Code Geass - Ashford Academy / Characters

The character sheet of the Ashford Academy students and staff in Code Geass.

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Shirley Fenette

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/shirley_fenetto.jpg

Voiced by: Fumiko Orikasa (Japanese), Amy Kincaid (English)

"Love is power!"

One of Lelouch's classmates in Ashford Academy. Kind and sweet to everyone, and is hopelessly and madly in love with Lelouch. Her fate becomes intertwined with his once she discovers that the laid back Lelouch is actually the masked terrorist Zero, but still believes that passion and love will win the day, even in war.

Adaptation Expansion: Thanks to Jeremiah advising Shirley to stay away from trouble in the second film, she and Rolo never met and would later play a key role in C.C.'s attempt to bring back Lelouch in Re;surrection.
Adaptational Angst Downgrade: In the Compilation Movie, with both her and her father being Spared by the Adaptation. The worst that happens to her is seeing her beloved Lulu getting killed.
Affectionate Nickname:
- Calls Lelouch by the name 'Lulu', though she stops after he erases her memories of him. Starts again in R2.
- Calls Nunally 'Nunna', until R2, when her memories are altered. Her regaining them and referring to her as such in front of Rolo has devastating consequences.
All Girls Want Bad Boys: She says in the Cupid's Day episode that it's her duty to reform Lelouch because he's "a failure as a person". That said, she's mostly attracted him for his Nice Guy qualities. At the same time it's made tragically clear him being Zero makes him arguably even more attractive to her.
All-Loving Heroine: Shirley, along with Nunnally and Euphemia are the three sweetest characters in the whole series.
- Shirley's the first Britannian student to approach Suzaku at Ashford, where discrimination against Japanese is commonplace. She's very devoted to her friends, and was even willing to use a gun for the first time to protect Lelouch. Before her death, it looked like she had a good chance of convincing Suzaku to try to settle things diplomatically with Lelouch. After her death, Suzaku decided to interrogate Kallen using the same drugs Kallen's mother got addicted to, and Lelouch decided to massacre the entire Geass order, and everything went straight to hell.
- Not to mention, who knows what would've happened if she didn't mention Nunnally to Rolo. At least she would've lived a little longer, since Rolo was at least willing to listen to her until she slipped up.
- She even makes a speech about The Power of Love when Lelouch contacts her from the Chinese Federation.
- In the Compilation Movie thanks to being Spared by the Adaptation, she still loves Lelouch and helps in retrieving his body.
Anguished Declaration of Love:
- A few times over. The most anguished of them is when she's been shot, and knows that she's going to die.
- Happens in the Compilation Movie thanks to being Spared by the Adaptation, stating over the phone that she's still on his side. Not wanting her to get hurt, Lelouch cuts her off.
Beneath Notice: Shirley's greatest asset in Code Geass: Lelouch of the Re;surrection. Given that almost nobody about knows her relationship to key figures such as Lelouch, Nunnally, and C.C., she's the only one who can move around without alerting intelligence agencies all over the world. She played a critical role getting Lelouch's dead body out of Japan for C.C.'s half-successful resurrection attempt, and is the only one who can get in regular contact with her.
Break the Cutie: Possibly the purest example in all of Code Geass — which is saying something.
Cannot Spit It Out:
- Her feelings toward Lelouch. Although in a few instances, she kinda did mostly spit it out — but he wasn't listening.
- Not to mention that the first time she does manage to more-or-less spit it out, she gets her memory erased shortly afterwards. She only managed to spit it all (and with Lelouch listening to) as she's dying.
Clingy Jealous Girl: Downplayed: she's too sweet a character to entirely fit this trope: she's more anxiously fretful than jealously clingy — although she does get irked at Lelouch when he hangs up on her. (In his defense, he's usually hanging up on her because his life is in jeopardy at the time. Not that she'd have any way of knowing that.) Neverthless, she spends an extraordinary amount of her time and energy worrying about him, much of it specifically wondering if he likes some other girl more than her. In the aftermath of the Battle of Narita (which at the time strikes her as remote), her concern for Lelouch's whereabouts above all else is played for laughs — until suddenly it so totally isn't.
Cute Clumsy Girl: A little clumsy. More than a little cute.
Daddy's Girl: From what we see, she and Joseph Fenette are on quite good terms.
Demoted to Extra: The Compilation movies Adapted Out her Trauma Conga Line, but stripped her character of all of its agency in exchange. Aside from the below mentioned Small Role, Big Impact, she’s essentially reduced to a Recurring Extra.
Died in Your Arms Tonight: Died in Lelouch's arms, confessing her love for him one last time.
Disappeared Dad: Shirley's father, Joseph, is killed in the Battle of Narita. Her mother, however, survives, and even outlives Shirley herself. The compilation movies seem to have him Spared by the Adaptation as well.
The Ditz: In a way. Although Shirley is very book-smart and gets top marks in school, Milly Ashford loves to tease her that she can think of nothing beyond her feelings for Lelouch, when there's a whole world out there full of wonderful (and terrible) things. Most of the mockery is just Milly being Milly, but likely some is Milly's half-sublimated jealousy. Shirley's klutziness further contributes to her general ditzy feel.
Dogged Nice Girl: She's an outside player in the war for Britannia, so any of her attempts to actually make a difference only serve to bum her out.
Dying Declaration of Love: In her final moments, she confesses her love to Lelouch and reveals that even knowing he (accidentally) killed her father and had memories erased of him twice, she kept falling in love with him over and over again. She says no matter how many times she is reborn, she will fall in love with him again.
Even the Girls Want Her: The biggest victim of Milly's Skinship Grope.
Expy: Her name and design were inspired by Anne Shirley from Anne of Green Gables. She is specifically based on Anne from Akage no Anne (1979), an anime adaptation by World Masterpiece Theater of that book.
Fake Memories: Part of the reason why she wants to help Lelouch once she regains her real ones.
Feminine Women Can Cook:
- Averted Trope: She's very feminine and not much of a cook. However, she is only about eighteen years old at the time of her death — and she's not attending finishing school but rather a preppy boarding school. Boarding school tends to provide both "room and board" (i.e., prepared meals).
- Played straightin the Compilation Movie, where she shows some skill.
Fiery Redhead: A mild example. Redhead, quick to anger, even quicker to forgive. And apologize profusely. Over and over.
First Kiss: She's kissed Lelouch twice except the 2nd time was with Sayoko in disguise.
Foil: She has no shortage of foils, but there's an interesting foil whom she barely even meets: Princess Euphemia, who not only has a strikingly similar personality but also has many analogous plot points. In many ways she is set up to be for "Lulu" what Euphemia is for Suzaku. (Lucky her.)
Forgiveness: Definitely her greatest virtue. Forgives Lelouch for his responsibility in her father's death.
Genki Girl: Starts as one. (Then it got worse.) Reverts to one. (Then it got even more worse.) Rinse, repeat.
Go Out with a Smile: With her beloved Lelouch at her side and finally be able to express all of her feelings towards him, she was able to give him a sincere smile as she died.
Hidden Depths:
- The few times Shirley has gotten involved with Lelouch's real goals, she's shown to be surprisingly competent and aware of various issues and situations for an Ordinary High-School Student. This ultimately just adds to the tragedy of her fate as this shows how much of a help she would be to Lelouch.
- In the Compilation Movie continuity she proved vital in retrieving Lelouch's body for C.C. to revive.
I Can Change My Beloved: She thinks it's her duty to reform Lelouch.
In Spite of a Nail: The Compilation Movie series seems to be showing how some things would have happened anyway even if she and/or her father survived, and/or she never encountered Mao.
Kill the Cutie: Her death marks the end of all innocence of the series.
Lethal Chef: Her clumsiness does not help her in the kitchen at all.
Long Hair Is Feminine: In contrast to Kallen's Boyish Short Hair, hers reaches down to her waist and parted over her left shoulder. She is also more traditionally feminine.
The Lost Lenore: To Lelouch after she is killed by Rolo. Her death left a significant impact on Lelouch, furthering his fear of intimacy with others.
Love Freak: A firm believer in The Power of Love. By the way, the quote at the top of the page has essentially become the slogan of her biggest fans.
Love Martyr: For Lelouch. At first it's really funny. Then it's really not.
Massive Numbered Siblings: While Shirley is an only child, a PictureDrama released with the Miraculous Birthday blueray has Shirley imagine her future life and among the elements presents are nine sons, all of whom look like Lelouch.
Meaningful Name: Shirley Fenette — named for the beloved, red-headed and spunky Anne Shirley from Anne of Green Gables.
Mind Rape: Mao does this to Shirley to get her to kill Lelouch. She's so screwed up at the end that Lelouch has to erase her memories of him to try to undo the damage.
Ms. Fanservice: While C.C., Kallen, and Milly flaunt their assets a lot more, many enjoy any time◊ Shirley appears in her School Swimsuit.
My God, What Have I Done?:
- She was already suffering from this after shooting Villetta Nu (to save Lelouch), but Mao's Mind Rape brought it to such a horrifying level that Lelouch erased her memories to alleviate her suffering.
- Doesn't undergo this series of events in the Compilation Movie as part of her Adaptational Angst Downgrade.
Never Suicide: In Turn 13, Rolo murders her. He uses his Geass to make it look like she shot herself with the gun she had and then places it by Shirley's dying body. This leads everyone else (except Suzaku, who believed that Lelouch killed her instead and Kallen, who simply refuse to) to believe that she was Driven to Suicide.
Nice Girl: The nicest girl in Ashford; if it wasn't for Rivalz holding her back, Shirley would have befriended Suzaku on day one.
Not What It Looks Like: She keeps catching Lelouch acting in a way that looks suspicious, with various girls — usually Kallen.
Outliving One's Offspring: Her poor, poor, already widowed mother is seen crying over her grave the episode after Rolo murders her.
- Thankfully Averted in the films. What's more, her father is also Spared by the Adaptation, meaning her poor mother doesn't lose any family.
Passionate Sports Girl: She's the star of Ashford's swimming team.
Reluctant Fanservice Girl: She's very embarrassed when put into fanservice situations, which is usually done by Milly.
Samaritan Relationship Starter: Her crush on Lelouch began when she witnessed him helping out some strangers when no one else would. Specifically, it was how he didn't treat it as a big deal, making it clear he did it just because it was the right thing to do.
Schrödinger's Cast: As of Re;surrection, there's at least two versions of the series where she's either dead or alive depending on the continuity (and that's not even counting Super Robot Wars or some of the AU Manga, where the latter at least imply that she lives).
She Knows Too Much:
- After the Geass-canceler undoes her Fake Memories, Shirley remembers that Nunnally, not Rolo, is Lelouch's sibling. So Rolo, both disturbed by the mention of Nunnally's name and also realizing that she could potentially blow his cover, does as he has done before with people who have too much knowledge: he murders her.
- In the Compilation Movie this is thankfully averted, as Jeremiah warns her to go home after restoring her memories, preventing Rolo from ever finding out.
Shoo Out the Clowns: Shirley's death signaled a turning point in R2, Lelouch lost a little more of his humanity and the series lost most of its comedic elements. Despite surviving in the Compilation Movie version, she's simply given less focus like her fellow students.
Significant Green-Eyed Redhead: Has orange hair along with yello-green eyes.
Single Woman Seeks Good Man: One day, a young man rammed his car into an elderly couple's vehicle and, despite clearly being at fault, blamed them for the accident. As this occurred, Lelouch defused the situation by having the man's car towed while everyone was afraid to speak up. He didn't take credit or brag about it. This caused Shirley to get to know him better and soon fall in love.
Small Role, Big Impact: In Re;surrection, Shirley and a still-Geassed Schneizel brought Lelouch's dead body to Jeremiah's orange farm as part of C.C.'s resurrection attempt, which ultimately resulted with Suzaku and Nunnally being bailed out from Zilkhstan's captivity after Lelouch got his soul back.
Spared by the Adaptation:
- In Super Robot Wars Z2.2, it is possible to save her by getting Roger Smith to convince Rolo not to kill her.
- Rolo doesn't kill her in the second recap movie due to her taking Jeremiah's advice earlier, allowing her to witness Zero Requiem and help C.C. in the final film.
Star-Crossed Lovers: With Lelouch. Though Lelouch has a lot of options and mostly tries to keep Shirley away from him, his relationship with Shirley deliberately parallels Suzaku's with Euphemia. Lelouch would like to get with her, but knows too well it is too dangerous despite Shirey's best efforts. Made very clear when she dies as her death and Lelouch's reaction is nigh-identical to Euphemia's death and how Suzaku reacted afterwards. In the films' case, this doesn't happen, but Lelouch sacrifices himself for the Zero Requiem anyway, and even though she helped bring him back, Lelouch ultimately decides to go with C.C instead.
Tareme Eyes: Her rounded eye design reinforces her soft personality.
Too Good for This Sinful Earth:
- It's supported, intentionally or otherwise, by the famous Shirley-the-angel pic that appears in the last closing credits after her death. It could even be interpreted as one of the reasons why it doesn't happen in the movies.
- Best displayed in the Compilation Movie, wherein her being Spared by the Adaptation coincides with events not being nearly as tragic as R2.
Trauma Conga Line:
- It was bad enough when Lelouch kept having to hang up on her, forgetting to call her back, standing her up, not noticing when she tried to confess her feelings for him, vanishing without explanation, vanishing without explanation at the same time a cute female classmate was also vanishing without explanation ... then there was the Battle of Narita. It Got Worse. And worse. And worse.
- The Compilation Movie has most, if not all of it, Adapted Out including her father's death. So, she was saved from going through everything she went through, allowing her to make it to the end.
Unrequited Tragic Maiden: At first it's Played for Laughs since her initial mishaps are portrayed as comical, then for intense drama with a side dish of Break the Cutie when Lelouch causes her father's death and Mao mind rapes her. And right when it looks like she may have the chance to get Lelouch's love... BAM! Accidentally saying the wrong thing in front of a deeply screwed-up and completely unpredictable guy, fatal injury to the gut, pool of her own blood, death in front of Lelouch. Even in the movies it technically becomes the other way around when she lives to see Lelouch die as part of the Zero Requiem. Even though she helped him get better, it's heavily implied that they both still have to live their lives without being the ones to get together.
What the Hell, Hero?: During Turn 13, she calls out Suzaku for his rather selfish attitude, rightfully pointing out he's just refusing to forgive Lelouch instead of being truly unable to do so. Judging by his reaction if she had lived this would have had a great impact on his following actions.
Wide-Eyed Idealist: A unique example in the series: Shirley loves everyone and wants them to get along — yet she also shows a willful — indeed, blind — lack of interest in politics or current events. (Perhaps Truth in Television for someone her age, but in a series where some of her (underage) classmates are members of the army and others are terrorist masterminds, and the rest have at least chosen sides, it sets her apart.) Shirley is also literally a wide-eyed idealist: she has the largest eyes (and irises) of any major character in all of Code Geass. (Princess Euphemia, another Wide-Eyed Idealist, seems to be in second place. See Big Eyes, Little Eyes, above.) At any rate, her combination of sweet, friendly, openness with her lack of interest in the larger world gets her lovingly but ferociously mocked by her friend and resident (figurative) Cool Big Sis Milly Ashford. (See also The Ditz, above.) If only the problems with this stopped right there... In fact, she was about to gain some of Rolo's trust or at least walk away from him with her life, but then she mentioned Nunnally without knowing that it'd make him flip out... Even when this doesn't happen in the compilation movies, not much else actually changes.
Wistful Amnesia: Goes through this on more than one level; first, when she finds herself falling for Lelouch again after being Geassed into forgetting her memories of him the first time, and second, after being Geassed by the Emperor to forget Nunnally, when she finds herself folding origami cranes again, something Nunnally taught her.
Wrong Genre Savvy:
- Tragically, she was stuck in one of the farthest things from shoujo, making her idealism contrast all the more, and her fate all the more tragic. Just two episodes after her proclamation of The Power of Love, and right after she seemingly consummates her one true love, she gets mercilessly killed off. All the more tragically ironic in that said power also had just earlier inspired Lelouch as Zero to make his inspiring speech about the Power of Passion after he and the Black Knights liberated China, and may have also saved Lelouch from falling into madness, and his eventual self-induced demise via Zero Requiem if not for Shirley's murder.
- This sort of happens in the Compilation Movie to a lesser extent. While Jeremiah still accidentally causes her to regain her memories, he's able to warn her immediately not to get herself into trouble. While this keeps her safe from here on out, nothing else changes that much, so any further attempts to use The Power of Love to help Lelouch don't really work.

Milly Ashford

Voiced by: Sayaka Ohara (Japanese), Julie Ann Taylor (English)

"We need festivals now and again, no matter what situation we're in."

The student council president at Ashford Academy, granddaughter of the school's owner and former nobility, she loves playfully teasing her friends just as much as she supports them. She's also one of the only characters who initially knows of Lelouch's former status as royalty, as well as Kallen's Japanese nationality. By R2, she graduates from Ashford Academy and becomes a news reporter.

Absurdly Powerful Student Council: She is its president and can hijack and entire school day for a Cupid Day festival game.
Ambiguously Bi: She really likes teasing and groping Shirley. At the same time, she's confirmed to also have a crush on Lelouch.
Arranged Marriage: To Earl Lloyd Asplund. Later, she calls it off.
The Beautiful Elite: A Headturning Beauty and part of the Britannia elite in Japan.
Big-Breast Pride: She has the largest chest of the cast and is very proud of it. Notably, a Toplessness from the Back shot of her standing up in the bath still displays a considerable amount of Sideboob.
Blonde, Brunette, Redhead: She's the blonde of the female student council trio, with Nina as the brunette and Shirley as the redhead.
Blue Blood: Her family used to be nobles but they fell after Marianne's assassination due to being her biggest supporters.
Bunny-Ears Lawyer: She's very very strange to say the least, but she obviously isn't a bad Student Council President considering how Ashford is still floating and her popularity.
Cheshire Cat Grin: She pulls these a lot when she's teasing her friends or getting an idea for a School Festival.
Childhood Friends: She has been friends with Nina since they were little, as their grandfathers we co-workers and friends who worked together on Knightmares.
Chivalrous Pervert: Despite her hobby of sizing up the assets of her female friends — and very deliberately embarrassing them — she cares deeply for all of them.
Cloudcuckoolander: With her wacky antics, almost as wacky costumes, and not so covert perversion.
Cool Big Sis: She is actually referred to on the show's official website as a "reliable older sister" to her friends (when she isn't tormenting them with her playful antics and "magic spells").
Cosplay Otaku Girl: Although, this being an alternate universe, cosplay in general seems to be an occidental rather than a Japanese practice.
Demoted to Extra: By the end of R2, Milly is largely sidelined from the story after her graduation from Ashford.
Even the Girls Want Her: One of the girls at the school "outed" herself during the chase for Arthur the cat. (Over the school radio, Milly had offered, to whoever succeed in capturing the cat and bringing it to her, a kiss from whichever member of the Student Council the victor wanted.)
Everyone Has Standards: Milly loves to gossip, but she will not do so when lives are in danger. See Secret-Keeper below.
Everyone Loves Blondes: On a side note, she's one of the surprisingly few blonde characters in the series, given it's anime and so many of the characters are of European descent.
Fallen Princess: Not literally a princess, but an aristocrat whose family used to have close ties to the royal family. She has only a little more status than her fellow students now.
The Gadfly: She often teases or messes with people in order to get a reaction out of them.
Genki Girl: She's extremely hyperactive and comes up with the most ridiculous activities on a whim, which due to her being the president of an Absurdly Powerful Student Council, usually means crazy hijinks are about to happen.
Impossible Hourglass Figure: Has a very tiny waist and is very top-heavy.
Intrepid Reporter: Becomes this after graduating from Ashford.
I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Even if she has a crush on Lelouch, she wants Shirley to get Lelouch during Cupid's Day. One can also wonder whether she made these comments about Shirley looking perfect naked because Lelouch was here (though part of it was probably sincere.)
Joshikousei: Her outfit for most of her appearances.
Lovable Alpha Bitch: She's the most popular girl in the academy, and while she can be very pushy she has a good heart and can be very kind.
Ms. Fanservice: She's busty, loves to tease, has a form fitting uniform, and frequently wears scantily clad outfits for events around the school.
Navel-Deep Neckline: Her dress at the banquet before the arranged marriage between Prince Odysseus and Empress Tianzi has a plunging neckline that reaches her navel. She's not modest like Shirley.
Oblivious to Love: She is totally clueless about Rivalz' crush on her.
The Ojou: She's treated as royalty in the Ashford since her family runs the academy.
Secret-Keeper: She is the only Ashford student other than Suzaku who knows Lelouch and Nunnally's parentage. For most of season 1, she is also the only one (except Lelouch) who knows that Kallen is part Japanese.
Shameless Fanservice Girl: She's a Proud Beauty that likes to flaunt her looks and isn't ashamed to wear all kinds of Fanservice Costumes. During a Bathtub Bonding moment with the other girls, she even stands up in the bath to flaunt her figure, causing all the other girls to become uncomfortable.
Shower of Angst: Has one in R2, in a rare moment where she has an emotional breakdown due to fighting with Nina. Though even them it still has fanservice as only strategical arm placement along with some Censor Steam keeps her covered.
Skinship Grope: Her most frequent victim, Shirley, is unamused.
Statuesque Stunner: She's extremely tall, towering over most of the girls and is quite a looker.
Student Council President: She's the current president of the student council, usually organizing all sorts of eccentric activities, such as attempting to make the World's Largest Pizza using an outdated Humongous Mecha prototype. Her Absurdly Powerful Student Council is also justified since her family owns the school and her grandfather is the headmaster.
Supreme Chef: Milly is an excellent chef, and she's eager to find any excuse to cook or bake. As a matter of fact, she's the only person with whom Lelouch is willing to cook.
Unlucky Childhood Friend: Unlike her fellow Unlucky Childhood Friend, Shirley, she doesn't let her life revolve around her feelings for Lelouch. Of course, this is mostly because she's all but given up on Lelouch for Shirley's sake. Like Shirley, Milly isn't a very good example, meeting him only a few years before the series, after all of the most major events of his past have happened. But unlike Shirley, she actually does have a working grasp of Lelouch's past. Despite a close alliance between Lelouch's mother, Marianne, and the Ashford Family, Lelouch and Milly show no signs of recognition of each other.

Nina Einstein

Voiced by: Saeko Chiba (Japanese), Kim Mai Guest (English)

A shy student of Ashford Academy who is openly discriminatory towards the Japanese due to her past traumas. She's not all there mentally, and becomes obsessed with Princess Euphemia. In R2, she gets recruited by Schneizel and becomes one of the empire's top scientists.

Ambiguously Bi: While she openly likes women as her feelings for Euphemia attest, she doesn't express any sexual attraction towards men in the original anime. The Visual Novel Code Geass: Lost Colors, which is confirmed canon via Code Geass: Oz the Reflection, has her as one of the many romantic routes Rai can take. Since Rai is the only male she's expressed attraction to though, it's unclear if she's fully bisexual, or if she's gay and Rai is the exception.
Ambiguously Jewish: Her curly hair, her nerdy personality, and most of all her famous last name.
The Atoner: Eventually Nina does have a change of heart — as a result of seeing exactly what her brand new weapon is capable of — and sets aside her grudge to aid the very person she aimed to destroy. While she retains much of her hatred and fear of Asians, if the Grand Finale is to be believed, she's taking the first steps toward overcoming it.
Attempted Rape: In the Hotel episode. The girls of the student council (minus Kallen and Nunnally) get captured by Japanese terrorists intending to use the Sakuradite conference being held there as a stage to declare their continued existence. Nina, already terrified of Japanese people due to her backstory, goes and accidentally blurts out the (very insulting) term for them: Eleven. The terrorist who hears her grabs her, and tells her that "he'll teach her a lesson", with her friends trying to defuse the situation, strongly implying that they plan to rape and kill her. She's only saved by the timely intervention of Princess Euphemia, who uses the revelation of her identity to save Nina.
Beautiful All Along: She looked much less dorky when R2 rolled in, pulling her hair up in a ponytail instead of braiding it and using a sexy uniform with heeled boots and a really short skirt.
Be Careful What You Wish For: She screams at Suzaku to fire the F.L.E.I.J.A. and save himself when he's about to be killed by Kallen, but once his "Live" Geass forces him to actually go through with it she suffers a complete breakdown upon physically seeing what kind of mass death it can cause.
Beware the Nice Ones: Shy, sweet Nina? Invents the equivalent to a nuclear bomb and tries to blow up Tokyo in the name of avenging Princess Euphemia.
Brainy Brunette: Brunette and one of the smartest (if very socially awkward) members of the cast.
Caught with Your Pants Down: Or in her case, with her miniskirt up. Fortunately, the one who walked in was blind and too naive to notice.
Character Development: Let's just say that the Jumping Off the Slippery Slope and Heel–Face Turn entries sum it up.
Childhood Friends: She has been friends with Milly since they were little, as their grandfathers we co-workers and friends who worked together on Knightmares.
Don't You Dare Pity Me!: Nina says this to Milly in R2 when Milly tries to comfort her.
Enemy Mine: Eventually assists Lelouch, but not because she's forgiven him. She takes his side because Schneizel is just that much worse.
Expository Hairstyle Change: In R2. See also Beautiful All Along.
Freak Out: Nina did not take Euphemia's death well. She's the current page image, in fact.
Freudian Excuse: Her xenophobia stems from a traumatic incident when she was younger which she never got proper help for. Being around non-Britannians, especially "Elevens", sends her into a panic attack as a result.
Gadgeteer Genius: Using just the contents of a school science lab, she managed to build the world's first nuclear weapon. At least in theory. She wasn't sure if it would work. And it didn't the first time round, though all too horrifyingly well the third time.
Generic Cuteness: Not really ugly, but not beautiful either.
The Glasses Gotta Go: Defied. Milly says in the Picture Dramas that she's often tried to talk Nina into ditching her glasses, but she keeps refusing.
Go Mad from the Revelation: After Euphemia's death she has quite the break down from the death of her idol. It almost happens again when she sees FLEIJA's effects... but ironically, that is what brings her back to sanity. Sort of.
Gone Horribly Right: Her reaction when Suzaku sets off the FLEIJA nuke, which she created, in the midst of Tokyo, killing 35 million people clearly show that she is horrified by the "success" of her project.
Heel–Face Turn: After her second and absolutely epic Freak Out.
Heel Realization: Upon actually seeing the destruction wrought by the F.L.E.I.J.A., she realizes all her attempts at creating the ultimate weapon for Euphemia's sake were in fact the complete opposite of what she would have wanted.
Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Milly Ashford. Then again, Milly likes groping Shirley, and as for Nina ... . Maybe not so heterosexual.
I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Extra materials and a small scene in the anime shows she felt that way about Euphemia with Suzaku and her decision to create the SAZ. It all goes away when Euphemia is killed, sending her on a Roaring Rampage of Revenge.
Jumping Off the Slippery Slope: She took a huge leap from the end of season one episode 18 of R2 which meant from non-malicious prejudice against the Japanese to building superweapons for their oppressor.
Karma Houdini: Sort of; she suffers no real consequences for her role in the creation of the F.L.E.I.J.A., though this is a result of Lelouch taking the fall for everything in his Thanatos Gambit. The guilt and attempts at atonement was there however. It is also stated that she has received death threats.
Like a God to Me: Nina practically worshipped Princess Euphemia due to her genuine kindness and concern for Nina's wellbeing. Nina's case presented the negative effects of this admiration, as Euphemia's death caused her to become dangerously fanatical and violent.
Mad Scientist: Well, she managed to freak out Lloyd with her prototype nuke. Fortunately, it was temporary.
Manipulative Bitch: Not constantly, but she has a moment with Suzaku, pretty much forcing him to carry the F.L.E.I.J.A. warhead by guilt-tripping him with Euphemia's name. Considering how freaking psycho she is about Euphemia, it's actually pretty impressive that she could so calmly do such a thing.
Meaningful Name: 'Nina' means 'little', so her name basically means 'Little Einstein'. She invents the F.L.E.I.J.A. warhead, which is basically a nuke.
Must Make Amends: After the F.L.E.I.J.A. warhead destroys a good portion of Tokyo, making amends is her sole motivation.
My God, What Have I Done?: After seeing the results of F.L.E.I.J.A. in Turn 19 of R2, she has this blank look on her face as she wanders the destruction she caused.
Nightmare Face: She pulls an absolutely horrific one upon finding out Euphemia's been killed. It even provides the page image for Freak Out.
Psycho Lesbian: Her feelings for Euphemia, with a large helping of social awkwardness, make her look like a Stalker with a Crush at times. She goes full into it when Euphemia dies and Nina flips, doing horrible things in the name of Princess Euphemia and avenging her.
The Quisling: Nina, Sayoko, Lloyd, and Cécile pretend to be this under Lelouch's direction; they assisted Lelouch's Zero Requiem to achieve world peace. Since Lelouch's plans depend on being hated as the most tyrannical ruler in history, Lelouch has them defect to the Black Knights after they've accomplished their tasks — the only way to preserve their names after the war.
Roaring Rampage of Revenge: "Vengeance for Lady Euphemia!"
Sanity Slippage: Nina goes full on Yandere, to the point of showing up with a nuke to kill Zero, even though it would likely take everyone around with it, even her friends. She sounded beyond unhinged at the time, wild-eyed and shouting with grief and anger. Thankfully, it was defective...but then Nina switched to working on Applied Phlebotinum fantastic nukes. Oy.
She Cleans Up Nicely: Subverted. Fancy dresses and balls only make her even more diffident.
Shrinking Violet: Very shy and withdrawn — except during her bouts of insanity.
Stalker with a Crush: Mostly gives that impression off due to being awkward; it's more she's cripplingly shy and has no way to actually talk to Euphemia as she's a princess.
Teen Genius: To the point she invents the nuclear bomb.
There Are No Therapists: Grievance counseling? In my Britannia? Likely Schneizel kept any therapists, if there are any, from Nina as he needs her to be unhinged so as to build the FLEIJA for him.
Tomboy and Girly Girl: Nina is not all that tomboyish — not compared with, say, Kallen (when the latter isn't pretending to be Delicate and Sickly) or even the more energetic Milly — nevertheless: Nina (tomboy) and Euphemia (girly girl); Nina (tomboy) and Nunnally (girly girl); Nina (tomboy) and Shirley (girly girl).
Too Dumb to Live: She uses a racial slur against terrorists who would be glad for any excuse to shoot her. Yes, she definitely would have died if not for someone else' intervention.
TV Genius: Persons with uncommonly high IQs are often depicted in media as being extremely awkward, if not downright out of reality. That explains why Nina is so dissociated of the real world that she's unable to really measure the effects of FLEIJA.
Vocal Evolution: In the first season, her voice is higher pitched and even mousey at times, while in the second season she speaks more normally.
Yandere: Why nuclear weapons and Emotional High School Girls should not mix. Though she never turns her violent side on the object of her affection or rivals. Only the man who killed her love. Even then, she's able to collaborate with him in the end. Lelouch is so impressed that he even tells her "you're a good person".

Sayoko Shinozaki

Voiced by: Satomi Arai (Japanese), Kim Mai Guest (English)

"I serve both Zero and master Lelouch."

A Japanese maid — twenty-four years old in season one and twenty-five in season two — Sayoko is employed by the Ashford family, assigned as the caretaker for Lelouch and Nunnally when they get into Ashford Academy. Quirky, devoted, sweet and highly protective of the Lamperouge siblings, she's the closest to a mother figure that they have after Marianne's horrible death.

Ambiguously Bi: She's devoted to Lelouch and Jeremiah, but she also has no trouble shacking up with over a hundred girls while posing as Lelouch. Additionally, in R2 Episode 12 she thinks to herself that she would "like Miss Milly to catch [her]."
Action Girl: A highly skilled Ninja Maid.
Alliterative Name: Sayoko Shinozaki.
Ascended Meme: The show staff joked during the first season that she was secretly the strongest character in the series. Come season two, they decided to make it canon by having her reveal herself as a Ninja Maid who can perform astonishing acts of athleticism and casually keeps throwing darts hidden on her person.
Badass Adorable: She is very calm, polite, sweet, and motherly... and she's also a very competent and deadly Ninja Maid.
Charles Atlas Superpower: She doesn't have a muscular build yet shows great feats of strength.
Chekhov's Gunman: She's just the help, used by Lelouch to shake off his connection to Zero...but then she keeps coming back with surprises.
Covert Pervert: Her dirty thoughts, along with her ideas of male behavior (see: R2 11-12 and her diary entries), and also her general impersonation of Lelouch as she leads the student club members off his trail in R2 12.
- In one of the picture dramas, after overhearing a conversation between Lelouch and Suzaku she thought they were in a romantic relationship.
- The diary entries in the DVD booklets reveal that she discovered several of C.C.'s clothes in Lelouch's room. Her conclusion: Lelouch is into cross-dressing. In her defense, the In-Universe consensus is that he looks pretty good in a dress. In an Entertainingly Wrong variation of the Secret Secret-Keeper trope, she helped Lelouch hide his supposed peculiarities by discreetly disposing of the receipt of the mail-ordered Gothic Lolita(?) outfit C.C. used in the episodes 14-15 of the first season.
- She was also suspicious about the Incest Subtext between Lelouch and Nunnally (who isn't?) and ascribed it as the cause of his "cross-dressing outlet."
Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: This Covert Pervert maid is a frigging Ninja Maid with fighting skills rivaling Suzaku Kururugi all this time.
Heir to the Dojo: Heiress to a famous dojo with the skills to match.
In-Series Nickname: Sayoko's alias within the Black Knights, "S. S." or "S2", also counts.
Lady of War: She's quite feminine and graceful with her movements even in battle.
Latex Perfection: Shown to have facial moldings beneath the mask, but the disguise is perfect enough to convince Ashford student council members.
Master of Disguise: She can flawlessly pretend to be Lelouch.
Meido: She works as Lelouch's maid, doing domestic chores when she isn't doing ninja-maid ones.
Never Bareheaded: She's almost always seen wearing her maidly mob cap, even underneath a wig when she's posing as Lelouch. The only time she's seen not wearing it is when it falls off as she collapses from having barely escaped Schneizel's custody.
Ninja Maid: The trope picture, even. Although when Rolo calls her a ninja, she corrects him, and calls herself an SP — a reference to Japan's Police division dedicated to bodyguard duties, itself heavily based on the American Secret Service. She just happens to have weapons similar to those a ninja would use.
Parental Substitute: She is the closest thing Lelouch and Nunnally have to a mother-figure in the main narrative.
Secret-Keeper: Zero casually shows her his real face during the Black Knights' exile; she's clearly happy that the two men commanding her loyalty ended up being the same person.
Silk Hiding Steel: It overlaps with her being a Ninja Maid at times, but she definitely is one. So calm and polite and deceptive and deadly.
Undying Loyalty: Even after the other Black Knights turn against Lelouch, she remains loyal to him.

Rivalz Cardemonde

Voiced by: Noriaki Sugiyama (Japanese), Brian Beacock (English)

One of Lelouch's friends, who usually just drives him around to gambling matches before the events of the series. He's the most ordinary of the student council, with at least half of them being involved in war in some manner.

Best Friend: To Lelouch, although it's almost an Informed Attribute since the series doesn't put much focus on their friendship.
Birds of a Feather: Both he and Lelouch have issues with their respective fathers. This is hinted to be the reason why Lelouch stopped to help Rivalz out of a tight spot and ended up becoming friends.
Bromantic Foil: To Lelouch, who's cool and detached while Rivalz is awkward and overly emotional.
Butt-Monkey: Nothing goes well for him. At least in his case it's pure comedy.
Cool Sidecar: Lelouch indirectly convinced Rivalz to trade up his previous bike for his "BMC RR-1200" from the anime. The anecdote comes from the time they first met when Lelouch saved Rivalz from losing a lot of money over a chess game. Rivalz offered Lelouch a ride to the school as thanks, but he refused because he didn't like the idea of hanging onto another guy's back, which reminded Rivalz of the Cool Sidecar he was considering to buy with his winnings.
Dwindling Party: By the end of the series, everyone on the student council has moved onto loftier ambitions and/or are dead. Lelouch, Kallen, and Suzaku are all fighting in war (and with each other, unbeknownst to them initially), Nina was recruited as one of the empire's top scientists, Milly has graduated to becoming a news anchor, and Shirley ends up dying at the hands of Rolo, leaving Rivalz all by his lonesome.
The Generic Guy: There's nothing really special about him, being a normal Ordinary High-School Student. Lampshaded by himself near the end of the series, where Rivalz is disappointed at the fact that most of his close friends have been involved in something interesting while he's still just a student at school.
Hopeless Suitor: He has a huge crush on Milly, but she doesn't return his feelings.
I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Invoked by Rivalz during a school event, when he resolves to snatch Lelouch's hat and give it to Milly.
I Was Just Passing Through: In Stage 0.916, Rivalz was about to lose more money he could pay back over a game of chess. The other player, a nobleman, made fun of him for it and even raised the stakes by promising to crawl around the table three times and bark if Rivalz somehow managed to turn the game from his losing position. This caught a nearby Lelouch's attention who offered to take Rivalz's place at the board and naturally ended up winning. Afterwards Rivalz asked him why he helped a random guy from school out of a tight spot like that, and Lelouch said he just wanted to see a spoiled nobleman bark. He also pocketed half of Rivalz's winnings to further prove his point.
Nice Guy: While he does exhibit some Britannian ideals, he's at least not as bad about it as Nina is, and is otherwise pretty kind to everyone.
Nom de Mom: The Audio Drama Stage 0.916: The Black King reveals that Rivalz goes by his mother's maiden name "Cardemonde" because he's on bad terms with his father.
Non-Action Guy: He has no fighting capabilities as a normal civilian.
Ordinary High-School Student: He actually Lampshades this trope when the Black Knights are storming the school, and he attempts to stand up to them, saying "I want to do something cool." And again in the very last episode, where he laments that his friends are out fighting for the fate of the world while he sits on his butt doing nothing.
Plucky Comic Relief: He's usually only around for the lighter, humorous moments at Ashford Acadamy, and unlike other students hardly has any actual dramatic moments.
Satellite Character: Basically the only important thing Rivalz does is drive Lelouch to his gambling games, which kicks off the start of the series. After that, nothing he does matters to the plot.
Student Council President: Became the president of the student council after Milly departed. Unfortunately, everyone else on the Student Council is gone as well.
Unlucky Everydude: So very unlucky he can't even gain the affections of the girl he's crushing on.

Arthur

A mischievous cat that was originally befriended by Euphemia before wandering onto Ashford Academy, where she was adopted by the Student Council.

In R2, she was adopted by Suzaku for a while before she returns to Ashford.

Cat Stereotype: Fits the "stubborn and friendly" version of the black cat stereotype.
From Stray to Pet: Was originally a stray before being found by Euphemia, then wandering into Ashford Academy.
Gender-Blender Name: In the original Japanese, she's female, but has a masculine name.
Gender Flip: Is female in the original Japanese, but male in the English dub.
Running Gag: She likes to bite Suzaku. It's speculated that she does it more out of affection than malice. Her saving Suzaku from being shot at the end of Season 1 and her lying forlornly on Suzaku's grave at the end of R2 seem to confirm this.
Team Pet: Forms the comic relief version of this trope to the Student Council.

Characters / Code Geass - Ashford Academy

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Characters / Code Geass - Ashford Academy

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