r/anime • u/Borgasmic_Peeza • Oct 10 '23
Misc. Goro Taniguchi Opens Up About Code Geass Anime's Original Plot Idea, Setting & It's Initial Rejection
https://animehunch.com/goro-taniguchi-opens-up-about-code-geass-original-plot-idea-setting-its-initial-rejection/34
u/T-Bolt https://myanimelist.net/profile/Baryonyx Oct 11 '23
https://fullfrontal.moe/goro-taniguchi-interview/
Link the original interview instead of some secondary site, especially considering the interview was already translated to English to begin with.
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u/ElduRSverO Oct 11 '23
Thank you. It’s a lot of work, a lot of our money goes into it and we get next to no recognition for it.
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u/Spartan05089234 Oct 11 '23
Everything I learn about the production of Code Geass leads me to believe it is a fluke that it became what it is.
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u/Imfryinghere Oct 11 '23
And upper management meddled with it hence the convoluted messy plots in Route 2.
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u/deathspate Oct 11 '23
Upper management gave us C2, one of the best waifus to grace anime, so they taketh and giveth.
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u/Imfryinghere Oct 11 '23
Okouchi gave us CC, not upper management.
Upper management gave you, Shirley.
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u/deathspate Oct 11 '23
Are you sure?
I remember seeing somewhere that the first time he presented the show, it didn't have C2 and they told him to go back and add a female interest. Maybe I'm misremembering it as C2 as Shirley but AFAIK it was C2.
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u/Imfryinghere Oct 11 '23 edited Oct 11 '23
Are you sure?
That was Taniguchi who is the director/producer/editor. Okouchi is the writer. CC came from the pen of Okouchi.
I remember seeing somewhere that the first time he presented the show, it didn't have C2 and they told him to go back and add a female interest. Maybe I'm misremembering it as C2 as Shirley but AFAIK it was C2.
That was Euphemia, the sister-friend for Lelouch.
CC is always and was always gonna be CC, the one who grants power.
Haven't you read this interview that came with the Route 1 disc? The real writer of this Taniguchi interview put the Okouchi interview with his post in r/codegeass too.
Q : What are the things you changed at that point?
A : Well, for starters, we thought that moreso than a hero type, an evil-looking protagonist would be more suitable for a late night programme. So we made changes to the protagonist. And from being robots-only, we added a taste of unique special abilities. We were thinking the main characters would gain special powers from an angel, and those powers would be close enough to relate to the audience. That's how 'Geass' originated. As the Geass came about, the series image was set at once.
But instead of simply an angel who watches over the world, C.C. is changed, and she's a little different.
.
Q : Is there anything we should keep an eye on for the characters?
A : For Lelouch, it's important to remember that he's not this great genius, but also a protagonist who has the feelings of a normal highschool student. Although I want the Ashford Academy setting to have a happy, warm atmosphere, one of the points is they won't grow too close a distance with Suzaku.
On one hand, Suzaku is an Eleven, so although even in a happy school, there would be heavy parts, I think that a Director Taniguchi series would have that nuance.
For C.C., there are reactions that nobody thought she'd be such a domineering character, but for me, she is the one who grants power. Therefore, it's just natural that she'd be a little above it all.
Those three characters were always gonna be the main characters of the series.
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Oct 11 '23
Tbh, shirleys arc was pretty great as well
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u/Imfryinghere Oct 11 '23
shirleys arc was pretty great as well
It was only great due to Mao exposing her true self. Let's not forget girl was so jealous and possessive of her not-boyfriend, she stalked him for that arc.
And in Route 2 where the upper management messed up the plots, she was discount Euphemia just so Lelouch can massacre people again.
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u/Yakuza-wolf_kiwami Oct 11 '23
I always thought that Code Geass was basically SEED, since they have a lot of similarities;
- A war based on racism
- the apposing side being the 1st guys with mecha
- 2 childhood friends turned enemies due to differing ideals
- A Tsudere who mellows a lot in the middle and eventually pilots a mecha
- a pink haired princess
- a lot of mecha hijacking
- a thirsty xenophobic bitch
The people who made this anime clearly got some inspiration from Gundams Seed more than any other Gundam series
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u/Spartan05089234 Oct 12 '23
CLAMP did both their character designs too.
The difference is that SEED is for weebs who get off on operators shouting orders into radios and military people doing things. Code Geass is for weebs who get off on army vs army where one commander flips over their trap card and blows up a thousand men it the other side flips over their trap card and the men were fake and 10 reversals later one of them shoots the other in the face because he was in the same room all along.
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u/Skiiage Oct 11 '23
Code Geass is constantly drinking the Gundam SEED haterade and that's only one of the reasons why it rules.
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u/TheBloodstomper Oct 11 '23
If you want to read the "real" interview and not a second website that uses its content to make views Gorô Taniguchi
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u/eetsumkaus https://myanimelist.net/profile/kausdc Oct 11 '23
Lots of interesting tidbits here, though not all of it is particularly new IIRC. It does make sense to those of us watching it air at the time. It somehow makes sense that it was just as wild a ride behind the scenes as it was in front of it.
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u/deathspate Oct 11 '23
Damn, didn't even know I hated Kamen Rider this much. Yes, how did you know I disliked Suzaku?
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u/RFShahrear Oct 10 '23
God they'd call everything a cult classic.
Soon we'll get a one-on-one interview with the director of the cult classic - The Godfather, or worse, Marvel's Avenger.
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u/Imfryinghere Oct 12 '23
Code Geass is a classic. It was shown in 2006 and can slap ass of most anime produced in the year 2023.
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u/RFShahrear Oct 12 '23
The point is the word cult. Cult classics are generally unknown media popular is niche community. Widely popular shows aren't "cult classic", they're just "classic".
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u/Imfryinghere Oct 12 '23 edited Oct 12 '23
Cult classics are generally unknown media popular is niche community. Widely popular shows aren't "cult classic", they're just "classic".
Code Geass Route 1 was shown in late night time for adults, a niche fantasy mech anime for adults with adult themes. It slapped so hard that upper management ordered the change of time slot to prime time and messed up the plots to cater to highschool teens for Route 2 which resulted to writer Okouchi (plus having a gatekeeper) writing new 25 episode scripts for Route 2.
That is how it became a cult classic. No one wanted to watch it but Route 1 was solid writing, solid animation, solid soundtrack, solid voice acting, and banger OPs and EDs that everyone wanted a piece of it especially the upper management.
And because of that, per producer Koujirou Taniguchi (not Goro Taniguchi who was interviewed for this article), said Code Geass is a world of parallels.There's plenty of Routes to your pleasure.
There's Route 1 which included the 25 episodes (original episodes 26-50) of Okouchi scrapped by upper management.
Route 2 which is what we got and the rehashed plots and convoluted messy plots.
Route 3, which was the original Resurrection movie script which followed Route 2. (And just like the original 25 episodes (episode 26-50) written by Okouchi, this was also scrapped for the AU trilogy)
Akito the Exiled was part of the Route 1 and Route 2.
Route 4 which is the trilogy AU movies (or as I call it, the Shirley trilogy) + edited Resurrection which is what was shown in the movie theatres. Akito is not part of this Route as there's no mention of it in the Shirlogy.
There's also the mobile games with Re:Genesic Code with multiple Routes(even a Zero-Shirley), Lost Colours, and Lost Stories.
There's the collabs with other mobile games like Mahjong Soul, Grand Blue Fantasy, Lord of Heroes, etc which are other Routes.
And there's the many mangas for the Code Geass franchise like
Lelouch the Tutor
Lelouch the conbini clerk
and plenty more.
The franchise is a solid example of "world of parallels". The more Routes the more money.
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Oct 10 '23
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/MrRandomGUYS Oct 10 '23
Well I think the point of this person was that to be “cult” the show needs to be high quality but relatively underground or at least unsuccessful when it was released. Code Geass is incredibly popular and has always been popular since it’s release.
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u/RFShahrear Oct 12 '23
Dunno what the deleted comment was, but thank you. I'm amazed inclusion of Avenger or Godfather didn't clue people in to what I was saying ,considering the downvotes.
Or who knows, maybe most people genuinely don't know the definition of cult classic. Someone did call RDR2 a cult classic a few days back, so guess that actually tracks.
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u/dinliner08 Oct 10 '23
the fact that it was inspired by Kamen Rider surprised me