CODE GEASS: TRAINWRECK OF THE REBELLION EP 6

(SPOILER ALERT: THIS TOTALLY CONTAINS SPOILERS)

Well, whoever directed this one decided that the show needed a completely absurd comedy episode. I have to say, I greatly enjoyed the slapstick of the entire school chasing down Lelouch’s cat and Zero helmet. With a plot like this, it becomes apparent that the show doesn’t take itself too seriously. Which is good, because I could never imagine watching a show in which a high-schooler dons a masked persona to oppose a global empire by coordinating mech battles without my tongue planted in my cheek. They were even brave enough to make some (obvious) homoerotic jokes about Lelouch and Suzaku. Self parody works for Gainax, so why not here? At the very least, it will lessen the impact of the inevitable bathroom humor some deranged internet person such as myself might engage in.

There is one thing that keeps sticking out like a sore thumb though: how many Pizza Hut product placements can one show have? I mean, the green haired Weapon-X chick orders Pizza Hut in every episode. Was Pizza Hut a new thing over there in 2008, so the company invested money in having anime girls eat their pizza? The uniform of the delivery guy and the logo are so painfully accurate that it almost breaks my sense of immersion. I just can’t help but say “wtf is this regular-ass pizza hut guy doing in my sci-fi robot show?”

Ken pointed out that Lelouch’s Geass ability bears a more than subtle resemblance to a certain other notable eye technique in a certain other anime. (http://naruto.wikia.com/wiki/Sharingan) I’m not really sure how I didn’t make that comparison myself, but I’m going to blame the fact that I was distracted by pizza.

This episode also showed the Emperor of Britannia himself giving a rousing speech about the philosophy of his empire. The speech takes western ideas about individuality and self actualization to such extremes as to mimic a kind of fascism, which is an interesting and distinctly Japanese take on things. They also had the guy who voices Cell in DBZ playing the emperor, so they got that part right.

Some general and brief thoughts on the show as a whole thus far: there’s definitely been a lot of absurd stuff happening, and it’s all kind of going in different directions. While I have yet to encounter anything absolutely face-palming, I think my absurdity tolerance might be kind of high since I don’t take this stuff seriously to begin with. Although, I, for one, am looking forward to things getting crazier and making even less sense.