- "If the king does not lead, how can he expect his subordinates to follow?"
- ―Lelouch vi Britannia
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| Lelouch vi Britannia | |
|---|---|
| Full Name: | Lelouch vi Britannia |
| Nicknames: | Lulu Lelu "Black Prince" "The Demon Emperor" "Demon" |
| Aliases: | Lelouch Lamperouge Zero Julius Kingsley |
| Age: | 17 (first archive), 18 (at R2) |
| Status: | Deceased |
| Gender: | Male |
| Hair Color: | Light Black |
| Eye Color: | Violet (Before) Both eyes are encompassed with Geass
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| Birth Date: | a.t.b. December 5, 1999 |
| Death Date: | a.t.b. 2018 |
| Height: | 178 cm (5'10") |
| Weight: | 56 kg (123 lbs) |
| Blood Type: | A |
| Zodiac Sign: | Sagittarius |
| Nationality: | Britannian |
| Relatives: | Charles zi Britannia (Father) Marianne vi Britannia (Mother) Nunnally vi Britannia (Sister) V.V. (Uncle) Clara Lamperouge (Temporary Foster Sister) Rolo Lamperouge (Foster Brother) See Britannian Imperial Family |
| Allegiance: | |
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| Additional Information | |
| Title: | Vice President of the Student Council in Ashford Academy Leader of the Original Resistance Cell (As Zero) 2nd Supreme Council Chairman of the United Federation of Nations Leader and CEO of The Black Knights 11th Prince of Britannia 99th Emperor of Britannia |
| Rank: | Prince Emperor |
| Occupation: | Student Terrorist Knightmare Pilot Politician Emperor |
| Knightmare Frames: | |
| Sutherland Burai Gawain Shinkirō Lancelot (Super Robot Wars X-Ω) | |
| Real World | |
| Voiced By: | Jun Fukuyama, Sayaka Ohara (child) (Japanese) Johnny Yong Bosch, Michelle Ruff (child) (English) |
| Other Info: | |
| See Britannian Imperial Family | |
Lelouch vi Britannia (ルルーシュ・ヴィ・ブリタニア, Rurūshu vui Buritania) was the protagonist of the "Code Geass: Defenders of Britannia" Series, 17 years old (18 at R2). After he was exiled he used the alias, Lelouch Lamperouge (ルルーシュ・ランペルージ, Rurūshu Ranperūji). He was the Eleventh Prince of the Holy Britannian Empire and the son of the 98th Emperor of Britannia, Charles zi Britannia. He was also the leader of the Black Knights and the real identity of Zero. He is voiced by Jun Fukuyama, while 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.
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.
Abilities[]
Geass[]
Lelouch's Geass, when it was first obtained.
Lelouch with Geass evolved to encompass both eyes.
Lelouch's Geass, bestowed upon him by C.C., gives him "The Power of Absolute Obedience", allowing him to plant commands within a person's mind upon eye contact in a manner comparable to hypnosis. 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 the designated targets once the Sigil projects from his eye to theirs. Lelouch could initially toggle Geass activation at will, but subsequently lost this control and suffered from an affliction known as "runaway Geass" near the end of the first series.
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. Lelouch's Geass evolves to cover both of his eyes in episode 21 as a result of pushing his Geass to the limit, trying to command a massive psychic entity. He receives a second contact lens to cover it later.
Lelouch's Geass reflecting off of tiny mirrors.
Of all the Geass abilities in the series, Lelouch's has been explored the most, and also seems to have the most restrictions and side effects of any Geass introduced:
- Only affects the nervous system.
- Commands must be issued verbally.
- The victim must make direct eye contact for commands to be issued. The maximum effective distance is 272 meters. Line of sight via a reflective surface is sufficient for the effect to occur.
- 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. Since Jeremiah's Geass Canceller negates all Geass effects, those exposed to it may be commanded once again.
- The victim will not perform any action disallowed by their physical or mental capabilities, 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 don't know the answer to, but will direct the user to someone who can if they are able. However, commands that affect the mind or consciousness (such as erasing memories or casting a hallucination on a person) will take effect despite the fact that the victim could not normally force themselves to do so. It should be noted that in non-canon appearances, his Geass could be used to unlock memories (Another Century's Episode: R), or put someone into an eternal sleep (Lost Colors).
- An action will be carried out for as long as dictated in its command, or upon the indicated conditional circumstance. Eye contact does not need to be maintained for command execution to occur. No upper limit has been established, but the conditional command Lelouch gives Suzaku is still in effect more than a year later.
- The victim's memories for the duration of command issue and execution are sealed and cannot be recalled.
- As demonstrated in Princess Euphemia's response to the command that she kill the Japanese, a victim may resist a commanded action to some degree if it is utterly repugnant and morally incomprehensible to them.
So long as the above conditions are met, commands may be issued to anybody besides those that had gained an immortal code and to any number of individuals at once. Those under the effect of Geass have a red outline on their pupils, presumably a visual cue for the viewer since the characters never point it out.
Intellect and Chess[]
Main article: Chess
Lelouch playing chess.
Even without his Geass, Lelouch is a formidable opponent. His greatest weapon is his prodigious mind, possessing a genius-level intellect, and is capable of devising and executing strategies with incredible speed and precision. As a child, he was a brilliant chess player, besting any opponent who played against him. He has a record of winning a game in 8 minutes and 32 seconds. However, the one person that he was unable to defeat in a chess game was his older brother, Schneizel. As a teenager, he utilized his masterful skills in real combat, leading a small band of terrorists to victory against overwhelming odds. He could manipulate people and factions with well-spoken speeches and clever deceptions.
The series repeatedly demonstrates Lelouch's mental acuity; ranging from his superb skill in playing chess, to an incident in Stage 14, when Mao says C.C.'s name, Lelouch instantly comes up with fourteen different possibilities for Mao's identity - including the correct one. His intellect is also shown when he was able to program the F.L.E.I.J.A. countermeasure in 19 seconds typing at a incredibly fast speed.
In the audio dramas, Suzaku says that, when they were children, Lelouch devised a secret sign language containing over 500 words. In Stage 17, Lelouch proves his tactical ability by predicting the Lancelot's actions exactly thanks to his study of past battles, allowing Kallen and the Four Holy Swords to almost defeat the Lancelot (only Suzaku's reflexes saved his life). His intelligence is also parodied in one humorous Sound Episode, which has the Student Council members acting suspicious, and Lelouch racing through possible explanations and cover-ups with increasing speed (though it turns out that they were acting strange because he had some rice on his cheek from his lunch).
Physical[]
Milly outpacing Lelouch despite the handicap of her dress.
Physically, Lelouch is underwhelming. He possesses the physical prowess of a teenager who engages in little to no strenuous physical activity. Thus, one of Lelouch's traits is the inability to run very fast or 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. Lelouch laments the problem and decides to have Sayoko attend his gym classes to fix it. By the middle of the second season, Lelouch seems to have gained a bit of physical ability however, as he is able to hold onto Shirley when she fell off the roof of a building.
Lelouch is also shown to be very talented at most domestic skills including 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 has been shown to be an excellent cook, and is usually the one cooking the food 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).
Lelouch's Knightmare Frame, Shinkirō.
Lelouch also has some skill with firearms, usually brandishing a Britannian pistol when threatening someone. His Knightmare piloting skill has been shown only above average. While Lelouch uses Knightmares that have superior specs, he tends to be overwhelmed by Suzaku or other skilled pilots with faster models. When Lelouch pilots a standard Knightmare on the battlefield, he is typically accompanied by Kallen, who is an elite Knightmare pilot and the leader of his personal squad, Squad Zero. After commandeering the Gawain, Lelouch co-pilots it with C.C., controlling the weapons and command functions while C.C. 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. He also shows a level of ambidexterity as he is able to control either side of the Shinkirō's keyboard-based controls with both hands. Though he could not defeat them, Lelouch managed to hold his own against the Knights of Rounds during the second battle of Tokyo.
Appearances in Other Media[]
Lost Colors[]
In Code Geass: Lost Colors, the video game for the PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable, there are a few endings and clips of Lelouch that involves the main character, Rai. If the player decides to use Rai's Geass on Suzaku to make him join the Order of the Black Knights. Lelouch becomes angry at this as he wanted Suzaku to join him of his own free will and uses his Geass to put Rai into an eternal sleep, and resulting in a game over.
Another Century's Episode: R[]
In the video game series, Another Century's Episode: R, 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 eunuchs 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 spotted 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 sides 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 mechas 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.
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. He is voted as the leader of ZEXIS. 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.
Super Robot Wars Z 2 Saisei-Hen[]
Following the events of R1's ending he is captured and this contributes to ZEXIS' disbandment.
In one event he is attacked by Heero after the later saw a vision of all the chaos Lelouch causes as part of the Zero Requiem Plan.
In the Zero Requiem Plan is followed, Lelouch is later revived by Celestials.
Nightmare of Nunnally[]
Lelouch receives a different Geass ability in the Nightmare of Nunnally spin-off series as a result of his near-death during the Britannian attempt to recapture C.C. Instead of the ability to control others, he receives invulnerability granted through a suit of black armour, transforming into a more heavily armoured version of Zero. In the armour, Lelouch can fight on par with multiple Knightmares in single combat. As in the original series, C.C. often serves as his body double, but here is able to manifest the same Geass ability and fight on the same level as Lelouch. With his new abilities, Lelouch forms a different Black Knights and leads them directly in battle instead of planning strategies from the rear, though his fighting ability allows him to achieve the same ends. Lelouch's fighting skills are impressive as his fighting style matches that of Suzaku's. The ability of Lelouch's armor functions almost the same as a Knightmare Frame, such as his cape which can create multiple sharp black whips similar to the Mark Nemo's Blonde Knives. Another ability it possesses is a system called D.O.M. Hostia or the D.O.M. system, which has the ability to control and disable a Knightmare. He also has the ability to summon his own personal Knightmare Frame, Gawain.
This the story continues upon a similar vein anime series until its revealed that Lelouch had a twin brother named Rolo who is the Cardinal of the Geass Order. After revealing himself, Rolo takes Nunnally captive and prepares to burn her as a witch. In order to save her life, Lelouch, Suzaku and Alice join forces to free 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.
Suzaku of the Counterattack[]
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. Although Lelouch appeared as the villain of the series, he is not the series antagonist, but an anti-hero instead. 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 is responsible for a terrorist attack that was specifically aimed at 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 kills his father in this series and wounded his stepbrother, Schneizel, before having his identity known by Suzaku. However, it is later revealed to be Schneizel's scheme to get Lelouch executed and take to 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.
Code Geass: The Manga[]
The manga follows the same basic plot as the anime, but with several differences. For one, 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. He shares the same relationship with Kallen in the anime with her admiration for Zero and disgust for Lelouch. As such it is often considered an alternate universe due to the extreme differences. Lelouch even meets Euphemia much sooner in the story.
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 school's 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 aftermath, Lelouch prepares to say goodbye as his body starts disappearing and left an inspiring speech for each of them before saying thanks to everyone.
Nunnally in Wonderland[]
In the OVA Code Geass: Nunnally in Wonderland, when Nunnally asks Lelouch to read her a story like he used when they were growing up in Britannia, he decides to use his geass to have all of the characters in the series participate in his story, Alice in Wonderland, in which Nunnally is the main character. While narrating the story, he is shown with different reactions at certain parts of the story. For instance, he is seen getting mad when the Cheshire Cat (C.C.) tries to convince Nunnally to stay in Wonderland. After finishing the story, he is confronted by the other characters for using them in his story while he did not do anything, after which they surround him and dress him up as the Mad Hatter. It is then revealed that all of this was part of Lelouch's dream, since he had fallen asleep while reading Nunnally a story.
Reception[]
Lelouch's character has been well-received by viewers of the series, appearing in various anime pools. He ranked 23rd on IGN'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 responses 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 Cristo's 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 differentiates 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 villainy and youth characteristics are portrayed.