Code Geass R2

I just finished the 2nd (and final) season of Sunrise's critically-acclaimed and ridiculed Code Geass. For some reason (lethargy? too busy? conscious awareness that I have ~zero readers interested?), I'm not feeling up to writing an end-of-series review like I normally do, so just suffice to say:

- the 2nd season was much better than the 1st, which is pretty rare as we all know (for a sequel to be better than the original)
- the second half of the 2nd season wrapped up all the loose plot ends from both seasons
- the second half of the 2nd season was pretty damn good
- the end of the series is (small spoiler!) the first well-written bittersweet-tragic ending I have seen in ages. Most of the sad endings I've seen in anime in the last couple of years have belonged to animes that were 8/10 at best, and most of the good endings that I've seen have belonged to much more light-hearted fare (like Haruhi or Minami-ke). It's been a while since I've seen a brainfood anime like Code Geass, one which well suits the Shakespearean label of "tragedy," end as well as this. And did Geass simply end well? No: it ended spectacularly. Good writing from Episode 13 onward, and brilliant writing from Episode 15 onward. I was treated to 11 episodes of just wonderful writing, something fans of Code Geass are unfortunately not accustomed to. (Ask anyone who watched Season 1!)

Long story short? I'll be buying both seasons on DVD. I had not been leaning that way, not in a million years, back when I was on Episode 8 or 9 of Season 2. But by 15, I was at my turning point, and by 25 (the final episode), I knew I was several hundred in the hole. Or will be -- it'll have to wait until Christmas.