First post. Here goes.

So, amongst my group of friends, I’m probably the most in depth anime nerd. I’m a bit of an anime hipster, because I like a lot of anime before they become ridiculously popular and the fangirls get to them, but nonetheless. I’m the most well-versed in new anime, and have the most friends who can expose me to new shows. As such, I’m always being asked what my favorite anime is.

When asked this question, I first have to ask myself; what makes an anime good to me? With that, I introduce to you my scale for rating anime; by animation, voice actors (English and Japanese), plot, diversity in plot, diversity in characters, if it is believable, and if it is interesting. I try not to judge a series based on it’s fans, because, let’s face it; if an anime is good, it could have some fans who are just… Not dedicated to the show; moreso, the “uber hot” male characters.

For a good while, I wasn’t able to give an answer to this question. When I was very very young, I watched a lot of Adult Swim and Toonami (rest in peace), which I’d have to give props for starting me off on anime. I watched Naruto from its humble beginnings, Death Note in its initial English syndication, a bit of Inuyasha, One Piece, Rurouni Kenshin, YuYu Hakusho, FLCL, things like that.

I have to give some props to Naruto, though, guys. I’m sorry for the people who hate it, but Kishimoto had a great concept, and incorporated old Japanese mythology without making it boring. He had a great action show, with diverse characters and emotional plot points. I stopped watching the anime, after a point, however, for two main reasons. One; the English dub was hit and miss on the voices. Sometimes, I feel in love with a character as they spoke. Other times, I wanted to grab a shuriken out of my back pocket and…Well, let’s not get into that. Two, there were way too many fillers. I just want to get to the point of a plot. So I started reading the manga. So although Naruto was my first devoted, long-term anime, it isn’t my favorite.

In recent years, I’ve started to watch more shows that aren’t yet English dubbed, first, because I now have access to them on the internet, and second, because I like new, fresh things. I have a few really great older friends from upstate New York who’ve always been on the cusp of new anime from Japan. I trust the group of them with whatever suggestions they give to me, honestly. With guidance from them, I started watching Soul Eater, Hetalia, Black Butler (Kuroshitsugi)..More recent things.

But I’d like to say that the anime I tell everyone to be my favorite, I stumbled upon on my own. Alas, I later discovered that a lot of my friends were interested in it. However, it was by accident that I found this Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion.

Code Geass was originally aired in 2006, and came to America on Adult Swim. It was in one of my insomnia-induced late-night television raids that I first saw it. When I looked up the show, I decided that, having liked what I saw, I would give it a shot.

For those of you who don’t know, here’s the plot (No spoilers, I promise):

“The series is set in an alternative present, where the world is split by three superpowers, the Holy Britannian Empire, the Chinese Federation, and the Euro Universe (with the exception of an independent Australia). The story takes place after the Holy Britannian Empire’s conquest on Japan in August 10, 2010 a.t.b., by means of Britannia’s newest weapon, the “Armored Autonomous Knight”, or Knightmare Frame. In turn, Britannia effectively strips Japan and its citizens of all rights and freedoms, and renames the country Area 11.

The series’ protagonist Lelouch Lamperouge is an intellectual exiled Britannian prince, who was sent as a hostage to Japan, along with his sister Nunnally Lamperouge, by his father, Emperor Charles zi Britannia, after his mother, Marianne vi Britannia, had been murdered. He then vows to destroy Britannia. Seven years later, Lelouch meets a woman known as C.C. who, in order to save his life, makes a contract with him. Lelouch then gains a power called Geass, also known as the Power of the King, which allows him to issue a single irresistible command to anybody he can make visual contact with. Using this new power and his natural intelligence, Lelouch becomes the leader of the resistance movement known as The Black Knights, who then wage war on Britannia. As the Black Knights’ leader he takes on an alter-ego identity called Zero, who gains popular support among the people on his way towards rebellion.”

I was extremely pleased. From the get-go, I recognized the theme music; a song by a Japanese band I loved, FLOW. The characters in this show are completely believable, and the plot has something for everyone. There’s action, romance, mind games, comedy, a dash of history, and yes, giant fighting robots. All of the characters are developed, and have complete backstories. There are a number of romantic plots,  but they don’t envelop the entire series; in fact, they tie into all of the fighting and robot-action. There is a bit of blood and language, but not enough to make a hemophobe like me stop watching. The finish to this show is so perfect, too. The animation is very smooth, as well; our good friend CLAMP’s artwork is spot-on. Finally, after having watched both the English and Japanese versions multiple times, I can safely say that this is one of my favorite dubs. I love this show in both languages.

I could go on forever with what I love about this show, but that would involve a lot of spoilers. So you’ll have to trust me on this one; Code Geass is a show that anyone and everyone can somehow be interested in. I really hope that you all love it as much as I did.

Do you have a favorite anime? Have something to say about what I think? Let me know in the comments!

Faith Ciel