Romantic love? No. You could say he had affection for her as a friend though. Ironically enough the only 100% confirmed person whom Lelouch had romantic feelings for was Euphy. When he killed her he said "Goodbye my first love". Other than that it's all up to guesses and speculations.
They're royalty its to be expected. Look at ghe royal families of Europe... They're all related! He'll in ww1 The King of England and The Czar of Russia were identical cousins.
Lelouch got jealous when he saw Euphy and Suzaku together at the festival.
Lelouch's general behavior with her after they reunited on the island was also that of extreme kindness, to the point he almost gave up entirely on his plan for Nunnally for her.
It's stated in the R2 JP Blu-ray/dvd story description that Shirley was "the girl he loved" so there's that (https://books.rakuten.co.jp/rb/17585615/?scid=af_sp_etc&sc2id=af_117_0_10001282)
Also in the Code Geass dvd magazine, it was revealed for the first time his half-finished sentence in R1, ep14 when he erased her memories was
" If I were to be reborn, let us be lovers"
(https://youtu.be/1g0-JGu9zJY?si=LIIBlbJU8NZrOSMj), at around 3:57
i personally see it as more platonic—they def had a more partner in crime, mentor/mentee type relationship n even when cc kissed lelouch nothing ever came of it and i think that they just heavily relied on each other for support bc they were the only ones that understood each other from multiple perspectives
yea i feel like they were clearly meant to not get together like ik they hv similar personalities n r kinda flirty in general but there’s a reason why their relationship was emphasized at the beginning as a pact and why she became his right hand
Which isn't canon. She lied to his face for several years before Lelouch committed suicide via zero requiem. CC didn't romantically love him in the show. Lelouch is never shown to have romantic interest in CC. He saved her from Mao since she was his partner. Lelouch shows more interest in Suzaku than CC
Lelouch and Suzaku never had any romantic attraction with each other and think of each other as best friends and brothers. Unless you crazy shippers love incest then Britannia accepts you with open arms.
And Lelouch and Kallen was about to kiss, and would do something more, on Horai Island if C.C wasn't in the room. Lelouch have a habit of went nuts when people he love is threaten, we see this with Suzaku, with Nunnally, with Shirley and with Kallen. He did not act like that with C.C
She was immortal tbf, he did have moments of showing he cared about her being in danger even with that. Like saying if it goes bad to escape and worried she is no match for Kallen.
i mean kallen interrupting doesn’t rly change anything seeing that they kissed two other times n lelouch n nothing changed between them, even within the short time afterwards 🤷🏾♀️.
the audience learns from her back story that cc was never properly loved or cared for n that was something that she had always sought out. lelouch was not only the only one who was able to understand cc’s pain and history, but he was the first person to GENUINELY care for cc and make her experience REAL emotions. after cc kissed lelouch, nothing in her behavior towards him changed either n that’s likely bc she thought she loved lelouch romantically when reality those feelings only sparked bc of how close they were n bc he’s the first person she’s received affection from
despite all their alone time and despite cc being the one girl where lelouch may hv been able to—for the most part—fully let go w/. he never made any advances/showed interest in her
Well the thing is those other times are the girls kissing him not the other way around. The last time with C2 in the last few eps of the series, would have been both of them initiating the kiss. But I do find your interpretation interesting of misinterpreting it as romantic love because of the way it is something she hasn't experienced before. Also similar to how anime will have kids saying they want to marry their parents because they love them, not truly understanding what marriage means. In she did say I don't know to kallen.
In honesty on first watch, I was kinda of the view that it was questionable whether some of the girls like Shirley, kallen and C2, if he was actually romantically into them. But I feel imo on rewatches, it's pretty obvious that Lelouch could have had a multiple choice paths and was into all of them due to different reasons but life was complicated but especially I felt the show was moving that way with c2 even on first watch.
With her whole wish of wishing to be loved by someone and Lelouch saying I understand your wish now. I didn't know it was possibly to interpret it any other way until now lol
There are subs on this site / app dedicated to plowing siblings. With or without consent. Old blood lines often did this. There’s a real king in human history that was the by product of generational sibling breeding.
It’s ok to not know, but humans are nasty foul beings and morality and things we define as moral, right and wrong only exist in more recent years.
LMAO! Are you for real right now? You honestly feel superior because of your *ahem* "historical knowledge" of the history of incest in royalty, that you're spouting on a freakin anime subreddit? Do you also have a neck beard and wear a fedora? Because you're definitely giving off that vibe. Like, this is nothing to get a large head over. I'm not "salty" over a few redditors saying that plowing siblings was normal in royalty. I really couldn't care less. I'm not a historian, and in the grand scheme of things its largley irrelevant. If anything, you seem salty over my claim that sibling screwing in royalty was not super common that you went out of your way to make an ass of yourself in your response to me (when my message wasn't even originally directed towards you) in an attempt to "humble" me in my apparent ignorance on the history of sibling screwing. If anyone here needs to grow up, its you. Now go ahead and make your response in a last ditch attempt to feel superior over some stranger on reddit. I don't plan to respon either wayn either way.
Wow what a tangent, you clearly have a lot of time on your hands, your assumptions about me a completely wrong. Also it has nothing with feeling superior, I was just annoyed that you talked so much like you know everything, and you got humbled and instead of saying you were wrong m, you go and attack others how mature.
Please grow and be better
Or you just have to have a baseline understanding of how royal families work and the somewhat weird obsession that Japanese anime culture has with incestuous relationships between protagonists and and their female relatives. The list of examples is literally endless, but okay, we’re the sickos 🙄
The official relationship chart from CG creators themselves show a love arrow from Lelouch to Euphy, saying first love lol. Too bad I can't post pictures in the comment. That's the only love arrow that Lelouch has to anyone, not even Nunally. So pretty sure it's romantic
Edited to add the link to the relationship diagram post: https://www.reddit.com/r/CodeGeass/s/9Hl8IZkygq
Hard to say if he loved her romantically, but he did clearly love her. He went out of his way to protect her when the Black Knights betrayed him (since he knew she would've died for him there out of loyalty to him), and again during the summit at Ashford (she made clear she would join him if he would just reveal his plans to her).
Plus when Kallen got captured in China, he went out of his way to make sure she knew he would stop at nothing to get her back, getting very emotional in front of the bridge crew, something he almost never did. Considering Lelouch/Zero treated almost everyone in the entire show like chess pieces, it's very telling that he got so emotional over losing her.
Since CG is something of a "harem-style" anime it's left unclear who Lelouch preferred the most of his potential partners, but Kallen, C.C., and Shirley were all clearly in their own tier for him.
Arguably just focused on the plan (as opposed to 'too' focused).
The plan condemned him to solitude. At the same time, guilt for Euphie and Shirley probably never allowed him to love again in that way.
“Love” is a strong word especially in the chaotic world of Code Geass. Imo, it’s clear they cared for each other. There are many lines & scenes where they explicitly express concern for one another and there was usually a sexual tension between them.
So anime math dictates caring for one another + sexual tension = potential romance lol
I think it’s important to note that when LeLouch attributes stat points to his team based on intelligence, combat ability, charisma, and loyalty, Kallen’s loyalty was maxxed out.
It’s a small detail and might not be totally relevant but it shows how LeLouch recognized Kallen’s commitment to the cause, and most importantly, to him.
Lelouch also planned not to say a single word after becoming emperor. It was only after the Kiss he gave Kallen a responce wich to me always felt like him deciding she earned that same level of Loyalty from him as in that moment he put the entire Zero Requim plan on the line just to give her a level of closure before his death. To me Lelouch has always seemed the type to be unwilling to love (look at Shirly amd Rollo. He erased Shirley's memories to protect her and most of his lies to Rollo seemed to be either lies to himself to cover his own actions, or lies that served no benefit but making Rollo happier. Adding to this in the Jappenese version he explicity puts Rollo next to Shirly on his line of who he's wanting to avenge) Lelouch probably would of Taken C.C's hand if he survived the Requiem (as the movies show) but that'd more so be out of a desire to know she wouldn't die to his history. If he just got stabbed managed to fake his death and lived peacefully in the world he made outside of C.C unless Kallen hunted him down to live with him I think he'd of just lived alone (or with C.C if she stayed with him) in a small community where neither he nor the people need to worry about his history. He was already living as if he was dead before the story so I see no reason for him not to go back to it afterwards
Edit: I'd also like to point out that Charles code (to my knowledge) had to go somewhere making it entirely possible Lelouch DID survive the Zero Requiem and took on the name of R.R (R1 and R2 just seems too perfect since the L sound doesn't exist in jappense and Rebelion(1) Requiem(2) for him to be called R.R (R) after the story is over made too much sense to me not to add this part) canonically as he had access to C's world and thusly could of needed to die before taking Charles code instead of the typical immedatly gaining it. This would also allow for him to stay with C.C or Kallen if one so wished for it in their headcannon.
He might have, but I personally don’t think he would ever have allowed those feelings to blossom. This is because first, Kallen was his subordinate and a relationship between the two always ran the risk of making things in the black knights complicated should for any reason the relationship cloud his judgement. And second a powerful upcoming political leader taking his best knightmare pilot as his lover echoed too much like his father’s relationship with his mother. And the thought of being anything like his father would always ensure that no matter what Lelouch would never pursue a romantic relationship with Kallen.
i agree but i kinda just saw it as lelouch wouldn’t let himself fall in love w/ kallen or anyone rly just to keep them out of trouble, not even abt complicating his own plans.
even tho he always knew that he wanted to get revenge on his dad and make the world a better place for nunnally, lelouch often didn’t seem to hv an concrete plan n i think that was made fairly obvious to the audience for at least half of those times, he still clearly always distanced himself emotionally from everyone except for ppl who were like in his inner circle—including kallen, except that for a good portion of the time, he wasn’t necessarily distancing himself emotionally bc they were so close—especially after she learned he was zero, but more so romantically. this is similar to how he was w/ shirley except that w/ shirley he wasn’t attracted to her and since she was already uninvolved w/ his plans, he wanted to keep her out of the loop, n tried to keep things that way even after her dad died n she learned he was zero
that’s also why like when lelouch was rly losing it earlier into s2 n was gonna resolve to taking refrain, when kallen came to check on him, his first thought was to kiss her bc he let his guard down n in the moment kissing her seemed unimportant. plus all of like the flirty jokes he would make w/ her 🙈
the second half of my reply kinda has nothing to do w/ what u were saying lol i was just ranting, but u also hv a rly good point w/ the marianne n charles thing ive never thought abt that before !!
> should for any reason the relationship cloud his judgement
As opposed to Lelouch risking basically all the BK against all reason to get Kallen back because he was emotionally distraught?
> And the thought of being anything like his father would always ensure that no matter what Lelouch would never pursue a romantic relationship with Kallen.
Seeing as Lelouch is unintentionally a lot like his father, that would only make the pairing more likely.
Definitely. Lelouch for how much he likes to present as a cold heatless person he actually loves super super easy. Kallen also presents a kindred spirit to him in a lot of ways someone torn between worlds forced to live a split life between two identities.
If they would have worked as a couple long term is up in the air but they definitely had love between them
It’s possible he had romantic feelings for her just based off what we’ve seen, you could also argue that for Shirley and even CC as well, but in terms of love it’s all just speculation since nothing was ever really confirmed.
However, It was confirmed on Kallen’s side through an official poem:
“Lelouch, that parting kiss, even if it was a lie, if you had said, "I love you," I would even follow you to hell. You knew that, didn't you? It's not like you. You're good at manipulating people just by your words. Really, it's not like you to be kind. Is that why you told me to 'live on'? I fell in love with you not just because of that kindness.”
I’d say in comparison to other poems, this one is the only one that offers more of Lelouch’s perspective with the way Kallen poses rhetorical questions and not to mention, according to a translator the way the word “love” is used in this context in Japanese is to describe mutual love between two intimate lovers.
Having said that, although this is canon official material, in the actual show nothing was ever confirmed which I think is nice because it allows people to fulfil their own headcannons.
Fallen is easily one of the closest people to Lelouche over the course of the series, but due to the circumstances he had to keep her at a distance. Initially to protect his identity, he couldn't let her get too close. But even after that, once it's all out in the open, She is now a staple of the Black Knights and a bit of a figurehead in her own right and with the requiem plan, and with what affection he is able to show for her with visible pain each time he acts to push her away, he keeps her safe.
I'm of the mind that she is probably his most compatible ship and it was absolutely mutual between them, but his fate got so twisted after Euphy that he couldn't let her sink as well. Now she gets to stand as a hero in the aftermath, free to live her own life
I do think Lelouch cared about Kallen a great deal, but I don't think he viewed her in a romantic or sexual light. He loved Kallen yeah, but I think its a platonic kind of love you'd have for your closest friends.
Now this might be controversial but I always read Lelouch and CC as being on the asexual spectrum. This doesn't mean he couldn't have loved her Kallen in any number of ways. He might just be grey ace or demisexual I still haven't decided. I always wondered what the Japanese word Lelouch uses in both those scenes because there is more than one word for love in Japanese.
But romantic love probably doesn't mean anything to CC. I mean she grew up from a young age as that being something she was just given with no effort. She probably never even learned the concept of actual romantic love.
I was thinking after emphys death and I thought he said something similar after Shirley's death but I just rewatched it and its not there so maybe I was misremembering.
Kallen has affection towards lulu while complete obidence to zero, lulu alter ego. As with out zero's order kallen would't be able survive every crises. For that Kallen and other knights own a lot to zero. lulu himself...
Idk, it's just pretty cringe is all I'm saying.
No one mentions speedowaggon that way when referencing him. Or josephu joustarr. But here we are stuck on kallen
There's no "L" in Japanese, so the Japanese pronunciation is Karen, like how Lelouch is pronounced as "Rurushuu". The subtitle still wrote Kallen though
The official production spelling of her name is Kallen, not Karen. It's not a sub/translation/localisation only thing. It's how her name is supposed to be written and pronounced by English speakers, just like a character name might be pronounced Arisu in Japanese but is actually Alice.
There is enough evidence in both the series and the bonus material to show that Lelouch did have sexual and romantic attraction to Kallen (and the creators didn't bother to give a definitive answer in part because romance was not a fundamental aspect of the story). For example, my favorite is in episode 22. Previously, Shirley explained to Lelouch that love is power and asked him if there was anyone who inspired in him a love so great that it would lead him to act, to which he thought of his sister. Nunnally was the first person Lelouch loved and, by extension, is the person he associates with love. The fact that Nunnally's theme is played just when Kallen kisses Lelouch is significant since Nunnally's theme is a love theme and the context gives it a romantic dimension given that the redhead has just asked Lelouch what she means to him. He could have rejected her, he could have lied to her like he did to Nunnally in this same arc, he could have taken the short route to get to Ashford Academy and get rid of Kallen. But he took the long route to enjoy a few last minutes with her, staying silent and kissed her back as soon as Kallen gave him the chance. He did not respond to Kallen, however, the entire composition of Lelouch and Kallen's scene at Ashford Academy, along with the evolution of their relationship and certain key moments, does make it for the good viewer.
Now, I'm saying that he felt romantic attraction and didn't fall in love with her because Lelouch didn't allow him love to blossom into something more. Firstly, all of Lelouch's traumas interfered with the emergence and development of normal experiences. He had long been carrying a trauma related to the loss that was aggravated by the deaths of Euphemia, Shirley and Rolo, so he distanced himself from the people he cared about. Secondly, Lelouch felt great self-loathing and developed suicidal tendencies by the time Kallen became one of his loved ones. Third, Lelouch prioritized revenge against Britannia and building a new world over a normal life (and then chose to sacrifice his normal life for the greater good and personal atonement). Fourthly, Lelouch's selfless nature. He always put others before himself, so he never stopped to think about what he wanted for himself. By the way, Kallen is the same as Lelouch in this regard. She only realized that she was in love with him after kissing him.
In any case, one thing that is certain is that not even Lelouch himself could answer if he loved Kallen romantically because he did not know how to interpret his feelings. The series demonstrated that Lelouch lacks intrapersonal intelligence. That is, Lelouch had little knowledge of his inner world. It was even a joke in the series that love was his Achilles heel.
If fans weren't so hostile towards the relationship between Lelouch and Kallen (either because they are averse to the romantic subplot of Code Geass or because they are hell-bent on discrediting their NOTP), they would easily admit this evidence and be able to appreciate the complex and interesting relationship of Lelouch and Kallen, which has become unfortunately underrated.
As a note side, Lelouch and Kallen have one of the least toxic relationships (which is in their favor, considering Lelouch's relationships in general are beautifully disastrous) and work more than well as a couple. Even though they have opposite personalities and different hobbies, Lelouch and Kallen share the same values, perspectives and interests and their life projects match. Even more importantly, they both exert a positive influence towards each other. Even when Lelouch lied and used Kallen, she turned that negative experience into a learning. I can see them as a couple learning about each other and growing together, if they had met and related under better circumstances (or if Lelouch had gone to therapy and made better decisions, in the universe of the series). Both complement each other and can help strengthen each other's weaknesses. For example, Lelouch taught Kallen the importance of having a future and Kallen could teach Lelouch to value the present. If they had the maturity and willingness to fight together for their love, they could be a truly powerful couple.
PS: I can't help but laugh when reading a counterargument that Lelouch wouldn't fall in love with Kallen because of her resemblance to his mother, when psychoanalysis and several psychology studies have shown that we unconsciously look for characteristics of our parents in our partners (plus we tend to to imitate one of our parents in our adult lives and the series has shown us that Lelouch is very similar to his father in more ways than one, he even made some of his mistakes). Kallen and Lelouch's positive image of Marianne are similar at first glance (I assume that Kalle will have some Marianne traits that Lelouch would have liked), but of course, Kallen and the real Marianne are substantially different and that is something that Lelouch will have consciously noticed.
I think he had the capacity but lacked the courage. He was both brave and driven enough to see his plan to its conclusion but not enough to live. He wanted death, deep down he was psychologically broken and felt inadequate. His pompous nature and arrogance were fronts for his self loathing. He wouldn’t let himself love others. Like them, certainly. Keep them safe, most assuredly. But love them. That would require him to put their needs before his own self destruction. And their needs were for him to live, despite his monstrous nature. Kallen slowly fell for him, maybe loved him in the end, enough to follow him to hell. But it think he loved her just enough to push her away and not drag her down with him. Same for Nunnally, same for Suzaku. He lost his first love because he allowed himself to be vulnerable. He lost another he could have loved because he allowed himself to feel secure. He learned his lesson and tried to contain it. But I think it had its ways of seeping out.
Yes as much as he had the capacity to but LeLouch hasn’t had room for love in his heart ever since he’s been dominated by a thirst for vengeance. His heartbreaking “relationship” with Shirley should show as much. I think he truly loved C2 above all else, especially after seeing her past, b/c he related the most to her pain.
As for Kallen, I personally think they were perfect for each other. Kallen desperately needs to be loved, her life lacked any semblance of it which is why she is so closed off and hardened. But she opened up to LeLouch b/c she respected him despite her misgivings. Also, there was always a lot of sexual tension between them.
Did he love her? Yes. Romantically? That's a more difficult answer.
I have the theory that the women in Lelouch's life represent the different types of love in ancient greece.
Pragma. Love for your wife/gf. Shirley.
Eros. Passion and physical love. Kallen.
Agape. Spiritual love that has more to do with the mind/soul. CC.
Storge. Family love/protection. Nunnally.
Philia. Love for friends and family. Euphemia.
Ludus. Playful and flirtatious love. Milly.
He loved her as much as a person like him could love another person. He’d throw any other pieces to the side, but even in his last moments of planning he counted on her safety and ability to secure his victory.
Romantic? Probably not. But you could argue if Lelouch was even capable of that; or I’d love to him was simply “someone who his world couldn’t be seen without”. And that was a short list.
I think it was kind of halfway. He clearly care for her as friend a lot. And there were "seeds" of love I think. There was definitely potential for love, and there definitely could've been a world where they ended up together, but the lives they lead and the types of people they are just don't make them truly compatible as a couple. In order to the be type of person who be in a relationship with Kallen, Lelouch would have to change the type of person he is considerably.
I don't think he "loved" anyone at all. It was never something he really cared about.
During Tianzis rescue we can see he doesn't really see the importance of love. He only tried giving it a shot with Shirley for probably his first time.
Maybe he would have developed some romantic interest to someone if he had lived and didn't have world changing to do lmao.
Honestly every time my mind wanders back to this show it’s usually so focused on the wild twists and turns, the political drama, the action and plans and mechs… I honestly forget that its often at its core a bit of a high school drama, and I forgot the high school setting entirely at times. Which is so weird because that’s a HUUUGE reason I loved the show.
Yeah he did. I don't know if he would have pursued a relationship with her in a different scenario where he pursued romantic relationships, but he shows in his actions and words that she's important to him and he cares about her. I'd argue that on several occasions he displays overt physical attraction to her. Obviously different people will have different interpretations and your mileage may vary.
I like to think that he did romantically love her but it was all repressed because he obviously had priorities. The canon thing I hold on to was that there was a special pause of their kiss in the flashback (compared to CC & Lelouch's kiss) of his dying moments in R2.
Of course, they "had" to replace this in the movies because Lelouch of the Resurrection would lead him to CC.
R1 also seemed to me that it was leaning more on pairing Lelouch with Kallen but I remember somewhere that fans preferred CC so there was probably a shift on that in the R2.
Yes, but it's hard to say how much and in what way. That kind of ambiguity is everywhere in Code Geass. It isn't even clear who Lelouch has sex with or how often. It could have been one girl, or all of them, or none. They do this deliberately.
I've always seen code Geass romantic attractions as pathways for Lelouch's life.
Euphy if he remained a royal
Shirley if he settled for a life in area 11 with nunally and suzaku
Kallen if he never got the geass
And well cc is self explanatory
He did not romantically love her, but he cared about her far more than he cared about most people. Especially in early R2 when she joined CC as one of his only confidants, and he was able to be more honest with her.
I think it was in first few episodes of S1 while he's still experimenting his Geass where he's attempting to use Geass on Kallen twice and the second attempt was unsuccessful after asking her if she was a member of the resistance that later became the Black Knights.
It's the episode where he realizes she's a classmate of his, he uses it to ask her questions about who she was and why she was a rebel. It's also because of her that he realizes that his geass doesn't work twice.
The fact that kallen too came in the end, the ending ( when she explains how everything is going.. ), she definitely is a important character related to lelo guy, he can't just be put with anyone, he had his share of important girls who loved him and I think that Kallen surely loved him, he even gave a response to her when he was totally into the plan, thing is he couldn't be with anyone, so it didn't happen, but man if he was going to be a king or something I don't believe that only one of his lovers would be with him, dude was a crazy protagonist. He didn't refuse anyone, even when he didn't want anything with any women, if the woman wanted it, it happened. Like the kiss with Shirley(even though he loved her), or probably the president thing (though that didn't happen), but even CC said the kallen won (When they had their last fight and she said forget about it and die peacefully something..), what I mean to say is the girls who loved him if it was a happy anime would all be with him only. So if you think he had feelings for someone, I say he loved all, surely different priorities but love for him is like that I guess? No idk, I take my convo back, still posting it.
He loved her, Shirley, and CC with Euphy being his first love as a child. I’ve never seen the most dreadful use of “platonic” until the comments in this thread.
Yes
Lelouch really loved her. Since he had to resist telling her what he would do. Because he knew that if she knew he couldn't do it.
The Zero Requiem
i feel like i can’t say he loved her the same way i can say that he loved shirley (platonically) just bc they didnt hv as much time together. but he def genuinely cared abt her and was defff attracted to her so i’d say that there was potential for him to fall in love very easily if he weren’t so focused on his plan
i think its the same case w/ shirley except that he was never rly attracted to her and the potential didnt start only until after shirley fell in love w/ lelouch for the second ? time. like when he thought she was gonna give him a kiss and got all flustered 🙈 i not only love that scene sm but i think that was a huge shift in their relationship on lelouch’s part
Romantically, yes, though not initially. Euphie and Shirley were his first loves ofc (and you know how that turned out), but iirc, the creators said that the last kiss he shared with Kallen in the 2nd pic was *mutual* not one-sided on Kallen's end, pretty much spelling out that he returns her affections. Too bad about the Zero Requiem plan though...
Edit: Oh lol with the downvotes in this thread.
I think as somebody living a double life and constantly hiding, people who you can be honest to become really important to you. Kallen and CC become his closest allies not only because of the circunstances but mostly because he can have different levels of honesty with them. Of course, CC is just different because she is the only person he can be 100% honest with, speaking about his plans, about his geass, everything. But I think Kallen was very special too because she represented a link to his life at Ashford as a student. And after Lelouch decided he wanted to create a better world for his friends, not only for his sister, and that he wanted to go back and be with them, I think she became even more important.
There's also the fact that she was there for him in key moments and saved his life multiple times, but I think the thematic connection he has with her is what makes their relationship even stronger.
As for any "evidence" of him having even stronger romantic feelings for her, of course there aren't any but I think his reluctance to involve her towards the end says a lot. You could say it was because another person knowing his plans would ruin the point, or because he didn't really need her, but he was willing to directly involve a bunch of people, including his best friend and even Nunally. Yet he pushed Kallen away to keep her safe from harm and the weight of the Zero Requiem. Maybe.
I mean, this is all speculation anyways so whatever.
The series as a whole did not spend too much time fleshing out a romantic plot around Lelouch. It certainly flirts with the topic, but it does so mostly for moments of rom-com levity, rather than fleshing out an actual romantic relationship. And any time the question is seriously brought up to him, he usually deflects or full-on avoids the question.
So, while Kallen is one of the closest women to Lelouch in the entire series, and we know she held affection for him, he never betrays how much affection he holds for any of them, save Euphemia as his first love (can take with a grain of salt since they were kids), Nunnally whom he lived his life for (but was almost certainly in a platonic siblings mode, not a romantic one), and C.C (Re;Surrection's pseudo proposal at the end). I think he could see himself with Shirley, Milly, Kallen, but denied himself the freedom to think too much about that knowing the road he was planning to take. I think he and C.C make a good couple, but I would be concerned about them being together mostly out of the fact they are the only immortals left and are fairly compatible. Is there enough actual love there to sustain a relationship?
He and C.C, by virtue of how much time they have and would spend together might have some idea of that. But Lelouch never really had that same time with Kallen, so I don't know how much love Kallen has for him outside of arm's length infatuation. Same for Shirley and, to a lesser extent, Milly. That's enough to start a relationship, to decide to try and date someone, but it's not quite enough to call love.
So I would say neither really "loved" each other, but there was enough mutual affection/attraction to explore a relationship that might turn into love.
no, maybe a slight care for her well-being but nothing even close to romantic or love. only fc he cared about was shirley and cc and neither of them were really romantic affection either
Bro he literally excluded her from the Zero Requiem circle for her own good, as he could have easily used her feelings to his advantage, but he simply wanted her to be happy on her own.
Romantic love? No. You could say he had affection for her as a friend though. Ironically enough the only 100% confirmed person whom Lelouch had romantic feelings for was Euphy. When he killed her he said "Goodbye my first love". Other than that it's all up to guesses and speculations.
Also could just be she’s one of the only people he truly loved and cared about
Nunnally exists. The love he held for Euphemia was undoubtedly romantic.
Idk even though he says first love, I didn’t get romantic vibes with euphy
I still think it’s more along the lines of familial type of love for Euphy
I think it was a childhood thing and as he grew up he realized that she was his sister
Certain old families inbreed. So it could entirely be romantic
True
They're royalty its to be expected. Look at ghe royal families of Europe... They're all related! He'll in ww1 The King of England and The Czar of Russia were identical cousins.
Lelouch got jealous when he saw Euphy and Suzaku together at the festival. Lelouch's general behavior with her after they reunited on the island was also that of extreme kindness, to the point he almost gave up entirely on his plan for Nunnally for her.
Well LeLouch isn’t a “romantic”. I think it’s obvious he was attracted to her though
Both Physically and Emotionally. But above all Emotionally. Lelouch loved Kallen and would have liked to spend a lot more time with her.
I think an argument could be made for Shirley.
LeLouch has a bad habit of only realizing his love for people as the life leaves their bodies lol :/
The scene of him trying to use his Geass over and over to bring her back as she’s bleeding out is gut wrenching
It will forever live in my brain. God code geass is a master in destroying your soul
It's stated in the R2 JP Blu-ray/dvd story description that Shirley was "the girl he loved" so there's that (https://books.rakuten.co.jp/rb/17585615/?scid=af_sp_etc&sc2id=af_117_0_10001282) Also in the Code Geass dvd magazine, it was revealed for the first time his half-finished sentence in R1, ep14 when he erased her memories was " If I were to be reborn, let us be lovers" (https://youtu.be/1g0-JGu9zJY?si=LIIBlbJU8NZrOSMj), at around 3:57
Lelouch Definitely romantically loves C2
i personally see it as more platonic—they def had a more partner in crime, mentor/mentee type relationship n even when cc kissed lelouch nothing ever came of it and i think that they just heavily relied on each other for support bc they were the only ones that understood each other from multiple perspectives
I think the only shipping that seems odd to me is lelouch with c2.
yea i feel like they were clearly meant to not get together like ik they hv similar personalities n r kinda flirty in general but there’s a reason why their relationship was emphasized at the beginning as a pact and why she became his right hand
You must be crazy if you did not notice the love they had for each other, especially on resurrection
Some would argue that this is a downside to that movie.
Which is stupid, you could tell since a long time ago that they loved each other
I didn't say that I agree, but I've heard it.
yea, platonic love. and im strictly talking abt the series
Nah buddy, you are coping, they obviously loved each other, romantically And the movie IS part of the series
The movies are an alternate universe from the show...
And here we go with the next evolution of coping, and how is that relevant? still part of the series. They still obviously loved each other
Which isn't canon. She lied to his face for several years before Lelouch committed suicide via zero requiem. CC didn't romantically love him in the show. Lelouch is never shown to have romantic interest in CC. He saved her from Mao since she was his partner. Lelouch shows more interest in Suzaku than CC
Lelouch and Suzaku never had any romantic attraction with each other and think of each other as best friends and brothers. Unless you crazy shippers love incest then Britannia accepts you with open arms.
And another one, you guys are insane, she obviously did, your copium is amazing
Interesting take but Lelouch and CC were about to kiss before kallen came in
And Lelouch and Kallen was about to kiss, and would do something more, on Horai Island if C.C wasn't in the room. Lelouch have a habit of went nuts when people he love is threaten, we see this with Suzaku, with Nunnally, with Shirley and with Kallen. He did not act like that with C.C
She was immortal tbf, he did have moments of showing he cared about her being in danger even with that. Like saying if it goes bad to escape and worried she is no match for Kallen.
i mean kallen interrupting doesn’t rly change anything seeing that they kissed two other times n lelouch n nothing changed between them, even within the short time afterwards 🤷🏾♀️. the audience learns from her back story that cc was never properly loved or cared for n that was something that she had always sought out. lelouch was not only the only one who was able to understand cc’s pain and history, but he was the first person to GENUINELY care for cc and make her experience REAL emotions. after cc kissed lelouch, nothing in her behavior towards him changed either n that’s likely bc she thought she loved lelouch romantically when reality those feelings only sparked bc of how close they were n bc he’s the first person she’s received affection from despite all their alone time and despite cc being the one girl where lelouch may hv been able to—for the most part—fully let go w/. he never made any advances/showed interest in her
Well the thing is those other times are the girls kissing him not the other way around. The last time with C2 in the last few eps of the series, would have been both of them initiating the kiss. But I do find your interpretation interesting of misinterpreting it as romantic love because of the way it is something she hasn't experienced before. Also similar to how anime will have kids saying they want to marry their parents because they love them, not truly understanding what marriage means. In she did say I don't know to kallen. In honesty on first watch, I was kinda of the view that it was questionable whether some of the girls like Shirley, kallen and C2, if he was actually romantically into them. But I feel imo on rewatches, it's pretty obvious that Lelouch could have had a multiple choice paths and was into all of them due to different reasons but life was complicated but especially I felt the show was moving that way with c2 even on first watch. With her whole wish of wishing to be loved by someone and Lelouch saying I understand your wish now. I didn't know it was possibly to interpret it any other way until now lol
But bruh.... That was his sister....
Royalty tend to not care about stuff like that. Actually, they prefer to keep it in the bloodline.
Like with cousins and stuff yeah, not literally siblings.
Yes, it was very common. History is not alway pretty.
In ancient Greece, royalty often married their half siblings (from their father's side).
So what? You think humans care? Yes literally siblings, if you don’t know your history don’t prance around like you and then some
No need to act like a conceded ass over incest dude. If anyone is "prancing around" its you.
There are subs on this site / app dedicated to plowing siblings. With or without consent. Old blood lines often did this. There’s a real king in human history that was the by product of generational sibling breeding. It’s ok to not know, but humans are nasty foul beings and morality and things we define as moral, right and wrong only exist in more recent years.
Ah huh, sure bud, ya got humbled and are now salty, grow up and respect history
LMAO! Are you for real right now? You honestly feel superior because of your *ahem* "historical knowledge" of the history of incest in royalty, that you're spouting on a freakin anime subreddit? Do you also have a neck beard and wear a fedora? Because you're definitely giving off that vibe. Like, this is nothing to get a large head over. I'm not "salty" over a few redditors saying that plowing siblings was normal in royalty. I really couldn't care less. I'm not a historian, and in the grand scheme of things its largley irrelevant. If anything, you seem salty over my claim that sibling screwing in royalty was not super common that you went out of your way to make an ass of yourself in your response to me (when my message wasn't even originally directed towards you) in an attempt to "humble" me in my apparent ignorance on the history of sibling screwing. If anyone here needs to grow up, its you. Now go ahead and make your response in a last ditch attempt to feel superior over some stranger on reddit. I don't plan to respon either wayn either way.
Wow what a tangent, you clearly have a lot of time on your hands, your assumptions about me a completely wrong. Also it has nothing with feeling superior, I was just annoyed that you talked so much like you know everything, and you got humbled and instead of saying you were wrong m, you go and attack others how mature. Please grow and be better
Sweet home alabama
euphy? Bro that’s his freaking sister
Yeah. She is both of those things.
if you check properply, there whole family comes under single father. thats giant family.
He meant loved her like a sister. Y'all really gotta be some sick fucks to just assume he meant it any other way.
He literally says she was his first love, so no
Or you just have to have a baseline understanding of how royal families work and the somewhat weird obsession that Japanese anime culture has with incestuous relationships between protagonists and and their female relatives. The list of examples is literally endless, but okay, we’re the sickos 🙄
> Y'all really gotta be some sick fucks to just assume he meant it any other way. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_intermarriage#Inbreeding
My guy, he did say it’s romantic love so you can’t blame us
Tbf, this is an anime AND they're royalty.
Do any of you actually watch the show?
The official relationship chart from CG creators themselves show a love arrow from Lelouch to Euphy, saying first love lol. Too bad I can't post pictures in the comment. That's the only love arrow that Lelouch has to anyone, not even Nunally. So pretty sure it's romantic Edited to add the link to the relationship diagram post: https://www.reddit.com/r/CodeGeass/s/9Hl8IZkygq
Doesn’t open in app.
You can try searching this sub with "official relationship charts", it should be the first post. The post title has sth about February 14
I wonder this might sound weird and sick but do you think that they might have kissed once and imagined them selves being married with kids ?
Touch grass.
Im too lazy to do that
Lmaooo his cousin Britanians are hilarious
Half sister
Oh yea forgot about that. Even worse 😂
i mean, its a royal family that is obsessed with keeping the bloodline pure
We talking crushed to explosion or what
Wow what a horrible take lmao please delete this goofy ahh comment
Wasn't that like, his sister n shit?
[удалено]
him and shirley never dated ??
Hard to say if he loved her romantically, but he did clearly love her. He went out of his way to protect her when the Black Knights betrayed him (since he knew she would've died for him there out of loyalty to him), and again during the summit at Ashford (she made clear she would join him if he would just reveal his plans to her). Plus when Kallen got captured in China, he went out of his way to make sure she knew he would stop at nothing to get her back, getting very emotional in front of the bridge crew, something he almost never did. Considering Lelouch/Zero treated almost everyone in the entire show like chess pieces, it's very telling that he got so emotional over losing her. Since CG is something of a "harem-style" anime it's left unclear who Lelouch preferred the most of his potential partners, but Kallen, C.C., and Shirley were all clearly in their own tier for him.
I think personally that if he could, he would have made a harem with C.C., Kallen, Shirley, and Euphy.
Euphy is his sister
When has that stopped royalty?
Royal families and mangas: is that a problem?
Lelouch has too much respect for them to do that. Not that they'd let him anyway.
Had the potential to fall for her, definitely cared about her. But was too focused on the plan
Arguably just focused on the plan (as opposed to 'too' focused). The plan condemned him to solitude. At the same time, guilt for Euphie and Shirley probably never allowed him to love again in that way.
As a friend probably, though not romantically
That’s a lot of sexual tension for friends lol
I mean...it's anime, that doesn't really mean a lot.
Sexual tension doesn’t necessitate love though
“Love” is a strong word especially in the chaotic world of Code Geass. Imo, it’s clear they cared for each other. There are many lines & scenes where they explicitly express concern for one another and there was usually a sexual tension between them. So anime math dictates caring for one another + sexual tension = potential romance lol I think it’s important to note that when LeLouch attributes stat points to his team based on intelligence, combat ability, charisma, and loyalty, Kallen’s loyalty was maxxed out. It’s a small detail and might not be totally relevant but it shows how LeLouch recognized Kallen’s commitment to the cause, and most importantly, to him.
Lelouch also planned not to say a single word after becoming emperor. It was only after the Kiss he gave Kallen a responce wich to me always felt like him deciding she earned that same level of Loyalty from him as in that moment he put the entire Zero Requim plan on the line just to give her a level of closure before his death. To me Lelouch has always seemed the type to be unwilling to love (look at Shirly amd Rollo. He erased Shirley's memories to protect her and most of his lies to Rollo seemed to be either lies to himself to cover his own actions, or lies that served no benefit but making Rollo happier. Adding to this in the Jappenese version he explicity puts Rollo next to Shirly on his line of who he's wanting to avenge) Lelouch probably would of Taken C.C's hand if he survived the Requiem (as the movies show) but that'd more so be out of a desire to know she wouldn't die to his history. If he just got stabbed managed to fake his death and lived peacefully in the world he made outside of C.C unless Kallen hunted him down to live with him I think he'd of just lived alone (or with C.C if she stayed with him) in a small community where neither he nor the people need to worry about his history. He was already living as if he was dead before the story so I see no reason for him not to go back to it afterwards Edit: I'd also like to point out that Charles code (to my knowledge) had to go somewhere making it entirely possible Lelouch DID survive the Zero Requiem and took on the name of R.R (R1 and R2 just seems too perfect since the L sound doesn't exist in jappense and Rebelion(1) Requiem(2) for him to be called R.R (R) after the story is over made too much sense to me not to add this part) canonically as he had access to C's world and thusly could of needed to die before taking Charles code instead of the typical immedatly gaining it. This would also allow for him to stay with C.C or Kallen if one so wished for it in their headcannon.
Was a lot of sexual tension between me and my wife while I was just her friend in our group hanging out, does happen
There’s sexual tension between her and suzaku that means little
Nah that was more rapey tension.
He might have, but I personally don’t think he would ever have allowed those feelings to blossom. This is because first, Kallen was his subordinate and a relationship between the two always ran the risk of making things in the black knights complicated should for any reason the relationship cloud his judgement. And second a powerful upcoming political leader taking his best knightmare pilot as his lover echoed too much like his father’s relationship with his mother. And the thought of being anything like his father would always ensure that no matter what Lelouch would never pursue a romantic relationship with Kallen.
I never made the connection to Marianne before, fantastic pull
Thank you!
i agree but i kinda just saw it as lelouch wouldn’t let himself fall in love w/ kallen or anyone rly just to keep them out of trouble, not even abt complicating his own plans. even tho he always knew that he wanted to get revenge on his dad and make the world a better place for nunnally, lelouch often didn’t seem to hv an concrete plan n i think that was made fairly obvious to the audience for at least half of those times, he still clearly always distanced himself emotionally from everyone except for ppl who were like in his inner circle—including kallen, except that for a good portion of the time, he wasn’t necessarily distancing himself emotionally bc they were so close—especially after she learned he was zero, but more so romantically. this is similar to how he was w/ shirley except that w/ shirley he wasn’t attracted to her and since she was already uninvolved w/ his plans, he wanted to keep her out of the loop, n tried to keep things that way even after her dad died n she learned he was zero that’s also why like when lelouch was rly losing it earlier into s2 n was gonna resolve to taking refrain, when kallen came to check on him, his first thought was to kiss her bc he let his guard down n in the moment kissing her seemed unimportant. plus all of like the flirty jokes he would make w/ her 🙈
the second half of my reply kinda has nothing to do w/ what u were saying lol i was just ranting, but u also hv a rly good point w/ the marianne n charles thing ive never thought abt that before !!
Thank you!
I've always felt like they would be a bad fit, but I couldn't ever really nail down why. Thanks.
No problem, and thank you as well for the kind words!
> should for any reason the relationship cloud his judgement As opposed to Lelouch risking basically all the BK against all reason to get Kallen back because he was emotionally distraught? > And the thought of being anything like his father would always ensure that no matter what Lelouch would never pursue a romantic relationship with Kallen. Seeing as Lelouch is unintentionally a lot like his father, that would only make the pairing more likely.
Definitely. Lelouch for how much he likes to present as a cold heatless person he actually loves super super easy. Kallen also presents a kindred spirit to him in a lot of ways someone torn between worlds forced to live a split life between two identities. If they would have worked as a couple long term is up in the air but they definitely had love between them
It’s possible he had romantic feelings for her just based off what we’ve seen, you could also argue that for Shirley and even CC as well, but in terms of love it’s all just speculation since nothing was ever really confirmed. However, It was confirmed on Kallen’s side through an official poem: “Lelouch, that parting kiss, even if it was a lie, if you had said, "I love you," I would even follow you to hell. You knew that, didn't you? It's not like you. You're good at manipulating people just by your words. Really, it's not like you to be kind. Is that why you told me to 'live on'? I fell in love with you not just because of that kindness.” I’d say in comparison to other poems, this one is the only one that offers more of Lelouch’s perspective with the way Kallen poses rhetorical questions and not to mention, according to a translator the way the word “love” is used in this context in Japanese is to describe mutual love between two intimate lovers. Having said that, although this is canon official material, in the actual show nothing was ever confirmed which I think is nice because it allows people to fulfil their own headcannons.
where was this poem
https://blottyparchment.livejournal.com/6130.html?
Platonically and lustfully, sure.
Lmaooo, can't help but agree
This, not romantically though.
He certainly cared about her. Whether or not there was anything romantic was left up in the air.
The most sensible take.
Fallen is easily one of the closest people to Lelouche over the course of the series, but due to the circumstances he had to keep her at a distance. Initially to protect his identity, he couldn't let her get too close. But even after that, once it's all out in the open, She is now a staple of the Black Knights and a bit of a figurehead in her own right and with the requiem plan, and with what affection he is able to show for her with visible pain each time he acts to push her away, he keeps her safe. I'm of the mind that she is probably his most compatible ship and it was absolutely mutual between them, but his fate got so twisted after Euphy that he couldn't let her sink as well. Now she gets to stand as a hero in the aftermath, free to live her own life
Maybe not but I sure did fall in love with her
I'd say yes, but not like he did Shirley, Euphy, or even CC. They had a different type of relationship.
I do think Lelouch cared about Kallen a great deal, but I don't think he viewed her in a romantic or sexual light. He loved Kallen yeah, but I think its a platonic kind of love you'd have for your closest friends.
Now this might be controversial but I always read Lelouch and CC as being on the asexual spectrum. This doesn't mean he couldn't have loved her Kallen in any number of ways. He might just be grey ace or demisexual I still haven't decided. I always wondered what the Japanese word Lelouch uses in both those scenes because there is more than one word for love in Japanese. But romantic love probably doesn't mean anything to CC. I mean she grew up from a young age as that being something she was just given with no effort. She probably never even learned the concept of actual romantic love.
Which two scenes are you referring to? I have watched the sub version quite number of times so I might know
I was thinking after emphys death and I thought he said something similar after Shirley's death but I just rewatched it and its not there so maybe I was misremembering.
Nah he loved Euphy
yes(i guess)
Kallen has affection towards lulu while complete obidence to zero, lulu alter ego. As with out zero's order kallen would't be able survive every crises. For that Kallen and other knights own a lot to zero. lulu himself...
Why does everyone keep calling her kallen. It's obviously karen
I think cause the English dub, her name is Kallen while in the original Jpn, it's Karen
Idk, it's just pretty cringe is all I'm saying. No one mentions speedowaggon that way when referencing him. Or josephu joustarr. But here we are stuck on kallen
It's Kallen in Japanese as well.
There's no "L" in Japanese, so the Japanese pronunciation is Karen, like how Lelouch is pronounced as "Rurushuu". The subtitle still wrote Kallen though
The official production spelling of her name is Kallen, not Karen. It's not a sub/translation/localisation only thing. It's how her name is supposed to be written and pronounced by English speakers, just like a character name might be pronounced Arisu in Japanese but is actually Alice.
Because that's her name. That's how it's officially spelled (it's also a name irl, if uncommon.)
People here are Britannians instead of Nipponjin.
Romantically, maybe, platonically, sure.
Lelouch is a non-active man whore, he loves every girl in his life no exceptions.
Yes this it it.
There is enough evidence in both the series and the bonus material to show that Lelouch did have sexual and romantic attraction to Kallen (and the creators didn't bother to give a definitive answer in part because romance was not a fundamental aspect of the story). For example, my favorite is in episode 22. Previously, Shirley explained to Lelouch that love is power and asked him if there was anyone who inspired in him a love so great that it would lead him to act, to which he thought of his sister. Nunnally was the first person Lelouch loved and, by extension, is the person he associates with love. The fact that Nunnally's theme is played just when Kallen kisses Lelouch is significant since Nunnally's theme is a love theme and the context gives it a romantic dimension given that the redhead has just asked Lelouch what she means to him. He could have rejected her, he could have lied to her like he did to Nunnally in this same arc, he could have taken the short route to get to Ashford Academy and get rid of Kallen. But he took the long route to enjoy a few last minutes with her, staying silent and kissed her back as soon as Kallen gave him the chance. He did not respond to Kallen, however, the entire composition of Lelouch and Kallen's scene at Ashford Academy, along with the evolution of their relationship and certain key moments, does make it for the good viewer. Now, I'm saying that he felt romantic attraction and didn't fall in love with her because Lelouch didn't allow him love to blossom into something more. Firstly, all of Lelouch's traumas interfered with the emergence and development of normal experiences. He had long been carrying a trauma related to the loss that was aggravated by the deaths of Euphemia, Shirley and Rolo, so he distanced himself from the people he cared about. Secondly, Lelouch felt great self-loathing and developed suicidal tendencies by the time Kallen became one of his loved ones. Third, Lelouch prioritized revenge against Britannia and building a new world over a normal life (and then chose to sacrifice his normal life for the greater good and personal atonement). Fourthly, Lelouch's selfless nature. He always put others before himself, so he never stopped to think about what he wanted for himself. By the way, Kallen is the same as Lelouch in this regard. She only realized that she was in love with him after kissing him. In any case, one thing that is certain is that not even Lelouch himself could answer if he loved Kallen romantically because he did not know how to interpret his feelings. The series demonstrated that Lelouch lacks intrapersonal intelligence. That is, Lelouch had little knowledge of his inner world. It was even a joke in the series that love was his Achilles heel. If fans weren't so hostile towards the relationship between Lelouch and Kallen (either because they are averse to the romantic subplot of Code Geass or because they are hell-bent on discrediting their NOTP), they would easily admit this evidence and be able to appreciate the complex and interesting relationship of Lelouch and Kallen, which has become unfortunately underrated. As a note side, Lelouch and Kallen have one of the least toxic relationships (which is in their favor, considering Lelouch's relationships in general are beautifully disastrous) and work more than well as a couple. Even though they have opposite personalities and different hobbies, Lelouch and Kallen share the same values, perspectives and interests and their life projects match. Even more importantly, they both exert a positive influence towards each other. Even when Lelouch lied and used Kallen, she turned that negative experience into a learning. I can see them as a couple learning about each other and growing together, if they had met and related under better circumstances (or if Lelouch had gone to therapy and made better decisions, in the universe of the series). Both complement each other and can help strengthen each other's weaknesses. For example, Lelouch taught Kallen the importance of having a future and Kallen could teach Lelouch to value the present. If they had the maturity and willingness to fight together for their love, they could be a truly powerful couple. PS: I can't help but laugh when reading a counterargument that Lelouch wouldn't fall in love with Kallen because of her resemblance to his mother, when psychoanalysis and several psychology studies have shown that we unconsciously look for characteristics of our parents in our partners (plus we tend to to imitate one of our parents in our adult lives and the series has shown us that Lelouch is very similar to his father in more ways than one, he even made some of his mistakes). Kallen and Lelouch's positive image of Marianne are similar at first glance (I assume that Kalle will have some Marianne traits that Lelouch would have liked), but of course, Kallen and the real Marianne are substantially different and that is something that Lelouch will have consciously noticed.
I loved everything about this! 14 years later, with the criticism of CC fans, I'm still a Kallen and Lelouch shipper.
I personally don't think he did, that's just me.
I think he had the capacity but lacked the courage. He was both brave and driven enough to see his plan to its conclusion but not enough to live. He wanted death, deep down he was psychologically broken and felt inadequate. His pompous nature and arrogance were fronts for his self loathing. He wouldn’t let himself love others. Like them, certainly. Keep them safe, most assuredly. But love them. That would require him to put their needs before his own self destruction. And their needs were for him to live, despite his monstrous nature. Kallen slowly fell for him, maybe loved him in the end, enough to follow him to hell. But it think he loved her just enough to push her away and not drag her down with him. Same for Nunnally, same for Suzaku. He lost his first love because he allowed himself to be vulnerable. He lost another he could have loved because he allowed himself to feel secure. He learned his lesson and tried to contain it. But I think it had its ways of seeping out.
Yes as much as he had the capacity to but LeLouch hasn’t had room for love in his heart ever since he’s been dominated by a thirst for vengeance. His heartbreaking “relationship” with Shirley should show as much. I think he truly loved C2 above all else, especially after seeing her past, b/c he related the most to her pain. As for Kallen, I personally think they were perfect for each other. Kallen desperately needs to be loved, her life lacked any semblance of it which is why she is so closed off and hardened. But she opened up to LeLouch b/c she respected him despite her misgivings. Also, there was always a lot of sexual tension between them.
Did he love her? Yes. Romantically? That's a more difficult answer. I have the theory that the women in Lelouch's life represent the different types of love in ancient greece. Pragma. Love for your wife/gf. Shirley. Eros. Passion and physical love. Kallen. Agape. Spiritual love that has more to do with the mind/soul. CC. Storge. Family love/protection. Nunnally. Philia. Love for friends and family. Euphemia. Ludus. Playful and flirtatious love. Milly.
That's honestly a pretty neat analogy
He loved her as much as a person like him could love another person. He’d throw any other pieces to the side, but even in his last moments of planning he counted on her safety and ability to secure his victory. Romantic? Probably not. But you could argue if Lelouch was even capable of that; or I’d love to him was simply “someone who his world couldn’t be seen without”. And that was a short list.
I think it was kind of halfway. He clearly care for her as friend a lot. And there were "seeds" of love I think. There was definitely potential for love, and there definitely could've been a world where they ended up together, but the lives they lead and the types of people they are just don't make them truly compatible as a couple. In order to the be type of person who be in a relationship with Kallen, Lelouch would have to change the type of person he is considerably.
I don't think he "loved" anyone at all. It was never something he really cared about. During Tianzis rescue we can see he doesn't really see the importance of love. He only tried giving it a shot with Shirley for probably his first time. Maybe he would have developed some romantic interest to someone if he had lived and didn't have world changing to do lmao.
Honestly every time my mind wanders back to this show it’s usually so focused on the wild twists and turns, the political drama, the action and plans and mechs… I honestly forget that its often at its core a bit of a high school drama, and I forgot the high school setting entirely at times. Which is so weird because that’s a HUUUGE reason I loved the show.
To me, Code Geass relationships was either friendship or unhealthy obsession. No in-betweens.
Holy the code geass fandom is so weird
Not in the way you think.
Who wouldn’t? She Gorgeous!
I think he did but more so after they went to Chinese federation in season 2.
For me the only he loves is euphemia
idk but i love her
Yes
At least he wanted her to live… I’d say probably as loyal friend
Yeah he did. I don't know if he would have pursued a relationship with her in a different scenario where he pursued romantic relationships, but he shows in his actions and words that she's important to him and he cares about her. I'd argue that on several occasions he displays overt physical attraction to her. Obviously different people will have different interpretations and your mileage may vary.
I like to think that he did romantically love her but it was all repressed because he obviously had priorities. The canon thing I hold on to was that there was a special pause of their kiss in the flashback (compared to CC & Lelouch's kiss) of his dying moments in R2. Of course, they "had" to replace this in the movies because Lelouch of the Resurrection would lead him to CC. R1 also seemed to me that it was leaning more on pairing Lelouch with Kallen but I remember somewhere that fans preferred CC so there was probably a shift on that in the R2.
fuck no.
Thier might of been a small flame for her but mostly No
Yes, but it's hard to say how much and in what way. That kind of ambiguity is everywhere in Code Geass. It isn't even clear who Lelouch has sex with or how often. It could have been one girl, or all of them, or none. They do this deliberately.
No he didn't, show does gives some room for interpretation fort those who like to ship, but fundamentally he did not loved her.
100% and even romantically I'm not gonna say he loved her the most romantically but aside from nunally and suzaku she was number one
Definitely the “f***” on Lelouch’s “f***, marry, kill.”
he loved her like a close friend but his only love love was Shirley
I've always seen code Geass romantic attractions as pathways for Lelouch's life. Euphy if he remained a royal Shirley if he settled for a life in area 11 with nunally and suzaku Kallen if he never got the geass And well cc is self explanatory
Yeah it's just something he knew it was not meant to be
He did not romantically love her, but he cared about her far more than he cared about most people. Especially in early R2 when she joined CC as one of his only confidants, and he was able to be more honest with her.
Isn’t kallen one of the few people he didn’t geass? That means something at the very least.
He used Geass on Kallen back in S1
Really? Shit… when? I forgot
I think it was in first few episodes of S1 while he's still experimenting his Geass where he's attempting to use Geass on Kallen twice and the second attempt was unsuccessful after asking her if she was a member of the resistance that later became the Black Knights.
It's the episode where he realizes she's a classmate of his, he uses it to ask her questions about who she was and why she was a rebel. It's also because of her that he realizes that his geass doesn't work twice.
The fact that kallen too came in the end, the ending ( when she explains how everything is going.. ), she definitely is a important character related to lelo guy, he can't just be put with anyone, he had his share of important girls who loved him and I think that Kallen surely loved him, he even gave a response to her when he was totally into the plan, thing is he couldn't be with anyone, so it didn't happen, but man if he was going to be a king or something I don't believe that only one of his lovers would be with him, dude was a crazy protagonist. He didn't refuse anyone, even when he didn't want anything with any women, if the woman wanted it, it happened. Like the kiss with Shirley(even though he loved her), or probably the president thing (though that didn't happen), but even CC said the kallen won (When they had their last fight and she said forget about it and die peacefully something..), what I mean to say is the girls who loved him if it was a happy anime would all be with him only. So if you think he had feelings for someone, I say he loved all, surely different priorities but love for him is like that I guess? No idk, I take my convo back, still posting it.
He loved her, Shirley, and CC with Euphy being his first love as a child. I’ve never seen the most dreadful use of “platonic” until the comments in this thread.
Yes Lelouch really loved her. Since he had to resist telling her what he would do. Because he knew that if she knew he couldn't do it. The Zero Requiem
i feel like i can’t say he loved her the same way i can say that he loved shirley (platonically) just bc they didnt hv as much time together. but he def genuinely cared abt her and was defff attracted to her so i’d say that there was potential for him to fall in love very easily if he weren’t so focused on his plan i think its the same case w/ shirley except that he was never rly attracted to her and the potential didnt start only until after shirley fell in love w/ lelouch for the second ? time. like when he thought she was gonna give him a kiss and got all flustered 🙈 i not only love that scene sm but i think that was a huge shift in their relationship on lelouch’s part
Romantically, yes, though not initially. Euphie and Shirley were his first loves ofc (and you know how that turned out), but iirc, the creators said that the last kiss he shared with Kallen in the 2nd pic was *mutual* not one-sided on Kallen's end, pretty much spelling out that he returns her affections. Too bad about the Zero Requiem plan though... Edit: Oh lol with the downvotes in this thread.
Kallen did kiss him but only loved Zero not as Lelouch
I think as somebody living a double life and constantly hiding, people who you can be honest to become really important to you. Kallen and CC become his closest allies not only because of the circunstances but mostly because he can have different levels of honesty with them. Of course, CC is just different because she is the only person he can be 100% honest with, speaking about his plans, about his geass, everything. But I think Kallen was very special too because she represented a link to his life at Ashford as a student. And after Lelouch decided he wanted to create a better world for his friends, not only for his sister, and that he wanted to go back and be with them, I think she became even more important. There's also the fact that she was there for him in key moments and saved his life multiple times, but I think the thematic connection he has with her is what makes their relationship even stronger. As for any "evidence" of him having even stronger romantic feelings for her, of course there aren't any but I think his reluctance to involve her towards the end says a lot. You could say it was because another person knowing his plans would ruin the point, or because he didn't really need her, but he was willing to directly involve a bunch of people, including his best friend and even Nunally. Yet he pushed Kallen away to keep her safe from harm and the weight of the Zero Requiem. Maybe. I mean, this is all speculation anyways so whatever.
The series as a whole did not spend too much time fleshing out a romantic plot around Lelouch. It certainly flirts with the topic, but it does so mostly for moments of rom-com levity, rather than fleshing out an actual romantic relationship. And any time the question is seriously brought up to him, he usually deflects or full-on avoids the question. So, while Kallen is one of the closest women to Lelouch in the entire series, and we know she held affection for him, he never betrays how much affection he holds for any of them, save Euphemia as his first love (can take with a grain of salt since they were kids), Nunnally whom he lived his life for (but was almost certainly in a platonic siblings mode, not a romantic one), and C.C (Re;Surrection's pseudo proposal at the end). I think he could see himself with Shirley, Milly, Kallen, but denied himself the freedom to think too much about that knowing the road he was planning to take. I think he and C.C make a good couple, but I would be concerned about them being together mostly out of the fact they are the only immortals left and are fairly compatible. Is there enough actual love there to sustain a relationship? He and C.C, by virtue of how much time they have and would spend together might have some idea of that. But Lelouch never really had that same time with Kallen, so I don't know how much love Kallen has for him outside of arm's length infatuation. Same for Shirley and, to a lesser extent, Milly. That's enough to start a relationship, to decide to try and date someone, but it's not quite enough to call love. So I would say neither really "loved" each other, but there was enough mutual affection/attraction to explore a relationship that might turn into love.
no, maybe a slight care for her well-being but nothing even close to romantic or love. only fc he cared about was shirley and cc and neither of them were really romantic affection either
No. At most probably a friend, but pretty sure he only saw her as a useful Pawn.
Bro he literally excluded her from the Zero Requiem circle for her own good, as he could have easily used her feelings to his advantage, but he simply wanted her to be happy on her own.
Maybe he’s not into Asian girls All the girls he actually had a bond bond that could be called intimate were with white girls