Kallen Kōzuki

Infobox animanga character
color = #000
color text = #FFF
name = Kallen Kōzuki
series = Code Geass


caption = Kallen Kōzuki
first =
last =
creator =
voiced by = Japanese
Ami Koshimizu English
Karen Strassman
nickname =
alias = Kallen Stadtfeld
Red Lotus
Ace of the Elevens
Ace of the Black Knights
Q-1 ["Q-1" is a common codename for Kallen given by Lelouch, first used in the second episode "The White Knight Awakens".]
age = 17 (first season)
18 (second season)
gender = Female
born = March 29, 2000 a.t.b. [Code Geass Perfect Stage Fanbook]
death =
occupation = Ashford Academy student
Member of the Order of the Black Knights
title =
relatives = Mother (Eleven)
Father (Britannian)
Naoto Kōzuki (Elder brother, deceased)
Stepmother (Britannian)
nationality = Britannian-Japanese
divider = yes
aux1 name = Allegiance
aux1 = Order of the Black Knights
aux2 name = Position
aux2 = Commander of Squad Zero
aux3 name = nowrap|Knightmare Frame
aux3 = Guren Mk-IInihongo|Kallen Kōzuki|紅月カレン|Kōzuki Karen, known as nihongo|Kallen Stadtfeld|カレン・シュタットフェルト|Karen Shutattoferuto at school, is a fictional character in the Sunrise anime series "". Ami Koshimizu won "Best Actress in supporting role" for her role as Kallen at the first Seiyu Awards in 2007. Kallen was also awarded 8th place in the 29th Anime Grand Prix. [ [http://img138.imageshack.us/img138/6355/ffemaleli7.jpgFavorite Female Character, 29th Annual Anime Grand Prix.] ]

Character outline

Kallen is a Britannian-Japanese girl, who believes herself to be a Japanese person at heart and prefers to be known by her birth name, Kōzuki. Her father is Britannian and her mother is an Eleven; her father comes from a prestigious Britannian family, which Kallen benefits from. She attends the Ashford Academy, where she is a member of its student council and is one of its most outstanding students. Her brother, nihongo|Naoto Kōzuki|紅月ナオト|Kōzuki Naoto, with whom she had a deep connection, was a former leader of her resistance cell before his death.

Both Kallen's stepmother, a Britannian, and biological mother live with her in the same house, but her biological mother is employed as a maid and is often mistreated by both her stepmother and Kallen herself. After her biological mother is arrested for using Refrain (a fictional drug which lets people think they're reliving the past), Kallen changes her views and decides to fight against the Britannian Empire not only for her brother, but to fulfill her new wish for a world in which she can live happily with her biological mother.

Kallen leads a double life as a normal Britannian student and as a member of a guerrilla resistance group against Britannia, which is later reformed into the Order of the Black Knights by Lelouch Lamperouge. When she is in school, Kallen portrays herself as a weak-bodied high school student who obeys all of the formalities. However, her personality changes in to a very strong-willed and forceful one when she acts as a resistance fighter.

As a running gag, Kallen ends up nude or immodestly dressed in front of other people on numerous occasions: Lelouch sees her naked after she pulls back a shower curtain in surprise in the third episode, Suzaku sees her bathing under a waterfall when they are stranded on Kaminejima, she is forced to dress in an immodest bunny costume at the start of the second season (to plant a tracking device on Lelouch), and she walks in on a meeting between C.C. and the Chinese ambassadors wearing only a towel when intending to complain about the previous situation to C.C. (claiming that the operation would've gone faster if C.C. was wearing the outfit).

In an interview reported by the anime magazine Newtype USA, seiyu Ami Koshimizu talked about the difficulty of voicing Kallen because of the double life that her character leads. Certain aspects of Kallen's character such as her girlish naivete and competitiveness made it easy for the voice actress to relate, even to the point of admitting that in some ways they act very much the same.cite news|title = Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion| pages = 32-33| language = English| publisher = Newtype USA| date = 12 December 2007]

Character history

First season

Kallen appears early in the first episode, driving a truck with C.C.'s capsule. After Lelouch gains possession of his Geass from C.C., he takes possession of an enemy Sutherland and helps Kallen to escape the other Knightmare Frames chasing her. He further directs the remaining resistance forces, granting them a decisive advantage until Suzaku Kururugi uses his Lancelot to disable their mechs. She sacrifices her mech to allow Lelouch to escape, despite not knowing who he really is.

After this incident, Lelouch's unfamiliarity with his Geass causes him to reveal knowledge of the Shinjuku incident to Kallen while questioning her about her motivations, leading her to suspect him of being their unknown benefactor. Lelouch tricks her by playing a recorded message of himself on the telephone, drawing her suspicions off him by pretending to be the mysterious Zero. With the formation of the Black Knights and Zero's increasing number of victories over the Britannian forces, Kallen comes to greatly admire him, evident in her ecstatic reaction to her appointment as head of his personal guard. She even tries to assassinate Suzaku Kururugi after learning that he is the pilot of the Lancelot, believing it would benefit Zero's goal. The trust seems to be mutual, as Lelouch offers to reveal his identity to her when he notices her curiosity, she declines though shows signs of jealousy when it appears C.C is the only one to know.

Once the Black Knights begin receiving new Knightmares, Zero gives Kallen the newly developed Guren Mk-II. With its powerful radiation-emitting arm and speed matching that of Suzaku's Lancelot, Kallen becomes one of the Black Knights' most talented pilots, often facing off against Suzaku and usually proving an even match for him.

At the end of the first season, Kallen reveals her identity to the students of Ashford Academy when the Black Knights occupy it as their base of operations, convincing the student council that they will not be harmed. When Lelouch abandons the battle to rescue his sister, Kallen follows him. She witnesses his confrontation with Suzaku and learns about his true identity and his Geass power. She flees in shock rather than help Lelouch deal with Suzaku.

econd season

One year later, Kallen is still part of the Black Knights. Along with C.C., she is the only member who knows Lelouch's identity and secret power, having been brought up to speed by C.C. in the interim. Kallen confronts Lelouch about whether or not he used Geass to make her loyal to him, and Lelouch insists that her loyalty is her own decision. She seems to accept this, and still supports Zero, even though she prefers to see Lelouch and Zero as separate entities; however, she later starts seeing them as the same person. She also desires to be in his inner circle as C.C. is, so that she won't be left in the dark about his plans; though she won't admit it, C.C. easily sees through the act and playfully teases her about it.

During the operation to kidnap Nunnally vi Britannia as she is being transported to Area 11, Kallen receives an upgrade for the Guren Mk-II, giving it flight capabilities and an upgraded radiation arm. With it she is able to destroy Gilbert G.P. Guilford's Vincent and the remaining two Glaston Knights flanking him, then incapacitate Gino and Anya's Knightmare Frames with a wide-range burst. Her battle with Suzaku is cut short when the airship carrying Nunnally crashes into the sea.

After this incident, Lelouch becomes depressed over Nunnally's involvement, since he can't bring himself to go against her wishes. When he nearly resorts to taking Refrain, Kallen steps in and talks him out of it, promising to do anything he asks her to. He tries to kiss her, requesting her to comfort him as a woman, but she backs out at the last moment and slaps him, insisting that he bears the responsibility for realizing the dream he gave the Japanese people. After Lelouch regains his composure and tricks the Britannians into exiling the Black Knights, she shows a great deal of relief knowing that he's feeling better and asks him why he came back.

During the Black Knights attempted kidnapping of Empress Tianzi, Kallen is captured by Li Xingke in his Shenhu, having taken her Guren into battle without replacing its energy filler. After the High Eunuchs turn to Schneizel el Britannia for military support, she is turned over to Suzaku along with the Guren. She is sent back to a prison in Area 11, and subsequently transferred into a more comfortable solitary cell by Nunnally, who also gives her a dress to wear. Suzaku approaches her after Shirley's death, intending to use the Refrain drug to find out if Lelouch has become Zero once again, but cannot bring himself to do it because he refuses to stoop to Lelouch's level. In retaliation, she beats him severely during their next meeting when Suzaku tries to apologize.

During the second battle of Tokyo, Kallen is rescued from captivity and returned to the Guren (complete with a pilot suit brought by Sayoko). Using the new Guren, she decimates the Britannian forces. Luciano and the Valkyrie squadron are killed, as are an untold number of support units. She then fights Suzaku, easily breaking through his defenses and bringing him to the brink of death. In doing so, however, she activates his Geass command, forcing him to survive by firing the F.L.E.I.J.A. bomb. She dodges it and the bomb hits the government building, destroying a fair portion of the Tokyo Settlement.

After Kallen returns to the Black Knights, she learns of C.C.'s memory loss and realizes that Lelouch is alone. When Zero's identity is revealed, she tries to defend him. The others won't listen, suspecting that Lelouch is controlling her. She asks Lelouch what she means to him, expressing a willingness to die with him. To keep her alive, as well as needing someone to protect C.C., Lelouch lies and calls her a pawn, but then whispers that she should live on within earshot. She unsuccessfully tries to get the Black Knights to wait after their first attempt to kill Zero fails thanks to Rolo, and is left standing on the hanger floor when Rolo uses his Geass to escape with Lelouch. After Lelouch's escape, Kallen tries to protest how Ohgi and the others have discarded Zero so readily despite all that he has done for them, but they refuse to listen, still angered at the idea that they were merely being used as pawns. When Lelouch is crowned Emperor, Kallen and the rest of the Black Knights are visibly stunned.

Following Lelouch's declaration that Britannia will join the UFN, Kallen escorts him to the meeting, giving orders to the Black Knights beforehand to gun her down if she appears to be under the influence of Geass. Lelouch gets her to take the long route, giving them the chance to speak in private. Kallen recounts their history, then asks Lelouch what he intends to gain by becoming Emperor, as well as what she means to him. Lelouch remains silent, so she kisses him. When he doesn't react, she bids him farewell.

When Lelouch takes the U.F.N. leaders hostage, Kallen insists that she'll take Lelouch down personally, as she possesses the only Knightmare capable of fighting Suzaku's Lancelot Albion. However, Xingke orders her not to fight, fearing for the safety of the hostages. After the Black Knights side with Schneizel, Kallen is stationed in the front lines. She breaks away from the main line to try and reach Lelouch, but is called back. Kallen breaks into the "Avalon" and attempts to kill Lelouch, with tears in her eyes as she does so, but is stopped by C.C. Kallen defeats C.C. and, with the help of Gino, proceeds to the "Damocles" for a final confrontation with Suzaku.

After a fierce battle, Kallen manages to land a decisive blow on the Lancelot before losing consciousness. Gino rescues her while the Lancelot explodes. After the battle, she is taken along with many others who rebelled against Lelouch to execution, and then witnesses Lelouch's death by Suzaku disguised as Zero. She immediately understands what Lelouch has done, and stoutly proclaims that it is the real Zero with tears in her eyes.

Two months after Lelouch's death, Kallen seems to have forgiven him. She narrates about the changed world thanks to him. She is shown living with her mother in the city. She still attends Ashford Academy, but has thrown away her frail cover, signified by her going to school with her preferred hairstyle and the Guren's key around her neck. She keeps several photos of her friends in her room and smiles at the one with Lelouch before hurrying to school.

Appearances in other media

Lost Colors

In the video game spin-off, Kallen asks to meet Rai in a hot spring. The rest of the student council comes in while they are talking, resulting in Kallen trying to explain the misunderstanding. Kallen eventually walks out.

In the Black Knights path, if Rai stops Princess Euphemia from following through with Lelouch's accidental Geass command (an alternate version to episode 22-23), Kallen shows a great deal of gratitude toward Rai for saving the Japanese. Afterwords Rai and Kallen continue to be faithful members of the Black Knights. It is even hinted that she likes Rai.

Nightmare of Nunnally

In the manga spin-off series, Kallen and the other Resistance members took advantage of the arrival of Nunnally's Mark Nemo Knightmare Frame to make their escape from Britannian forces pursuing them.

Abilities

Kallen is a skilled Knightmare Frame pilot, rivaling the abilities of even the Knights of Rounds. She is acknowledged as the best pilot of the Black Knights by enemies and allies alike. Her codename, "Q-1," is the Queen's starting spot in descriptive chess notation. In Lelouch's assessment of the core members of the Black Knights, her "Combat Ability" score is 100 out of 100, matching that of Kyoshiro Tohdoh; she also has the highest possible "Loyalty" score of 100.cite episode|title=The Assassin from the Past|series=Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion R2|network=Mainichi Broadcasting System|airdate=2008-07-06|number=13|minutes=4:12]

With the radiation arm of her Guren Mk-II, Kallen can take down almost any Knightmare Frame in a single attack should they allow her to make physical contact, and later models also have numerous secondary attack modes for mid- and long-range combat. Her Knightmare Frame is also incredibly fast, allowing her to fight on the same level as some of the most advanced Knightmare Frames in the series.

Outside of a Knightmare, Kallen displays superior fighting abilities. She is nimble enough to swat a bee with a single swipe (and cut it in half), and on two occasions she defeats numerous armed men with little trouble. She is also apparently intelligent, since her grades in school are top of the class despite frequent absences.

References