Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion R2 - Episode 7

After seeing Nunnally snatched away from him by Suzaku of all people at the end of episode six, this was bound to be an episode of introspection for Lelouch. We already knew that Nunnally is both his weakness and his greatest cause for resolve as Zero, but seeing her as the new governor of Area 11 and promising to reinstate the Special Administrative Region of Japan in front of the entire nation was always going to be too much of an internal conflict for his mind to bear.

What follows is, quite simply, pure excellence. Lelouch tries to escape the shackles which 'Zero' has become, going a bit Geass crazy in a scene which was both funny and served to reinforce the frightening amount of power which he holds. Elsewhere, we see both Rollo and Kallen react to Lelouch going walkabout, both in very intriguing ways which suggests that there is more going on in their thoughts than meets the eye. Finally, we see an absolutely classic piece of Lelouch/Zero tactical nous, which finally takes away the shackles of everything seeming to be a repeat of a moment from the first series in a beautiful bit of artistic mayhem - If ever a reminder was needed as to why I love Code Geass, that was it. Then, of course, no episode of this series would be complete without a big cliff-hanger, making you wonder what exactly the little devil is planning next.

After a few episodes where I haven't been able to gush mindlessly about how great Code Geass is, it's nice to be able to unequivocally praise it here. The animation seems to be reaching new highs over even the opening episode's beauty, Lelouch is finally free to get back to being his Machiavellian best, and a number of the supporting characters are intriguing me more by the week. While not being the most all-out, action-packed episode by a long shot, this really is blockbuster anime at its best.