Code Geass

Code Geass


Plot

The series is set after Japan's conquest by the Holy Britannian Empire
on August 10, 2010, a.t.b. with their powerful new robot weapons, the Knightmare Frames, stripping Japan and its citizens of all rights and freedoms and renaming the country Area 11. The titular Lelouch
is a Britannian prince who gave up his right to the throne after his
mother was murdered, and has vowed to destroy his father, the Emperor,
and Britannia. He gains the ability through the mysterious power of the
Geass
becoming the leader of the resistance movement to fulfill his two
wishes: to seek revenge for his mother and to construct a world in
which his beloved sister Nunnally can live happily.




The Holy Britannian Empire is an imperial monarchy and the most prominent superpower within the world of Code Geass, controlling over one-third of the world at the start of the series, based in North America with Pendragon as its imperial city. Britannian society is an aristocracy run according to a caricature of Social Darwinism,
with a hierarchy of competing nobles at the top and the peoples of
conquered territories (referred to either by their area number or as
"Numbers") living in poverty or as unequal Honorary Britannians.
During season one, the Britannian Empire controls the entire Western Hemisphere (both American continents), New Zealand, and recently conquered Japan, as well as the recently conquered "Area 18" in the Middle East
region. During season two, Britannia successfully conquers about half
of the rival "Euro Universe" superpower; taking over France, Spain, the
western half of Africa, and Russia.
The series history diverges with Julius Caesar's invasion, with a Celtic "super-king" being elected (similar to the Arverni chieftain Vercingetorix), successfully resisting the invasion and beginning the Britannian imperial line of absolute monarchy (referred to in the establishment of the Britannian calendar era, "Ascension Throne Britannia" (a.t.b) or the Imperial Calendar in the English dub, roughly fifty years earlier than the Gregorian calendar). English monarchy proceeds to play out according to the actual timeline until the death of Elizabeth I
and her illegitimate son "Henry IX" taking the throne, "Elizabeth III"
dying after losing the British Isles to Napoleon (and the capital
moving to the American territories), and a new royal line being
established by a prominent noble family.


Japan

was the source of over 70% of the world's supply of the high energy
mineral sakuradite. Britannia conquered it mainly to gain control over
that mineral, and also the emperor wanted the ruins located in Japan in
order to complete his plan. Japan was renamed Area 11 under
Britannian rule. Through his alter-ego Zero, Lelouch attempts to
restore Japan's independence as the "United States of Japan", as a step
in his quest to overthrow Britannia.


Chinese Federation

The Chinese Federation is an imperial monarchy that spans the Asian and Pacific regions, including Central, South, East, and Southeast Asia, with Sakhalin and the Korean Peninsula and is the most populous (and poverty-stricken) of the three superpowers.
Its political structure and organization appears to resemble the former Empire of China, with the Emperor regarded as a living divinity and holding absolute political power, though under Empress Tianzi, it has been reduced to a figurehead for the advisory "High Eunuchs" (similar to the feudal era Emperors of Japan). The Vermilion Forbidden City is the seat of the Chinese Emperor and the government of the Federation is a large palace situated in the capital city of Luoyang.
In the first season, the Chinese Federation attempts unsuccessfully
to invade Japan on the pretext of "liberation" using exiled former
Japanese officials. The resistance movement in India lends Zero's Black
Knights their lead weapons designer, Rakshata, in hopes that an
independent Japan will in return aide them in gaining independence from
China. In the second season, a Chinese consulate is established with
the agreement of the local Britannian authorities and negotiations are
held by Eunuch Gao Hai to the end of obtaining a solid Chinese foothold
within the colony. After the Black Knights are exiled from Japan, they
are granted control of Horai Island, a fictional artificial land mass built off the coast of China to generate electricity through tidal activity.
The Black Knights destabilize and overthrow the government, returning
control to the Empress. Shortly after, the Federation collapses and its
former member states are incorporated into the new United Federation of
Nations.

Euro Universe

The Euro Universe ,
or E.U., is a democratic union encompassing all of Europe (including
the British Isles), Africa, and Russia and long in conflict with
Britannia. In the second season, Schneizel leads the Britannian forces
against the E.U., successfully conquering almost half of their
territory, including Portugal, Spain, France, half of Africa, and the whole of Russia. Following this, former member nations Italy, Austria, and Poland (among others) join the forty-seven founding nations of the United Federation of Nations, leaving only the British Isles, Germany, The Netherlands, Belgium, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Ukraine and an area of Africa near the Congo.

United Federation of Nations


Following the collapse of the E.U. and the uprising in the Chinese
Federation, most of the remaining territories not under Britannian
control join forces and form the United Federation of Nations,
a new coalition to counter the Empire's advance as the sole other
superpower. The U.F.N. flag is a white dove with three circles merging
at the point where the wings and body meet, over a yellow background.
The U.F.N. is composed of forty-seven countries spread across parts
of Central and Eastern Europe, Eastern Africa, and the majority of the
Asian continent. Decisions in the U.F.N. are determined by a two-thirds
majority vote by the leaders of each country, with the population of
each country determining their voting percentage. The individual armies
of the member nations are abolished and replaced by a new supranational
military force under the Black Knights' control.



Main characters


Lelouch LamperougeThe title character and protagonist of the show, Lelouch Lamperouge
is a seemingly ordinary 17-year-old student at Ashford Academy. In
reality, he is Lelouch vi Britannia, the exiled son of the Emperor of
Britannia and the late Empress Marianne, forced to flee to Japan after
his mother's assassination. When he gets caught up in a battle between
the military and Japanese rebels, he gains the power of Geass, allowing
him to force others to obey his orders without question, and begins a
quest to utilize this power to destroy Britannia under another identity
known as Zero.
Suzaku KururugiLelouch's childhood friend and son of Japan's last prime minister,
Genbu Kururugi. Suzaku is in the service of the Britannia Army as a
soldier and chosen to test an experimental new model of Knightmare
Frame, the Lancelot.
Throughout the series, Suzaku shows a belief that achieving results by
wrong or illegal methods is meaningless, setting up a rivalry with Zero.
C.C.A mysterious green-haired girl who establishes a contract with
Lelouch on the condition that he grant her one wish, passively
overseeing Lelouch's missions and occasionally helping them succeed to
ensure he does not die.
Nunnally LamperougeLelouch's younger innocent sister, wheelchair-bound and blind from
her mother's brutal assassination. Lelouch originally got involved with
the war because he wanted to create a pleasant world for Nunnally.
Kallen StadtfeldA Britannian-Japanese who believes herself to be a Japanese person
at heart and prefers her birth name, Kallen Kouzuki, over that of her
father's prestigious family. She maintains the image of a frail,
outstanding student at Ashford Academy, all the while being a member of
the Japanese resistance movement and one of Zero's most devoted
followers.



Knightmare Frames

Main article: Knightmare Frame

Knightmare Frames are combat mecha,
originally developed by the Britannian Empire and imitated by other
nations as the series progresses, intended as a replacement for battle
tanks and other conventional land, air, and sea warfare vehicles. The
name is a play on the word "nightmare" and the Western image of a knight on a horse (mare), with "frame" being the civilian word for bipedal machines in general.