A Code Geass Easter

Suggested Listening: Madder Sky, from the Code Geass Soundtrack

Warning: Heavy spoilers ahead. Please do not read if you have not watched the entirety of Code Geass (R1 and R2). If you want to read this article but haven’t completed Code Geass, please complete the show first.

As cold steel begins to pierce his chest, Lelouch curves the corners of his mouth into a contented smile. The last – and greatest – of his plans, the Zero Requiem, was at large on the verge of fulfillment. Suzaku sheds tears as he simultaneously drives the sword home and embraces his best friend. While the crowds look on in stunned silence, Lelouch topples from his throne down to his younger sister Nunally, leaving behind a trail of blood. As Nunally holds Lelouch, she realizes that he had done it all for her. He had conquered the world, made himself its chief enemy, and orchestrated his own death – for her. Amidst the crowds’ joyful shouts and Nunally’s despairing cries, Lelouch vi Britannia breathes his last.

The ending of Code Geass, a Japanese animated series envisioned by Ichiro Okouchi and Goro Taniguchi, is the Mona Lisa of anime endings. It’s simply a masterpiece. Universally acclaimed as one of the best ever conclusions to an anime series, the scenes surrounding Lelouch’s death contain the emotional power to make even the most stoic man cry. But why? Why is his sacrifice and death so resoundingly powerful to the human heart? This is the question the next few paragraphs attempt to address.

To better comprehend our emotional response to the ending, it is essential to understand two main principles behind our thoughts and actions. First is the human disposition towards preserving and augmenting one’s own assets: wealth, power, and even life itself. One would much rather live in a mansion than a tent, or give orders rather than receive them. Second, humans are moral creatures, possessing the innate ability to tell right from wrong. Take for instance the murder of innocent civilians or child pornography. The regular citizen does not need explicit prohibition of such acts written in their nation’s laws to know that they are evil. On the less extreme end, consider the simple act of telling a lie. One often hears a voice in their mind saying that it was not the right thing to do. Author C.S. Lewis notes that humans across all cultures and eras have “a curious idea that they ought to behave in a certain way” (8). Self-elevation and morality are central to the human experience.

Lelouch’s sacrifice, therefore, is so striking because Lelouch simultaneously rejects the instinct to preserve himself and displays the highest moral action possible: he lays down his life. In our society, the vast majority in positions of power would go to great lengths to preserve and augment themselves. Rulers such as Vladimir Putin and Xi Jingping consolidate their authority through the forceful crackdown of those against their regime. Even democratically-elected leaders these days prioritize their own re-election over the interests of those whom they represent. Not Lelouch. Having become the most powerful man on the planet, he gives everything up. He relinquishes his crown, his authority, and even his own life for Nunally’s sake. As the Apostle John writes, “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15.13). Lelouch’s sacrifice is an act of love so deep it shakes our souls.

One final, all-important reason exists behind the magnificence of Code Geass’ ending: Lelouch’s Zero Requiem plan reflects God’s plan of salvation through Jesus Christ. Everything Lelouch achieved Jesus also achieved, but Jesus did it better. Lelouch needed to conquer the world to gain authority over it. Christ already had authority over the universe before time began. Lelouch had to commit evil in order to take the world’s evil upon himself. Jesus did not need to sin to place our sins upon himself. He was sinless – perfect. Lelouch’s death created a better world. Christ’s death atoned for our sins. Whether or whether not Lelouch came back to life is up for debate, but Jesus surely rose from the grave. Through His resurrection he defeated sin, death, and Satan, redeeming creation once and for all. Jesus is the greater Lelouch.

As humans, we are made to know God through His Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus declares the following about himself:

• “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10.10).
• “Whoever drinks of the water that I will give to him will never be thirsty again” (John 4.14).
• “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matt 11.28).

Our lives find their ultimate fulfillment and purpose in Him. As Augustine so famously states three centuries later, “you have made us for yourself, O God, and our heart is restless until it rests in you” (1:1). Witnessing Lelouch’s sacrifice and death evokes an emotional response deep within our souls, revealing our heart’s longing to know and be loved by God.

Two years ago, during the height of the Covid-19 lockdown, I watched the finale of Code Geass on Easter Sunday. Tears filled my eyes as I saw Lelouch’s grand act of the highest honour and love, and continued as I recalled the even greater love of Christ. This Easter, let us reflect upon Jesus’ sacrifice for us: that he became sin in order that we might inherit his righteousness, that he rose from the grave and is now seated in glory (2 Cor 5.21, Rom 8.34).

Works Cited:

Lewis, C. S. Mere Christianity. HarperCollins, 1980.

Saint Augustine. Confessions. Penguin Classics, 1961.

The Bible. Authorized King James Version. Oxford UP.

The Bible. English Standard Version. Crossway.

The Bible. New International Version. Zondervan.