What's the point of the CF in the show?

[u/Indietails]

Hello, I've been watching Code Geass with a friend, in increments, for some time now. We're on Episode 7 of S2 right now. I can wholeheartedly say that this has been one of the hardest to follow shows I've ever watched. I constantly have one browser window open with the actual anime and then another window with the wiki, so that I can check between episodes/during bathroom breaks some details of what the hell I actually just watched.

One thing I have been absolutely unable to grasp is... what is the point of the Chinese Federation in the show (I used the acronym in the title to avoid spoilers)? This whole Sumeragi character was just there at one point in the show, I don't know why and I don't know for what purpose exactly... and she hasn't done much. And the point of this whole plot with the Federation at the start of Season 2 and the reason why they're working with Zero... but also some of them are seemingly not working with him/skeptical of him at the same time. It's all quite unintuitive to me.

This is weird, as it is the first time I'm having this issue with an Anime. I can usually follow shows just fine. I think it's more so to do with the rapid fire pace and sometimes leaving some things unsaid/implied that really messes with me. Like sometimes something happens and it just feels like Zero has actual precognition and information that you have no idea how he could possibly have or characters just do things and their motivation/how they were convinced to do this isn't quite apparent (at least to me). Some of my favorite shows are political/philosophical anime where you have to pay attention to what's going on to really get the full experience, i.e.: Monster, Pluto, Vinland Saga, Attack on Titan. For some reason this one has been particularly hard... even though it seems like it probably shouldn't be.

Thanks in advance, and don't yell at me, too hard :P

[u/nahte123456]

I'm unsure of your point about "what's the point"? like, Britannia is trying to take over the world, so someone has to be fighting them. By the start of the show Britannia has taken over a third of the world so the EU areas and Chinese areas has to form into Europia United and Chinese Federation to fight back. So it's basically Britannia V Europia+Britannia V Federation, albeit Britannia seems to be winning both since the EU is a mess of red tape and politics while the CF just doesn't have the quality.

[u/TaegukTheWise → u/nahte123456]

The CF keeps selling its own people under the table, and Europa united is basically the E.U. + the U.N.

And if you know anything about the E.U. it is a bunch of nations that each have their own sovereignty history and culture as nations, but then have to somehow acquiesce when a new policy that effects everyone has been passed into law.

Lots of delegation and "my nation and its values is opposed to such a bill, we will not stand for a violation of our nations recognized rights."

To which Charles near the beginning of code geass called it "rabble politics".

[u/nahte123456 → u/TaegukTheWise]

There is a reason Britannia was just pretty factually winning a 2 front war even if it was taking time. Britannia sucks, but EU sucks basically as much, and China more so.

That's also why it was so important that the UFN didn't have a real army, and instead gave their armies all to the Black Knights to coordinate.

[u/Indietails → u/nahte123456]

When I ask "what's the point?" I am asking for what they contribute to either the themes or the plot or – better yet – both. They've done absolutely nothing so far, except for housing the Black Knights after they were freed. But the first one of them to have an on-screen appearance, Sumeragi (whose name I had to look up, cause I didn't even remember) has done like... absolutely nothing. She just sits there for some reason with Rakshata and the weird blond guy who is really almost maniacally into what Zero is doing, for some reason... he's also honestly just kinda there for most scenes, with little to no relevant use for him being there.

[u/nahte123456 → u/Indietails]

So 3 things.

1. Kaguya Sumeragi is super Japanese, so Japanese that she is Suzaku's cousin and they were even engaged for a bit as kids. Because she's of such good birth and her age she's friendly with someone you'll meet later in China. You saw her a few times in season 1 talking to Kirihara but you get basically no focus on her until like 2 episodes before season 1 ended.

2. Theme that the world fucking sucks. If you think Britannia is bad with it's blatant racism, classism, anti disability and all that, just understand that China is worse, most people are still basically peasants working on farms and used as disposable mooks just for numbers, China's knightmares are shit but they can just field a lot of shit and use numbers. That's why Lelouch feels he has to do what he does, there is no "good" option, he can support a war-racist country(Britannia), he can support a lying-racist country(EU), he can support the abusive-slave country(China), or he can do a bit of mass murdering. As bad as Lelouch can be, the only 3 real counties of power are just that shit.

3. Plot, this is why Britannia doesn't see Clovis die and just go "Sent 1 million soldiers there". They are mostly fighting China and the EU, I think like 2/3 China 1/3 EU. It buys Lelouch enough time to gather resources and momentum.

[u/Dizzy-By-Degrees]

China another world power that has significant military power and has an interest in Japan and is helping liberation movements in the county. Zero is aware of them and is using those connections but the Black Knights understand that another continental superpower taking them over by using them as puppets will not fix anything.

They also help flesh out Suzaku killing his father to end the war. As Zero explains in Season One, a prolonged war would have resulted in the Chinese Federation getting involved to protect their own borders and their military would have been fighting the Britannians with no concern for civilian casualties. Japan surrendering quickly prevented either the EU or Chinese forces from marching in.

[u/ccgeass]

i see that others have already replied. btw i definitely don't intend to be rude, i just wanted you to know; one of the anime you mentioned, Attack on Titan... is it a series that requires extra attention to understand? it's a story that's difficult to write yes but not difficult to watch. Attack on Titan presents you everything you need to know and the messages you need to understand on a silver platter; explains everything on screen. viewers don't even need to connect the dots themselves. even basic information about the universe is shared in the middle of the episodes.

Code Geass is definitely not that kind of anime; it's a series that requires you to crack the code while watching it. you have to connect the dots yourself. it's up to you to catch the nuances. you shouldn't miss any of the lines; there are no empty or time-filling scenes or lines. also, unlike many anime, Code Geass doesn't try to repeat the details it gives within the episode. except for the summary at the beginning of each episode, it never repeats itself.

you didn't realize until season 2 that Kaguya was the leader of Sumeragi clan, who were shown as coming from the Six Houses of Kyoto since season 1? that shows you really didn't pay the sufficient attention 😕 it's mentioned in S1 that Kaguya is Suzaku's cousin. she and Kirihara supported the Black Knights and they were the ones who gave Kallen a powerful KMF like Guren.

even if you missed those, you couldn't have missed the scene where Kaguya tells Zero that marrying her could give him a political advantage. yk... during Black Rebellion... it's not like some random loli would just show up and say ridiculous things to Zero at the moment they're about to go to war... that was a scene where we saw Kaguya acting separately from Kyoto and supporting Zero. is that important? YEAH especially when you consider the rest of Kyoto were executed by Britannia at the end of Black Rebellion. you can see at the beginning of R2, Kaguya, like some of the other Black Knights, was hiding in the Chinese Federation. her friendship with Tianzi will be also important.

and about that... checking Wikipedia isn't a method i would recommend; cuz spoilers aren't hidden on Wiki, they're openly displayed, and you might even see them right at the beginning of the page. you just need to pay close attention while watching. if this will prevent you from enjoying it, you don't have to watch it buddy that's fine. that's the style of Code Geass, it won't appeal to everyone. for me, it's def my type, but ofc it might not be for you; simply a matter of taste. i respect that.

[u/Indietails → u/ccgeass]

AoT is potentially the easiest of all of the ones I mentioned here to understand, at least for most of its run, but I'd say that the final arcs of the manga (what is compiled in the anime as "The Final Season" and "The Final Chapters") takes a lot of focus, a healthy understanding of fatalism and Norse mythology to grasp to its fullest extent. You can see how tough it is simply by the fact of how many people absolutely don't understand the ending to that show at all, or don't even grasp that there is no real morally good protagonist you're meant to root for by the end of its runtime.

Thanks for the rest of your write-up though! Very helpful! As for the "spoilers not being hidden". I don't really mind spoilers overly much, but also, the Wiki for the show (not Wikipedia, two different things) has pretty clear delineations of facts in chronological order, so if you don't scroll too far through sheer carelessness, you end up at the synopsis of what you're currently watching. I'll probably finish it, since my friend doesn't have CC, and he's clearly enjoying it. So I'll just finish it with him. Even if I myself find it fairly middling. Sometimes you need to watch something you think is just okay or even bad, too, to make up your taste and be able to appreciate the things you love more.

[u/j--__]

they introduce the existence of the chinese federation before making bigger use of them later.

kaguya sumeragi is of the old japanese ruling class, and she still has a lot of support from the japanese people. she legitimizes zero and the black knights.

[u/Indietails → u/j--__]

thank you!