The Battle between the Kallen's Guren and The Knights of the Round is one of the best battles in anime. The Battle for Tokyo is filled with insane stakes and has a literal explosive ending with the FLEIJA being fired, destroying most of Tokyo. Code Geass has some amazing episodes but this is definitely top 3.
2 Reviews
Shock value is not moral ambiguity. Good writing is.
ReviewWire31 March 2021
Warning: Spoilers
Kallen was always incredibly annoying before this episode, the extent of her personality being "angry tomboy with big assets." This, ironically, could have been the episode where she FINALLY got some depth as a character. The set up is morbidly brilliant: Kallen straight-up murders three 15-year-old pilots who are completely defenseless in their current predicament and goes on to have a hilariously absurd "philosophical" discussion with the delightfully sadistic Luciano Bradley that would only seem deep to 14-year-olds who are only there to see shots of Kallen's butt and breasts.
So herein lies the biggest problem with this episode: It isn't revealed until an entire 3 years later in the manga "Oz the Reflection" that Marika Soresi survives her Knightmare's explosion and is saved by her fiancé Leonhardt Steiner. So this young, adorable, and well-designed war victim was assumed to have been murdered by whom was arguably the worst Code Geass character until Suzaku murdered Monica, Dorothea, and Bismarck (who were also revealed much later to not be bad people, so **** you Suzaku the Eleven) for THAT long before she was written back to life. When considering the confirmation of corporate meddling within the writing process of the series, I believe that Marika and Kallen would have originally formed a bond together as nobles disillusioned from the current system. Kallen would have realized that there are limits to how far she should push her ethics when she sees the damage she did to Marika from killing her friends so carelessly just to get to Bradley, and she could have gained a fascinating rival from the Knight of Ten, who could have been Marika and Kallen's common enemy since it's implied that Luciano abused the poor girls in the expanded content. For as well designed and cute as the Valkyrie Squadron are, as well as Bradley's intimidatingly menacing nature, it's very clear that this episode could have been more than simple shock value to solidify Kallen as Worst Girl. But it will likely never get a chance to be fixed because the toxic Code Geass fandom is absolutely convinced this show is perfect despite how unlikable every main character is.
Speaking of which, why do people adore Lelouch after he takes THOUSANDS of civilians' lives by destabilizing the colony's foundation at the end of the first season? His looks? No wonder the fandom is so fanatical. They have no true reason to defend these one-dimensional war criminals.
So herein lies the biggest problem with this episode: It isn't revealed until an entire 3 years later in the manga "Oz the Reflection" that Marika Soresi survives her Knightmare's explosion and is saved by her fiancé Leonhardt Steiner. So this young, adorable, and well-designed war victim was assumed to have been murdered by whom was arguably the worst Code Geass character until Suzaku murdered Monica, Dorothea, and Bismarck (who were also revealed much later to not be bad people, so **** you Suzaku the Eleven) for THAT long before she was written back to life. When considering the confirmation of corporate meddling within the writing process of the series, I believe that Marika and Kallen would have originally formed a bond together as nobles disillusioned from the current system. Kallen would have realized that there are limits to how far she should push her ethics when she sees the damage she did to Marika from killing her friends so carelessly just to get to Bradley, and she could have gained a fascinating rival from the Knight of Ten, who could have been Marika and Kallen's common enemy since it's implied that Luciano abused the poor girls in the expanded content. For as well designed and cute as the Valkyrie Squadron are, as well as Bradley's intimidatingly menacing nature, it's very clear that this episode could have been more than simple shock value to solidify Kallen as Worst Girl. But it will likely never get a chance to be fixed because the toxic Code Geass fandom is absolutely convinced this show is perfect despite how unlikable every main character is.
Speaking of which, why do people adore Lelouch after he takes THOUSANDS of civilians' lives by destabilizing the colony's foundation at the end of the first season? His looks? No wonder the fandom is so fanatical. They have no true reason to defend these one-dimensional war criminals.
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