History Characters / CodeGeassLelouchLamperouge

* AntiHero[=/=]AntiVillain: Depending on how you look at him, he's either an exceptionally brutal UnscrupulousHero or a WellIntentionedExtremist with TragicVillain overtones.

* HeroWithBadPublicity: Fights the good fight, even if via some questionable methods, and has to put up with bad Britannia press for it. [[spoiler: Lelouch's plan for a better world, in the end, involves receiving bad publicity as part of an elaborate GenghisGambit.]]

* CelibateHero: He has a few love interests (mainly Shirley, Kallen, and C.C.), he does not pursue any of them romantically in the show, out of necessity given his profession. As for his heroism, his rebellion has its roots in providing a safe and properous future for his youngest sister, his friends and others that are threatened by Britiania's method-of-operation. Thus, his goals are heroic and/or sympathetic and he has standards that he is (initially) unwilling to discard.

* CelibateHero: He has a few love interests (mainly Shirley, Kallen, and C.C.), he does not pursue any of them romantically in the show, out of necessity given his profession.

* TheHero: Despite his many flaws and morally ambiguous nature, his rebellion has its roots in providing a safe and properous future for his youngest sister, his friends and others that are threatened by Britiania's method-of-operation. Thus, his goals are heroic and/or sympathetic and he has standards that he is (initially) unwilling to discard.

* WouldHitAGirl: His most infamous example of this was [[spoiler:shooting and killing Euphemia when she goes on a killing spree due to being controlled by the Geass.]]

* KickTheSonOfABitch: [[spoiler: It's obviously played as Lelouch heading down the slippery slope, it's just that his victims weren't exactly very nice people, given what they are responsible for. Even the test subjects, who could be considered victims, are able to and feel no compunctions, nor hesitation, about forcing some of their attackers to kill each other.]]

* CharClone: A RebelPrince of the story's antagonistic nation wearing a mask to hide his identity who seeks to destroy the ruling family that betrayed him and his little sister. In fact, if you look at through this trope, ''Anime/CodeGeass'' literally becomes yet another ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam'' [[TheRemake reimagining]] following Char instead of Amuro (Suzaku). One of the scenarios in ''VideoGame/{{Super Robot Wars Z}}2: Saisei-Hen'' even has fellow AntiVillain Char Clones [[Anime/MobileSuitGundamWing Milliardo Peacecraft]] and [[Anime/MobileSuitGundam00 Mr. Bushido]] team up with him based on their shared character traits.

* HasAType: Many of Lelouch's love interests have been red-heads. There's Shirley, who has pursued Lelouch throughout the entirety of the show, Euphemia, and Kallen. Euphemia is one of two members of the Britannian royal family that Lelouch doesn't want dead - the other being his sister Nunnally - and [[spoiler: when Lelouch was forced to [[ShootTheDog shoot her]]]], he admitted that Euphemia was his "first love". While Lelouch has acknowledged Shirley's feelings and reciprocates, he is unable to respond to them properly due to the ItsNotYouItsMyEnemies he has going on at the moment. Kallen's feelings for him are clear, but he [[BreakHisHeartToSaveHim pushes her away]] to keep her from getting caught up in [[FatalAttractor all the shit that happens to the people he loves]].

* ILetGwenStacyDie:
** [[spoiler:Shirley's death marks the beginning of the end of Lelouch's sanity, and is one of the leading causes of the events of the rest of the series, including Zero Requiem.]]
** In the compoilation movies, [[spoiler:this is subverted, as Shirley is SparedByTheAdaptation]].

* CelibateHero: If only out of necessity thanks to his chosen profession.

* ChickMagnet: [[MysteriousWaif C.C.]], [[{{Tsundere}} Kallen]], [[WideEyedIdealist Shirley]], [[AllLovingHero Euphemia]] (he says she was the first girl he ever loved as well), [[ChivalrousPervert Milly]], [[TokenMiniMoe Kaguya]] and 120-something unnamed girls from the school. He is extremely intelligent, polite, nice, good-looking and extremely rich so it's not just his dad's genes (The Emperor has 108 wives).

* GuiltComplex: It's partly what leads to such actions as [[spoiler: the Zero Requiem]].

* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler: He turns himself into the most hated person in the world, therefore disgracing his name for all of human history with no one besides a few knowing his true intentions, so that the world will come together against him and no longer hate each other when he dies.]]

* SelfMadeOrphan: [[spoiler: After finding out what ''both'' of his parents truly believed in. Yes, after spending 90% of the series trying to find out who killed his mother, he winds up doing it himself.]]

* SensitiveGuyAndManlyMan: When they first met during their childhood, Lelouch really was the sensitive one, while Suzaku was the ruffian. It was the subsequent occupation of Japan by Britannia that supposedly inverted things, with Lelouch becoming more vengeful and embittered, and Suzaku, [[spoiler:who was responsible for killing Genbu but never being punished for it]], becoming neurotic and attempting to be even more mild-mannered and chivalrous. Though of course, cracks in their respective facades would show throughout the series.

* NinetiesAntiHero: With all the qualities of being a badass, jerk with a heart of gold, caring, ruthless, and willing to reach his goals by killing anyone standing in his way puts him as a candidate of this trope. Subverted in Akito when he was brainwashed by wearing black with an eye patch while briefly being a villain for the time being only to break free from it. Even as an Emperor, he shows most of it achieving his true goal in the end.

* {{Determinator}}: He's is willing to ''anything'' to ensure a better world for Nunnally.

%%* AwesomeMomentOfCrowning: [[spoiler:"ALL HAIL LELOUCH, 99th EMPEROR OF BRITANNIA!!"]]

%%* BattleOfWits: Par for the course.

%%* TheBeautifulElite
%%* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: His Geass. And his plans in general.

%%* BigScrewedUpFamily: Where the whole mess starts.

%%* TheDandy

%%* DarkMessiah: To the core.

%%* DramaticHighPerching: In the first season TitleSequence. Actually, he likes the high ground a lot.

%%* ElCidPloy: As part of [[spoiler:Zero Requiem]].
* TheEmperor: [[spoiler:The 99th Emperor of Britannia.]]

%%* ImpossiblyCoolClothes: [[TheDandy As a civilian]], and also [[LargeHam as Zero]]. Zero's helmet-mask is particularly cool and equally impossible.

%%* TheKirk: To C.C.'s [[TheSpock Spock]] and Kallen's [[TheMccoy McCoy]].

%%* LaserGuidedKarma: Arguable. See DesignatedMonkey entry.

* LoopholeAbuse: Twice. First, in Turn 8 of R2, when given an order of exile from Japan as Zero, he averts a crisis by having the rest of the Black Knights, along with a million other Japanese natives, dress up as Zero, and joining him in the exile, and freeing them to take their fight against Britannia to the world stage. Towards the end, [[spoiler:he stops the immortal and Geass-immune Charles from activating Ragnarok by Geassing the collective unconsciousness into carrying out its own wish to continue existence, which it carries out by obliterating both Charles and Marianne.]]

* MilkingTheGiantCow: Takes this to memetic '''[[color:red:Fa]][[color:orange:b]][[color:yellow:u]][[color:green:l]][[color:blue:o]][[color:purple:us]]''' levels.
%% Zero context* MillionairePlayboy: Is perceived as this as part of his SecretIdentity.

%%* MoleInCharge: [[spoiler:As Emperor Lelouch.]]

%%* MyHeroZero: Well, he ''is'' Zero.

%%* ParanoiaGambit: One word: "Orange".

%%%* SelfSacrificeScheme: Zero Requiem. See also ThanatosGambit.

%%* SilentScapegoat: Zero Requiem.

%%* TheSocialExpert: He's '''very''' good at manipulating people thanks to this.

%%* TemptingFate: Constantly. See also NothingCanStopUsNow, above.

* HeroesWantRedheads: Many of Lelouch's love interests have been red-heads. There's Shirley, who has pursued Lelouch throughout the entirety of the show, Euphemia, and Kallen. Euphemia is one of two members of the Britannian royal family that Lelouch doesn't want dead - the other being his sister Nunnally - and [[spoiler: when Lelouch was forced to [[ShootTheDog shoot her]]]], he admitted that Euphemia was his "first love". While Lelouch has acknowledged Shirley's feelings and reciprocates, he is unable to respond to them properly due to the ItsNotYouItsMyEnemies he has going on at the moment. Kallen's feelings for him are clear, but he [[BreakHisHeartToSaveHim pushes her away]] to keep her from getting caught up in [[FatalAttractor all the shit that happens to the people he loves]].

* TokenEnemyMinority: He's Britannian, specifically of RoyalBlood, and he ''leads'' [[LaResistance The Black Knights]] that are trying to overthrow Britannia and liberate Japan. For most of the series, the only other Britannian member was Diethard.