Lelouch vi Britannia (ルルーシュヴィブリタニア, Rurūshu vui Buritania) is the main protagonist of Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion and Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion R2 and plays a supporting role in side stories like Code Geass: Oz the Reflection and Code Geass: Lancelot & Guren. 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 and founder 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 portraying Lelouch's child self.
He was chosen the most popular male character of 2006, 2007 and 2008 at Animage magazine's annual Anime Grand Prix. His Japanese voice actor 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.
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 his Zero uniform. Outside of Ashford, his primary casual outfit is a red jacket with a black shirt underneath and grey trousers, though he has occasionally worn other clothing. As Emperor, he wears a white robe with gold accents and a matching hat; both sport a red eye motif, referencing his Geass power.
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, likable, 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 the nobility. In general, Lelouch takes most day-to-day affairs with open disinterest, often not even noticing the affection of others, especially Shirley, his 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.
While first designing the concept art design for Lelouch, the series' original character designers CLAMP had initially conceived of his hair colour as being white. Ageha Ohkawa, head writer at CLAMP, said she had visualized him as being a character to which "everyone" could relate to as being "cool", literally, a "beauty". During the early planning stages for Lelouch's alter ego, Zero, CLAMP had wanted to create a mask never witnessed prior in any Sunrise series. While developing the character during the initial planning stages, the series' core staff at Sunrise, director Gorō Taniguchi, writer Ichirō Ōkouchi, and the production team discussed numerous possible influences for the character with CLAMP, such as Kinki Kids and Tackey and Tsubasa.
Lelouch was born on December 5, 1999 a.t.b. as Lelouch vi Britannia the son of the Emperor of Britannia, Charles zi Britannia, and the late Imperial Consort Marianne, making Lelouch the Eleventh Prince of the Holy Britannian Empire. He was in line to be the seventeenth heir to the throne prior to his mother's assassination and his sister's crippling in the same incident. A ten-year-old Lelouch confronted the Emperor afterwards and accused him of leaving his mother defenseless, even going as far as renouncing his entitlement to the throne. In response, his father banished him to Japan, where he was used as a political hostage in the Sakuradite conflict.
It was during his stay at the Kururugi household that he first met Suzaku Kururugi, with whom the young Lelouch did not interact initially in a friendly way, before later becoming friends. However, when Britannia finally developed its Knightmare Frames fleet and decided to invade Japan to seize control of the Sakuradite mines, consequently discarding Lelouch's use as a diplomatic tool, Lelouch, fearing for his and his sister's safety, hid their true identities and sought the help of the Ashford family, who were his mother's allies.
His mother's death and his father's apparent lack of concern in regards to it were huge blows to Lelouch. He always felt that it was unfair for both his mother and sister, and made it his goal to pursue a better world for Nunnally. He also seeks to discover the true reason for his mother's death, as she was murdered in the Aries Imperial Palace, a place terrorists would be unlikely to penetrate successfully without being noticed, if at all.
Shortly after gaining the power of Geass from C.C., Lelouch assumes the secret identity Zero, a mysterious, masked revolutionary dressed in a black helmet and cloak. The helmet has a retractable plate over the left eye so Lelouch can use his Geass. In this guise, he forms the Black Knights, initially composed of the members of Kaname Ohgi's resistance group. The goal of this vigilante group is a campaign against powerful individuals who oppress the helpless, which he eventually expands into reforming Japan as an independent nation.
Lelouch is willing to do whatever it takes to carry out his goal, even if it means lying to his followers and using people as bait for the outcome he desires. However, he has trouble putting those he is close to in harms way for the sake of his goal, which is a weakness as a commander but a remnant of his humanity and sanity. His feelings for Nunnally in particular often hinders his plans, particularly at the end of the first season, where he abandons a massive war with Britannian forces to rescue her, and early into the second season, when he has trouble believing Nunnally is willingly waging a campaign for peace that interferes with his plans. Gradually, however, he has come to embrace the fact that he has to destroy before reconstruction can occur, even if it means harming those he cares about.
Originally, Lelouch is motivated by the desire to avenge his mother's death and construct an ideal world where his sister Nunnally can live in peace. After Nunnally becomes Viceroy of Area 11, and her wishes conflict with his goals, his friends help him to realize that his rebellion is no longer just for Nunnally, but for all the people of the world.
Lelouch makes his first appearance in the beginning of the first episode of the series, as a child, along with Suzaku Kururugi watching the Britannian Military entering Japan, with the figure of C.C. apparently watching them. After the invasion of Japan, Lelouch vows to obliterate Britannia. He is later introduced to be a student of Ashford Academy where he is a member of its Student Council. He is a brilliant thinker who is quite talented at chess, he lives with his younger sister, Nunnally, and their maid, Sayoko, in the Student Council building of Ashford Academy, where they are looked after by the Ashford Family.
Lelouch and his friend Rivalz enter a room where a chess match was being played, with Lelouch claiming he can turn the situation on the chess table in under 9 minutes. He starts his game by moving the King. He effortlessly crushes him in a short period of time (8 minutes, 32 seconds), while the noble gapes at his own defeat. Rivalz compliments Lelouch on his victory, and is happy that the ego of the nobles will force them to pay, which he notes also make them loose. As they walk out of the casino, they are interrupted by Clovis' "heart-breaking" speech which turns out to be an act. On the road, Rivalz accidentally cuts the way of the terrorists, resulting in their vehicle's crash. People gather, but to Lelouch's disgust, they are more interested in placing the blame and gawking over the incident than helping, prompting him to go and assess the situation. As he inspects the crash, he hears a voice, but is then thrown in the back of the truck, as Nagata, one of the hijackers, puts it in reverse for an attempted getaway. However, Lelouch is soon swept into the conflict between the Holy Britannian Empire and the pockets of resistance which oppose it when he accidentally boards a truck being used by Japanese Resistance operatives. To Lelouch's horror, he realizes that he is trapped in a terrorist getaway. Suzaku, who Lelouch had not met for seven years, finds the vehicle and confronts Lelouch, who he mistakes as a terrorist. Nagata opens the capsule, to which Suzaku quickly puts his own gas mask on Lelouch's face. The capsule opens, instead of gas, as Suzaku expected, a restrained C.C. appears. Before they can get answers, Suzaku's superior comes and tells him not to question his briefing, and to shoot the "terrorist", Lelouch. When he refuses, he is promptly shot in the back. Lelouch and C.C. take the opportunity to escape. Just as they seem to have evaded detection, Lelouch's phone rings, giving him away. As they are about to kill him, C.C. jumps in front and is shot in the forehead. A desperate Lelouch now thinks of his impending death, his last thought being of Nunnally. He is grabbed by the hand by C.C., who proposes a contract which would allow him to live and endow him with Geass, the power of kings. He accepts, and stands up reinvigorated, and uses his power to make his pursuers kill themselves. He then retroactively contemplates this moment, noting his life is a lie, but that he accepts it as long as he has the power from it.
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