CODE GEASS: LELOUCH OF THE REBELLION Vol.1 review

Read this review

from
http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2008/10/19/lifebookshelf/1999640&sec=lifebookshelf

Sunday October 19, 2008

Rebel hero

By KUROGANE

CODE GEASS: LELOUCH OF THE REBELLION Vol.1
Story: Ichirou Ohkouchi and
Goro Taniguchi
Art: Majiko!
Publisher: Bandai Entertainment;
180 pages
(ISBN: 978-1594099731)
For ages 13+

JAPAN is the latest addition to the territories of the world super-power, the Holy Empire of Brittania. Japan is thus renamed “Area 11” and her people are stripped of their rights and freedom; they’re now merely called “Elevens” as a mark of Brittanian subjugation.

In the midst of this unrest, a Brittanian youth, Lelouch Lamperouge, gains a special power called “Geass” from a mysterious witch known only as “C.C.”. With the Geass, Lelouch sets out to fulfil his wish to destroy Brittania, the country that robbed him of his mother as well as the eyes and legs of his beloved sister, Nunnally. He also wants to, for one, create a “kind world” for her.

The Geass, which allows him to completely put people under his control, is the key to his victory. However, the task remains a gargantuan one. Will Lelouch be able to topple the world super-power Brittania with his own hands?

An adaptation of the popular Code Geass anime franchise created by Ichirou Ohkouchi and Goro Taniguchi, the manga incarnation preserves most of the series’ original story elements with sporadic changes.

For instance, the fateful reunion in the anime between Lelouch and his best and only friend, Suzaku Kururugi, doesn’t occur, as they are both attending the same school in the beginning of the manga. The way Lelouch encounters Kallen Kouzuki, his classmate and secret freedom fighter, also differs drastically.

The changes, I suspect, are initiated to increase the manga’s selling point.

Sadly, Majiko-sensei’s art is less than satisfactory, if one is to compare it with the anime character designs done by the CLAMP team. Here, the characters look softer and rounder, quite unlike the sharper “feel” of the originals. The art also suffers from patchy spots and the characters go out of proportions at times. It’s as if the manga was done by an amateur artist who is still learning the ropes. All said, however, the art isn’t too bad if you can ignore the occasional unsatisfactory bits.

For die-hard fans of the franchise.

(Rating: 2)