"As if it could get any better," I once thought to myself after finishing the 1st season of Code Geass. How joyous I must have felt to have been proven so very, very wrong.

Code Geass: Hangyaku no Lelouch R2 proved to the cinema world that it's not only one of the best anime ever produced, but one of the best television productions I have ever seen. I wish I could find the words to express how incredible this season is, but doing so would necessitate the need for unnecessarily complex vocabulary - words that would make this review too difficult to understand. For a simply incredible ending to a more than incredible show, I refuse to disrespect it by showering it with words of praise not understood outside of a doctoral student's vocabulary - only the simplest, purest forms of praise will suffice. You, dear reader, deserve better - as does this absolute gem of an anime.

I still don't understand how the creators did it, but somehow, they were able to take the incredible plot of the 1st season of Code Geass and build upon it - build upon the established character arcs, settings, ambitions and goals of the protagonists/antagonists, and so much more. I absolutely loved the plot before, but they somehow made it even better. The drama, suspense, and development of the characters - both good and bad - all improved tenfold over the entirety of this 2nd season. Seeing the highs and lows - the looks of triumph and utter defeat - visible upon the characters' faces, the weight of their journeys visible upon their shoulders - characters for whom I cared little in S1 seemed to gain my respect and appreciation, such as Shirley, Suzaku, and Villetta. The characters who were incredible before remained incredible while the supporting cast got better and better - something that I did not expect to happen when I started the 2nd season.

Truly, everything about Lelouch and his comrades' journey and ambitions just falls into place - every piece of the puzzle connected. Lelouch cemented his legacy as one of the most brilliantly written anime characters ever conceived. His plans and goals left me guessing at every corner - did he even deserve my admiration and praise, or was I just another victim of his master strategies? He leaves every viewer wondering until that final piece falls into place, and when it does, you're left wondering how your jaw could drop so far. For all of the hate, suffering, loss, and death that the world faces in Code Geass, Lelouch knew what would become of his homeland, his comrades, and even himself. The mastermind who, he himself, lost so much, played the final winning move - and on that fateful day with the world watching him atop his stage, how very fitting it was that the Sun was shining. When Suzuku so solemnly accepted that Geass, the spotlight of peace and hope shined upon Lelouch as the final curtain dropped.

1. Music: 95/100 - Building off of the phenomenal soundtrack introduced in the 1st season, Code Geass: Hangyaku no Lelouch R2 continued the trend of incorporating numerous incredible pieces that match the countless different moods and scenes throughout the show. I would personally rank it very slightly higher than that of S1 because, while both seasons' soundtracks do an incredible job of composing music that accurately depicts each scene, S2 was able to build off of what its predecessor already established - both are great, but as the 2nd season continued get more suspenseful, action-packed and enthralling, so, too, did its music.

2. Plot: 101/100 - What else is there to be said? I can't help but give Code Geass: Hangyaku no Lelouch R2 that extra point to set it over the edge - it simply has one of the best plots in any television show/movie that I have ever seen. 15 years after its release, it's still regarded as one of the best anime ever written. Everything that the 1st season did so well, the 2nd season built upon, improved, and refined. It, quite frankly, deserves that extra point.

3. Characters: 99/100 - In my review of the 1st season of Code Geass: Hangyaku no Lelouch, I mentioned that I generally prefer a show with a small cast of great characters, rather than a large cast with a mixed bag of good & bad ones. Indeed, thus was the reason why I rated the 1st season's cast at an 89/100 - there were many great characters (Lelouch, CC, Kallen, etc.), but plenty still who were either not important, not essential to the plot, or just plain stupid (Rivalz, Nina, etc.).
Code Geass: Hangyaku no Lelouch R2, meanwhile, did what I least expected it to do - build upon the already great characters AND give the less interesting characters more development, importance, and reason to admire. Characters who I thought would never be interesting or enjoyable, such as Suzaku, Villetta, Ohgi, Shirley, and many more, gradually became more important and, as a result, I came to appreciate them more.
With that being said though... Rivalz is still there, ~~so I can't give it a perfect 100/100.~~

4. Art & Animations: 94/100 - Much of the artwork and animation styles in Code Geass: Hangyaku no Lelouch R2 are the same as that of the 1st season, but that doesn't change how beautiful it all looks. I mentioned in my review of S1 that, at first glance, I thought Code Geass was a newer anime from the 2010's due to how well everything was animated and colored, only to find out that both seasons are over 15 years old. This anime completely fooled me on how old it actually was based on the artwork and animations alone - a factor that, in my opinion, shows how well it has aged.

I can only tell you, dear reader, so much as to why Code Geass is one of the best forms of cinema that I have ever had the privilege to watch. The reality is simple: when someone takes the time to make something great, it deserves to be experienced and shared. It is because of this simple truth that I chose to start reviewing anime in the first place - I believe that quality cinema should be recognized and shared with others.

___Code Geass_ and both of its iterations are key examples of this truth.__

If you know someone who has never seen this anime, has heard of it but never seen it, or is just starting to watch anime in general, I humbly ask that you share it with them. Better yet, share it with anyone - whether they like anime or not. There are so many television series out there that are insanely popular but are no where near the caliber and quality of Code Geass. Whether or not it's anime is, in all honesty, irrelevant - it's incredible television, plain and simple. It was shared with me - go ahead and share it with someone else, as I have done in these reviews.