Over the summer I rewatched Code Geass which was such a great anime in my opinion due, in particular, to the main character Lelouch. He was somewhat enigmatic to begin with, a normal student at school with friends and a sister. However, as the series progressed he grew as a character into a leader, a king. This character development was immense but very well done, however it was greatly aided by him attaining the ability of Geass, which enables him to command others to carry out his will, for example to kill themselves. However this only works on one person once.
We find out that Lelouch is actually a prince of the Brinannian empire, once he acquires his geass power, he sets his sights in better the world for his sister and avenging his mother's death. That later develops to him wishing to make the world a better place for people in general. So due to the story we see this character development in Lelouch, through his interacts with other characters as well as their actions impacting on him and his plans.
Generally he is intelligent and somewhat arrogant due to his upbringing, however he is very likeable and easy going at school. Yet his school personality is very different from his true nature, which we see when he is being Zero, the leader of the rebellion. As Zero, he is very strong-willed, tactical (as we see when he plays chess, as well as commands his units in battle), ruthless and in a way unattached to his followers, as he is willing to make sacrifices if need be.
Onto the costume of Zero and his body language, which reveals a lot about him. His facial expressions and the tones in his voice reveal his passion and also verges sometimes on maniacal, as can be seen below. The shape of his eyes, the smirk, the way his head is tilted downwards, the strong lighting on his face.
The actual costume of Zero suggests that he is somewhat aristocratic or at least sophisticated to some degree, due to the fancy shirt with it's ruffle collar and the way he carries himself.
However, one thing about this costume, is that it looks a little strange when his coat is done up and he is not wearing his cape. I feel like it looks too feminine in a way, due to his very skinny frame. Yet it is a very elaborate suit for someone who is commanding his army posing as a regular person.
As mentioned previously, his body language shows the kind of person he is. It shows he is confident and comfortable in himself. Shows that maybe he is cocky or overly-confident in some way too, almost like someone you wouldn't like.
The imagery of his mask also serves to symbolise his double identity when he's at school being Lelouch and when he is Zero. I like this and I also like how he is often covering his eye with one hand, which again goes to symbolise this split personality of his. In the pose below (2nd image) Lelouch evokes a kind of masquerade type air about himself. it's almost teasing, as half of his face is hidden and his body is turned away from the viewer, whilst his mask is so close to his face.
Concerning Lelouch's outward appearance, he is very skinny and tall, this tall frame lends help to his upright, all-powerful look, however his physical weaknesses are shown to provide contrast to his geass and also to show character flaws. For example he is not physically strong, he has bad stamina and relies heavily on his knightmare frame and geass. His strategic mindset and his geass make him a formidable force.
On a side note the original designs for Lelouch and his Zero alter ego where very different, as can be seen below.
Here's what was written on the wikipedia page about it:
While designing the concept art for Lelouch, the series' original character designers,Clamp, had initially conceived of his hair color as being white.[1] Nanase 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". 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 the Japanese idol duos KinKi Kids and Tackey & Tsubasa.[2]
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.[2] Zero was one of the earliest developed characters. Ōkouchi wanted a mask to be included as a part of the series, because he felt that a mask was necessary for it to be a Sunrise show.[3]In early designs of the character, Zero possessed long silver nails.[1]
Concerning this design, Lelouch would more closely match his brothers, with their blonde hair. However, he would have been an archetype for the pretty boy and I suppose his looks would be more of a focus if he did have white hair, whereas his black hair is much more normal, and the only thing that really stands out about him is his purple eyes. The long nails for the Zero costume is also very odd as it does not seem to present any use considering how Lelouch is now. His hair style and colour gives the impression of a more quiet, moody, person of solitude. Overall I feel that in this instance the story and the narrative assigned to the character of Lelouch makes him infinitely more interesting than just the visual design, because it provides so much more to his character. It shows different parts of him obviously in more ways than the way he dresses. On top of that the viewer finds it harder to associate the visual design of Zero with Lelouch because Zero becomes a symbol, a look that anyone can take on, as we see multiple times throughout the series. So in terms of whether the viewer connects more with the narrative of Lelouch or the visual design of him, it is definitely the narrative that triumphs here.
Lelouch was designed by Takahiro Kimura.
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