Code Geass VS Death Note: All Hail Lelouch!

Like Schumacher vs Häkkinen on a Sunday afternoon. It's like these two were built to collectively raise debates. Is that justified? Yes, it is. Code Geass and Death Note have very similar premises. They both feature young men that want to change the world using charisma, strategy and a bit of the supernatural. All of that with some antihero flavor as they attempt to break down and reform the current system. These two anime definitely deserve to be compared to each other. Few would argue that both aren't masterpieces. But who did it better? Which main character is superior? I'll be comparing major elements of the shows and proclaim a "winner" each time. Let's dive into it.

World conquering difficulty

Like I mentioned before, the main characters have similar goals. Their motivations weren't the same, but both wanted a "better world", being disgusted by their current situations. Code Geass has a futuristic setting, but a medieval type of system. The mechs are futuristic, but the hierarchy is definitely reminiscent of stories you read about in history books. Britannia, the world's dominant military super power ruling over one third of the world, is the main antagonist Lelouch struggles with throughout the show.

Death Note's world is pretty much modeled after the real world, the one we live in. Everything except for the supernatural concept of the Shinigami and the Death Note itself is normal. Students, police corps, detectives, companies etc. 

It's clear that when it comes to world domination or restructuring it, achieving a goal of that magnitude is far more impressive in the Code Geass verse simply because of the sheer magnitude of it. Brittania, the monstrously oversized empire, is a lot harder to overthrow. Granted, restructuring the Death Note world would be far from easy, but the series didn't showcase any worldbuilding on Code Geass's level. Nations didn't take Light seriously and even succumbed to his will later on. Both series took place on Earth, but Lelouch's world was bigger than that of Light.

Winner: Code Geass

Enemies and rivals

While the enemy of both main protagonists is definitely "the system", we can still narrow it down a bit. Lelouch and Light also had rivals that doubled as enemies.

Lelouch Lamperouge                                                     Light Yagami

Enemy: Charles of Brittania                                        Enemy: Japanese Task Force (detectives)

Rival: Suzaku Kururugi                                                Rivals: L, Mello, Near

So who is Charles of Brittania exactly? Charles was Lelouch's father and the 98th Emperor of the Holy Brittanian Empire. I already mentioned how vast his empire was. His resources were nearly unlimited, making him the most powerful man on Earth. But it doesn't stop there. Charles had a Geass. And not just any Geass. This man was capable of amazing feats like suppressing memories and altering them, making him a mind reader basically. Charles was barely seen in season one, showing on what kind of level he was. It wasn't because Lelouch was weak, or that he wasn't putting in hard work. Lelouch just wasn't enough of a nuisance yet.

Lelouch's rival was the justice-seeking Suzaku. Past and present trials made him determined to do things "the right way". He's a rival because he has the same goal as Lelouch. His methods are different though as he wanted to reform Brittania from within, instead of overthrowing it with military force. He doubles as an enemy because he's a direct obstacle for Lelouch and the Black Knights. Unknowingly for a large part of the show because of how the mechs hide the identities of the pilots from the outer world.

Light Yagami had a clear goal and the police corps was the main hindrance to achieving it. However, that police corps was heavily reduced. Founded by L, the Japanese Task Force had the sole mission of taking down Light, known as "Kira". The Japanese Task Force had roughly ten members with different talents and levels of usefulness, including Light himself and Light's own father. Light was convinced that his reign would commence once the JTF was killed off because they were consistently hunting him down. L is so impressed by Light's intelligence that he wants Light on the JTF despite being a suspect.

L and Light being on the same team is what creates this unique fight. The battle of wits between two geniuses never lets up, instead it intensifies. Deep inside, L knows that Light is Kira. But generating proof that sinks Light is nearly impossible. On numerous occasions, it's quite evident that they both enjoy the cat and mouse game. The same goes for Mello and Near, basically extensions of L. While the other detectives were mere annoyances to Light, the same can't be said for L, Mello and Near because of the "game" they were thrown into. This indicates there's some kind of competition/rivalry, but it isn't as blatant as in Code Geass.

Charles of Brittania is simply more resourceful and more of a fearful opponent than the JTF. The emperor had entire nations at his disposal. A single task force would be a fraction of what Charles can bring to the table. I would say Death Note has the better rivals if they were better established as rivals in the first place. Suzaku had his own goal that didn't depend on the existence of Lelouch. The same can't be said for Death Note where the genius teen detectives needed Light. Code Geass delivers the rival factor in a better fashion. Add Charles' superiority to that and this category goes to Code Geass as well.

Winner: Code Geass

Main character showdown

Lelouch is a prince. Royalty. It goes without saying that his character has a slight arrogant touch to it. He starts off as a highly intelligent "bored with life" individual who is very condescending. I'm sure overthrowing Brittania was entertaining enough for him as he showed amazing resilience with a sense of duty. Lelouch can be very cold and that doesn't change too much throughout the show. When Lelouch is Zero, his alter ego, he becomes a god of war, sacrificing anything for victory. 

You'd think he's a villain, but Lelouch definitely also has a warm side. His love for his sister Nunnally is genuine and he values his friendship with Suzaku. He also gives Kallen and Shirley special treatment because he loves them. These bonds humanize his character and make it easier to root for him. 

Light is the same at his core. Arrogant and extremely intelligent. Also being dissatisfied by the world, he aimed to change it with the Death Note. The difference between Light and Lelouch is that Light would use/kill anyone to avoid getting caught. When I say anyone, I mean anyone. Light did not care about his father dying. In fact, he would have had to kill his own father to keep the fake "13 day rule" intact. He also considered killing his own sister to avoid giving up the Death Note. This is where Light loses in my opinion. He's not a team player. He shamelessly uses everyone close to him like puppets and throws them away once considered useless. One could say Light had somewhat of a god complex.

When you're trying to take over the world, you'll need people to depend on. Lelouch had loads of people he could turn to. Family, friends and the Black Knights offered mental support whenever Lelouch needed it. Light came across as more of a machine. Intelligent, very careful, but still human. And alone. Therefore destined for failure.

Winner: Code Geass

Plot execution

Code Geass and Death Note both have two halves. Well, in Death Note's case it's just widely accepted that L's death cuts the show in half. The plot isn't hard to grasp in either show. However, Code Geass did it better overall. Why? 

Death Note "part 2" gets a lot of hate, mainly because of how Light is defeated. Near is definitely not a fan favorite for several reasons. One of them is that his character wasn't as established as that of L. Personally, I don't have issues with Near or Mello because Light's loss was more about showing how he'd slip up eventually. However, Light's demise was a bit easy. We're talking about a character who always had a backup plan for the backup plan when facing L. I really do get it. Light's character regression might have been caused by his own arrogance. But it took too much away from what should have been an epic Death Note ending. This angered many fans, causing them to disregard the entire second half of the show. 

On the other side, Code Geass wasn't flawless either. Code Geass's second half was sometimes convoluted, having multiple information dump moments. But overall, it not only retained its original appeal, but built on that. Going out with a bang, Code Geass's ending satisfied me more. 

The first halves of these wonderful anime were both better than their respective second halves. However, Death Note cannot compete overall.

Winner: Code Geass

Motives

Lelouch's driving force is revenge for his mother that was murdered and a better world for Nunnally. Lelouch's mindset while conquering, killing and manipulating is that it's all for the greater good. World peace is a great goal, and his own family being the reason for his pursuit makes his deeds seem less atrocious. Unifying everyone in hatred towards him and ultimately dying wrapped up Lelouch's journey nicely.

Death Note's Light on the other hand had no real justifiable motive. On a first glance, it might seem that forcing a new world by instantly killing criminals is alright. Light wanted to be a god and used the Death Note to pass judgement. The problem is that supernatural powers require a supernatural sense of justice to be used properly.

While both protagonists sought peace, Light's version of peace is twisted because it's based on fear and is therefore artificial.

Winner: Code Geass

Verdict

I think it's very clear that Code Geass beats Death Note in every aspect. Does this mean that Death Note isn't quality? Absolutely not. Death Note is a juggernaut, loved by a large part of the community till this day. Both shows are highly recommended and are in my personal top 10.