Lelouch Lamperouge

From Tv Tropes

[edit] Lelouch Lamperouge/Lelouch vi Britannia/Zero

Voiced by: JunFukuyama and SayakaOhara (Adult and child; Japanese), JohnnyYongBosch and MichelleRuff (Adult and child; English)
"I am Zero! The man who destroys worlds -- and the man who creates them!"

The central character of Code Geass, Lelouch Lamperouge is a Magnificent Chessmaster who was given the power of an Evil Eye called a Geass that allows him to compel anyone to obey him to do anything he demands -- although It Only Works Once on any given person. Few even of his closest friends know that he is actually a fallen White Prince of the Britannian Empire. He plans to rebel against his estranged father, the Social Darwinist Emperor Charles zi Britannia, who, he thinks, was unforgivably apathetic about his mother's death -- and may even have had a hand in it. Lelouch demands vengeance, and he'll settle for nothing less than the complete destruction of the Britannian royal line.

Well, not the entire Britannian royal line: Lelouch wants to protect his paralyzed and blind little sister Nunnally -- and not just to protect her, but to [[Make a Better World}} for her. He'll do just about anything to accomplish his goals, and he doesn't mind if he has to be labeled "evil" in the process. Especially if he gets to make being evil look damn good as he announces his new anti-Britannian movement.

As the series evolves, Lelouch finds a worthy opponent, his buddy Suzaku Kururugi, who eventually becomes the biggest obstacle to his plans.

He also finds an unexpected ally, a beautiful and mysterious waif who usually goes by the "name" C.C. She isn't what she seems to be. But then, neither is Lelouch.

  • Abusive Parents: His father the Emperor. Turns out his mother wasn't a saint either.
  • Achilles In His Tent: During most of Turn 19. Schneizel uses it to maximum effect.
  • Affably Evil: Gives off this, as he is remarkably polite, when he isn't killing or manipulating his enemies.
  • Alliterative Name: If he's using his mother's surname.
  • Aloof Big Brother: As part of his Jerkass Facade near the end.
  • A Man Is Not A Virgin: Subverted so ridiculously hard that it's hilarious.
  • Am I Fighting Cthulhu?: Has this reaction when he realises his father has the Geass, and then the code. Also people start having this reaction at Zero's ever-wider successes and "persuasion powers" over people in key places that he really shouldn't have.
  • Anti Hero: Lelouch started the series as a type III.
  • The Atoner: In the Grand Finale, the Zero Requiem is revealed to be an elaborate public performance intended to personally atone for his own sins by making the world hate him in death, even though his chosen method and leading circumstances make it likely he has another hidden motive at that point.]]
  • Attractive Bent Gender: The Picture Dramas and games are surely very fond of having him go around in drag. Stupid Sexy Luluko!
  • Awesome Moment Of Crowning: "ALL HAIL LELOUCH, 99th EMPEROR OF BRITANNIA!!"
  • Awesomeness By Analysis: He is about the only one smart enough to use Shinkiro's full combat potential.
  • Badass
    • Before you say huh?, remember in the second episode where Viletta threatened him by blowing the walls around him? He. Didn't. Even. Flinch. 2:50
  • Badass Bookworm
  • Badass Cape
  • Bastard Bastard Or Heroic Bastard: Lelouch is the child of one of the the Emperor's recognized wives, who was killed before the series began. Lelouch was disowned and ultimately rises up in rebellion against his father. Lelouch certainly gets around in the Bastard tropes.
  • Batman Gambit: He loves playing these. He's the victim of a few of them, too, but he usually prevails.
  • Becoming The Mask: Several times, on several different levels.
  • The Beautiful People
  • Be Careful What You Wish For: His Geass. And his plans in general.
    • Nice Fridge Brilliance / Moment of clarity for Lelouch in-series, where he realises he got what he wanted: Suzaku protecting Nunnally, his plans advanced well etc. in the detriment of others (Euphie, respectively Nunnally).
  • Big Good
  • Big Brother Instinct: He only, you know, started a war for her. A World War. Against the greatest superpower on the planet. Pretty much by himself.
    • He practically starts a bitchfight between every major regime of any sort on the planet, mucks up the balance of power a million times over, and comes out on top. Just to hammer it out, Lelouch himself is no idealist, optimist or pacifist by any stretch. He subscribes completely to the view that the world is a rotten place where the strong devours the weak. He sets out to change that, and succeeds. Why? Because otherwise, what would happen to his blind and disabled sister?
  • Big Screwed Up Family: Where the whole mess starts.
  • Born Unlucky: Oh so very much. See also Butt Monkey and Cosmic Plaything.
  • Brains Evil Brawn Good: Played with in that though he acts like a stereotypical villain, he is a Well Intentioned Extremist Byronic Hero, whereas Suzaku is a Charles Atlas Superpower Anti Villain working for the Big Bad.
  • Brilliant But Lazy: His school persona. Of course, he's anything but lazy.
    • To elaborate, even before he was Zero,
  • Brother Sister Incest: Toward Euphemia (of whom he says, "You may have been the first girl I ever loved"), and even more toward Nunnally (his "reason for living"). His love for them is not sexual -- or at least not explicitly sexual -- but it's certainly [[Template:Understatement unhealthy]].
  • But Now I Must Go: At the end of "Nightmare of Nunnally," he says goodbye to his friends and loved ones before leaving to be Demon King.
  • Butt Monkey: Regardless of his karma meter -- or maybe because of it -- he just can't catch a break.
  • Byronic Hero: 'conflicting emotions, poor integrity, the status of exile, a lack of respect for rank or privilege, a troubled past, cynicism, arrogance, and self-destructiveness' Melodrama. and a vast extant intelligence.'
  • Calling The Old Man Out: Aside from his desire to make Nunnally's dream of a kind world come true, Lelouch's main reason for basically starting a world war was to do this to the Emperor. (Let it never be said that he does anything by half-measures.) Near the end of the series, he finally does it.
  • Camp Straight
  • Cannot Spit It Out: Lelouch has a habit of dodging questions even when he'd be better off answering them.
  • Caring Potential‎: A Crowning Moment of Heartwarming with Rolo. He could've used him to the end, but he really started to appreciate his self-sacrifice and willpower.
  • Cartwright Curse.
  • Catch Phrase: All the tasks at hand have been cleared.
  • Celibate Hero: If only out of necessity thanks to his chosen profession. Strangely, the second season focuses heavily on Lelouch's love life -- especially the tragic ending of episode 13.
  • Character Development: Lelouch becomes more and more extreme - and in some ways, heroic - as the series progresses.
  • Character Tic: The flourishing gesture he uses to draw attention to his eye before invoking the Geass.
  • Char Clone: In fact, if you take this perspective, Code Geass literally becomes Mobile Suit Gundam with the perspectives skewed, instead of following Amuro (Suzaku), you're following Char.
  • The Chessmaster: Literally and figuratively. (Although as a literal chess master, it's more of an Informed Ability, as no one in-universe really seems to know how the game works.)
  • Chess Motifs: He's the king on the chess board; his Zero costume even resembles one. Although his physical combat skills are less than impressive, he's the one who commands the whole board. He's always on the battlefield with his troops, because, as he puts it, if the king won't lead, his subjects won't follow. Mind you, that doesn't usually work in actual chess, and certainly not as Lelouch applies it, but it is just a metaphor.
  • Chick Magnet: An extreme example.
  • Clark Kenting: ...Sort of. Lelouch does wear a mask that conceals his whole head and does tricks with voice recording to throw people off the trail. But the fact that his sister Nunnally--who is blind and therefore relies primarily on hearing--never recognizes him as Zero is a bit much. Not to mention the other people who are extremely close to him.
    • Along with the two reasons listed above, it's justified since Lelouch has kept his intentions hidden even (especially) from his little sister. Zero as well is mostly someone who "frail" Lelouch could never be (this too justified by the fact that he needs to keep low as to not alert others of his survival): an outspoken Large Ham with anti-governmental wishes (and he implies heavily he's Japanese and not a Britannian prince).
  • Clasp Your Hands If You Deceive: As a common trait of the quintessential Magnificent Bastard, Lelouch is fond of doing this.
  • Conspicuously Public Assassination: It's a Callback to when he rescued Suzaku in season 1 episode 4.
  • Cosmic Plaything: See Born Unlucky and Butt Monkey.
  • Crucified Hero Shot: He dies at the bottom of a trail of his blood leading from the middle of the Britannian flag, the resulting visage being reminiscent of the Christian cross.
  • Cursed With Awesome: Aside from some Diabolus Ex Machina, his Geass has virtually no drawbacks, and he can get around the ones that do.
  • The Dandy
  • Dark Messiah: To the core.
  • Death Seeker: Becomes this following both Nunnally's apparent death and the Black Knights' betrayal.
  • Deceased Fall Guy Gambit: For the first time, see Xanatos Speed Chess. For the second, see Xanatos Gambit.
  • Defeat Means Friendship: Subverted Trope. After Lelouch finally beats Schneizel in the second-to-last episode, he uses a Geass to force Schneizel to serve him. Or, more precisely, to serve Zero -- a distinction soon to become important.
    • As well Lelouch with Suzaku. Although he "defeats him" as showing him the system he's supporting is corrupt and then saving him, Suzaku won't join. Even after other defeats, Lelouch can't bring Suzaku to his side. Well, not by winning against him.
  • Defector From Decadence: His response to Charles' cold indifference to Marianne's murder and Nunnally's crippling and declaration that the Britannia is defined by the strong ruling over the weak. He gets sent to Japan along with Nunnally for his troubles. The takeover of Japan by Britannia is what drives him to revenge.
  • Despair Event Horizon: Goes over the edge following Nunnally's apparent death and the Black Knights' betrayal, leading him to plan on isolating himself inside the Sword of Akasha with Charles, and later, the Zero Requiem. See also: Death Seeker.
  • The Determinator
  • Diabolus Ex Machina: Sometimes, you'd be forgiven for thinking Lelouch's main opponent was called Murphy.
    • Episode 22 of the first season in particular is the poster child for this trope.
  • Did Not Get The Girl: The amount of Ship Sinking in R2 was epic.
  • Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?: Lelouch's geasses God itself to stop Instrumentality and kill his parents. In all fairness, however, he asked politely and didn't even include the second part, so it's more like Did You Just Ask Cthulhu For A Favor?
    • It's not made clear if it really was a request, if the Geass made that request be heard and thus "more important" than everyone else, or if he outright Geassed it without planning (which happens more often to Lelouch than imagined).
  • Died In Your Arms Tonight.
  • Ding Dong The Witch Is Dead: The reaction to his death. It causes his entire army (giant robots, tanks, and armed soldiers) to collapse and run away from an angry mob. Makes sense actually, since he has Zero Percent Approval Rating and the only member of his army who isn't brainwashed to be his slave is in on the plan.]]
  • Disproportionate Retribution: Sort of. To avenge the death of his mother, he wishes to bring about the destruction of the entire Britannian royal line -- with the notable exceptions of his beloved sister Nunnally, Euphemia, and himself. However, he has plenty of legitimate gripes against the Empire which do not involve those two things, mainly the Social Darwinism that drives the country to conquer the entire world and oppress everyone who isn't Briannitan, and the aforementioned members of the royal family are the only ones known to oppose said policies.
  • Doom Magnet
  • Don't Tell Mama: He tries to keep his sister ignorant of his alter ego.
  • Dude Looks Like A Lady: Oh yes. In one picture drama he was made to look prettier than the girls simply by putting on a wig and an Elegant Gothic Lolita dress.
  • The Emperor: The 99th Emperor of Britannia, to be precise.
  • Establishing Character Moment: After ordering a group of soldiers to kill themselves, Lelouch looks shocked and disturbed for a few seconds, before breaking into a smile.
  • Estrogen Brigade Bait: To a degree. He gets his shower and shirtless scenes.
  • Et Tu Brute: Happens twice, and with him getting sold out to the two baddest of the Template:Big Bads in the show (obviously barring V. V. spoiler:who gets offed in R2 14)). I do not envy this man.
  • Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas: Though the bad part is debatable. Flipped around in R2 episode 21: not only does he come to hate her within one episode, after Marianne shows him her true colors, he also erased her from existence along with Charles.
  • Even Evil Has Standards: Despite being a Magnificent Bastard, he really seems to regret the deaths of innocents.
    • He probably wanted to kill Rolo in one of his winding sinister ploys, to give him a Reason You Suck Speach and then execute the crying sob once he was on his knees begging for forgiveness. But to see him give his life for him... he didn't appreciate that.
  • Even The Guys Want Him: Of course Milly, Shirley, Kallen and Kaguya are head-over-heels in love with him. (As well as 108 other girls. And C.C. Possibly.) But there's also Rolo, and maybe even Suzaku and Jeremiah.
  • Evil Costume Switch: When he became Emperor.
  • Evil Eye: The Geass. It allows him to give direct commands to anyone he makes eye contact with (which they must obey, even if the command is explicitly suicidal or goes against every moral fiber of their being), but ItOnlyWorksOnce per person.
  • Evil Gloating: Lelouch is fond of this. It's very lucky that all of his Geass victims are polite enough to listen to his monologues before he orders them to commit suicide, or whatever else they would really rather not ever do.
  • Evil Laugh: Frequently, as Zero. Borders on self-parody.
  • Evil Overlord: Setting himself up as one is a requisite for his Zero Requiem BatmanGambit.]]
  • Facing the Bullets One-Liner/Final Speech: When faced with a firing squad made up of his own men, he takes off his mask, laughs in their faces and tells them they are all fools who he was using like pawns. Subverted a second later when its revealed that he's only doing this to trick Kallen into leaving his side, rather then staying to die with him.
  • Fake Memories
  • Fallen Hero: In some parts of the second season, he is reasonably well meaning for a while, but ultimately the results of his old sins catch up with him in a seriously DisproportionateRetribution disproportionate way and he falls back to his more tragically flawed ways.
  • Fallen Prince
  • Fan Nickname: "LeDouche" (Adult Swim even gives him this name).
  • Fatal Attractor: Very bad things tend to happen to those he loves.
  • Freudian Excuse
  • Geek Physique
  • Generation Xerox: Not only having inherited the Manipulative Bastard gene from Chuck, his life story is playing out much like his father's, with the characters around him playing out similar roles to Chuck's earlier years.
  • Gory Discretion Shot: Used when Lelouch kills his half-brother Clovis and whenever he employs his Geass to order mass suicides.
  • Good Eyes, Evil Eyes: His eyes are ambiguous until he gets his Geass. Thereafter, they're fairly obviously evil.
  • Guile Hero: He prefers to play politics to sideline his opponents most of the time. For instance, at one point after losing his most important fighter and being attacked by the two most powerful armies in that universe -- the Chinese and the Brittanian -- he manages to manipulate the Eunuch Generals into announcing their evil plans to their entire country, enciting riots and getting them to lose their Brittanian support. This plan went very smoothly because he managed to steal it from a third bad guy without that third opponent ever telling something about it, who had no choice but to support Lelouch after this fight. Using politics he managed to sideline one bad empire, destroy a second one and get the support of the third one. The only reason he might not deserve to be on this list is your interpretation of his actions, as by the end of series he might have gone of the slippery slope, but in the ending he is redeemed.
  • Heroic Sacrifice: He turns himself into the most hated person in the world, so that Britannians and Japanese will no longer hate each other when he dies.
  • He's Just Hiding: C.C.'s enigmatic final line left much speculation that Lelouch had found a way to fake his death. Jossed later on by Word of God stating that Lelouch really is dead.]]
  • High Collar of Doom: Zero, which is an early sign this isn't the hero Lelouch is making out this persona to be.
  • Honor Before Reason: In his case, usually "hamming it up" before reason, although this is justified with a reason: to make a name for Zero as a legendary figure and a symbol.
  • Hostile Love: He loves mocking his enemies and rivals, but God is he dere to those he loves.
  • Hot-Blooded and Cool-Headed Duo: Evoked a few times, with a few different characters:
    • Mao (hot) and Lelouch (cool)
    • Lelouch (hot) and C.C. (cool)
    • Suzaku (hot) and Lelouch (cool)
    • Lelouch (hot) and Schneizel (cool)
  • How Do I Shot Web?: When he first gains his Geass power, he automatically understands the basics, namely that it allows him to give commands that cannot be refused. However, he discovers the hard way that his power has limitations, like requiring direct eye contact, and only working once on a particular person. After the first time this causes a problem for him, he uses a logical and scientific method to test his powers and determine obscure details like maximum range and duration of effect. However, he also finds out the hard way when his Geass become permanently active. Which sucks.
  • I Cannot Self-Terminate/Suicide by Cop: He asks Suzaku to kill him to conclude the "Zero Requiem", dying in Nunnally's arms, but justified in that just killing himself wouldn't have helped anyone.
  • I Did What I Had to Do: Lelouch whilst squaring off with his father. Followed up by "Everybody lies to survive! No one is blameless!" Silly Lelouch.
  • Idiot Ball: Has put Nunnally in danger several times due to temporary stupidity.
  • I Have the High Ground: First season opening. Actually, he likes the high ground a lot.
  • Impossibly Cool Clothes: As a civilian, and also as Zero. Zero's helmet-mask is particularly cool and equally impossible.
  • Improbable Age: How many seventeen-year-old paramilitary masterminds do you know? While Code Geass has many examples of this trope, Lelouch is among its most extreme.
  • Informed Ability: His skill at the actual game of chess (but not his skill as The Chessmaster). We see him win chess games, but the actual moves he plays tend to be weird. Rule of Cool and all, but in Real Life, weird moves don't win chess games against skilled opponents.
  • In the Blood: Lelouch has shown himself to be very prone to manipulating people (and letting them die) in order to get what he wants. Just like the old man he despises so much and the mother he used to love and idealize. The major difference is that Lelouch is is aware of the nature of his acts and his self-destructiveness.
  • It Only Works Once: His Geass.
  • It's Not You, It's My Enemies: Works with Kallen, but fails with Shirley.
  • I Was Just Joking: Lelouch's denial of C.C.'s antics when Nunnally asks if C.C. is Lelouch's girlfriend.
  • I Will Protect Her: Goes to varying extremities to protect his loved ones, be they his little sister Nunnally, his unrequited love interest Shirley, and his bodyguard Kallen.
  • Jerkass Facade: He would have more friends if he didn't act like a complete dick at the most inappropriate times. Though some characters do like that about him, these people are insane and/or immortal, generally. Justified in most cases, though, as he's doing it on purpose for this exact reason.
  • Jumped at the Call: His declaration of the Order of the Black Knights.
  • Jumping Off the Slippery Slope: He takes a flying leap off it in Episode 14 of R2.
    • Kick the Son of a Bitch: It's obviously played as Lelouch heading down the slippery slope, it's just that his victims weren't exactly very nice people, given what they are responsible for. Even the test subjects, who could be considered victims, are able to and feel no compunctions about forcing some of their attackers to kill each other.
  • The Kirk
  • Knight Templar Big Brother: Someone among the Britannian royal court was responsible for the death of his mother and the crippling and blinding of his sister. Rather than attempt to discover who exactly it was, Lelouch decides to declare war on Britannia itself and kill off the rest of his family, bar one or two of his other siblings, in order to be thorough.
  • La Resistance: Initally irked by it, he soon decides he might as well lead it, as long as he gets a chance to avenge his mother and defeat Britannia.
  • Large Ham: Mostly in his Zero costume.
  • Laser-Guided Karma: See Butt Monkey.
  • Laughing Mad: Lelouch does this as well at the end of Episode 17 in the first season.
  • Living With the Villain: Lelouch and Suzaku attend the same school, and for a while, neither of them realizes that the other is their regular opponent. Inverted in R2, where both of them know who the other really is, but have to pretend to have no idea.
  • Love Makes You Evil: When Lelouch's resolve fails and he betrays his ideals and the Black Knights, he does it (twice) because his sister Nunnally is held hostage.
  • Manchurian Agent: Lelouch does this several times with the Geass. Once with Sayako, to make her play prerecorded messages over the phone. Again with Jeremiah Gottwald, so he will let Zero and his gaggle escape with Suzaku while destroying his career without realizing it. As well as to the Britannian special forces assigned to moniter him in case he regains his memories, which he does. Even Gilford gets this done to him, making him think Lelouch is Cornelia. Justified since it's Mind Control.
  • Manipulative Bastard: Not as bad as you might think, considering his Geass, which only works once per victim, but he still has his moments. The greatest example of this comes in the second season: Rolo, Lelouch's fake little brother, was actually a teenage assassin charged with the task of keeping an eye on Lelouch in case he regained his old memories. When Lelouch found out, he continued treating Rolo kindly and even orchestrated a situation where Lelouch could pretend to risk his life to save Rolo, winning his trust and bringing him over to his side. After Lelouch's real sister was thought to be dead, he admitted to Rolo that he was just using him, actually hated him, and had tried to kill him on several occasions. Nevertheless, without being asked or influenced by Lelouch's Geass, Rolo sacrificed himself to protect Lelouch.
  • Meaningful Name: "Lelouch Lamperouge" roughly translates to "suspicious red light". If intentional, it's one hell of a blaring siren of "Hey, this guy is suspicious!" and could also be a reference to his geass flashing red when used. If that's a coincidence, it's one hell of a coincidence.
  • Memory Gambit: How Lelouch defeats Mao when Mao is planning to blow up Ashford Academy.
  • Mind Over Manners
  • [Mode Lock]]: At exactly the worst possible second.
  • Mole in Charge: As emperor.
  • My Hero, Zero: Or My Villain Zero.
  • Necessarily Evil: Invoked during a discussion with Gilford. His final plan, and the actions he takes to carry it out, is the definition of what it means to be Necessarily Evil.
  • Nice Hat: Nice enough to have its own fan club.
  • Noble Fugitive
  • Non-Action Guy: This trope is played with in sundry ways. Physically, Lelouch is at-best-mediocre compared to his comrades. Even Euphie can outrun him on foot. But he can more than hold his own on the battlefield, especially against Mooks.
  • No Place For Me There: He dies to finish Zero Requiem and bring about world peace. Though it's more like he did it mostly as a Suicide by Cop, considering there were other ways to bring about peace as he noted.
  • Nothing Can Stop Us Now: Whenever he says, "All tasks at hand have been cleared," something's bound to go terribly wrong in a way that the poor guy couldn't have possibly expected. Borders on Cosmic Plaything at times.
  • Not What It Looks Like: Usually with Kallen. Usually witnessed by a fretful Shirley. Similarly -- as Zero -- with C.C., witnessed by a fretful Kallen.
  • Ominous Opera Cape
  • Order vs. Chaos: He chooses to be the almost incarnation of Chaos in Nightmare of Nunnally to keep the world balance. Arguably, he sows a bit of chaos in the main canon too.
  • Ordinary High School Student: The preferred mask Lelouch wears when not wearing his preferred mask.
  • Parental Issues: While almost everyone on the show has these, his prove more lethal than most.
  • Pay Evil Unto Evil
  • Personality Powers
  • Playing Against Type: Lelouch's Voice Actor, Fukuyama Jun, usually plays as straightforward, naive heroes (such as Watanuki from XxxHoLic). The English dub follows suit by picking Johnny Yong Bosch (you might remember him as Idiot Hero Ichigo Kurosaki, soft-spoken philosopher Itsuki Koizumi or goofy Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass Vash the Stampede... or, if you want to go even further back, the second Black Ranger).
  • Power Incontinence
  • Psychic Assisted Suicide: Lelouch uses his Geass to do this at least four times. The first of which is at the end of the very first episode.
  • Psychotic Smirk: Borders on Slasher Smile sometimes, but whenever he's just wiped out an enemy taskforce or thwarted one of their plans, Lelouch's typical alternating scowl/smug expression goes off into an awesomely evil smile. Often preceded or followed by an equally entertaining Evil Laugh.
  • Purple Eyes: They become red when he uses his Geass.
  • Really Dead Montage: Receives one of the longest death scenes in anime history, and yet a large part of the Fan Dumb still insists that He's Just Hiding.
  • Rebel Prince
  • Redemption Equals Death: It is kind of ironic that this applies straight to Lelouch but it is subverted with Suzaku.
  • Red Eyes Take Warning: When he uses his Geass. Otherwise he has PurpleEyes.
  • Red Right Hand: His left eye, after the Geass power gets away from him with Euphemia.
  • Rhetorical Request Blunder: The moment where It Got Worse in Season One.
  • Rich Idiot With No Day Job: His non-Zero persona. It was all a front because he was in hiding, and therefore did things that did not call attention to himself.
  • Royal Blood
  • Savvy Guy, Energetic Girl: Lelouch with nearly any girl he can be paired with, due to his SquishyWizard nature. Only Nunnally, C.C. (while not under amnesia), and maybe Sayoko don't fall under this.
  • Self-Made Orphan: After finding out what both of his parents truly believed in. Yes, after spending 90% of the series trying to find out who killed his mother, he winds up doing it himself.
  • Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: A Deconstruction, through his and Suzaku's interactions in more ways than one. When they first met during their childhood, Lelouch really was the sensitive one, while Suzaku was the ruffian. It was the subsequent occupation of Japan by Britannia that supposedly inverted things, with Lelouch becoming more vengeful and embittered, and Suzaku, who was responsible for killing Genbu but never being punished for it, becoming neurotic and attempting to be even more mild-mannered and chivalrous. Though of course, cracks in their respective facades would show throughout the series.
  • Shield Surf: During his duel with Guilford.
  • Shoot the Shaggy Dog: One of the reasons Lelouch started Zero Requiem was his loss of hope due to Nunnally's apparent demise. Nunnally turns up and declares herself his enemy when he's beyond the point of no return. D'oh!
  • Shrouded in Myth: People thought Zero was a woman, Prince Clovis or a prince of another country.
  • Shut Up, Hannibal!: Twice. First, in season one, after Mao most unpleasantly discloses that Suzaku was responsible for the death of his father, Prime Minister Genbu Kururugi, in order to put an end to the war between Japan and Britannia and then precedes to berate Lelouch's thoroughly traumatized friend, Lelouch has clearly had enough, and commands him via Geass to never speak again. The second time is in R2, when confronted with Charles' and Marianne's plan for Instrumentality with the Ragnarok Junction and the revelation that their abandonment of Lelouch and Nunnally in Japan was all a Xanatos Gambit meant to protect them, Lelouch rebuts and banishes Charles along with Marianne to C's World with the assistance of the collective unconsciousness.
  • Silent Scapegoat: Zero Requiem.]]
  • Single Woman Seeks Good Man
  • Slave Mooks: Gets an entire army of them in the final arc.
  • Slouch of Villainy: He does these in the cockpit of whatever Knightmare he's riding in.
  • The Smart Guy: While Code Geass has almost as many TV Geniuses as it has idiots, Lelouch still stands out as among the very smartest.
  • Smart People Play Chess: Lelouch is introduced by having him win an unwinnable chess game. He's the second smartest person in the entire world of the series. Never mind that no one in this series actually knows the rules of chess, just go with it.
  • Spanner in the Works: Lelouch's affection for his friends has scuttled his plans almost as many times as Suzaku has.
  • Spared by the Adaptation: Suzaku of the Counterattack and Nightmare of Nunnally.
  • Squishy Wizard: This trope is played with in sundry ways. In physical strength, speed, endurance, and coordination, he's not remotely in the league with Kallen, Cornelia, or most of his other allies and adversaries -- much less Suzaku, whose Charles Atlas Superpower allows him to dodge machine-gun bullets. Even Euphie can outrun him on foot. He manages to power through when it counts, though.
  • Star-Crossed Lovers: With Shirley and Kallen. Your Milage May Vary.
  • Stop or I Shoot Myself: Does this in response to C. C. pointing her gun at him to prevent him from going anywhere.
  • Straw Hypocrite: He starts out using and manipulating the Japanese liberation cause as a cover for his own personal revenge. Only to later on embrace it for real.
  • Student Council President: Well, Vice President.
  • Superheroes Wear Capes: As part of his hero identity.
  • Taking the Bullet: He did this to save Rolo. It was his ploy to get Rolo to come over to his side.
  • Taking You With Me: Following the betrayal, he attempts to do this to his father by having them both sealed inside the Sword of Akasha.
  • Talking to Himself: With Touga Tenkuji of all people in Super Robot Wars Z 2.
  • Tall, Dark, Handsome and Snarky
  • Tempting Fate: Constantly. See also Nothing Can Stop Us Now, above.
  • Ten Minute Retirement: After learning about Nunnally's plan to restore the Special Administrative Zone of Japan in Turn 7, then again after her supposed death in Episode 19 of R2]].
  • Thanatos Gambit: Dies for world peace.
  • Tragic Villain: Possibly.
  • Trauma Conga Line: The writers of Code Geass R2 traumatize Lelouch every two episodes like clockwork from episode thirteen on -- so much so that by his fourth trauma he could not even cry when he was told that he had just inadvertently gotten Nunnally killed.
  • Troubled But Cute
  • Ubermensch
  • UnFavourites: Lelouch and Nunnally, apparently, as a side-effect of the rest of the court's disdain for their mother Marianne.
  • The Unfettered: Initially he did have BashBrothers a MindOverManners few MoralityPet fetters, but one by one they DespairEventHorizon disapeared.
  • Utopia Justifies the Means: Lelouch is willing to go to almost any lengths to create a perfect world for Nunnally. By the end of R2, this includes brainwashing numerous people, slaughtering noncombatants, deception, betrayal, self-inflicted public demonization, and assisted suicide. Though one can blame this on the events of the betrayal that led him over the Despair Event Horizon.
  • Videogame Caring Potential‎: A Crowning Moment of Heartwarming with Rolo. He could've used him to the end, but he really started to appreciate his self-sacrifice and willpower.
  • Villain With Good Publicity: Seems to evoke this.
  • Visionary Villain: Just wants to remake the world, is all.
  • Wake Up Go To School Save The World: Part of his non-Zero persona.
  • Well Intentioned Extremist: Towards the end of R2 he seems to be more Necessarily Evil.
  • What The Hell, Hero?: Happens to him a few times -- perhaps most ironically, by JerkAssWoobie Mao. spoiler:The most significant probably come from Nunnally, in the final arc.
  • White Haired Pretty Boy: TheOtherWiki tells us this was originally in his character design. Along with a mask. Blond Anti Hero rival with great plans. Does this remind you of anyone?
  • White Prince: A fallen one.
  • Xanatos Gambit and Xanatos Roulette: Everything he does.
  • XanatosPlannedThisIndex Xanatos Planned This Character
  • Yandere: A possible interpretation of his character.
  • You Killed My Father: Or mother, as the case may be.
  • You Wouldn't Shoot Me: Lelouch pulls this a few times. The first, when C. C. threatens to shoot him in episode 7 to prevent him from going off and putting himself in danger, which he counters by pointing a gun at himself. A few episodes later, a few the Black Knights threaten to shoot him after he strands them, along with himself, on top of Narita, prior to the incursion of Cornelia's forces, and he defies them to find anyone else cunning enough to lead them. Finally, at the start of season 2, including walking up to her and pressing the gun to his chest before finally taking it away. At the same time, this is also a subversion of the trope on several levels. Kallen is his bodyguard and thus far from "helpless", and is confronting him to find out whether or not he used his geass on her to make her BodyguardCrush love him. She's also killed many times before before, and could Easily kill Lelouch with or without the gun. Lelouch also doesn't intimidate her into giving him the gun; rather, he simply tells her the truth and asks whether or not she believes him.
  • Zero Approval Gambit: Zero Requiem, quite literally.
  • Zero Percent Approval Rating: Schneizel reveals Zero's true identity, the Black Knights turn on him and try to kill him. After he escapes and saves the world from the Emperor's plans, he claims the throne by force and strives for a literal ZeroPercentApprovalRating, hoping to unite the world against him as part of his master plan for world peace. It works.
This page uses content from TV Tropes. The original article was at CodeGeass.
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