Lelouch Lamperouge is consistently many fans' favorite character and, part of the reason is his intelligence. So, just how smart is Lelouch from Code Geass? Here's what we think!
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How Smart Is Lelouch Lamperouge?
Lelouch is one of the smartest anime characters of all time, and he's definitely one of the most intelligent in Code Geass, if not the smartest.
While Lelouch has average grades due to his low attendance and overall disregard for school, he’s nothing short of a genius.
Not only is he a chess prodigy, beating much more experienced opponents, but he’s also able to control real-life military scenarios as easily as his chessboard.
He’s a brilliant tactician who is limited by his young age, exile status, and lack of political power.
But when C.C. gifts him a Geass that allows him to order a person to do anything he wants, Lelouch becomes unstoppable.
The Geass has its limits though, as he can only command any person once, but he manages to make the most of it for as long as possible.
Genius Intellect
There's no official account of Lelouch's exact IQ. Some fans claim that it could be over 200, though this is likely an overstatement, as some of the most intelligent people in real life have an IQ of just over 160, and those with a higher IQ than that are quite rare.
At the end of the day, Lelouch's exact IQ doesn't matter too much. What matters is that he's a mastermind who runs a show full of mind games that test our brains.
Of course, this isn't to say that Lelouch doesn't mess up at all. In the latter episodes of Season 1, he loses control of his Geass due to imprudent use.
Moreover, while Lelouch has the noble goal of creating a better world for his sister, he's also very focused on revenge and on destroying Brittania.
This wish is understandable, given what Brittania did to him, but overall, his personal goals and feelings sometimes color his judgment, and some of the choices he makes lead to chaos.
Brilliant Mastermind
Given the ending of Code Geass, most fans will still remember Lelouch as the brilliant mastermind who somehow still managed to clean up the mess he created -- even if at a great personal cost.
While Lelouch definitely made mistakes, many of them are associated with getting great and uncontrollable power at a young age and being an inexperienced leader.
Moreover, many of Lelouch's mistakes stem from specific character flaws that don't necessarily reflect his intelligence.
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Is Lelouch the Smartest Anime Character?
Without a quantifiable way to measure it, this is probably up for interpretation. Because of some similarities between Code Geass and Death Note (and accordingly, between Lelouch and Light Yagami), fans of both often like to speculate who is the smarter of the two.
While Light Yagami is a genius in many ways, we would say that Lelouch is more intelligent or at least better at utilizing his intelligence to achieve his goals.
Light got away with murder for several years but was eventually found out.
Moreover, his end was unceremonious and very uncharacteristic of him.
On the other hand, Lelouch managed to maintain a more consistent track record of success.
He did mess up very badly, but he managed to outsmart everyone up to the point of becoming emperor.
Of course, this was not sustainable, but Lelouch was smart enough to realize that too and write the last chapter of Zero's story on his own terms.
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