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| “ | I've remembered something. I killed my own father, and I was never punished for it. I just lived on like nothing happened. And right now? I'm being protected while soldiers die and Elevens suffer; I'm unscathed. A person like this doesn't deserve this. | „ |
| ~ Suzaku Kururugi |
Suzaku Kururugi is the anti-heroic deuteragonist of the Code Geass franchise. He is an Honorary Citizen and soldier of the Holy Britannian Empire, and the best friend and rival of Lelouch vi Britannia.
He was voiced by Takahiro Sakurai (who has also voiced Poseidon in Record of Ragnarok) in the Japanese version, and Yuri Lowenthal in the English dubbed version. His child self was voiced by Akeno Watanabe in the Japanese version, and Laura Bailey in the English dubbed version.
Personality[]
Suzaku was born the son of the Prime Minister of Japan, Genbu Kururugi. As a child showed a few similar traits to his young adult self, both being stubborn and obstinate. When he first met Lelouch, Suzaku believed the stereotype he had likely learned about all Britannians: that he was an arrogant prince that didn't care about those who he saw below him. However, the more time the two spent together eventually led to Suzaku's hatred vanishing, and the two became friends.
During the invasion of Japan, the Britannians new knightmare frames led them to achieving a near overwhelming victory of the Japanese people, and thousands were dying. Despite this, Genbu wanted to order a nation-wide resistance to the bitter end, even down to the average civilian, despite the fact that the loss of the war was inevitable. This horrified Suzaku, as he knew that would have led to even more deaths of the Japanese people; he argued with his father and, during the argument, Suzaku stabbed his father and killed him. Whilst, at the moment, it was more of a sudden adrenaline-fueled action committed by a scared child, Suzaku would later acknowledge as he grew older that a part of him had done it to prevent the resistance attempt that would have cost Japan millions of lives.
History[]
Suzaku makes his first appearance as an Honorary Britannian soldier. Suzaku finds the vehicle and confronts Lelouch, whom he at first believes to be a terrorist before recognizing him. Nagata opens the capsule, releasing its content. Believing it to be poison gas, Suzaku gives Lelouch his gas mask, but instead, a green-haired woman is released. Before they can get answers, Suzaku's superiors come and tell him not to question his briefing and to shoot the "terrorist", Lelouch. When he refuses, he is promptly shot in the back. However, the bullet is stopped by a broken pocket watch belonging to his deceased father.
Suzaku finds himself under arrest afterwards for the murder of Prince Clovis; though Lelouch was in fact responsible for this, the military needed a scapegoat since they had no idea who was responsible.
Lelouch rescues Suzaku from his impending execution by assuming the identity of Zero and taking credit for Clovis' murder, forcing the military to acquit Suzaku due to lack of evidence. While Suzaku agrees with Zero on the latter's assertion that the Britannian Empire is corrupt and not worth serving, he wants to change and improve the Empire from within, to show that his father's death was not in vain. This is because, as Suzaku claims, achieving results by wrong or illegal methods is meaningless.
Suzaku, having been acquitted of all charges, meets Third Princess Euphemia li Britannia and escorts her around Area 11. In Shinjuku Ghetto, they come upon conflicts with Shinichirō Tamaki, a member of the Japanese Resistance and Suzaku ends up intervening in an internal pureblood struggle.
From this point on, Suzaku is enrolled into Ashford Academy on Euphemia's suggestion, though he is at first mistreated by other students like how somebody spray paints "Go Back To Your Ghetto, Eleven!" on his shirt. Milly announced that the one who would catch the cat would get a kiss from any member of the Student Council. Suzaku and Lelouch were the ones that got the cat and got a kiss on the cheek from Nunnally. As a result of this, Suzaku receives a warm welcome from the Student Council and the rest of the student body. The Student Council adopts Arthur and builds a cat house in the council room. Suzaku along with the rest of the student body watches Prince Clovis' funeral on live. During the funeral, the Emperor of Britannia makes a speech on the virtues of inequality and the social battle for evolution and betterment.
His rank within the military is initially Private, but he is promoted to Warrant Officer by Cornelia when she first arrives in Japan. When Nunnally was kidnapped by Mao, Suzaku helps Lelouch rescue her. As they find Nunnally, a bomb is above her that is ready to detonate. Lelouch comes up with a plan and Suzaku was able to defuse the bomb and come to Lelouch's aid. Suzaku then approaches Mao to arrest him, however, Mao uses his Geass and reveals the fact that Suzaku was the one who killed his own father, Genbu Kururugi. After being broken down, Lelouch uses his Geass to permanently silence Mao who is then killed by C.C.. Afterwards, Lelouch takes advantage of this and sways Suzaku to protect Nunnally. However, he is informed that Cornelia changed the executioner for Kyoshiro Tohdoh to him. As Lloyd was signing papers, the Black Knights attempt a rescue mission. Suzaku comes with the Lancelot and engages in a battle with Tohdoh and the Four Holy Swords. As he is overwhelmed, he is revealed as the pilot of the Lancelot and was forced to use the Harken Boosters to repel the Black Knights. However, he is unable to continue as his Landspinner was destroyed, which allows the Black Knights to retreat with Tohdoh.
He is appointed as Euphemia's personal Knight, granting him the rank of Major, after a televised battle with the Black Knights makes his occupation public knowledge. During the battle on Shikine Island, Lelouch was forced to use the power of Geass on Suzaku and commanded him to "Live". As this command gives no time or event limitations, it activates every time Suzaku feels suicidal or is endangered and forces him to survive by any means.
Zero's hands. He gets a visit from V.V., who explains Lelouch's power of Geass to him. This drives him to find and kill Zero at all costs; this is exemplified when he brutally kills anyone who gets in his way, including senior Black Knights member Yoshida. As a result, he is also dubbed the "White Reaper" or "White Death".
He follows Zero to Kamine Island after Cornelia instructs him to. He meets Zero, and the two have a standoff. Lelouch tries to offer Suzaku a truce in order to rescue Nunnally, but Suzaku is too swept up in his grief to care. Enraged, Suzaku exclaims that Lelouch's very existence is a mistake, one he intends to correct and tells Lelouch that he will be the one to save Nunnally instead. Lelouch draws his pistol as well, and both men attempt to shoot one another, at which point the screen fades to black and the season ends with a single gunshot.
In the second season, it is revealed that Suzaku managed to hold his desire to kill Zero, even swearing to the Emperor that he alone will kill Zero. However, he seems to still have some faith in Lelouch, and looks forward for a chance to clear his doubts about his friend by asking him about the incident with Euphemia. (This non-hostility was necessary in order to acquire information however.)
Suzaku and the other Rounds' members watch as Zero announces that he will continue his plans to create the United States of Japan. Suzaku returns to Area 11 as a student in Ashford Academy to discover if Lelouch has regained his memories of being Zero. Unable to find any sort of sign, Suzaku lets Rolo Lamperouge using his Geass to freeze Suzaku temporarily. Suzaku steps in to rescue her, ironically fulfilling the purpose Lelouch had originally envisioned for him. Suzaku leads the Britannian Navy to wipe out the Black Knights to ensure that Nunnally's plans of re-establishing the Special Administrative Zone of Japan will not be dismantled, but is completely surprised when the whole Navy is wiped out. In a surprising twist, Zero announces that he will accept Nunnally's offer in exchange for exile. This is revealed to be a clever ruse when Zero has all one million Elevens participating dress exactly like him, leaving Suzaku no choice but to exile the entire group to prevent another massacre. Standing on an empty stage, Suzaku realizes that Zero must know him very well, having banked on the fact that Suzaku wouldn't allow a massacre to take place.
Suzaku is deployed to the Chinese Federation's capital, where the First Prince of Britannia and the Empress Tianzi are to be wed; however, Zero kidnaps the Empress during the ceremony. Britannia's aid is requested in recovering Tianzi, and Suzaku personally has Kallen Kozuki transferred into Britannian custody before heading into the battle. Lelouch, who had become closer to her, was angered seeing it as Suzaku's way of taking everything he can from him.
Suzaku investigates Shirley's supposed suicide and comes to the conclusion that Lelouch murdered her. He decides to question Kallen about Zero's true identity, threatening to use Refrain if she does not cooperate. She beats him severely during their next meeting in retaliation, which he goes to confront Lelouch personally and discovers that the Intelligence Agency is under the effect of Geass, confirming that Lelouch has regained his memories. However, he is hesitant on reporting this information to Charles because he knows he will use Nunnally as a hostage.
Suzaku wonders about Lelouch and suspects that he may be cut short by the Emperor's appearance. Suzaku is contacted by a desperate Lelouch, who asks him to protect Nunnally from the Emperor. He confirms Suzaku agrees to his request, but only if Lelouch meets him alone at the Kururugi Shrine. The meeting starts off with the inevitable confrontation of Zero's sins, and he asks him why he Geassed him to live that's been contradicting his convictions. But Suzaku recognizes Lelouch's face as someone who does not tell the whole truth to accept punishment since it was the same face Suzaku had after he'd killed his father. Suzaku finally extends a hand to Lelouch, saying that Lelouch could atone for his lies by making them into truths and before Lelouch could reach out, Schneizel arrests Lelouch, which makes Lelouch believe that Suzaku sold him out again. Schneizel gets Suzaku to reveal what he knows about Geass, and Kanon tells him that the world doesn't exist to make him alone happy. Suzaku is left pondering if he will have to use the Lancelot, equipped with Nina's F.L.E.I.J.A. bomb, on Lelouch.
Suzaku as the Knight of Zero.
Suzaku is attacked by Jeremiah Gottwald and Guilford under the influence of Lelouch's Geass. Though both are drawn away from Suzaku, he is forced to battle Kallen in her improved Guren. Though Lloyd advises him to flee, Suzaku insists on dealing with Zero. As Lloyd has upgraded the Guren far beyond what the Lancelot is capable of, she easily parries his attacks and significantly damages the Lancelot. Driven to the edge, Suzaku realizes he cannot win and comes to terms with his death as an atonement. In doing so, Suzaku's Geass command activates and forces him to use the F.L.E.I.J.A. bomb. Kallen dodges and the bomb instead hits the government complex, wiping out the entire government building and most of the surrounding area. Following the battle, Suzaku can only laugh madly at the destruction he has caused.
Suzaku concludes that the ends are more important than the means to reach them, and becomes more focused on becoming Knight of One which upset to the likes of Cornelia and Gino. He suggests to Schneizel that he could assassinate the Emperor. Schneizel agrees and Suzaku heads to Kamine Island to complete his mission, but Suzaku's attempt to kill the Emperor is derailed by the Knight of One. When Lelouch attacks the island, Suzaku considers the task his burden to bear and heads off to find Lelouch, only to have the ground knocked out from under him by a stray blast. He is recovered by Anya, who is possessed by Marianne, and C.C. Suzaku enters the Sword of Akasha with C.C. and looks on as Lelouch defeats his parents and stops Ragnarök. He thinks about taking revenge for Euphemia right after, however, Lelouch tells him that nothing is unforgivable, mirroring the conversation Shirley had with Suzaku before she died. The time shift one month later reveals that he became the Knight of Zero under Lelouch vi Britannia, the 99th Emperor of the Holy Britannian Empire.
When four of the remaining Knights of the Round attempt to remove Lelouch from power, Suzaku battles them single-handedly. With the new Lancelot Albion, he easily defeats and kills all of them, sparing only Gino's life. He later assists Lelouch in taking the UFN leaders hostage. Following the destruction of Pendragon by Schneizel and the revelation that Nunnally is alive, Suzaku is stunned.
Suzaku insists that he tells C.C. that he is Lelouch's sword, and ask C.C. to be his shield since they are accomplices. He joins Lelouch in boarding the shields and allows Kallen to land a blow to the Lancelot's chest, causing it to explode while she loses consciousness. Suzaku is officially reported dead at the end of the battle. Two months later, he shows up as the new Zero to kill Lelouch as part of their plan for world peace. With the Zero Requiem complete, Suzaku weeps silently as Lelouch dies. As his final order and punishment, Lelouch tells Suzaku that he is dead from this day on, forced to exist as Zero, and sacrifice his happiness for the sake of the world, an order Suzaku accepts. Suzaku becomes Nunnally's protector in the following months, aided by Schneizel, who Lelouch ordered to specifically obey Zero.
Trivia[]
- Suzaku is easily a foil to Lelouch, especially in stats. While Lelouch specializes in wits and manipulation but is a poor fighter and decent Knightmare pilot, Suzaku is one of the best fighters and Knightmare users in the series but not as cunning.
- In the 29th Anime Grand Prix, he was 6th place with 143 votes then 19th and 13th, respectively, in the following two.
External Links[]
- Suzaku Kururugi on the Heroes Wiki
- Suzaku Kururugi on the Code Geass Wiki
