Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion (コードギアス 反逆のルルーシュ, *Kōdo Giasu: Hangyaku no Rurūshu*) is a Japanese science fiction mecha anime series created by Sunrise, blending elements of dark fantasy and political drama as it follows a deposed prince’s quest for vengeance against a global superpower.
First Season
In the year 2010 a.t.b., the Holy Britannian Empire invades Japan, renaming it Area 11 and reducing its people, the "Elevens," to second-class citizens.
Years later, Britannian student Lelouch Lamperouge becomes entangled in a terrorist attack and meets a mysterious girl named C.C., who grants him a supernatural power called Geass—the "Power of Absolute Obedience."
Revealing himself to be the exiled Britannian prince Lelouch vi Britannia, he adopts the masked persona of Zero to lead a growing rebellion, forming the Black Knights to destroy Britannia and create a gentle world for his blind, wheelchair-bound sister, Nunnally.
His campaign pits him against his childhood friend, Suzaku Kururugi, an Honorary Britannian soldier who pilots the advanced Knightmare Frame Lancelot and believes the system must be changed from within.
After a series of tactical victories, a tragic twist of fate causes Lelouch’s Geass to permanently activate during a conversation with Princess Euphemia, inadvertently commanding her to massacre the Japanese people.
Lelouch is forced to kill Euphemia to stop the slaughter, sparking the Black Rebellion, a mass uprising that ultimately fails when the mysterious V.V. kidnaps Nunnally, leading to a confrontation where Suzaku discovers Zero’s true identity and both friends shoot each other.
Second Season (R2)
One year after the failed rebellion, Lelouch, his memories rewritten by Emperor Charles, lives a peaceful school life with a fabricated younger brother, Rolo, until a chance encounter with C.C. restores his memories.
Reclaiming his role as Zero, he rescues the captured Black Knights and masterminds a mass defection of one million Japanese to the Chinese Federation, forming a pact with the brilliant strategist Li Xingke to overthrow the corrupt Eunuchs and establish the United States of Japan.
On the global stage, Zero unites over 47 nations into the United Federation of Nations, making the Black Knights its independent military force to counter Britannia’s domination.
The resulting Second Battle of Tokyo ends in catastrophe when Suzaku, controlled by Lelouch's "Live" command, deploys the devastating F.L.E.I.J.A. warhead, vaporizing a large portion of the Tokyo Settlement and killing millions.
In the aftermath, Prince Schneizel exposes Zero’s identity and Geass to the Black Knights’ leadership, causing them to betray him; Lelouch narrowly escapes thanks to Rolo, who sacrifices his own life.
He then confronts his parents—Emperor Charles and the consciousness of his mother, Marianne—defeating their plan to merge all humanity into a collective unconsciousness through the "Ragnarök Connection."
One month later, Lelouch stages a coup, using his Geass to enthrall the Britannian court and declaring himself the 99th Emperor, with Suzaku as his masked Knight of Zero.
He then orchestrated the Zero Requiem: by conquering the world and becoming the ultimate symbol of hatred, he concentrates all the world’s malice onto himself.
During a public parade, the masked Zero reappears and assassinates Emperor Lelouch, an act that is actually Suzaku carrying out Lelouch’s final wish, bringing global peace by directing all the world's hatred onto a single, now-dead tyrant.
Resurrection
In the year Kowa 2, one year after Zero Requiem, a resurrected Lelouch—his body recovered and his soul retrieved by C.C. from the collective unconscious—must use his returned Geass to save the kidnapped Nunnally from the warrior nation of Zilkhstan and its Geass-using royal family.
Technology and Society
The world diverges from our own due to the existence of Sakuradite, a fictional high-temperature superconductor mined in Japan, which enables powerful energy weapons, compact Knightmare Frames, and Float Systems while making nuclear technology non-existent.
Weapons like coilguns and physical blades remain common, and the social order under Britannia is a strict hierarchical aristocracy where competition is believed to drive progress.
The Power of Geass
The Geass is a supernatural ability granted by an immortal Code-bearer, manifesting differently based on the user's deepest desire. Lelouch’s power is the "Absolute Obedience," allowing him to command anyone he makes direct eye contact with, though he can only use it once per person.
Other Geass powers include Charles's ability to rewrite memories, Rolo's ability to freeze the perception of time in a radius around him, and Bismarck's ability to see brief moments into the future.
The power evolves with use, and if it matures to a certain point, the user can take on a Code, becoming immortal like C.C. and V.V.
Holy Britannian Empire
The world's dominant superpower, a monarchical empire occupying the entire American continent and numerous numbered colonies called Areas, with its capital in Pendragon.
It claims descent from a version of the British monarchy that fled to the New World after Napoleon's conquest, and its ideology of social Darwinism creates a sharp divide between nobles, commoners, and subjugated "Numbers" like the Japanese "Elevens."
The United Federation of Nations
Formed by Zero, this coalition centered on the United States of Japan and the United States of China serves as a democratic counterweight to Britannia, with the Black Knights acting as its stateless military force.
The Black Knights
Zero’s armed resistance group, which operates under a mantra of protecting the weak from the strong and acts as a vigilante force before evolving into a full-scale paramilitary organization with advanced Knightmare Frames like the Guren series.
Main Characters
Lelouch Lamperouge / Zero
The brilliant and vengeful protagonist, voiced by Jun Fukuyama. Once a powerless prince, he uses his strategic genius and the power of Geass to lead a rebellion, donning a mask to become Zero. Driven by love for his sister Nunnally, he walks a path as an anti-hero who will sacrifice anything to reshape the world.
Suzaku Kururugi
Lelouch's estranged childhood friend and idealistic foil, voiced by Takahiro Sakurai. As the son of Japan's last prime minister, he hopes to change the oppressive Britannian system by rising through its military ranks as an Honorary Britannian, making him the pilot of the experimental Lancelot and Zero’s greatest obstacle.
An immortal, green-haired witch voiced by Yukana, who gives Lelouch the Geass and becomes his closest confidante and "accomplice." Her true wish is to finally die, which she can only do by passing her Code to a matured Geass user, and she teases Lelouch endlessly with her love of pizza.
Black Knights
The fiery ace pilot of the Black Knights, voiced by Ami Koshimizu. Living a double life as the sickly Britannian student Kallen Stadtfeld, she is fiercely loyal to the Japanese cause and serves as Zero's personal guard, piloting the powerful Guren series to match the Lancelot in battle.
Kaname Ohgi
The compassionate and somewhat indecisive leader of the original resistance cell, voiced by Mitsuaki Madono. He serves as the Black Knights' deputy commander, often acting as a moral center but later becoming a catalyst for the group’s betrayal of Zero.
Kyoshiro Tohdoh
The stoic former Japanese general known for the "Miracle of Itsukushima," where his strategic brilliance defeated Britannian forces during the invasion. Now a master swordsman and Knightmare pilot, he leads the Black Knights' military operations with unshakeable resolve.
Kaguya Sumeragi
The young and spirited head of the Kyoto House, the group of former Japanese elites who secretly fund the Black Knights. She is a cheerful supporter of Zero, whom she affectionately calls her "husband," and later becomes a key political figure in the United Federation of Nations.
Britannian Royalty and Military
Nunnally Lamperouge / Nunnally vi Britannia
Lelouch's blind and wheelchair-bound younger sister, voiced by Kaori Nazuka. Her kind nature represents the peaceful world Lelouch strives to create, though she later becomes a political figure in her own right, serving as the Viceroy of Area 11 and eventually the 100th Empress.
Euphemia li Britannia
The idealistic and kind-hearted Third Princess, who falls in love with Suzaku and creates the Special Administrative Zone of Japan in a genuine attempt to achieve peace. Her tragic fate, caused by Lelouch's uncontrollable Geass, ignites the Black Rebellion and marks the story's point of no return.
Cornelia li Britannia
A brilliant and proud warrior princess and military commander, voiced by Junko Minagawa. She initially serves as Lelouch's chief antagonist in Area 11, relentlessly hunting Zero to avenge the murder of their brother Clovis, while secretly investigating the truth behind their mother's death.
Schneizel el Britannia
The charming and calculating Second Prince, who serves as the Prime Minister. Voiced by Norihiro Inoue, he is Lelouch's most formidable intellectual rival; his belief in forcing peace through sheer overwhelming force makes him the final obstacle, willing to use the F.L.E.I.J.A. to become a god of a new world order.
Jeremiah Gottwald
A fiercely loyal Pureblood knight whose obsession with honor leads him from being a laughingstock nicknamed "Orange" to a powerful ally of Lelouch. After being rebuilt as a cyborg, he gains a "Geass Canceller," an anti-Geass field that makes him a crucial asset in Lelouch's final plans.
Lloyd Asplund
An eccentric and amoral earl and scientist who leads the Advanced Special Envoy Engineering Corps, known as "Camelot." He treats war like a game to test his beloved mechanical creations, most notably the Lancelot, which he entrusts to Suzaku.
Cecile Croomy
Lloyd's kind-hearted and gentle assistant, voiced by Kikuko Inoue. She acts as a maternal figure for Suzaku, balancing Lloyd's inhumanity with genuine compassion and often serving as the moral conscience of the Camelot team.
Ashford Academy
The energetic and mischievous student council president, voiced by Sayaka Ohara. The granddaughter of the academy’s founder, she uses wild school-wide events to mask her rebellion against her family's aristocratic expectations and is one of Lelouch's oldest friends.
A cheerful and caring member of the swimming club, voiced by Fumiko Orikasa, who harbors a deep crush on Lelouch. Her life is tragically and repeatedly impacted by Geass and the chaos of the rebellion, making her a key symbol of the innocent lives caught in the crossfire.
Lelouch’s easygoing best friend at school, voiced by Noriaki Sugiyama, who is often seen with his motorcycle and provides Lelouch with much-needed, lighthearted normalcy away from his life as Zero.
Nina Einstein
A shy and meek science student with a phobia of Elevens, who channels her genius into nuclear physics. Voiced by Chiba Saeko, her obsessive adoration for Euphemia and her trauma from witnessing her death drives her to create the terrifying F.L.E.I.J.A. warhead.
The project was directed by Goro Taniguchi with a script by Ichiro Okouchi, and features original character designs by the manga artist group CLAMP.
The music was composed by Kotaro Nakagawa and Hitomi Kuroishi, with the first season featuring iconic opening themes like "COLORS" by FLOW and "Kaishou Meiro" by Jinn.
The series originally aired in Japan from October 2006 to September 2008, followed by a theatrical compilation trilogy in 2017-2018 and the sequel film Code Geass: Lelouch of the Re;surrection in 2019.
Tokyo Anime Award Festival 2007: Best TV Animation Award
Tokyo Anime Award Festival 2009: Best TV Animation Award, Best Screenplay (Ichiro Okouchi), Best Voice Actor (Jun Fukuyama)
12th & 13th Animation Kobe Awards: Best TV Animation Award
Japan Media Arts Festival: Recommended Works in the Animation Division for both seasons
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