When I first started watching this anime, it was because a friend said that this anime is a hodgepodge with many shadows from other animes in it. But at first glance, Lelouch actually felt that Lelouch's insights into strategy were particularly unique, and this kind of insight and foresight that was different from ordinary people was indeed rare.
It can be said that many of the plots and settings in this anime are quite different from real life, so this false interpretation has nothing to do with our lives at all. Some people say that this is a work that alludes to World War II and U.S. imperialism. But these are just some physical understandings on the surface of this work.
Modernist literature has brought human beings into a world with full awareness of human self-contradiction and self-limitation, and the portrayal of a character is extremely important in any form of literature. Lelouch, I saw him as a real, developing person with constant interpenetration of polarities in his character and deepening of his thoughts and consciousness. It's this ever-changing, magical character that elevates the theme of the entire play.
The so-called two poles of character are not like a number to choose one between the two extremes of 0 to 100, but the conflict of two forces. Bravery, what is brave, is to defeat cowardice. Only by defeating cowardice can you be brave. That is to say, the two poles are indispensable. Human nature is like this. If there is no constant failure of the other pole, this pole will be empty. Inaction without conquering desire is just a baby who has fallen to the ground. Without thinking, it is not a manifestation of spiritual purity at all, but ignorance.
Lelouch was constantly changing his identities in campus life and political action, and his own consciousness was almost divided into independent operations like a system clutch. When Suzaku goes to the school to monitor him, his logic operates quickly, and he can express the self that should exist. That is to say, he is constantly switching between different masks, and the audience sees half of his own heart and half of his mask. Camus has long deduced the value of existence in the absurdity of his own novels, that is, the struggle, the resistance to this absurd society. The phrase "it's not me, it's the world" has also been described in existentialist books, that is, to resist this absurd society and values, and to break free from bondage is the meaning of self-existence.
This awareness appears many times throughout the play. During machine battles, the pilot would sometimes say, "People without faith, why are you fighting?" Without faith as a backing, that is brute force. The first knight said, it is because of your cowardice that your kindness has strength. Most of the characters on the show fight for what they believe. Watching this drama is very tiring because he describes too many characters, and they all have their own stories behind them, beliefs, persistence, worldview, attitude, and transformation. This kind of war is more like a battle of beliefs. Everyone who wants to be a king has his own way of ruling the world, and even more selfish desires, whether it is an emperor or a prince, they all blindly impose their own beliefs on others, thinking that this is the most suitable system for them. But in the system, good and evil are also blurred, and the system is nothing but a physical product of human beings. It is the nature of human nature that they cannot agree. As the king said, weak human beings invented morality in order to ensure their own survival, and weak human beings are not qualified to survive.
Therefore, in order to erase this conflict, the kings adopted different methods, and the metaphors of yesterday, today, and tomorrow in the work make it clear. What the emperor is after is yesterday, just like the human beings in the EVA to complete the plan, to integrate people and create a peaceful world without hatred and pain. But as mentioned above, without struggle, without space for oneself, there is no self-existence. Lelouch thinks this is wrong, it is precisely because of the incompleteness of human beings and the lack of soul that he can find himself in the communication with others. It is easy to understand that the self itself cannot be touched. Only through contact with others can one find one's inner emotions and consciousness, and only then can one see oneself in the mirror. Perfection is not beauty, just as man becomes man because he does not have the powerful power of God nor complete animal nature. It is the imperfect divine nature and animal nature that create different human characters and therefore struggle. , with self.
The prince chose today, trying to rule the world with the fear of nuclear bombs, and want to educate mankind at the cost of blood. He wants to be fast, arrange the order of the world in the shortest time, cover the whole world with white terror, and then he has the supreme power. In fact, the selfish desires in his nature cannot be ignored, and it is a point that will have a great impact on the world he builds.
Lelouch was their enemy, he chose tomorrow, and for obvious reasons, the death of his mother and the blindness of his sister had reduced him to the point of being a weakling. He himself has no backer in the royal family, and this blow made him want to gain strength from his heart, without relying on the strength of others. Only strength can protect the faith in his heart. The same is true for Suzaku, his pursuit of strength is a by-product of his pursuit of ideals. Lelouch saw people's pains and struggles, pursuits and dreams constantly in his academy life and his political career. So I identify with this lifestyle of constant struggle from the very bottom of my self. It's just that he found that the struggle was powerless, that status and power could not be resolved without force. The same is true in Chinese history. When the people cannot survive under the new regime, rebellions (revolutions) arise from time to time. But just like Orwell's "Animal Farm", although the name of the regime has changed, the entities and institutions still exist. In the 25 episodes of the church, Lelouch asked Suzaku to let him break the chain that continues, and at the expense of his own death, let the people of the world have a fair starting point for common development. His existence is cursed, and it is the curse he bears that gives mankind new life. The understanding of the ending of this kind of character can refer to Jesus in the Bible, or the circle god in "Magic Girl Madoka". Of course Jesus died in a glorious image. On the other hand, Yuanshen and Lelouch were given loneliness that no one could understand. One is the loneliness that is forgotten, the other is the loneliness that is not understood.
Lelouch in the first season can be said to be an avenger who wants to destroy the Britannia Empire and protect Nanali. But this crazy impulse and conquest is not supported by any positive belief. All I saw was a little boy who had a great time playing bombs. But it is this vulgar life and pursuit that allows Lelouch to make a huge change in character in the second episode. In the second season, his words and deeds are profound, with a voice-over behind the words, and a mood, rather than simply being handsome. His character became more and more mature, and his eyes on the world became more and more rational. Shirley's death, the appearance of his younger brother, "well done", murderous eyes, this series of continuous shots are extremely representative. Even the death of a friend can't shatter his own dreams, because he still needs his brother's strength. The pressure of patience, loneliness, and incomprehension weighed heavily on him like a mountain. The wound in his heart could be clearly seen in his meeting with Suzaku at the shrine. "Yes", "I told her to kill". No excuses, no hesitations. What kind of spirit is this. It can be seen that the love for Nanali at the bottom of his heart has reached a goal-like state. As long as she's safe, anything will do.
And he played a lot of chess in the game of life, clearly showing his dictatorship to the world, not hesitate to betray his friends, and his comrades conquered the whole world through his own power. Wang is destined to be alone. Lelouch played the equivalent of a devil. But it was an angel in the garb of a thorned devil. There is no revolution without blood, no victory without ruthlessness. Lelouch began to transform when he thought that Nanali was killed by a nuclear bomb, from the protection of Nanali to the transformation of the world. In fact, in essence, he was still for Nanali, because this was her wish.
In his bipolar fighting character, the main line of unity is very clear. Although we can see many of his ego, the love for Nanali and the longing for the new world are his hidden beliefs at the bottom. It is because of this that his many masks have meaning, as he said: people's masks are not just for deception, sometimes, for goodwill. He put on the mask of sin, like the villain in a play. He has been lying, truth and falsehood in his view are the means needed to achieve an end. But in the end, his faith came true in solitude.
To report Suzaku's death to the outside world, let him play the role of zero and make him a symbol. Inevitably, this is also extremely lonely for Suzaku. The loneliness and pain of two people, and the people who left while they lived out their faith, are to be commended. Of course, anyone who strives for faith in life, wherever they are, is great because they have a humanity—the ego.
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