Suzaku Kururugi

Suzaku Kururugi, 17 years old (18 at R2), is the deuteragonist of the Sunrise anime series, Code Geass. He is voiced by Takahiro Sakurai, while his child self is voiced by Akeno Watanabe. He is voiced by Yuri Lowenthal in the English dub, and his child self is voiced by Laura Bailey. In the 29th Anime Grand Prix, he was 6th place with 143 votes then 19th and 13th, respectively, in the following two.

History
Suzaku makes his first appearance in the beginning of the first episode of the series, as a child, along with Lelouch watching the Britannian Military entering Japan, with the figure of C.C. apparently watching them. After the invasion of Japan, Suzaku seemed detached but sad.

Suzaku is later introduced as an Honorary Britannian soldier. Honorary Britannian Soldiers were sent to retrieve the poison gas stolen by the Japanese Resistance. Among them, Suzaku finds the vehicle and confronts Lelouch, who he believes is a terrorist. Nagata opens the capsule, to which Suzaku quickly puts his own gas mask on Lelouch's face. The capsule opens, instead of gas, as Suzaku expected, a restrained C.C. appears. Before they can get answers, Suzaku's superiors come and tell him not to question his briefing, and to shoot the "terrorist", Lelouch. When he refuses, he is promptly shot in the back. However, the bullet is stopped by a broken pocket watch belonging to his deceased father.

As a result of Lelouch's rebel in a counter-attack against the Britannian Army and 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. The Lancelot proves to be far superior to previous Knightmare Frame models and Lelouch is forced to flee. Just as Suzaku and the Britannian Army corners the terrorists, Clovis orders an immediate cease-fire under coercion by Lelouch.

However, he finds himself under arrest afterwards for the murder of Prince Clovis; though Lelouch was in fact responsible for this, the military needed a scapegoat since they had no idea who was responsible.

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. While Suzaku 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. This is because, as Suzaku claims, achieving results by wrong or illegal methods is meaningless.

Suzaku, having been acquitted of all charges, meets Third Princess Euphemia li Britannia and escorts her around Area 11. In Shinjuku Ghetto, they come upon conflicts with Shinichirō Tamaki, a member of the Japanese Resistance and Suzaku ends up intervening in an internal pureblood struggle.

From this point on, Suzaku remains the pilot of the Lancelot. He is enrolled into Ashford Academy on Euphemia's suggestion, though he is at first mistreated by other students like how somebody spray paints "Go Back To Your Ghetto, Eleven!" on his shirt. Arthur, a stray cat, is later chased throughout the school grounds by the entire student body after wandering into the Lamperouge residence and escaping with Lelouch's Zero mask. Milly announced that the one who would catch the cat would get a kiss from any member of the Student Council. Suzaku and Lelouch were the ones that got the cat and got a kiss on the cheek from Nunnally. As a result of this, Suzaku receives a warm welcome from the Student Council and the rest of the student body. The Student Council adopts Arthur and builds a cat house in the council room. Suzaku along with the rest of the student body watches Prince Clovis' funeral on live. During the funeral, the Emperor of Britannia makes a speech on the virtues of inequality and the social battle for evolution and betterment.

His rank within the military is initially Private, but he is promoted to Warrant Officer by Cornelia when she first arrives in Japan. When Nunnally was kidnapped by Mao, Suzaku helps Lelouch rescue her. As they find Nunnally, a bomb is above her that is ready to detonate. Lelouch comes up with a plan and Suzaku was able to defuse the bomb and come to Lelouch's aid. Suzaku then approaches Mao to arrest him, however Mao uses his Geass and reveals the fact that Suzaku was the one who killed his own father, Genbu Kururugi. After being broken down, Lelouch uses his Geass to permanently silence Mao who is then killed by C.C.. Afterwards, Lelouch takes advantage of this and sways Suzaku to protect Nunnally. However, he is informed that Cornelia changed the executioner for Kyoshiro Tohdoh to him. As Lloyd was signing papers, the Black Knights attempt a rescue mission. Suzaku comes with the Lancelot and engages in a battle with Tohdoh and the Four Holy Swords. As he is overwhelmed, he is revealed as the pilot of the Lancelot and was forced to use the Harken Boosters to repel the Black Knights. However, he is unable to continue as his Landspinner was destroyed, which allow the Black Knights to retreat with Tohdoh.

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. During the battle on Shikine Island, Lelouch was forced to use the power of Geass on Suzaku and commanded him to "Live". As this command gives no time or event limitations, it activates every time Suzaku feels suicidal or is endangered and forces him to survive by any means.

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. As a result, he is also dubbed the "White Reaper" or "White Death".

He follows Zero to Kamine Island, after Cornelia instructs him to. He meets Zero, 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 exclaims that Lelouch's very existence is a mistake, one he intends to correct and tells Lelouch that he will be the one to save Nunnally instead. 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 single gunshot.

In the second season, it is revealed that Suzaku managed to take Lelouch alive, leveraging his capture for a promotion into the Knights of the Round, the most powerful order of warriors in the Britannian Empire. Among its twelve members, his rank is seven. He still holds his desire to kill Zero, even swearing to the Emperor that he alone will kill Zero. 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. (This non-hostility was necessary in order to acquire information however.)

Suzaku and the other Rounds' members watch as Zero announces that he will continue his plans to create the United States 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 talk to the new governor 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, ironically fulfilling the purpose Lelouch had originally envisioned for him. Suzaku leads the Britannian Navy to wipe out the Black Knights to ensure that Nunnally's plans of re-establishing the Special Administrative Zone of Japan will not be dismantled, but is completel y surprised when the whole Navy is wiped out. In a surprising twist, Zero announces that he will accept Nunnally's offer in exchange for exile. This 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. Standing on an empty stage, Suzaku realizes that Zero must know him very well, having banked on the fact that Suzaku wouldn't allow a massacre to take place.

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. Britannia's aid is requested in recovering Tianzi, and Suzaku personally has Kallen Kozuki transferred into Britannian custody before heading into the battle. Lelouch, who had became closer to her, was angered seeing it as Suzaku's way of taking everything he can from him.

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. Kallen refuses to cooperate, but Suzaku does not use the Refrain, realizing that by doing so he would be no better than Lelouch. She beats him severely during their next meeting in retaliation, which he does not fight back. 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. However, he is hesitant on reporting this information to Charles because he knows he will use Nunnally as a hostage.

After hearing the news about the Emperor's disappearance, Suzaku is confident that Nunnally should be safe for now but wonders about Lelouch and suspects that he may be behind the disappearance of the Emperor. Just after the creation of the United Federation of Nations is cut short by the Emperor's appearance, Suzaku was shocked. Suzaku is contacted by a desperate Lelouch, who asks him to protect Nunnally from the Emperor. He confirms he has regained his memories. Suzaku agrees to his request, but only if Lelouch meets him alone at the Kururugi shrine. The meeting starts off with the inevitable confrontation of Zero's sins, and even as Lelouch bows down for the first time in his life, Suzaku merely steps on his head as well as pushing him when he asks him why he geassed him to live that's been contradicting his convictions. But while Lelouch answers Suzaku's questions such as saving him when he was held for Prince Clovis' murder and saving the student council at the Lake Kawaguchi situation, Suzaku recognizes Lelouch's face as someone who does not tell the whole truth to accept punishment since it was the same face Suzaku had after he'd killed his father. Suzaku finally extends a hand to Lelouch, saying that Lelouch could atone for his lies by making them into truths and before Lelouch could reach out, Schneizel arrests Lelouch, which makes Lelouch believe that Suzaku sold him out again. Schneizel gets Suzaku to reveal what he knows about Geass, and Kanon tells him that the world doesn't exist to make him alone happy. Suzaku is left pondering if he will have to use the Lancelot, equipped with Nina's F.L.E.I.J.A. bomb, on Lelouch.

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. Though Lloyd advises him to flee, Suzaku insists on dealing with Zero. As Lloyd has upgraded the Guren far beyond what the Lancelot is capable of, she easily parries his attacks and significantly damages the Lancelot. 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. Following the battle, Suzaku can only laugh madly at the destruction he has caused. Suzaku concludes that the ends are more important than the means to reach them, and becomes more focused on becoming Knight of One which upset to the likes of Cornelia and Gino. He suggests to Schneizel that he could assassinate the Emperor. Schneizel agrees and Suzaku heads to Kaminejima to complete his mission, but Suzaku's attempt to kill the Emperor is derailed by the Knight of One. When Lelouch attacks the island, Suzaku considers the task his burden to bear and heads off to find Lelouch, only to have the ground knocked out from under him by a stray blast. He is recovered by Anya, who is possessed by Marianne, and C.C. Suzaku enters the Sword of Akasha with C.C., and looks on as Lelouch defeats his parents and stops Ragnarök. He thinks about taking revenge for Euphemia right after, however Lelouch tells him that nothing is unforgivable, mirroring the conversation Shirley had with Suzaku before she died. The time shift one month later reveals that he became the Knight of Zero under Lelouch vi Britannia, the 99th Emperor of the Holy Britannian Empire.

When four of the remaining Knights of the Round attempt to remove Lelouch from power, Suzaku battles them single-handedly. With the new Lancelot Albion, he easily defeats and kills all of them, sparing only Gino's life. He later assists Lelouch in taking the UFN leaders hostage. Following the destruction of Pendragon by Schneizel and the revelation that Nunnally is alive, Suzaku is stunned.

Despite Lelouch's concern for Nunnally, Suzaku insists that their objective has not changed. He tells C.C. that he is Lelouch's sword, and will remove his enemies and weaknesses and ask C.C. to be his shield since they are accomplices. He attacks the Black Knights to prevent them from reaching the Avalon, but was too late. He joins Lelouch in boarding the Damocles, holding Gino off while Lelouch goes ahead. Suzaku comes out victorious defeating Gino, but Gino's last attack opens the shields and allows Kallen to take over. Suzaku fights Kallen to a standstill, eventually taking a blow to the chest which causes his Knightmare to explode while she loses consciousness. He is believed to have died in the blast, but later shows up as the new Zero to kill Lelouch, now the tyrannical Emperor of the world as part of their plan for world peace. With the Zero Requiem complete, Suzaku weeps silently as Lelouch dies. As his final order and punishment, Lelouch tells Suzaku that he is dead from this day on, forced to exist as Zero and sacrifice his happiness for the sake of the world, an order Suzaku accepts. Suzaku becomes Nunnally's protector in the following months, aided by Schneizel, who Lelouch ordered to specifically obey Zero.