The Code Geass Season 3 release date is slowly getting closer even as a movie compilation trilogy has been confirmed as Code Geass: Lelouch Of The Revolution . The third season, or Code Geass R3 , will be called Code Geass: Lelouch Of The Resurrection (or Re;surrection ). In addition, there will be spin-off light novels based on the other Code Geass characters.
The third season of Code Geass has been a long time coming since Code Geass R2 finished airing about 10 years ago. The original anime series produced by studio Sunrise was so popular that the anime was eventually adapted into a manga and light novel series. Since it has been so long, the anime production committee decided to revive the series by summarizing the beginning of the story in three movies that include a complete re-recording of all the voice cast and several new scenes.
According to the official Twitter page, the first compilation film, Lelouch of the Revolution: The Awakening Path , was released on October 21, 2017. The second Code Geass movie , Lelouch of the Revolution: The Rebellion Path premiered on February 10, 2018. The third film, Lelouch of the Revolution: The Imperial Path , will be released May 26, 2018. The official English titles for the three recap movies are also listed as Initiation , Transgression , and Glorification .
The two spin-off series , Shiro no Kishi, Beni no Yasha (Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion – Lancelot & Guren) and Mosaic no Kakera ( Code Geass Story Fragment – Piece of the Mosaic ) released in the fall of 2017. The first book focused on stories about both Suzaku and Kallen, while the second covered six different protagonists whose lives were affected by the events of the main story.
On March 18, 2018, the official Twitter account for the series tweeted out that Re;surrection will be the “next stage.” During the original series, episodes were known as “Stages” during Season 1 and “Turns” during Season 2. The oddly spelled title also refers back to the ending of R2 , which used the title “Re:” for the final episode. It is currently unknown whether Re;surrection will be a third season or another anime movie. Some news sites incorrectly translated the tweets to mean that Re;surrection will be a movie trilogy, but the format was not specified.
Lelouch: Alive Or Dead?
Code Geass: Lelouch Of The Resurrection is a title that apparently spoils the ending of the Code Geass R2 anime. The idea that Lelouch died at the hands of Suzaku at the end of the anime has been disputed by fans for years. Some say that Lelouch’s death is certain because he was hit in the heart, fell down a great distance, and there was plenty of blood. On the other hand, those who say Lelouch is alive point to YouTube videos that purportedly show Lelouch disguised as a cart driver at the end of the show (some claim the video was fan-edited). In addition, the character was listed dead under the name Lelouch vi Britannia and not as Lelouch Lamperouge.
Since the anime is an original story, fans can’t look to a manga or light novel to find out what happened next. The only people who know the answer is the production staff at Sunrise. Writer Ichiro Okouchi seemed emphatic that the character died when he was asked about the issue in a 2008 interview.
In fact, Okouchi claimed there was no dispute in Sunrise regarding the ending.
“It was decided fairly naturally,” he said. “During the Code Geass script meetings, there were many cases in which there were a number of disputes, but there were barely any when it came to the scripts for… episode 25 and the final episode. I think everyone felt the same when it came to the end of the character that is Lelouch.”
In response to fans who felt it was a bad ending, Okouchi pointed out that Lelouch himself said, “Only those prepared to be shot are allowed to pull the trigger themselves.” The writer felt that allowing Lelouch to be shot was a logical end, although they did not want Lelouch’s death to rule out a future Code Geass Season 3.
“From the very beginning, we never planned on explaining everything. In fact, if you ask me, I think we might have overdone the explanations,” he said. “While it’s undeniable that Lelouch’s story has ended with a full stop, the other characters’ stories are still ongoing, and it’s not like the world [of Code Geass ] itself has come to an end either. We didn’t want to end it by closing it up for good.”
On the other hand, Code Geass: Lelouch Of The Resurrection is being directed by Goro Taniguchi, who previously directed Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion and Code Geass R2 , and he once said the ending was up to the interpretation of the viewers. With the announcement of the third chapter, Goro confirmed that Lelouch seen in the trailer video is not an alternate version or a clone. Even though Lelouch died like the writer said, death is apparently not the end. Fans will just have to wait until the new anime to see how Lelouch was resurrected.
Code Geass R3 Release Date
As of this publishing, the anime production committee has not announced anything official about the Code Geass Season 3 release date, although this article will be updated as soon as the anime sequel is confirmed. However, there can be reasonable speculation about when the Code Geass R3 premiere date may occur.
The official website and the Code Geass R3 trailer give very few hints, but, apparently, the story is set several years after Lelouch vi Britannia’s Zero Requiem plan. While the announcement of Code Geass: Lelouch Of The Resurrection is official, it is currently uncertain whether the third act will take the form of a third season or a movie.
An English dub of the third act has yet to be announced, but the voice actors are already chiming in. During a Reddit AMA, voice actor Yuri Lowenthal was asked, “Are you going to be reprising your role as Suzaku Kururugi in Code Geass: Lelouch of the Resurrection ?” Yuri simply replied that he hopes he’s asked to reprise the role.
Johnny Young Bosch , who voiced Lelouch Lamperouge in the English dub, talked to fans during the 2017 Anime Triad Con in North Carolina. Bosch expressed his surprise that a third season was being made since the original anime had a “great ending.” The fans were concerned about the new writers, and in response, Bosch expressed his opinion that Code Geass R3 might have been green lit for the money.
“It’s just hard to tell, really. With a show like Code Geass, it was really popular and made lots of money, and it just ended and it continued to make money after that,” he said. “They were like, ‘Maybe we should bring it back?’ That’s the nature of it, right? It’s a risk. I hope it’s going to be great! But, you never know.”
Anime fans who can’t wait for the Code Geass Season 3 release date can refresh themselves on the story by watching all 50 episodes on Crunchyroll , which recently began carrying the anime. Those who have not yet watched should probably schedule some binge-watching so they’re ready for Code Geass R3 .
[Update March 23, 2018] Added finalized release date and trailer for third compilation movie.
[Update March 18, 2018] Added official English titles for the three compilation movies. Added Re;surrection teaser.
[Update October 24, 2017] Added exact release date for second compilation film.
[Featured Image by Studio Sunrise]