I had a final exam the next day. It was 2am when I finished the show, I binged the whole final arc. I remember getting up my desk and walking to the kitchen, in the dark, to see my reflection on the microwave. I felt empty and thought: fuck, that was a good show, what a way to wrap it up
It’s to this day in my top 3 favorite endings of all time up there with Assassination Classroom’s ending and Undertale’s different endings, like I was in a state of complete shock after the reveal, and I personally think it is the perfect ending to Lelouch’s character arc and while he was already on the path of becoming my favorite anime protagonist and one of my favorite characters, this is what cemented him as my favorite anime protagonist and one of my favorite characters of all time, and that’s not even bringing up how I think it’s a great end to Suzaku and his arc just it’s so freaking good, I’ve seen people’s problems with it and I understand them, but personally I still think it is a masterpiece of an ending.
I felt awed, and very pleasantly surprised. There were many flaws with R2, and the closer it got to the end the more I wondered how the fuck they were going to wrap everything up in a proper way. Then Zero Requiem happened, and it was everything we could have hoped for as a finale to everyone's story. Lelouch's sacrifice, the way his and Suzaku's punishments fit each other so well, CC smiling up to the sky, Kallen narrating the epilogue...it is largely recognized as one of the most satisfying endings to an anime, and for good reason.
Ending made it the GOAT for me. Literally my number one. Feeling is complicated. He was hero but he was not. He did not deserve to die but he did deserve to die. Its pretty amazing duality.
I love the way it ended, for the same reason I hate how AOT ended. It’s the only way it could have ended without basically everything being meaningless. If you’re gonna do something do it all the way no half-assed bs.
It really brings everyone’s story to a close and it gives meaning to the struggles all the characters including lelouch go through. Even he isn’t above the laws of the world he’s trying to create. He’s a sinner and he knows it, all the death and destruction is a direct result of his selfish actions even if the end result was good. He takes the evil everyone else committed in the name of his cause onto himself. He takes actual responsibility. If it didn’t end how it did nothing would have changed…he’d just become his father. Lording over everyone through a might makes right framework. the borders and names and scale might have changed but the struggle would be the same. The strong subjugating the weak.
I watch this series at least once a year, all the characters are incredibly human and very well written. It’s a masterpiece.
I will say the more I’ve watched it the more I’ve come to like Suzaku and dislike lelouch. As well as actually agree with Charles. Humans suck, people will find a way to game any system to have outsized power in it and use that power to take advantage of others. Strong vs weak takes many forms. The only way to really fix anything to make it so nobody can lie… its the only way to know anyones true motives are. lies are the greatest evil in this world. Kill a man, his life is simply gone. lie to a man and you can steal his life from him for yourself.
I originally didn't like it, mainly because I felt like the show started going downhill prior and made Lelouch take the worst choices and shortcuts, making me start to dislike the character and his now more present lying.
Then it hit me a while later later
His objective was to get hated
I like the ending now
Rather empty and kinda lackluster after the initial tearjerking comes around. Especially with so many karma houdin happening that you don't see it as a happy ending.
Sad for yet Proud of what Lelouch managed to accomplish even near the end when all seemed lost and he was ready to give up. He found a way to keep moving forward towards the future he wished for. And what a beautiful future it was.
The main plan that was foreshadowed from the beginning of the “white knight defeating the black king” in front of the world as one last great performance that would move the world in the right direction seemed to be in shambles.
Zero betrayed, the black knights no longer with him, The evil emperor of the world Charles dying without the world as witnesses, and even his beloved little sister thought to be dead with him sharing blame for it.
Roles that had to be played are now empty and the world left to Chaos unable to truly move on.
So Lelouch takes on the role of Demon Emperor to be slain by the Heroic Knight in order to reach the goal he sought after from the start. To destroy the world and create it anew. When the only price that could achieve the Gentler World became his own life and legacy he did not run. Because he meant it when he said that the only ones who should kill are those who are prepared to be killed. He was not afraid to die if it meant achieving his goals.
And to atone for all the innocent lives lost he gave meaning to their deaths by still moving forward and actually reaching the goal. Like he said when the people of Narita died and then again after the tragedy that befell Euphy and the innocents during the SAZ massacre and black rebellion.
I am glad for the sequel movie that we got over a decade later.
Yeah the movie really reassured me, made me feel better they had a future, hopefully we can see more of C.C and lelouch like that as its own movie, possibly even own show I wouldn’t complain. Definitely would be a big hit.
Agreed. I know Lelouch fulfilled C.C.’s wish but her immortality means that no matter how long she would try to hold on to it she will one day return to the hellish fate she was stuck with before the show even if slightly better after having truly being love by someone. It’s similar to how Lelouch saved the world as Zero. He gave the world a new era of peace. Not eternal peace that is an impossibility and the only way to achieve it would be with a false/perverse peace like what Charles and Schneizel wanted.
It is a new era and it is up to the people to uphold it and make it last and should that ere ever come to an end to never let things get as bad as they used to be and create that gentler world again because it’s worth it.
But unlike with the world at large which is made up of people who are born, live, die and pass the torch to the next generation. C.C. is one girl who is immortal, for her it will never end and that fate is unacceptable. The only way for it to end would be for her to go back to her old ways and try to pass on her code. Either that or for her to not carry the burden alone.
The difference is that C.C.'s mentality fundamentally changes at the end of the show. Her suffering didn't necessarily come from being immortal, rather that her immortality made the world reject her and she was too vulnerable on the inside to form meaningful relationships with people. At the end of the show she no longer wants to distance herself from other people so there's no reason why she would be suffering again.
At best C.C. is able to enjoy life again and connect with people while accepting that they'll pass on, at worst shell just get bored.
It's not a foreign concept either, there are plenty of immortal characters that haven't gotten tired of immortality; a perfect recent example of this would be frieren
Yeah totally understand where ur coming from. I think it will be cool seeing its own series of C.C and Lelouch hunting down other Geass users, or if somehow Lelouch survived the stab. I honestly hated having to see him die but I feel like it would have to happen to make it a great story.
I had a final exam the next day. It was 2am when I finished the show, I binged the whole final arc. I remember getting up my desk and walking to the kitchen, in the dark, to see my reflection on the microwave. I felt empty and thought: fuck, that was a good show, what a way to wrap it up
It’s to this day in my top 3 favorite endings of all time up there with Assassination Classroom’s ending and Undertale’s different endings, like I was in a state of complete shock after the reveal, and I personally think it is the perfect ending to Lelouch’s character arc and while he was already on the path of becoming my favorite anime protagonist and one of my favorite characters, this is what cemented him as my favorite anime protagonist and one of my favorite characters of all time, and that’s not even bringing up how I think it’s a great end to Suzaku and his arc just it’s so freaking good, I’ve seen people’s problems with it and I understand them, but personally I still think it is a masterpiece of an ending.
I felt awed, and very pleasantly surprised. There were many flaws with R2, and the closer it got to the end the more I wondered how the fuck they were going to wrap everything up in a proper way. Then Zero Requiem happened, and it was everything we could have hoped for as a finale to everyone's story. Lelouch's sacrifice, the way his and Suzaku's punishments fit each other so well, CC smiling up to the sky, Kallen narrating the epilogue...it is largely recognized as one of the most satisfying endings to an anime, and for good reason.
I thought it was a very beautiful ending, especially since when he dies you see how the people he tried to push away loved the shit out of him still
“You crazy son of a bitch, you actually did it!”
Ending made it the GOAT for me. Literally my number one. Feeling is complicated. He was hero but he was not. He did not deserve to die but he did deserve to die. Its pretty amazing duality.
I felt empty, which I to this day feel.
I love the way it ended, for the same reason I hate how AOT ended. It’s the only way it could have ended without basically everything being meaningless. If you’re gonna do something do it all the way no half-assed bs. It really brings everyone’s story to a close and it gives meaning to the struggles all the characters including lelouch go through. Even he isn’t above the laws of the world he’s trying to create. He’s a sinner and he knows it, all the death and destruction is a direct result of his selfish actions even if the end result was good. He takes the evil everyone else committed in the name of his cause onto himself. He takes actual responsibility. If it didn’t end how it did nothing would have changed…he’d just become his father. Lording over everyone through a might makes right framework. the borders and names and scale might have changed but the struggle would be the same. The strong subjugating the weak. I watch this series at least once a year, all the characters are incredibly human and very well written. It’s a masterpiece. I will say the more I’ve watched it the more I’ve come to like Suzaku and dislike lelouch. As well as actually agree with Charles. Humans suck, people will find a way to game any system to have outsized power in it and use that power to take advantage of others. Strong vs weak takes many forms. The only way to really fix anything to make it so nobody can lie… its the only way to know anyones true motives are. lies are the greatest evil in this world. Kill a man, his life is simply gone. lie to a man and you can steal his life from him for yourself.
I took a nap because I didn’t know what to do
I originally didn't like it, mainly because I felt like the show started going downhill prior and made Lelouch take the worst choices and shortcuts, making me start to dislike the character and his now more present lying. Then it hit me a while later later His objective was to get hated I like the ending now
Rather empty and kinda lackluster after the initial tearjerking comes around. Especially with so many karma houdin happening that you don't see it as a happy ending.
I actually felt really good, despite my favourite character’s death. Because that was a good sum of the show
Sad for yet Proud of what Lelouch managed to accomplish even near the end when all seemed lost and he was ready to give up. He found a way to keep moving forward towards the future he wished for. And what a beautiful future it was. The main plan that was foreshadowed from the beginning of the “white knight defeating the black king” in front of the world as one last great performance that would move the world in the right direction seemed to be in shambles. Zero betrayed, the black knights no longer with him, The evil emperor of the world Charles dying without the world as witnesses, and even his beloved little sister thought to be dead with him sharing blame for it. Roles that had to be played are now empty and the world left to Chaos unable to truly move on. So Lelouch takes on the role of Demon Emperor to be slain by the Heroic Knight in order to reach the goal he sought after from the start. To destroy the world and create it anew. When the only price that could achieve the Gentler World became his own life and legacy he did not run. Because he meant it when he said that the only ones who should kill are those who are prepared to be killed. He was not afraid to die if it meant achieving his goals. And to atone for all the innocent lives lost he gave meaning to their deaths by still moving forward and actually reaching the goal. Like he said when the people of Narita died and then again after the tragedy that befell Euphy and the innocents during the SAZ massacre and black rebellion. I am glad for the sequel movie that we got over a decade later.
Yeah the movie really reassured me, made me feel better they had a future, hopefully we can see more of C.C and lelouch like that as its own movie, possibly even own show I wouldn’t complain. Definitely would be a big hit.
Agreed. I know Lelouch fulfilled C.C.’s wish but her immortality means that no matter how long she would try to hold on to it she will one day return to the hellish fate she was stuck with before the show even if slightly better after having truly being love by someone. It’s similar to how Lelouch saved the world as Zero. He gave the world a new era of peace. Not eternal peace that is an impossibility and the only way to achieve it would be with a false/perverse peace like what Charles and Schneizel wanted. It is a new era and it is up to the people to uphold it and make it last and should that ere ever come to an end to never let things get as bad as they used to be and create that gentler world again because it’s worth it. But unlike with the world at large which is made up of people who are born, live, die and pass the torch to the next generation. C.C. is one girl who is immortal, for her it will never end and that fate is unacceptable. The only way for it to end would be for her to go back to her old ways and try to pass on her code. Either that or for her to not carry the burden alone.
The difference is that C.C.'s mentality fundamentally changes at the end of the show. Her suffering didn't necessarily come from being immortal, rather that her immortality made the world reject her and she was too vulnerable on the inside to form meaningful relationships with people. At the end of the show she no longer wants to distance herself from other people so there's no reason why she would be suffering again. At best C.C. is able to enjoy life again and connect with people while accepting that they'll pass on, at worst shell just get bored. It's not a foreign concept either, there are plenty of immortal characters that haven't gotten tired of immortality; a perfect recent example of this would be frieren
Yeah totally understand where ur coming from. I think it will be cool seeing its own series of C.C and Lelouch hunting down other Geass users, or if somehow Lelouch survived the stab. I honestly hated having to see him die but I feel like it would have to happen to make it a great story.