Japanese Culture and Code Geass (Part 1)
underlying implications of japanese culture in code geass
The anime Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion brings wonder and amusement to its viewers because of the way it was portrayed. A fictional country called ‘The Holy Empire of Britannia’, situated in present-day America, invades Japan in an attempt to colonize it. When they have succeeded in doing so, Japan was later renamed ‘Area 11’ and all the Japanese are now called ‘Elevens’. When the series is compared to what is happening in real life, amusement would be the first reaction of the viewers, for it would seem that Code Geass is set in an alternate universe. Not only is it set in an alternative universe, but what is happening in the anime is the exact opposite of what is happening in real life. As for the characters, some of the characters are the anti-thesis of what a Japanese is supposed to be. Even if there are anti-theses, the implications are clear: no matter what anime you watch, the tendencies, the cultural aspect and the Japanese character, no matter if the character’s nationality is not Japanese, is present.
When it comes to the characters’ attitudes, many could be noted and observed. As said by Singleton (1991) in The Spirit of Gambaru: “Exclusive group solidarity and commitment are part of the real (or hidden) curriculum of the educational process. The assumption is that commitment to exclusive groups is a necessary individual choice.” (p. 123) In the anime, groupism was first seen in the first episode of the first season when a group of Japanese banded together to fight for the same cause, which was to liberate Japan from the hands of Britannia. The small group failed in that attempt, but when Lelouch Lamperouge, the main character of the story, creates The Order of the Black Knights, the results of their rebellion are paying off. Not only were they successful in creating chaos, but they also managed to win the support of the people. This action is reaffirmed in the book of Lebra (1976): As Shintaro Ryu writes, the Japanese individual seems to feel really alive only when he is in a group. He wants to go wherever others do; even when he goes to the beach to swim, he avoids an uncrowded place but chooses a spot where people are practically on top of one another as if in a public bath. (p. 27) This is actually what had happened when the Order became much more successful in their missions, for it is the only time wherein everyone felt like their efforts are finally paying off. In the past, any attempt of theirs to regain back Japan always ended in failure, but now that they have a strong leader, they were now winning. In the recent episode of Season 2, groupism is seen through the recent move made by the remaining states that have not yet been colonized by Britannia by forming the United Federation of Nations, consisting of 47 nations, to rival the Holy Empire of Britannia. Countries having a common cause and banding together is truly a Japanese tendency.
Two amusing implication found in the anime is the fact that those who ratified the Constitution of the United Federation of Nations are to renounce their military force forever. This is very much similar to present-day Japan, who had to renounce war as an instrument of foreign policy and had to rely on the US for their security. Another implication is that Japan is now referred to as the ‘United States of Japan’. It is probably because the origin of the Order of the Black Knights came from Japan that many view Japan as the counterpart of the US, most especially because the Order is now acting like the US, providing military support for the member states.
A group tendency that is not at all positive is also seen in the anime and the Elevens are at the receiving end of this suffering. Murakami (1991) stated the following: One feature appears to be prominent in virtually all bullying cases: classmates and playmates close their eyes to the victimization of one of their fellows. They pretend indifference unless they are victims of the injustice of violence themselves. (p. 196) There is a academy setting in the story, but this time, it is not the students who are getting bullied but the adult Elevens. In one of the earlier episodes of Code Geass, a vendor of hotdogs was bullied by a group of Britannian students just so they could show their superiority. Instead of retaliating, the Eleven simply tolerated it because he knew that if he resisted, he would lose his livelihood. He had no choice in the matter, and the only thing left to do is to endure it all.
A sense of propriety is also observed in the anime. Fukue (1991) stated this, “Rank consciousness permeated traditional Japanese society and exists today in interpersonal relations and in business organizations.” (p. 68) This tendency was observed by the Order when it came to ranking all their personnel on how their combat abilities, loyalty and the like have been faring, as well as the Britannian Army and the whole of the Empire. In the Empire’s case, all princes and princesses were ranked according to their mother’s status. Also, a special force of the Empire called Knight of Rounds had this setup as well, ranking the skills of the knights with one being the strongest while the twelfth knight being the least powerful. This is being observed in order to preserve the harmony of the group.
With regards to having absolute devotion towards the leader, Rohlen (1991) says this, The superior finds his authority strongly limited by the general expectation that he will look after the best interests of those who work below him, that he will be their guardian or patron. The subordinate, on the other hand, finds that he should be submissive because of inexperience and out of gratitude. (p. 24) In the Britannian side, all of the Emperor’s subordinates are loyal to him because they either fear him or they are doing this because they want to. This is one of the few tendencies seen in the anime that has an anti-thesis. While Lelouch does look out for his men, he does not hesitate to use them like a pawn in order to achieve his goals. In turn, some of his subordinates, particularly during season 2, were angry at him because he had abandoned them in the middle of a war. Only two of his subordinates had chosen to believe that he had other important reasons as to why he would suddenly abandon them and remained hopeful that they will be rescued by Lelouch in time. Fortunately, Lelouch had indeed rescued them just in time before they got executed and had redeemed himself to his men by proving to them that he was very much serious to get back to his plans of liberating Japan and defeating Britannia.