Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion is considered to be one of the greatest mecha anime of all time. The anime produced by Sunrise received critical acclaim for its story, voice acting, the conflicts among its main characters, and the moral questions it brought up. On top of that, the mecha scenes are action-packed and spectacular, and viewers would think it's heavily-inspired by the popular mecha series, Gundam. However, according to director Goro Taniguchi, Code Geass was originally inspired by another popular franchise in Japan.
Speaking to Full Frontal, Taniguchi acknowledged that Code Geass protagonist Lelouch Lamperouge and Gundam's Char Aznable might share some similarities, but he said that the base structure of Code Geass is similar to Kamen Rider. The director clarified that the two stories have similarities in the theme of childhood friends on opposing sides of conflict, and referenced Shocker Leader from Kamen Rider, the one who created the evil organization Shocker in the series. He explained that in Kamen Rider, Shocker Leader's childhood friend becomes Kamen Rider to stop him, drawing a parallel to how Suzaku Kururugi tries to stop Lelouch despite their friendship in Code Geass.
"The base pattern isn’t Gundam but rather Kamen Rider. Just like Lelouch, the boss of Shocker begins by creating an evil organization, but by sheer bad luck his childhood friend becomes Kamen Rider and comes to destroy him," Taniguchi said.
The director also revealed that he wanted Suzaku to begin with a white robot and eventually change to a black one, similar to how Luke Skywalker's attire changed in the original Star Wars trilogy.
“I wanted Suzaku to be in a white robot at first and then a black one at the end, just like Luke Skywalker’s clothes. And then, well, it’s not like I wanted the main character to be a Darth Vader copy, but I wanted him to start out dark and gradually turn white, slowly getting redeemed. So I think it’s more like Star Wars,” Taniguchi revealed.
The similarities between Code Geass and Gundam are clear: they both feature powerful mobile suits, futuristic settings, complex character dynamics, and political intrigue, but it turns out that the epic series is also inspired by Kamen Rider and Star Wars, as Taniguchi pointed out. It's easy to see the resemblance between Darth Vader and Lelouch's alter-ego, Zero.
Where to Watch Code Geass
All 50 episodes of Code Geass anime series are available to stream on Crunchyroll and Ani-One Asia in select regions. Unfortunately, the anime is not available to stream on Netflix, HIDIVE, Disney Plus, or Amazon Prime Video, but fans in the U.S. can watch it on Hulu.
