World peace isn’t guaranteed, but people now get a chance to fix things or screw up again on their own, instead of being controlled by the Britannian empire or whatever crazy plans Charles and Schneizel had. This is true. From a strategic point of view, he certainly succeeded in wiping the balance of power clean-er. However Britannia was only one part of the problem. I think the strongest thing he did from that pov was the creation of the United Nation thingie that was done mid season. Then he removed Britannia as a threat from the equation, so that it can get involved into that structure without destabilizing everything... hopefully.
I agree with you that the ends do not justify with the means. There may be necessary evils, but not justification for it. I guess Lelouch does see himself as doing necessary evils. For the most part, I found Lelouch sympathetic despite this because, well, he's adorkable and full of drama :D but it's hard not see him as selfish in the end. He destroyed the world, but he didn't rebuilt it - that's going to be Suzaku, Kaguya, Tianzin, Ohgi, etc. 's job - and it's going to be the hardest job.
The same thing kind of happened with WWII, when most the blame for the things Japan did got placed on the government of the time so now Japan can have a victim complex about the war too. That's an interesting point. One of the thing I did like about Code Geass is that I thought it handled the WW2 themes in a way that wasn't all out apologetic about Japan's. The way there was constant talk about Japan's role before the war occurred, Genbu's do-or-die resistance, terrorists as terrorists... So in the end it leaves a bitter taste. Scapegoating to me is something very wrong, morally speaking. Something that leaves real scars in the way a society could get built.
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This is true. From a strategic point of view, he certainly succeeded in wiping the balance of power clean-er. However Britannia was only one part of the problem. I think the strongest thing he did from that pov was the creation of the United Nation thingie that was done mid season. Then he removed Britannia as a threat from the equation, so that it can get involved into that structure without destabilizing everything... hopefully.
I agree with you that the ends do not justify with the means. There may be necessary evils, but not justification for it. I guess Lelouch does see himself as doing necessary evils. For the most part, I found Lelouch sympathetic despite this because, well, he's adorkable and full of drama :D but it's hard not see him as selfish in the end. He destroyed the world, but he didn't rebuilt it - that's going to be Suzaku, Kaguya, Tianzin, Ohgi, etc. 's job - and it's going to be the hardest job.
The same thing kind of happened with WWII, when most the blame for the things Japan did got placed on the government of the time so now Japan can have a victim complex about the war too.
That's an interesting point. One of the thing I did like about Code Geass is that I thought it handled the WW2 themes in a way that wasn't all out apologetic about Japan's. The way there was constant talk about Japan's role before the war occurred, Genbu's do-or-die resistance, terrorists as terrorists...
So in the end it leaves a bitter taste. Scapegoating to me is something very wrong, morally speaking. Something that leaves real scars in the way a society could get built.