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| “ | Snap out of it, Lelouch! You're Zero now! You have an obligation! You have to live up to the dreams you once gave us all! So please, keep fooling us until you no longer can! We need you to be Zero this time with all your heart. Play your role like you mean it! | „ |
| ~ Kallen Kōzuki. |
Kallen Kōzuki is one of the main characters of the anime series Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion. She is a student at Ashford Academy and a member of the Japanese resistance group, and later the Black Knights, a group led by Zero. She is officially known as Kallen Stadtfeld, and goes by this name at school, but prefers her mother's maiden surname during her revolutionary activities.
She is voiced by Ami Koshimizu, who also voiced Mai Shiranui, in the Japanese version of the anime, and by Karen Strassman in the English version of the anime.
Appearance[]
Kallen is a tall girl with short, reddish hair and blue eyes. As Kallen Stadtfeld, she wears a meek expression and has her hair neatly combed; as Kallen Kozuki, she has a fierce expression, and her hair is wild, kept out of her eyes by a headband. Despite being half-Britannian and half-Japanese, she is able to pass as Britannian, which enables her to blend in at the academy, as well as cover for missions.
Personality[]
Kallen is a strong-willed young woman and a loyal member of the Black Knights. She is determined to fight for the Japanese people and help the leader of the knights, Zero, to accomplish his goals. However, because she admires Zero, she becomes shocked upon discovering that his true identity is of her classmate Lelouch, whom she initially dislikes. She is rather perceptive, as she suspected Lelouch was Zero, until being convinced otherwise in a deception done by Lelouch.
Kallen is one of the first initiates in Zero's Black Knights; while sceptical, she is gradually impressed, as Zero unites the disparate terrorist cells in 11/Japan, discarding the merely criminal ones, and forges the Black Knights into a credible threat to Britannia's supremacy. Her admiration for his leadership skills, intelligence, and claims to make a free Japan, continues to grow, thus making her one of his most loyal and dedicated soldiers. Her admiration has flickers of love, although she is either in denial or is too embarrassed when other Black Knights tease her about it.
Despite being half-Britannian, she disowns that side, out of disdain for the Britannian occupation of Japan, but also a personal grudge she holds against her father, a Britannian noble, who abandoned her mother and her (while he allows them to live in one of his mansions, and pays for her school, the house is run by his new wife, who treats her mother - employed as a servant - and her with varying levels of bigotry). Due to the Britannian imperialism and corruption, Kallen is racist against Britannians, which initially causes her to be withdrawn in a Britannian school, as tactically she doesn't want to expose her real identity, but also due to her prejudice. However, the compassion and friendliness of her classmates causes her to reevaluate her opinions. As she becomes friends with them, she grows to understand that her enemy isn't the people, but rather the Britannian imperial machine; she realises that her experiences with bad Britannians aren't reflective on all of them, since she also had faced bad Japanese.
Upon learning that Zero is Lelouch, Kallen suffers intense anxiety over the cognitive dissonance and disillusionment. Despite this, when Lelouch is made amnesiac by Emperor Charles, Kallen agrees to help C.C. in reacquiring him to restore his memory, since in spite of believing he was using the Black Knights for his own benefit, she understands that the group needs his leadership and strategies to be functional. Regardless of her sense of betrayal, when Lelouch returns to the role of Zero, she returns to being the most loyal soldier. After Lelouch reveals the truths of his motives, Kallen forgives him, growing to understand him better, which also restarts her old sensations of love for him.
C.C., Kallen, and Kaguya often accompany Zero and occasionally remain in the Black Knight headquarters; the other Knights jokingly refer to them as "Zero's harem," which C.C. is unbothered by, Kallen denies in a fluster, while Kaguya encourages the notion. C.C. and Kallen develop a rivalry, aiming to be closest to Lelouch, albeit C.C. is doing it more out of amusement, whereas Kallen is just trying to prevent her from gaining favouritism.
When Kallen accepts her love for Lelouch, she admits it to him and kisses him, hoping to dissuade him from a potentially destructive plans. He softly rejects her, which upsets her, but she remains in love with him. When Lelouch crowns himself the 99th Emperor of Britannia, she is heartbroken and distressed. Kallen is one of the prisoners on Emperor Lelouch's parade, when "Zero" appears on the road; at this moment, she deduces it is Suzaku in the suit, and realises the reality of the Zero Requiem: Lelouch will establish himself as the tyrant king of the world, taking all of the world's hatred at him, thus allowing a *noble hero* "Zero" to kill him, thereby saving the world and dispelling the world's hatred.
Most of Lelouch's former allies and all of his enemies were deceived, thus cheer the death of Lelouch the Tyrant. Some other Black Knight lieutenants begin to understand the truth due to the new Zero and Lelouch's death, as well as having known the real Zero better, however, Kallen prevents them from stating it, instead supporting the Zero Requiem by declaring that Suzaku is the real and only Zero, as to ensure Lelouch's death was worth the cost, ensuring the world's hatred remained on a dead man, rather than each other.
Unlike most allies, whom Lelouch didn't tell about the Zero Requiem due to doubt, Kallen realises that he didn't tell her because he trusted her; he understood her so well that he knew that she would have sacrificed her life alongside, if not instead of, him. Thus Kallen appreciates the gift of life, and instead of wallowing in despair, honours his sacrifice by helping rebuild a better world, while also enjoying the fulfilled promise of a free independent Japan.
Abilities[]
She is endowed with strength, agility, and surprising accuracy, like when she struck a flying bee. However, her agility is not to be ruled out: she once blew her helpless Eleven bunny cover and defeated a member of the mafia who was taking her away.
She is an expert Knightmare frame pilot, capable of equaling and surpassing those with years more experience. She is also an intuitive pilot, as she pilots a unique frame that demands extraordinary reflexes and adaptability to be effective; her greatest challenges are often when enemy pilots have supernatural abilities that augment their threat.
In terms of Knightmare frame ability, only Suzaku Kururugi is her match, as some opponents she struggles against, she can eventually beat, but she and Suzaku generally result in ties, with a win dependent upon the cutting-edge of their machines.
Trivia[]
- Ami Koshimizu won "Best Actress in supporting role" for her role as Kallen at the first Seiyu Awards in 2007.
- Kallen was awarded 8th place in the 29th Anime Grand Prix, then 17th and 16th, respectively, in the following two.
- Kallen shares her name with Kallen Kaslana from the videogame Honkai Impact 3rd.
- Kallen has a quirk that the fanbase is divided about, as they are either amused, annoyed, entertained, and such. The trait is that she is the predominant source of fanservice in the series, from the suggestive position she has to pilot from, to accidentally exposing herself to Lelouch in the shower, to being seen by Suzaku showering under a waterfall, to the famous bunny costume (although, also worn by C.C.).
References[]
External Links[]
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 Heroes
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Black Knights Ashford Academy Others | ||