| “ | All men are not created equal! | „ |
| ~ Charles's most famous quote. |
Emperor Charles zi Britannia is the main antagonist of the anime series, Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion.
He is the 98th Emperor of the Holy Britannian Empire, who seeks to create a "world without lies" by subjugating the free will of humanity and starts a global war in order to do this.
He is voiced by Norio Wakamoto in the Japanese version, and by Michael McConnohie in the dubbed version.
His Evil Ranking[]
What Makes Him Close to Being Pure Evil?[]
- He believes that inequality is a good thing, and those who are inherently stronger have a right to rule over others. He also doesn't believe in morality as a concept, thinking that anyone claiming to have moral values (such as seeing murder or theft as wrong) is lying.
- He encourages his own children to fight and backstab each other for power.
- He plans to use the Ragnarok Connection to destroy the gods and override the free will of all mankind, forcing them into a hive mind that Charles will control.
- He rewrites Nunnally's memories to make her think she witnessed her mother's assassination, causing Nunnally to go blind as a result. It's also implied that he made her think she was crippled in the same incident, causing her to lose the ability to walk.
- He rewrites Anya's memories to cover up her possession by Marianne, and wipes all memory of her former life, causing Anya to lose all sense of identity and turning her into an emotionless puppet.
- He viciously mocks Lelouch when he demands an explanation for Marianne's assassination, telling Lelouch that he views him as "dead" and that he gave Lelouch everything he has so he has no rights. He then exiles Lelouch and Nunnally to Japan where they will serve as bargaining tools.
- Despite claiming he was protecting Lelouch and Nunnally, he invades Japan anyway, not really caring if they would survive or not.
- He leads a brutal war against Japan and has subjugated many other nations just to gain control of all the Thought Elevators, causing countless deaths in the process, and shows no concern for the war's casualties, dismissing it as a "mundane matter."
- He's overjoyed when Euphemia massacres the Japanese as a result of Lelouch's Geass, sadistically laughing that Lelouch is worthy to be his child now.
- He mocks Lelouch when he learns he's Zero, and forcibly erases Lelouch's memories of his past life, including Nunnally, in order to use him as a pawn to bait out C.C. He also mockingly praises Suzaku for being willing to sacrifice his friendship with Lelouch.
- He uses Lelouch as a pawn to contribute to Britannia's annexation of other countries.
- He rewrites the memories of Lelouch's classmates and has the OSI keep Lelouch under surveillance to keep him from regaining his memories.
- He tells Suzaku that he will use Nunnally as a pawn if Lelouch returns to being Zero.
- He coldly steals V.V.'s code and leaves him to die so he can become immortal, despite V.V. being his own brother. Even considering V.V.'s own crimes, he did love Charles and the other characters are disgusted by the betrayal.
- He exploits Zero's return to wage war on the entire world, taunting Zero that everything he's done has only enabled his own plans.
- He shows no apparent remorse when Tokyo is obliterated, even though his own daughter Nunnally is presumed dead.
- He tries to force C.C. to complete the Ragnarok Connection, dismissing Lelouch's objections to the plan, and stating that the people would be forced to accept it in time.
- He's hypocritical as he claims to hate lies, but much of his own actions involve deception, including using his Geass to implant false memories into people's minds. He also claims all men aren't equal and that the strong should conquer the weak, but in his last moments he is afraid to die himself.
What Prevents Him from Being Pure Evil?[]
- He has a tragic backstory, as his parents were assassinated when he was a child and he and his brother grew disillusioned with humanity and wanted a world without war and conflict. However, this is only a minor prevention, as his plan is ultimately selfish and would only create a better world for himself. He also did not try to fix the problems with the royal family but perpetuated them.
- He genuinely loved his wife Marianne and was outraged at her assassination, involving that his own brother lied to him. He also seems to have some affection for Lelouch and Nunnally, as he sent them away to protect them from V.V. and hoped they would understand his plan. Even his murder of V.V. was a show of intolerance for the depths of V.V.'s cruelty and deceit, particularly when the latter murdered Marianne.
Trivia[]
- Interestingly, both Charles and his brother V.V. qualify as Near Pure Evil.