Reception
Lelouch's character has been well received by viewers of the series, appearing in various anime pools. Lelouch was chosen as the most popular male character of 2006, 2007 and 2008 at Animage magazine and Newtype magazine named him the best anime male character of the decade. He was chosen the most popular male character of 2006, 2007, and 2008 at Animage magazine's annual Anime Grand Prix. His voice actor Jun Fukuyama also won the "Best Actor in a Leading Role" award for his portrayal of the character at the first Seiyu Awards in 2007. Fukuyama's work as Lelouch's voice actor also lead him to win the Tokyo International Anime Fair in the category "Best Voice Actor".
Critics for anime and manga series have also commented on Lelouch's character. Anime News Network's Carl Kimlinger stated that Lelouch "is hard to like" because of his narcissistic personality, but noted that his bonds with Nunnally and his friends make up for that. Bamboo Dong from the site agreed with Kimlinger because of Lelouch's arrogance but at the same time commented that such traits made him interesting to watch. Mostly positive response was given by Danielle Van Gorder from Mania Entertainment due to Lelouch's differences from most of anime's protagonists and how his double life as a Zero and as a student is shown across the series. Chris Beveridge from the same site praised Lelouch's actions in R2 when he becomes Britannia's Emperor, describing him as "the classic angle of the villain with good motives" because of the dangerous actions he does for a greater good. Beveridge also commented on his confrontations with Scheizel and Nunnally, mentioning the rivalry across the series in the former and citing the latter as heartbreaking. IGN compared him with Death Note's Light Yagami and the Count of Monte Cristo's Edmond Dantès due to his double life and his quest for revenge, respectively. The double life aspect has also been praised due to how such change also differetiates the show's tone from a high school comedy to an action show, and how he "winds-up" between his two selves. Moreover, his reasons for evil actions have also been found to help viewers to like the character. Also from IGN, Ramsey Isler found Lelouch's double life trait as rather comical as after short prologue of his role as Zero in an episode, he is seen doing homework at school for being absent to classes. Kevin Leathers from UK Anime Network enjoyed Lelouch's personality as his cold persona made the series "refreshing" from other mecha anime. Johnny Yong Bosch's role as Lelouch English voice actor has also been praised due to how Lelouch's villany and youth characteristics are portrayed. Lelouch is also ranked #23 on IGN's Top 25 Anime Characters of All Time.
Read more about this topic: Lelouch Lamperouge
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