isn't any meaning to the numbering in the KoR, besides from One:

Their ranks don't seem to have any particular bearing on their skill level or dominance over other Knights. The one exception is that the 'Knight of One' may request governance of any colonial area of his choosing from the Emperor. Only seven of the twelve have been revealed, among which is Suzaku, the Knight of Seven. The Code Geass novels explain that not all of the seats are filled, so those featured are presumably the only active members.

6. I agree with this fully. Except the Tamaki part. Long live Tamaki.

Top 3: Lelouch, Gino, Schneizel. (Followed by Luciano, Kanon, Ougi...)
Bottom 3: Kallen, Nunnally, Shirley.

[susure.livejournal.com]

Oh geez. And I thought I read everything on Code Geass's wiki. :(

[starryburst.livejournal.com]

ROLO. V.V, and C.C. BAWWWW, I MISS HER. Well, I miss all of my favorite characters. I always love the ones who are gonna get screwed over, don't I?

I guess for bottom: Shirley, Nunnally (those bitches >:D), And maybe Charlie, but that's just 'cause he killed his lying lolishota brother. ):

The Knightmares make me lol, because just last season (and the beginning of this one) Lancelot was UBER MECH, but now it's pale in comparison to the others. xD

Nunnally, you immortal whore. Which brings me back to the point once again that Sunrise is partial to their lolis, but discriminate against their shotas. ):

[uwaaaah.livejournal.com]

You're not the only one who loves all the characters marked for death. R.I.P. Rolo and Mao.

Also, Charlie is the best nickname for him ever.

[haroween.livejournal.com]

TOP : C.C. , Lulu, Anya
BOTTOM : Kallen, Nina, Schneizel


5. ETA: why did Lelouch's memories return when they kissed? Making out has Geass canceling powers now? It's worth a try.
Yeah, they need to have sex right now. I miss the old C.C. ;___;

[sevthebat.livejournal.com]

Just wanted to say that IAWTP so hard.
Especially about CC getting her memories back. It needs to happen already. She's become utterly pointless and it saddens us all.

Top 3: Ougi (because I still ♥ him in S1 ;_;), Kallen and Villetta. I would say Jeremiah, but only since he underwent that huge personality shift that you noted above, and I fear that doesn't really count.
I also quite like Clovis, Cornelia, and Sayako. And now I am spamming.

Bottom 3: Miss Romeyer, Luciano, IDK

[aya-kari.livejournal.com]

6. NUNNALLY IS ALIVE.


Top: 1. ROLO FOREVER 2. Lulu/Shirley/Mao/Rivalz 3. Nunnally/Milly
Bottom: 1. Schneizel D: 2. ASAHINA (he picks on Rolo + has Luciano's voice) 3. Nina/Luciano/Kanon or other people on Schneizel's side >

[klingon-jedi.livejournal.com]

I think you're the only one that lists both Rolo and Shirley together. Go you! ^_^ Most seem to love one and either hate or not care much for the other.

[ex-defaced.livejournal.com]

TOP: CLOVIS, MAO, SUZAKU
BOTTOM: ROLO. HE GETS ALL THREE SPOTS.

EVIL!NUNNALLY END CONFIRMED

[susure.livejournal.com]

I don't understand the Clovis fandom.

For teh lulz?

[kaorutsukiko.livejournal.com]

1. I really, REALLY hoped he would die earlier. Even though I find him all kinds of awesome, he'd have a better death than say, die in the final battle.
4. All the constant upgrades make me sad. Gawain was awesome just because he was the only one that flew and was overpower, etc etc etc. If we keep up, he will be like... weaker than a Sutherland. Anyway, I only began to like mecha at all on this series so gah. :D;;
5. I think she will recover her memories in the end... To help on the final episodes or something. Moe!CC is cute, but she can't be there for the rest of the series Dx;;

Top: Lelouch, Kallen, CC.
Bottom: Nina and... uh... yeah. Just her. I'm tolerant to the rest. D:

[kaleidoruby.livejournal.com]

Top 3: CC, Lelouch and... Suzaku, I guess, though I was torn between him, Euphemia, and Milly.
Bottom 3: Shirley, Nina, and... Kallen, I guess, though that was hard too. D: But she annoys me more than Rolo or Schneizel when I think about it.

[aestalitz.livejournal.com]

I think the Knight of Rounds numbers weren't rank-based aside from Knight of One...?

TOP: Lelouch, Rolo (actually it's a tie between those too orz) and Kallen
BOTTOM: Uh, I dunno. I have Nina, that 5th princess, and JLF members at the bootom because I have no interest in them. ^^;

[spleener.livejournal.com]

lol more stuff:

2. To an extent it's because they initially planned on him being a cocky racist dick who would repeatedly screw himself over by a cocky racist dick, finally getting himself killed at the battle of Narita as the first victim of Guren's nuke-arm (note that his VA's name is Ken Narita, who also voiced Shirley's father for the two lines he had in episode 8, get the joke now?) Basically he was supposed to be what Luciano wound up actually being (same joke here almost, since his voice actor is the same guy who did Asahina.)

But yeah, apparently he was popular enough as a joke character that they decided at the last minute to keep him alive, and I suppose they decided around then to have him eventually wind up joining Lelouch, which required some semi-retconning in the form of having some of the supplemental material released later give scenes of him actually being a sympathetic character (him talking about failing to protect Marianne to Viletta in a picture drama and him trying to apologize to Suzaku in a sound drama.)

So basically what we're supposed to see him as is a guy who's always been a decently noble person but he just acts like a dick to Elevens because he blames them for failing to protect Lulu and Nunnaly or something. One could also note that all the shit he's gone through will either snap a guy or humble them, and in his case it wound up doing one then the other.

4. Well, progress happens and it's nice that Geass kind of reflects that (the grunts now have mass production versions of the first season's super robots,) though to an extent the super robot inflation might be partially for merchandising reasons. Still though, they're just following the rule of mecha shows in that your mech's uniqueness/power is generally proportional to your importance/skill. Lulu of course breaks this rule a bit.

5. They had to make Lulu lose everybody and everything and hit rock fucking bottom, which is where he is now. In order to do that, they had to take CC away from him. Obviously they can't kill her or even fake-death her because she's immortal. They can't have the bad guys capture her because it's pretty clear that it's game over once they get her. So they had to take another route.

6. I give Nunnaly and Sayoko a 50/50 chance of being alive. It is a Sunrise show, after all.

And Tamaki could have been at ground fucking zero and lived. Comic relief characters are immortal, remember? Of course, at some point between now and the end he'll have his time to shine and be awesome and useful for once and we'll be all "FUCK YEAH TAMAKI". Rivalz, too, for that matter, and he might get some Milly pussy out of the deal.

[susure.livejournal.com]

2. I haven't seen any of the picture dramas and am apparently missing out on CRUCIAL informations.

5. So is C.C. still immortal or not? Because I think someone noted after Turn 15, her forehead sigil was gone.

[gem2niki.livejournal.com]

I totally agree with most of what you mentioned. It annoys me to no end about the Rolo-Shirley thing. She wouldn't have survived the rest of the series anyways.

5. Seriously, old C.C. needs to be revived. Memoryloss!C.C. is really just a waste of frames.

TOP: Rolo, C.C., and Ougi
Bottom: Luciano, Suzaku, Nina

[aetherae.livejournal.com]

4. I thought the rollerskating was the best part of the mechs. )': It was ORIGINAL. And HILARIOUS.

6. I just can't imagine Nunnally being really dead. It doesn't really make much sense, imo. So I'm waiting for Sunrise to just pull her back in. (... b-but I wanted Guildford to live. ;____;)

TOP; Shirley, Anya, and.... uh. Suzaku, I guess. Or Cornelia.
BOTTOM; Rollo, Nina, and, um. I DON'T KNOW. EITHER KALLEN, C.C., OR SCHNEIZEL. ONE OF THEM.

[lavaliere]

I thought the rollerskating was the best part of the mechs.

IAWTC. Srsly, the rollerblading mechs were what seperated Geass from other mecha animes like Gundam. Having them fly around in space and shit kinda loses the value, I think. :(

[nayami.livejournal.com]

Additional notes: I love Rolo. I love Shirley. I think that Rolo was never meant to kill Shirley, and something in the script got changed, which led to the inconsistencies with Lelouch's response and such. Then again, I think Rolo was never supposed to exist. Shirley was not filler. She was... partially a plot device. But so was Rolo. Both were well-written and accomplished their goals. Both were still characters. Both are important in teaching Lelouch about love and life. I just don't get why to defend one character, another must be denounced. You can have it both ways.

[susure.livejournal.com]

I thought Shirley's death was well done (as I was sympathetic at the end, though I never liked her) but I just felt like she had overstayed her welcome in R2 which was so, so beyond Ashford, to the point that Lelouch installed Sayoko as his double and was never actually there anymore.

The series has a huge cast and lots will die, some people won't be happy. I'm sure this is universally accepted by the fans.

[tosshi.livejournal.com]

I agree with most of your post. I like Shirley, though. A lot. Because she was the "normal" person that kept Lelouch grounded. She didn't do a whole lot, but that was WHY she was important. She understood him on a level that not many people did, and loved him, loved LELOUCH for who he was, not for anything he stood for, or for Zero, or for his charisma. She loved him for his dorkiness, the fact that he's shy and easily flustered despite being so good on stage. He's a brilliant actor, but when he isn't acting, he's just... a socially inept chess nerd with some deep-seated issues, and that was the person she loved. It's also the side of him that he keeps coming back to when he feels he's about to loose any humanity he has left. If it weren't for Shirley, well... things may have gone very differently at a few key points in Lulu's development.

As for tops and bottoms, though~

TOP: Kallen, Gino, & Viletta
BOTTOM: C.C., Nina, & Luciano

[susure.livejournal.com]

C.C.'s in your bottom?? Why.. :( Just recently (understandable), or always (not)?

I can spell basic words rly

[nayami.livejournal.com]

Tops: Suzaku, Kallen................ Lelouch (bastard). C.C. is close but moeblob makes me cry. Also Lelouch is usually first but his characterization this season ANNOYS THE HELL OUT OF ME.

Bottoms: LUCIANO. Chinese Eunuchs. That's pretty much it. I only hate characters who are pointless. And I'll be civil and not put Xingke up here.

1. Xingke's only saving grace is Tianzi. Chinese Arc was fail.

2. Jeremiah has ever been loyal to the royal family. He was pissed at Bartley for letting Clovis get killed. Also, picture drama shows that Jeremiah was extremely crushed by the death of Marianne, whom he swore to protect. While I agree the sideswitch was abrupt, I will not say it's a personality shift. Jeremiah has also had a lot of time to think about things. But yeah, the Suzaku scene was... weird. But he forgave Bartley too so maybe he's just found peace with himself. He's doing what he wants again; he's protecting the royal family. Jeremiah's greatest issue was always the loss of purpose.

3. The KotR are such an add-on. But Gino and Anya are still awesome so I can forgive. I don't know why they'll even waste time to introduce the others.

4. I like the keyboard mech because it lets Lelouch do EPIC POSES. I like Kallen's new mech because it killed Luciano. That's as far as I get with my mech love. Which is sad because I am a mech fangirl and they were so much cooler when they had their rollerskates.

5. I like this idea. Lelouch should kiss her. Take initiative for the first time in your life, boy! But yes, moeblob has no place and is only around to give Lelouch more angst. Like he doesn't already have enough. Sigh. I hope they plan something for her.

6. I hope Nunnally isn't dead. It denies all the foreshadowing they've done for her and denies her the right to the same personalized death so many others have received. But I don't know...

Also don't narc on Tamaki. HE'S THE MAN.

[arhel.livejournal.com]

The KoR ranks do not have any meaning in terms of rank (= authority), save for the Knight of One. However, a staff interview from Newtype said they were organized in order of "strength", although what that actually means (pure combat ability? Tactics? Ability as a commander?) is vague. On the other hand, it took Suzaku + original character at Suzaku's level to draw Nonette in the Lost Colors game, and he's #7 while she's #9, so...

I get the feeling that a lot of the background on the KoR was made up on the fly and probably changed as they went along. For example, when Luciano's character design was first introduced, he was supposed to be a "brash but loyal older-brother type".

[fox-holland.livejournal.com]

I would strongly prefer that Nunnally is dead because if she is not dead, then she seems like an accomplice of Charles. However there have been promises not yet fulfilled such as "Nunnally knows who was involved with Marianne's assassination" that make me feel that Nunnally is alive (and evil).
I prefer nice Nunnally dead.

[susure.livejournal.com]

Yes, those Korean spoilers are not sitting well with me either.

[norikosama.livejournal.com]

Stop that crap. Shirley was a FILLER and I believe she should have died in the Mao arc.

*bows* THANK. YOU. God, I'm sick of all the Rolo and Shirley war posts. WTF fickle fandom.

1. I think it's quite possible he will die at the hands of the Knight of 12 since it noted she was far more vicious than meets the eye. But, IMO, the Chinese arc was kind of a waste of time.

2. I'm not sure how far Orenji's loyalty stretches. He's a good ally, yes, but it's kind of just like, "HAI since ur the son of mah idol, methinks i follow joo naoz." WHUT. What happened to all the past crap?

3. spleener said it, rank pretty much doesn't matter. Look at all the crap that happened with Luciano.

4. What utterly puzzles me is the fact that these people are smart enough to make all sorts of uber upgrades for giant rollerblading mechas in a single year, yet an insane, xenophobic bitch just discovered nuclear power and didn't even know the full extent of its powers. It's like she thought a disco ball would pop out of it or something.
Anyway, I was really wondering where the hell that laser thing came from. That tactic doesn't even make any sense. What if someone just...cuts the wire off the Harkens? What then? It's these things that plague my mind.

5. Everyone's going crazy over moe!C.C. (especially the males), but I miss the snarky witch. Now where is Marianne's story going to come from? Charles?

6. I want Sayako back because we need the ninja maid with the fine ass. Maybe I need to rewatch the episode, but how did Tamaki even escape the impact? And less seriously, Ashford just BARELY escapes impact because it's special.

Top 3: Anya, V.V., and Cecile. I HAVE MY REASONS.
Bottom 3: ABOUTTOBEKILLEDBYPENGUINSNINA, Kanon, Shirley. (Followed by Ms. Nani Mai Hani because I don't give a shit about her name, Charlie, Luciano, and that circus freak princess who hated Nunnally. You got your wish, you damn freak.)

[susure.livejournal.com]

4. I think it's been noted that FREIA doesn't have exactly the same effects of a nuclear bomb... Evidence presented in brief on-screen text, shot of the crater, and the fact that Ashford was MIRACULOUSLY completely unharmed, while the sonic boom from a nuke would definitely have leveled it or at LEAST broken all the windows. Or it might just be a goof.

6. Re: Tamaki, inorite. Last we saw he ejected from his Knightmare so did someone seriously pick him up and fly him out? Then again Milly made it out just fine on foot.

I like/agree with your bottoms, also.

[lavaliere]

I honestly think the entire season of R2 was made up on the seat of the writers flies, or something. Season 1 was well written and flowed well while leaving a lot of stuff open for a second season. R2 is just a trainwreck. A trainwreck I love watching, but a trainwreck nonetheless. The first 5-ish episodes seemed well written, and along the lines of R1, but then it seemed to go downhill from the Chinese arc. I really think the writers are trying to fill too many plotholes in to little time. By this point, I'd rather have 3 good Geass seasons than 2 with one of them being crap. But I'm not going to be getting that, it seems.

The only redeeming part of R2 I found was Rolo. I loved him and his character. I also think he could've gotten a lot more development and screentime. He should've gotten it because he was such a major role in Lelouch's life, before he got his memories back and after. The reason behind why he killed Shirley is just one of the reasons he should've been developed more. Why was he so devoted to Lelouch? His death monologue explains it, but not very well in detail. I mean, Rolo could've been a lot more interesting and this is coming from someone who adores him.

The same goes for Shirley. There were a lot of possibilities available for her character. Just the fact she was the only normal part of Lelouch's life was one of them. I never loved Shirley and wasn't upset about her dying, but I do think the Geass writers could've done her better. Especially after having Lelouch show that much emotion over her death only to seemingly forget about it a few episodes later. She was basically stuffed into the fridge, when she could've been a bigger part of the role. I feel even worse for her mother, who had to bury both her husband and her daughter. Talk about raping the dog. :(

I think the reason behind the "poles" for Tristan's weapons were initally a nod back to the Arthurian legends which most of the KMF's are named from. Tristan's story is rather sad and tragic (see Tristan and Isolde), and the manner of his death is, I think, not only a nod to what Gino's character might eventually do (to be explained in detail further down), but also the reason the Tristan's weapon is first show as a scythe.

Because of the name of his KMF, I think Gino will eventually switch sides. In the Tristan and Isolde story, Tristan was meant to kill the wife of some king (Isolde), but ends up falling in love with her instead. Considering the amount of flirting taking place between Kallen and Gino so far, as well as whateverthefuck is happening in the latest preview, I think Gino, having so much interst in Kallen, will evetually aid her in her fight. And then, possibly, die for doing so.

Similar, I think, will happen with Mordred and Anya. Mordred is the traitorous son of Arthur and his half-sister. He ends up rebelling against Arthur and fighting against him, dying in the process. Given the "Geassed!Anya" in the latest preview, I think she'll switch sides as well, going over to Lelouch's side. Mordred's background might also give some clue to Anya's as well, and why she's some how linked to Lelouch's childhood. Supposed spoilers suggest she might be Lelouch's true sister, but I doubt this. I do think she is somehow related, and simply can't wait to see her past revealed.

tl;dr?
Favorites are: Rolo (sob), Lelouch, Anya
Least Favorites: Nina, Nina, Nina. j/k, I also don't like Sharuru-chan, aka Emperor Wakimoto. He just scares the shit out of me. D: Suzaku bugs me at times, too. Though, I <3 Spinzaku

[nayami.livejournal.com]

Just to say, R2 had to be rewritten after the creators learned they were losing their time slot and would have to present Geass to a new audience. Hence pacing/consistency issues. However, I argue that the episodes post-China Arc have been brilliant. Also 5 and 8.

[coldmero.livejournal.com]

Well, I don't know, I thought overall Shirley was more important than Rolo, but I guess that's just my opinion. Rolo feels to me like a prolonged Mao.

Top 3: Lelouch/Mao, Suzaku/Clovis, Schneizer/Asahina
(top three living; top three dead)

Bottom 3: Nina, Ougi, Diethard

[lavaliere]

I thought Rolo had more to do with the plot than Mao did. Mao was abandoned by C.C. and never had any connection to the Geass Cult, where as Rolo did. And that connection was an imporant part of Lelouch's desire to defeat his father. Without Rolo, whatever connection could've been made between Lelouch and the Cult would've been a lot more feeble, I think.