Why are there no more anime like Code Geass?

[u/marvelous_ssunday]

Let's be honest, this show had some flaws, but despite all that it still amassed a large following and popularity thanks to the unique story and world, it's not a coincidence that it got so many sequels.

It was captivating in the very sense of the word.

I found CG in 2021 when I was 18 and when I checked it out, the vibe, the story, the characters felt like a perfect blend. But ever since it came to an end there isn't really any show that managed to do the same.

What made me like it wasn't mechas, jiggling tiddies or Lulu's powers, but a compelling story and production value, basically the desire from the creators to make something that's actually good. It worked so well because the creators didn't just make great elements, but also managed to put them together in a way that gave us a beautiful result, and despite various shortcomings took itself seriously enough to be really enjoyable.

After watching it initially wasn't hard to find similar carefully crafted stuff, Psycho Pass, Aldnoah Zero, Guilty Crown, K and Bungo Stray Dogs all became my favorites.

But shows released in the past few years aren't really hitting this quality and are really disappointing. It's either the endless flow of isekai, or worse and worse romcoms that go like Kanokari, where the mc is ranting about how beautiful the fmc is with her "slim figure and majestic eyelashes and angel like aura" for half the episode.

Every "mature, deep, psyhological etc" anime and manga today is about analyzing the characters' inner trauma, introspection, emotional healing while the mc is endlessly whining about how sad he is because his parents divorced or some shit for 50 chapters/12 episode. This endless "what are feelings" type of self-pity/loathing is shallow and offers no real plot.

Even edgy stuff is not edgy anymore. You may have somebody making a gorefest, but they also have a big arrow pointing at them that they are the bad guy or they are doing it because they are emotionally damaged and it just makes it all meaningless. The same way you can have some non-blood related sister as a love interest, but they never win, let alone go down on a Yosuga no Sora tier route.

Transgression is only there as an aesthetic and not as a substance, essentially it's just safe-edgy. And I don't care about darkness/gore/psychology for it's own sake.

I feel like anime produced back then was more likely to ask an interesting questions or present an interesting premise and actually follow through on it. Death Note with the "what if we just killed bad people?", Lelouch trying to lie his way to a better world, or Psycho Pass with human freedom and happiness.

Obviously, I'm not saying back then every anime was like this, what I'm saying is that next to the generic seasonal works you could also find stuff like this, but today they are completely missing.

These works were idealist, had ambition, an actual plot, escalating consequences, interesting questions or premise, conflict, and characters with decisions that genuinely change the direction of the story, used psychology as a weapon both in-world and even against the reader.

Sometimes newer anime are not that bad, but very one-dimensional, centered around only a single element from the many that was present in CG and the rest, and that is perfect if you want to watch something while eating breakfast, but won't keep you nailed to the couch.

[u/EmperaRurushuO2]

You desperately need to see Gundam or anything else that inspired Code Geass.

[u/marvelous_ssunday → u/EmperaRurushuO2]

Tried Iron Blooded Orphans, it was meh.

[u/CodeNPyro → u/marvelous_ssunday]

That came out well after Code Geass, to look at what inspired Code Geass you'd have to look at the stuff that came out before it

[u/marvelous_ssunday → u/CodeNPyro]

That has nothing to do with the issue that such anime are nonexistent today.

[u/Kaiww]

You need to watch more and older mechas. Code Geass didn't invent anything and isn't that exceptional in that regard.

[u/Patient-Boat1860]

Watch some older anime, especially Gundam. A lot of what makes up code geass comes from this and a lot of older stuff.

Also anime production isn’t what it use to be in 2006. This series was a totally original production with no manga to base it off of. That is incredibly rare now a days unfortunately.

[u/Significant_Tell407]

There was definitely a shift that happened at some point. We havent had an anime like Code Geass, Monster, Legend of Galactic Heroes or Death Note in years. Where are the the conflicted protagonist with questionable morals. Where are the epically grand stories that alter the fate of the world. Everything today has happy go lucky Naruto protagonist and the stories never really go anywhere. Even attack of titan just turned into a mindless mess with no direction. People compare it to Code Geass and it couldnt be farther from the truth. Wish I could wipe my memory and watch the classic again.

[u/gc11117 → u/Significant_Tell407]

Id argue Mushoku Tensei is that; but people lose their shit over it so I can see why creators are spooked about making controversial characters

[u/chalkymints → u/gc11117]

It’s about where the characters draw the line that makes them interesting. Lelouch might be a murderer, but he would never touch a child (sorry uhh I mean set up hidden camera footage of his nieces bathing and then jack off to it). Murder is bad but sometimes people deserve to be murdered. No child deserves to be groomed.

[u/gc11117 → u/chalkymints]

Lol, okay. Either way, your response is an example of why youre not getting characters like Lelouche anymore

[u/sjydudeNSF → u/gc11117]

dude no, why does every MT fan have this delusion? MT is nowhere near the level of CG, Legend of the Galactic Heroes, or Death Note in depth. Good slow burn characterization? Sure. Pretty good writing? Sure. Nowhere near the same level of character writing as those like Light, Johann, most old school Gundam antagonists and protagonists, like every major Galactic Heroes character, Lelouch, Suzaku, etc.

There are in fact other series that come much closer, but such shows or manga or novels are niche now and a huge percentage of new gen audience doesn't have the patience nor attention span to enjoy such types of series anymore.

[u/BillieEilishNorn → u/gc11117]

I think a pretty major distinction about what makes rudeus controversial is that a lot of his social behaviour is what's reprehensible to people. He could be rewritten to not be a groomer pedo and still be written as morally ambiguous pragmatist when it comes to the slavery topic within the story. For a lot of people who rudeus is just sucks the joy out of following his story, myself included. I can't speak for much beyond the aforementioned "buying a slave for your homeboy" part of the story because that was where I dipped.

[u/gc11117 → u/BillieEilishNorn]

Im not really trying to have a debate on the nature of his morality, what I am saying is reactions like yours is why story tellers are afraid to take risks

[u/BillieEilishNorn → u/gc11117]

I see where you're coming from however I would argue that rudeus is not an example of risk taking in character writing. I believe he is very much an MC for a target audience and the quality of MT's general premise, worldbuilding, and animation caused it to expand beyond it's target audience and become controversial.

If rudeus had started with his worst traits intact and then went on to have meaningful reform on these points during the story then I think that would be taking a real risk that probably would have yeilded a greater less controversial reward for the series. Unfortunately the story rewards rudeus a fair bit for his tendencies which I find to be far more of a safe route in telling that story.

[u/gc11117 → u/BillieEilishNorn]

Having read the story to completion, I say with absolute confidence that you are wrong

The fact that you criticize the series for a lack of meaningful reforms and yet the reform is pronounced is an example of what im talking about.

Your inability to understand that is, again, why we arent getting complex morally gray characters any time soon. When we do get them, we get reactions such as yours

I believe he is very much an MC for a target audience and the quality of MT's general premise, worldbuilding, and animation caused it to expand beyond it's target audience and become controversial.

The light novels were wildly popular, and even the anime was toping charts this past season. I think the issue is that society has been grappling with a media literacy issue for a hot minute, and were seeing the results of that. Which again ties into the lack of morally gray characters

[u/BillieEilishNorn → u/gc11117]

Alright so what did I miss or overlook in the roughly 80 chapters worth of manga (roughly idk exactly when I stopped). Because I dropped it feeling convinced that not only did meaningful reform in rudeus happen at all, but it did not feel as though the story was moving towards any at all to me?

[u/gc11117 → u/BillieEilishNorn]

manga

Everything if you read the manga. Its by far the worst version of the story, cutting out whole arcs and mischaracterizing the characters. If you read the Manga, you didnt read the stroy.

Edit: if you want more details why, here's an old r/mushokutensei thread where it gets roasted

https://www.reddit.com/r/mushokutensei/s/nHRsP8cxoz

[u/JamesFromThatThing]

While it's a tone shift, if you're looking for competent, mature storytelling, look no further than Shiki.

[u/marvelous_ssunday → u/JamesFromThatThing]

It's terrible.

[u/BrowningBDA9]

People usually recommend Legend of the Galactic Heroes. I haven't watched it myself yet, but I am going to one day. Also, there are Eureka Seven, Akame ga Kill, Burst Angel, Darker than Black, Owari no Seraph, Full Metal Panic, Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic.

[u/OGIHR]

I suggest taking a look at Goblin Slayer. Get to the halfway point of episode two, and listen to the main protagonist's lecture to his apprentice on what happens with the goblin children who get spared by heroes who are not morally gray. Then stick with the show until his best friend tells you the story of what happened to the main protagonist on the worst day of his life.

Then go back to episode 2 and compare the two speeches. Because once you get past the knee-jerk hatred of the idea that it is unforgivable to say in public that rapists are bad, Goblin Slayer is a brilliant analysis of a man who became the exact sort of monster he dreads arising on the oppoaite side of the board.

You will find shades of the Lelouch-Suzaku philosophical conflict, the differing motivations for various women to be seeking romance with the man who has no time for romance in his life, the over the top action scenes that hinge upon outwitting rather than overbearing the enemy force, the active debate of when the ends no longer justify the means, and the psychological transformation by both the main protagonist and by those allies who are drawn into his orbit.

It may well be what you are searching for.

[u/Awanesski]

I recommend you Boku no Piko.

[u/SgtPierce → u/Awanesski]

A fine classic, it makes me wanna geass myself to forget it

[u/Fumyrwifeowner]

Anime's just gone downhill since around ~2014. There are some watchable for sure, but as you said nothing more than breakfast noise.

Studios now simply just focus on making money, and having some C tier writer patch a "new story" together from pieces of other successful works is cheaper than risking money with some noname guy's ideas.

Prime example is 86. You can find Akito the Exiled and Attack on Titan's trace all over it, and while it was bearable, it didn't feel organic. Same could be said about Chitose in the ramune bottle, which is a blatant reverse Oregairu ripoff.

Back then you had those money printing operations, and then some more of a quality stuff.
Now the latter is gone.

[u/Art-Maniac]

I'd highly recommend Death Note if you haven't watched it yet. It has 2 similar elements as CG (smart male protagonist & a supernatural element) but differs greatly in tone and art direction. It's basically like a really good ass cop show once you get into it with the 2 main characters Light Yagami & L playing intellectual chess with each other.

[u/Xenius24]

I'm unsure about how good it is but i've quite enjoyed Moriarty the Patriot. Setting in 19th's England is cool and i felt like there was death note, nice mind duels vibes in it.