#fandom: code geass

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Episode 14

- 第14話はマオ編の始まりであると同時に、ルルーシュとシャーリーの関係が一段落する回だ。ルルーシュのことをシャーリーが忘れてしまうという切ない顔末が、殺伐としているのに、妙に人間臭い「コードギアス 』の世界観を象徴している。

Episode 14 is the beginning of the Mao Arc, and at the same time, the resolution to the first stage of the relationship between Lelouch and Shirley. The sad ending, where Shirley forgets about Lelouch, symbolizes the bleak yet strangely human worldview of "Code Geass".

- シャーリーと日常

ルルーシュの周囲には、深く関わる何人もの女性がいる。だがゼロとしてでもプリタニの皇子としてでもなく、ただ一人の高校生として接することができるのはシャーリーのた。それだけに彼女はルルーシュにとって、平和な日常の象徴とも言うべき存在である。シャーリーの父を死なせた代償として、ルルーシュは彼女との繋がりを失う。それ同時に、ルルーシュが平和な日常から遠ざかり、ゼロとして凄惨な戦いと陰謀の世界によ深く踏み込みつつあることも意味している。

Shirley and Everyday Life

Lelouch is surrounded by a number of women who are deeply involved in his life. However, Shirley is the only one that he can interact with as a high school student, not as Zero or the Prince of Britannia. For this reason, she is the symbol of a peaceful life for Lelouch. As the price for Shirley's father's death, Lelouch loses his connection with her. At the same time, it also means that Lelouch is moving away from his peaceful daily life and is stepping deeper into the world of horrific battles and conspiracies as Zero.

シャーリーの記憶を消すルルーシュ

- 自合にまつわるシャーリーの記憶をギアスで消すことを選ぶルルーシュだが、放送当この親末は意外だった。今までのルルーシュなら、シャーリーを殺す。あるいは、とことん利用すると思っていたからだ、だが、ルルーシュにとってアッシュフォード学園での歴は大きなもので、そこで知り合ったシャーリーは、恋愛感情は別にしても、特別在だったのだろう。だが、その差別化はある意味では徴慢で甘い考え方であり、そさがじわじわと、ルルーシュの足かせとなっていく。

Lelouch erases Shirley’s memory

Lelouch chooses to use the Geass to erase Shirley's memories of him, but the ending was quite unexpected. One would think Lelouch would have killed Shirley or used her to the fullest. But for Lelouch, his history at Ashford Academy was a big deal, and Shirley, whom he met there, must have been special to him, even aside from his romantic feelings. But this differentiation is in a sense a form of pride and naivety, and it is slowly becoming a stumbling block for Lelouch.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

R2

Episode 11

- なんとも単純だが、一見多くの女住に囲まれているルルーシュも、こういう政略などを離れた話を相談できる相手はシャーリーしかおらず、それゆえ彼女が特別な存在なのだろう。

It's quite simple, but at first glance, Lelouch is surrounded by a lot of women, but the only person he can talk to about things apart from politics is Shirley, and that's probably why she's so special to him.

Episode 12

- 久しぶりであると同時に、第12話「ラブアタック！」は最後のラブコメ的エピソードとなる。

It's been a long time, and at the same time, episode 12, "Love Attack! is the last romantic comedy-like episode.

Episode 13

- 過去の清算

この第13話から第15話はルルーシュとV.V.の対決を軸に物語が進むが、これは第1期におけるマオとの対決に相当するパートと言えるだろう。この二つの戦いにおいて、ルルーシュはギアスの力によって為してきたことの代償を支払わされることになる。どちらの戦いにおいてもシャーリーが犠牲となるのは、彼女が「平穏な学生生活」を象徴する存在だからだ。ルルーシュがギアスによって手に入れた力と引き換えに失わなければならないのは、何よりもその「平穏な学生生活」なのだ。

The reckoning of the past

The story of episodes 13 to 15 revolves around the confrontation between Lelouch and V.V. This is the equivalent of the confrontation with Mao in the first season. In both of these battles, Lelouch is made to pay for what he has done with the power of Geass. In both battles, Shirley is sacrificed because she represents the "peaceful student life". What Lelouch has to lose in exchange for the power he has acquired through Geass is, above all, his "peaceful student life.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Another tidbit I liked is that they draw parallels between the phone-calls Shirley and Lelouch exchange. For example, they say that their phone-call in the first episode is there to symbolize the worldview of Shirley, who is on the other end of the cell phone, and that of Lelouch, who is starting to get involved with the Geass. Then in episode 12, when Lelouch is in that strategy meeting thinking about Shirley asking him out to the concert, they said it's the reverse of their last phone-call. Lelouch is living in two worlds, and this time, he's the one bringing Shirley into his.

They also say that all those ShirLulu phone-calls hint at their future relationship.

“Good morning, Lulu.”

Shirley walked forward with light steps, and came to a stop before me.

“Is something wrong?”

I wonder why, when I saw her soft smile, my heart worked itself into a frenzy.

Along with the joy, there was an unexplainable regret.

It was a complex feeling.

It felt like the possibilities that closed-off without choice were weeping from somewhere.*

As we walked down the school halls, Shirley and I made small talk about anything and everything. Things like the weather, homework and 'Don’t tell me you’re going to doze off in class again, Lulu!'. For some reason, such a conversation felt very fulfilling, despite having no urgency to it.

I suddenly remembered something I had kept in my breast pocket. That's right, these must have found their way to me precisely for this very moment.

"Hey, Shirley..."

"Hm? What is it?”

"What do you think of classical music?"

"Huh? Well, not much, really. I've never been particularly interested in it."

"I just happened to have some tickets for a concert, if you'd like to come."

"Huh?! You mean, you want to go with m—me?"

"Yes, I want to go with you."

"I—I mean, but what about Nunna-chan and Rollo...?"

"I only have two tickets," I said. "You aren’t interested?"

Suddenly, Shirley leaned forward and said, "I am! I'm really, really interested in classical music!"

"I'm glad to hear that," I replied. And I meant it, in more ways than one. I didn't think she would refuse, but I could have invited her in a way that would make it impossible for her to turn me down. I was truly glad I didn’t choose to word my invitation that way...

Shirley and I walked shoulder to shoulder down the halls, until we reached the classroom.

Its closed door was right before us.

I looked at the clock. We were right on time. The bell would surely ring one second after we open the door.

Well then, let’s enjoy our boring class to the fullest, shall we?

I looked at Shirley’s smiling face, and she nodded good naturedly.

I opened the classroom door.

Light poured out and wrapped around me.

☆

I see.

Lelouch.

So, this is what you wished for?

You were going to take over the world.

Yet, this is what you hoped that “world” would look like.

Oh, what a modest dream.

No, that’s far from it.

You wanted to have it all, without missing a single thing.

How greedy.

What a selfish, sweet dream.

Well then, your journey is over.

You have been set free from the world.

So.

Just rest inside me.

For the dream will go on forever.

Good night, Lelouch.

First, what I loved most about their development is that Shirley fell for Lelouch because she was intrigued by his thought-process, which lead her to become his friend and fall for him in the process. She fell for him after seeing all of his painfully un-cool sides, and loved him despite finding out he was behind the Zero mask. Her love is as genuine as it can get; and the way she falls for him is ridiculously realistic.

Meanwhile, Lelouch loved Shirley dearly (she's the only one from the StuCo that he brings up in Episode 2, aside from Rivalz, who at that point was set-up as his closest buddy), but he took her for granted and didn't realize that literally everyone around them thought it was only a matter of time before they got together - this, too, is ridiculously realistic in a school setting.

It's only when Shirley makes her feelings clear and that he loses her at the hands of Mao, that Lelouch's own feelings for Shirley come to the forefront. And they bring out what I love best about Lelouch; that deep down, he's just a desperate kid that bit more than he could chew, one that sadly doesn't know how to keep what matters to him safe.

And Shirley is one of the things that matters most to him. We may not see this in the day-to-day scenes where Lelouch is distracted by his big Zero Plans™, but the series never shies away from it when push comes to shove. Shirley is the very first person CC tells Lelouch to keep at arms-lenght so he won't lose her; and Shirley is also the one person Lelouch constantly tries (and fails) to be selfless about. Like erasing her memories just so she will stay away from him and be safe & happy.

And the thing is that, Shirley's dynamic with Lelouch is the only one explicitly romantic from both ends throughout the whole show. You can't watch Lelouch & Shirley's biggest moments and read them platonically because the series didn't write them that way. When Lelouch erases her memories, he hugs her close to him and tells her that if he could do it all over again/if they could be reborn, they should be lovers. Then he waxes lyrical about how her smile saved him and how precious she is to him, all while a love song about Shirley from Lelouch's POV plays in the background. She's also the only one he kisses back. Then in S2, he blurts out that he likes Shirley and when Shirley suggests that he's lying, he denies it in such an emotional way that he takes himself aback. Then he literally sits there, expecting Shirley to kiss him, and looks so nervous that his closed eyelids are shaking. And then blushes up a storm simply because Shirley calls him out on expecting a kiss from her.

This is the same boy that had a semi-naked Kallen fall on-top of him and didn't bat an eyelid. The same guy that sees CC's naked legs every other day and just picks up her discarded boots to tidy up the room. Yet the simple thought of Shirley kissing him makes him turn into a lost, nervous school-boy; and that's what I love most about them and their development. The effect Shirley has on Lelouch and the sides of him she is able to bring out; because I love Lelouch most when he's at his most honest and vulnerable, and I feel like only Shirley, Nunnally and Suzaku are able to get him there.

Secondly, the meta. Look at the scene above, for example; Shirley's dad is explaining to Shirley that one day she'll fall for someone, and as long as that person sincerely loves her, he'll support them with their whole heart. The series literally had Lelouch's own victim step up and clear up that they would support LuluShir, as long as Lelouch sincerely loves Shirley back; and the way the scene was set-up, with precisely that line being heard as we pan to Lelouch, really stood out to me. Because it was clear foreshadowing of the fact that either Lelouch already did or would come to do just that. Otherwise, Shirley's dad's monologue could have simply been about how he would support Shirley's love regardless of who it is, instead of focusing on how he would support it if the love is mutual.

All this to say that, like I mentioned before, Shirley's and Lelouch's dynamic is written in such a way that you can't take the romance out of it. Kallen's with Lelouch remains one-sided throughout the entire show, CC's with Lelouch is fantastic but it reads the same way whether you see them romantically or not. Romance is not an integral part of it; depending on how you look at it, it isn't even a factor. With Shirley, however, it is integral from the beginning up to the very end.

But that's not all, Shirley's dynamic with Lelouch is also a lot about hope and kindness; all of the values Lelouch seeks in the ideal world he wants to build for Nunnally. This is best represented in the episode where Lelouch finally realizes that his happiness has been in Ashford all along, and takes Shirley's wish - of wanting to light fireworks together with everyone - as his own.

The fact that when Shirley dies, Lelouch stops hoping for a happy ending says it all. Just like Euphie represented the hope of a bright, kind, happy future for Suzaku; so did Shirley to Lelouch. And just like Euphie being tragically ripped from Suzaku sealed Suzaku's ending, so did Shirley being ripped away from Lelouch; because it was at this point that Lelouch truly cuts-off Ashford, the happy place he longed to return to.

Similarly, both Euphie and Shirley are at the core of what makes Zero Requiem possible. Euphie, because she didn't tell Suzaku who Zero was (thus showing that she believed in Lelouch despite everything) and Shirley, because she's the one that plants the seed of forgiveness into Suzaku's mind. Euphie and Shirley, with their endless kindness, inspire Suzaku and Lelouch both to make the choices that lead to Zero Requiem.

So essentially, from a meta perspective, I believe Shirley is meant to be to Lelouch what Euphie was to Suzaku. And Euphie was Suzaku's one true love and his hope for a happy ending. She was his biggest tragedy.

The difference is that Suzaku had no other potential ships more popular than himself with Euphie, so Sunrise didn't have any reasons to play it safe. Which sadly wasn't the case with Lelouch and Shirley, and their narrative does suffer greatly from it.

Despite this, Lelouch and Shirley are the only ones to have their own love song (which is, ironically, given to Lelouch & CC in the fanfic movies once Sunrise decided to make them the main romantic ship in that continuity- which once again, says it all) and they're also the ones that get their happy ending in the side-story featuring Lelouch's ideal world, which shows him asking out Shirley to a concert rather than the other way around.

So I feel that the intentions were there, but Sunrise didn't commit to LuluShir the way they committed to SuzaEuphie; which brings me to the third reason I ship Lelouch and Shirley.

I believe that Lelouch and Shirley, their hopes and their tragedy, had the most potential out of any of Lelouch's ships to elevate the show even higher. I do believe that just like Euphie, Shirley was always meant to die because of the effect her death would have on Lelouch; and so he could fully parallel Suzaku. However, I think that if only they had committed to LuluShir the way they did to SuzaEuphie, the tragedy of Shirley's death would have even more impactful.

If Lelouch had been allowed to savor his happy ending after he starts dating Shirley; if he had been genuinely allowed to touch it, however briefly, only to have it ripped away from him - I believe that would've hit the general viewer even harder. If asking ourselves Did Lelouch love Shirley back? weren't necessary at all, Lelouch's loss would've been much more widely felt and that last scene where Lelouch lies dying and Shirley is the first thing to go through his mind would've been much more touching (the montage Lelouch sees as he dies opens with Shirley's smile and closes with his own - the kind of subtle yet extremely telling thing Sunrise pulls with LuluShir throughout R2).

Code Geass could've literally ripped my heart out and stepped on it, but instead they decided to play it safe and just imply LuluShir throughout meta stuff and Lelouch's reactions and commentary here and there; and that sadly didn't do justice to all the potential they had.

The main reason for this, I feel, is that you're absolutely right; the fanbase does indeed prefer him with CC and Kallen, and this has been the case since the beginning. Leaving aside those that genuinely enjoy their dynamics with Lelouch more than Shirley's (which is completely fair), a good part of the fanbase associates Shirley with 'uncool Ashford stuff' while they would rather Lelouch be Zero 100% of the time, so CC and Kallen fit the quota better. The fact that one of them is Lelouch's second-in-command and the other the token fanservice-action-girl of the show also nets them more points than Shirley with the general viewer, who watches Code Geass for the political chess moves and the flashy mecha fights.

Sunrise could've found a way to make the general viewer care more about Shirley, so that her storyline with Lelouch and the role she was meant to play on it could've lived up to their full potential; instead, they chose to leave her on the side-lines until it was time to set Lelouch on his no-happy-ending-in-sight path. Which was, to me, a huge loss of potential.

So when it comes down to it, the last reason I love LuluShir as much as I do is that I see and treasure what it could have been.

Shirley miraculously surviving (Lelouch was so distraught that he didn't notice her heart hadn't stopped, Suzaku finds her after he leaves and rushes her to the hospital desperately hoping she won't be Euphie all over again).

Suzaku figuring out that Shirley must have regained her memories and not knowing whether Lelouch was the one who shot her or not, so he sets up Anti-Geass guards at Shirley's room door. Lelouch knowing Rollo did it and he could come back to finish the job if he were to find out Shirley survived, so Suzaku's actions work to his advantage and he Geasses the guards into reporting to him.

Milly calling Lelouch who can barely bring himself to listen to her voicemail, expecting her to tell him about Shirley's funeral, only to find out Shirley actually survived.

Emotional LuluShir reunion where Lelouch sneaks in into her room at night, thinking she'd be asleep, just needing to actually see her alive, but of course Shirley wakes up. Lelouch feels guilty for being there at all, knowing that he is the reason Shirley's always in danger, and Shirley tries to make him understand that he needs to let her choose for herself this time. Lelouch refuses to take the risk of losing her again though, so he doesn't take her with him. He soothes her by telling her the best help she can give him is staying safe. So, Shirley makes him promise that he'll stay safe, too.

Suzaku deciding to take Shirley with him and Nunnally to keep her safe from Geass users. However, he is warned that the Emperor would see Shirley as a nuisance if he were to know that she has her memories back, so Shirley and Nunnally have to pretend not to know each other.

Eventually the Emperor finds out and before they can get rid of Shirley, Suzaku decides to ship her off to the Black Knights, by then trusting that Lelouch would do what it takes to keep her safe.

I had it all planned-out all the way to the end, and the focus would stay on Shirley/Lelouch/Suzaku and to a lesser extent, Nunnally and CC all the way through. The ending would involve a time-skip where Zero went MIA after defeating the emperor and Shirley became the swimming teacher at their school, and they would reunite at the last scene.