Code Geass: Is Lelouch a Good or a Bad Guy?

Code Geass has been out for over a decade, and it’s still relevant and talked about. The main character, Lelouch Lamperouge, had a difficult childhood, as well as his peers, because of the destruction that their homeland faced. Japan was taken over by The Holy Britannia Empire and subsequently named Area 11. The aftermath of the war would eventually lead Lelouch to the center of a rebellious movement against The Holy Britannia Empire. As a leader of this movement, he had to make a lot of difficult decisions. One of the most debated topics surrounding his character is whether Lelouch is a good guy or a bad guy in Code Geass.

Is Lelouch an Anti-hero?

After the death of his mother, Marianne vi Britannia, Lelouch is exiled from his family. He and his younger sister Nunnally, who was so traumatized after witnessing the death of their mother, lost sight and the ability to walk. This would leave Lelouch as one of Nunnally’s primary caretakers.

After their move to Japan, or rather Area 11, Lelouch would lead a regular student life. Lelouch was a very smart but lazy student, every now and then he would miss school because of his gambling habits. He would compete with different influential old men who think they are the best at chess.

Every time, Lelouch would prove them wrong. One day, on their way to school, Lelouch and his friend saw a large truck crash into a building. Instead of helping the people who just got in an accident the bystanders just pulled out their phones and recorded what was happening.

Lelouch decided to go see if the people driving were alright. While trying to help, he fell into the back of the truck, and what followed next changed the course of his life. This short introduction explains the beginning of the story and Lelouch’s background.

Before we definitively decide whether or not Lelouch is a good guy or a bad guy, let’s try to define what each term represents. There are heroes, and there are villains in many stories we encounter, but what makes a hero, and what makes a villain?

Hero is defined as „a person noted for courageous acts or nobility of character” or even “a person who, in the opinion of others, has special achievements, abilities, or personal qualities and is regarded as a role model or ideal.”

Some character examples with these traits are Naruto Uzumaki (Naruto), Edward Elric (Fullmetal Alchemist), and Ichigo Kurosaki (Bleach). Then, when we look at the definition of a villain, it says, “a cruelly malicious person who is involved in or devoted to wickedness or crime.”

In the second category, we would say that Muzan Kibutsuji (Demon Slayer), Orochimaru (Naruto), and All For One (My Hero Academia) fit the traits of a villain. Things start to get more complicated when we introduce another category called anti-hero.

This is necessary since we have more and more characters that don’t fit into the classical mold of “good” or “bad,” where we have characters like Eren Yeager (Attack On Titan) or Light Yagami (Death Note) who make us question whether or not certain actions are morally questionable.

Lelouch creates the same effect in us when we are watching Code Geass. He starts off quite innocently and with good intentions when he says that he wants to make the world a better place for his sister, Nunnally. Eventually, as his powers grow, he forgets about his initial promise to Nunnally.

Lelouche’s masks

Throughout the show, Lelouch shows us different personalities; some say those are the masks he hides behind, never revealing his true self. When we look at his situation, it is clear why one would have to conceal his true self constantly. It is more like switching between roles, for example when he is at school he has to keep appearances, so he can later on work as a leader of a rebellious group that fights for the rights of Japanese people.

Those two are drastically opposing, and if any one of his friends or family finds out about his role in the rebellion, they would be in danger as well. Furthermore, we can point out the three main masks Lelouch wears: one is the Student, the second one is of the rebellious leader Zero, and the final one is the evil Emperor. Every mask serves its purpose, and even when in the seemingly final chapter, where Lelouch is consumed by power and turns into his own worst enemy, it is revealed that this was a part of his plan all along.

Where he knowingly turned himself into a villain so it would bring people together in the final fight against him. In the end, all of these parts together make up the Lelouch we are all fond of. Before we get into a couple of situations that make Lelouch morally questionable, it is worth noting that his development wasn’t without confrontation from his friends Suzaku and C2.

Lelouch was confronted by Suzaku many times about his decisions throughout the show. Suzaku even called out Lelouch, saying that none of what he is doing is about Nunnally and asking him to stop using his sister as an excuse for his actions.

When deciding whether or not Lelouch is a hero or a villain all of the things we mentioned so far play a role in defining his place in the hero-villain scale. With his Geass power, he hurt people, even innocent civilians, and these are definitely villain traits, but he also saved so many more people and believed in the betterment of the world, to a point where he realized that he had become the necessary evil to unite everyone.

Does his sacrifice ultimately make him a hero? To a certain degree, yes, but with that came a certain cost. Another thing worth pointing out is whether or not he was a good person. Lelouch mostly cared for the people closest to him, his sister, his friends, and his lovers. But even they were at certain points manipulated for his ultimate goal.

Finally, we can say that Lelouch falls more on the „bad person“ side because of his manipulation and many other selfish actions he took on his path. Just the usage of Geass is questionable – making someone answer to your will. On the other side, in the beginning, his intentions were all going towards a better world he wanted to build since he didn’t have this growing up.

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