Introduction: 0:00 (Lol obviously) Lelouch’s narrative role, motivations, development and psychology: 4:14 Suzaku’s narrative role, motivations, development and psychology: 18:24 Thematic & Ideological Comparison: 29:48 An Analysis of the Zero Requiem: 31:57 I thought for months that I would never make a Code Geass video, but changed my mind on it recently. And I’m quite happy I did, because I had a lot of fun doing this one. Hopefully you enjoy it too, it was an interesting challenge for a bunch of reasons. Now, I just need to give proper credit where it’s due, because I definitely had help in making this. Firstly, thanks to KZfaqr ShintaiReviews for helping out a little bit with editing the script for this. Also, I should definitely reiterate credit for Sam Lasky and Reddit user 7TeenWriters for their respective analyses on the series, because their ideas definitely influenced this video. In particular, 7TeenWriters’ post on Lelouch and Suzaku was the original source for my conclusion on the Zero Requiem. So yeah, I appreciate the contributions from all of the above. Shintai’s channel: kzfaq.info Sam Lasky’s piece: thestuffstoreofstuff.blogspot.ca/2016/06/character-analysis-lelouch-vi-britannia.html 7TeenWriters’ piece: www.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/2mu5p2/spoilers_code_geass_the_psychology_of_lelouch_and/

>says he isn't a huge fan of the show >does a 36 minute analysis on it

Another interesting fact about Suzaku is that he can survive entirely off of crayons and lighter fluid.

It actually makes the series end horrifyingly tragic if Lelouch lives. He made his world a reality, went past the point of no return, redeemed Suzaku, and succeeded... now his entire legacy depends on him fading from the world into a quiet life, what he described as a slow death when the series started. Suzaku, on the other hand, is now required to live in the spotlight, and to be a pragmatic hero to the world, protecting the peace and crushing any rebellions. The both went through hell to end up in their own versions of hell. Lelouch will never be freed of the purposelessness he felt at the beginning, just as Suzaku will never be freed from the terrible murders he had to do to save lives. Yet, in that, their shifts in character mean those situations which would have been hells to them before because salvation. I guess in this show at least, salvation and damnation really are the same.

Thank you for addressing the fact that Suzaku turning to Zero was the "death" he wanted. It was a brilliant moment for the show and made me respect the writers a bit more.

Zero is Lelouch’s perception of his father. Ruthlessly charismatic, and willing to do anything necessary to forge a world that they desire, even if it means tyranny. His school persona is his perception of his mother, selflessly caring and always positive. However once he discovers his mother was in league with his father, his perception of his mother changes, and we never see his school persona again.

The ending to Code Geass is my all time favorite within the anime art form. It ties everything up, and is insanely cathartic.

Lelouch is one of my favorite fictional characters. He’s just so.... human. He has his faults, his strengths, and he’s so self aware to what he lacks and to what he can do. He forms a mask for his friends and family and uses a different mask for the Black Knights. It’s thrilling to see him and watch his story. He’s not some all knowing being that has no faults. He isn’t jacked up with plot armor that makes him untouchable. His intelligence has limits and he works to overcome them. While his Geass did make him able to do more and do it quicker, I still feel he’d be able to enact his plan with just himself because of his charisma and dedication. He’s a caring human being at his core, shown in scenes with Nunnally and scenes with Suzaku. A scene that’s always stuck out to me was when Lelouch and Suzaku were in battle together. Suzaku was ordered to hold Zero there and he would be killed in order to kill Zero. And Lelouch, while he says it was because he wanted to live, we know and we see the desperation in him to protect Suzaku regardless of how his truest friend felt against his actions. Lelouch’s pain and sorrow when he thought Nunnally to be dead was so very heart wrenching. It’s obvious he loves his sister and he truly believes he lost his will to carry out his plan until CC talked sense into him. He has real relationships that you become invested in and you root for him and his side regardless of how much you disagree with it. Suzaku is also one of my favorite characters. He wants to be good. He wants to rectify his wrong doing of killing his father. He wants to change things with the least amount of violence possible. He wants to believe in his friend who he sees so much hate in. He, as well as Lelouch, lose themselves as their intentions and ideals start coming to fruition. Suzaku wants to do things peacefully, he wants as little people to die as possible, why he could not agree with Zero’s plan. When Euphemia was taken control of and died (although their relationship wasn’t given much focus so I don’t see why he was affected so much by her death that he completely changed his ideals) he completely transformed to become the perfect Britannian soldier. He didn’t care who he fought for if they died, he wanted to gain more power so he could help Area 11. Together the two are perfect main characters. Despite their differences they compliment each other so well. They work together perfectly (as seen during the fight against Schneizel and the Damocles, destroying the Fleija). They are a perfect team and I think they both know this, but because their plans are antithesis of each other but with the same end. For them to put aside their differences and carry out the Zero Requiem is so inspirational. At the time of the Zero Requiem, I feel Suzaku and Lelouch have both come to terms that they aren’t the best of people, that what they are doing is selfish in a way, even thought they are taking the blame for every evil thing in the world, they want to make the world see that anything that could happen, can never be worse than world domination that results in complete dictatorship. While at the beginning we know that their plans are different and they have different pathways, at the end, their ideas coalesce and become the same, that the only way for them to achieve peace, is to first destroy the faith humanity has left over. To show them.... how much worse things could be.

Lelouche is a dark hero. A man who forced himself to become capable of doing the difficult reprehensible things required to preform change. Lelouche is batman.

I absolutely loved how you built up to the conclusion about the Requiem all throughout the video. The little bits of foreshadowing and evidence for Lelouch’s intention, awareness and sacrificial nature along with Suzaku’s deathwish, guilt and need for atonement all gathered in momentum to make your point about the Requiem extremely powerful, great job.

Someday we’ll realize that we are like Suzaku, at some points of our life, primary when at our deepest point, we could be so confused, so frustrated, so full of anguish on ourselves, constantly self-loathing, because our past mistakes. We seek help, guidance, mentor- everything to free ourselves from those pains inside our chests.

I just finished the fucking show two days ago LOL. What a perfect fucking timing.

This video was great, thanks for this I never hated Suzaku, so I loved this analysis. Didn't relate both their narratives, and it was a great point to see. I loved the series so much for the requiem, one of the best endings I ever saw, and now I love it so much more.

For some reason I absolutely HATE the fact that Ohgi of all people got a happy ending...... Just my silly opinion...

My favorite anime of all time discussed by my favorite anime analyst? My god I’ve never clicked a notification so fast.

Aleczandxr masking a video about code geass?! 2018 is starting off right!

I'm so glad to see someone acknowledge Suzaku has a character with depth instead of just "a raging cock of contradictions" (that's a real quote). He's such a huge focal point of the story, and the perfect foil. I'm gonna go check out 7TeenWriter's piece now! :D

Thank you for the captions and the timestamps. You really make it easier for your fans. You deserve the best from us.

Another quality video! Frankly, I was hurt by the bit in the introduction where you go out of your way to explain how you actually hate Code Geass and think Zero's a stupid name, but I almost forgot about it thanks to the near-40 minutes of nonstop Code Geass analysis. Almost. Seriously though, glad to see one of my favorite anitubers tackling one of my favorite shows. -Zero

I feel like this fits very well: As the great Logarius once said, "Acts of goodness are not always wise, and acts of evil are not always foolish, but regardless, we shall always strive to be good." - Bloodborne 2015

When you finally mentioned that Zero Requiem was the redemption Lelouch placed on Suzaku, I cried. Lelouch really was a selfless person, and anything he would do for both Suzaku and Nunnally.

Absolutely nailed it and gave voice to a lot of the reasons why I still love this anime years later, flaws and all. I am one of those who definitely feels Code Geass' successes far outweigh it's flaws.

*All Hail Lelouch INTENSIFIES*

Zero Requiem was a perfect Concept. Creating the Symbol of Piece and destroying the Symbol of Hate in one Action. Zero kill Lelouch. Great.

25:15 and on in the Suzaku part is a brilliant theory, I’ve never thought of him that way. Probably because I don’t know anything about psychology, lol.

EXTREMELY appropriate use of the track "Don't Speak Her Name" from Fire Emblem Awakening. My personal FAVORITE song of the ENTIRE Fire Emblem series and maybe all of gaming. AND you used it on a video about my number one ranked Anime. Nigga, I love You.

I appreciate the disclaimer, and I'm glad that you were find something you were passionate enough to talk about in this show even if you didn't love it overall. It's a favourite of mine but it's definitely FULL of flaws.

They should show these videos in my high school

>need something to do for an hour >40 min video by alec today is my day I guess

am I the only one who loved Suzaku? his development is insanely good.

This might be the best suzaku analysis I've ran across. I keep referring to it because it's so good!

I have always loved Code geass for raising interesting questions like"do the ends justify the means?", "which is the correct approach to change the world? ", themes like "Armed rebellion vs Non-violent protest/accepting the system" and others like racism, class conflict and corruption. That was a great analysis video. Now u have to analyze the shit out of the other iconic CG character. The best anime girl- NINA EINSTEIN.

*WHY ARE YOU BUYING CLOTHES AT THE SOUP STORE?*

All hail Lelouch

Gosh, I could listen to your voice for hours! Besides the great content of all of your videos I´ve seen so far, I think you have such a great narrator voice and the way you phrases your sentences is a real pleasure :D Sorry if this sounds weird, but for real, one of the reasons you´re one of my favourite youtubers is, because I enjoy the way you talk so much!

Great video it’s so hard nowadays to find a code geass analysis video that doesn’t go out of its way to both suck off lelouch and hate on suzaku, don’t get me wrong I love lelouch, but analysis videos, especially those that talk about a character’s ideals, should be non-biased.

“The only ones who should kill, are those who are prepared to be killed.” Suzaku and Lelouch both take that philosophy and branch off so beautifully.

I would love to see a video on Nunnally and Euphemia detailing their respective effects on both Lelouch and Suzaku.

>code geass >aleczandxr ye boi

I enjoyed the differences between Lelouch and Suzaku mainly because Lelouch was willing to do questionable or even "evil" ones from outside means to change the world whereas Suzaku tried doing it from the system inside before realizing how many problems it has. This even makes me think of Suzaku's mech, Lancelot, named after a knight of the Round Table. Suzaku tried being honest and idealistic in his endeavors in the beginning whereas Lelouch had distrusted using legal, more safe means to achieve his goal. I also have problems with Code Geass and one of those happens to be the school antics, but what this video is talking about and the character of Lelouch and Suzaku may have well been the best thing Code Geass could offer outside of its mere concept.

That ending clip showing Suzaku lending a hand to Lelouch in their childhood. At the end of the series, Lelouch symbolically lent his to Suzaku. That's nice.

A new Aleczandxr video??? BOOYAH!

Yeeeeeeessss 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾 I needed a Code Geass video from you. I didn't realize I did until you did it. I clicked sooo fast. Goodness, how I have missed your videos! I definitely need to watch your most recent vids. This was BRILLIANT. Code Geass was one of the shows I got into that held deeper themes back when I was just beginning to be a critical viewer. Even then, the dynamic of Suzaku and Lelouch stuck out to me. I thoroughly enjoyed your take on it and Im so grateful that you decided to spend time and effort on a series that you didn't love. Your supposition of Suzaku's character was eye opening. I never thought of it like that, but now I do. Excellent insight into his character. Also, thank you for reiterating the point that Zero Requiem wasn't about Lelouch 's redemption. From the very beginning, Lelouch planned to die. He, like any great revolutionary seeking change in the world, never expected to see that change in his life time. His revolution was for the country, its people, and its future. Goodness, I could go on about Lelouch, and Suzaku. I love them dearly. Thank you, so much for this video!! It was good hearing your voice again! Time to look through your other works! P.S. I couldn't help but compare the journey of Suzaku and Lelouch to that of Griffith 's. All three had similar aspirations, and had a utilitarian viewpoint which drove them to commit unspeakable evils. Just some food for thought. Wonderful analysis, again!

Great analysis! I never expected Code Geass analysis from you .So it was a gift nonetheless.Thanks for doing it.And you just made me more hungry for more videos like this. Btw Code Geass is one of my favorite anime and Best characters of Code Geass: 1)Lelouch 2)CC 3)Suzaku And those who never understood Suzaku's characterization will only hate him.

This is why I don't get fans of Code Geass. It's not a show about awesome robot fights and dramatic schemes. It's not a fun escapist series. It's one about conflict and ideals. And Suzaku, especially in the first season, was the PERFECT antagonist to Lelouch and gave the narrative complexity. There is no Code Geass without the Lelouch-Suzaku dynamic.

Dude, it's crazy. the way you break down these characters is helping me putting into words how I feel in my own life. I could never fully explain what or how i was feeling but you have nailed it for me. Thank you!! Keep it up!!

That was absolutely brilliant and an amazing review of these great characters

you just made code geass better for me

well, I just checked out your entire channel, you got beautiful content, man i really cant believe how i actually found myself binging on ur playlist. Keep em coming, u earned urself a follower mate

I really appreciate your analysis of suzaku. I knew he is hypocritical and is hated for his flaw but I never understood why I couldn't fault him for it. This puts into word exactly why he should be celebrated for his flaws, not hated for it.

Before i watch this video i just want to say Thank you for all the effort and thought you put into all of your video for someone like me who doesn't know who they are and what my place in this world these kinds of videos lets me keep calm and change my view on things especially myself and for that i just want to thank you from the bottom of my heart. I hope you have a fantastic 2018 and may the best fo luck be with you

I think one of my good friends phrased it best. it’s an epic tragedy. even when things seem like the might go right, it normally falls apart. and the only way Lelouch could accomplish is goal is making himself a villain and then having himself be killed to unite everyone. it’s a beautiful show.

Great video. At the time I watched it code geass was one of my favourites of all time. I have watched a lot more since then but I still have a soft spot for the series and Lulouch is still one of my top protagonists. Thanks for the great work, I look forward to more.

10 years later, and this anime and Lelouch are still my #1 favorites. Love them above all others.

Great and in-depth analysis, can’t believe I’ve only watched it now. Definitely subscribed and liked!

Ok, 2018, so far so good! Yet another absolutely wicked analysis, bruv, this channel is honestly one of the best out here, not to mention Code Geass is one of my favourite anime series. Keep up the good stuff, bruv

I just wanted to say I love the soundtrack you used. When the fire emblem track played I nearly jumped out of my seat from excitement

Back when I was thirteen the first time I watched it I was so blown away, I really couldn't understand and till this day I can't get why this anime is not as praised as Death Note or Evangelion,. On the other side, aside from the character design, I hardly find any criticism either. What are your thoughts on this, Alecz?

Yessss, Code Geass is my favorite anime and Ive been waiting forever for a video on it

I love the clip you chose to end the video with. Seeing the symbolism behind Suzaku needing to help Lelouch reach the top of the hill blew my mind!

Alright , you have now become officially one of my favourite youtubers! Almost 40 minute analysis about Code Geass? What else should we ask for? Your videos are exceptional!

when Lelouch and Suzaku work together, those 2 truly are unstoppable

Your final words are well chosen and basically summed up the whole show. Furthermore I really like how you give them the necessary time to sink in and by that give the audiece to fully comprehand them.

Perfect timing, I had just rewatched the series. Glad to know that the lingering realizations I had were more fleshed out and articulated.

i don't think i'll ever get over the ending, losing half of a whole, all of those loved watching on but knowing what needed to be done. but at the same time i feel like that's why it's so damn good, so effective, why i can't be mad at it. even if it makes me sad to no end code geass was just a masterpiece istg, if any other show tried to do an ending like that it'd be a dumpster fire

Thanks for the subtitles :)

Coming back to Code Geass since so many years. I loved this video. Thank you for taking the time to make it.

Man, I wanna cry. I missed your analysis of my number two anime...I’m so happy. There’s so much depth to this series

You have a ridiculously deep understanding (or opinion) of the show. For this, I am a little surprised you haven't done a video of Parasyte. You must have heard of it surely? I absolutely recommend it.

I really liked this deep dive into these 2 very prominent characters. People never gave Suzaku the credit he deserved, in the end he himself learned the most out of the course of the whole show, he became Zero in both mentality and goal by the end. I sort of viewed Suzaku the same way as Eren from AoT, they're both shounen protagonists inside seinen shows. If the setting was in a shounen show, Suzaku's ideals would have probably worked, but CG is seinen and it shows. It took Suzaku a long time to realize this, and his characterization showed his development from highest to their absolute lowest. He's just as complex, if not more complex than most characters, his story was mired in self-hating tendencies, hypocrisy and self aggrandizement which to me, made him the most flawed person in the show, but also the most human.

Damn, this is a really good video analysis, one of the better ones I've seen in a while. Subscribed

The characterization you made of Suzaku here is one if the better ones I've seen, very nice.

What breakdowm me It was Orange taking Oranges

When lelouch said obey me world, but requested god to stop the march of time. Hes the most humblest character.

Been waiting for a code geass video for a while! Fantastic analyses as usual and keep up the great work!

Really impressive video. You made a lot of points I had never even considered. Thanks!

once again a great analysis! as the series progressed i felt that both lelouch and suzaku both learned from the other. lelouch learned that to truly change the world you have to focus beyond ones own desires, which lelouch did but not at the expense of them but found a way to achieve both. suzaku learned that achieve true change you must be willing to make decisions that are necessary and accept the consequences of those actions without becoming indifferent to those consequences

Wow! What a milestone! 69,000 subs!!!

Excellent video, as always. Thank you

Yesssssss! I have been waiting for a long time for this, thanks my 2nd favourite KZfaqr

I've never watched code geass in my life, but the first 60 seconds are such facts that I feel like it changed my life 😂

saw this and just had to yell out a big "Yes!!!" lol

Haven’t watched the video yet, but I love your videos and I’m sure this one will be great. SO HAPPY you made one for one of my favorite anime

And with this you just became one of my favorite KZfaqrs ever because Code Geass is my favorite anime and I am so happy you wanted to do an analysis on Lelouch and Suzaku because their dynamic is extremely pivotal for making the show what it is. I particularly appreciate the study on Suzaku. Even though Lelouch is best guy and my favorite anime character of all time, I always felt that Suzaku had just as much depth and complexity as Lelouch. It's nice to see an analysis intricately stating Suzaku's hypocrisy while at the same time explaining why he is the way he is without completely bashing him. This video was a real treat for me to watch. I appreciate you taking the time to make a 36 minute video on these two characters. I hope when the third season comes out you might be willing to take a look at these two again to see whether what occurs adds more to their established character arcs or tears it down to build something new. Best wishes to you! Happy 2018!!! :D

The way you characterized Lelouch as an anti-hero prepared to do anything it takes for the sake of his utilitarian goals greatly reminds of me of Kiritsugu and I was very much surprised at how scarily similar those 2 really are.

Sprang my finger clicking so fast

this was very well-said, loved it.

8:20 I did not think u would cover this, bro ur videos are amazing

You make me feel intelligent by liking anime cause you point out the deep meanings inside of the plot lines and character development it’s amazing thank you for making me feel good 😂

You may not be a fan of the show but I am, I watched it in my middle school days and had crushes on Lelouch and Suzaku but I just love their dynamics. Thanks, the video was intriguing. I miss this show to pieces! Loved it to my heart's content~!

You touch on everything I’m thinking about in anime crazy keep it up man great great content

The background is VERY appropriate! Cudos to you sir.

I know this is two years late but I just wanted to say how I view Suzaku. Suzaku's one wish was for the peace of his own people, and it leads to the death of his father. Years later suzaku attempts to atone and even justify the murder of his father by going to Britannia to change it from the inside out. However due to the guilt he feels from killing his own father he believes his life isn't worth protecting so he goes out of his way to risk it protecting anyone and everyone. Suzaku at this point isn't even willing to kill Zero simply because he doesn't believe he deserves to die. This is until Lelouch uses his geass on him. The geass power removing his ability to endanger himself essentially takes away his option to sacrifice himself, to redeem himself. This is the beginning of suzaku's character change. While still pissed at Zero, Euphy having seen the struggle of the Japanese people, hearing nunally's wish, and falling in love with suzaku wants to help the Japanese people and bring a stop to zero's terrorism. (While I still think this is stupid) Lelouch accidentally uses his geass on Euphimia who against her will kills hundreds of thousands of Japanese people. This was the tipping point for suzaku, and changes his character arc significantly as now instead of wanting peace for Japan he only wanted one thing, the death of Zero. When suzaku eventually uncovers lelouchs identity and geass, he hates Lelouch because Lelouch has stolen two things from him his lover and his death wish (As I feel was excellently portrayed by him almost strangling Julius kingsley out of rage.) In order to achieve Euphimia's and his own wish suzaku turns Lelouch in to become a knight of the round, again to justify the death of his father by becoming the knight of one and claiming Japan for himself following his core belief. However when Zero makes a return his rage gets the better of him and he completely abandons his original goal and solely focuses on figuring out whether Lelouch is Zero or not, which because deep down he knows the truth, turns more into suzaku attempting to defeat Lelouch, making suzaku use dirty methods to win which when he realizes this he immediately rejects it. This is until Lelouch asks suzaku to protect nunally which because suzaku realizes that Lelouch was lying about everything that happened, so he decides to protect her if Lelouch turns his lies into the truth. After launching the fleija, suzaku stops lying to himself about the truths of the world and realizes that the quickest way to his original goal the ownership of japan is to remove the current emperor who has forsaken his country and become knight of one through promotion of the new emperor schnizel. After all the C's world stuff, suzaku realizes that peace for just japan won't do anymore since the entire world's become involved and schnizel has plans to rule the world thanks to fleijas. So Lelouch and suzaku agree on the zero requiem and destroy the entire world to make the world a peaceful place for everyone. I agree with you stance that suzaku has to accept that his morals won't grant him change alone, however I don't think he's a hypocrite as he's always attempting to achieve his goal of justifying the death of his father by changing britannia from the inside out. While he does get misguided and uses dirty methods this isn't to achieve his true driving goal, but rather to defeat Zero/Lelouch. Even his betrayal of the emperor isn't because he's a backstabbing traitor but rather because he realizes that the emperor of britannia is not only corrupt but is the one things holding him back from achieving his one goal which with Lelouch off the map is the only goal he needed to achieve.

When I read the title of the video I thought this was going to be an analysis of their relationship as both friends and enemies of each other, but this was about their individual motivations and ideals and the contrasts between them. It was great though I was hoping to hear more about the evolution of their relationship with each other rather than their differences as individual characters. Because I find it really interesting how despite trying to kill each other and betraying each other, Lelouch still thought that Suzaku was the only person he could turn to when it came to saving/protecting Nunnally, and Lelouch also thought that when they were together, they could accomplish anything. The push and pull between them is imo one of the best things about Code Geass.

Loved that one mate :) Keep it going. Its nice to see how other people see things :)

Just earned a sub for Don't Speak her name (And the Death note analysis's. And the analysis videos in general.)

Lelouche: the ends justifies the means Suzaku: Yes, oh wait!

MUAHAHAHAHA CALLED IT 😂 I asked you some weeks ago if you were planning doing a code geass video and you said no. Turns out you actually covered one of my favourite animes. Thank you. Keep up the good work, love your vids.

Excellent analysis, thank you.

I'm glad you finally decided to make a code geass video