Lelouch vi Britannia

**Lelouch vi Britannia** (ルルーシュ・ヴィ・ブリタニア, *Rurūshu vui Buritania*) was the protagonist of Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion and Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion R2, 17 years old (18 at R2). After he was exiled he used the alias, **Lelouch Lamperouge** (ルルーシュ・ランペルージ, *Rurūshu Ranperūji*). He was the Eleventh Prince of the Holy Britannian Empire and the son of the 98th Emperor of Britannia, Charles zi Britannia. He was also the leader of the Black Knights and the real identity of Zero. He is voiced by Jun Fukuyama, while his child self is voiced by Sayaka Ohara. His English dub voice is provided by Johnny Yong Bosch with Michelle Ruff doing Lelouch's child voice.

He was chosen the most popular male character of 2006, 2007 and 2008 at Animage magazine's annual Anime Grand Prix. His Seiyū Jun Fukuyama also won the "Best Actor in a Leading Role" award for his portrayal of the character at the first Seiyū Awards in 2007.

## Appearance

Lelouch is a handsome, young man with black hair and violet eyes, which he inherited from his mother. Lelouch is somewhat scrawny, having little muscle, and like most characters in the series, is rather thin. In spite of this, Lelouch is considerably tall, standing at least a head taller than Kallen, and apparently being slightly taller than Suzaku.

Lelouch usually wears the Ashford Academy uniform, or the Zero uniform. Outside of Ashford, he wears a crimson jacket with a black shirt underneath and grey trousers.

## Personality

Lelouch is a highly intelligent individual who is also calm, sophisticated, and arrogant due to his aristocratic upbringing. While at school, Lelouch conducts himself as a sociable, likeable, and often easygoing student. However, this is really a mask to hide his true nature. While as Zero his true nature is expressed. His charisma and beliefs in justice gain him the trust and respect of many soldiers and leaders.

Lelouch is known for having a very stoic personality. He never cared about schoolwork, seeing the entire thing as trivial, even though his high intelligence would make it easy for him. At one point, Shirley stated that if Lelouch applied himself in school, he could get high grades. He enjoys seeking out challenges, often playing chess against nobility. In general, Lelouch takes most day-to-day affairs with open disinterest, often not even noticing the affection of others, especially Shirley, his fellow classmate. He has a strong dislike for nobles, viewing them as tepid and "overprivileged parasites."

In battle, Lelouch is very cold and tactical. He is willing to sacrifice civilians and soldiers alike, if that is what it takes to achieve the objective. In the battle at Narita, when he created a landslide that wiped out most of the enemy forces, and indirectly, several civilians in the town below, he brushed off the civilian casualties as a simple "mathematical overestimation." He did have second thoughts when he learned that one of them was Shirley's father, but he accepted that there will always be consequences for all of his actions. He also saw no problem with collapsing a large portion of Tokyo, resulting in countless military and civilian casualties.

Many characters have noted that Lelouch is quite selfish, as his desire to remake the world into what he wants it to be comes from his desire to avenge his mother's apparent death and Nunnally's sake, however in time he realizes that this goal is not just for them, but for the entire world.

Despite his cold, calculating demeanor, and ruthlessness in battle, he can be a rather compassionate person to his friends and loved ones. To Nunnally, he is a loving older brother, and to Suzaku, a loyal friend, despite the fact that the two are enemies. Lelouch, at first glance, seems to have relatively little concern for the well-being of his subordinates, but in reality, he does care about them, seeing them as valuable allies. Though he has shown preference on occasion especially with Kallen.

## Abilities

### Geass

Lelouch's Geass, bestowed upon him by C.C., gives him "The Power of Absolute Obedience", allowing him to plant commands within a person's mind upon eye contact in a manner comparable to hypnosis. Activation of his Geass is visually represented by the manifestation of a Geass Sigil in his left eye. Commands dictated in this state are written into the minds of the designated targets once the Sigil projects from his eye to theirs. Lelouch could initially toggle Geass activation at will, but subsequently lost this control and suffered from an affliction known as "**runaway Geass"** near the end of the first series.

In the second season, C.C. gives Lelouch a contact lens that blocks his Geass, but indicates that his Geass will eventually grow powerful enough to render it ineffective. Lelouch's Geass evolves to cover both of his eyes in episode 21 as a result of pushing his Geass to the limit, trying to command a massive psychic entity. He receives a second contact lens to cover it later.

Of all the Geass abilities in the series, Lelouch's has been explored the most, and also seems to have the most restrictions and side effects of any Geass introduced:

* Only affects the nervous system.
* Commands must be issued verbally.
* The victim must make direct eye contact for commands to be issued. The maximum effective distance is 272 meters. Line of sight via a reflective surface is sufficient for the effect to occur.

* Commands may be issued only once to any given individual, but any number of commands may be issued at initial application so long as eye contact is unbroken. Since Jeremiah's Geass Canceller negates all Geass effects, those exposed to it may be commanded once again.
* The victim will not perform any action disallowed by their physical or mental capabilities, though they will try to carry out the command to the best of their ability. For example, a victim will not be able to correctly answer a question they don't know the answer to, but will direct the user to someone who can if they are able. However, commands that affect the mind or consciousness (such as erasing memories or casting a hallucination on a person) will take effect despite the fact that the victim could not normally force themselves to do so. It should be noted that in non-canon appearances, his Geass could be used to unlock memories (*Another Century's Episode: R*), or put someone into an eternal sleep (*Lost Colors*).
* An action will be carried out for as long as dictated in its command, or upon the indicated conditional circumstance. Eye contact does not need to be maintained for command execution to occur. No upper limit has been established, but the conditional command Lelouch gives Suzaku is still in effect more than a year later.
* The victim's memories for the duration of command issue and execution are sealed and cannot be recalled.
* As demonstrated in Princess Euphemia's response to the command that she kill the Japanese, a victim may resist a commanded action to some degree if it is utterly repugnant and morally incomprehensible to them.

So long as the above conditions are met, commands may be issued to anybody besides those that had gained an immortal code and to any number of individuals at once. Those under the effect of Geass have a red outline on their pupils, presumably a visual cue for the viewer since the characters never point it out.

### Intellect and Chess

Even without his Geass, Lelouch is a formidable opponent. His greatest weapon is his prodigious mind, possessing a genius-level intellect, and is capable of devising and executing strategies with incredible speed and precision. As a child, he was a brilliant chess player, besting any opponent who played against him. He has a record of winning a game in 8 minutes and 32 seconds. However, the one person that he was unable to defeat in a chess game was his older brother, Schneizel. As a teenager, he utilized his masterful skills in real combat, leading a small band of terrorists to victory against overwhelming odds. He could manipulate people and factions with well-spoken speeches and clever deceptions.

The series repeatedly demonstrates Lelouch's mental acuity; ranging from his superb skill in playing chess, to an incident in Stage 14, when Mao says C.C.'s name, Lelouch instantly comes up with fourteen different possibilities for Mao's identity - including the correct one. His intellect is also shown when he was able to program the F.L.E.I.J.A. countermeasure in 19 seconds typing at a incredibly fast speed.

In the audio dramas, Suzaku says that, when they were children, Lelouch devised a secret sign language containing over 500 words. In Stage 17, Lelouch proves his tactical ability by predicting the Lancelot's actions exactly thanks to his study of past battles, allowing Kallen and the Four Holy Swords to almost defeat the Lancelot (only Suzaku's reflexes saved his life). His intelligence is also parodied in one humorous Sound Episode, which has the Student Council members acting suspicious, and Lelouch racing through possible explanations and cover-ups with increasing speed (though it turns out that they were acting strange because he had some rice on his cheek from his lunch).

### Physical

Physically, Lelouch is underwhelming. He possesses the physical prowess of a teenager who engages in little to no strenuous physical activity. Thus, one of Lelouch's traits is the inability to run very fast or for any substantial period of time. Within the series, this is usually played for comedic effect, as Lelouch is constantly outpaced by his classmates in every situation, and even the most simple tasks requiring manual labor exhaust him before he manages to accomplish anything significant. This joke is taken to its logical conclusion in the second season, where it is revealed that Lelouch is supposed to attend remedial physical education classes, but skips them as often as possible. This creates problems when Sayoko poses as Lelouch: she is a master of martial arts, and hence far more athletic than Lelouch himself. Lelouch laments the problem and decides to have Sayoko attend his gym classes to fix it. By the middle of the second season, Lelouch seems to have gained a bit of physical ability however, as he is able to hold onto Shirley when she fell off the roof of a building.

Lelouch is also shown to be very talented at most domestic skills including cooking and sewing; it has been stated that this comes as a result of his taking care of himself and Nunnally for seven years. He has been shown to be an excellent cook, and is usually the one cooking the food for parties held by the Student Council, both because the others (except Milly) are terrible cooks and nobody else can meet his exacting requirements (such as measuring ingredients to three significant decimals).
Lelouch also has some skill with firearms, usually brandishing a Britannian pistol when threatening someone. His Knightmare piloting skill has been shown only above average. While Lelouch uses Knightmares that have superior specs, he tends to be overwhelmed by Suzaku or other skilled pilots with faster models. When Lelouch pilots a standard Knightmare on the battlefield, he is typically accompanied by Kallen, who is an elite Knightmare pilot and the leader of his personal squad, Squad Zero. After commandeering the Gawain, Lelouch co-pilots it with C.C., controlling the weapons and command functions while C.C. handles navigation and flight. After the Black Knights are exiled from Japan, Lelouch pilots the Shinkirō, which has the most powerful defense of any Knightmare. He also shows a level of ambidexterity as he is able to control either side of the Shinkirō's keyboard-based controls with both hands. Though he could not defeat them, Lelouch managed to hold his own against the Knights of Rounds during the second battle of Tokyo.

## TMNT X Pokemon

Using his Geass, he can manipulate the enemy to do exactly what he says.

## Trivia

* Lelouch vi Britannia's English voice actor is Johnny Yong Bosch the same English voice actor as Ichigo Kurosaki's from Bleach. Bosch also played Adam Park, the second Black Ranger, in Power Rangers, a role he played for five years.
* Coincidentally, Lelouch's english voice actress as a child is Michelle Ruff, who, in addition to voicing Euphemia and Arthur, also voices Rukia from Bleach.
* Many similarities, amongst the fanbase of Japanese Anime and popular culture, have been drawn between Lelouch and Light Yagami, from their connection to the supernatural world, Light having his Shinigami and his Death Note, with Lelouch having C.C. and his Geass ability.Both of them are also extremely intelligent and can foresee and predict people's actions.Their goals are also about the same,to create a better world.
* Another similar character is Char Aznable (and subsequent characters based off of him) of the long-running Gundam franchise also by Sunrise, both wear masks and bear several aliases rebelling against a nation (the Principality of Zeon which parallels the Holy Britannian Empire) they were once part of.
* Lelouch's character is based on Kamui Shirou from Clamp Series X-1999 whom Code Geass is said to be it's source for the story and characters. Also Lelouch's character design resembles Kamui from both X and Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles . Lelouch and Kamui have whats in common: both are gifted supernatural users who holds the fate of civilization in their hands by leading a war for Earth. But at the same time they must suffer hardships and deaths especially when they protect their loved ones.
* Other than Kamui from X, Lelouch also have common with Fuuma Monou as well. Lelouch and Fuuma are big loving BROTHERS to their little sisters and are best friends with their childhood friends. Both realize that they cannot escape their fate later in the series. They may have different actions but their villainistic traits are similar since they both end up becoming enemies to their childhood friend and other friends along with making sacrificial decisions for the sake of the world at hand. Also Fuuma is from X and Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles just like Kamui.
* During Lelouch's reign as am emperor, the sword he used is highly possibly a tribute to the divine sword of Kamui from X-1999.
* Lelouch shares similarities with Griffith from Berserk as both are powerful and charismitic tacticians who lead the small army whose purpose is to conquer and build a country. Lelouch and Griffith's friendship with Suzaku and Guts are similar. However, it should be noted that Lelouch is highly empathic and holds a great sense of morality (even if he tends to ignore it), whereas Griffith was a near-sociopath and pure Machiavellian in his disposition. And whereas Lelouch was willing to sacrifice himself to ensure the world's transition into a peaceful state, Griffith heinously (and *literally*) sacrificed those around him in order to gain power, and later throws the world into chaos in order to create his kingdom.

## Quotes

* "*Say, how should a Britannian who detests his own country live his life?*"
* "*What's wrong? Why not shoot? Your opponent is just a schoolboy. Or have you finally realized...the only ones who should kill are those who are prepared to be killed!*"
* "*I, Lelouch vi Britannia, command you! Now, all of you...Die!*"
* "*[Thinking] That was the turning point. Since that day, I've lived a lie: The lie of living. My name, too, was a lie. My personal history, a lie. Nothing but lies. I was sick to death of a world that couldn't be changed. But even in my lies, I refused to give up in despair. But now, this incredible power, it's mine. [aloud, as he grins evilly] Well, then...*"
* "*It's been a long time, big brother. The eldest son of the late consort Marianne and 17th in line to the imperial throne, Lelouch vi Britannia, at your service.*"
* "*I have returned, Your Highness, and I've come back to change everything.*"
* "*The trick of real combat is that everyone is human.*"
* "*You can't change the world without getting your hands dirty."*
* (To C.C.) "*C.C., I do not know why snow is white, but I do find such white snow beautiful.*"
* (To Kallen) "*I must spill yet more blood, so the blood already spilt will not be in vain.*"
* (To Euphemia) "*Farewell, Euphie. You may have been the first girl that I ever loved.*"
* "*Yes, I am Zero, the man who leads the Black Knights, who challenges the Holy Britannian Empire; The one who holds the entire world in his hand.*"
* (To Guilford)*"Let me ask you something, Lord Guilford. Suppose there is an evil that justice cannot bring down. What would you do? Would you taint your hands with evil to destroy evil? Or would you carry out your own justice and succumb to that evil?"*
* (To himself)*"I see, then I... shall become evil to conquer an evil larger still!"*
* "*If I'm not mistaken I think it was Suzaku who said that the shape of happiness might resemble glass. His reasoning made sense. He said that even though you don't usually notice it, it is still definitely there, you merely need to change your point of view slightly, and that glass will sparkle whenever it reflects the light. I doubt that anything else can argue its own existence more eloquently.*"\*
* (To Empress Tianzi) "*Your Majesty, your future belongs to you. You decide your own fate.*"
* "*The human heart has always been the source of all our power. That is why the people rose up against the High Eunuchs, and the Black Knights fight like titans. We fight with the power of our hearts!*"
* (To Kallen) "*Kallen, you have to live.*"
* "*My name is Lelouch vi Britannia, I am the eldest son of Empress Marianne, the prince who was abandoned by his empire. If anyone wishes to stop me, let them try, if there is anyone who can go beyond my despair.*"
* (To Charles zi Britannia) "*That ... I ... I reject you, and I reject everything you believe. Why do people lie, it isn't only because they struggle against each other, it's also because there is something that they're seeking. You now want a world without change. How stagnant, you could hardly call it life. The same as a world of memories, just a world that's closed and completed, that's a place I wouldn't want to live in.*"
* "*But forcing your good intentions on others is no different from an evil act.*"
* "*I don't intend to defeat God. This is a request. Yes, now I know who I really am. God, Collective Unconscious! Please, don't stop the march of time!*"
* *(To Schneizel)* "*... Life without change might be called anything except life, it's nothing more than experience. ... Yes, Emperor Charles sought the past, you seek the present, but I seek the future.*"
* "*Attention entire world, hear my proclamation. I'm Lelouch vi Britannia, Emperor of the Holy Britannian Empire and your only ruler. Schneizel has surrendered to me. As a result of this, I'm now controlling both Damocles and the F.L.E.I.J.A. weapon. ... Yes, from this day, from this moment on, the world belongs to me. Lelouch vi Britannia commands you, obey me, subject! Obey me, world!*"
* "*Before creation there must be destruction. If my soul stands in the way, then I'll toss it aside. Yes, I have no choice but to move forward.*"
* (Last words before the end of R2) "*Yes, I have...destroyed the world...and created...a..new.*"