Forum - View topicREVIEW: Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion DVD 1-2
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Key
Moderator
 Posts: 18227 Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley) |
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Death Note was the very first series that popped into mind when watching this, around about episode 2, because Lelouch has a similar kind of god complex to Light and operates mostly by out-thinking everyone rather than through direct action. Granted, CG as a whole is a way different series, but there are definitely some parallels.
This paragraph here pretty much explains what I like about the series. Lelouch is such a bastard, but for all of his intelligence he doesn't always win and he doesn't regard everyone as expendable tools; the value and feelings he places on his sister and his friends somewhat redeems him, as can particularly be seen in later scenes involving Shirley. I have also come to like the relationship he has formed with C.C. over time. As for the dub? I haven't been that impressed with Johnny Yong Bosch, either (sounds too much like Ichigo), and I haven't even seen the sub. I like the rest of the performances, however, especially C.C. I think Carl is right on the money with these grades. I doubt I would have graded it differently had I done the review. |
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the Rancorous
 Posts: 2248 Location: Hunting the Dragon in Gransys |
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Yeah, Suzaku was never dead; either his CO was sloppy, or he never meant to kill him. As for C.C.; without ruining anything, I think it was made pretty clear from her little post-mortem conversation with Lelouch -- nevermind the containment unit she was housed in -- in the first episode that she isn't exactly normal.[/quote] If C.C. can bestow these extremely powerful and supernatural abilities on people (remember Mao if you've been watching it on AS), then I don't think coming back from a gunshot to the head would be too far of a stretch for such a character  .
I see Lelouch in the same way that I see Dr. House; I don't always like him, he oftentimes comes off as a complete arrogant prick, but I'm always very intrigued to see what he does next. Lelouch is definitely a pretty memorable character to me, he's one of the main reasons Ilike this show  .
Nice, honest review btw... |
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Xanas
Posts: 2058 |
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Isn't him "sounding like Ichigo" only a problem if you don't think Ichigo's voice goes particularly well here? And if that's the case I think this is a casting issue rather than a "JYB is a bad VA" issue.
JYB has never had as much range as some other VAs. I've always been able to detect him in every series, but I never considered that a bad thing as long as the role fit the voice he was doing. I really don't think he seemed out of character here, at least for the 3 episodes I have watched thus far. I certainly gained a lot more respect for Brad Swaile when he did Death Note, due to the contrast of his character there and in the first series I'd seen him in (Gundam Wing). That said, JYB has never shown that level of range and if anyone was wrong to put him in the spot it'd be whoever casted him in the role. I think he's done ok though personally, so I'm not sure I agree with those who dislike him. JYB may not have a lot of range, but I generally like his vocal quality and think he adds a fun feel to whatever he works in. I didn't watch this show in fansub though, but I'll rewatch in Japanese at a later point to see if it changes my mind at all. |
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maaya
Posts: 976 |
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No way, Eureka was mentioned already, and how about EVA and Bokurano? Also, the similarities aren't because of the mechas (only later on do they really get like Gundam), but because of the setting/characters. war between two "races", best childhood friends end up fighting on different sides, eventhough they actually don't want to fight each other + rebellion Tomboy (Cagalli/Kallen), pink-haired peace-loving princess. Personally I really felt like Sunrise recycled itself or rather its' characters (add Nina-psycho-lesbian like Tomoe from Mai Otome), at least at the beginning, later the similarities aren't as stricking anymore, apart from LuluxSuzu |
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marie-antoinette
 Posts: 4136 Location: Ottawa, Canada |
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I think Code Geass often has the same feel to it that Death Note has, which is the main reason for the comparison. And I definitely agree that early Lelouch reminded me a lot of Light, at least at the beginning, but as the series go on the two characters definitely diverge (though I still feel that there are some similarities and that, if put in each other's situations, the results may not be so different).
The best comparison I've always felt however is that Code Geass is Death Note meets V for Vendetta. With the latter being the stronger comparison of the two. |
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Kyogissun
 Posts: 676 |
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Let's get one thing out of the way, before anyone goes attacking Yuri Lowenthal on his performance, just stop. He has range, he has multiple character styles and there is a GOOD portion of times where I can't tell if he's voicing or not.
And really, it is an issue of "JYB was not the proper choice" simply on the fact that... He's just been in a lot of everything. We're getting too used to his voice. He's even voicing the male lead for Tales of Symphonia: Knights of Ratatoskr/Dawn of the New World so... We kinda just gotta get used to it. There isn't a wealthy supply of voice actors as people seem to think... Or at least, this is my presumption. I wish people would give the newly worked Ocean Group/Studios/whatever the name is of the place in canada, a better chance, after the cast they had for both Death Note AND the fresh, brand new cast for Higurashi, I really wanted to see where they were going... ...And then Geneon went under. ._. As for the whole view on the quality of content, I look at it this way: Did it pull a LOST and just COMPLETELY abandon previous plot ideas? No? Then just let it be. INCLUDING everything that has happened in Season 2 recently, there's a fairly well paved plot path. Things in this series WILL come to a conclusion and for a sci fi fanatic like me, I'm just enjoying every last bit of the fictional goodness. You can all call it a guilty pleasure all you want, I call it epic. |
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belvadeer
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Honestly, I've known Fukuyama's voice since Tales of Destiny 2 when he played Kyle Dunamis as well as Riku Tachibana in Onmyou Taisenki. So I'm trying to imagine him as Lelouch right this moment. Does it really fit? Kyle and Riku were kid-sized kids. He fit them well. But Lelouch is a bratty teenager. I'm still trying to get it in my head.
And I see the original vs. dub debate's embers are being poked at yet again. Please people, enough. |
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dtm42
Posts: 14084 Location: currently stalking my waifu |
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I agree. Fukuyama is clearly better, so why are we even debating this? |
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Verist
 Posts: 22 Location: Ft Lauderdale |
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I found the score to be lacking, and an interesting comparison would be their recent review of Guren Lagaan. How could they give Guren Lagaan a A- and Code Geass a B- in story portion of the scoring? I enjoyed Gurren Lagaan immensely, but I found the storytelling a bit juvenile compared to Code Geass. At least during the episodes that were reviewed.
Last edited by Verist on Sun Aug 31, 2008 9:33 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Wyvern
 Posts: 1568 |
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Maybe you haven't watched as much of the show as I have. Lelouch is completely in it to accomplish his own goals. He doesn't have a shred of compassion for Japan or its plight, he's just exploiting the Japanese cause to further his own agenda. He freely uses and exploits loyal members of his own organization, allies, enemies, and friends, to get what he wants. That's pretty psychopathic (a psychopath is generally defined as someone with abnormally low compassion and enmity.) Like Light, it can be argued he's doing the right thing. The Empire is clearly a violent entity and the man at its head is undeniably cruel and heartless. But also like Light, Lelouch is an ends-justify-the-means guy who tramples anyone in his path without a second thought. Just because he has one (and only one) person in the world he cares about, doesn't mean he's a nice guy. Actually, that's the thing I really like about Geass, which allows me to forgive most of its flaws: there are no real good guys in this story. Unlike nearly every "let's fight the big mean empire" story ever written, in this one the rebels are far from morally pure and EVERYONE has to make ethical compromises to get what they want. And at the same time, the majority of the imperials come off as morally complex people who can't easily be pinned down as evil. Many of them just seem like cogs in a machine, powerless to do anything about the empire's overall direction. In the end, the conflict taints the entire cast and no one comes out of it clean: just like a real war. |
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Key
Moderator
Posts: 18227 Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley) |
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Um, unless I missed something, this discussion was always about Johnny Yong Bosch, not Yuri Lowenthal. The former doesn't have that much of a range, and anyone who thinks he does needs to start citing examples of roles where he sounds dramatically different. The latter, IMO, has one of the broadest ranges of any male English VA working today.
Because CG tells a more complex story but not necessarily a better one. As juvenile as Gurren Lagann can be, it's always tremendous fun to watch and executes what it strives for extremely well; in fact, it's hard to imagine its writing doing what it's doing much better, hence the high grade. In the 17-18 episodes of CG that I've seen so far, it has shown flashes of brilliance in its writing (when Lelouch first uses his power, for instance - that moment sold me on watching the series because the first episode, until that point, had not impressed me) but rarely hits them or sustains them for long. It's not a bad series, but could certainly be so much better. |
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posterior_praiser
 Posts: 296 |
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Let's just clarify one thing: a protagonist is the main character, period. Not necesssarily 'the good guy'.
It only took me one episode of watching this series to know I wasnt going to 'like' Lelouch. I stopped watching because I don't like mecha, and Lelouch seemed like a huge jerk, and i wasnt sure i wanted to sit through any more of him. Lots of people talk about this series though, so i may give it another try. I also love Fukuyama Jun (even though i tend to associate him with the BL roles he's done  ) so i might try it again, despite the knowledge that Lelouch as a character doesnt get any more likeable.
Last edited by posterior_praiser on Sun Aug 31, 2008 9:38 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Big Hed
 Posts: 1607 Location: Melbourne, Australia |
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I also love both TTGL and Code Geass, but I agree -- more or less -- with the relative scoring given. The difference between Gurren Lagann and Code Geass is that while both shows are over the top, the former has an absolutely solid execution; the latter is a bit shaky at some points. TTGL always knows exactly how seriously to take itself, whereas sometimes Code Geass mixes in too much melodrama. My opinion, anyway. Add: Oops, Key beat me to it. @Wyvern: Actually, I'm just now downloading the 21st episode of R2.
I do agree with everything said here though, except I'd almost argue the opposite perspective; there are no real bad guys, save for the Emperor himself (well maybe one or two more, but whether or not that is the case is predicated on what happens in the final few episodes). This applies to Lelouch, too. Beyond this first block of episodes, I'd argue he is compassionate with regards to his subordinates, and it's shown that Lelouch thinks highly of at least some members of his senior staff (others he has a more personally...distant relationship with, but that has just as much to do with the nature of those individuals). Furthermore, Lelouch doesn't just care about Nunnally. At the very least he cares for Suzaku, Shirley, and his other friends back at Ashford. There are a couple more I'd mention, but that would be going into spoilers past episode 18, so I'm not bothered. I'd also say that in general, his seeming lack of compassion for the grunts in the Black Knights can be attributed to his position as strategic commander, which doesn't naturally afford him that luxury. And frankly, I think he normally does a pretty good job of watching out for them anyway. Not to say that Lelouch is perfect, though; Geass has clearly had an effect on who Lelouch is, because it has allowed ambitions that might never otherwise be fulfilled to have a chance at realization. Ironically, that includes the people of Japan, who I think he is about as compassionate for as anybody could be, and certainly in Lelouch's position. Though his root motivations for liberating Area 11 may be closely tied to Nunnally, I don't think that makes him selfish; as a single person, he's got to have some pretext for wanting to fight the largest empire on the planet. The fact that Lelouch has the balls to persevere I think speaks to him as a good person, even if he does have to be ruthless to accomplish goals at times -- after all, there are no completely good (or bad) guys, right? Okay, I'm out of things to say. My DVDs just got here, so I think I'll go and see what good ol' Johnny can do. |
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nightjuan
 Posts: 1473 |
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I think the grade could be slightly higher (not an A...more like a B+), happen to sympathize with Lelouch more than I ever did with Light and disagree with certain statements here and there, but the review as a whole is okay by me.
The English dub is fine and I have no real complaints, just some nitpicks here and there. Not a dub fan, but not a hater either. I can listen to it just fine, but won't do so often.
I'm not that interested in CLAMP per se, ironically enough, but they're not the ones who drew the first season's ending images. That was Kimura's work. |
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R315r4z0r
 Posts: 717 |
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Note that I didn't say "mecha" I said mech. Mecha being the type of series, in which it of course wont be like others. It would be like saying all Shonen are like DBZ. What I meant by saying that is that a show that has a mech is similar to other shows that have a mech, ie Gundam as an example. Just because the mech is different, doesn't take away from the fact that is a humanoid robot/walker piloted by a person. |
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