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The second season of Code Geass was the first anime that I've watched week to week from the beginning. Prior to this, I had downloaded entire seasons and marathoned them until I had catched up with the releases. So, naturally, this has been quite the memorable experience for me.
When reviewing a series it's hard to determine how to gather up the entire experience and attach a number to it. Do you weigh every aspect of the show the same? Does personal emotion and satisfaction play a major part? Should one rank shows based on previous shows viewed (i.e. I gave show X an 8 so i must give show Y less)? Because of these variables I'll make sure to explain my scores to the best of my abilities and I'll be grading Code Geass independantly and not compare it to other series that I've seen.
Animation Quality
For the most part Code Geass was consistant with their animation. There were a few moments where character designs became inconsistant. One example that stands out is when Shirley slips off the ledge and Lelouche and Suzaku save her. In this scene, it looks like Lelouche has an extender arm that had doubled its length. For the most part though, the animation was consistant. During battle scenes there was never a significant drop off in quality or massively recycled scenes.
score: 7.5/10
Sound
This is by far the strongest point in Code Geass. The VA selection was fantastic. You could tell that this was a group of professionals with the emount of emotion and energy being channeled through the characters. A good example of this is during Lelouche's death scene, Nunally's VA did a phenominal job projecting her emotions.
The soundtrack is also one of the best I've heard. I must admit, none of the OPs or EDs really grew on me but to this day I still have background songs from season one stuck in my head.
score: 9/10
Characters
This section is where i really cant make up my mind. On one hand you have a group of dynamic characters who's growth is what really makes Code Geass. On the other hand, you have a few static characters who dont do much but fill their role nicely. On another.... foot? you have several characters who's development sort of falls off the earth.
The group of dynamic characters includes Lelouche, C.C., Villetta, Rolo, and Suzaku. These are the characters who are really developed the most throughout the story. Lelouche has a lot of depth in his character. Being the main character, he needs to be the most developed character and i think the writers really succeeded with him. C.C. could have been developed more for a major character but i think it was sufficient enough not to be seen as a weakness in the story. Viletta and Rolo were also very dynamic characters albeit minor ones.
The static characters include Kaguya, Tamaki, Lloyd, Cecile, Bartley, Mao, most of the black knights, etc. These characters were developed properly. They fit into the story nicely and werent overly ambitious with their characters. development was minimal as it should be. Mao especially did a great job in this area.
This third grouping was one area where Code Geass really failed. The sheer amount of characters in the story didn't allow for proper development for everyone of them. After Kallen was captured her development was over. Nothing ever came from Xingke's illness. Anya was used as a plot device and really nothing more. Nunally seemed to be nothing more than a FOIL for Lelouche. It seems that the writers had a lot planned with several characters that was left on the cutting room floor. There was a lot of development that went nowhere.
Score: 5/10
Script/Plot
Here you have a cohesive plot that was executed poorly. The acctual happenings in the story was good. The plot kept me entertained for its entire runtime. The dialogs/monologs (both internal and external) were well written and had purpose.
The pacing reminds me of myself when writing an in class essay. I have great ideas, start off strong, zone out for a few minutes and lose my train of thought, zone out some more, realize i only have 10 minutes left and try to rush to get all of my great ideas down. There were several streaks of good episodes with good pacing but then you get the zoning out points (love attack/ school based episodes or calm before the storm episodes) that left them with little time to provide all of the climax in a coherent way.
score: 5.5/10
Entertainment (probably going to skew the data)
Everything else aside, Code Geass was very entertaining and always left me wanting more. There was never a point during the series when i wished it was over or skipped through boring parts. It was the first time I've ever watched an episode of a show 3 or 4 times within a few hours/days to make sure i didnt miss anything or to relive my favorite moments. I always know when I've really enjoyed a show based on how i feel when its over. After watching the finale I couldnt sleep that night, Continued Story and Madder Sky have crept into my mind periodicly throughout the past week, and I still have a craving to rewatch the series. Despite all of the anxiety that comes with finishing the show, I also got piece of mind from Lelouche's DEATH and the epilouge. I'm pleased with the conclusion and the meaning that the writers were trying to convey.
score: 10/10
Overall Conventional Score: 6.75/10
Overall Score including enjoyment: 7.4/10
so 6.75-7.4. Prior to writing this review I was going to give it a 7.5-8 so I'm pretty pleased with myself. Of course if there is an OVA or DVD extra that improves development, this score could increase.
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