Code Geass Episodes Review I: Episode 1-3

Posted by Neko Kyou in Reviews on October 17th, 2007

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Episode 1: The Day the Devil was Born

Rating: 8/10

Code Geass Episode 1

The series started by showing 2 boys climbing up a slope with a third person watching quietly. Then the narration kicks in telling how Japan was invaded and lost its independence to the Britannian Empire. After the war, the two boys were once again shown to be in some sort of a camp, with the black haired boy telling his friend that he would take down Britannia.

Fast forward 7 years later, the black haired boy, Lelouch Lamperouge, is now a high school student. Apparently he’s pretty smart as well, being able to take over and win a losing chess match against a nobility.

At the same time, a group of terrorist had hijacked something really important from the Britannian forces. The 3rd Britannian Prince Clovis, ruler of the now Area 11 (Japan) and ordered to send out the Knightmare Frames to secure their stolen good.

I originally thought that the terrorists probably stole some new prototype Knightmare Frame (ala Gundam) but it turned out to be a chemical weapon instead.

The terrorist’s truck caught up behind Lelouch and Rivalz. They decided to take a short cut which caused them to end up crashing into an abandoned construction site. Lelouch became disgusted with how the passerby weren’t bothering to help out and decided to do it himself. However, as Lelouch climbed aboard the truck, the terrorists began to move again, causing him to fall inside the vehicle.

As Lelouch tries to think of a plan to get out, the connecting door opened and a girl went into the cargo area of the truck and took off in a Glasgow Knightmare Frame.

The other terrorist continues to drive the truck and turned into a tunnel. I seriously wonder if this guy have a driving licensed when he once again crashed into an underground tunnel.

In his half-dead state due to an earlier injury, he flipped a switch and caused the truck door to open. A Britannian soldier caught sight of Lelouch and the poison gas container. He sneaked up and easily pinned Lelouch on the ground. After a little struggling, the Britannian soldier recognized Lelouch and revealed himself to be the other boy with Lelouch 7 years ago, Suzaku.

The container suddenly opened, but instead of poison gas, a girl in strange clothes with green hair appeared instead. By this time another squad of the Britannian army had already arrived and the leader gave orders for Suzaku to shoot Lelouch. He refused and while he was looking over at Lelouch and the girl, he was shot instead.

The Britannian army was just about to shoot Lelouch when the truck driver flipped the other switch and self-destructed the entire vehicle.

When Prince Clovis heard of the explosion, he decided to permanently purge the Shinjuku Ghetto, leaving no survivors. Thus the massacre began.

Lelouch and the mysterious girl finally found their way out of the tunnel through a warehouse, but quickly hid when the earlier squad entered and killed off every living person in there, including a child. Just as they turned to move out, Lelouch’s mobile phone began to rang.

The leader fired a shot at Lelouch after securing the girl, but she struggled to get free and took the shot for Lelouch instead. However, just as he was giving up hope, something strange happened.

He heard the girls voice in his head, offering him a contract for the power of the Kings, showing a series of unknown images. He accepted it easily and began acting arrogant in front of the enemy squad.

Lelouch declared himself as Lelouch Vi Britannia and ordered the Britannian soldiers to die, to which they willingly obliged with a grin. Lelouch had gained the power of the Geass of obedience.

This part is rather interesting. As blood were spilled all over the place, some even splashing on his face, he began to look troubled and distressed, as if suddenly realizing he had caused the death of the entire squad. But just before the episode ended, his fearful expression turned into one of a devilish grin. While the entire episode was captivating enough for me, this was the key point that turned me into an instant fan.

Episode 2: The Awakening of the White Knight

Rating: 8/10

Code Geass Episode 2

As Lelouch stared the the body of the girl, wondering what she had intended to do with him, a Sutherland Knightmare Frame blasted its way through into the warehouse to find the special troops dead and a single Britannian student in there. The Sutherland’s pilot demanded Lelouch to explain what had happened and threatened him by firing a few giant bullets.

Lelouch tried to use his powers and ordered the pilot to exit the Knightmare Frame, but found out that he needs to be in direct contact with a person in order to use the Geass. He quickly improvised by claiming to be a son of a Duke. Lelouch raised his hands and asked that his ID, located in his back pocket, be checked and requested for protection once he had been identified to be who he claimed to be.

The Sutherland pilot deactivated the Knightmare Frame and exited the unit, saying that she will check the ID herself. Lelouch quickly took the opportunity to use the Geass on her and took the Knightmare Frame.

Suzaku apparently had survived both the shot and explosion. His father’s keepsake had saved him from the gun shot. He was then given the keys to pilot a prototype Knightmare Frame by Lloyd, who up until now appeared to be the “mad scientist” of the series who is keen on collecting data for his latest toy.

Back in the hijacked Sutherland, Lelouch tries to gather as much outside information as he could and started planning his next moves. Using the 2-way radio he had obtained in the terrorist’s truck earlier, he contacted the female terrorist in the Glasgow and gave her instructions on how to escape, saying that she should follow his orders if she wanted to win.

As a reward for going under his command, Lelouch presented the terrorist group with a train full of Sutherland units. Even now I’m still trying to figure out where this came from, but I’m just guessing that those were the backup units for the Britannian army attacking the area and Lelouch had somehow managed to hijack its controls. However, Lelouch was particular about the female terrorist to continue in her damaged Glasgow unit to act as a diversion in his strategy.

It was also nice to see that Lelouch had not let the entire event go to his head. He realizes that human lives are at stake and that he needs to stay calm and collected in order for them to win unscathed.

And the strategy game between Lelouch and Prince Clovis began. Could someone please tell me where Lelouch managed to find all those chess pieces in the Sutherland? Because I’m pretty darn sure he wasn’t carrying any ever since he won the game against the noble way back at the start of the first episode.

Clovis called for a full frontal assault, causing the break in formation. Lelouch calls this the worst possible strategy for the enemy as it would allow his entire masterplan to be executed without a hitch and effectively taking out the entire Britannian forces in a single move.

In a desperate move, Clovis allowed Lloyd to send out the new 7th generation Knightmare Frame prototype, the Lancelot, piloted by Suzaku. This is the coolest mech in the series thus far, and only the Gawain is close enough to matching it in coolness.

The Lancelot is truly a powerful machine as it easily took out the terrorist’s Sutherlands and putting a huge dent in Lelouch’s strategy. Through its advanced system, the Lancelot was able to discover Lelouch’s hiding place and began chasing after him. Just as Lelouch was about to eject, Suzaku saw a lady falling down a crumbling building with a baby and decided that it was more important to save them instead of chasing after the terrorist commander.

Just as the Britannian forces was about to finish off what was left of the ghetto and the terrorist, Prince Clovis’s voice boomed throughout the area, calling for immediate retreat and offer aid to both Britannians and Elevens (remnants of the Japanese).

Back in Clovis’s mobile headquarters, he asked a soldier who was pointing a gun at him whether he was satisfied. It turned out that he was forced to recall the troops because of this man. When Clovis asked who he really was, Lelouch revealed himself by addressing Clovis as his elder brother. Lelouch greeted his elder brother by declaring himself as the 17th successor and 2nd in line to throne, Lelouch Vi Britannia.

Clovis was shocked and became pale as a ghost, claiming that Lelouch should had already been dead, to which Lelouch responded that he had returned in order to change everything.

Episode 3: The Fake Classmate

Rating: 8/10

Code Geass Episode 3

Clovis tries to convince Lelouch to return to the motherland with him, but Lelouch refused by reminding Clovis of what had happened to him. Lelouch’s mother was said to be murdered by a member of the royal family although they made it look as if it was a terrorist attack. Clovis denied that he was the culprit. Lelouch then used his Geass to make Clovis tell him what he knows, and he named 2nd Prince Schneizel and 2nd Princess Cornelia, saying that they should know something about it.

Lelouch demanded to know if they were the mastermind. However, Clovis was unable to answer and Lelouch concluded that he really didn’t know anything about the incident. Once Lelouch deactivated his Geass, Clovis frantically denied that he had anything to do with the murder. He breathed a sigh of relief when Lelouch acknowledged that he was telling the truth, but even so he had no plans of letting Clovis go alive. Clovis begged to be spared, saying that they were still related even though they were only half-brothers. His plea fell on deft ears and the gun trigger was pulled.

Next day in school, Lelouch was surprised that news of Clovis death wasn’t announced. As he recalled the events from the previous day, he felt sick and threw up in the toilet, admitting that his nerves were still too weak for what he had done.

He was also surprised to see a familiar face in class and finally realized who the female terrorist he saw really was - Karen Stadtfeld. Daughter of an distinguished family, but has a weak body and therefore seldom showed up in class.

Using the power of Geass, Lelouch dragged the truth out of Karen about who she really was and she was with the terrorist group. Apparently, although her father was a Britannian, her mother was a Japanese, making her a half. Lelouch deactivated his Geass and walked away, but turned it on again on Karen to tell her not to talk about Shinjuku. However, to his surprise, the Geass didn’t seem to work anymore and Karen began to demand for an explanation to his questions.

Fortunately for Lelouch, Shirley called out from above to remind them that they are supposed to be heading for science class and Lelouch took the opportunity to take off.

In an unknown location, General Patre ordered a group of scientists to relocate and hide. Although the nature of the group is unknown, there were the containers similar to the one which was believed to contain poison gas, as well as clothes like the one which the strange girl was wearing. There were also pictures of the scientists doing experiments with that girl.

At home, Lelouch revealed that his ultimate goal is to create a peaceful world for his sister, Nunnally. The following day Lelouch experimented with the Geass and concluded that the Geass would only work on the same person once.

Karen began to develop suspicions about Lelouch. He realized this too and decided that its best for him to settle this as soon as possible. After class ended, he went up to Karen and said that he would like to have a word with her, to which she willingly obliged.

He brought her to the student council’s clubhouse but before they could start talking the rest of the council came barging in, with council President Mily thanking Lelouch for bringing Karen over. Lelouch seemed surprised as well and Milly explained that Karen would be a part of the council as a request from her grandfather, the board chairman of Ashford Academy.

Karen got drenched with the champaign Rivalz threw over to Lelouch and ended up in the showers. When Lelouch brought her a change of clothes, she asked him to hand her the pouch that was near the sink. As he pushed his hands behind the shower curtains, Karen forcefully grabbed them and demanded an explanation for his question about Shinjuku from before.

The bathroom phone rang just then and Lelouch picked it up. He passed the phone to Karen, saying that it was for her although he doesn’t know who it is. Karen was surprised to hear the mysterious voice that had led them in the battle previously, realizing that she may have made a mistake about Lelouch.

He had pre-recorded his voice and made Sayako to be his accomplice in fooling Karen using Geass.

The news also finally announced Clovis’s death, as well as the capture of a suspect - Kururugi Suzaku.

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Weekly Review #14 - Shana II, Gundam 00, You’re Under Arrest

Posted by Neko Kyou in Weekly Review on October 14th, 2007

I actually have a lot of anime which I would have liked to watch last week and this week, but as I’ve mentioned before I’ve been quite busy :( Hopefully I’ll have more time next week. Haven’t even got around to writing the episode reviews for Code Geass.

Shakugan no Shana II Episode 1

Gundam 00 Episode 1

Your Under Arrest: Full Throttle Episode 1

Shakugan no Shana II

Shakugan no Shana II Episode 1

Episode 1: Time for Restart

Rating: 7/10

I had actually thought that we were shown a flashback from the first season since the scenes and conversations were very similar. It didn’t take long before Yuji realized that something really weird was going on, especially with the appearance of Friagne the Hunter.

After the battle with Friagne, Yuji tried to ask if Shana or Alastor felt that anything was wrong. They totally ignored Yuji’s comments. After school, he tried asking the same to Wilhelmina but got the same response.

Yuji knew then that this had to be the work of a Guze no Tomogara or an unrestricted spell so he tried to look for Margery at Satou’s house. However, the matter what route he takes, he always ends up at the same spot.

Back home, Yuji pondered on what has been happening some more. After a while, he came to a conclusion that perhaps it was the other way round then what he had thought. Pretty smart for Yuji if you ask me :P He decided to test out his theory by asking his mom a question which she would not answer.

The scene where the Aizen twins attacked Shana appeared, and Yuji decided to further test his theory by intentionally letting go of the ladder to fall down, but instead he floated up to Shana’s side. Shana looked at Yuji and did not speak, confirming Yuji’s theory once more. He was in a dream world made up of his memories.

He allowed Sorath so slash him with the Nietono no Shana and finally managed to return to reality, where they were actually fighting a weak Guze no Tomogara. Shana managed to make quick work of her, but she seemed to be mysteriously happy even when she was slashed in two. Obviously this isn’t the last we’ve seen of her. Yuji tried to recall what he wanted to tell Shana but could no longer remember the dream world he was in.

As they continue to make their way to school, Yuji asked what Shana had said right before Alastor was summoned back in Seirei-den. I used to thought that Yuji was a bastard for not responding to Shana back then - apparently he hadn’t heard the last and most important word Shana had said. After a year, we’ve finally discovered the truth~!

It was really funny hearing Alastor sounding embarrassed for Shana lol. All in all, the first episode is really just a prologue for some sinister plan cooked up by the Bal Masque group.

Gundam 00

Gundam 00 Episode 1

Episode 1: Celestial Beings

Rating: 6/10

First impression of Setsuna - Sousuke Sagara of FMP. I mean, the whole small kid with a machine gun in middle-east style war-torn towns with mechs seriously does remind me of Sousuke’s childhood as a mercenary. The only difference here is a Gundam came to save the day.

I’ve heard a lot of good remarks about Gundam 00’s first episode, but I really didn’t see what’s so great about it. Maybe most people were just happy that there wasn’t any signs of Kira, Freedom or Archangel. Meh.

But I must admit that the show exceeded my expectation. The animation was better, and the Gundam units weren’t that bad, especially Dynames and Kyrios. I still think Exia looks like it’s missing a few parts somehow. The AEU model reminded me of Zone of Enders.

Character-wise, I didn’t really like any of the Meisters. Especially Tieria. Up until I heard him speak, I’ve always thought that he was a “she”. I almost choked while drinking when I heard him speak. I do like Graham Acre and Wong Ryumin, though XD

For once, no Gundam was stolen or taken away from an opposing force. The 4 units seemed to have been built specifically for the Celestial Beings organization.

The first episode doesn’t really have much story or character showcasing. It’s all about what the Gundam units could do. I have a spark of hope for this series, but I’m much happier with some of the other series this season right now.

You’re Under Arrest: Full Throttle

You're Under Arrest Full Throttle Episode 1

Episode 1: Prologue of Racing

Rating: 7/10

After 6 long years, the entire Bokuto crew is back to put you under arrest once more. Full Throttle (Charlie’s Angels?) picks up where the 2nd season left off and both Miyuki and Natsumi were coming back to Bokuto station.

Miyuki met a young boy, Randy, at the airport. As fate would have it, they were both heading towards the same destination and were seated right next to each other as well. The both of them became very friendly after a few rounds of gaming on Miyuki’s laptop.

After they landed, Miyuki found Randy was still around and no one had came to pick him up. But soon after a mysterious man in black came and started to drag Randy away. As he did so, Randy turned around looking distressed, and suddenly called out Miyuki for help.

Miyuki grabbed an otaku’s bag and used it to knock the *MIB* away. She pulled Randy with her as she hopped into a van and drove off with it. The man got into a black car driven by another person and started to chase their van.

Natsumi saw the chase on TV and easily recognized Miyuki’s driving style and went off with a bike to go after her. The mighty duo was finally reunited when Natsume finally caught up with Miyuki and immediately pulled their infamous insane Miyuki turning + crazy Natsumi manual brake technique, causing their pursuers to crash into the police roadblock.

To a first timer watching the series, I would admit this probably looks a bit weird and silly. But to a long time fan of the series, it rox! :D

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So Busy…

Posted by Neko Kyou in Rants on October 13th, 2007

I’ve just been so busy the whole week. I thought I had 2 assignments due, but realized I had 3 at the last minute. I have an assignment which was due last night and I haven’t even started on it.

Most of the time I’ve been driving all over town doing chores here and there for my parents, and it definitely did not help that the traffic has been mad. A trip that would normally take me an hour to complete at most took me more than 2 hours.

The only time I’m at home is at night, if I didn’t have any class. The rest of the time I had to work on my assignment. Since today is Eid al-Adha, I’ll probably be visiting a few people as well. *sigh*

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Pokemon 11th Movie Trailer - Regigigas

Posted by Neko Kyou in Pokemon on October 10th, 2007

If you remembered a couple of months back I posted that the 11th Pokemon movie trailer was shown at the end of the 10th Pokemon movie, Dialga vs Palkia vs Darkrai.

Now a 20 seconds trailer has been released to the public and for those who had already seen the magazine scan of one giant Regigigas hand, you will find that scene here in this very trailer.

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No updates until Thursday

Posted by Neko Kyou in Updates on October 9th, 2007

Because I have a few assignments to complete by Wednesday :(

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