CODE GEASS / First Impressions

Summary:

Listening to the radio broadcast of the ceremony commemorating the establishment of Japan’s Special Administrative Zone, Nunnally hears the announcer say that Euphemia has been meeting with Zero for 30 minutes now. As the announcer talks about opening a new page in history, Nunnally remembers a scene from her past when she and her brother had been sleeping over at Euphemia’s house. At the time, Lelouch had been chasing her around to get her to go to bed because he knew that otherwise she wouldn’t be able to get up in the morning. Nunnally, however, claimed that she wasn’t sleepy and that she wanted to play more since they finally got to stay over at Euphemia’s place. Euphemia herself didn’t mind, but Lelouch had made a promise to his mother, and he finally caught his sister. Nunnally then noticed a plate in Euphemia’s room that Lelouch recognized to be in commemoration of Marianne’s knighting, and Euphemia revealed that she got it from Cornelia. Since Nunnally had wanted one too, Lelouch had said that it was impossible and made it clear that this was Euphemia’s property.

When he tried to take it back from her, Nunnally resisted and accused him of always being nice to only Euphemia, and during their struggle, they accidentally drop the plate. To Lelouch’s surprise though, Euphemia was actually glad that the plate had been broken into two pieces because now both she and Nunnally could have it. Nunnally had been so happy with this that she said she loved Euphemia and kissed her on the cheek, and the three of them had slept soundly that night together. In retrospect, Nunnally thinks about how that was a period of happiness and how that had been the last time she and her brother had been kids. It would only be a short while after this that she and Lelouch would realize that the world isn’t gentle. However, Nunnally thinks that Euphemia still believes and is trying to create a gentle world, and she feels that if it’s Euphemia, she’ll surely do it. The radio announcer then reports that Euphemia has returned to the stage and is making an announcement with a smile, but the transmission gets cut off soon afterwards. Unsure of what happened, Nunnally accidentally drops and shatters her half of the plate that she had been holding.

 
 
 
Since this was told from Nunnally’s point of view, I found it a little weird listening to her speak introspectively/seriously without her normally sweet voice, but I liked it and hope to hear more of it in the next series. Overall, this story turned out to be quite interesting, particularly since they framed this in terms of episode 22 and made what Nunnally says rather ironic given what we know will happen to Euphemia. Actually, the radio transmission getting cut off at the end re-raises the question for me of how much Nunnally is aware of what’s actually going on at the end of the first series concerning her brother and Euphemia. I’m inclined to think that she knows more than she’s letting on.
As a side note, did Marianne really get the plate from the 88th Britannian Emperor or did they screw up drawing that? The implication seems to be either that the current Emperor’s name is Charles di Britannia and they mis-drew that one number, or that Marianne was knighted 10 emperors ago. The latter doesn’t seem right, but it’s not out of the realm of possibility…

36 Comments

  15. The next person who says that lelouch is a perv/cropping a feel/etc i will personally hit them over the head with Fu’s famous frying pan.

    That is his full blood sister who is just over the toddler stage, and they are sleeping, get over your incest-obessed perverted thoughts people!!!

    that and you guys are simply freaking me out. -_-;

    Elegant Destruction
    Reply

  17. I’ve also always been inclined to think that Nunnally knows more than she’s letting on, and the last two episodes are helping my suspicions along. She was strangely quiet during Lelouch’s appearance as Zero in Ashford academy and her expression gave off more than “oh no, terrorists are occupying the school!” to me.

    Anyway, this was very cute.

    red lamp
    Reply

  21. Is kind of painful to see Euphemia again you know, why bring of back. Honestly she didn’t deserve to be kill in first place, but whats done is done the writer doesn’t have to bring her back, it only convince us more why she has to be the one to die. This is one thing I always not to fond of Clamp anime, they always have to kill of certain character in a story that viewers might grow fond of.

    John
    Reply

  24. Its sad that, Lelouch’s geass had to go out of control at that time. I was thinking around the point when he said yes that the concluding that way might not be that bad. Rather sad that Euphie had to die… Especially after this episode.

    Firstimer
    Reply

  25. John: It should be noted that this wasn’t really a CLAMP series. They only designed how the characters looked and made some ideas to develop the characters and settings – in other words, they didn’t write the story.

    Omni
    Reply

  28. Omni: anyway the point is Euphemia is dead, is just painful to see her on screen again unless is about someway somehow they bring her back from the dead using some crazy method. If not then leave her be and be remember in our memory, it only make us more sad to see the kind of person she is and why she has to die. I rather they kill of Suzaku anyway.

    Tom
    Reply

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