Suzaku Kururugi

Infobox animanga character
color = #000
color text = #FFF
name = Suzaku Kururugi
series = Code Geass


caption = Suzaku Kururugi
first =
last =
voiced by = Japanese
Takahiro Sakurai
Akeno Watanabe (Child)
English
Yuri Lowenthal
Laura Bailey (Child)
nickname = Su (-san) (in Sayoko's Diary only)
alias = Lancelot [Only in the "Suzaku of the Counterattack" manga] White Knight
White Grim Reaper
age = 17 (first season)
18 (second season)
gender = Male
born = July 10, 2000 a.t.b.
death =
occupation = Ashford Academy Student
Euphemia's personal Knight
Knight of Rounds
title = Lord Kururugi
relatives = Genbu Kururugi (father, deceased) Kaguya Sumeragi (cousin)
nationality = Japanese
divider = yes
aux1 name = Allegiance
aux1 = Brittanian Military
Knight of Rounds
aux2 name = Position
aux2 = Private
Warrant Officer
Major
Knight of Seven
Knight of Zero
aux3 name = nowrap|Knightmare Frame
aux3 = Lancelotnihongo|Suzaku Kururugi|枢木 スザク|Kururugi Suzaku is the deuteragonist and tragic hero of the Sunrise anime series, "". He is voiced by Takahiro Sakurai, while his child self is voiced by Akeno Watanabe. He is voiced by Yuri Lowenthal and his child self is voiced by Laura Bailey in the English dub. In the 29th Anime Grand Prix, he was 6th place with 143 votes. [ [http://img139.imageshack.us/img139/6079/fmalejs1.jpgFavorite Male Character, 29th Annual Anime Grand Prix] ]

Character outline

Suzaku is the son of Japan's last prime minister, Genbu Kururugi. His existence was kept a secret from the public until after the war. Suzaku met Lelouch Lamperouge and his sister Nunnally when they moved to the Kururugi residence as a diplomatic peace trade. At first, Suzaku despised Lelouch because he thought that he was a prince who didn't care about anyone. As time passed by, however, he came to know Lelouch better, and they soon became best friends. They become separated when Britannia invaded Japan, but are reunited in the Shinjuku Ghetto.

When Britannia began its invasion of Japan, Suzaku was mortified by the violence and his father's belief that resisting to the bitter end was preferable to surrender. Unable to change his father's mind, Suzaku murdered him during a heated exchange. The incident was covered up and Suzaku's life was spared, while the government was thrown into disarray and surrendered to Britannia. Lelouch believes that, had Genbu lived, Japan would have likely been torn apart by war once the other major powers decided to intervene. His guilt over the incident causes Suzaku to constantly place himself on the frontlines in the hope of atoning for his actions with his death. It also inspires his belief that the ends achieved by using the wrong means are meaningless, since he created peace through murder. However, after firing the F.L.E.I.J.A. warhead, he decides to achieve his desired results regardless of the means.

Character history

First season

Suzaku is introduced in the first episode of the series as an Honorary Britannian soldier. While searching the Shinjuku ghetto for a poison bomb stolen by resistance members, he finds Lelouch standing next to it. He refuses to carry out an order to kill Lelouch, and is shot by his superior officer for his insubordination. However, the bullet is stopped by a broken pocket watch belonging to his deceased father.

In a twist of fate, Suzaku is made the pilot of the experimental Knightmare Frame Lancelot, since Britannia won't risk actual pilots on an experimental craft. He almost single-handedly dismantles Lelouch's plan to route the massacre of Shinjuku ghetto with the Lancelot's abilities, but finds himself under arrest afterward for the murder of Prince Clovis; though Lelouch was in fact responsible for this, the military needs a scapegoat since they have no suspect.

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. He asks Suzaku to join his cause, but Suzaku refuses. While he 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.

From this point on, Suzaku remains the pilot of the Lancelot. He is enrolled into Ashford Academy on Euphemia's suggestion. His rank within the military is initially Private, but he is promoted to Warrant Officer by Cornelia li Britannia when she first arrives in Japan. [cite episode| title = Attack Cornelia | series = Code Geass | serieslink = Code Geass | network = Mainichi Broadcasting System | airdate = 2006-11-16 | season = 1 | number = 7 ] 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. This ruins Lelouch's plan to have Suzaku protect Nunnally once his role as Zero took him away from Area 11. During the battle on Shikinejima Island, in which Suzaku is ordered to sacrifice himself to kill Zero, Lelouch is forced to use the power of Geass on Suzaku and commands him to "live," forcing him to survive by any means from then on.

Suzaku falls in love with Euphemia, and thus is emotionally crushed by her murder at 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. He follows Zero to Kaminejima 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 insists that Lelouch's very existence is a mistake, one he intends to correct. 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 gunshot.

econd season

In the second season, Suzaku receives a promotion into the Knights of Rounds, the most powerful order of warriors in the Britannian Empire, as a reward for capturing Zero. He intends to become the Knight of One, which will allow him to rule Area 11 by his choosing. He still holds his desire to kill Zero. [cite episode| title = The Day the Demon Awakens | series = Code Geass | serieslink = Code Geass | network = Mainichi Broadcasting System | airdate = 2008-04-06 | season = 2 | number = 1 ] 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.

Suzaku and the other Knights of Rounds watch as Zero announces that he will continue his plans to create the United State 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 Lelouch speak to the new Viceroy of Area 11, Nunnally, which also ends in failure thanks to Rolo Lamperouge using his Geass to freeze Suzaku temporarily. When Lelouch attempts to kidnap Nunnally as she is being brought to Area 11, Suzaku steps in to rescue her.

When Zero unexpectedly announces that he will accept Nunally's offer in exchange for exile which 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.

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. Britannian aid is requested in recovering the Empress, and Suzaku personally has Kallen Kōzuki transferred into Britannian custody before heading into the battle.

In the aftermath of Shirley's death, 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, but Suzaku does not use the Refrain, realizing that by doing so he would be no better than Lelouch. Frustrated, 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.

After the creation of the United Federation of Nations is cut short by the Emperor's appearance, Suzaku is contacted by a desperate Lelouch, who asks him to protect Nunnally from the Emperor. Suzaku agrees to his request, but only if Lelouch meets him alone at the Kururugi shrine. The meeting goes well at first and Suzaku decides to help him if Lelouch ends his war, but Schneizel's unexpected attempt to arrest Lelouch makes him believe Suzaku went back on his word. During the second battle of Tokyo, 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. 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.

Realizing that he has been naive, Suzaku decides that the ends are more important than the means used to reach them and takes a more active approach to becoming Knight of One, suggesting to Schneizel that he could assassinate the Emperor. Schneizel agrees and Suzaku heads to Kaminejima to complete his mission, but is derailed by the Knight of One. Suzaku enters the Sword of Akasha with C.C., and looks on as Lelouch defeats his parents and stops Ragnarok. He thinks about taking revenge for Euphemia, but is convinced not to. One month later, he assists Lelouch in taking the throne, becoming his "Knight of Zero."

When four of the Knights of Rounds attempt to remove Lelouch from power, Suzaku easily defeats them with his Lancelot Albion. He also assists in taking the U.F.N. leaders hostage. During the battle against Schneizel and the Black Knights, he joins Lelouch in boarding the "Damocles", holding Gino off while Lelouch goes ahead. Suzaku comes out victorious, but Gino's last attack opens the shields and allows Kallen to take over.

Suzaku fights Kallen to a standstill, disabling her while she lands a blow to the chest which causes his Knightmare to explode. He is believed dead in the blast, but reappears before the world as the new Zero to kill Lelouch, now the despised tyrannical Emperor of the world, as part of their plan for world peace. With the Zero Requiem complete, Suzaku weeps silently as he stabs Lelouch and watches him die. Lelouch tells Suzaku that he too is dead from this day on, forced to exist as Zero and sacrifice his happiness for the sake of the world. Suzaku becomes Nunnally's protector in the following months, aided by Schneizel, who is still under a Geass command to obey Zero.

Abilities

While Suzaku possesses no outwardly superhuman powers, such as Geass, his physical prowess is top-notch. He possesses superior hand-eye coordination and has extensive military training in both firearms and hand-to-hand combat. Before Britannia's invasion of Japan, Suzaku was trained by his instructor, Kyoshiro Tohdoh, in martial arts, and has spent most of his time training to become stronger. He is also skilled in the art of kendo. His physical prowess is sometimes exaggerated to almost ridiculous levels; for example, in one episode he manages to destroy a ceiling-mounted remote machine gun while unarmed by running up a wall and kicking it (the gun was said to have a lag time of 0.05 seconds). In the final episode, he is also able to dodge gunfire from Knightmare Frames as he approaches Lelouch under the guise of Zero. His trademark is a spinning kick first used on Lelouch in the first episode, which he is able to replicate in his Knightmare.

Suzaku is an extremely skilled pilot, rated at 94% efficiency by Lloyd based from his simulator scores. His lack of any tactics confuses Lelouch, as he fights with instinct instead of strategy. The Lancelot's superior abilities also help, as few other Knightmare Frames can match its astonishing speed or overcome its considerable defenses. Even when Lelouch manages to predict his movements, Suzaku's reflexes allowed him to narrowly escape what would have otherwise been certain death.

Despite not possessing a Geass power, Suzaku has the unusual ability to detect C.C. and others who grant the power of Geass. C.C. speculates that this is either due to her having previously used her abilities on him, or another as of yet unidentified factor. Following episode 18 in the first season, Suzaku is also placed under a command by Lelouch to "live." As this command gives no time or event limitations, it activates every time Suzaku feels suicidal (or otherwise accepts his death as an inevitability) and forces him to survive by any means. It also activates to a lesser extent when his life is in immediate danger. Suzaku eventually learns to intentionally trigger the Geass placed on him to help unleash his full potential during combat.

Appearances in other media

Lost Colors

In the video game spin-off, if the player uses Rai's geass on Suzaku to make him join the Order of the Black Knights, Suzaku joins and brutally fights off the Britannian forces. He also participates in the Black Rebellion. However, in forcing Suzaku to join, the player angers Lelouch, who wanted to recruit Suzaku without using Geass. Lelouch puts Rai into an eternal sleep, resulting in a game over. In the Black Knights path, if Rai stops Princess Euphemia from following through with Lelouch's accidental Geass (an alternate version to episode 22-23), Suzaku (who is standing nearby) will catch the princess as she suddenly collapses. She wakes up in his arms without any recollection of being under the control of Lelouch's Geass.

Nightmare of Nunnally

In the manga spin-off series, Suzaku's appearance is changed slightly. Some parts of his hair are down, and his eye color is blue instead of green. His pilot outfit has also been customized with a blue samurai arm gauntlet.

References