Code Geass

Code Geass

コードギアス 反逆のルルーシュ
2006 -2008 Sunrise MBS / TBS 50 episodes Completed
Action Mecha Sci-Fi Political Drama
Details & Synopsis
Lelouch vi Britannia is seventeenth in line to the throne of the Holy Britannian Empire, exiled to Japan, now called Area 11, a conquered territory with no rights and no name, following his mother's assassination and his sister's crippling. He attends school, plays chess for money, and waits.

Then a mysterious girl named C.C. gives him the Geass: the absolute power to command anyone to do anything, once, through direct eye contact. He puts on a mask. He calls himself Zero. He tells himself he is doing it to destroy Britannia.

He might even be right.

Produced by Sunrise and directed by Goro Taniguchi, who made s-CRY-ed five years earlier and clearly spent the intervening time thinking about political violence and what it costs, Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion aired on MBS from 2006 to 2008. Fifty episodes across two seasons built around a chess match played in real time between a revolutionary who cannot stop lying and a childhood friend who joined the empire to reform it. The show understands that both positions are correct and neither of them will survive being correct.

The plot moves. This is the understatement of the decade. Code Geass was downloaded faster than most fansub groups could release it because no one watching it was willing to wait a week between episodes. The cliffhangers are not cheap, they are the load-bearing structure of a narrative that never stops accelerating. The Knightmare Frame battles are spectacular. The political maneuvering is genuinely intricate. The character work earns what it asks of you.

The ending of R2 is one of the most argued finales in anime history. It is also the correct ending. This is not up for debate.

Fifty episodes. Clear your schedule.
Alt Title コードギアス 反逆のルルーシュ
Studio Sunrise
Network MBS / TBS
Aired 2006 - 2008
Episodes 50
Genre Action, Mecha, Sci-Fi, Political Drama
Status Completed
Search Go to ep Filters
Arc List (8)
R1: Awakening Arc (5) R1: Black Knights Arc (7) R1: Mao Cult Arc (5) R1: Tokyo Rebellion Arc (8) R2: Reborn Mastermind Arc (6) R2: Chinese Federation Arc (7) R2: Geass Directorate Arc (6) R2: Zero Requiem Arc (6)
R1: Awakening Arc 5 eps 5 canon 📷 5
001 The Day a New Demon Was Born Aired Oct 6, 2006 canon 📷 200 ►
Lelouch Lamperouge gets caught in a terrorist crossfire inside Shinjuku Ghetto and encounters a mysterious green haired girl. She grants him the power of absolute obedience via direct eye contact. Lelouch uses his new Geass to command a squad of Britannian soldiers to execute themselves.
View all 200 screencaps from this episode →
002 The White Knight Awakens Aired Oct 13, 2006 canon 📷 195 ►
Lelouch uses a hijacked military radio channel to direct the rebel forces against the Britannian army like chess pieces. Prince Clovis authorizes the deployment of the experimental high mobility Knightmare Frame Lancelot. Suzaku Kururugi pilots the white machine to decimate the rebel advance.
View all 195 screencaps from this episode →
003 The False Classmate Aired Oct 20, 2006 canon 📷 193 ►
Lelouch returns to Ashford Academy and discovers his classmate Kallen Stadtfeld is secretly one of the Shinjuku terrorists. He attempts to test her using his new power but realizes Geass only works once per target. The tension mounts as he realizes he must keep his royal identity hidden from his friends.
View all 193 screencaps from this episode →
004 His Name is Zero Aired Oct 27, 2006 canon 📷 190 ►
Lelouch constructs a dramatic public persona to orchestrate the rescue of the framed Honorary Britannian soldier Suzaku Kururugi. He dons a mask and cape and declares himself to be Zero the leader of a new revolutionary movement. He leverages a captive nobleman to secure Suzaku's freedom in front of a massive media broadcast.
Lore Zero Is a Weapon Before He Is a Person
View all 190 screencaps from this episode →
005 The Princess and the Witch Aired Nov 3, 2006 canon 📷 193 ►
The mysterious immortal girl C.C. moves directly into Lelouch's school quarters and turns his life into an administrative nightmare. Princess Euphemia li Britannia accidentally falls into Suzaku's life while wandering the city incognito. The political climate grows tense as Viceroy Cornelia arrives to assume absolute command of Area 11.
View all 193 screencaps from this episode →
R1: Black Knights Arc 7 eps 7 canon 📷 7
006 The Stolen Mask Aired Nov 10, 2006 canon 📷 192 ►
A stray cat steals Lelouch's Zero mask and runs amok across the Ashford Academy campus. The entire student council launches a chaotic campus wide hunt to retrieve the cat before his identity is exposed. Lelouch handles the high stress situation with absolute panic while trying to maintain his cool exterior.
View all 192 screencaps from this episode →
007 Attack on Cornelia Aired Nov 17, 2006 canon 📷 194 ►
Lelouch launches a direct tactical assault against Viceroy Cornelia at the Saitama Ghetto to test his strategic skills. Cornelia completely reads his opening maneuvers and turns his army into a localized slaughter zone. Lelouch narrowly escapes the trap and realizes his imperial half sister is a far more formidable commander than Clovis.
View all 194 screencaps from this episode →
008 The Black Knights Aired Nov 24, 2006 canon 📷 192 ►
Zero officially organizes his core rebel forces into a disciplined revolutionary army known as the Black Knights. He delivers a global manifesto declaring his military will act as the sword of justice for the weak regardless of nationality. The public broadcast captures the imagination of the entire oppressed population of Japan.
Lore · 2 The Black Knights' First Promise
+1
The Order of the Black Knights Factions & Geopolitics
View all 192 screencaps from this episode →
009 Refrain Aired Dec 1, 2006 canon 📷 195 ►
Kallen struggles to manage the deep emotional scars of her family life as she discovers her mother is addicted to a dangerous reality distorting drug called Refrain. The Black Knights launch a midnight raid on a local drug distribution warehouse to eliminate the black market trade. Kallen learns the true depth of her mother's sacrifice.
View all 195 screencaps from this episode →
010 Guren Dances Aired Dec 8, 2006 canon 📷 191 ►
The Black Knights receive a massive technological upgrade from their shadow backers in Kyoto. Kallen takes command of the red claw armed Guren Mk-II and prepares for a high stakes deployment. Lelouch maps out a massive landslide strategy at Mount Narita to bury Cornelia's elite forces.
Lore Narita Proves Zero Can Win and Shows What Winning Costs
View all 191 screencaps from this episode →
011 Battle for Narita Aired Dec 15, 2006 canon 📷 194 ►
The artificial landslide shifts the tactical balance of Narita completely into Zero's favor. Kallen engages Cornelia's elite guards in a high speed melee dogfight while Lelouch moves to corner the Viceroy. The white Lancelot unexpectedly crashes the battlefield and shatters the Black Knights advance.
Lore Narita Proves Zero Can Win and Shows What Winning Costs
View all 194 screencaps from this episode →
012 The Messenger from Kyoto Aired Dec 22, 2006 canon 📷 189 ►
Lelouch travels to a hidden mountain fortress to secure official funding and military assets from the legendary house of Kyoto. The underground leaders demand Zero reveal his face to confirm his royal bloodline. Lelouch successfully passes the high stakes test of character through pure rhetorical manipulation.
View all 189 screencaps from this episode →
R1: Mao Cult Arc 5 eps 5 canon 📷 5
013 Shirley at Gunpoint Aired Jan 5, 2007 canon 📷 193 ►
Shirley Fenette suffers immense grief after learning her father was killed as collateral damage during the Narita landslide. She wanders the rainy streets looking for comfort and discovers Lelouch's secret notebook. She stands over an unconscious Lelouch with a loaded pistol caught in a spiral of trauma.
Lore Shirley's Father Makes Collateral Damage Personal
View all 193 screencaps from this episode →
014 Geass vs. Geass Aired Jan 12, 2007 canon 📷 190 ►
A terrifying new Geass user named Mao arrives in the city with the ability to read minds within a broad radius. He isolates Shirley and uses his telepathic power to manipulate her guilt into a murderous obsession. Lelouch is forced to use his own power to wipe Shirley's memories of him entirely to save her life.
Lore Shirley's Memories Become a Battlefield
View all 190 screencaps from this episode →
015 Cheering Mao Aired Jan 19, 2007 canon 📷 191 ►
Mao traps C.C. inside a localized amusement park cloaked in psychological torment. Lelouch utilizes a pre recorded video broadcast loop to completely bypass Mao's mind reading ability and orchestrate a flawless rescue. The tactical manipulation leaves the telepath cornered and exposed to a brutal police ambush.
View all 191 screencaps from this episode →
016 Nunnally Held Hostage Aired Jan 26, 2007 canon 📷 195 ►
Mao survives the ambush and kidnaps Lelouch's blind sister Nunnally inside the school underground infrastructure. Lelouch and Suzaku are forced into a tense high stakes partnership to defuse a complex wire bomb trap. Lelouch uses his Geass on himself to mask his tactical thoughts from Mao's radar.
View all 195 screencaps from this episode →
017 Knight Aired Feb 2, 2007 canon 📷 191 ►
Princess Euphemia stuns the entire Britannian establishment by selecting the Honorary Britannian Suzaku Kururugi as her personal Knight. The appointment creates a massive wave of political outrage among the purist nobility. Lelouch organizes a public execution rescue mission to safeguard his core revolutionary assets.
View all 191 screencaps from this episode →
R1: Tokyo Rebellion Arc 8 eps 8 canon 📷 8
018 Stage 18 Commander Suzaku Kururugi Aired Feb 9, 2007 canon 📷 195 ►
Suzaku assumes direct command of a specialized military operation to capture Zero at the Shikinejima base. Lelouch activates a massive ground trap to isolate the Lancelot and prepare for a definitive execution. A sudden high altitude bombardment from the Britannian floating fortress disrupts both armies.
View all 195 screencaps from this episode →
019 Gods Island Aired Feb 16, 2007 canon 📷 186 ►
The high altitude bombardment strands Lelouch Suzaku Kallen and Princess Euphemia on the mysterious uncharted shores of Kamine Island. Lelouch and Suzaku face off in a raw cave showdown where their identities are nearly exposed. They accidentally discover an ancient subterranean ruin that glows with cosmic Geass energy.
View all 186 screencaps from this episode →
020 Battle for Kyushu Aired Feb 23, 2007 canon 📷 197 ►
A rogue faction launches a massive military insurrection in the southern territory of Kyushu with the backing of foreign armor. Suzaku's Lancelot runs out of power in the middle of a dense combat zone. Zero unexpectedly descends from orbit to provide a critical power core resupply and shift the tide.
Lore · 2 The 'Live' Command Turns Suzaku's Death Wish Into a Weapon
+1
Memory Loss & Command Duration Geass Mechanics & Order
View all 197 screencaps from this episode →
021 The Ashford School Festival Aired Mar 2, 2007 canon 📷 189 ►
The student council attempts to cook a giant festival pizza using custom engineered mecha frames to restore morale. Ohgi and the Black Knights infiltrate the campus grounds incognito to deliver tactical data to Lelouch. Princess Euphemia makes a surprise public appearance that changes the geopolitical landscape.
Lore Euphemia Creates a Political Exit From the War
View all 189 screencaps from this episode →
022 Bloodstained Euphie Aired Mar 23, 2007 canon 📷 195 ►
Euphemia launches her bold political campaign to establish the Specially Administrated Zone of Japan. Lelouch corners her in a private room to reveal his identity and accept her terms. Tragically his Geass enters a permanent out of control state during a casual joke commanding her to slaughter the Japanese population.
Lore · 2 Runaway Geass Turns a Bad Example Into a Massacre
+1
Runaway Geass (Permanent Activation) Geass Mechanics & Order
View all 195 screencaps from this episode →
023 At Least with Grief Aired Mar 30, 2007 canon 📷 197 ►
The stadium turns into a horrific bloodbath as the brainwashed Euphemia commands her army to open fire on the innocent crowd. Lelouch suppresses his agonizing personal trauma and delivers the order to execute his childhood friend to stop the massacre. Zero uses the tragedy to ignite a total global rebellion.
Lore Lelouch Chooses Zero Over Euphemia
View all 197 screencaps from this episode →
024 The Collapsing Stage Aired Jul 28, 2007 canon 📷 193 ►
The Black Knights launch the absolute Tokyo Rebellion assaulting the Britannian government complex with total kinetic force. Lelouch turns the city structures into massive gravity traps to sink the defending armor. A sudden message revealing Nunnally has been kidnapped forces him to abandon his command post.
Lore The Black Rebellion Fails When Lelouch Stops Being Zero
View all 193 screencaps from this episode →
025 Zero Aired Jul 28, 2007 canon 📷 192 ►
The Black Knights rebellion collapses into total chaos as their commander vanishes mid battle to pursue his sister. Suzaku tracks Lelouch directly to the ancient subterranean ruins of Kamine Island. The mask is violently shattered in a high stakes standoff as the two childhood friends point their pistols at each other.
Lore · 2 Kamine Island Ends the Last Comfortable Lie
+1
The Black Rebellion Fails When Lelouch Stops Being Zero Zero & the Black Knights
View all 192 screencaps from this episode →
R2: Reborn Mastermind Arc 6 eps 6 canon 📷 6
026 The Day a Demon Awakens Aired Apr 6, 2008 canon 📷 200 ►
Lelouch lives a quiet peaceful life as a student with his memories completely wiped by his father's Emperor Geass. C.C. launches a high stakes assault on a local casino tower to restore the mastermind's true persona. The demon Zero awakens and immediately collapses the building onto his Britannian pursuers.
Lore R2 Opens With a Manufactured Normal
View all 200 screencaps from this episode →
027 Plan for Independent Japan Aired Apr 13, 2008 canon 📷 198 ►
Lelouch uses his restored mastermind capabilities to gather the scattered remnants of the Black Knights inside the Chinese Federation consulate. He issues a global broadcast declaring the immediate restoration of the United States of Japan. The move stuns the newly appointed Viceroy Rolo.
View all 198 screencaps from this episode →
028 Imprisoned Campus Aired Apr 20, 2008 canon 📷 199 ►
Lelouch returns to Ashford Academy and discovers his entire school life is a heavily monitored panopticon facility run by secret agents. His fake brother Rolo possesses a localized time freezing Geass designed to assassinate him. Lelouch begins a high stakes psychological game to turn Rolo into his personal asset.
View all 199 screencaps from this episode →
029 Counterattack at the Gallows Aired Apr 27, 2008 canon 📷 197 ►
Britannian execution squads prepare to slaughter the captured Black Knights on live television to draw out Zero. Lelouch orchestrates a brilliant structural collapse of the execution plaza using modular engineering. He successfully converts the execution into a massive recruitment triumph for his army.
View all 197 screencaps from this episode →
030 Knights of the Round Aired May 4, 2008 canon 📷 196 ►
Suzaku returns to Ashford Academy accompanied by the elite Knights of the Round to test whether Lelouch's memories have been restored. Lelouch is forced to maintain a flawless civilian mask while under constant physical and telepathic surveillance. The tension reaches a critical point during a phone call trap.
View all 196 screencaps from this episode →
031 Pacific Ocean Siege Battle Aired May 11, 2008 canon 📷 200 ►
The Black Knights launch a massive high altitude aerial ambush against the Britannian naval transport fleet carrying the new Viceroy Nunnally. Kallen drives the Guren into a high stakes aerial dogfight to breach the command ship. Lelouch faces absolute emotional paralysis upon hearing his sister's voice.
View all 200 screencaps from this episode →
R2: Chinese Federation Arc 7 eps 7 canon 📷 7
032 Discarded Mask Aired May 18, 2008 canon 📷 189 ►
Lelouch struggles with severe depression over his inability to rescue Nunnally without putting her life in danger. He attempts to abandon his mask in the slums but is confronted by the unyielding loyalty of Kallen. He rebuilds his resolve and prepares a grand geopolitical defection strategy.
View all 189 screencaps from this episode →
033 Million Vows Aired May 25, 2008 canon 📷 199 ►
Zero strikes a brilliant diplomatic deal with the Britannian Viceroy to exile one million Japanese citizens peacefully. He utilizes identical custom Zero costumes to make the entire one million crowd look completely identical. The mass identity swap allows his entire army to defect to the Chinese Federation undetected.
Lore One Million People Become Zero
View all 199 screencaps from this episode →
034 A Bride in the Forbidden City Aired Jun 1, 2008 canon 📷 194 ►
The corrupt High Eunuchs of the Chinese Federation arrange a political marriage between their young Empress and a Britannian prince to secure noble status. Zero crashes the royal wedding inside the Forbidden City and takes the Empress hostage to spark a national civilian revolution.
View all 194 screencaps from this episode →
035 When Shen Hu Wins the Glory Aired Jun 8, 2008 canon 📷 198 ►
The brilliant strategist Xingke launches the ultra high performance Knightmare Frame Shen Hu to intercept the retreating Black Knights. His masterful tactical lines push Lelouch's command unit to the absolute brink of mechanical destruction. The battle turns into a fierce clash of pure intellect.
View all 198 screencaps from this episode →
036 Power of Passion Aired Jun 15, 2008 canon 📷 192 ►
Lelouch exposes the financial corruption of the High Eunuchs to the entire global population via a pirated broadcast channel. The revelation causes a massive domestic civilian uprising across the Chinese Federation. Xingke switches alliances to secure the Empress and permanently joins the Black Knights coalition.
View all 192 screencaps from this episode →
037 Love Attack Aired Jun 22, 2008 canon 📷 197 ►
Milly Ashford organizes a final chaotic hat chasing graduation match across the campus grounds with the prize being a mandatory engagement. Lelouch is forced to deploy his entire tactical apparatus just to escape the student match without exposing his double life. The event serves as the final peaceful civilian interlude.
View all 197 screencaps from this episode →
038 Assassin from the Past Aired Jun 29, 2008 canon 📷 196 ►
The unstable assassin model V.V. dispatches a specialized anti Geass squad to purge the Ashford student council. Shirley accidentally recovers her wiped memories of Lelouch's true identity and Zero's past actions. She tries to find Lelouch to save his soul but is brutally murdered by Rolo.
View all 196 screencaps from this episode →
R2: Geass Directorate Arc 6 eps 6 canon 📷 6
039 Geass Hunt Aired Jul 6, 2008 canon 📷 198 ►
Lelouch flies into a blinding cold fury over Shirley's death and mobilizes the Black Knights for a secret military purge of the Geass Directorate. His elite squads execute an unsparing annihilation of the underground research facility. Lelouch corners his immortal uncle V.V. to prepare for a definitive bloodline extraction.
Lore V.V., C.C. and the Geass Order
View all 198 screencaps from this episode →
040 The Cs World Aired Jul 13, 2008 canon 📷 190 ►
Lelouch is transported directly into the surreal collective subconscious dimension known as C's World. He faces off against his father Emperor Charles zi Britannia who reveals the true nature of the Code inheritance. Lelouch traps his father inside the abstract space and attempts a permanent structural execution.
Lore V.V., C.C. and the Geass Order
View all 190 screencaps from this episode →
041 United Federation of Nations Resolution Number One Aired Jul 27, 2008 canon 📷 194 ►
Zero coordinates forty seven independent nations to officially ratify the global charter of the United Federation of Nations. The massive economic and military superpower block directly challenges Britannia's global dominance. The first official resolution demands the immediate liberation of Japan.
Lore The United Federation of Nations (U.F.N.)
View all 194 screencaps from this episode →
042 Taste of Soil Aired Aug 3, 2008 canon 📷 190 ►
Lelouch travels to a heavily guarded facility to conduct a private high stakes negotiation with Suzaku to secure Nunnally's safety. Suzaku demands Lelouch answer for all his strategic crimes before accepting the terms. The meeting is violently sabotaged by a hidden Britannian strike squad tracking his signal.
View all 190 screencaps from this episode →
043 Final Battle Tokyo II Aired Aug 10, 2008 canon 📷 198 ►
The United Federation of Nations launches a massive total kinetic assault to reclaim Tokyo. The Lancelot is pushed to its absolute structural limit by Kallen's newly upgraded Guren Seiten. Suzaku's brainwashed Geass command forces him to fire the deadly FLEIJA nuclear warhead vaporizing the entire center of the city.
Lore · 2 Suzaku Fires the First F.L.E.I.A.
+1
F.L.E.I.A. (Field Limit Expansion Implosion Armament) Knightmare Frames & Tech
View all 198 screencaps from this episode →
044 Betrayal Aired Aug 17, 2008 canon 📷 192 ►
Schneizel delivers verified data exposing Zero's Geass capabilities and imperial heritage directly to the Black Knights command staff. The revolutionary leaders turn their weapons on Lelouch feeling completely exploited. Rolo uses his failing heart power to execute a brilliant high stakes mecha escape to save his brother.
Lore · 2 Schneizel Wins by Giving Them the Truth Selectively
+1
Rolo's Final Choice Is the Opposite of How Lelouch Used Him R2: Memory, Return & Betrayal
View all 192 screencaps from this episode →
R2: Zero Requiem Arc 6 eps 6 canon 📷 6
045 Emperor Dismissed Aired Aug 24, 2008 canon 📷 196 ►
Rolo perishes from absolute cardiac arrest after securing the escape. Lelouch buries his brother with genuine honor and abandons his masked persona forever. He travels back into the ancient ruins of Kamine Island to launch his definitive final assault against the Emperor inside the core of C's World.
View all 196 screencaps from this episode →
046 The Ragnarok Connection Aired Aug 31, 2008 canon 📷 197 ►
The true world resetting plot of Charles and Marianne is fully laid bare inside the collective subconscious. They plan to destroy individual human boundaries to construct a world without lies. Lelouch violently rejects their stagnant utopia and uses his Geass to command the collective consciousness to erase his parents from existence.
Lore · 2 Charles and Marianne Want a World Without Lies
+1
Lelouch Chooses Tomorrow Over the World His Parents Wanted C's World & the Ragnarok Connection
View all 197 screencaps from this episode →
047 Emperor Lelouch Aired Sep 7, 2008 canon 📷 189 ►
Lelouch emerges from the ruins and hijacks the Britannian imperial broadcast network to crown himself the ninety ninth Emperor of the realm. Suzaku stands by his side as the newly appointed Knight of Zero. The mastermind uses his Geass on the entire imperial court to establish absolute autocratic rule.
Lore Lelouch Takes Britannia So the World Has One Enemy
View all 189 screencaps from this episode →
048 Schneizels Guise Aired Sep 14, 2008 canon 📷 194 ►
Schneizel aligns with the remaining Black Knights coalition and assumes control of the floating fortress Damocles. He reveals Nunnally is alive and operating as the face of his resistance faction. Lelouch is forced to structure his tactical lines against his own sister to complete his ultimate plan.
Lore · 2 Damocles Is a Political System, Not Just a Fortress
+1
Nunnally Chooses to Carry the Key Herself F.L.E.I.A., Damocles & the Final War
View all 194 screencaps from this episode →
049 The Grip of Damocles Aired Sep 21, 2008 canon 📷 194 ►
The ultimate high altitude mecha dogfight erupts over the Pacific Ocean as Lelouch's flagship breaches the Damocles energy shield. Suzaku engages the Round aces in a final lethal clash of mecha piloting styles. Lelouch uses a masterfully timed cyber calculation pattern to permanently disable Schneizel's strategic network.
Lore · 2 9th Generation Transcendent Frames
+1
Suzaku vs. Kallen, Lelouch vs. Schneizel F.L.E.I.A., Damocles & the Final War
View all 194 screencaps from this episode →
050 Re Aired Sep 28, 2008 canon 📷 193 ►
Lelouch assumes absolute dictatorial dominance over the entire planet as the hated tyrant of humanity. The grand finale unfolds during a massive victory parade in the streets of Tokyo. Suzaku dons the Zero mask to execute the master calculated assassination of Emperor Lelouch vi Britannia. The Zero Requiem finishes cleanly as the world's collective hatred dies with the mastermind leaving a gentle dawn for humanity.
Lore · 3 Zero Requiem Requires the One Person Lelouch Cannot Fool
+2
The World Watches Zero Kill Lelouch Zero Requiem Nunnally Understands Too Late Zero Requiem
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ⓘ Legend
canon Episode adapts events from the source manga.
mixed Adapts source material but adds anime-original scenes.
good-filler Anime-original episode generally well-received by fans.
filler Anime-original episode not based on the source manga.
📷 Number of user-uploaded screencaps available for this episode.
LV

Lelouch vi Britannia

SPOILER!

Primary Protagonist / Zero and Geass User

Lelouch is an exiled Britannian prince living under the name Lelouch Lamperouge in occupied Japan, where he spends his school days looking bored and his nights resenting the empire that discarded him and Nunnally. C.C. gives him Geass, the power to issue one irresistible command to anyone who meets his gaze, and Lelouch immediately turns that impossible advantage into the masked identity Zero. He is brilliant, theatrical and very good at treating a battlefield like a chessboard right up until actual people refuse to behave like pieces. That gap drives most of the series. Lelouch can plan rebellions several moves ahead and still make catastrophic decisions when emotion gets involved. His love for Nunnally is genuine, his ego is enormous and the Zero Requiem ultimately asks whether one final manipulation can pay for everything he did to reach it.
+14 LORE
Charles and Marianne Want a World Without Lies C's World & the Ragnarok Connection Lelouch Chooses Tomorrow Over the World His Parents Wanted C's World & the Ragnarok Connection Lelouch Chooses Zero Over Euphemia Euphemia & the Special Zone R2 Opens With a Manufactured Normal R2: Memory, Return & Betrayal Rolo's Final Choice Is the Opposite of How Lelouch Used Him R2: Memory, Return & Betrayal Zero Is a Weapon Before He Is a Person Zero & the Black Knights Narita Proves Zero Can Win and Shows What Winning Costs Zero & the Black Knights Lelouch Takes Britannia So the World Has One Enemy Zero Requiem The World Watches Zero Kill Lelouch Zero Requiem The Order of the Black Knights Factions & Geopolitics The United Federation of Nations (U.F.N.) Factions & Geopolitics Lelouch Vi Britannia: Absolute Obedience Geass Mechanics & Order Destroy the System or Change It From Inside Lelouch & Suzaku Kamine Island Ends the Last Comfortable Lie Lelouch & Suzaku
SK

Suzaku Kururugi

SPOILER!

Primary Rival / Lancelot Pilot and Britannian Knight

Suzaku is Lelouch's childhood friend and the son of Japan's last prime minister, but the two respond to Britannian rule in almost opposite ways. Lelouch wants to destroy the system from outside. Suzaku joins Britannia as an Honorary Britannian and insists it can be changed from within. He becomes pilot of the Lancelot, giving the empire a fighter capable of wrecking Zero's best plans through sheer skill and refusal to stay down. Suzaku's idealism is tangled up with enormous guilt. As a child he killed his own father in an attempt to stop Japan's war, and much of his later heroism carries a self-destructive edge. Lelouch's Geass command ordering him to live only makes that contradiction harsher. By the end, Suzaku becomes essential to the Zero Requiem and inherits the mask he once fought.
+15 LORE
Suzaku Loses the Person Who Made His Path Seem Possible Euphemia & the Special Zone Suzaku Fires the First F.L.E.I.A. F.L.E.I.A., Damocles & the Final War The 'Live' Command Turns Suzaku's Death Wish Into a Weapon Lelouch & Suzaku Kamine Island Ends the Last Comfortable Lie Lelouch & Suzaku Zero Requiem Requires the One Person Lelouch Cannot Fool Lelouch & Suzaku Suzaku's Punishment Is to Survive as Zero Zero Requiem The Mask Outlives the Man Zero Requiem Suzaku vs. Kallen, Lelouch vs. Schneizel F.L.E.I.A., Damocles & the Final War Area 11 & The Eleven Designation Factions & Geopolitics Honorary Britannian Status Factions & Geopolitics Memory Loss & Command Duration Geass Mechanics & Order 7th Generation (Z-01 Lancelot & Guren Mk-II) Knightmare Frames & Tech 9th Generation Transcendent Frames Knightmare Frames & Tech Destroy the System or Change It From Inside Lelouch & Suzaku The World Watches Zero Kill Lelouch Zero Requiem
C.

C.C.

SPOILER!

Major Supporting / Immortal Code Bearer

C.C. is the green-haired immortal who gives Lelouch his Geass in exchange for a contract he agrees to before understanding almost any of it. She moves into his life, steals his bed, orders pizza with impressive commitment and becomes the one person around Zero who usually knows when the performance is getting ridiculous. The comedy sits beside a much sadder history. C.C. cannot age or die, has spent centuries watching people leave and originally sought someone capable of taking her Code so that her immortality could finally end. Her own Geass once forced people to love her, which left her deeply suspicious of affection she could not trust. Lelouch begins as another contract partner. Over time, their relationship becomes one of the few places where either of them can stop pretending to be exactly what everyone else needs.
+3 LORE
V.V., C.C. and the Geass Order C's World & the Ragnarok Connection The Code of Immortality Geass Mechanics & Order R2 Opens With a Manufactured Normal R2: Memory, Return & Betrayal
KS

Kallen Stadtfeld

SPOILER!

Major Supporting / Black Knights Ace and Guren Pilot

Kallen lives two lives before Zero ever appears. At Ashford Academy she presents herself as a frail Britannian student named Kallen Stadtfeld. Outside school she fights under her Japanese mother's name, Kozuki, as part of the resistance. Once the Black Knights form, Kallen becomes their ace pilot in the Guren, a machine whose Radiation Wave can turn close combat into something extremely unpleasant for whoever thought they had her cornered. She is passionate, hot-tempered and genuinely committed to Japanese liberation, which is why learning Zero's identity hurts more than simply discovering a secret. Kallen has to decide whether she was following Lelouch, the symbol he created or the cause she already believed in before he arrived. Her fights with Suzaku are spectacular, but the loyalty question is what gives them weight.
+6 LORE
Suzaku vs. Kallen, Lelouch vs. Schneizel F.L.E.I.A., Damocles & the Final War The Order of the Black Knights Factions & Geopolitics Command Division & Asymmetrical Warfare Factions & Geopolitics 7th Generation (Z-01 Lancelot & Guren Mk-II) Knightmare Frames & Tech 9th Generation Transcendent Frames Knightmare Frames & Tech The Black Knights' First Promise Zero & the Black Knights
SF

Shirley Fenette

SPOILER!

Major Supporting / Ashford Student and Lelouch's Friend

Shirley is one of Lelouch's classmates, a student council regular and very obviously in love with him long before he is emotionally equipped to deal with that. At first she belongs to the lighter Ashford side of Code Geass, the part of Lelouch's life where school festivals and embarrassing crushes still exist. Zero's rebellion destroys that separation when the battle at Narita kills Shirley's father. Her grief leads her toward the truth about Lelouch, and Lelouch responds by using Geass to erase her memories of him. Even that does not permanently sever their connection. Shirley eventually remembers enough to choose him again, only to be killed by Rolo before she can act on that choice. Her story is painful because she never volunteered for the war. It keeps reaching into her ordinary life anyway.
+4 LORE
Shirley's Father Makes Collateral Damage Personal Ashford Academy & the Civilian Cost Shirley's Memories Become a Battlefield Ashford Academy & the Civilian Cost Ashford Is Not Filler to Lelouch Ashford Academy & the Civilian Cost Narita Proves Zero Can Win and Shows What Winning Costs Zero & the Black Knights
SE

Schneizel el Britannia

SPOILER!

Major Antagonist / Second Prince and Imperial Strategist

Schneizel is Britannia's Second Prince, prime minister and one of the few strategists who can consistently make Lelouch work for every advantage. He is charming, calm and rarely needs to raise his voice, which makes the scale of his decisions more unsettling. Schneizel does not share Lelouch's emotional attachment to individual lives or Charles's obsession with metaphysics. He sees politics as a problem that can be stabilized if enough power is placed in the right hands. By the final conflict that logic produces the Damocles and the threat of FLEIJA warheads, a system of peace enforced by fear from above. Schneizel's danger is not that he loses control. It is that he remains perfectly composed while proposing something monstrous because, to him, the numbers still make sense.
+4 LORE
Damocles Is a Political System, Not Just a Fortress F.L.E.I.A., Damocles & the Final War Schneizel Wins by Giving Them the Truth Selectively R2: Memory, Return & Betrayal Suzaku vs. Kallen, Lelouch vs. Schneizel F.L.E.I.A., Damocles & the Final War F.L.E.I.A. (Field Limit Expansion Implosion Armament) Knightmare Frames & Tech
NV

Nunnally vi Britannia

SPOILER!

Major Supporting / Lelouch's Younger Sister

Nunnally is Lelouch's younger sister and the person he names whenever he tries to explain why he is willing to tear down an empire. She loses the use of her legs during the attack that kills their mother and is made blind through Charles's Geass, leaving Lelouch fiercely protective of the gentle life she still tries to build around herself. That protectiveness becomes one of his biggest strengths and weaknesses. Nunnally is kind, but she is not incapable of making political choices once she gains authority. Her return as a public figure and eventual role beside Schneizel force Lelouch to confront the possibility that the sister he claims to be saving may not agree with the world he is creating for her. Their final meeting is devastating because Nunnally finally understands the cost of the Zero Requiem only after it is too late to stop it.
+4 LORE
Nunnally Chooses to Carry the Key Herself F.L.E.I.A., Damocles & the Final War The Black Rebellion Fails When Lelouch Stops Being Zero Zero & the Black Knights Nunnally Understands Too Late Zero Requiem Ashford Is Not Filler to Lelouch Ashford Academy & the Civilian Cost
EL

Euphemia li Britannia

SPOILER!

Major Supporting / Third Princess and Suzaku's Patron

Euphemia is Britannia's Third Princess and one of the few members of the royal family who looks at Area 11 and immediately understands that ruling through humiliation is not peace. She chooses Suzaku as her knight despite the political backlash and eventually proposes the Special Administrative Zone of Japan, a genuine attempt to give the Japanese back their name and civil rights without another war. That plan terrifies Lelouch precisely because it might work. During their private meeting, his Geass suddenly becomes permanently active and an accidental command forces Euphemia to order the massacre of the Japanese gathered for the ceremony. Lelouch kills her to stop it. The tragedy lands because Euphie was not secretly naive about everything. She found a peaceful move that could change the board, and the supernatural power at the center of the series destroyed it.
+4 LORE
Euphemia Creates a Political Exit From the War Euphemia & the Special Zone Runaway Geass Turns a Bad Example Into a Massacre Euphemia & the Special Zone Suzaku Loses the Person Who Made His Path Seem Possible Euphemia & the Special Zone Runaway Geass (Permanent Activation) Geass Mechanics & Order
CL

Cornelia li Britannia

SPOILER!

Major Supporting / Britannian Princess and Military Commander

Cornelia is Britannia's Second Princess, a front-line commander and one of the first opponents Zero cannot simply outsmart with a theatrical speech and a clever trap. She takes over Area 11 after Clovis's death and pursues the Black Knights with the confidence of someone who actually knows how to command an army under fire. Cornelia is fiercely loyal to Britannia, but her deepest loyalty is personal. Euphemia matters to her more than imperial policy, and Euphie's death eventually sends Cornelia looking for the truth behind Geass and the circumstances that destroyed her sister. That search changes her relationship with the empire she once served without making her suddenly gentle. Cornelia remains proud, blunt and very comfortable in a Knightmare cockpit. She just becomes much less willing to accept the official version of events.
LORE
RC

Rakshata Chawla

Supporting / Black Knights Engineer and Guren Designer

Rakshata is the relaxed, pipe-smoking engineer responsible for some of the Black Knights' most important Knightmare technology. She helped develop the Guren and its Radiation Wave system, giving Kallen a machine capable of challenging Britannia's best prototypes instead of simply surviving them. Rakshata rarely behaves like somebody working in the middle of a revolution. She lounges, jokes and watches other people panic while quietly solving problems that can change the balance of a battle. Her professional rivalry with Lloyd Asplund adds another layer of fun because both engineers are fascinated by machines even when they are building them for opposite sides. Rakshata is not a political ideologue in the way Zero or Kallen can be. She is the person making sure the rebellion has hardware worthy of its ambitions.
+3 LORE
The Order of the Black Knights Factions & Geopolitics Command Division & Asymmetrical Warfare Factions & Geopolitics 7th Generation (Z-01 Lancelot & Guren Mk-II) Knightmare Frames & Tech
DR

Diethard Ried

SPOILER!

Supporting Antagonist / Black Knights Information Director

Diethard begins as a Britannian television producer and joins Zero because he thinks he has found the greatest story of his lifetime. That makes him useful and dangerous in roughly equal measure. As the Black Knights' information chief, Diethard understands broadcasts, public perception and the value of turning a masked insurgent into a symbol much larger than one man. He is never especially interested in Japanese liberation for its own sake. What he wants is to witness and shape history. That lack of personal loyalty becomes obvious once Lelouch's secrets threaten the story Diethard believes he is documenting. He eventually abandons Zero and sides with Schneizel, only to discover that treating every relationship as material for a grand narrative leaves nobody particularly interested in saving you when the narrative turns.
+3 LORE
The Order of the Black Knights Factions & Geopolitics Command Division & Asymmetrical Warfare Factions & Geopolitics Schneizel Wins by Giving Them the Truth Selectively R2: Memory, Return & Betrayal
MA

Milly Ashford

Supporting / Ashford Student Council President

Milly is the student council president at Ashford Academy and the chief reason Lelouch's school life keeps producing events more exhausting than some of his military campaigns. She loves festivals, schemes, matchmaking and any excuse to make her friends participate in something ridiculous. The energy is real, but so is the pressure underneath it. The Ashford family lost status after supporting Lelouch and Nunnally, and Milly is expected to help restore that position through an arranged marriage to Lloyd Asplund. She eventually decides that living according to everybody else's plan is not much of a life, breaks from the engagement and pursues broadcasting instead. Milly matters because Ashford is not just filler between battles. It is the normal life Lelouch keeps insisting he can preserve while his other identity makes that harder every week.
+2 LORE
Milly Represents the World That Keeps Moving Anyway Ashford Academy & the Civilian Cost Ashford Is Not Filler to Lelouch Ashford Academy & the Civilian Cost