Sono na wa zero
- Episode aired Oct 26, 2006
- TV-14
- 24m
Lelouch takes on a secret identity called Zero, to save his friend Suzaku.Lelouch takes on a secret identity called Zero, to save his friend Suzaku.Lelouch takes on a secret identity called Zero, to save his friend Suzaku.
- Kaname Ohgi
- (voice)
- Yoshida
- (voice)
- Jeremiah Gottwald
- (voice)
- Villetta Nu
- (voice)
- Kewell Soresi
- (voice)
- Bartley Asprius
- (voice)
- (as Katsuhisa Hoki in English credits)
- Diethard Ried
- (voice)
- Lloyd Asplund
- (voice)
- Cecile Croomy
- (voice)
- Kyoshiro Tohdoh
- (voice)
Storyline
Did you know
- Quotes
Jeremiah Gottwald: You handled His Highness's memorial program very well. A little too weepy for my tastes, but...
Diethard Ried: Yes, well, the masses tend to like tearjerkers, Your Excellency.
Jeremiah Gottwald: Spoken like a true TV man. Still, I have to acknowledge the finesse you've shown. You did well in the short time you had. One would almost think you were expecting His Highness to meet his untimely end.
Diethard Ried: [bows] It's quite common for memorial programs to be set in advance for important people.
Jeremiah Gottwald: Does that include me as well?
Diethard Ried: Recent events may have bumped you up the list a bit, Your Excellency.
Jeremiah Gottwald: I wasn't deemed important enough till now, is that it? How forthright of you.
Diethard Ried: I'm afraid so, sir.
Jeremiah Gottwald: Ever thought of enlisting? The army could use more men like you.
Diethard Ried: I don't think it would be a very good fit. Not really my cup of tea.
Jeremiah Gottwald: You prefer the civil sector, I take it. No matter...
However, upon closer inspection one starts to notice cracks. Herein lies one of my biggest issues with the show. In order to maintain the illusion of plausibility, the show constantly introduces new elements and doesn't dwell on them for any extended period of time. The directorial style is borderline frenetic, with very few shots lasting longer than a few seconds. The ones that do last longer are merely included for the sake of staying within the production budget, usually still frames or static Knightmare models moving across stock backgrounds. Because of this we often hear character motivations spelled out letter by letter, and are told actions are taking place instead of actually being shown them. More important moments also tend to squander any emotional potency and impact because of this. Contrary to the other reviewer here, I'd argue the character motivations are explained TOO explicitly (specifically in Jeremiah and Suzaku's cases). We also see in later episodes that Lelouch began experimenting with the Geass to explore its limitations after stumbling upon the "can't use it on the same person more than once" stipulation with Kallen and his history teacher.
Now we come to Zero and Jeremiah's confrontation. The performative nature of it is certainly entertaining, and lends credibility to Diethard being so enamored with it. However, with his camera trained on Zero, I find it INCREDIBLY hard to believe not one spectator or official saw Lelouch's eye beneath his mask when he used his Geass on Jeremiah. I also found it strange that all military personnel took Zero's (a presumed Eleven terrorist) word at face value about "Orange" over Jeremiah's (a fiercely loyal, pure-blooded, high-ranking Britannian officer). Nobody questions his sudden and uncharacteristic lapse in loyalty, or the bizarre wording of his orders. I guess it emphasizes the "thorns of suspicion" thing they were going for and how easily nationalistic sentiments can be redirected, but it comes at the price of logical behavior of characters. That's something I personally can't get on board with, and it's something the show basically demands of the viewer.
Basically, this episode encapsulates the show as a whole for me. On a grand scale the writing is great. The show has a wonderfully satisfying arc to it and it explores compelling themes. However, too many elements and characters are introduced for the show's own good. The majority of them aren't developed or explored adequately. The show instead explains them away with stale dialogue and keeps the story chugging along at a breakneck pace. Logic takes a backseat so that iconic moments can be born, and in my opinion a show can't be considered great if that sacrifice must be made.
- liammc-73274
- Jul 16, 2022
Details
- Runtime24 minutes
- Color