hopeful_monster said:
After having just watched episodes 12-13 of Code Geass and thinking it is really cool, wondering what other people think of it. Was almost put off by the first episode, but stuck with it and it is rapidly growing into one of my favourite series.
I love it, and my opinions of it are much the same as your own. It could have totally hammed it up initially, and
Lelouch himself is a bit unbelievable - his
Zero alter-ego and casual disregard for human/ally/enemy/civilian life is almost artificial and at odds with his real personality. Its almost evil twin/two face, territory, and you have to suspend your disbelief.
In fact every other character is really well done.
Suzaku is excellent as the 'good guy' character on the other team, and not even appreciated by his own side, despite being their best fighter. In fact special bonus points for giving the opposing side the best mecha.
hopeful_monster said:
it combines fluid mecha action, grey politics (i.e. not black and white), media manipulation /propaganda which is now as much a part of war and terrorism/ freedom fighting as guns and bullets, and showing war is hell, but not doing in a preachy way (a la Gundam), or a depressing way (a la She/Saikano). Neither side has an insurmountable advantage, characters are realistic (smeg up, have believable feelings) and not everything goes as planned ( 2 wins, 1 loss, 1 no score draw).
Its better than fluid, i watch this on a projector and I am well used to Sunrise doing mecha stuff, but they have gone up to 11 on this. Realistic vehicular battle damage is almost never done in TV anime. The way the mecha actually fight is stunningly choreographed too. There is a huge amount of money in this production, and Sunrise went to town on it.
Your comment on the realistic way it is depicted is bang on -
Zero for all his arrogance has to eat a lot of humble pie. Brittania aren't all dominating either, and the characters themselves are quite interesting. The way that consequence hits home pretty hard for Lelouch is great too.
hopeful_monster said:
Only things that irritate me are some of the character designs (not keen on some of the art) and the product placement, which started off subtle, like spot the cat in Trigun, but has got has a bit OTT in the last few episodes.
I think the CLAMP character designs and fashion sense are hopelessly misplaced in some cases. It was a very odd design choice. I understand that they can't use Kenichi Yoshida again (
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/people.php?id=1726) (King Gainer, Eureka 7) for novelties sake, but those designs only barely suit, and are totally at odds with the kind of on-the-level adventure anime that Sunrise typically make.
Still great show, I eagerly await every episode after marathoning 13 or so just like yourself. There is a real 'must watch more' taste to this show, even the comedy episode was entertaining.
