is a 2019 Japanese animated

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distin ...

mecha In science fiction, or mechs are giant robots or machines controlled by people, typically depicted as humanoid walking vehicles. The term was first used in Japanese (language), Japanese after shortening the English loanword or , but the mean ...

science fantasy Science fantasy is a hybrid genre within speculative fiction that simultaneously draws upon or combines tropes and elements from both science fiction and fantasy. In a conventional science fiction story, the world is presented as being scienti ...

film based on ''

Code Geass , often referred to simply as ''Code Geass'', is a Japanese anime television series produced by Sunrise. It was directed by Gorō Taniguchi and written by Ichirō Ōkouchi, with original character designs by Clamp. ...

'' co-created by director

Gorō Taniguchi is a Japanese anime director, writer, producer and storyboard artist, who is among Sunrise's noted directors. He was born in Nisshin, Aichi, Japan. Works Anime television series *'' Zettai Muteki Raijin-Oh'' (storyboards, episode direction, b ...

and writer

Ichirō Ōkouchi is a Japanese screenwriter and novelist. He is a graduate of Waseda University, School of Human Sciences. Ōkouchi is best known for collaborating with director Gorō Taniguchi for composing the story and script of the Sunrise original producti ...

. The film is directed by Taniguchi, written by Ōkouchi, and produced by

Sunrise Sunrise (or sunup) is the moment when the upper rim of the Sun appears on the horizon in the morning. The term can also refer to the entire process of the solar disk crossing the horizon and its accompanying atmospheric effects. Terminology ...

. The film was released in Japan on February 9, 2019. The film takes place in an alternate universe that was first depicted in the three-part

compilation film A compilation film, or compilation movie is a film composed of scenes and shots taken from two or more prior films and edited together so as to make a new film, whether on the same or a different subject. The most common example would be a docum ...

: ''Initiation'', ''Transgression'', and ''Glorification'', which was released between 2017 and 2018. The film serves as a direct sequel to the events of the three-part film. The film has been licensed by

Funimation Crunchyroll, LLC, previously known as Funimation from 1994 to 2022, is an American entertainment company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony as a joint venture between Sony Pictures and Sony Music Entertainment Japan's Aniplex that specializ ...

and it had a limited theatrical release in the United States and Canada on May 5, 2019.

Plot

A year has passed since the events of the "Zero Requiem", a scheme Emperor

Lelouch vi Britannia , whose alias is , is the main protagonist of the Sunrise anime series '' Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion''. In the series, Lelouch is a former prince from the superpower Britannia who is given the power of the "Geass" by a witch known as ...

formulated to end conflict with his death, and Nunnally vi Britannia rules Britannia while aided by her bodyguard

Suzaku Kururugi is a fictional character in the anime series '' Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion'' produced by Sunrise, Inc. In the original Japanese dubbing, he is voiced by Takahiro Sakurai and his younger self is voiced by Akeno Watanabe. Character o ...

, who has taken the identity of Zero. Nunnally and Suzaku are in the middle of a goodwill visit to a desert nation when they are ambushed by a Knightmare squad; Suzaku is easily defeated and they are abducted. The two find themselves in the custody of Shalio and Shamna, the sibling rulers of the Kingdom of Zilkhistan which has suffered from the world peace crippling their primary export: mercenary soldiers. Shamna explains their plan to use Nunnally to access the collective unconsciousness within C's World to restore Zilkhistan's political might. Suspecting Zilkhistan's involvement, Kallen Stadtfeld, Sayoko Shinozaki, and Lloyd Asplund infiltrate the country and run into C.C. and a physically resurrected but soulless Lelouch. C.C. explains that, after the Zero Requiem, their school friend Shirley Fenette smuggled Lelouch's corpse to her and that she resurrected Lelouch from the dead by reconstructing his corpse, but his memories and personality are trapped in the collective unconsciousness. The group launches an assault on a Zilkhistan prison, where they rescue Suzaku and discover an Aramu Gate, a portal to C's World. C.C. uses the portal to fully resurrect Lelouch. Lelouch once again dons the mantle of Zero and meets up with Britannian forces led by his half-sister Cornelia li Britannia and his former lieutenant Kaname Ohgi. Lelouch's forces track Nunnally down and find her in a Zilkhistan temple. Lelouch infiltrates the temple and kills Shamna, but she activates her Geass and travels back six hours in the past, allowing her to perfectly predict Lelouch's actions. Lelouch uses his tactical prowess to deduce the mechanics of Shamna's Geass and knocks her out. He frees Nunnally, but learns that her mind has been transported into C's World. C.C. guides him into the collective unconsciousness, and he successfully rescues Nunnally. Suzaku kills Shalio in combat, destroying Shamna permanently. In the aftermath, Lelouch once again bequeaths the title of Zero to Suzaku and departs on a journey with C.C., taking the alias L.L. as his idea of a marriage proposal. In a

post-credits scene A post-credits scene (commonly referred to as a stinger or credit cookie) or mid-credits scene is a short clip that appears after all or some of the closing credits have rolled and sometimes after a production logo of a film, TV series, or vide ...

set in an undetermined future, L.L. and C.C. are shown standing over a mass grave in a forest, with L.L. stating he would take away the Geass of those who wield it without resolve. This post-credit scene served as the setup for the movie's picture drama where Lelouch and C.C. confronted a pirate and C.C. took away his Geass.

Voice cast

Production

In November 2016, the sequel project was announced on ''

''s 10th anniversary event with the three-part compilation film project. In August 2018, it was announced that the sequel is a film project. The key members from the television series and the three-part compilation films returned for the sequel film, with director

directing the film,

providing the screenplay, manga artist group CLAMP providing character designs with Takahiro Kimura adapting the designs for animation, and

Kōtarō Nakagawa is a Japanese composer and arranger. He is noted for composing the soundtracks for several anime series, including the Gorō Taniguchi-directed productions '' s-CRY-ed'', '' Planetes'', ''Gun Sword'', and ''Code Geass''. He provided the music ...

and Hitomi Kuroishi composing the music for the film. Taniguchi and Ōkouchi confirmed that the sequel film takes place after the events of the three-part compilation film.

Release

Japanese release

The film was released in Japan on February 9, 2019.

English release

licensed the film, and had a limited theatrical release in the United States and Canada on May 5, 2019.

Reception

Box office

The film debuted at number five with an opening weekend gross of in Japan. It was number six in its second weekend, with a cumulative gross of up until then. As of March 2019, the film has grossed more than () in Japan. Collectively, the ''Code Geass'' film franchise has grossed () at the Japanese box office.

Critical response

Richard Eisenbeis of Anime News Network gave the film "B" rating, and states "At the very least, this film can be completely ignored with impunity thanks to its built in loophole; the whole thing takes place in the film canon, not the TV series timeline. Therefore, the ''Code Geass'' you know and love remains the same as it's been since it finished airing a decade ago, and these events can be seen as just a tantalizing 'what if' if they're not to your liking."

References

External links

* * at

* {{Gorō Taniguchi 2019 anime films 2019 films Animated films about time travel Code Geass Cyborgs in anime and manga Discrimination in fiction Fiction about curses Films about prophets Films about security and surveillance Films about terrorism Films set in the 2110s Films with screenplays by Ichirō Ōkouchi Funimation Fiction about government Japan in fiction Japanese alternate history films Military anime and manga Monarchy in fiction Sunrise (company) Terrorism in fiction ja:コードギアス反逆のルルーシュ#復活のルルーシュ