Lelouch  vi  Britannia~         

Lelouch vi Britannia (ルルーシュ・ヴィ・ブリタニア, Rurūshu vi Buritania), 17 years old (18 at R2), with Lamperouge being his assumed surname, is the Eleventh Prince of the Holy Britannian Empire and the son of the 98th Emperor of Britannia, Charles zi Britannia. He is the leader of the Black Knights which makes him the real identity of Zero. He is voiced by Jun Fukuyama, while his child self is voiced by Sayaka Ohara. His English dub voice is provided by Johnny Yong Bosch with Michelle Ruff doing Lelouch's child voice.

He was chosen the most popular male character of 2006, 2007 and 2008 at Animage magazine's annual Anime Grand Prix. His seiyū Jun Fukuyama also won the "Best Actor in a Leading Role" award for his portrayal of the character at the first Seiyū Awards in 2007.

Character Outline~ 

Lelouch was born on December 5, 1999 a.t.b. as Lelouch vi Britannia the son of the Emperor of Britannia, Charles zi Britannia, and the late Imperial Consort Marianne, making Lelouch the Eleventh Prince of the Holy Britannian Empire. He was in line to be the seventeenth heir to the throne prior to his mother's assassination and his sister's crippling in the same incident. A ten year old Lelouch confronted the Emperor afterward and accused him of leaving his mother defenseless, even going as far as renouncing his entitlement to the throne. In response, his father banished him to Japan, where he was used as a political hostage in the Sakuradite conflict.It was during his stay at the Kururugi household that he first met Suzaku Kururugi, with whom the young Lelouch did not interact initially in a friendly manner, before later becoming friends. However, when Britannia finally developed its Knightmare Frames fleet and decided to invade Japan to seize control of the Sakuradite mines, consequently discarding Lelouch's use as a diplomatic tool, Lelouch, fearing for his and his sister's safety, hid their true identities and sought the help of the Ashford family, who were his mother's allies.

His mother's death and his father's apparent lack of concern in regards to it were huge blows to Lelouch. He always felt that it was unfair for both his mother and sister, and therefore made it his goal to pursue a better world for Nunnally. He also seeks to discover the true reason for his mother's death, as she was murdered in the Aries Imperial Palace, a place terrorists would be unlikely to penetrate successfully without being noticed, if at all.

Appearance~

Lelouch's trademarks are his ebony hair, and violet eyes, which he inherited from his mother, and father respectively. Lelouch is somewhat scrawny, having little muscle, and being rather thin. In spite of this, Lelouch is considerably tall, standing at least a head taller than Kallen, and apparently being slightly taller than Suzaku.

Zero---

Lelouch as ZeroAdded by Anubis zeroShortly after gaining the power of Geass from C.C., Lelouch assumes the secret identity Zero, a mysterious, masked revolutionary dressed in a black helmet and cloak. The helmet has a retractable plate over the left eye so Lelouch can use his Geass. In this guise, he forms the Black Knights, initially composed of the members of Kaname Ohgi's resistance group. The goal of this vigilante group is a campaign against powerful individuals who oppress the helpless, which he eventually expands into reforming Japan as an independent nation.

Lelouch is willing to do whatever it takes to accomplish his goal, even if it means lying to his followers and using people as bait for the outcome he desires. However, he has trouble putting those he is close to in harms way for the sake of his goal, which is a weakness as a commander but a remnant of his humanity and sanity. His feelings for Nunnally in particular often hinders his plans, particularly at the end of the first season, where he abandons a massive war with Britannian forces to rescue her, and early into the second season, when he has trouble believing Nunnally is willingly waging a campaign for peace that interferes with his plans. Gradually, however, he has come to embrace the fact that he has to destroy before reconstruction can occur, even if it means harming those he cares about.

Originally, Lelouch is motivated by the desire to avenge his mother's death and construct an ideal world where his sister Nunnally can live in peace. After Nunnally becomes Viceroy of Area 11, and her wishes conflict with his goals, his friends help him to realize that his rebellion is no longer just for Nunnally, but for all the people of the world.

Character history~

First season
Lelouch is introduced in the first episode of the series to be a student of the Ashford Academy high school, where he is a member of its student council. A brilliant thinker who is quite talented at chess, he lives with his younger sister, Nunnally, and their maid, Sayoko Shinozaki, at a house situated within the compounds of Ashford Academy, where they are looked after by the Ashford family.

Lelouch is soon swept into the conflict between the Britannia Empire and the pockets of resistance which oppose it when he accidentally boards a truck being used by Japanese resistance operatives. Within the truck is a capsule holding C.C., who sacrifices herself to save him from the military forces trying to recapture her. When it seems as if her sacrifice was pointless, C.C. suddenly touches his hand and offers him the "Power of Kings", the mythical power of Geass. The Geass manifests itself in him as the power of absolute obedience, which allows him to make people obey his orders without question. He uses this power to order the Britannian soldiers to kill themselves in his real name.

Lelouch in the middle with the Order of Black Knights. With his new power, Lelouch begins his rebellion against the Empire, starting by killing his half-brother, Clovis, after extracting information about the murder of his mother, Marianne. He later forms the The Order of the Black Knights and takes up the identity of Zero to lead them, becoming a revolutionary and gaining popular support amongst the people.

The turning point in his rebellion comes when Euphemia li Britannia declares the region under Mount Fuji the Special Administrative Zone of Japan, giving the Japanese people their name and country back, albeit in a much smaller area. This effectively destroys any possibility of the Black Knights' rebellion; acceptance would render them powerless and refusal would make them pariahs. Lelouch confronts her at the opening ceremony and tries to have her shoot him, hoping to make himself a martyr. When she says she plans to give up her title, he surrenders and agrees to work with her. However, at this moment his Geass permanently activates, and an offhand comment about ordering her to kill the Japanese forces her to do just that. Lelouch is forced to kill Euphemia to end the ensuing massacre, but in doing so becomes a hero of the people. Using this newfound support, Lelouch announces the creation of the United States of Japan and is able to lead an attack on the Tokyo Settlement. The attack goes well at first, but when Lelouch learns that Nunnally was kidnapped, he abandons the battle, leaving his forces helpless against the much better organized Britannian forces.

Lelouch and C.C. make their way to Kamine Island to search for Nunnally, where Lelouch is confronted by Suzaku Kururugi. Lelouch attempts to broker a truce, but Suzaku is distraught over the death of Euphemia and refuses to listen. An angered Lelouch draws his pistol and both Lelouch and Suzaku attempt to shoot one another. A single gunshot is heard as the screen fades to black at the end of the first season.
Second seasonOne year later, Lelouch is once again a student at Ashford Academy. He has had his memories rewritten by Charles zi Britannia, revealed to possess aGeass power of his own, making him believe that he was never a prince and that he has a younger brother namedRolo Lamperouge, instead of a sister. Lelouch's memories are restored by C.C., and he resumes leadership of theBlack Knights. Initially, Lelouch makes his base in the Chinese Federation's consulate, using his Geass on the High Eunuch stationed there so they will be welcomed. They are eventually forced to abandon it, however.

When Nunnally is appointed as Viceroy of Area 11, and announces her plans to reestablish the Special Administrative Zone of Japan, Lelouch falls into depression since he would be impeding her wishes by continuing his rebellion. He nearly begins taking Refrain before Kallen stops him. With the help of Kallen and his friends at the Ashford Academy, Lelouch realizes that his mission no longer revolves solely around Nunnally, but concerns the rest of his friends and the Japanese people as well.

Lelouch engineers the legal exile of the Black Knights by getting the Britannians to agree to exile Zero in exchange for bringing one million participants for Nunnally's new Japan. By having them all dress as Zero, he forces Suzaku to exile them and The Black Knights escape to the Chinese Federation, where Lelouch begins forging an alliance with the other world powers to create a force that rivals Britannia. He starts by destabilizing the Chinese Federation, returning control to Empress Tianzi from the High Eunuchs.

During his time in Area 11, Shirley is killed by Rolo after her memories are restored by Jeremiah Gottwald, an assassin for the Geass Directorate. Unable to retaliate against either, as they are now his allies, Lelouch instead wipes out the Directorate, in the process learning of C.C.'s wish to die and that the Emperor has become immortal. C.C. would have had Lelouch kill her and take on her immortality, but instead spares him by placing him inside her memories while the Emperor kills her. Lelouch refuses to let her die unhappy and convinces her to live on, but her memories of her life after gaining Geass are erased during their escape.

Once Lelouch's new alliance, the United Federation of Nations, is formed, their first act is to liberate Japan. To insure Nunnally's safety, Lelouch meets with Suzaku in an attempt to convince him to help. Lelouch takes full responsibility for all that he has done rather than admit the truth, but Suzaku agrees to help since he recognized what Lelouch is doing. Prince Schneizel's troops, having been ordered to follow Suzaku, then move in to arrest Lelouch, convincing him that Suzaku sold him out. Lelouch escapes with the help of Guilford, having used his Geass to make Guilford see him as Princess Cornelia, and begins his attack on Tokyo. Rolo and Sayoko are sent in to retrieve Nunnally and Kallen.

The battle initially goes well, but the hostilities are cut short when Suzaku fires Nina's F.L.E.I.J.A. bomb under the influence of the Geass command Lelouch placed on him. Nunnally is apparently among the dead, which leaves Lelouch heartbroken. This is only made worse when Schneizel convinces the Black Knights to betray him using recorded evidence from his meeting with Suzaku. Rolo evacuates him, but dies in the attempt. Lelouch comes to terms with his feelings for Rolo and buries him properly, as the little brother of Lelouch Lamperouge.

Following the betrayal of the Black Knights, Lelouch focuses on defeating the Emperor, Lelouch confronts the Emperor in the Sword of Akasha, where he learns the truth about his mother and Charles' plans. He denies their attempt to create a new world and kills both of Charles and Marianne. One month later he installs himself as the 99th Emperor of Britannia and appoints Suzaku as his Knight of Zero.As Emperor, Lelouch abolishes all the oppressive laws and class systems of Britannia, frees every colony (thereby abolishing the concept of "Numbers"), and puts down all resistance to his goals. However, the seemingly benevolent acts are a smokescreen for his intention to take over the world, which he calls the Zero Requiem. He announces that Britannia intends to join the U.F.N. At the meeting, Lelouch takes the council members hostage after it is revealed that Britannia's large population would give him a majority voting block. This brings him into conflict with Schneizel and the Black Knights, the former bringing his F.L.E.I.J.A.-equipped floating fortress into the battle. The biggest surprise comes when Nunnally is revealed to be alive and declares herself to be his enemy. Though initially reluctant, Lelouch is convinced that he must fight her for the sake of his plan.

Lelouch began to leave when Damocles continues to fire F.L.E.I.J.A. Shortly afterwards, Lelouch saw C.C and says to her that he is worried about her but then Kallen attacks Avalon and is saved thanks to C.C. Using Nina's countermeasure, Lelouch and Suzaku disable the F.L.E.I.J.A. and the two proceed to board the Damocles. He manages to place Schneizel under his control, then goes to confront Nunnally, who has regained her sight. Lelouch uses his Geass on Nunnally to get her to hand over the F.L.E.I.J.A. launch button and takes over Damocles. With no one left capable of opposing him, Lelouch becomes the ruler of the world.Lelouch arranges the public execution of the Black Knight leaders and the U.F.N. representatives. Suzaku, disguised as Zero, interrupts and kills Lelouch, the culmination of the Zero Requiem as they had planned. By directing all the hatred of the world onto him, Lelouch's death will serve to facilitate peace. He dies smiling, saying he is the one who both destroys worlds and creates them. Suzaku is left to play the role of Zero. Lelouch dies in the arms of a crying Nunnally, who then succeeds her brother as Empress of Britannia. The aftermath is narrated by Kallen, who ends up forgiving Lelouch and explains how the world is much better off with all the energy being focused on reconstruction. C.C. makes one last remark during the final scene of the series. Director Goro Taniguchi states that it's up to the viewers to decide how they want to interpret the ending, but that he himself likes to see it as a happy ending. Writer Ichirō Ōkouchi agrees, saying that while some may regard Lelouch's end as a tragedy, he too likes to think of the ending as a happy one because Lelouch created a better tomorrow for those left behind.


Personality~

Lelouch is a highly intelligent indiviual who is also calm, sophisticated, and arrogant due to his aristocrat upbringing. While at his school Lelouch conducts himself a socialible, likable, and often easy going student however this is a mask to hid his true feelings. While as Zero his true feelings are expressed, his charisma and beliefs in justice gain him the trust and respect of many soldiers and leaders.

While Lelouch is righteous and noble by nature he is more than willing to do acts that go against his morality; this is due to his belief that he must commit evil to destroy the greater evil.

Many characters have noted that Lelouch is quite selfish as his desire to destroy and recreate the world comes from his revenge for his mother's apparent death and Nunnally's sake however in time he realizes that his goal is not just for them but for the entire world.

Lelouch has a habit of accepting responsibility for actions which he has no fault in. This maybe his tragic flaw. Lelouch seems to have an average amount of concern for innocent lives, while he does oppose the concept of terrorism, he does not (or at least not openly) display a great amount of remorse for the collateral of his endeavors.

While Lelouch can be ruthless and often merciless in battle he can be a rather compassionate person to his friends and loved ones. To Nunnally he is a loving older brother and to Suzaku he is a loyal friend despite the fact that the two are enemies. Lelouch, at first glance, seems to have relatively little concern for the wellbeing of his subordinates, but in reality, he does care about them, seeing them as valuable allies. Though he has shown preference on occasion.

Relationships~

Due to his good looks and charm Lelouch is quite popular with girls, however he does not care much for this due to his focus on caring for Nunnally and changing the world. However Lelouch does show hints of romantic feelings for Shirley Fenette, C.C., and Kallen Kōzuki; however he was never able to express how he really felt about them but it is shown that he did cared deeply for each of them. He even expressed that Euphemia was his first love, right at the time she died by his hand.
Lelouch's relationship with Kallen had been difficult and slow burning. In the first season, they share a complicated love-hate relationship with Kallen despising Lelouch's student persona and a great admiration to him as Zero. As Lelouch, Kallen saw him as an arrogant Britannian student who could not bother about the world. As Zero, Kallen saw him as a symbol of hope against the Empire and was willing to laid down her life to protect him.

To Lelouch, Kallen was him most loyal follower and was seen as his Queen piece dubbing her Q-1 and he placed her in high regards although he was not above annoying her as his student persona.

When she found out that Zero and Lelouch were one and the same, a heart-broken Kallen left him to die at Suzaku's hands.

Later after Zero's return, Kallen was confused as to whether her loyalty to him as a result of Geass or her own free will and confronted him at gun point. When Lelouch claimed she was following her heart, their relationship became more personal although they still retained some of their old bickering behind.

The two grew closer when Lelouch out of depression tried to kiss Kallen who slapped him at the last minute despite the clear hesitation on her part. She urged him that he was Zero and held the dreams of the Japanese.

When he had led the Black Knights to the Chinese Federation, Kallen asked why he had turned to them. Instead to answering, Lelouch asked Kallen if she would return with him to Ashford after the fighting was over although he was interrupted before he could explain why.

By this time, Kallen had evidently grown feelings for him as she was willing to die so long as she was with him. When Lelouch betrayed the world, even as she fought him, Kallen did so with tears in her eyes and upon finding out his plan, she screamed haplessly as he was stabbed.

On Lelouch's part, it was clear he had cared for her and was visibly stunned when Kallen was captured by Xingke and swore to rescue her with his own hands. He was also unwilling to let her die with him when the Black knights betrayed him and told her to "Live on."

When Kallen finally kissed him, although he remained quiet, it was clear that he was deeply affected by it and whispered his farewell when she left.

Abilities~

GeassLelouch's Geass, bestowed upon him by C.C., gives him "The Power of Absolute Obedience", allowing him to plant commands within a person's mind upon eye contact in a manner comparable to hypnosis. Activation of his Geass is visually represented by the manifestation of a Geass sigil in his left eye. Commands dictated in this state are written into the minds of the designated targets once the sigil projects from his eye to theirs. Lelouch could initially toggle Geass activation at will, but subsequently loses this control to an affliction known as Geass runaway. In the second season, C.C. gives Lelouch a contact lens that blocks his Geass, but indicates that his Geass will eventually grow powerful enough to render it ineffective. Lelouch's Geass evolves to cover his other eye in episode 21, but he receives a second contact lens to cover it. Of all the Geass abilities in the series, Lelouch's has been explored the most, and also seems to have the most restrictions and side effects of any Geass introduced:

  • Only affects the nervous system.
  • Commands must be issued verbally.
  • The victim must make direct eye contact for commands to be issued. The maximum effective distance is 272 meters. Line of sight via a reflective surface is sufficient for the effect to occur. After his Geass evolves, he can give commands to the victim without maintaining direct eye contact. The effective range has also been increased.
    • Commands may be issued only once to any given individual, but any number of commands may be issued at initial application so long as eye contact is unbroken. Since Jeremiah's Geass Canceler negates all Geass effects, those exposed to it may be commanded once again.
    • The victim will not perform any action disallowed by their physical or mental capabilities, though they will try to carry out the command to the best of their ability. For example, a victim will not be able to correctly answer a question they don't know the answer to, but will direct the user to someone who can if they are able. However, commands that affect the mind or consciousness, such as telling the victim to forget something, will take effect despite the fact that the victim could not normally force themselves to do so.
    • An action will be carried out for as long as dictated in its command, or upon the indicated conditional circumstance. Eye contact does not need to be maintained for command execution to occur. No upper limit has been established, but the conditional command Lelouch gives Suzaku is still in effect more than a year later.
    • The victim's memories for the duration of command issue and execution are sealed and cannot be recalled.
    • As demonstrated in Princess Euphemia's response to the command that she kill the Japanese, a victim may resist a commanded action to some degree if it is utterly repugnant and morally incomprehensible to them.
    So long as the above conditions are met, commands may be issued to anybody besides those that had gained immortality and to any number of individuals at once. Those under the effect of Geass have a red outline on their pupils, presumably a visual cue for the viewer since the characters never point it out.


Intellect and ChessEven without his Geass, Lelouch is a formidable opponent. He is highly intelligent, possessing a genius-level intellect, and is capable of devising and executing strategies with incredible speed and precision. The series repeatedly demonstrates Lelouch's mental acuity; ranging from his superb skill in playing chess, to an incident in Stage 14, when Mao says C.C.'s name, Lelouch instantly comes up with fourteen different possibilities for Mao's identity - including the correct one. In the audio dramas, Suzaku says that, when they were children, Lelouch devised a secret sign language containing over 500 words. In Stage 17, Lelouch proves his tactical ability by predicting the Lancelot's actions exactly thanks to his study of past battles, allowing Kallen and the Four Holy Swords to almost defeat the Lancelot (only Suzaku's reflexes saved his life). His intelligence is also parodied in one humorous Sound Episode, which has the Student Council members acting suspicious, and Lelouch racing through possible explanations and cover-ups with increasing speed (though it turns out that they were acting strange because he had some rice on his cheek from his lunch).
PhysicalPhysically, Lelouch is underwhelming. He possesses the physical prowess of a teenager who engages in little to no strenuous physical activity. Thus, one of Lelouch's traits is the inability to run very fast or for any substantial period of time. Within the series, this is usually played for comedic effect, as Lelouch is constantly outpaced by his classmates in every situation, and even the most simple tasks requiring manual labor exhaust him before he manages to accomplish anything significant. This joke is taken to its logical conclusion in the second season, where it is revealed that Lelouch is supposed to attend remedial physical education classes, but skips them as often as possible. This creates problems when Sayoko poses as Lelouch: she is a master of martial arts, and hence far more athletic than Lelouch himself. Lelouch laments the problem and decides to have Sayoko attend his gym classes to fix it.

Lelouch is also shown to be very talented at most domestic skills including cooking and sewing; it has been stated that this comes as a result of his taking care of himself and Nunnally for seven years. He has been shown to be an excellent cook, and is usually the one cooking the food for parties held by the Student Council, both because the others (except Milly) are terrible cooks and nobody else can meet his exacting requirements (such as measuring ingredients to three significant decimals).

Lelouch also has some skill with firearms, usually brandishing a Britannian pistol when threatening someone. His Knightmare piloting skill has been shown to be proficient but not exceptional; he is a capable pilot by himself, though he tends to be overwhelmed by Suzaku and other pilots with more advanced Knightmares at their disposal. When Lelouch pilots a standard Knightmare on the battlefield, he is typically accompanied by Kallen, who is an elite Knightmare pilot and the leader of his personal squad, Squad Zero. After commandering the Gawain, Lelouch co-pilots it with C.C., controlling the weapons and command functions while C.C. handles navigation and flight. After the Black Knights are exiled from Japan, Lelouch pilots the Shinkirō, which has the most powerful defense of any Knightmare. He also shows a level of ambidexterity as he is able to control either side of the Shinkirō's keyboard-based controls with both hands. Though he could not defeat them, Lelouch managed to hold his own against the Knights of Rounds during the second battle of Tokyo.