Code Geas (Season One?)

I recently finished (and started) this anime. It is pretty addicting - I watched the first 15 episodes straight. Anyway, it is a mecha type with some Death Note-esque undertones of trickery and mind games. The pacing was excellent, nothing was drawn out - a fatal flaw of many anime. The characters were interesting and human and the fight scenes were good. I'll try to give some thoughts on it without spoiling anything.

Unfortunately, very little was resolved and it ended up a huge cliff hanger. More episodes are supposed to air this summer and there are rumors that a whole season two is in the works. There is certainly room for another season; there are tons of unresolved plot lines.

The plot was very interesting and always kept moving. The cast is quite large - although Lelouch (the main character) is clearly..well..the main character, many other characters are involved and fleshed out as well. It felt like quite a bit of the story was taken from Gundam SEED, but that is what you expect in anime I guess... However, the story is different enough to still be its own story and well done as well.

Left: Kira and Lacus from Gundam SEED
Right: Euphie and Suzaku from Code Geas

The character designs by CLAMP definitely call to mind their previous work. Sometimes I felt almost like I was watching Tsubasa Chronicle again. Suzaku (pictured above, right most) is a dead ringer for Tsubasa's Syaoron (who is himself taken from Card Captor Sakura). Code Geas stands out though with its darker characters and violent storyline.

I can't really say much more without spoiling anything (yes there are that many twists), but I really enjoyed this anime and I am looking forward to the new episodes. Anyone who liked Gundam SEED or Death Note will probably like Code Geas.