Charles zi Britannia
Charles zi Britannia is a male anime and manga character who features in Code Geass.
Contents |
Biography
Charles zi Britannia (Japanese: シャルル・ジ・ブリタニア, Hepburn: Sharuru ji Buritania) was a male human who was the younger brother of V.V. where the two were members of the royal family of the Holy Britannian Empire. During the course of his youth, the two became marred in a violent internal feud of the imperial family of the Holy Britannian Empire. This saw assassination and betrayals as individuals vied for the throne in the Emblem of Blood Incident. Among the casualties in the conflict were Charles and V.V.'s mother leading to the brothers forming a Geass contract to kill the 'Gods' that were formed by the collective consciousness of mankind. The pair were later joined by Marianne Vi Britannia and C.C. joined in their venture as well. Eventually, Charles zi Britannia came to ascend the Britannian throne and became its 98th emperor. As emperor, he came to have many consorts and children over the course of his life many of whom he placed in positions of power in order to see them fulfil their potential. Among them were his son Lelouch vi Britannia and his daughter Nunnally vi Britannia that were born from Marianne. During his reign, he came to expand the Britannian empire that aggressively conquered more and more territory that it brought under its rule. When Lelouch was 10 years old, Charles wife Marianne was seemingly assassinated and Nunnally came to be left blind after the incident. In that time, Lelouch demanded why his father did not protect Marianne leading to an angry Charles deciding to exile his son and Nunnally to Japan to serve as political prisoners.
He makes a number of short appearances throughout the season, displaying apparent knowledge of Lelouch's activities, particularly in relation to his Geass usage. Emperor Charles claimed to be speaking with Clovis even after his death at the Sword of Akasha. He was last shown during the Special Administrative Zone Massacre. He was shown to be overjoyed when Lelouch had unintentionally manipulated his own half-sister Euphemia into causing such chaos and bloodshed, saying that Lelouch was now worthy of being called his son. Afterwards, Lelouch was brought before Charles by Suzaku Kururugi, who requested to be made one of the Knights of the Round as a reward. The Emperor granted because of Suzaku's willingness to sacrifice his friendship with Lelouch to begin his quest to change Britannia from within. He then used his previously unknown Geass power to rewrite Lelouch's memory and suppress his Geass, which he also did to the students of Ashford Academy. Charles decided to make further use of Lelouch by making him contribute to Europe's annexation until his return at Ashford.
Because Suzaku is the only one of the Knight of Rounds who knows of Zero's identity and Geass, the Emperor trusts him enough to lead him to The Sword of Akasha, a temple above the clouds and skies designed as a weapon against "the gods".
In actuality, Charles is V.V.'s twin brother, whose process of aging was halted at an early age due to becoming immortal. At the sword of Akasha, V.V. asks Charles why he did not tell Nunnally about Zero's identity and his Geass, and Charles replies that there was no point and that it was unnecessary. Charles initially possessed a fully matured Geass power, but gave it up in exchange for immortality when Lelouch and the Black Knights attacked the Geass Directorate. Lelouch trapped the Emperor inside the Sword of Akasha, or so he thought, until Charles announced to the world that he was still alive during the formation ceremony of the UFN and declaring that all Zero had done was made it so that whoever won the ensuing war would control the entire world; at that time, the world was literally divided between Britannia and the UFN. During the Second Battle of Tokyo, Charles arrived in Area 11 himself, much to the shock of Lelouch, and entered the Sword of Akasha through the Thought Elevator at Kamine Island. Once inside, Charles was confronted by Lelouch once again and soon after, Marianne, C.C. and Suzaku all arrived. During the time, Charles finally told Lelouch the truth of the events regarding his mother's death and all that had occurred, including his real reason for sending him and Nunnally to Japan as hostages. He and Marianne then explained their one true goal and began to initiate the Ragnarök Connection.
Overview
Personality and attributes
In appearance, Charles zi Britannia was a large towering male human who had a muscular and well-built frame with long white hair styled in Renaissance-style curls whilst having violet eyes along with angular features.
A strong proponent of Social Darwinism, Charles views equality and justice as an evil that must be dispelled and encourages social battle to maintain evolution within society. As such, he publicly supports inequality and calls for competition and fighting, so as to create progress, even proclaiming the death of his son, Clovis la Britannia, as a demonstration of Britannia's unswerving commitment to progress. In the seventh episode of the second season, he reiterate his viewpoints by saying that the traditional morals of not murdering, not deceiving others, not stealing, and remaining faithful are lies used by the weak to defend themselves, and that survival of the fittest is the only "truth", which he considers Britannia's duty to show the world. Despite openly supporting warfare, he views it as an ineffective diplomacy tool that only a fool would use.
Over the course of his life, he came to have at least 108 consorts. He installed his children in important positions throughout the Empire to see their true abilities. Charles saw his children as extensions of the collective consciousness rather than human beings, and showed little concern for their well-being.
Powers and abilities
Charles zi Britannia was born a human who later gained the power of Geass (ギアス Giasu) which allowed him to freely alter an individual's memories at will. With this ability, he could rewrite a victim's memories or implant false ones. He may also seal the ability of another Geass user. When active, Geass sigils appear in both of his eyes. C.C. suggests that it was V.V. who bestowed Charles with his ability. C.C. though was able to negate the effects of his power when it is used on Lelouch.
Notes
- Charles zi Britannia was created by Ichirō Ōkouchi, Gorō Taniguchi and Clamp where he featured in the setting of the Code Geass universe.
In other media
Television
- In Code Geass, Charles zi Britannia appeared in the setting of the anime television series where he was was voiced by Japanese actor Norio Wakamoto and by English actor Michael McConnohie in the dubbed series.
Video games
Appearances
- Code Geass:
External Links
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