History Characters / CodeGeassSuzakuKururugi

* TheHeavy: For most of the series (although he spends much of it as HeroAntagonist), as the most prominent and one of the most dangerous opponents the Black Knights face in actual combat. Becomes this even moreso in season 2, when he graduates from being just a field soldier and becomes one of the highest ranking and easily the most persistent of the Emperor's followers to hunt down Lelouch and CC.

* NiceGuy: For all of his flaws, Suzaku is unquestionably one of the nicest characters in the series. Perpetually acting to protect those around him, always polite even to people who hate him, and even [[PetTheDog protecting Kallen's identity as a freedom fighter from his Britannian Superiors.]] Then [[CerebusSyndrome R2 rolls around]].

** To Lelouch, when it comes to their opposing ideologies.
** Also to Kallen as a pilot and soldier.

* TookALevelInJerkass: Quite a few levels in fact in R2. Though given [[TheWoobie everything that happens to him]] over the course of the series, it's sort of {{Justified|Trope}}.

* ForWantOfANail: In ''Nightmare of Nunnally'', [[spoiler:he didn't kill his father; C.C. did]], and as a result, is a more well-adjusted and moral individual.

%%* {{Determinator}}: [[spoiler:Although he's outmatched by Lelouch.]]

%%* EvenTheGuysWantHim: His HoYay with Lelouch and Gino.

%%* FreudianExcuse: More [[Theatre/OedipusRex Freudian]] than most examples.

%%* HeartbrokenBadass: After [[spoiler:Euphemia's death]].

%%* InternalReformist: [[spoiler:Initially]].
%%* InterruptedSuicide: [[spoiler:Or BungledSuicide, depending on the situation. Happens quite a bit throughout the series.]]

%%* IronicHell: The whole situation with Lelouch and his dad.

%%* JadeColoredGlasses: What he acquires throughout the series.

%%* KnightInShiningArmor: In the beginning. Later, he became a KnightTemplar.

%%* MikeNelsonDestroyerOfWorlds: [[spoiler:Accidentally triggers the destruction of the area he had sworn to protect. Whoops.]]

%%* ShadowArchetype: To Akito.
%%* ShelteredAristocrat: A {{deconstruction}}.

%%* StarCrossedLovers: With Euphemia.

* HeroesWantRedheads: Well, pinkheads, in the case of Princess Euphemia.

* BornLucky: Downplayed. In contrast to Lelouch being a CosmicPlaything, the amount of instances where things just fall into place for Suzaku, at least in the first season, is amazing. He gets shot in the very first episode only for a conveniently placed pocket watch to stop the bullet. He is then thrown into a the cockpit of a SuperPrototype, despite being an Eleven and thus normally not being allowed, by dent of no one else qualified being around. He just so happens to meet [[TokenGoodTeammate the one genuinely good Britannian princess]], [[BirdsOfAFeather who happens to share his beliefs]]. Every time he’s faced with the dilemma of sacrificing his morality or following Britannian’s cruel orders as a test of his loyalty, the Black Knights show up to give him an enemy he has much less qualms about. And even when becoming a Knight of the Rounds [[spoiler:after capturing Lelouch, he’s fortunate that the Emperor who has been publicly espousing racism and Social Darwinism, doesn’t actually believe his own rhetoric, and has no problem with Suzaku’s ethnicity]]. Despite Suzaku being a genuine AcePilot, one can legitimately say his ascension in the show, is more a product of the world bending over backwards for him, than any merit of his skills or beliefs.

* {{Bishounen}}: Isn't at all unattractive, he would probably be as popular as Lelouch at school if it weren't for the fact he was an [[FantasticRacism Eleven]]

** In a presumably non-canon [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DufS2km03sE CD extra]] , Cecile remembers a time when she accidentally drops a chip under the Lancelot's foot. Much to her shock, Suzaku is able to lift the mecha's foot with his bare hands to allow her to grab the chip.

** For reasons pointed out but not fully explained in the anime, Suzaku is capable of performing athletic feats far beyond what normal humans are able to (like running along a wall and kicking off a machine gun with a 0.05 seconds time delay). The anime does indicate Suzaku benefits from using his nigh-supernatural physical abilities under the influence of the [[spoiler:Geass Lelouch cast on him, which forces him to preserve his own life at all costs. This makes Suzaku take full advantage of his own skills for pulling off the impressive feats of physical prowess necessary for his survival. Towards the end of the series, Suzaku has gotten quite good at making use of the Geass in this way.]] This was apparently going to be explained sometime in the second season. But that thread got lost in the mad scramble to keep the show going strong.

** Calls out Lelouch as a coward for his Geass power, and only refrains from drugging Kallen because he views it as a similar underhanded tactic, but [[spoiler:had no objections to the Emperor [[MindRape rewriting Lelouch's memories]] and even further plays along in the false life.]]

* ByronicHero: As time passes and [[BeneathTheMask events scratch away]] at his KnightInShiningArmor facade, it becomes clear he's actually a brooding, uncompromising, and self-destructive DeathSeeker who seeks atonement for [[spoiler:killing his father.]] He tries sacrificing himself under the guise of chivalry to both Britannia and supposedly Japan as an excuse to fulfill his death wish, but mostly serves to derail Lelouch's plans before they would otherwise bear maximum results. R2 has him become an outright KnightTemplar before he comes to some harsh realizations[[spoiler:resulting in his final and tragic team up with Lelouch to try to make up for all they have done.]]

* CharacterDevelopment: Suzaku starts off as an InternalReformist who wants Japan and Britannia to get along mostly for selfish reasons: to justify his father's death and to fulfil his own [[DeathSeeker death wish]]. As a result while he calls out the Black Knights terrorism he justifies Britannia's actions and his own towards Japan and even the rest of the world. Later on, he begins to become the Atoner more genuinely and even picks up the mantle of Zero to become a truly selfless hero for all of humanity.

* HeroicWannabe: Suzaku has the goals and mindset of a hero, actively trying to be an InternalReformist for Britannia who can achieve peace for his people without having to resort to bloodshed while avoiding killing others if possible. The problem is that he is serving a corrupt empire that doesn't give two cents to his beliefs because he is a member of an oppressed underclass. Thus he ends up becoming an enforcer to colonization more often than not as he criticizes terrorism but engages in atrocities constantly to achieve a misguided goal. He's just doing so while following orders.

* TheUnfettered: For a majority of the series, he strives to be idealistic and values decent means in accomplishing his goals. [[spoiler:However, once his "Live" command forces him to nuke the Tokyo Settlement, he undergoes a HeelRealization and accepts that his actions are no better than Lelouch's. he proclaims that the only thing that matters is the end result and resolves to assasinate the Emperor. ]]

* ByronicHero: As time passes and [[BeneathTheMask events scratch away]] at his KnightInShiningArmor facade, it becomes clear he's actually a brooding, uncompromising, and self-destructive DeathSeeker who seeks atonement for [[spoiler:killing his father.]] He tries sacrificing himself under the guise of chivalry to both Britannia and supposedly Japan as an excuse to fulfill his death wish, but mostly serves to derail Lelouch's plans before they would otherwise bear maximum results. R2 has him become an outright KnightTemplar before he finally fully hits the DespairEventHorizon [[spoiler:resulting in his final and tragic team up with Lelouch to try to make up for all they have done.]]

* CharacterDevelopment: Suzaku arguably changes more than any other character in the series. Interestingly enough, his slide from BlackAndWhiteMorality to BlackAndGrayMorality puts him in the position to accomplish the change he was never able to as an InternalReformist.

* HeroicWannabe: Suzaku has the goals and mindset of a hero, actively trying to be an InternalReformist for Britannia who can achieve peace for his people without having to resort to bloodshed while avoiding killing others if possible. The problem is that he is serving a corrupt empire that doesn't give two cents to his beliefs because he is a member of an oppressed underclass and who will gladly crush anyone who opposes them while fighting tooth and nail to avoid being reformed. The result is him appearing to others as little more than an enforcer for colonization, and an enormous {{Hypocrite}} as a consequence.

* TragicHero: Just like Lelouch, depends on perspective. Possibly both at the same time.

* TheUnfettered: For a majority of the series, he strives to be idealistic and values decent means in accomplishing his goals. [[spoiler:However, once his "Live" command forces him to nuke the Tokyo Settlement, he undergoes a HeelRealization and accepts that Lelouch was right in his pragmatic methods. From then on, he believes that the only thing that matters is the end result, even admitting that had he only joined with Lelouch from the start then a majority of bloodshed could have been avoided.]]

* ByronicHero: As time passes and [[BeneathTheMask events scratch away]] at his KnightInShiningArmor facade, it becomes clear he's actually a brooding, uncompromising, and self-destructive DeathSeeker who seeks atonement for [[spoiler:killing his father.]] He tries sacrificing himself under the guise of chivalry to both Britannia and supposedly Japan as an excuse to fulfill his death wish, but mostly serves to derail Lelouch's plans before they would otherwise bear maximum results. R2 has him become an outright KnightTemplar before he finally comes to some harsh realizations[[spoiler:resulting in his final team up with Lelouch to try to make up for all they have done.]]

* CharacterDevelopment: Suzaku starts off as an InternalReformist who wants Japan and Britannia to get along mostly for selfish reasons: to justify his father's death and to fulfil his own [[DeathSeeker death wish]]. As a result while he calls out the Black Knights terrorism he justifies Britannia's actions and his own towards Japan and even the rest of the world. Later on, he begins to become the Atoner more genuinely and even picks up the mantle of Zero to become a truly selfless hero for all of humanity.

* HeroicWannabe: Suzaku has the goals and mindset of a hero, actively trying to be an InternalReformist for Britannia who can achieve peace for his people without having to resort to bloodshed while avoiding killing others if possible. The problem is that he is serving a corrupt empire that doesn't give two cents to his beliefs because he is a member of an oppressed underclass. Thus he ends up becoming an enforcer to colonization more often than not as he criticizes terrorism but engages in atrocities constantly to achieve a misguided goal. He's just doing so while following orders.

* TheUnfettered: For a majority of the series, he strives to be idealistic and values decent means in accomplishing his goals. [[spoiler:However, once his "Live" command forces him to nuke the Tokyo Settlement, he undergoes a HeelRealization and accepts that his actions are no better than Lelouch's. he proclaims that the only thing that matters is the end result and resolves to assasinate the Emperor. ]]

* ThenLetMeBeEvil: After firing the FLEIJA warhead he gives up on reforming Britannia or ending the war and declares that he will use

* TragicHero: Just like Lelouch, depends on perspective. Possibly both at the same time.

* TheUnfettered: For a majority of the series, he strives to be idealistic and values decent means in accomplishing his goals. [[spoiler:However, once his "Live" command forces him to nuke the Tokyo Settlement, he undergoes a HeelRealization and accepts that Lelouch was right in his pragmatic methods. From then on, he believes that the only thing that matters is the end result, even admitting that had he only joined with Lelouch from the start then a majority of bloodshed could have been avoided.]]

* HeroicWannabe: Suzaku has the goals and mindset of a hero, actively trying to be an InternalReformist for Britannia who can achieve peace for his people without having to resort to bloodshed while avoiding killing others if possible. The problem is that he is serving a corrupt empire that doesn't give two cents to his beliefs because he is a member of an oppressed underclass. Thus he ends up becoming an enforcer to colonization more often than not as he criticizes terrorism but engages ina This makes Suzaku come off as an enormous {{Hypocrite}} and is a big part of the reason he receives little respect from the Black Knights.

* CharacterDevelopment: Suzaku starts off as an InternalReformist who wants Japan and Britannia to get along mostly for selfish reasons: to justify his father's death and to fulfil his own [[DeathSeeker death wish]]. Later on, he begins to become the Atoner more genually and even works

* HeroicWannabe: Suzaku has the goals and mindset of a hero, actively trying to be an InternalReformist for Britannia who can achieve peace for his people without having to resort to bloodshed while avoiding killing others if possible. The problem is that he is serving a corrupt empire that doesn't give two cents to his beliefs because he is a member of an oppressed underclass and who will gladly crush anyone who opposes them while fighting tooth and nail to avoid being reformed. This makes Suzaku come off as an enormous {{Hypocrite}} and is a big part of the reason he receives little respect from the Black Knights.

* ByronicHero: As time passes and [[BeneathTheMask events scratch away]] at his KnightInShiningArmor facade, it becomes clear he's actually a brooding, uncompromising, and self-destructive DeathSeeker who seeks atonement for [[spoiler:killing his father.]] He tries sacrificing himself under the guise of chivalry to both Britannia and supposedly Japan as an excuse to fulfill his death wish, but mostly serves to derail Lelouch's plans before they would otherwise bear maximum results. R2 has him become an outright KnightTemplar before he finally fully hits the DespairEventHorizon [[spoiler:resulting in his final and tragic team up with Lelouch to try to make up for all they have done.]]

* CharacterDevelopment: Suzaku arguably changes more than any other character in the series. Interestingly enough, his slide from BlackAndWhiteMorality to BlackAndGrayMorality puts him in the position to accomplish the change he was never able to as an InternalReformist.