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In General
- A Lighter Shade of Grey: While ostensibly part of Britannia, they value honor and the safety of civilians much more than the homeland, both their own and the people of Europia. They are also shown to be not as racist as the homeland, as they allow Shin Hyūga Shaing, an "Eleven", to become the grandmaster of the Knights of St. Michael after the believed suicide of his mentor.
- Defector from Decadence: Implied. Julius Kingsley accuses the Grand Duke of desiring to declare independence from Britannia, and claims to have been sent by the Emperor in part to prevent that from happening. Shin's failed coup d'etat in turn causes the Grand Duke to lament that the homeland will now be more involved in Euro-Britannian affairs. Code Geass: Oz the Reflection also has Schneizel send in the Glinda Knights to, publicly, aid the warefront, but secretly investigate the Euro-Britannian leadership for potential acts of treason.
Augusta Henry Highland
Voiced by: Takayuki Sugo (Japanese), Jason Douglas (English)
- Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: He is someone who highly values honor and protecting the people, so when Julius Kingsley's plan deliberately puts civilians in danger, he refuses to abide it. Unfortunately for him, as Kingsley wields the Imperial Scepter, his word is considered that of the Emperor, so he has the Grand Duke arrested for treason and takes control himself.
Knights of Euro-Britannia
In General
- Minor Major Character: While they're supposed to be some of the most important individuals in Euro-Britannia, they matter little overall in the grand scheme of things, two of them even being Killed Offscreen by Shin as part of his coup d'etat.
Knights of St. Michael
Michele Manfredi
Voiced by: Kenta Miyake (Japanese), Chris Rager (English)
- Alliterative Name: Michele Manfredi.
- Anti-Villain: Although nominally part of the Britannian elite, Michele seems genuinely nice, and holds Shin's Eastern heritage in high regard instead of disdain, remarking that he considers Shin as a brother and a likely successor in becoming the Grandmaster of the Knights of St. Michael in five years. Too bad Shin has other plans...
- Authority Equals Asskicking: He's the former Knight of Two and had one of the fiercest Knightmares ever built custom-ordered for himself before his demise. That Shin would then go on to use for himself.
- Informed Attribute: He's said to be a former Knight of the Round, implying he was one of Britannia's greatest warriors. While his own Knightmare, which would be claimed by Shin and redubbed the Vercingetorix, is shown to be a terrifying weapon, he never gets to pilot it himself, instead being killed in his only living appearance, with all subsequent appearances being restricted to being a spirit.
- We Hardly Knew Ye: Manfredi gets about three minutes of screentime before being compelled into suicide by Shin.
Shin Hyūga Shaing
Voiced by: Masaya Matsukaze, Junko Minagawa (child) (Japanese), Alex Organ, Terri Doty (child) (English)
The Big Bad of Code Geass: Akito the Exiled and said hero's half-brother. Coming from fallen nobility (after killing his own family no less), Shaing is a born opportunist and manipulator - aided by his own Geass, no less, who has risen through the ranks of the Knights of St. Michael with both his skills and unscrupulous methods, to say the least. Despite his station, he's hungry with ambition - and brimming with utter madness.
- Abel And Cain: Akito and Shin are brothers and are trying to kill one another.
- Ace Custom: He pilots the 7th Generation Knightmare custom-built for Michel Manfredi, the Sagramore, renamed Vercingetorix. Which comes with a set of ludicrously strong custom weaponry like a chainsaw axe, a one-handed Grenade Launcher and a Blaze Luminous Sword, on top of the mech being built with all terrains in mind by not relying on Knightmare Spinners for movement by moving like a centaur with the jumping power of a cricket relative to it's size.
- Aloof Big Brother: Most likely played straight in the case of Akito. Zig-Zagged in the case of his adopted sister Alice, since he treats her nicely and is even engaged to her, but episode 4 shows that he is more than perfectly willing to geass her into suicide. On the other hand, when he sees her ghost, he says that he wants to meet her, and prepares to kill himself to prove it.
- Ax-Crazy: It seems that craziness runs in the blood. Like with Akito, his mental health is really not in the best condition due to effects of Geass. His own, that is.
- Big Bad: Of Akito the Exiled, he's the primary threat for Akito and Leila. However, as shown below, he only manages to keep his position over Julius Kingsley not because he outplays him, but because Charles's Geass wore off.
- Big Bad Wannabe: In the grand scheme of things. His grand plans include bombing Pendragon, assassinating Charles and pretty much burning the world to cinders, but the third OVA showcases him to be easily outplayed by Julius Kingsley, himself a literal puppet of the Emperor. It's plain obvious his plan was doomed to fail from the start.
- Bling-Bling-BANG!: His Knightmare Frame, Vercingetorix, is colored mostly gold.
- Brainwashed and Crazy: The price for his Geass was apparently his sanity. Every now and then, his true persona bleeds through, but as the series progresses, he becomes more unhinged and repeatedly takes more self-destructive actions - even nearly, randomly committing suicide in the woods. After Jean fatally wounds him, his Geass disappears and he's returned to his old self, revealing that he wasn't in control of his own mind for a very, very long time.
- Chainsaw Good: His Vercingetorix wields an enormous axe of rapidly rotating gears that acts as something like this, capable of cutting clean through Knightmare limbs.
- Compelling Voice: To a greater degree than Lelouch. While he apparently still needs eye contact, one look is all he needs to command people as his willing slaves. This is seen as he geassed Akito with eye contact in a flashback, but in episode 4 while Akito is inside his mech, Shin is capable of commanding him to try and kill Leila. While all on-screen uses of his geass imply that he can only order death-related commands, it is also implied that Shin may have geassed his way to attain his position.
- Contrasting Sequel Antagonist: Is this to Schneizel. In Fact, Shin's ethos is much closer to Schneizel's one, who has a calm and reassuring side (he proves it many times to Euphemia and then Nunally, just as Shin does it with his adoptive family) but who's in reality devoid of emotions and ready to killing his loved ones in the manner of Shin (by bombarding Pendragon where most members of the Britannian Imperial Family are, then shooting down Cornelia with a machine gun and finally abandoning Nunnally and Lelouch in the Damocles on the verge of self-destruction). Moreover, even if Schneizel pursues goals radically opposed to those of Shin, namely a perpetual peace in the world, while Shin wants war and chaos, the means by which Schneizel wants to reach this peace (the bombing of 23 inhabited places around the world with F.L.E.I.J.A. warheads) are close to the death and destruction desired by Shin.
- Dark and Troubled Past: Implied in flashes to have this.
- Dead Person Conversation: In episode 4, with his biological mother, as well as Manfredi, Maria and Alice, his adopted brother, mother and sister respectively.
- Deal with the Devil: Unlike the other characters, he didn't make a contract with a Code bearer for a Geass, but was instead "gifted" one with a very malevolent entity. No doubt his insanity was the price for it.
- Death Seeker: His conversation with the above-mentioned ghosts suggests that he wants to die. He even tries to commit suicide with his sword when they convinced him to "come to them." Even his goal, to bring death and chaos to the world, can be seen as him trying to kill himself in the most destructive way possible.
- Doomed by Canon: We know that the Emperor is alive and kicking at season two of Code Geass so he is bound to fail.
- Dying as Yourself: It's only after he's been fatally wounded by Jean that he recovers from his madness, as he tells Akito to live on with the ones who still love him while he joins his loved ones in death.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Crazy and nihilistic as he is, Shin genuinely loves his adoptive family, as well as Akito. This is incorporated in the mechanics of his Geass, which gives him the ability to order the people he loves to kill themselves or others, meaning that it primarily works so long as he has some love for the target he uses it on. The main reason it didn't work on Leila besides her subconsciously activating her own Geass to cancel his out when he tried it on her was due to his contempt for her and her ideals.
- Evil Counterpart: To Lelouch and Suzaku. Maybe also Akito, considering they are brothers, similarity in appearance, mecha and ax-craziness, which Akito grows out from in episode 4.
- Foreshadowing: Shin Hyuga Shaing. Helps that he looks like an older, long-haired version of Akito. His dialogue with Suzaku during the assassination attempt on him and Julius Kingsley who is revealed to be the amnesiac Lelouch later shows Suzaku's fame as the White Reaper among the EU and his true nature that is later shown throughout R2 and later from the F.L.E.I.J.A explosion of the Tokyo Settlement to Zero Requiem that was impacted by Euphemia's death and the unintended assassination of his father Genbu Kururugi.
- Had to Be Sharp: And boy was he. Most of the Euro-Britannian nobility and especially his superior Manfredi has come to see Shin's Eleven heritage as him being a purebred warrior than anything like a mark of shame because of Shin's competence.
- Happily Adopted: He loved his foster mother Maria and her daughter Alice as much as they loved him. Unfortunately his insanity...
- Impossibly Cool Weapon: His transforming centaur-esque Knightmare Frame in general, but whatever his Vercingetorix is holding takes the cake.
- Interrupted Suicide: He nearly kills himself with his sword in episode 4 to be with his loved ones. He is stopped by Jean, one of his loyal followers.
- I See Dead People: Implied to be the side effects of his geass. He seems to be seeing the ghosts of people he had killed with his Geass, or even dead people in general. When combined with Leila's Geass, he manages to see not only the spirits of the Wyvern Squad members from Akito's original unit, but the spirits of all the people he's killed and those of the living members of W-0, all trying to stop him from killing Akito.
- Kill the Ones You Love: The true effects of his geass. Shin can make anyone under its control commit suicide, but one of the primary conditions is that he care about them on some level. This is out of a belief that living is painful, and his geass reflecting that by granting them peace in death. The only reason it didn't work on Akito wasn't because he didn't care for him, but because Akito was too young to understand the concept of death.
- Laser Blade: When his mech's axe is lost, he pulls out the only one of these seen in the entire franchise. Even the Knight of One's sword is only a vibrating nanoblade, meaning Shaing really pulled some strings to acquire it.
- Light Is Not Good: His main outfit is white but his heart is as black as they come.
- Long-Haired Pretty Boy: He has long hair.
- Magical Eye: Complete with a Lelouch-style draw to his arm when he uses it.
- Mask of Sanity: Although he hides his mental state well, episode 4 shows him seeing the ghosts of his biological mom and his adoptive family members. He tells the former to go away and states he loves the latter. This is after he had them kill themselves using Geass and doing it with a smile on his face. Though said ghosts turn out to be real, he is genuinely insane.
- My Nayme Is: While it's spelled Shaing (with an i), his name is pronounced as the more Chinese-traditional Shang.
- "Not So Different" Remark: He states that both him and Suzaku wish to unleash hell and suffering upon the world.
- Omnicidal Maniac: Episode 4 reveals that he wants to spread death and destruction through killing the Emperor of Britannia.
- Sanity Slippage: While he's not the picture of good mental health at the start, he's shown to have some sanity at the beginning, only really using his Geass to progress towards his goal. Around the time he kills his adoptive family is when he really takes a nosedive. It's strongly implied that this is the true price of his Geass.
- Self-Made Orphan: The ghost of his biological mother implies Shin killed both her and his father. A flashback during the final episode confirms this and why he did so.
- Smart Ball: Not only does he figure out that Julius Kingsley is Zero because of their similar personalities, mannerisms, and methodsnote , but he's the only person in the entire Code Geass franchise to date who recognized Lelouch as the disowned 11th Prince.
- Superpower Lottery: His Geass is arguably even more useful than Lelouch's and his father's. Too bad it seems to come with a price.
- Sword and Gun: In addition to his chainsaw-axe thing, his mech utilizes a one-handed grenade launcher during his assault on the Weisswolf castle to destroy static defenses as he passes through the forest.
- Transforming Mecha: His Vercingetorix, like the Alexander, is capable of transforming between a bi-pedal humanoid form and a quadrupedal form that runs on four legs instead of using the usual Knightmare Spinners, making it less prone to disadvantages in terrain.
- The Usurper: Moments after his introduction, Shin forces the leader of the Knights of St. Michael, Michele Manfredi, to kill himself, solely to take over the group. It is clear that is not the limit of his ambitions, either, as episode 4 shows.
Jean Rowe
Voiced by: Mariya Ise (Japanese), Jad Saxton (English)
- Ace Pilot: She puts up one hell of a fight against Suzaku and the Lancelot with a (considerably inferior) custom Gloucester. She's soundly beaten, but all the same, Suzaku hasn't had to work that hard for a victory since fighting Kallen last.
- Bodyguarding a Badass: Lampshaded in Episode 2. She offers to give Shin cover fire as he retreats from the battlefield, which he scoffs at as his Knightmare is more than a match for anything the EU can throw at him. The look on her face indicates that she's fully aware of this, but she still wanted to do it for him.
- Can't Bathe Without a Weapon: She's Crazy-Prepared enough to keep a gun with her while she's taking a Shower of Angst.
- Cold Sniper: Her Gladius comes with a large sniper rifle.
- The Dragon: Shaing's right-hand woman and confidant. Or least as much of one as he'll allow her.
- Early-Bird Cameo: She first appears with Shin in the ending credits of the first episode, but doesn't make her appearance in the story until Episode 2.
- Fiery Redhead: Zigzagged. She's mostly calm and stoic, but becomes fierce when it comes to Shin.
- Full-Frontal Assault: When Ashley (who had turned traitor) surprises her in the shower, she draws a gun at him.
- Gender-Blender Name: She changed her given name of "Jeanne" to "Jean" in order to fit in with the other knights.
- Kill the Ones You Love: She kills Shin at the cost of her own life.
- Nerves of Steel: Doesn't even flinch when Ashley plays his deadly game of Russian Roulette on her.
- Redemption Equals Death: She gives up her life to stop Shin from killing Akito while also dealing him a fatal gunshot wound, finally freeing Shin from his madness in the process.
- Subordinate Excuse: It becomes rather blindingly obvious pretty quickly that she is deeply in love with Shin and would do anything for him. Becomes an Exploited Trope in the final episode when Ayano sympathizes with her and manages to talk her out of her total blind devotion to Shin and his insane plans to plunge the world into endless war, convincing her that if she really loves Shin, she will free him from his madness.
- Taking the Bullet: In the final episode, she jumps in front of Akito right before Shin can stab him, taking the fatal blow. At the same time, she draws her pistol and fatally shoots Shin.
Ashley Ashra
Voiced by: Takuma Terashima (Japanese), Joel McDonald (English)
- Alliterative Name: Ashley Ashra.
- Ax-Crazy: When he's first introduced; turns out to not be exactly true but he's pretty fierce in battle.
- Big Eater: Spends almost an entire scene eating a lot of sandwiches in episode 5. Then when he goes to talk to Jean, he eats her rations.
- Blood Knight: This guy loves war and violence. Sitting still for him is not an option. Unlike most examples though, he's not a malicious sociopath and actually can be decent and caring fellow.
- Defector from Decadence: After Smilas' death, like Akito, Leila and the rest of the Wyvern squad, he and his still living subordinates defect from the army and joins them in living with the old gypsy ladies.
- A Father to His Men: He cares greatly for all his subordinates and does not take their deaths well. He chose to go on a solo mission to avenge one and not let the others die in the crossfire. He saves them from Gene Smilas later on, and invites them to join him for retirement, which they gladly accept.
- Foil: Serves as one to fellow redhead Luciano Bradley, one of the Knights of the Round also known for his Ax-Crazy personality and love for war and killing. While Luciano is devoid of any redeeming trait whatsoever, Ashley is shown to cared deeply for his subordinates and due to Johannes's sacrifice, as the OVA goes he underwent Character Development into a genuinely good guy.
- Gender-Blender Name: Though it is a male name too, it's more commonly used as a girl's name in the present.
- Genki Guy: Not at first, but starting at the end of episode 4 his Hot-Blooded cheerful nature and ease of befriending former enemies comes through.
- Heel–Face Turn: After being betrayed by Shin, he joins the Wyvern Squad and works alongside Akito.
- Ignore the Fanservice: When Jean points a gun at him completely naked, he just ignores her and continues talking to her.
- Large Ham: Has his moments with his loud voice.
- Mistreatment-Induced Betrayal: After Shin tries to kill him alongside Akito and his friends, he sides with Akito and gives them valuable knowledge.
- More Dakka: In chapter 4, Ashra manages to outdo the Gundam Heavyarms with his Knightmare Frame by carrying two cannons, each with three rotating cannons, each paired with FOUR CANNONS. That's 24 cannons raining bullets! And that doesn't even count his backup firearms.
- My God, What Have I Done?: If his later actions are anything to go by, Ashley likely realized that it was partially his recklessness that got Johannes killed, prompting him to hunt down Akito alone, so as to ensure none of his remaining men will be killed. It also certainly explains Ashley's determination to kill Akito, so great that Ashley holds no regard for his own life.
- Not Distracted by the Sexy: He strikes up a conversation with Jean, who was in the middle of a shower, completely unbothered by the latter's nakedness. Happens again when he catches a topless Ayano cleaning herself and is similarly unbothered, the act of which clearly annoys Ayano, in one of the Picture Dramas.
- Red Is Heroic: After his Heel–Face Turn, his Alexander Red Ogre.
- Slasher Smile: His default facial expression. He keeps a creepy smile on even when in danger, losing it only when one of his men sacrificed himself.
Asura Strike Force
- Taking the Bullet: Johannes jumps in front of Ashley to save him from being fatally impaled by Akito. His death is what drives Ashley to go after the Wyvern Squad for revenge.
- Undying Loyalty: They're extremely loyal to their leader, Ashley, and would follow him to the very end. So when Ashley decides to desert the military and join the gypsies with the rest of Wyvern Squad, they join him.
Knights of St. Raphael
Andrea Farnese
Voiced by: Takehito Koyasu (Japanese), Aaron Roberts (English)
- Due to the Dead: Orders the honorable burial of their fallen after their defeat at Narva.
- Impractically Fancy Outfit: Though he commands from the rear, the collar of the robe he wears is large enough that one would think he'd have trouble seeing over it.
- Know When to Fold 'Em: Refuses to commit more troops to destroy the remnants of W-0, instead retreating.
- Sole Survivor: He's the last remaining Grand Master after Shin's failed coup d'etat.
Civilians
Maria Shaing
Voiced by: Mamiko Noto (Japanese), Jamie Marchi (English)
A Euro Britannian noblewoman and the mother of Alice, she is also the adoptive mother of Shin Hyuga Shaing.
- Blue Blood: A noble of Euro-Britannia
- Died Happily Ever After: Neither she nor Alice hated Shin for murdering them.
- Good Parents: She was this to Shin despite not knowing about his true mental state. Even after death, she did her best along with the spirits of Alice, Manfredi, and Shin's birth mother to persuade him not to kill Akito and was crucial in bringing Shin back to his senses.
- Like a Son to Me: Maria loved Shin just like he was her own despite him not being Britannian or her son by birth.
- Offing the Offspring: She and Alice kill each other simultaneously due to Shin's Geass.
Alice Shaing
Voiced by: Kaori Ishihara (Japanese), Bryn Apprill (English)
Maria Shaing's daughter and the fiancee of her adopted brother Shin Hyuga Shaing.
- Blue Blood: A young noble of Euro-Britannia
- Died Happily Ever After: Neither she nor Maria hated Shin for murdering them. She lampshades this in the final episode.
- Disappeared Dad: Alice's father is never mentioned; it's implied Maria has been a widow as far back as when she adopted Shin as a child.
- Kill the Cutie: She's so sweet it hurts when Shin kills her with his Geass.
- Morality Pet: It's implied by how Shin interacts with her she's this; when he ultimately does kill her, he fully starts slipping into madness.
- Nice Girl: She's adorably sweet.
