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Code Geass Tactics; an expository analysis on the nature of allegory

By Moogy | September 30, 2008

Well, the seminal series Code Geass has finally drawn to a close, and thus there are many different viewpoints and essays regarding it to be found amongst the anime blogosphere in the wake of said monstrously successful show. These posts are surely each worthwhile in their own unique way; however, I believe that, somewhat unwittingly, I alone have stumbled across the “answer” to Code Geass.

And what is this answer? Why, simply the fact that Code Geass is nothing more than an elaborate allegory for the events of the Lion War, as depicted in Squaresoft’s phenomenal 1997 SRPG, Final Fantasy Tactics. Those who have played the game should be slapping themselves in the forehead with an expression of utmost realization right about now.

Clearly, the obvious parallels to draw are… Suzaku as Delita, Ramza as Lelouch, and Alma as Nunnally, right? Wrong. The actual level of depth in Taniguchi’s reinterpretation of FFT proves such petty comparisons to be nothing more than the refuge of the intellectually unfit, as I shall explain past the cut.

You see, the true genius of Taniguchi and Okouchi is shown by the way in which they skillfully distill multiple aspects of multiple characters into individual characters. For example… Lelouch is simply an amalgam of Ramza’s rebellious side, alongside his desire to find the “truth,” and Delita’s lust for “revenge” coupled with the fact that his desire stems from what happened to his sister. Suzaku is a combination of Ramza’s desire for peace and Delita’s idea to change things from within. Delita’s low-class birth can be compared to Suzaku’s status as a Japanese citizen, as well; but note that Ramza is the scion of a wealthy family, so Suzaku’s position as Japanese nobility can be applied to him as well. So can Lelouch’s position as a Britannian prince.

Or, to put it in other words… Ramza and Delita are each composed of halves of Lelouch and Suzaku. Thus, it should come as no surprise that Ramza and Delita are two childhood friends, who, through a tragic series of events, end up following radically different roads in order to bring their form of “justice” to the world. It should also come as no surprise that each is motivated in some way by the death of Delita’s sister, Tietra; Nunnally, although not dead, acts as a powerful motivating force for both Lelouch and Suzaku.

The character composition of Nunnally is perhaps the most interesting, as she appears to be made up of no less than three different entities – Alma, Tietra, and Ovelia. Alma is simply her sisterly aspect – a cheerful person who Ramza and Delita (Lelouch and Suzaku) both which to protect. Tietra is her tragic aspect – Nunnally’s loss of sight and mobility is obviously an allegory for Tietra’s death. Finally, Ovelia is her oppositional aspect – one need look no further than the excellent ending scene of FFT in order to make this clear.

In this way, Taniguchi and Okouchi combine three somewhat flat female characters into one rather complex entity. Pretty interesting feat of writing, eh?

So, what about CC? The most pivotal character in Geass, and she seems to have no real parallel in FFT. Well, that is where the intellectually inferior would be proven incorrect yet again. CC is really quite a simple merger of Alma, Wiegraf, Agrias, and Ovelia. Alma is quite clearly immortal, as well as the bearer of an ancient power. The fact that she is used for the purposes of summoning Ultima and apparently also confers immortality to Ramza at the end of FFT makes this obvious. Wiegraf is also the bearer of a supernatural power, but, more importantly, he is a very intelligent man working for an ostensibly antagonistic entity. Kind of reminds you of the fact that CC was originally working with Charles, right? Agrias is a very assertive woman who formulates strategies with ease, and yet withholds information when she deems necessary. And, finally, Ovelia is a somewhat broken girl who eventually ends up in a “relationship” with one of the halves of Lelouch. All four characters combined make up CC.

There are other obvious parallels, such as Elmdor being Xingke, Dycedarg being Charles, Mustadio being Rivalz and Tamaki, Argarth being VV, etc. However, I find it unnecessary to delve further into this area, as I have already made my point.

Moving on past the characters, we must enter into the realm of the actual plotlines. It doesn’t take an expert to see that the warring situations of Ivalice and Code Geass’s futuristic setting are very, very similar. The Church and Britannia are practically the same entity – each seeks control of the country/world, and each has leaders which are secretly involved in the supernatural. The ambitions of each of these entities are eventually crushed by two “rebels” – one who changes things from within, and one who changes things from without. Nearly every event in the two works has a parallel in its counterpart. For example, the scene of Orbonne Monastery at the beginning of FFT is set up in much the same way that Geass’s original episode one was planned. In case you are not aware, Taniguchi originally intended to have the cliffhanger from the end of season one be the first scene shown in the series. An obvious parallel to the earlier work, in this case.

There are many other parallels, such as Lelouch’s decisive battle in China compared with Ramza’s victory at the floodgates. However, in the interests of brevity, I shall not waste time discussing each and every allegory which Geass contains. Instead, I shall simply discuss the most important similarity; the similarity which led me to this theory in the first place. This similarity arises from a comparison of the endings of both works.

Ramza and Alma (Lelouch and CC) run away to the countryside together, presumably both immortal. Delita (his Suzaku role now abandoned) is then stabbed by his “partner” (Ovelia, who is taking on Suzaku’s mask in this instance; elements of Nunnally’s opposition can also be found here). Though the reasoning behind Ovelia’s attempted murder of Delita is much different from Suzaku’s “actual” murder of Lelouch, the parallels here are still very, very obvious. Also consider the fact that Ramza’s good deeds go unrewarded, and, in fact, unknown, at least until the publication of the Zodiac Brave Story. Much the same as Lelouch, eh? In this way, Taniguchi fills the role of Orran (the informant) and Okouchi fills the role of Arazlam (the man who wrote the story down). And thus, their most important objective was achieved – bringing Final Fantasy Tactics into the real world by establishing themselves as characters from it transposed into our plane of reality. In this way, both FFT and Geass can be seen as true records of history, and perhaps even reflections of real world events. For example, the world’s unity against Lelouch could be seen as an allegory for the world’s unity against Hitler in World War II. That is a topic for another post, though, I am afraid.

And thus, a simple PSX RPG becomes the representation of the very fabric of reality and essence of humanity itself. Truly profound. Thank you so much, Taniguchi and Okouchi, for bringing this revolutionary allegory of the nature of all things to us.

—

By the way, in case you haven’t noticed, this entire post is bullshit. It was an exercise in seeing how far I can stretch things in order to make connections between two works which are (mostly) unable to be related. I do admit that the bit about Ramza and Delita being childhood friends who later try to (row row) fight the power with wildly different methods is a bit interesting, though!

Anyway, I hope you found this amusing.

Topics: Anime, Code Geass R2 | 26 Comments »