Lelouch Lamperouge
Encyclopedia
is the protagonist
and antihero of the Sunrise
anime
series Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion. Lamperouge is his assumed surname, while his real name is , son of the 98th Britannian Emperor. His seiyū
is Jun Fukuyama
, and his child self is voiced by Sayaka Ohara
. His English dub voice is provided by Johnny Yong Bosch
with Michelle Ruff
doing Lelouch's child voice.
had initially conceived of his hair color as being white. Ageha Ohkawa, head writer at CLAMP, said she had visualized him as being a character to which "everyone" could relate to as being "cool", literally, a "beauty". During the early planning stages for Lelouch's alter ego, Zero, CLAMP had wanted to create a mask never witnessed prior in any Sunrise series. While developing the character during the initial planning stages, the series' core staff at Sunrise, director Gorō Taniguchi
, writer Ichirō Ōkouchi
, and the production team discussed numerous possible influences for the character with CLAMP, such as KinKi Kids
and Tackey & Tsubasa.
It was during his stay at the Kururugi household that he first met Suzaku Kururugi
, with whom the young Lelouch did not interact initially in a friendly manner, before later becoming friends. However, when Britannia finally developed its Knightmare Frames, they decided to invade Japan to seize control of the Sakuradite mines, consequently discarding Lelouch's use as a diplomatic tool. Lelouch, fearing for his and his sister's safety, hid their true identities and sought the help of the Ashford family, who were his mother's allies.
His mother's death and his father's apparent apathy were huge blows to Lelouch. He always felt that it was unfair for both his mother and sister, and therefore made it his goal to pursue a better world for Nunnally
. He also seeks to discover the true reason for his mother's death, as she was murdered in the Aries Imperial Palace, a place terrorists would be unlikely to penetrate successfully without being noticed, if at all.
Lelouch possesses very strong philosophical beliefs: beliefs that define both his actions and his motivation for them. Perhaps his most notable is that he is against his father's beliefs of social Darwinism
. He believes the world can live in cooperation rather than competition and conflict. To achieve this aim, he believes that the ends justify the means; he is willing to commit evil if it means bringing down a worse evil in the process. Lelouch also has strong beliefs concerning death and killing. Notably, he states several times through the series his belief that "the only ones who should kill, are those who are prepared to be killed."
, whom he befriended after some initial animosity.
Following Britannia's invasion of Japan, Lelouch and Nunnally were forced to leave the Kururugi Shrine, taking refuge with the Ashford family, who were his mother's allies.
, he lives with his younger sister, Nunnally, and their maid, Sayoko Shinozaki, at a house situated within the compounds of Ashford Academy, where they are looked after by the Ashford family.
Lelouch accidentally boards a truck being used by Japanese resistance operatives. Within the truck is a capsule holding C.C.
, who sacrifices herself to save him from the military forces trying to recapture her. When it seems as if her sacrifice was pointless, C.C. suddenly touches his hand and offers him the "Power of the King", the mythical power of Geass. The Geass manifests itself in him as the power of absolute obedience, which allows him to make people obey his orders without question. He uses this power to order the Britannian soldiers to kill themselves.
With his new power, Lelouch begins his rebellion against the Empire, starting by killing his half-brother, Clovis, after extracting information about the murder of his mother, Marianne. He later forms the Order of the Black Knights and takes up the identity of Zero to lead them, becoming a revolutionary and gaining popular support amongst the people.
The turning point in his rebellion comes when Euphemia li Britannia declares the region under Mount Fuji the Special Administrative Zone of Japan, giving the Japanese people their name and country back, albeit in a much smaller area. This effectively destroys any possibility of the Black Knights' rebellion; acceptance would render them powerless and refusal would make them pariahs. Lelouch confronts her at the opening ceremony and tries to have her shoot him, hoping to make himself a martyr. When she says she plans to give up her royal title, he surrenders and agrees to work with her. However, at this moment his Geass permanently activates without him knowing, and an offhand comment about ordering her to kill the Japanese causes Euphemia to do just that. Lelouch reluctantly kills her and uses the massacre as an excuse to spark the Black Rebellion, in which he declares Japan to be an independent nation and leads an attack on the Tokyo Settlement. The attack goes well at first, but when Lelouch learns that Nunnally has been kidnapped, he abandons the battle, leaving his forces helpless against the better-organized Britannian military.
Lelouch makes his way to Kaminejima to search for Nunnally but is confronted by Suzaku. Suzaku exposes Zero as Lelouch to Kallen
as she attempts to protect him. Lelouch attempts to broker a truce for Nunnally's sake, but Suzaku is distraught over the death of Euphemia and refuses to listen.Lelouch draws his pistol and both he and Suzaku attempt to shoot one another.
assigned as Lelouch's younger brother. Lelouch's memories are restored by C.C., and he resumes leadership of the Black Knights.
When Nunnally is appointed as Governor of Area 11 and announces her plans to reestablish the Special Administrative Zone of Japan, Lelouch falls into depression since he would be impeding her wishes by continuing his rebellion. He nearly takes Refrain before Kallen stops him. With the help of Kallen and his friends at Ashford Academy, Lelouch realizes that his mission no longer revolves solely around Nunnally but concerns everyone. To solve both concerns, Lelouch engineers the legal exile of the Black Knights by getting the Britannians to agree to exile Zero in exchange for bringing one million participants for Nunnally's new Japan. By having all the participants (within include the Black Knights) dress as Zero, he forces Suzaku to exile them all rather than order a massacre.
The Black Knights escape to the Chinese Federation, where Lelouch begins forging an alliance with the other world powers to create a force that rivals Britannia. He starts by destabilizing the Chinese Federation, returning control to Empress Tianzi from the High Eunuchs. Kallen is captured during the battle, and Lelouch works to free her from their custody when he returns to Area 11 while having the Black Knights subdue any resistance.
During his time in Area 11, Lelouch is targeted by Jeremiah Gottwald, now an assassin for the Geass Order. Jeremiah unintentionally restores Shirley's memories in his search for Lelouch. After Lelouch discovers that Jeremiah's loyalty is to his mother Marianne and not to Britannia, he reveals to him his true identity as Marianne's son and gains his allegiance. Lelouch later finds Shirley, who has been shot by Rolo. Unable to directly retaliate against Rolo, a grief-filled Lelouch changes his plan to destroy the Geass Order instead: Jeremiah having provided him with the complex's location. During the assault, V.V.'s immortality is passed to the Emperor, and Lelouch learns the true nature of his contract with C.C., which is to take on her immortality as the Emperor has with V.V. However, C.C. has decided to spare him this fate by giving her immortality to the Emperor. Lelouch refuses to let her die unhappy and convinces her to live on, but the ordeal results in C.C. losing her memories of her life after gaining Geass.
Once Lelouch's new alliance, the United Federation of Nations, is formed, their first act is to liberate Japan. After learning that his father is still alive, Lelouch arranges a meeting with Suzaku in an attempt to convince him to help ensure Nunnally's safety. However, Schneizel's troops interrupt the meeting to arrest Lelouch, convincing him that Suzaku sold him out. Lelouch escapes with the help of Guilford, whom he used his Geass on earlier, and starts his attack on Tokyo while Rolo and Sayoko are sent in to retrieve Nunnally and Kallen. When Suzaku arrives in defense of the city, he attempts to warn Lelouch of the F.L.E.I.J.A. bomb, but Lelouch refuses to believe him. Suzaku is forced to fire it while under the influence of the command Lelouch placed on him, destroying a large portion of the Tokyo Settlement. When Nunnally is believed to be dead, Lelouch is heartbroken and jealous at Rolo. This is only made worse when Schneizel convinces the Black Knights to betray him using recorded evidence from his meeting with Suzaku that makes it appear he deliberately caused the massacre that started the Black Rebellion, with Lelouch lying about the Black Knights being his tools to get himself killed by them. After Rolo evacuates Lelouch at the cost of his own life, Lelouch admits that his previous outbursts were lies, since because everything he's done has been based on lies, that too must have been. Despite his sibling connection with Rolo being a lie, and having viewed him as nothing more than trash, Lelouch, in the end, values Rolo in the same regard as Nunnally and Shirley and buries him properly, placing upon his grave the locket that Rolo had always cherished.
Lelouch then decides to go to Kamine Island and defeat his father, using his Geass to cause an uprising among the Britannian military as cover, and uses a bomb to destroy the Thought Elevator while being trapped with the Emperor within the Sword of Akasha. Facing his father, Lelouch learns of the Emperor's full plan to destroy "God", C's World, the collective unconsciousness of all humanity, and remake the world without lies, thereby creating peace. He also learns the truth behind his mother's assassination, and that her soul lived on through the Geass power C.C. gave to her prior, as she inhabited Anya's body. Furthermore, every action Charles took since obtaining Geass was planned out to find C.C. and complete the Ragnarök Connection. Though conflicted at first, Lelouch realizes that their intentions are selfish as they put their plans first before the people, and the dead will be reunited with the living. Lelouch denounces his parents' new world as nothing but a retreat into a deluded past and concludes that what he wants for himself and the world is "tomorrow". Fully awakening his Geass, Lelouch's request causes C's World to sever the Ragnarök Connection and then absorb his parents, dissolving them into oblivion for their selfishness, in spite of Charles' final words to Lelouch that forsaking the world he envisioned would only make Schneizel's a reality. One month later, he installs himself as the 99th Emperor of Britannia and appoints Suzaku as his "Knight of Zero" to set the stage for their plan, Zero Requiem.
As Emperor, Lelouch establishes himself as an ally of justice, dismantling the Britannian class system and freeing every colony (thereby abolishing the concept of "Numbers") while resorting to repression against those who may oppose him. However, the seemingly benevolent acts are a smokescreen for his intention to take over the world, as part of the Zero Requiem. After disposing of the last Britannian resistance, and knowing he has to act before Schneizel makes his move, Lelouch announces that Britannia intends to join the U.F.N. As she escorts him to the meeting, Kallen tries to confront him about what she means to him along the way, but Lelouch remains silent on the matter, even when she kisses him, not wanting to involve her. She bids him farewell when it becomes clear he will not respond, and Lelouch does the same once she walks away. At the meeting, Lelouch takes the council members hostage after it is revealed that Britannia's large population would give him a majority voting block. This brings him into conflict with Schneizel and the Black Knights, the former bringing his F.L.E.I.J.A.-equipped floating fortress Damocles into the battle. The biggest surprise comes when Nunnally is revealed to be alive and declares herself to be his enemy. Though initially reluctant, Lelouch is convinced that he must fight her for the sake of his plan. After successfully deploying a countermeasure to the F.L.E.I.J.A with Suzaku's help, he is able to board the Damocles and outwit Schneizel in his escape shuttle, placing him under a Geass command to serve Zero.
When Lelouch comes to retrieve the F.L.E.I.J.A. control key from Nunnally, she reveals that she somehow managed to overcome her blindness, caused by the effects of their father's Geass, through her own willpower, as well as her plan to turn Damocles into a symbol of hatred that would unite the world. After hearing this, Lelouch uses his Geass to force her to relinquish the key, thus putting Damocles under his control. With no one left capable of opposing him, Lelouch becomes the ruler of the world. Two months later, Lelouch arranges for the public execution of the Black Knight leaders and the U.F.N. representatives. Suzaku, disguised as Zero, interrupts and stabs Lelouch through the stomach, this being the culmination of the Zero Requiem as they had planned. Lelouch gives his life to create a more peaceful world as the only hated one left was Lelouch himself. Lelouch gives Suzaku a final order: to discard his old identity and play the role of Zero for the rest of his life. Lelouch declares in his final breath that he has destroyed the world and created it anew.
The aftermath is narrated by Kallen, who states that Lelouch's actions did improve the world after he became the main focus of the people's hatred, even though certain problems may still remain during the reconstruction. C.C. makes one last remark during the final scene of the series addressed to Lelouch.
Lelouch could initially toggle Geass activation at will, but subsequently loses this control. In the second season, C.C. gives Lelouch a contact lens that blocks his Geass, but indicates that his Geass will eventually grow powerful enough to render it ineffective. This occurs when Lelouch's Geass evolves to cover his other eye in episode 21 of the second season, but he receives a second contact to compensate.
Of all the Geass abilities in the series, Lelouch's has been explored the most, as Lelouch takes time to experiment with his Geass soon after he acquires it. Because of his thorough research, more specifics are known about Lelouch's Geass than with any other: including its side effects and limitations.
So long as the above conditions are met, commands may be issued to anybody (including the user himself), besides those who have gained the power of immortality, and to any number of individuals at once. Those under the effect of Geass are signified by a red outline on their irises, presumably a visual cue for the viewer since the characters never point it out. After his Geass evolves, eye-contact is no longer necessary and the maximum effective range is increased.
-level intellect, and is capable of devising and executing strategies with incredible speed and precision. Rolo notes that operating the Absolute Defense Field of the Shinkirō requires complex calculations which he cannot perform, while Lelouch almost makes it look easy. Lelouch is also charismatic and persuasive; as Zero, he is able to win the support of much of Japan's population through well-delivered speeches combined with his ability to make miracles in almost any situation through his superior strategic planning.
-based control system of the Shinkirō.
Lelouch is shown to be very talented at domestic skills such as cooking and sewing; it has been stated that this comes as a result of his taking care of himself and Nunnally for seven years. He serves as the cook for parties held by the Student Council, both because the others (except Milly) are terrible cooks and nobody else can meet his exacting requirements (such as measuring ingredients to three significant decimals).
Prior to Suzaku's arrival at Ashford Academy, Lelouch piloted the Ganymede Knightmare Frame during school festivals, and thus is capable of proficiently handling a Knightmare. He rarely battles opponents one on one, instead usually attacking with coordinated groups or using clever deceptions to gain an advantage. Pilots such as Suzaku and Cornelia, both of whom are masterful Knightmare pilots and usually pilot more advanced Knightmares than his own, are commonly able to overwhelm him in single combat. Lelouch is typically accompanied by Kallen, who serves as his personal guard. After stealing the Gawain, Lelouch co-pilots it with C.C., controlling the weapons and command functions while C2 handles navigation and flight. After the Black Knights are exiled from Japan, Lelouch pilots the Shinkirō, which has the most powerful defense of any Knightmare, but it requires his level of intellect to perform the complex calculations needed for this defense to be effective. This near-impenetrable defense allows him to hold his own against even the members of the Knights of the Round during the second battle of Tokyo.
and PlayStation Portable
, there are a several different endings and clips of Lelouch that involve the main character, Rai. In the first scene of the game, Lelouch, along with Milly, were the first people Rai meets when he entered the school before he went unconscious. After Rai woke up several days later, Lelouch immediately had doubts about him and was shocked that Milly made him a student, but was reluctant to accept him.
On day 8 in the morning, Lelouch approached Rai and asked him a question involving on what he thinks about the Settlement of Area 11 and his reason for it. If the player chooses to say its dangerous, Lelouch becomes curious and asked why, which Rai replied its unsafe for anyone to live as people are killed daily and the weak usually suffers, which Lelouch agrees and both commented about the Black Knights as allies of the weak. If the player chooses to say its peaceful, Lelouch becomes shocked and commented about the terrorists and military being killed every day. If the player chooses to say he does not know, Lelouch thought it was Rai's state of amnesia, but Rai explains the viewpoint on both the Britannian side and the Eleven side are completely different, and commented that since Rai is from neither group is the reason he gave his answer. Rai's comment has surprised Lelouch and immediately agrees with him since the Britannian's live in the settlement and the Elevens live in the Ghetto, and also commented on how the Empire consumes most of the occupied region, while the Elevens are being ruled over. This led to both Lelouch and Rai agreeing the Empire's state of affairs must not continue. Lelouch then thanked Rai for their conversation and left the classroom feeling pleased.
On day 11 on midday, Lelouch spotted Rai while he and Nunnally were on the rooftop of Ashford Academy talking about Euphemia and revealing themselves of their royal birthright. With their identity exposed, Lelouch was prepared to use his Geass on Rai and erase all of his memory, but Nunnally prevented him from doing so and trust him with their secret. This prompt Lelouch to reveal their identity as Britannian royalties, including their mother's death and their friendship with Suzaku after being sent to Japan. Fearing that he would cause trouble and betray Nunnally's trust if his memory was ever returned, Lelouch was requested by Rai to kill him with his geass, which he refused as his death would make Nunnally sad.
If the player decides to use Rai's Geass on Suzaku to make him join the Black Knights, Lelouch becomes angry, having wanted Suzaku to join him of his own accord, and uses his Geass to put Rai into an eternal sleep, resulting in a game over.
If the player follows the Blue Moon route and makes Rai and Nunnally fall in love, Lelouch will be reluctant to accept their relationship and will be with them during their first date, watching them closely as they go visit the Ashford Academy's garden.
If the player chooses to pursue Lelouch as a best friend, successful ending scenes will vary depending on which route the player is on. For example, in the Geass route, Lelouch and Rai both learn of each other's pasts and identities. Though they ultimately cannot be together, Lelouch discovers that Rai is all too much like himself, and understands him because of it. The Black Knight route involves Zero asking Rai to join him permanently in his fight against Britannia. Rai refuses, interpreting the words as an order, upon which Zero finally reveals his true identity as Lelouch and asks that the player join him not as a pawn, but an equal and true partner.
In the Geass route ending, Lelouch, as Zero, met with Rai and was shocked when he told him he's leaving the Black Knights. When Zero wish to know the reason, Rai told him he does not have long to live, unknown to him his Geass went out of control. This led to Zero telling Rai to see Rakshata to help him with his illness, which Rai replied he will think about, and left thanking him. After Rai sealed himself within the Through Elevator and used his Geass to erase his existence, a scene shows Lelouch seeing a spark of light flowing though the sky from out the window in sadness. The next scene later shows the student council preparing for the school festival. When Lelouch talks about Milly's performance he suddenly spoken out to someone, Milly to question who he was speaking to, which Lelouch does not know but felt he knew someone was missing.
In the Black Knight route, Lelouch as Zero was met with Kallen who he heard about the incident in Shinjuku and was told about Rai and his pilotting skills, which got him interested and wanting to know more.
Later in his room, Lelouch thinks about the perspective involving Rai and was curious about his personality and does not considers him a Britannian soldiers nor has there been any search for him. However he noted his Knightmare piloting skills and his judgement to think about the situation, which furthered his ambition to recruit him.
, Lelouch makes an appearance in his Knightmare Frame, Shinkirō.
In an alternative event of R2, Lelouch ordered the Black Knights to take one million Japanese and escapes to the Chinese Federation. However a group of Britannian soldiers are in pursuit, and plans a surprise attack on them. Later in an alternative event of episode 11, Lelouch as Zero was in a middle of a battle against the Chinese Federation for kidnapping Tianzi and won after exposing the eunuches plot and had them killed in their command ship. They are later confronted by the Britannian military forces led by Schneizel, along with the Knight of Rounds, Suzaku, Gino, Anya, and Luciano in their respected Knightmares. As the two sides prepare to fight each other an unknown black hole suddenly appeared and sucked all sides in, except for the Black Knight's flagship, Ikaruga, and a Britannian carriership with Schneizel inside, who both manage to escape.
Lelouch, along with Kallen and C.C., have arrived in Planet and suddenly appeared in a desert, were they witness a traces of a bonfire being spoted a ruined city. The group later entered a ruined dome, where they were approached by an unknown units, later revealing themselves to be Sousuke Sagara
, Melissa Mao
, and Kurz Weber
from the Full Metal Panic!
series in their respected Arm Slave
. The two side begun attacking each other, believing each other to be the enemy, until a group of SPR Icon units appeared and starts attacking them, causing both sides to work together and successfully defeated them. They later meet a second group consists of mechs from both Super Dimension Century Orguss and Overman King Gainer
, with Olson D. Verne in his Orguss II unit speaking on behalf to join forces, in exchange for information. Lelouch who is also speaking on behalf of his group accepted his offer.
As the group come to a truce and decide to work together, they later encountered Suzaku, in his Lancelot, along with the Avalon. Lelouch tried to convince him that they are not here to fight and asked to cooperate with them, but Suzaku refused and prepared to attack, but was interrupted by the arrival of a group of SPR forces and a defense arms. The girl in the defense arm introduces herself as Spring One and offers to guide them through this world because she feels sorry for them. However she is easily seen through by Zero, and he rejects it. In reply, Spring begun the attack on Zero's group, while the group was ordered by Zero to defend the Avalon. As a large number of SPR fleet arrived after Spring's escape, the SMS Macross Quarter from the Macross Frontier
series arrived, along with the Ark Alpha, and wiped out all of the remaining fleet. Lelouch and the group were surprised by its transformation and was contacted by Jeffrey Wilder, Captain of the Macross Quarter, confirming Lelouch's suspicion as their allies and decided to join them with the group, along with Suzaku who also agreed.
Lelouch and his group had eventually side with Autumn Four and boarded on her ship, were he had met with Suzaku, along with Lloyd and Cecile, who had also side with Autumn, leading both to had a small quarrel but eventually put their differences aside. Later in the briefing room, after Autumn confessed to memory loss, he met with Autumn alone and revealed himself as Lelouch to her and used Geass on her to unlock her memories for answers, but was shocked when it did not have any effect on her. Autumn, aware of what he was doing, tells him that he and the others will be ready for their next mission and left. Lelouch has started to become fascinated with Autumn as his Geass did not work on her. Later in one of the missions, Lelouch and the others fought against Spring One in her Core unit, Sea Plant, which Autumn later delivered the final blow in her Core unit, Alpha Heart, causing Spring to escape. With many of the group starting to have doubts about Autumn, Lelouch question if she is really human, which she confirmed is true - that she was an android.
Later the Ark Alpha crew arrived at a Geo Plant facility station, and Lelouch was surprised by the appearance of Bonta-Kun, which took down two large Icon's easily. After passing through different levels, they encountered Cynthia Lane of Trans-Siberian Railway is blocked with Asuham Boone in front of them, from Overman King Gainer
, and Zero notice Cynthia has lost the will to fight, leading Asuham Boone to attack and was defeated. This led Asuham to retreat, and the crew let Gainer convinced Cynthia to join them.
Crew of Ark Alpha succeed in the invasion to the centre of Geo Plant. However, Anti-U.N. forces and Summer One waited for them there. Summer One speaks the reason why there is no human in planet Area to them before the fight. Autumn believes that Ark Alpha is the hope of mankind, but Summer confirms that the humans have been destroyed at the Seasons hands, which has shocked the rest of the Ark-Alpha crew and begun attacking him in his Geo Breaker. As Summer One made his escape after his defeat and the collapse of the Geo Plant, Autumn went and secures data from Geo Breaker and request everyone to escape, believing that it would help them. Impressed with her determination, Lelouch assisted her and protected her from the falling debris with the others clear a path for her escape.
Near the end of the game, the rest of the group fought once more against the first three Seasons in their respective Plants. Winter then activated the ACE system, but was surprised that it would not work, and the group were later surprised as Winter was taken over an unknown entity, who revealed himself as Doctor Shiki, whom they then fought in Winter's Core unit, Four Seasons. As the group manage to defeat him, Doctor Shiki escape and both Autumn Four and Lelouch went after him. As Autumn was about to kill him, Doctor Shiki revealed that his death will destroy Eria, which Lelouch then confronts him, thinking his death would save Planet Area, and realises Doctor Shiki's mind is connected to Winter's artificial brain. Lelouch then used his Geass on Doctor Shiki to suffer an eternal nightmare, causing him to suffer an immediate breakdown and collapsed, and escape with Autumn Four. System ACE was later activated and Autumn Four suppressed the black hole being expanded and opens the gate, leading the group to return to their own world. As Lelouch and the others return to their world in the Chinese Federation, he request to Suzaku that the two would speak. The two had a brief conversation and went to there separate ways, with Lelouch knowing that they will be enemies again.
Lelouch is set to appear in the spin-off
with his Shinkiro.
After the Purity League and Clovis's forces were defeated, Lelouch reappeared in the Governor General's office as Zero (in a suit of armour) and unharmed as Clovis fired his gun at him, but Lelouch proceeds in killing Clovis and written with his blood the Kanji words "Tenchu" on the wall. He later made contact with Ohgi's resistance group and propose an allegiance. After the Lake Kawaguchi incident, Lelouch saved most of the hostages and Kallen from a rogue group of the Japanese Liberation Front and killed the groups leader, Kusakabe, while a Knightmare battle involving the Mark Nemo defeating both the Brittanian and Japanese forces and battling one of the Irregulars Alpha units was in progress. He later revealed to the media his own version of the Black Knights and declare war on Britannia.
In the battle against Brittanian's forces in the Saitama ghetto, Lelouch confronts Cornelia while easily shutting down both Darlton and Guilford Knightmare's power supply and used his ability to force her out from her Knightmare, completely injuring her. He demanded information from her of the Emperor and his knights, which Cornelia finds amusing for him to oppose the Emperor himself but refused by trying to kill herself which Lelouch was about to prevent her. However he was confronted by Suzaku in his Lancelot Knightmare and kicked him on to a truck but survived the attack, much to the shock from Cornelia, and the two battled each other. Lelouch fought against Suzaku, with the same fighting style as his, but was surprised that his abilities was negated and wonders if he's a Geass user and prepares to release his full power, however he retreated when he sensed Nunnally in trouble. He manages to arrived on time to prevent the Irregulars attack and teleported with her in the Mark Nemo. He later revealed himself to Nunnally and told her not to abuse the power, but also revealed that he is Zero and demands that Nunnally that she no longer fight with Mark Nemo before giving her a paper crane and leave.
Later at the Battle of Narita, Lelouch begins his operation against Cornelia's forces, who had already begun its assault against the JLF base, leaving her exposed for the Black Knights and wiped out half of her forces using the Avalanche stragety. Lelouch late took down Guilford and confront Cornelia. Lelouch begun his assault using his D.O.M. Hostia ability, but Cornelia manage to avoided and fired missiles at him, but has completely underestimated him and Lelouch has stopped them instantly and quickly defeated her from behind. As he prepares to finish her off, Lelouch was once again interrupted by Suzaku in his Lancelot. The two both battled and Lelouch questioned Suzaku about his power as a Wired and was not satisfied, which Suzaku did not understand, leaving Lelouch to use his ability and reveal to him the history of his power involving Jeanne D'Arc. He also revealed to Suzaku that he has made a contract with C.C. and became Zero, which has shocked Suzaku, and offers him to be his ally so they can build a gentler world for Nunnally. However he refused, believing him to be the which in the form of Lelouch and attacks him in rage. Lelouch was surprised that Suzaku's power had increased since their last battle and had managed to defeat him, but was interrupted by the arrival of Mark Nemo, who he warns her to get away. Later an unknown unit fired a Hadron Cannon on the battle field, in the middle of a battle between Nunnally's Mark Nemo and Alice's Alpha, and Lelouch suspect that it is his younger brother, Rolo Vi Britannia.
After the battle of Narita, Lelouch went to the Governor General building and appeared in his normal form to meet with Suzaku, who brought out his gun and sword at him, and revealed to him that the pilot of Mark Nemo who is in custody of "The Eden Vital Religious Order" is Nunnally, which has completely shocked him in disbelief, and request to him that they both must rescue her from execution, which he now agrees and pass the information to Euphemia. Both Lelouch and Suzaku arrived in time to prevent Nunnally's execution and manage to save her, but are confronted by both Rolo and Anya in their Knightmare Frames. Lelouch fought against Rolo, but was surprised that he used Quantum Shift to summon his Knightmare Frame, Vincent, and revealed himself as the Demon King before entering in his Knightmare. This forced Lelouch to use his Quantum Shift to summon his Knightmare, Gawain, and fought. Lelouch fired his Hadron Cannon at him, but Rolo used his Geass to destroy his Gawain and witness Suzaku being defeated by Anya. They later saw Alice, who Lelouch knows that she made a contract with Nemo and witness her summoned her Knightmare, Code Geass, and defeated Anya in the process. He later escape after Alice used her Knightmare's power to bring down the entire facility, knowing Nunnally being safe with her, and manage to save Suzaku.
After the Emperor, Charles zi Britannia, declares the Holy Nation of Eden Vital, Lelouch ordered the Black Knights to break free Suzaku and Euphemia, with Cornelia, Guilford, Lloyed, and Cecil, with Kaguya and the members of the Kyoto House to continue their negotiation. With the two sides coming to an agreement with the condition that Euphemia becomes the new ruler of Britannia, Lelouch has ordered to fight along side Britannia, against Charles and the Holy Nation of Eden Vital. When both forces of the Black Knights and Britannnia head towards Kamineji Island, Lelouch and Suzaku both fought against an army of zombified Knightmares and the undead Knight of the Rounds, until they all died from the Emperor's defeat.
After the Emperor's defeat and Zero's death was announced, Lelouch appeared in front of Suzaku and Euphemia to bid them farewell as it is his last day as Lelouch. He then meets with Nunnally, who is now a goodwill ambassador of Japan, and discuss about their Geass. Lelouch then discuss that from Nunally's Geass, "The Zero", he had been freed from C.C.'s duties by death, as her soul now returned to Eden Vital and has been made as her successor like many others before her and all the Geass that she bestowed upon have now disappeared. They also discuss about Nunnally's vision's of alternative realities, one reality of which is the event of the anime, and was furious that she did not accept the mother and father's plan, but acknowledges her dream for a peaceful world, to which he gave her a hug and bids farewell before saying her brother will still love her. At the conclusion of the story, Lelouch inherits C.C.'s name and immortality, becoming C.C. The Demon King and goes forth to spread Geass and to promote conflict around the world.
In the manga spin-off series, Lelouch obtain his geass in the same way as in the anime series, except that his Geass symbol is slightly rendered. When Suzaku enrolls as a student at Ashford Academy, Lelouch becomes angry at the teachers and student who look down at Suzaku for being an Eleven. Growing more annoyed at Suzaku preventing him from help with the latter, fearing that his reputation could be affected and his identity as a Britannian Prince exposed.
After becoming the masked man Zero and forming the Black Knights, Lelouch has more trouble leading the Black Knights than in other adaptations. This is mainly because many of the Black Knights are not loyal to Zero and often split off into renegade factions or act without his knowledge. Lelouch is held responsible for a terrorist attack that was specifically aimed Mariel Lubie and her father when a Black Knights faction had gone renegade without following his instructions. He later comes across the mysterious Lancelot, later discovering to his shock that it was in fact Suzaku.
He later went to kill his father, but only to discover that he was already killed by his stepbrother, Schneizel, and wounded him before having his identity known by Suzaku. However, it is later revealed to be Schneizel's scheme to get Lelouch executed and to take C.C.'s Code. Near the end of the manga, Lelouch tries to use his Geass on Schneizel, but the latter punctures his left eye, leaving him never to use his Geass again. As the manga ends five years later, Lelouch is shown with his left eye covered by a portion of his hair.
The Code Geass manga follows the same basic plot as the anime, but with several differences. Knightmares do not exist. As for Lelouch's character, he is still the same as he was in the anime. He takes on the identity Zero, but largely focuses on his activities with the Black Knights.
In Tales of an Alternate Shogunate, set in 1853 at the Bakumatsu Era, Lelouch is the commander of the military counterinsurgence brigade known as the Shinsengumi, formed under the orders of the Shogunate to fight the rebel group known as the Black Revolutionaries, but was secretly the leader of that group as Zero and has gained information from within. The event is set in Kyoto, and had recently acquired his geass from C.C. and stole Britannian's new Knightmare, Gawain.
The rest of the group escape to the clubhouse and discuss their situation in the student council room, but Lelouch however thought of a plan to defeat them with everyone's help. Both He and C.C. went out to confront the two soldiers, and had used his Geass on them to lock themselves in the Bathrooms, rather than having them kill each other, preventing any bloodshed being made in the school.
Lelouch later rendezvoused with Rolo, along with the group and walked down the south hall. He received a call from Kallen, but was shocked that it was the eunuch and had captured both Suzaku and Kallen and request that they meet in the schools chapel. The group arrived and confronted the eunuchs, demanding to know where Kallen and Suzaku are, to which he revealed that they are in a vase. The group did not take it seriously, but C.C. recognize it and reveal it to be a mystic item known as the "Thousand-man Silver Vase", an item Charles had collected. The leader then used it on Nunnally and C.C, to which Lelouch and the group was shocked that there souls was absorbed and there body was left unconscious. While Lelouch figures out a way to defeat him, he realises that the vase only absorbs one soul per use and decides to don his Zero persona for his plan. As the eunuchs prepares to use his vase, Lelouch ordered Rolo to use his Geass to stop time, then Lelouch used his Geass on the students to wear the mask of Zero and got Rolo to release his, causing the vase to overload and explode, releasing all the souls and returned to their bodies and defeating the eunuch.
In the aftermatch, Lelouch prepares to say goodbye as his body starts disappearing and left an inspiring speech for each of them before saying thanks to everyone.
's top 25 anime characters list. Editor Chris Mackenzie commented, "he [Lelouch] never did a damned thing halfway, and he made Code Geass a heck of a ride all the way to the end." Lelouch was chosen as the most popular male character of 2006, 2007 and 2008 at Animage magazine and Newtype magazine named him the best anime male character of the decade. He was chosen the most popular male character of 2006, 2007, and 2008 at Animage
magazine's annual Anime Grand Prix. His seiyū Jun Fukuyama
also won the "Best Actor in a Leading Role" award for his portrayal of the character at the first Seiyū Awards
in 2007. Fukuyama's work as Lelouch's voice actor also lead him to win the Tokyo International Anime Fair
in the category "Best Voice Actor".
Critics for anime and manga series have also commented on Lelouch's character. Anime News Network
's Carl Kimlinger stated that Lelouch "is hard to like" because of his narcissistic personality, but noted that his bonds with Nunnally and his friends make up for that. Bamboo Dong from the site agreed with Kimlinger because of Lelouch's arrogance but at the same time commented that such traits made him interesting to watch. Mostly positive response was given by Danielle Van Gorder from Mania Entertainment due to Lelouch's differences from most of anime's protagonists and how his double life as a Zero and as a student is shown across the series. Chris Beveridge from the same site praised Lelouch's actions in R2 when he becomes Britannia's Emperor, describing him as "the classic angle of the villain with good motives" because of the dangerous actions he does for a greater good. Beveridge also commented on his confrontations with Scheizel and Nunnally, mentioning the rivalry across the series in the former and citing the latter as heartbreaking. IGN compared him with Death Note
s Light Yagami
and the Count of Monte Cristos Edmond Dantès
due to his double life and his quest for revenge, respectively. The double life aspect has also been praised due to how such change also differetiates the show's tone from a high school comedy to an action show, and how he "winds-up" between his two selves. Moreover, his reasons for evil actions have also been found to help viewers to like the character. Also from IGN, Ramsey Isler found Lelouch's double life trait as rather comical as after short prologue of his role as Zero in an episode, he is seen doing homework at school for being absent to classes. Kevin Leathers from UK Anime Network enjoyed Lelouch's personality as his cold persona made the series "refreshing" from other mecha anime. Johnny Yong Bosch
's role as Lelouch English voice actor has also been praised due to how Lelouch's villany and youth characteristics are portrayed.
Protagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
and antihero of the Sunrise
Sunrise (company)
is a Japanese animation studio and production enterprise. It is a subsidiary of Namco Bandai Holdings. Its former name was Nippon Sunrise, and prior to that, Sunrise Studios...
anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
series Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion. Lamperouge is his assumed surname, while his real name is , son of the 98th Britannian Emperor. His seiyū
Seiyu
Voice acting in Japan has far greater prominence than in most other countries. Japan's large animation industry produces 60% of the animated series in the world; as a result, Japanese voice actors, or , are able to achieve fame on a national and international level.Besides acting as narrators and...
is Jun Fukuyama
Jun Fukuyama
is a voice actor. He was previously represented by Aoni Production and Production Baobab, and is now represented by . In 2007, he won the first Seiyu Awards for the best actor in leading role as Lelouch Lamperouge in Code Geass...
, and his child self is voiced by Sayaka Ohara
Sayaka Ohara
is a Japanese voice actress. She is currently affiliated with Tokyo Actor's Consumer's Cooperative Society. She is a graduate of Aoyama Gakuin University's Department of Literature. Her nickname is...
. His English dub voice is provided by Johnny Yong Bosch
Johnny Yong Bosch
Johnny Yong Bosch is an American actor, voice actor, martial artist, and musician.He may be best known for portraying Adam Park in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, and being the English voice of Ichigo Kurosaki in the hit anime series Bleach, Vash the Stampede in Trigun and Lelouch Lamperouge in Code...
with Michelle Ruff
Michelle Ruff
Michelle Suzanne Ruff is an American voice actress known for her work in anime and video games.-Anime roles:* Angel Tales - Akane the fox* Ai Yori Aoshi - Aoi Sakuraba* Arc the Lad - Meril...
doing Lelouch's child voice.
Character planning history
While first designing the concept art design for Lelouch, the series' original character designers CLAMPClamp (manga artists)
, is an all-female Japanese manga artist group that formed in the mid 1980s. Many of the group's manga series are often adapted into anime after release. It consists of their leader , who provides much of the storyline and screenplay for all their works and adaptations of those works respectively ,...
had initially conceived of his hair color as being white. Ageha Ohkawa, head writer at CLAMP, said she had visualized him as being a character to which "everyone" could relate to as being "cool", literally, a "beauty". During the early planning stages for Lelouch's alter ego, Zero, CLAMP had wanted to create a mask never witnessed prior in any Sunrise series. While developing the character during the initial planning stages, the series' core staff at Sunrise, director Gorō Taniguchi
Goro Taniguchi
is a Japanese anime director, writer, producer and storyboard artist, who is among Sunrise's noted new directors.-TV anime:*Zettai Muteki Raijin-Oh...
, writer Ichirō Ōkouchi
Ichiro Okouchi
is a Japanese screenwriter and novelist. He is a graduate of Waseda University, School of Human Sciences.In 2006, Ōkouchi collaborated with director Gorō Taniguchi for composing the story and script of the Sunrise original production, Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion and its sequel Code Geass:...
, and the production team discussed numerous possible influences for the character with CLAMP, such as KinKi Kids
KinKi Kids
is a Japanese duo consisting of Koichi Domoto and Tsuyoshi Domoto under the talent agency Johnny & Associates. Although the members share the same surname, the only relation they have to each other is that they both hail from the Kinki region, hence the duo's name....
and Tackey & Tsubasa.
Character outline
Lelouch was born on December 5, 1999 a.t.b a.t.b. as Lelouch vi Britannia the son of the Emperor of Britannia, Charles zi Britannia, and the late Imperial Consort Marianne, making Lelouch the Eleventh Prince of the Holy Britannian Empire. He was seventeenth in line to Imperial throne prior to his mother's assassination, an event which also left his sister blind and crippled. A ten year old Lelouch confronted the Emperor afterward and accused him of leaving his mother defenseless, even going as far as renouncing his entitlement to the throne. In response, his father banished him to Japan, where he was used as a political hostage in the Sakuradite conflict.It was during his stay at the Kururugi household that he first met Suzaku Kururugi
Suzaku Kururugi
is a fictional character of the Sunrise anime series, Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion. He is voiced by Takahiro Sakurai, while his child self is voiced by Akeno Watanabe. In the English dub, he is voiced by Yuri Lowenthal and his child self is voiced by Laura Bailey.-Character outline:Suzaku...
, with whom the young Lelouch did not interact initially in a friendly manner, before later becoming friends. However, when Britannia finally developed its Knightmare Frames, they decided to invade Japan to seize control of the Sakuradite mines, consequently discarding Lelouch's use as a diplomatic tool. Lelouch, fearing for his and his sister's safety, hid their true identities and sought the help of the Ashford family, who were his mother's allies.
His mother's death and his father's apparent apathy were huge blows to Lelouch. He always felt that it was unfair for both his mother and sister, and therefore made it his goal to pursue a better world for Nunnally
Nunnally Lamperouge
is a fictional character in the Sunrise anime series, Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion. She is Lelouch Lamperouge's wheelchair-using younger sister. Her real name is . Her seiyū is Kaori Nazuka. In the English dub, she is voiced by Rebecca Forstadt...
. He also seeks to discover the true reason for his mother's death, as she was murdered in the Aries Imperial Palace, a place terrorists would be unlikely to penetrate successfully without being noticed, if at all.
Lelouch possesses very strong philosophical beliefs: beliefs that define both his actions and his motivation for them. Perhaps his most notable is that he is against his father's beliefs of social Darwinism
Social Darwinism
Social Darwinism is a term commonly used for theories of society that emerged in England and the United States in the 1870s, seeking to apply the principles of Darwinian evolution to sociology and politics...
. He believes the world can live in cooperation rather than competition and conflict. To achieve this aim, he believes that the ends justify the means; he is willing to commit evil if it means bringing down a worse evil in the process. Lelouch also has strong beliefs concerning death and killing. Notably, he states several times through the series his belief that "the only ones who should kill, are those who are prepared to be killed."
Character history
Lelouch is the handsome and intelligent son of the Emperor of Britannia, Charles zi Britannia, and the late Imperial Consort Marianne vi Britannia as well as the Eleventh Prince of the Holy Britannian Empire. After the assassination of his mother and the crippling of his sister, Nunnally, he confronted his father over his apparent lack of concern. Offended by his impudence, the Emperor exiled them both to Japan. In Japan, Lelouch spent his days with his sister at the Kururugi Shrine and met Suzaku KururugiSuzaku Kururugi
is a fictional character of the Sunrise anime series, Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion. He is voiced by Takahiro Sakurai, while his child self is voiced by Akeno Watanabe. In the English dub, he is voiced by Yuri Lowenthal and his child self is voiced by Laura Bailey.-Character outline:Suzaku...
, whom he befriended after some initial animosity.
Following Britannia's invasion of Japan, Lelouch and Nunnally were forced to leave the Kururugi Shrine, taking refuge with the Ashford family, who were his mother's allies.
First season
Lelouch is introduced in the first episode of the series as a student of Ashford Academy, where he is a member of its student council. A brilliant thinker who is quite talented at chessChess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
, he lives with his younger sister, Nunnally, and their maid, Sayoko Shinozaki, at a house situated within the compounds of Ashford Academy, where they are looked after by the Ashford family.
Lelouch accidentally boards a truck being used by Japanese resistance operatives. Within the truck is a capsule holding C.C.
C.C. (Code Geass)
is a fictional character and the tritagonist in the Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion anime series by Sunrise. C.C. is not her real name; she involuntarily reveals her real name to Lelouch in her sleep, but it is muted so the viewer cannot hear it. Her seiyū is Yukana while she is voiced by...
, who sacrifices herself to save him from the military forces trying to recapture her. When it seems as if her sacrifice was pointless, C.C. suddenly touches his hand and offers him the "Power of the King", the mythical power of Geass. The Geass manifests itself in him as the power of absolute obedience, which allows him to make people obey his orders without question. He uses this power to order the Britannian soldiers to kill themselves.
With his new power, Lelouch begins his rebellion against the Empire, starting by killing his half-brother, Clovis, after extracting information about the murder of his mother, Marianne. He later forms the Order of the Black Knights and takes up the identity of Zero to lead them, becoming a revolutionary and gaining popular support amongst the people.
The turning point in his rebellion comes when Euphemia li Britannia declares the region under Mount Fuji the Special Administrative Zone of Japan, giving the Japanese people their name and country back, albeit in a much smaller area. This effectively destroys any possibility of the Black Knights' rebellion; acceptance would render them powerless and refusal would make them pariahs. Lelouch confronts her at the opening ceremony and tries to have her shoot him, hoping to make himself a martyr. When she says she plans to give up her royal title, he surrenders and agrees to work with her. However, at this moment his Geass permanently activates without him knowing, and an offhand comment about ordering her to kill the Japanese causes Euphemia to do just that. Lelouch reluctantly kills her and uses the massacre as an excuse to spark the Black Rebellion, in which he declares Japan to be an independent nation and leads an attack on the Tokyo Settlement. The attack goes well at first, but when Lelouch learns that Nunnally has been kidnapped, he abandons the battle, leaving his forces helpless against the better-organized Britannian military.
Lelouch makes his way to Kaminejima to search for Nunnally but is confronted by Suzaku. Suzaku exposes Zero as Lelouch to Kallen
Kallen Stadtfeld
is a fictional character in the Sunrise anime series Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion. She is legally known by this name, and goes by this name at school, but prefers her mother's maiden surname, using during her revolutionary activities. Ami Koshimizu won "Best Actress in supporting role" for...
as she attempts to protect him. Lelouch attempts to broker a truce for Nunnally's sake, but Suzaku is distraught over the death of Euphemia and refuses to listen.Lelouch draws his pistol and both he and Suzaku attempt to shoot one another.
Second season
A year after the Black Rebellion, Lelouch is once again a student at Ashford Academy. Following their attempt to kill one another at the end of the first season, Suzaku captured Lelouch and turned him over to the Emperor. The Emperor used his Geass to rewrite Lelouch's memories, removing any knowledge of Zero, Nunnally, or his royal heritage. The student body's memories were also rewritten by the Emperor to maintain the lie, with Rolo LamperougeRolo Lamperouge
is a fictional character in the Sunrise anime series Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion R2. His seiyū is Takahiro Mizushima, while he is voiced by Spike Spencer in the English dub.-Character outline:...
assigned as Lelouch's younger brother. Lelouch's memories are restored by C.C., and he resumes leadership of the Black Knights.
When Nunnally is appointed as Governor of Area 11 and announces her plans to reestablish the Special Administrative Zone of Japan, Lelouch falls into depression since he would be impeding her wishes by continuing his rebellion. He nearly takes Refrain before Kallen stops him. With the help of Kallen and his friends at Ashford Academy, Lelouch realizes that his mission no longer revolves solely around Nunnally but concerns everyone. To solve both concerns, Lelouch engineers the legal exile of the Black Knights by getting the Britannians to agree to exile Zero in exchange for bringing one million participants for Nunnally's new Japan. By having all the participants (within include the Black Knights) dress as Zero, he forces Suzaku to exile them all rather than order a massacre.
The Black Knights escape to the Chinese Federation, where Lelouch begins forging an alliance with the other world powers to create a force that rivals Britannia. He starts by destabilizing the Chinese Federation, returning control to Empress Tianzi from the High Eunuchs. Kallen is captured during the battle, and Lelouch works to free her from their custody when he returns to Area 11 while having the Black Knights subdue any resistance.
During his time in Area 11, Lelouch is targeted by Jeremiah Gottwald, now an assassin for the Geass Order. Jeremiah unintentionally restores Shirley's memories in his search for Lelouch. After Lelouch discovers that Jeremiah's loyalty is to his mother Marianne and not to Britannia, he reveals to him his true identity as Marianne's son and gains his allegiance. Lelouch later finds Shirley, who has been shot by Rolo. Unable to directly retaliate against Rolo, a grief-filled Lelouch changes his plan to destroy the Geass Order instead: Jeremiah having provided him with the complex's location. During the assault, V.V.'s immortality is passed to the Emperor, and Lelouch learns the true nature of his contract with C.C., which is to take on her immortality as the Emperor has with V.V. However, C.C. has decided to spare him this fate by giving her immortality to the Emperor. Lelouch refuses to let her die unhappy and convinces her to live on, but the ordeal results in C.C. losing her memories of her life after gaining Geass.
Once Lelouch's new alliance, the United Federation of Nations, is formed, their first act is to liberate Japan. After learning that his father is still alive, Lelouch arranges a meeting with Suzaku in an attempt to convince him to help ensure Nunnally's safety. However, Schneizel's troops interrupt the meeting to arrest Lelouch, convincing him that Suzaku sold him out. Lelouch escapes with the help of Guilford, whom he used his Geass on earlier, and starts his attack on Tokyo while Rolo and Sayoko are sent in to retrieve Nunnally and Kallen. When Suzaku arrives in defense of the city, he attempts to warn Lelouch of the F.L.E.I.J.A. bomb, but Lelouch refuses to believe him. Suzaku is forced to fire it while under the influence of the command Lelouch placed on him, destroying a large portion of the Tokyo Settlement. When Nunnally is believed to be dead, Lelouch is heartbroken and jealous at Rolo. This is only made worse when Schneizel convinces the Black Knights to betray him using recorded evidence from his meeting with Suzaku that makes it appear he deliberately caused the massacre that started the Black Rebellion, with Lelouch lying about the Black Knights being his tools to get himself killed by them. After Rolo evacuates Lelouch at the cost of his own life, Lelouch admits that his previous outbursts were lies, since because everything he's done has been based on lies, that too must have been. Despite his sibling connection with Rolo being a lie, and having viewed him as nothing more than trash, Lelouch, in the end, values Rolo in the same regard as Nunnally and Shirley and buries him properly, placing upon his grave the locket that Rolo had always cherished.
Lelouch then decides to go to Kamine Island and defeat his father, using his Geass to cause an uprising among the Britannian military as cover, and uses a bomb to destroy the Thought Elevator while being trapped with the Emperor within the Sword of Akasha. Facing his father, Lelouch learns of the Emperor's full plan to destroy "God", C's World, the collective unconsciousness of all humanity, and remake the world without lies, thereby creating peace. He also learns the truth behind his mother's assassination, and that her soul lived on through the Geass power C.C. gave to her prior, as she inhabited Anya's body. Furthermore, every action Charles took since obtaining Geass was planned out to find C.C. and complete the Ragnarök Connection. Though conflicted at first, Lelouch realizes that their intentions are selfish as they put their plans first before the people, and the dead will be reunited with the living. Lelouch denounces his parents' new world as nothing but a retreat into a deluded past and concludes that what he wants for himself and the world is "tomorrow". Fully awakening his Geass, Lelouch's request causes C's World to sever the Ragnarök Connection and then absorb his parents, dissolving them into oblivion for their selfishness, in spite of Charles' final words to Lelouch that forsaking the world he envisioned would only make Schneizel's a reality. One month later, he installs himself as the 99th Emperor of Britannia and appoints Suzaku as his "Knight of Zero" to set the stage for their plan, Zero Requiem.
As Emperor, Lelouch establishes himself as an ally of justice, dismantling the Britannian class system and freeing every colony (thereby abolishing the concept of "Numbers") while resorting to repression against those who may oppose him. However, the seemingly benevolent acts are a smokescreen for his intention to take over the world, as part of the Zero Requiem. After disposing of the last Britannian resistance, and knowing he has to act before Schneizel makes his move, Lelouch announces that Britannia intends to join the U.F.N. As she escorts him to the meeting, Kallen tries to confront him about what she means to him along the way, but Lelouch remains silent on the matter, even when she kisses him, not wanting to involve her. She bids him farewell when it becomes clear he will not respond, and Lelouch does the same once she walks away. At the meeting, Lelouch takes the council members hostage after it is revealed that Britannia's large population would give him a majority voting block. This brings him into conflict with Schneizel and the Black Knights, the former bringing his F.L.E.I.J.A.-equipped floating fortress Damocles into the battle. The biggest surprise comes when Nunnally is revealed to be alive and declares herself to be his enemy. Though initially reluctant, Lelouch is convinced that he must fight her for the sake of his plan. After successfully deploying a countermeasure to the F.L.E.I.J.A with Suzaku's help, he is able to board the Damocles and outwit Schneizel in his escape shuttle, placing him under a Geass command to serve Zero.
When Lelouch comes to retrieve the F.L.E.I.J.A. control key from Nunnally, she reveals that she somehow managed to overcome her blindness, caused by the effects of their father's Geass, through her own willpower, as well as her plan to turn Damocles into a symbol of hatred that would unite the world. After hearing this, Lelouch uses his Geass to force her to relinquish the key, thus putting Damocles under his control. With no one left capable of opposing him, Lelouch becomes the ruler of the world. Two months later, Lelouch arranges for the public execution of the Black Knight leaders and the U.F.N. representatives. Suzaku, disguised as Zero, interrupts and stabs Lelouch through the stomach, this being the culmination of the Zero Requiem as they had planned. Lelouch gives his life to create a more peaceful world as the only hated one left was Lelouch himself. Lelouch gives Suzaku a final order: to discard his old identity and play the role of Zero for the rest of his life. Lelouch declares in his final breath that he has destroyed the world and created it anew.
The aftermath is narrated by Kallen, who states that Lelouch's actions did improve the world after he became the main focus of the people's hatred, even though certain problems may still remain during the reconstruction. C.C. makes one last remark during the final scene of the series addressed to Lelouch.
Geass
Lelouch's Geass, given to him by C.C., grants him "the power of absolute obedience," allowing him to plant commands within a person's mind upon eye contact which they will obey without question. Activation of his Geass is visually represented by the manifestation of a Geass sigil in his left eye. Commands dictated in this state are written into the minds of anyone who makes eye contact.Lelouch could initially toggle Geass activation at will, but subsequently loses this control. In the second season, C.C. gives Lelouch a contact lens that blocks his Geass, but indicates that his Geass will eventually grow powerful enough to render it ineffective. This occurs when Lelouch's Geass evolves to cover his other eye in episode 21 of the second season, but he receives a second contact to compensate.
Of all the Geass abilities in the series, Lelouch's has been explored the most, as Lelouch takes time to experiment with his Geass soon after he acquires it. Because of his thorough research, more specifics are known about Lelouch's Geass than with any other: including its side effects and limitations.
- Commands must be issued verbally.
- Eye contact, either direct or via a reflective surface, is required for commands to be issued. Eye contact through a screen or sensor (such as those on Knightmares) is insufficient. The maximum effective distance is 270 meters.
- Commands may be issued only once to any given individual, but any number of commands may be issued at initial application so long as eye contact is unbroken. In addition, the commands apparently never wear off so long as the conditions still apply. Since Jeremiah's Geass Canceler negates all Geass effects, those exposed to it may be commanded once again.
- Commands are limited to what the victim is physically and mentally capable of, though they will try to carry out the command to the best of their ability. For example, a victim will not be able to correctly answer a question they do not know the answer to, but will direct the user to someone who can if they are able. The victim can, however, be commanded into an induced belief (such as forgetting things or hallucinatingHallucinationA hallucination, in the broadest sense of the word, is a perception in the absence of a stimulus. In a stricter sense, hallucinations are defined as perceptions in a conscious and awake state in the absence of external stimuli which have qualities of real perception, in that they are vivid,...
) even though this is not normally biologically possible. - The victim's memories for the duration of command issue and execution are sealed and cannot be recalled, thus anyone affected by the power will not be able to remember anything they did while carrying out the command or who ordered them to do it.
- Though a victim with strong will may resist a command at first, they will eventually submit.
So long as the above conditions are met, commands may be issued to anybody (including the user himself), besides those who have gained the power of immortality, and to any number of individuals at once. Those under the effect of Geass are signified by a red outline on their irises, presumably a visual cue for the viewer since the characters never point it out. After his Geass evolves, eye-contact is no longer necessary and the maximum effective range is increased.
Intellect
Even without his Geass, Lelouch is a formidable opponent. He is highly intelligent, possessing a geniusGenius
Genius is something or someone embodying exceptional intellectual ability, creativity, or originality, typically to a degree that is associated with the achievement of unprecedented insight....
-level intellect, and is capable of devising and executing strategies with incredible speed and precision. Rolo notes that operating the Absolute Defense Field of the Shinkirō requires complex calculations which he cannot perform, while Lelouch almost makes it look easy. Lelouch is also charismatic and persuasive; as Zero, he is able to win the support of much of Japan's population through well-delivered speeches combined with his ability to make miracles in almost any situation through his superior strategic planning.
Physical
Physically, Lelouch is underwhelming. He possesses the physical prowess of a teenager who engages in little strenuous physical activity. Thus, one of Lelouch's traits is the inability to run very fast for any substantial period of time. Within the series, this is usually played for comedic effect, as Lelouch is constantly outpaced by his classmates in every situation, and even the most simple tasks requiring manual labor exhaust him before he manages to accomplish anything significant. This joke is taken to its logical conclusion in the second season, where it is revealed that Lelouch is supposed to attend remedial physical education classes, but skips them as often as possible. This creates problems when Sayoko poses as Lelouch: she is a master of martial arts, and hence far more athletic than Lelouch himself. However, Lelouch does display above average hand-eye coordination, both with firearms and the keyboardKeyboard (computing)
In computing, a keyboard is a typewriter-style keyboard, which uses an arrangement of buttons or keys, to act as mechanical levers or electronic switches...
-based control system of the Shinkirō.
Prior to Suzaku's arrival at Ashford Academy, Lelouch piloted the Ganymede Knightmare Frame during school festivals, and thus is capable of proficiently handling a Knightmare. He rarely battles opponents one on one, instead usually attacking with coordinated groups or using clever deceptions to gain an advantage. Pilots such as Suzaku and Cornelia, both of whom are masterful Knightmare pilots and usually pilot more advanced Knightmares than his own, are commonly able to overwhelm him in single combat. Lelouch is typically accompanied by Kallen, who serves as his personal guard. After stealing the Gawain, Lelouch co-pilots it with C.C., controlling the weapons and command functions while C2 handles navigation and flight. After the Black Knights are exiled from Japan, Lelouch pilots the Shinkirō, which has the most powerful defense of any Knightmare, but it requires his level of intellect to perform the complex calculations needed for this defense to be effective. This near-impenetrable defense allows him to hold his own against even the members of the Knights of the Round during the second battle of Tokyo.
Lost Colors
In Code Geass: Lost Colors, the video game for the PlayStation 2PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
and PlayStation Portable
PlayStation Portable
The is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004...
, there are a several different endings and clips of Lelouch that involve the main character, Rai. In the first scene of the game, Lelouch, along with Milly, were the first people Rai meets when he entered the school before he went unconscious. After Rai woke up several days later, Lelouch immediately had doubts about him and was shocked that Milly made him a student, but was reluctant to accept him.
On day 8 in the morning, Lelouch approached Rai and asked him a question involving on what he thinks about the Settlement of Area 11 and his reason for it. If the player chooses to say its dangerous, Lelouch becomes curious and asked why, which Rai replied its unsafe for anyone to live as people are killed daily and the weak usually suffers, which Lelouch agrees and both commented about the Black Knights as allies of the weak. If the player chooses to say its peaceful, Lelouch becomes shocked and commented about the terrorists and military being killed every day. If the player chooses to say he does not know, Lelouch thought it was Rai's state of amnesia, but Rai explains the viewpoint on both the Britannian side and the Eleven side are completely different, and commented that since Rai is from neither group is the reason he gave his answer. Rai's comment has surprised Lelouch and immediately agrees with him since the Britannian's live in the settlement and the Elevens live in the Ghetto, and also commented on how the Empire consumes most of the occupied region, while the Elevens are being ruled over. This led to both Lelouch and Rai agreeing the Empire's state of affairs must not continue. Lelouch then thanked Rai for their conversation and left the classroom feeling pleased.
On day 11 on midday, Lelouch spotted Rai while he and Nunnally were on the rooftop of Ashford Academy talking about Euphemia and revealing themselves of their royal birthright. With their identity exposed, Lelouch was prepared to use his Geass on Rai and erase all of his memory, but Nunnally prevented him from doing so and trust him with their secret. This prompt Lelouch to reveal their identity as Britannian royalties, including their mother's death and their friendship with Suzaku after being sent to Japan. Fearing that he would cause trouble and betray Nunnally's trust if his memory was ever returned, Lelouch was requested by Rai to kill him with his geass, which he refused as his death would make Nunnally sad.
If the player decides to use Rai's Geass on Suzaku to make him join the Black Knights, Lelouch becomes angry, having wanted Suzaku to join him of his own accord, and uses his Geass to put Rai into an eternal sleep, resulting in a game over.
If the player follows the Blue Moon route and makes Rai and Nunnally fall in love, Lelouch will be reluctant to accept their relationship and will be with them during their first date, watching them closely as they go visit the Ashford Academy's garden.
If the player chooses to pursue Lelouch as a best friend, successful ending scenes will vary depending on which route the player is on. For example, in the Geass route, Lelouch and Rai both learn of each other's pasts and identities. Though they ultimately cannot be together, Lelouch discovers that Rai is all too much like himself, and understands him because of it. The Black Knight route involves Zero asking Rai to join him permanently in his fight against Britannia. Rai refuses, interpreting the words as an order, upon which Zero finally reveals his true identity as Lelouch and asks that the player join him not as a pawn, but an equal and true partner.
In the Geass route ending, Lelouch, as Zero, met with Rai and was shocked when he told him he's leaving the Black Knights. When Zero wish to know the reason, Rai told him he does not have long to live, unknown to him his Geass went out of control. This led to Zero telling Rai to see Rakshata to help him with his illness, which Rai replied he will think about, and left thanking him. After Rai sealed himself within the Through Elevator and used his Geass to erase his existence, a scene shows Lelouch seeing a spark of light flowing though the sky from out the window in sadness. The next scene later shows the student council preparing for the school festival. When Lelouch talks about Milly's performance he suddenly spoken out to someone, Milly to question who he was speaking to, which Lelouch does not know but felt he knew someone was missing.
In the Black Knight route, Lelouch as Zero was met with Kallen who he heard about the incident in Shinjuku and was told about Rai and his pilotting skills, which got him interested and wanting to know more.
Later in his room, Lelouch thinks about the perspective involving Rai and was curious about his personality and does not considers him a Britannian soldiers nor has there been any search for him. However he noted his Knightmare piloting skills and his judgement to think about the situation, which furthered his ambition to recruit him.
Another Century's Episode: R
In the video game series, Another Century's Episode: RAnother Century's Episode: R
, abbreviated as A.C.E.: R, is a mecha action video game developed by From Software and published by Banpresto and Namco Bandai. It was released for the PlayStation 3 on August 19, 2010...
, Lelouch makes an appearance in his Knightmare Frame, Shinkirō.
In an alternative event of R2, Lelouch ordered the Black Knights to take one million Japanese and escapes to the Chinese Federation. However a group of Britannian soldiers are in pursuit, and plans a surprise attack on them. Later in an alternative event of episode 11, Lelouch as Zero was in a middle of a battle against the Chinese Federation for kidnapping Tianzi and won after exposing the eunuches plot and had them killed in their command ship. They are later confronted by the Britannian military forces led by Schneizel, along with the Knight of Rounds, Suzaku, Gino, Anya, and Luciano in their respected Knightmares. As the two sides prepare to fight each other an unknown black hole suddenly appeared and sucked all sides in, except for the Black Knight's flagship, Ikaruga, and a Britannian carriership with Schneizel inside, who both manage to escape.
Lelouch, along with Kallen and C.C., have arrived in Planet and suddenly appeared in a desert, were they witness a traces of a bonfire being spoted a ruined city. The group later entered a ruined dome, where they were approached by an unknown units, later revealing themselves to be Sousuke Sagara
Sousuke Sagara
is a fictional character and the main protagonist in the light novel, manga, and anime series Full Metal Panic!. He was portrayed by Tomokazu Seki in the original anime and by Chris Patton in the English dub.-Overview:...
, Melissa Mao
Melissa Mao
is a fictional character from the light novel, manga, and anime series Full Metal Panic! Her voice was provided by Michiko Neya in the original anime and by Allison Keith in the English dub.- Overview :...
, and Kurz Weber
Kurz Weber
is a character from the light novel, manga, and anime series Full Metal Panic!. He was voiced by Shin-ichiro Miki in the original and by Vic Mignogna in the English dub.-Overview:...
from the Full Metal Panic!
Full Metal Panic!
is an ongoing series of light novels written by Shoji Gatoh and illustrated by Shiki Douji. The series follows Sousuke Sagara, a member of the covert anti-terrorist private military organization known as Mithril, tasked with protecting Kaname Chidori, a spirited Japanese high school girl.Individual...
series in their respected Arm Slave
Arm Slave
Arm Slaves are fictional mecha from the light novel, manga, and anime series Full Metal Panic!. These huge and tall robots are used primarily by military forces in the Full Metal Panic! universe, most especially by MITHRIL and Amalgam.-Overview:...
. The two side begun attacking each other, believing each other to be the enemy, until a group of SPR Icon units appeared and starts attacking them, causing both sides to work together and successfully defeated them. They later meet a second group consists of mechs from both Super Dimension Century Orguss and Overman King Gainer
Overman King Gainer
is a TV anime series, created by Sunrise. Directed by longtime animator Yoshiyuki Tomino, the creator of the Gundam series, written by Ichirō Ōkouchi, and featuring character designs by Yoshihiro Nakamura, Kinu Nishimura and Ken'ichi Yoshida, the series ran from September 7, 2002 to March 22, 2003...
, with Olson D. Verne in his Orguss II unit speaking on behalf to join forces, in exchange for information. Lelouch who is also speaking on behalf of his group accepted his offer.
As the group come to a truce and decide to work together, they later encountered Suzaku, in his Lancelot, along with the Avalon. Lelouch tried to convince him that they are not here to fight and asked to cooperate with them, but Suzaku refused and prepared to attack, but was interrupted by the arrival of a group of SPR forces and a defense arms. The girl in the defense arm introduces herself as Spring One and offers to guide them through this world because she feels sorry for them. However she is easily seen through by Zero, and he rejects it. In reply, Spring begun the attack on Zero's group, while the group was ordered by Zero to defend the Avalon. As a large number of SPR fleet arrived after Spring's escape, the SMS Macross Quarter from the Macross Frontier
Macross Frontier
is a Japanese animated science fiction space drama that aired in Japan on MBS from April 3, 2008 to September 25, 2008. It is the most recent Japanese anime television series set in the Macross universe. Animated by Satelight, premiered Japan on MBS on April 3, 2008...
series arrived, along with the Ark Alpha, and wiped out all of the remaining fleet. Lelouch and the group were surprised by its transformation and was contacted by Jeffrey Wilder, Captain of the Macross Quarter, confirming Lelouch's suspicion as their allies and decided to join them with the group, along with Suzaku who also agreed.
Lelouch and his group had eventually side with Autumn Four and boarded on her ship, were he had met with Suzaku, along with Lloyd and Cecile, who had also side with Autumn, leading both to had a small quarrel but eventually put their differences aside. Later in the briefing room, after Autumn confessed to memory loss, he met with Autumn alone and revealed himself as Lelouch to her and used Geass on her to unlock her memories for answers, but was shocked when it did not have any effect on her. Autumn, aware of what he was doing, tells him that he and the others will be ready for their next mission and left. Lelouch has started to become fascinated with Autumn as his Geass did not work on her. Later in one of the missions, Lelouch and the others fought against Spring One in her Core unit, Sea Plant, which Autumn later delivered the final blow in her Core unit, Alpha Heart, causing Spring to escape. With many of the group starting to have doubts about Autumn, Lelouch question if she is really human, which she confirmed is true - that she was an android.
Later the Ark Alpha crew arrived at a Geo Plant facility station, and Lelouch was surprised by the appearance of Bonta-Kun, which took down two large Icon's easily. After passing through different levels, they encountered Cynthia Lane of Trans-Siberian Railway is blocked with Asuham Boone in front of them, from Overman King Gainer
Overman King Gainer
is a TV anime series, created by Sunrise. Directed by longtime animator Yoshiyuki Tomino, the creator of the Gundam series, written by Ichirō Ōkouchi, and featuring character designs by Yoshihiro Nakamura, Kinu Nishimura and Ken'ichi Yoshida, the series ran from September 7, 2002 to March 22, 2003...
, and Zero notice Cynthia has lost the will to fight, leading Asuham Boone to attack and was defeated. This led Asuham to retreat, and the crew let Gainer convinced Cynthia to join them.
Crew of Ark Alpha succeed in the invasion to the centre of Geo Plant. However, Anti-U.N. forces and Summer One waited for them there. Summer One speaks the reason why there is no human in planet Area to them before the fight. Autumn believes that Ark Alpha is the hope of mankind, but Summer confirms that the humans have been destroyed at the Seasons hands, which has shocked the rest of the Ark-Alpha crew and begun attacking him in his Geo Breaker. As Summer One made his escape after his defeat and the collapse of the Geo Plant, Autumn went and secures data from Geo Breaker and request everyone to escape, believing that it would help them. Impressed with her determination, Lelouch assisted her and protected her from the falling debris with the others clear a path for her escape.
Near the end of the game, the rest of the group fought once more against the first three Seasons in their respective Plants. Winter then activated the ACE system, but was surprised that it would not work, and the group were later surprised as Winter was taken over an unknown entity, who revealed himself as Doctor Shiki, whom they then fought in Winter's Core unit, Four Seasons. As the group manage to defeat him, Doctor Shiki escape and both Autumn Four and Lelouch went after him. As Autumn was about to kill him, Doctor Shiki revealed that his death will destroy Eria, which Lelouch then confronts him, thinking his death would save Planet Area, and realises Doctor Shiki's mind is connected to Winter's artificial brain. Lelouch then used his Geass on Doctor Shiki to suffer an eternal nightmare, causing him to suffer an immediate breakdown and collapsed, and escape with Autumn Four. System ACE was later activated and Autumn Four suppressed the black hole being expanded and opens the gate, leading the group to return to their own world. As Lelouch and the others return to their world in the Chinese Federation, he request to Suzaku that the two would speak. The two had a brief conversation and went to there separate ways, with Lelouch knowing that they will be enemies again.
Lelouch is set to appear in the spin-off
Another Century's Episode Portable
, abbreviated as A.C.E. P, is a mecha action video game developed by From Software and published by Banpresto and Namco-Bandai. It was released for the PlayStation Portable on January 13, 2011.-Featured Series/Units:* Blue Comet SPT Layzner...
with his Shinkiro.
Super Robot Wars Z 2 Hakai-Hen
Lelouch and the rest of the Code Geass R1 cast make their debut to the Super Robot Wars franchise in this game, using their R1 Knightmares. Lelouch (or more accurately, Zero) quickly comes into conflict with Kamina of Gurren Lagann fame for Kamina's reckless heroism and defying common sense, while Kamina calls Lelouch out on his scheming and tells him to face his problems like a man. Lelouch's civilian persona later comes into conflict with Kamina in a more humorous event when Kamina aggressively joins the hunt for Arthur the cat, who has stolen Lelouch's Zero mask. Lelouch is armed with a special command ability that can provide stat buffs for the player units.In printed adaptations
Nightmare of Nunnally starts with Lelouch walking in the Shinjuku ghetto, after having defeated a noble in chess and leaving behind Rivals, he encountered a runaway truck being crashed and proceeds in helping the driver of the truck. He asks the injured driver if he's alright and replied about the cargo, were a capsule has fallen out and opens, revealing C.C. and a mysterious doll, Nemo, but later he encountered a group of Sutherlands preparing to attack but retreats in the last minute. When Lelouch questions why, the driver revealed that the girl is not an ordinary human and was later shocked when the driver revealed that the Purity League plans to destroy the ghetto. Lelouch run away with C.C. after the driver apologizes for getting him involved, but was caught by a falling debris, which forced both C.C. and Nemo to activate their powers before the area they are in was destroyed.After the Purity League and Clovis's forces were defeated, Lelouch reappeared in the Governor General's office as Zero (in a suit of armour) and unharmed as Clovis fired his gun at him, but Lelouch proceeds in killing Clovis and written with his blood the Kanji words "Tenchu" on the wall. He later made contact with Ohgi's resistance group and propose an allegiance. After the Lake Kawaguchi incident, Lelouch saved most of the hostages and Kallen from a rogue group of the Japanese Liberation Front and killed the groups leader, Kusakabe, while a Knightmare battle involving the Mark Nemo defeating both the Brittanian and Japanese forces and battling one of the Irregulars Alpha units was in progress. He later revealed to the media his own version of the Black Knights and declare war on Britannia.
In the battle against Brittanian's forces in the Saitama ghetto, Lelouch confronts Cornelia while easily shutting down both Darlton and Guilford Knightmare's power supply and used his ability to force her out from her Knightmare, completely injuring her. He demanded information from her of the Emperor and his knights, which Cornelia finds amusing for him to oppose the Emperor himself but refused by trying to kill herself which Lelouch was about to prevent her. However he was confronted by Suzaku in his Lancelot Knightmare and kicked him on to a truck but survived the attack, much to the shock from Cornelia, and the two battled each other. Lelouch fought against Suzaku, with the same fighting style as his, but was surprised that his abilities was negated and wonders if he's a Geass user and prepares to release his full power, however he retreated when he sensed Nunnally in trouble. He manages to arrived on time to prevent the Irregulars attack and teleported with her in the Mark Nemo. He later revealed himself to Nunnally and told her not to abuse the power, but also revealed that he is Zero and demands that Nunnally that she no longer fight with Mark Nemo before giving her a paper crane and leave.
Later at the Battle of Narita, Lelouch begins his operation against Cornelia's forces, who had already begun its assault against the JLF base, leaving her exposed for the Black Knights and wiped out half of her forces using the Avalanche stragety. Lelouch late took down Guilford and confront Cornelia. Lelouch begun his assault using his D.O.M. Hostia ability, but Cornelia manage to avoided and fired missiles at him, but has completely underestimated him and Lelouch has stopped them instantly and quickly defeated her from behind. As he prepares to finish her off, Lelouch was once again interrupted by Suzaku in his Lancelot. The two both battled and Lelouch questioned Suzaku about his power as a Wired and was not satisfied, which Suzaku did not understand, leaving Lelouch to use his ability and reveal to him the history of his power involving Jeanne D'Arc. He also revealed to Suzaku that he has made a contract with C.C. and became Zero, which has shocked Suzaku, and offers him to be his ally so they can build a gentler world for Nunnally. However he refused, believing him to be the which in the form of Lelouch and attacks him in rage. Lelouch was surprised that Suzaku's power had increased since their last battle and had managed to defeat him, but was interrupted by the arrival of Mark Nemo, who he warns her to get away. Later an unknown unit fired a Hadron Cannon on the battle field, in the middle of a battle between Nunnally's Mark Nemo and Alice's Alpha, and Lelouch suspect that it is his younger brother, Rolo Vi Britannia.
After the battle of Narita, Lelouch went to the Governor General building and appeared in his normal form to meet with Suzaku, who brought out his gun and sword at him, and revealed to him that the pilot of Mark Nemo who is in custody of "The Eden Vital Religious Order" is Nunnally, which has completely shocked him in disbelief, and request to him that they both must rescue her from execution, which he now agrees and pass the information to Euphemia. Both Lelouch and Suzaku arrived in time to prevent Nunnally's execution and manage to save her, but are confronted by both Rolo and Anya in their Knightmare Frames. Lelouch fought against Rolo, but was surprised that he used Quantum Shift to summon his Knightmare Frame, Vincent, and revealed himself as the Demon King before entering in his Knightmare. This forced Lelouch to use his Quantum Shift to summon his Knightmare, Gawain, and fought. Lelouch fired his Hadron Cannon at him, but Rolo used his Geass to destroy his Gawain and witness Suzaku being defeated by Anya. They later saw Alice, who Lelouch knows that she made a contract with Nemo and witness her summoned her Knightmare, Code Geass, and defeated Anya in the process. He later escape after Alice used her Knightmare's power to bring down the entire facility, knowing Nunnally being safe with her, and manage to save Suzaku.
After the Emperor, Charles zi Britannia, declares the Holy Nation of Eden Vital, Lelouch ordered the Black Knights to break free Suzaku and Euphemia, with Cornelia, Guilford, Lloyed, and Cecil, with Kaguya and the members of the Kyoto House to continue their negotiation. With the two sides coming to an agreement with the condition that Euphemia becomes the new ruler of Britannia, Lelouch has ordered to fight along side Britannia, against Charles and the Holy Nation of Eden Vital. When both forces of the Black Knights and Britannnia head towards Kamineji Island, Lelouch and Suzaku both fought against an army of zombified Knightmares and the undead Knight of the Rounds, until they all died from the Emperor's defeat.
After the Emperor's defeat and Zero's death was announced, Lelouch appeared in front of Suzaku and Euphemia to bid them farewell as it is his last day as Lelouch. He then meets with Nunnally, who is now a goodwill ambassador of Japan, and discuss about their Geass. Lelouch then discuss that from Nunally's Geass, "The Zero", he had been freed from C.C.'s duties by death, as her soul now returned to Eden Vital and has been made as her successor like many others before her and all the Geass that she bestowed upon have now disappeared. They also discuss about Nunnally's vision's of alternative realities, one reality of which is the event of the anime, and was furious that she did not accept the mother and father's plan, but acknowledges her dream for a peaceful world, to which he gave her a hug and bids farewell before saying her brother will still love her. At the conclusion of the story, Lelouch inherits C.C.'s name and immortality, becoming C.C. The Demon King and goes forth to spread Geass and to promote conflict around the world.
In the manga spin-off series, Lelouch obtain his geass in the same way as in the anime series, except that his Geass symbol is slightly rendered. When Suzaku enrolls as a student at Ashford Academy, Lelouch becomes angry at the teachers and student who look down at Suzaku for being an Eleven. Growing more annoyed at Suzaku preventing him from help with the latter, fearing that his reputation could be affected and his identity as a Britannian Prince exposed.
After becoming the masked man Zero and forming the Black Knights, Lelouch has more trouble leading the Black Knights than in other adaptations. This is mainly because many of the Black Knights are not loyal to Zero and often split off into renegade factions or act without his knowledge. Lelouch is held responsible for a terrorist attack that was specifically aimed Mariel Lubie and her father when a Black Knights faction had gone renegade without following his instructions. He later comes across the mysterious Lancelot, later discovering to his shock that it was in fact Suzaku.
He later went to kill his father, but only to discover that he was already killed by his stepbrother, Schneizel, and wounded him before having his identity known by Suzaku. However, it is later revealed to be Schneizel's scheme to get Lelouch executed and to take C.C.'s Code. Near the end of the manga, Lelouch tries to use his Geass on Schneizel, but the latter punctures his left eye, leaving him never to use his Geass again. As the manga ends five years later, Lelouch is shown with his left eye covered by a portion of his hair.
The Code Geass manga follows the same basic plot as the anime, but with several differences. Knightmares do not exist. As for Lelouch's character, he is still the same as he was in the anime. He takes on the identity Zero, but largely focuses on his activities with the Black Knights.
In Tales of an Alternate Shogunate, set in 1853 at the Bakumatsu Era, Lelouch is the commander of the military counterinsurgence brigade known as the Shinsengumi, formed under the orders of the Shogunate to fight the rebel group known as the Black Revolutionaries, but was secretly the leader of that group as Zero and has gained information from within. The event is set in Kyoto, and had recently acquired his geass from C.C. and stole Britannian's new Knightmare, Gawain.
The Miraculous Birthday
In a special Code Geass Picture Drama episode, Lelouch reappeared in December 5 for Ashford Academy's school festival, helping Rivalz, now school president, along with Rolo and Kallen. He later met with Suzaku, who brought along Nunnally, Shirley, but was surprised that C.C. appeared with them. However a battle erupted in school grounds by the Neo-Chinese Federation, led by a former eunuchs, and took everyone hostage.The rest of the group escape to the clubhouse and discuss their situation in the student council room, but Lelouch however thought of a plan to defeat them with everyone's help. Both He and C.C. went out to confront the two soldiers, and had used his Geass on them to lock themselves in the Bathrooms, rather than having them kill each other, preventing any bloodshed being made in the school.
Lelouch later rendezvoused with Rolo, along with the group and walked down the south hall. He received a call from Kallen, but was shocked that it was the eunuch and had captured both Suzaku and Kallen and request that they meet in the schools chapel. The group arrived and confronted the eunuchs, demanding to know where Kallen and Suzaku are, to which he revealed that they are in a vase. The group did not take it seriously, but C.C. recognize it and reveal it to be a mystic item known as the "Thousand-man Silver Vase", an item Charles had collected. The leader then used it on Nunnally and C.C, to which Lelouch and the group was shocked that there souls was absorbed and there body was left unconscious. While Lelouch figures out a way to defeat him, he realises that the vase only absorbs one soul per use and decides to don his Zero persona for his plan. As the eunuchs prepares to use his vase, Lelouch ordered Rolo to use his Geass to stop time, then Lelouch used his Geass on the students to wear the mask of Zero and got Rolo to release his, causing the vase to overload and explode, releasing all the souls and returned to their bodies and defeating the eunuch.
In the aftermatch, Lelouch prepares to say goodbye as his body starts disappearing and left an inspiring speech for each of them before saying thanks to everyone.
Reception
Lelouch's character has been well-received by viewers of the series, appearing in various anime pools. He ranked 23rd on IGNIGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
's top 25 anime characters list. Editor Chris Mackenzie commented, "he [Lelouch] never did a damned thing halfway, and he made Code Geass a heck of a ride all the way to the end." Lelouch was chosen as the most popular male character of 2006, 2007 and 2008 at Animage magazine and Newtype magazine named him the best anime male character of the decade. He was chosen the most popular male character of 2006, 2007, and 2008 at Animage
Animage
is a Japanese anime and entertainment magazine which Tokuma Shoten began publishing in July 1978. Hayao Miyazaki's internationally renowned manga, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, was serialized in Animage from 1982 through 1994...
magazine's annual Anime Grand Prix. His seiyū Jun Fukuyama
Jun Fukuyama
is a voice actor. He was previously represented by Aoni Production and Production Baobab, and is now represented by . In 2007, he won the first Seiyu Awards for the best actor in leading role as Lelouch Lamperouge in Code Geass...
also won the "Best Actor in a Leading Role" award for his portrayal of the character at the first Seiyū Awards
Seiyu Awards
The are award ceremonies for the recognition of voice acting talent for outstanding performance in anime and other media in Japan...
in 2007. Fukuyama's work as Lelouch's voice actor also lead him to win the Tokyo International Anime Fair
Tokyo International Anime Fair
The Tokyo International Anime Fair also known as Tokyo International Animation Fair is one of the largest anime trade fairs in the world, held annually in Japan. The first event was held in 2002 as "Tokyo International Anime Fair 21". The event is held at Tokyo Big Sight, a convention and...
in the category "Best Voice Actor".
Critics for anime and manga series have also commented on Lelouch's character. Anime News Network
Anime News Network
Anime News Network is an anime industry news website that reports on the status of anime, manga, Japanese popular music and other otaku-related culture within North America, Australia and Japan. Additionally, it sometimes features similar happenings throughout the Anglosphere and elsewhere in the...
's Carl Kimlinger stated that Lelouch "is hard to like" because of his narcissistic personality, but noted that his bonds with Nunnally and his friends make up for that. Bamboo Dong from the site agreed with Kimlinger because of Lelouch's arrogance but at the same time commented that such traits made him interesting to watch. Mostly positive response was given by Danielle Van Gorder from Mania Entertainment due to Lelouch's differences from most of anime's protagonists and how his double life as a Zero and as a student is shown across the series. Chris Beveridge from the same site praised Lelouch's actions in R2 when he becomes Britannia's Emperor, describing him as "the classic angle of the villain with good motives" because of the dangerous actions he does for a greater good. Beveridge also commented on his confrontations with Scheizel and Nunnally, mentioning the rivalry across the series in the former and citing the latter as heartbreaking. IGN compared him with Death Note
Death Note
is a manga created by writer Tsugumi Ohba and manga artist Takeshi Obata. The main character is Light Yagami, a high school student who discovers a supernatural notebook, the "Death Note", dropped on Earth by a god of death, or a shinigami, named Ryuk...
s Light Yagami
Light Yagami
, also known as is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the manga and anime series Death Note. He is an extremely intelligent, athletic, popular, but bored young man who finds the Death Note dropped by the Shinigami Ryuk by sheer chance...
and the Count of Monte Cristos Edmond Dantès
Edmond Dantès
Edmond Dantès is the protagonist and title character of Alexandre Dumas, père's novel, The Count of Monte Cristo.Dumas may have gotten the idea for the character of Edmond from a story which he found in a book compiled by Jacques Peuchet, archivist to the French police. Peuchet related the tale of...
due to his double life and his quest for revenge, respectively. The double life aspect has also been praised due to how such change also differetiates the show's tone from a high school comedy to an action show, and how he "winds-up" between his two selves. Moreover, his reasons for evil actions have also been found to help viewers to like the character. Also from IGN, Ramsey Isler found Lelouch's double life trait as rather comical as after short prologue of his role as Zero in an episode, he is seen doing homework at school for being absent to classes. Kevin Leathers from UK Anime Network enjoyed Lelouch's personality as his cold persona made the series "refreshing" from other mecha anime. Johnny Yong Bosch
Johnny Yong Bosch
Johnny Yong Bosch is an American actor, voice actor, martial artist, and musician.He may be best known for portraying Adam Park in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, and being the English voice of Ichigo Kurosaki in the hit anime series Bleach, Vash the Stampede in Trigun and Lelouch Lamperouge in Code...
's role as Lelouch English voice actor has also been praised due to how Lelouch's villany and youth characteristics are portrayed.