Geass Analysis: Euphemia
This is the first time where I actually cried as I wrote this analysis piece. Bear with me, please. Spoiler for Code Geass.
Euphemia is the scrappy of the Code Geass fandom, along with Suzaku. Any attempt to discuss this on any of the major Geass hubs has resulted in some rather ...nasty name-calling.Example:
"I hate stuck up bitches!"
-Anime forum thread.
"fucking little whore...better if she died. She got in the way of Lelouch and thats what she get"
-Livejournal hub.
Or, a better one:
"I dislike Euphemia.
I dislike her character, I dislike her as a plot point, I dislike her very core of a personality. I dislike her as a character. [Huge long post and then ending with]
Euphemia is nothing more than an over glamorized Mary-Sue and her death was the only thing that made her slightly more interesting than just another pink thing.
Besides which, her lisp was driving me crazy."
I, for one, couldn't help but to feel that the name-calling is unfair, and misleading. Which is why I have invited a special guest here today to speak on her behalf.
Lords and ladies of the Crimean Royal Court, please welcome:
Gilbert G.P. Guilford, Attorney at law.
Euphemia is nothing more than an over glamorized Mary-Sue and her death was the only thing that made her slightly more interesting than just another pink thing.
I am here to prove you wrong.
~~~~~~~~Court records begin~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I have to admit, I've never been very fond of "normal" characters. And by normal, I mean the ones who are gentle, kind, sweet, loving, and never had to deal with a single traumatic event in their life.
You realize there are people like that in real life, no? People don't have to have their families killed or suffer hugely traumatic events in order to be a good character?
This is a problem commonly found in fanfiction as a whole. People often try their best to add all kinds of tragic backgrounds to the character in an attempt to generate reader sympathy. While there is nothing wrong with generating reader sympathy, it should be contended that both "good" and "bad" characters could generate such sympathy in the same way.
Unless, of course, the poster is the typical grim viewer who prefer the generic anti-heroes. All with their tragic pasts and trauma-filled childhoods and the same sort of Drizzt-esque conflicts. To me, that's just as generic as a "good" character like Euphemia.
~~~~~~~~~Judge's notes~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Point: balanced and nulled. Above logic is opinion v. opinion and therefore lends equal amounts of weight.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
And what has Euphemia dealt with? The death of a brother who she didn't even know very well. ("Clovis nii-sama painted all of these? Such gentle colors." - Stage 6) Oh yes, and heroically standing up against terrorists by revealing her identity and thus rendering all her bodyguard's meticulous planning to null. But of course our pink fairy princess mustn't be hurt for her foolhardy behavior and in jumps all her saviors, whether it be Suzaku who breaks her fall from a second story window, or Lelouch who distracts the very people who held a gun to her head.
Thus, through the duration of her stay in the series, she has never experienced a backlash for her behavior. Lelouch was denounced for trying to defend his mother. Nunnally loses her eyesight and use of legs for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Suzaku...is suicidal with anger problems, not to mention stripped of his original identity and given a new one to conform into. Clovis can't even bring himself to care for anything, and Cornelia loses her mentor.
So, compared to the shit that her siblings and boyfriend went through, it's quite clear that Euphemia is not some virtuous angel to be placed on a pedestal. She's just an overprotected little fairy princess who never had to deal with the areas of gray and that doesn't make her innocence refreshing. Just pure annoying. How dare she, someone who hasn't suffered hardships or even had to make a hard decision, be the measure of morality for those who tread the gray areas and still managed to keep themselves afloat? The only thing she did that was even slightly controversial (in the world of Geass) was making Suzaku her knight, and even then she barely received more than a few snide words. When Lelouch made Suzaku his knight, the entire world turned on him.
You realize, that this entire post is arguing one thing: Euphemia has never suffered, and therefore, she's a flat character.
Is suffering automatically characterization? That's a new one to me. However, it does sum up extremely well how and why many, many fans hate Euphemia.
1. She's too "good," and the goodness within such characters causes psychological dissonance. In other words, seeing another good person makes you feel horrible because someone COULD be so good.
2. She got in the way of Lelouch. That's another major reason and an understandable one.
3. We hate Suzaku. Certainly, that's reason enough. However, both of those topics are better left discussed elsewhere. However! Hatred for Suzaku or preference for Lelouch does not equate to a character being negative.
At this point, the contention here is once again equally matched. Reasons for liking/disliking a character does not make that character a Mary-Sue.
But, I have a question.
Princess Euphemia is aware of all of these things that happened, right? Suzaku's issues, Lelouch and Nunnally losing their mother ....
How could a "good" person like Princess Euphemia not feel any emotion for her friends at all? You forget that oftentimes tragedy strikes not only its target, but all the innocent bystanders.
That includes their immediate family, friends, and loved ones. How do you think Euphie would have felt? Seeing all the suffering, but not being able to do a thing to help them? How is that being an "overprotected fairy-tale princess?"
I daresay that until you have had a loved one hurting in front of you, you cannot even begin to imagine the pain, grief, and helplessness that the princess whom you accuse could have felt!
She's not been hurt? Hardly. Euphie is probably the one who's hurting the most out of the group, because of her empathic nature and her willingness to help out!
In fact. Look at her response to Suzaku. "Don't hate yourself." That, alone, shows how she's aware of the hurt, and that she is working actively to mend those pains. Is she a good person? Quite so. Does the act of being aware of these things make her a mary-sue? Hardly.
Let us then, look at the definition of a Mary Sue. A Mary Sue is a character who is explicitly, author wish fulfillment. Characters who represent an ideal, such as Galahad are more akin to plot devices and are not Mary Sues. Characters who are idealistic and "good" in nature, such as Launfal are quite legitimate characters and can hardly be called a Mary Sue.
I would be extremely cautious to call any character a "mary sue" just because they're good-hearted, nice to people, and is genuinely trying to be the best person they could be.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Judge's notes:~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Point: two conflicting opinions nulled, as the opinion of "Euphemia is a good character v. Euphemia is a bad character" has been evenly matched. Irreversible turn against Mary-Sue argument presented in the form of the empathy argument, which goes down two ways:
1. (?'s contention) If: Suffering makes a character "good" and "realistic," then: Euphemia has suffered more than enough, destroying initial argument and making her a good character.
2. (Guilford's contention): If: characterization is dependent on the literary purpose and emotional responses, and If: Mary Sue is author wish fulfillment (see rest of explanantion) instead of simply being "good," then the argument that Euphemia is a Mary Sue doesn't hold.
Awaiting CX and CA from both sides. Court adjourned.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Euphemia is a complex character.
Once, I have scoffed at the script writer's introduction of her. Opening up a curtain, falling down into Suzaku's arms...it was too fairytale like, and too perfect, in that regard. And yet, now, as I recall back to that initial scene, I couldn't help but to let my tears fall.
She was the personification of an ideal. Princess. What do we know about that word? What do we think of it? Peerless beauty, an air of elegance, a graceful smile...and also, a regal sense of bravery, and a distinct self-hatred that has plagued her for her entire life. With that, we can also associate other, less positive stereotypes. Self-centered, strong-willed, occasionally weak, and also. really, a figurehead.
Ah, yes ... Euphemia was merely a figurehead, wasn't she? And really, she hated that. How she wished she could be more like her elder brothers or sister, Cornelia? But no. If anything, the greatest strength found in Euphie was that she is human. Euphemia is aware of her weaknesses, but more importantly, she acted on them. Whether that meant standing up against the terrorists, declaring the special administration zone, or even, declaring her love for Suzaku and comforting him...
Wide-eyed idealist, indeed.
She wanted to do good - good for the people. She could blush, and cry, and hold her siblings dear in her heart. The fact that someone like Euphemia would have existed in Britannia made the whole thing...different. Euphemia, loved on-screen, and loved by the readers here.
Do you remember the scene in the opening, where inside that rose garden, Euphemia joined hands with Suzaku? That smile...I don't think anyone who saw it could really forget. And the expression on Suzaku's face?
I had thought they'd get a happy ending. The tale of a princess and her knight. And even now, I still dream about that happy ending. Alas, that it was all still a fantasy.
A simple line destroyed it all. Readers. Viewers. I ask you. You could remember Euphemia's agonizing cry as the Geass was cast upon her?
You know, as much as I try to hate, I can't hate Lelouch. At last, not after The young man who once sat with Euphemia and watched the stars...the happy chess genius? All of those memories? it was then he realized that his sins were beyond redemption.
Lelouch had to face himself, at last. He saw what he had become, in his quest for a peace and just world. He wasn't beyond redemption - he was never really beyond redemption, but from that moment onward, all of us know that something snapped. The only one he had left was C.C. - and perhaps, in her, he might have found some small comfort at last...
But it wasn't all about Lelouch. What about Suzaku?
Ah, yes. Euphie's knight clutched her hands tightly, during that moment. Do you see fear? I do. And not just fear - but a sort of primal, desperate fear. He was genuinely afraid of losing her. His bloodstained uniform, his hoarse voice...
I can't pull screencaps. Not anymore. Sorry.
But you know what hurt more than seeing Euphie die? It was seeing Suzaku smile. He had to smile. He had no other choice. He told her, that her wishes had been fulfilled. He told her that he was going to take her back to Ashford academy...Suzaku, he just kept on talking. Could none of you see what he was trying to do? He was willing to give up everything so that Euphie could live for a little longer. He didn't dare to blink. Because, deep within his heart, the fear gripped at him.
Suzaku had already tasted losing everything, as the poster had pointed out. But, Euphemia, during your brief stay with him, you gave everything to him. Love, care, confirmation, admiration... all of the things in which he so desperately yearned for. Yet, as you slowly faded...you're about to take everything away, again, just as you have given them to him once before....
Just look at her eyes. Slowly dimming. Seeing her knight and not seeing her knight at the same time. She asked him, has her wish been fulfilled?
And here we have the greatest lie in recent anime.
"Ah, yes, great success!"
Could you see the relief in her eyes, and the small, inaudiable sigh? Though I do not believe in lying for the greater good, I ... cannot say that Suzaku did the wrong thing.
As she faded, she felt happiness once more. Euphemia knew, that, in a little while, she could no longer accompany him. She told him, ah, yes, she would like to go back to school again, because she stopped half way. But by then, she could no longer see him. But, she told him, enjoy my share as well.
As she reached out to touch him one last time, she knew that the final goodbye was coming. Mustering up all of her strength as she prayed for a little bit more time, she just wanted to say one last thing to him.
"Suzaku, meeting you was..."
And then, she closed her eyes. She didn't need to finish her sentence. But all of us, standing before the screen, knew it. Suzaku did too.
...
She was gone.
Just as Euphemia's knight in shining armor broke down and cried at last, so did we all.
Without Euphemia. Suzaku and Lelouch would have only been a shadow compared to who they are now. Lelouch's initiation of the Black Rebellion...Suzaku's descent into vengence... through her death, she managed to add depth to Code Geass in such a way that most viewers missed, preferring instead of to concentrate on the action and exuberantly feeling the rush of power and victory - with Lelouch.
Her smile will forever be with the two protagonists of Geass, and likely, with some of her viewers as well.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This post initially served as a defense for Euphemia li Britannia, but then, I have realized, that what is good did not need me to clarify. The truth, like all that is good, has always been and will be self evident.
Euphemia is the scrappy of the Code Geass fandom, along with Suzaku. Any attempt to discuss this on any of the major Geass hubs has resulted in some rather ...nasty name-calling.Example:
"I hate stuck up bitches!"
-Anime forum thread.
"fucking little whore...better if she died. She got in the way of Lelouch and thats what she get"
-Livejournal hub.
Or, a better one:
"I dislike Euphemia.
I dislike her character, I dislike her as a plot point, I dislike her very core of a personality. I dislike her as a character. [Huge long post and then ending with]
Euphemia is nothing more than an over glamorized Mary-Sue and her death was the only thing that made her slightly more interesting than just another pink thing.
Besides which, her lisp was driving me crazy."
I, for one, couldn't help but to feel that the name-calling is unfair, and misleading. Which is why I have invited a special guest here today to speak on her behalf.
Lords and ladies of the Crimean Royal Court, please welcome:
Gilbert G.P. Guilford, Attorney at law.
Euphemia is nothing more than an over glamorized Mary-Sue and her death was the only thing that made her slightly more interesting than just another pink thing.
I am here to prove you wrong.
~~~~~~~~Court records begin~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I have to admit, I've never been very fond of "normal" characters. And by normal, I mean the ones who are gentle, kind, sweet, loving, and never had to deal with a single traumatic event in their life.
You realize there are people like that in real life, no? People don't have to have their families killed or suffer hugely traumatic events in order to be a good character?
This is a problem commonly found in fanfiction as a whole. People often try their best to add all kinds of tragic backgrounds to the character in an attempt to generate reader sympathy. While there is nothing wrong with generating reader sympathy, it should be contended that both "good" and "bad" characters could generate such sympathy in the same way.
Unless, of course, the poster is the typical grim viewer who prefer the generic anti-heroes. All with their tragic pasts and trauma-filled childhoods and the same sort of Drizzt-esque conflicts. To me, that's just as generic as a "good" character like Euphemia.
~~~~~~~~~Judge's notes~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Point: balanced and nulled. Above logic is opinion v. opinion and therefore lends equal amounts of weight.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
And what has Euphemia dealt with? The death of a brother who she didn't even know very well. ("Clovis nii-sama painted all of these? Such gentle colors." - Stage 6) Oh yes, and heroically standing up against terrorists by revealing her identity and thus rendering all her bodyguard's meticulous planning to null. But of course our pink fairy princess mustn't be hurt for her foolhardy behavior and in jumps all her saviors, whether it be Suzaku who breaks her fall from a second story window, or Lelouch who distracts the very people who held a gun to her head.
Thus, through the duration of her stay in the series, she has never experienced a backlash for her behavior. Lelouch was denounced for trying to defend his mother. Nunnally loses her eyesight and use of legs for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Suzaku...is suicidal with anger problems, not to mention stripped of his original identity and given a new one to conform into. Clovis can't even bring himself to care for anything, and Cornelia loses her mentor.
So, compared to the shit that her siblings and boyfriend went through, it's quite clear that Euphemia is not some virtuous angel to be placed on a pedestal. She's just an overprotected little fairy princess who never had to deal with the areas of gray and that doesn't make her innocence refreshing. Just pure annoying. How dare she, someone who hasn't suffered hardships or even had to make a hard decision, be the measure of morality for those who tread the gray areas and still managed to keep themselves afloat? The only thing she did that was even slightly controversial (in the world of Geass) was making Suzaku her knight, and even then she barely received more than a few snide words. When Lelouch made Suzaku his knight, the entire world turned on him.
You realize, that this entire post is arguing one thing: Euphemia has never suffered, and therefore, she's a flat character.
Is suffering automatically characterization? That's a new one to me. However, it does sum up extremely well how and why many, many fans hate Euphemia.
1. She's too "good," and the goodness within such characters causes psychological dissonance. In other words, seeing another good person makes you feel horrible because someone COULD be so good.
2. She got in the way of Lelouch. That's another major reason and an understandable one.
3. We hate Suzaku. Certainly, that's reason enough. However, both of those topics are better left discussed elsewhere. However! Hatred for Suzaku or preference for Lelouch does not equate to a character being negative.
At this point, the contention here is once again equally matched. Reasons for liking/disliking a character does not make that character a Mary-Sue.
But, I have a question.
Princess Euphemia is aware of all of these things that happened, right? Suzaku's issues, Lelouch and Nunnally losing their mother ....
How could a "good" person like Princess Euphemia not feel any emotion for her friends at all? You forget that oftentimes tragedy strikes not only its target, but all the innocent bystanders.
That includes their immediate family, friends, and loved ones. How do you think Euphie would have felt? Seeing all the suffering, but not being able to do a thing to help them? How is that being an "overprotected fairy-tale princess?"
I daresay that until you have had a loved one hurting in front of you, you cannot even begin to imagine the pain, grief, and helplessness that the princess whom you accuse could have felt!
She's not been hurt? Hardly. Euphie is probably the one who's hurting the most out of the group, because of her empathic nature and her willingness to help out!
In fact. Look at her response to Suzaku. "Don't hate yourself." That, alone, shows how she's aware of the hurt, and that she is working actively to mend those pains. Is she a good person? Quite so. Does the act of being aware of these things make her a mary-sue? Hardly.
Let us then, look at the definition of a Mary Sue. A Mary Sue is a character who is explicitly, author wish fulfillment. Characters who represent an ideal, such as Galahad are more akin to plot devices and are not Mary Sues. Characters who are idealistic and "good" in nature, such as Launfal are quite legitimate characters and can hardly be called a Mary Sue.
I would be extremely cautious to call any character a "mary sue" just because they're good-hearted, nice to people, and is genuinely trying to be the best person they could be.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Judge's notes:~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Point: two conflicting opinions nulled, as the opinion of "Euphemia is a good character v. Euphemia is a bad character" has been evenly matched. Irreversible turn against Mary-Sue argument presented in the form of the empathy argument, which goes down two ways:
1. (?'s contention) If: Suffering makes a character "good" and "realistic," then: Euphemia has suffered more than enough, destroying initial argument and making her a good character.
2. (Guilford's contention): If: characterization is dependent on the literary purpose and emotional responses, and If: Mary Sue is author wish fulfillment (see rest of explanantion) instead of simply being "good," then the argument that Euphemia is a Mary Sue doesn't hold.
Awaiting CX and CA from both sides. Court adjourned.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Euphemia is a complex character.
Once, I have scoffed at the script writer's introduction of her. Opening up a curtain, falling down into Suzaku's arms...it was too fairytale like, and too perfect, in that regard. And yet, now, as I recall back to that initial scene, I couldn't help but to let my tears fall.
She was the personification of an ideal. Princess. What do we know about that word? What do we think of it? Peerless beauty, an air of elegance, a graceful smile...and also, a regal sense of bravery, and a distinct self-hatred that has plagued her for her entire life. With that, we can also associate other, less positive stereotypes. Self-centered, strong-willed, occasionally weak, and also. really, a figurehead.
Ah, yes ... Euphemia was merely a figurehead, wasn't she? And really, she hated that. How she wished she could be more like her elder brothers or sister, Cornelia? But no. If anything, the greatest strength found in Euphie was that she is human. Euphemia is aware of her weaknesses, but more importantly, she acted on them. Whether that meant standing up against the terrorists, declaring the special administration zone, or even, declaring her love for Suzaku and comforting him...
Wide-eyed idealist, indeed.
She wanted to do good - good for the people. She could blush, and cry, and hold her siblings dear in her heart. The fact that someone like Euphemia would have existed in Britannia made the whole thing...different. Euphemia, loved on-screen, and loved by the readers here.
Do you remember the scene in the opening, where inside that rose garden, Euphemia joined hands with Suzaku? That smile...I don't think anyone who saw it could really forget. And the expression on Suzaku's face?
I had thought they'd get a happy ending. The tale of a princess and her knight. And even now, I still dream about that happy ending. Alas, that it was all still a fantasy.
A simple line destroyed it all. Readers. Viewers. I ask you. You could remember Euphemia's agonizing cry as the Geass was cast upon her?
You know, as much as I try to hate, I can't hate Lelouch. At last, not after The young man who once sat with Euphemia and watched the stars...the happy chess genius? All of those memories? it was then he realized that his sins were beyond redemption.
Lelouch had to face himself, at last. He saw what he had become, in his quest for a peace and just world. He wasn't beyond redemption - he was never really beyond redemption, but from that moment onward, all of us know that something snapped. The only one he had left was C.C. - and perhaps, in her, he might have found some small comfort at last...
But it wasn't all about Lelouch. What about Suzaku?
Ah, yes. Euphie's knight clutched her hands tightly, during that moment. Do you see fear? I do. And not just fear - but a sort of primal, desperate fear. He was genuinely afraid of losing her. His bloodstained uniform, his hoarse voice...
I can't pull screencaps. Not anymore. Sorry.
But you know what hurt more than seeing Euphie die? It was seeing Suzaku smile. He had to smile. He had no other choice. He told her, that her wishes had been fulfilled. He told her that he was going to take her back to Ashford academy...Suzaku, he just kept on talking. Could none of you see what he was trying to do? He was willing to give up everything so that Euphie could live for a little longer. He didn't dare to blink. Because, deep within his heart, the fear gripped at him.
Suzaku had already tasted losing everything, as the poster had pointed out. But, Euphemia, during your brief stay with him, you gave everything to him. Love, care, confirmation, admiration... all of the things in which he so desperately yearned for. Yet, as you slowly faded...you're about to take everything away, again, just as you have given them to him once before....
Just look at her eyes. Slowly dimming. Seeing her knight and not seeing her knight at the same time. She asked him, has her wish been fulfilled?
And here we have the greatest lie in recent anime.
"Ah, yes, great success!"
Could you see the relief in her eyes, and the small, inaudiable sigh? Though I do not believe in lying for the greater good, I ... cannot say that Suzaku did the wrong thing.
As she faded, she felt happiness once more. Euphemia knew, that, in a little while, she could no longer accompany him. She told him, ah, yes, she would like to go back to school again, because she stopped half way. But by then, she could no longer see him. But, she told him, enjoy my share as well.
As she reached out to touch him one last time, she knew that the final goodbye was coming. Mustering up all of her strength as she prayed for a little bit more time, she just wanted to say one last thing to him.
"Suzaku, meeting you was..."
And then, she closed her eyes. She didn't need to finish her sentence. But all of us, standing before the screen, knew it. Suzaku did too.
...
She was gone.
Just as Euphemia's knight in shining armor broke down and cried at last, so did we all.
Without Euphemia. Suzaku and Lelouch would have only been a shadow compared to who they are now. Lelouch's initiation of the Black Rebellion...Suzaku's descent into vengence... through her death, she managed to add depth to Code Geass in such a way that most viewers missed, preferring instead of to concentrate on the action and exuberantly feeling the rush of power and victory - with Lelouch.
Her smile will forever be with the two protagonists of Geass, and likely, with some of her viewers as well.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This post initially served as a defense for Euphemia li Britannia, but then, I have realized, that what is good did not need me to clarify. The truth, like all that is good, has always been and will be self evident.