Code GeassReviews

Code Geass: The Miraculous Birthday

0
Summary

At Ashford Academy, Rivalz Cardemonde pleads with Lelouch Lamperouge to help him with preparations for the school festival. Lelouch tells Rivalz he was being lazy as council president, but Rivalz counters that Milly Ashford didn’t leave him a guide to go by. Lelouch’s brother Rolo reports in that he’s done with his work and Kallen Kouzuki complains that he’s a slave driver. Kallen hears the voice of the narrator and wants to know who he is. The narrator tells her that she mustn’t argue with him, but Lelouch cuts in and tells the narrator to get back to work narrating. The narrator answers with “yes, your Majesty,” which gives Rivalz the idea that everyone should respond to him that way since he’s the president. Rivalz practices with the other students, but Lelouch tells him that his pronunciation is off. Lelouch’s sister Nunnally arrives to help, along with Suzaku Kururugi, Shirley Fenette and Nina Einstein. Lelouch hands out assignments and C.C. decides to be in charge of pizza. Suzaku asks if C.C. is Lelouch’s girlfriend, and C.C. tells Lelouch that she told them they shared a secret and that he proposed. Everyone is shocked that Lelouch proposed, so Suzaku offers up his family shrine for the wedding. The campus erupts in gunfire when several Chinese Gun-Ru Knightmares burst in. The terrorists are led by a eunuch with a Knightmare as his lower body who proclaims that they’re the Neo Chinese Federation. Milly reports for the TV news outside that the terrorists seem to be remnants of the eunuchs who once ruled the Chinese Federation. Rivalz wonders what they should do, but Lelouch laughs because he has a plan. Nina has an idea involving a dangerous chemical, but everyone instantly embraces Lelouch’s idea instead. Lelouch wants to deal with the Gun-Rus, eliminate the enemy soldiers and storm their headquarters. C.C. walks outside and argues with several terrorists about following orders. She dares them to shoot her in the head, and when one of them does, she doesn’t die. The soldiers are shocked, but Lelouch then steps out and uses Geass to order them to lock themselves in the bathroom. C.C. asks him why he didn’t kill them and he answers that he didn’t want to shed blood at school. Rolo calls to inform Lelouch that he put super glue in all the Gun-Ru ignitions. The eunuch is informed that they’re under attack, but they lose contact with one of their squads. Kallen thinks that Suzaku overdid things, especially his spin kick. Lelouch and C.C. meet up with Nunnally, Rivalz and Rolo in a hallway. Nina tells Shirley that there’s something she wants to say to her, but she can’t remember what it is. Nunnally asks Rolo if she’s his big or little sister, but he doesn’t know. Lelouch gets a call from Kallen’s phone and is shocked to hear the eunuch instead, who claims he captured Kallen and Suzaku.

Lelouch and the others enter the chapel, where he demands that the eunuch hand over Suzaku and Kallen. He’s touched by Lelouch’s concern for his friends since he has no fortune, rank or power. The eunuch reveals that Suzaku and Kallen are in a vase, but Rivalz counters that no one could fit in there. C.C. recognizes it as the thousand man silver vase based on Emperor Charles’ research of strange artifacts. The eunuch calls out Nunnally’s name and when she answers the vase sucks out her soul. C.C. tells everyone that to be safe they can’t answer to their name when the eunuch speaks it. The eunuch tells C.C. that she’s wise and beautiful, but when she answers her soul gets sucked away. Lelouch wonders what to do since Geass won’t work on the eunuch’s artificial eyes. Lelouch dares the eunuch to call his name and transforms into Zero. Rolo uses Geass to freeze the eunuch’s perception of time, and Lelouch uses Geass to order all the students in the chapel to dress as Zero. Rolo asks what’s going on, so Lelouch explains that a thousand man vase can’t suck up 1,500 people. Rolo releases Geass, and all the students answer to the name Zero, which causes the vase to overload and break. The eunuch pulls out a gun, but Suzaku disarms him with his spin kick. Milly gives an update that the military just moved in. She reports that all the students are safe and loses her composure because she’s so happy. Rivalz thinks the whole situation sucked, and Lelouch comments that up until recently he was just like the eunuch said: a student with no fortune, rank or power. That all changed and Lelouch had all those things, but then he lost them. Nunnally asks what he means, and Lelouch says that he now understands what happiness is. Lelouch apologizes to Rivalz for not saying anything to him until the very end. He tells Nina that he ended it all so she can begin from there. Kallen notices that Lelouch is becoming transparent, and when he sees that she’s back in school, she tells him it makes her mother worry less. Lelouch tells her not to give up on anything because she can have it all. Nunnally asks what Lelouch is talking about because it sounds like he’s saying goodbye. He tells her that she can see now, so she can see the world and her future. Lelouch tells Suzaku that the future is up to him because he has that strength and responsibility. Lelouch thanks everyone not for yesterday or for tomorrow, but for today. Everyone wonders what happened after Lelouch disappears, but Nunnally realizes what happened and asks Kallen what the date is. Kallen tells her that it’s December 5 – Lelouch’s birthday. Rivalz sees that this is Lelouch’s miracle and Nunnally says that Lelouch gave them so many miracles. Rivalz states that Lelouch gave everyone in the world the miracle of peace as a present. Nina thanks Lelouch and says she’ll always treasure the present he gave them. Kallen finds herself thinking about Lelouch even though she wanted to forget about him. Nina remembers that she always wanted to thank Shirley for being a friend. Nunnally thinks to herself that she and Rolo could’ve been good friends because they both loved Lelouch. As Zero, Suzaku thinks to himself that he won’t thank Lelouch because his sins are that grave, but for one day he can wish him a happy birthday.

Commentary

This full length picture drama is set after the TV series, but it definitely doesn’t exist in continuity. Aside from breaking the fourth wall, you’ve got this weird situation where all these dead people like Lelouch, Shirley and Rolo are hanging out with the other students and Suzaku is himself in the open. Then you’ve got the bizarre Chinese eunuch who has a Gun-Ru for half his body and cannons for eyes. It all gets weirder when Lelouch fades away at the end and Nunnally realizes this was a miracle created by Lelouch’s birthday. While it doesn’t make much sense, it gives Lelouch the opportunity to say goodbye to everyone, and it lets everyone reflect on how Lelouch changed their lives.

Overall Rating
3.5/5

Miraculous Birthday Info

Director:
Goro Taniguchi

Writer(s):
Ichiro Okouchi
Hiroyuki Yoshino

Mechanical Designer(s):
Akira Yasuda
Kenji Teraoka
Junichi Akutsu
Eiji Nakata

Character Designer(s):
CLAMP
Takahiro Kimura

Musical Composer(s):
Hitomi Kuroishi
Kotaro Nakagawa

Format:
1 episode

Video Release:
Japan 04.23.2010

Comments

Comments are closed.