Code Geass (Anime)

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Name: Code Geass 
Type: Anime

Director: Goro Taniguchi

Official Rating: TV-14

Seasons: 2 
Genre: Action, mecha, science fiction, anti-hero
Age Rating: 17+

Review: 
Follows the high school experience of Lelouch after a mysterious girl named C2 gives him the power of the Geass, which allows him to completely control people, though only once. Taking his abilities to aid in the war of the state, Lelouch creates an alter-ego of himself: the intelligent and feared Zero and launches a rebellion with his faithful followers. 

This anime is extremely intense and emotionally taxing just because of the amount of story, background, and rich characters. It is different and interesting to have Lelouch as the main character, because he's an anti-hero, and most animes don't do that. You get a chance to see that kind of plot and engage with the offbeat characters that aren't seen as much onscreen in regular shows. Not only that, but the ability to make others do something was always chilling in an edge-of-your-seat way, especially later when Lelouch begins losing some control over his Geass.

Though violent, it has a terrifically interesting plot, and the violence isn't unnecessary; the characters have a reason and there is a point to the war they are fighting. I enjoyed the epic battles and strategic planning on Lelouch's part, and had fun with the newfangled machines they introduced. Though most of the episodes were serious, there were several random, quite hilarious ones that evened out the severity of the show, which was nice. It seems that most animes have at least one episode filled with completely random sequences.

I liked this show because it was well-written and the characters were well-developed, and it had a killer ending. I was never able to guess what was going to happen, and the tale was engrossing and spiked my curiosity. I watched this with a group of people, and I think it was better that way, just because of how intense it is, and I wouldn't have anyone under the age of 16 watch it. Still, it's a good anime and if you're a die-hard fan, this one is definitely on the "to-see" list.

Mature Content: 

• Profanity- "Shit" and "damn"
• Nudity- In several episodes, bare breasts are briefly shown of the characters Kallen, Viletta, and C.C.
• The character Nina is never shown naked, but in one scene she is shown in a dark room touching herself 
• Some of the women wear pretty skanky outfits (short skirts, lots of cleavage) 
• Spiritual- Some of the characters' morals (especially Leloush's) are questionable
• Violence- Extremely violent and culturally intense (shows blood, and includes the deaths of certain races of people)
• Racism- A war between Briton and Japan
• Extreme cultural tension and a class governmental setup (Japanese are inferior to Britons)
• Drugs- Some characters are seen smoking
• Sexual References- Subtle references to sex (not spoken, but hinted at)
• Intense Scenes- Multiple emotional deaths (Shirley, Rollo)
• Emotionally intense

Personal Note: 

My favorite characters were Euphemia and Suzaku.