Wednesday, May 1, 2019

Code Geass: Lelouch of the Resurrection Review: Clamp Resurrects Sexy Teen Robot Anime

By Jonathan Bilski

Lelouch vi Brittannia is back from the dead. Not sure if it was for the money or for the fans, but Clamp brings back the sexy with a brand new movie taking place after the original anime series.

Lelouch is back from the dead to save his younger sister Nunally and possibly every working anime voice actor reprises their role to help. They're in a new land, against a new enemy; a trope that happens quite a bit in anime. It happens in the lovely Engrsih title of Code Geass: Lelouch of the Resurrection.

Code Geass: Lelouch of the Resurrection
May 5 subbed, 7-8 dubbed
Select Theaters
$
Get to the theater early to receive an exclusive Lelouch postcard! While supplies last.

*I recommend seeing the dubbed screenings if you watched the the anime on Toonami.
This movie has sexy shojou designs that only Clamp could have done, an exemplary voice cast and some dumb Japanese philosophy on par with anything from Final Fantasy or Evangelion, because simply taking over the world isn't enough, getting the the power to take over the world from the afterlife is better, I guess?

*This is not a movie for a newcomer. I even recommend finding a YouTube video for those who have already seen the series. Find something that goes over the entire series or highlights of it as a refresher. There are so many characters that I had trouble with remembering.

Story just hampers the come back. Explaining how Lelouch is back from takes up the first act, while at the same time establishing new bad guys. One of the new bad gals has new geass/super power that was so ridiculous it made me laugh out loud, but it's a major plot point for movies. These bad guys are throw-away villains much like in the tradition of anime films.

Moments of pure bliss are watching the very Japanese non-understanding of how movies work. After a huge battle ends the movie, the ending changes tone of everything on a dime. We get a gun to the head scene with a simple, "sorry", afterword, that is simply not okay. And a cameo from the spin-off series treated like a distant cousin at a wedding in an actual crammed in wedding video scene to put all the characters from the anime into the movie.
Kallen

Kallen can work it, as well as every other hot looking person in this anime. Which is everyone. Clamp has a style based on girl's manga in Japan, so it's always fun to see them draw the human body. And there are moment's, especially when Kallen has the Gainax bounce, that'll make you want to say, "I love the un-relasitic human body!" Fan service sn't just for guys as you have all the men folk look fine too. Let's add a bath scene too.

Let's praise Clamp on animation again, oh and the voice acting. When the Earl of Pudding is reintroduced in the film. I forgot how fun it is to hear his British, noble-jerk voice. All the voice cast comes back, at least I think it's them and it's great to hear them roast each other or talk like British uptights jerks.

One early scene with just a few seconds of animation showcases the Earl of Pudding's glasses. They are used for hacking, tracking and computer monitors and even a mod so it looks like they have windshield wipers. And in case of emergency can be used as shields. That and the boob bouncing shows off the animation in the film as top tier.

Except, when it comes to the mech fights. They aren't breaking the mold, nor are they doing anything better than the anime series itself. It was kind of underwhelming. I guess the characters were the main focus and the mechs were a second thought this time around and it's kind of as shame.

*Lelouch isn't the only person back from the dead. I'm not sure why, but another friend of his is back from dead. Them being alive out of the blue is never mentioned, nor part of this story, it's kind of a, "Hey, that person never died I guess." Except, the totally did die.

If ever a fan come for the fan service, the great voice-acting of familiar favorite characters and laugh when the movie thinks it's smart.