My Problem with Britannia
I have been a fan of this show since it first started airing. However, something always bothered me about the Britannians. They never felt sufficiently British to me. I mean, no pubs, no pints, no bangers and mash or shepherd's pie. Not once do you hear the characters say "bloody," "bugger," "Blighty," or "zed." I am an American but I do enjoy BBC comedies and Doctor Who. I don't claim to be an expert on British culture but a lot of things in Code Geass just felt a bit off. For starters, why were the stalls at the Ashford festival selling hamburgers and soda pop and not hot cider and scotch eggs or lamb kebabs? I know the target audience probably has no idea what those things are, but would it hurt the writers or art directors to do a little research? While we're on the subject of Ashford academy, the teachers were WAYYY too nice. Teachers at British boarding schools are notorious for being snarky, jaded and cruel.
Furthermore, the Britannian empire is all wrong. I can accept that they fought off the Romans and have an Emperor instead of a King, but why isn't India part of the Britannian empire? India was always the Jewel in the British empire's crown. India was the one conquest that Great Britain was most proud of and seeing a parallel universe British empire without India is kind of jarring. Furthermore, some humorous references to ridiculously inefficient bureaucracy would have upped the Britishness factor a lot.
Adding to my distress is the english dub. Not only is it one the most atrocious pieces of voice work I have ever heard, there is not a single accent to be heard. It even makes sense for the western release. To American ears, anything said with a British accent automatically sounds intelligent and sophisticated. I mean, imagine how much cooler the line "destroy shujinko ghetto, leave no one alive." would have sounded said in a classy uppercrust accent.
I suppose you can argue that the target audience for this show wouldn't know any of this, but that's no reason not to include it. It would have helped to give Britannia a unique feel. As it is they seem too much like a generic Zeon clone.
Rant over.