Who Did Lelouch Really Love Here Is My Comprehensive Analysis

Code Geass is an interesting anime because while it does hold harem Esque tropes it’s hard to label it as harem anime.

The reason is that for it to be a haram the man has to show mutual interest in the multiple love interest. The problem is Lelouch does not obviously show interest to any of the women.

I am of course referring to simply declaring his love for any of the romantic love interests.

For someone who has lots of time to notice, we do not see Lelouch doing this.

This is a topic that fans debate about quite often and this is because it is never obviously stated who Lelouch actually loves.

So in this article, I will discuss Lelouch’s relationship with the three main women who love him; Kallen Kozuki, C.C, and Shirley Fenette.

I am not including Euphemia or Kaguya because there is not enough evidence for either one. For Euphemia Lelouch said he might have loved her implying he does not. But this does not take away how much he cares about her. Remember he was going to end the rebellion because of her. Also, they have had many moments in the past. My favorite is when Nunnally and Euphy both argued who was going to marry Lelouch.

And with Kaguya, if there was love it was one side. Lelouch never showed her any mutual interest. Lelouch told her in Stage 23 that he already made a deal with the devil and has no room in life for deities.

Also, I am not going to entertain the idea that Lelouch loved Nunnally more than a sibling. There is no proof of this and it’s simply an argument that I refuse to discuss outside of this point.

The goal here is to state the case for and against the three main love interests.

In the end, I will state based on the evidence and through my analysis which one Lelouch has the most mutual love for.

Two disclaimers:

1. My analysis will only be based on Code Geass Lelouch of the Rebellion R1 and R2 and any media based solely on that. So, no alternative films, OVAs, etc.
2. This analysis will contain spoilers
3. This is just my opinion which comes from what the show gives me and how I interrupt it.
4. Lelouch’s feelings towards each of the three girls is the topic here. Not who in theory is the best couple, who should be with Lelouch, or which girl loved him. While I do have some of those elements in here, the majority of the analysis has nothing to do with that. This means that counterarguments that use elements from these topics are not relevant.

Updates:
When I first discussed this topic I only shipped Lelouch with Kallen and C.C. But after writing this article, I can see him with Shirley as well. So I ship all three of them with him. Also, I realized that some points need more information and more points are needed so this article has been updated.

I also recently uploaded a video that also goes through this topic you can watch it here.

Despite Shirley’s role in the plot, there are examples to indicate the Lelouch might love her.

There is some factual proof that Lelouch did care about Shirley.

Nowhere is this more obvious than in episode 14 of R1 and 13 of R2 and it was not by accident or coincidence that both episodes 13 and 14 or R1 and R2 revolve around Shirley and her impact on Lelouch.

R1 Episode 14 was the aftermath of Shirley discovering that Lelouch was Zero.

After Mao had trouble using his Geass to read Shirley’s thoughts, Mao left the two to retrieve his gun to murder both of them

Thankfully C.C. interfered and stopped him.

Shirley at this point is panicking and can’t handle the fact that she killed someone or that Lelouch is Zero. Zero was responsible for her father’s death.

With not many options Lelouch embraces Shirley and erases her memories so she no longer has to be dragged into this.

After Lelouch erases Shirley’s memories they exchange a conversation here is a snippet from it.

Shirley “Oh hello um did you lose someone in your family to“

Lelouch “Ah no not someone from my family it was a friend someone who was very important “

Shirley “I understand “

Lelouch: “But I didn’t know until after I lost her and I realized how much she meant to me how much her smile saved me and how I will never be able to argue or laugh with her like that again “

Shirley “I see you loved her didn’t you, you must feel terrible “

Lelouch “Right now I don’t know anymore “

This is important because it’s the only time Lelouch actually directly addresses who he has romantic feelings for or cared for, to begin with.

We learn that while Lelouch may not have feelings for Shirley anymore it can be argued Lelouch truly loved her because of his previous feelings. It is also important to point out that Lelouch has known Shirley for a longer time than the other girls. So it’s possible that he fell in love with her the fastest than Kallen and C.C.

Lelouch’s reaction to Shirley’s death could be another proof of his love for her.

Lelouch finds Shirley on the ground with a bullet wound and immediately understands what has happened.

With panicked tears in his eyes, Lelouch commands Shirley not to die with Geass but it was to no avail, she dies anyway.

Because of Shirley’s death, Lelouch is enraged and blames her passing on Geass. He goes one step further by using Shirley’s death as justification to massacre the entire Geass order.

Lelouch acted similarly after he had to erase Shirley’s memories. But in that case, he only blamed C.C. and took no further action.

This proves to be a big deal because the only other time Lelouch just loses it is when he finds out that Suzaku is the Lancelot Pilot and when he believes that his sister died in the explosion caused by the F.L.E.I.J.A. warhead.

We learn from this that Lelouch only shows his true rage and regret when someone close to him is hurt. Since he acted this way because of Shirley we learn that at the very least he considers Shirley much more than a friend.

This is a fair argument but it’s not without its issues that will be addressed in the arguments against Shirley.

Lelouch’s Proof of his love comes from keeping her at a distance

Some have argued that erasing her memories and ignoring her was Lelouch’s way of protecting her. C.C. even told him “you need to distance yourself from those you care about”. So you could actually interpret ignoring as keeping them out of the conflict altogether. Now there is some merit to this being a proof of love. After all, it shows that Lelouch needs her to live. This is what he tells her when she hanging on to his arm on the building.

Now I never saw this as proof of love but if you believe that keeping people out of your life to project is, then this is a valid argument for sure. Lelouch was aware of her intentions and kept her at a distance.

Lelouch’s actions show a level of concern beyond a good friend.

They also have fun moments together in the series. Lelouch is very comfortable around Shirley. He always puts up this tough demeanor when talking with Kallen. C.C. is the only character where Lelouch acts this way. My favorite example is when he talks to Shirley in Turn 12. He was not acting as a Zero just Lelouch and if the Rebellion never happened this could have the couple to end the series.

Shirly states in R2 episode 13 that she forgives Lelouch for killing her father

So in a way, Shirley loved both Lelouch and Zero which proves her love is not only for a personality that Lelouch created. This fact gives Shirley a strong case for who Lelouch could return his feelings.

Lelouch’s true love is someone who loves every part of him, not just the ones they prefer.

Lelouch only admits that he cared about Shirley’s wellbeing.

When Shirley jumped off the roof in R2, Lelouch grabbed her hand he told her that did not want to lose anyone else who was close to him.

This is just one of a few examples where Lelouch explains he cares for Shirley. But without a confession of romantic love, it is hard to see any more than just a good friendship. I understand that Lelouch keeps to himself but this one the time to do it. He could have at least spoke to Shirley privately afterward if fear of embarrassment was the problem. Not he could not do this immediately afterwards since Jeremiah had to be dealt with. But what would have sold it for me if he simply asked Shirley to talk to him after saving her.

But it never happems. However, Lelouch’s actions go against his words in terms of his feelings. One proof is how Lelouch ignores her throughout the series.

Ignoring her was a mistake and more importantly a sign of how low of a priority she was in his life.

Lelouch knew that Shirly has feelings for him and she’s important to him so why did he not tell Sayoko to be careful around her. Sayoko kisses Shirley as Lelouch without even considering that it could be an issue.

It is addressed what happened later on but it was played off for laughs in a filler-style episode. Lelouch is so dense that he thinks getting her a gift is enough to show that he is apologetic (I understand that he initially gave it as a gift for missing the dates but it also could have been for the kissing event as well). Lelouch was completely dense to Shirley’s feelings.

Lelouch does not even realize by the end of R1 that Shirley is aware that was something was done to her. Instead, Lelouch still chose to ignore her. Every time that Shirley wants to talk he dismisses by either ignoring or promising to discuss it later. He even does this in the episode where they casually address Sayoko kissing Shirley. I understand he needs to keep her at a distance but can you really use that to justify every reason why Lelouch ignores her.

There comes a point where maybe it’s more than that maybe he does not have feelings for her. Or he used to. I understand the point about keeping those close to you but it’s not catch-all. And the other thing to note is that when Shirley could be useful for Lelouch all of sudden the keep her distant no longer applies. Which is too convenient for me.

Lelouch also ignored Shirly’s advances in R1 including the event that she got tickets for. True he did agree to go but was going to most likely cancel it.

After all, he had more important things to do. Shirley was an afterthought to Lelouch unless she is in physical danger or an obstacle\asset in his plans.

For example, Lelouch only went with Shirley to get Villetta a gift so he could defeat Rolo. He only answered Shirley’s call to get advice on love but immediately hanged up once he got what he wanted.

Showing interest when it is convenient in my mind does not demonstrate real love for someone.

Final Verdict:

This was a one-sided relationship, ultimately for her protection and possible romantic reasons, Lelouch ignores Shirly throughout the whole series.

It’s possible that Lelouch had feelings for her but the problem is that he never cared enough to act on them. There are moments where you can see that Lelouch has feelings for Shirley.

But what kills it for me is that Lelouch simply ignored Shirley too much and only cared about her when it was convenient to him. I do believe that if Lelouch never started the rebellion they may have ended up as a couple. And I understand what he was doing to help her but it was odd to me that keeping her at a distance was broken sometimes for his convenience.

One thing I know for sure Lelouch did not see Shirley beyond a good friend and they definitely were not a couple during the original series. In conclusion, Lelouch does not see Shirley as a love interest but merely as a best friend that he wants to protect.

Lelouch’s actions make up for confessing his feelings for Kallen.

Let start with R2 episode 19 after the black knights learn that Lelouch was Zero. Kallen takes Lelouch to meet up with the black knights not knowing the reason.

When it turns out they want to kill Lelouch for treason, Lelouch double downs on their clams and confirmed that Kallen was that a pawn.

But when she walks away he whispers to her to live. This is the second time that Lelouch has told a love interest to live. This can be an argument in favor of the claim that Lelouch cares about Kallen’s wellbeing.

The next possible proof is when Kallen is captured and Lelouch declares no one will stop him from rescuing her. Lelouch apologizes for taking so long to rescue her in R2 episode 19 which is a sign that does care about Kallen.

From time to time Lelouch will tease Kallen.

For example, Lelouch commented that he could see her naked in the shower in episode 3 of R1. He also teases about the revealing clothing in episode 2 of R2.

But Lelouch does do the kind gesture of covering Kallen with his jacket when she was wearing the bunny suit.

He also teased Kallen in R2 episode 4 about the nature of their relationship which could be interrupted as an interest beyond friends.

Here are other examples of where Lelouch showed love interest in Kallen

When Lelouch and Kallen speak for the last time, Lelouch does not answer Kallen’s question about why he told her to live so she says goodbye to Lelouch.

Lelouch, sadly mumbles a goodbye to Kallen as she walks away from him. His demeanor can be compared to someone’s reaction to a breakup.

In R2 episode 9 Lelouch asks Kallen to come back with him to Ashford academy after this is all over.

He was about to explain himself when C.C. interrupts him. If Lelouch was to profess his love or deeper feelings for Kallen this would have been the moment.

Lelouch constantly nudges the idea that Kallen can leave the black knights because it may be too much for her. Lelouch does not have this conversation with other members of the black knight.

While we do not have exact proof here are the best examples of where Lelouch might have shown his care for Kallen.

People wrongly use R2 episode 7 as proof.

The reason why I reject this as evidence for a romantic relationship between Lelouch and Kallen is because of the dark conversation between them.

Lelouch is going to take Refrain an illegal drug that causes serious side effects. So anything he says during this time probably does not reflect his true feelings given his mindset.

Lelouch asks to comfort him because of his depressed state.

What is important to point out here is that:

1. He does not refer to her as a girlfriend or compliment her in any way.
2. He simply states that she is a woman and women can help men in certain ways. This is obviously referring to sexual acts.
3. Since Lelouch is so vague any woman could have fulfilled his desire, not specifically Kallen.
4. He only asks Kallen since she requested orders if left alone Lelouch probably would have ignored her.
5. Also, on a minor note, how exactly is Lelouch forcing himself on Kallen proof that he loves her.

Lelouch has never really expressed any emotion of love towards Kallen in the anime.

He might have said something in an undertone or shown her kindness, but that’s not good enough to be conclusive evidence.

Lelouch only seemed to see her as a great Knightmare pilot and his right hand of the black knights never really showing much interest as Kallen as a person.

Kallen was never a high priority for him

In R2 episode 11 Lelouch declares that he along with the black knights will find Kallen. But she does not seem to be a high priority because Lelouch has other objectives to complete before he can rescue her.

Lelouch has proven to act drastically when someone he truly cares about is in danger but does not do this for Kallen. He acts with his emotions when someone he loves has been captured or in physical danger. You could argue that his reaction towards Kallen capture indicates that he might not actually care.

So if Lelouch wanted to know he would have rescued Kallen right away. To add insult to injury Kallen’s rescue was a secondary objective anyway.

Lelouch only took action to rescue Nunnally Kallen just happened to be in the building.

One could argue that if they did not go to rescue Nunnally who knows when they would have come for Kallen.

Here are some other important things to note:

1. Reducing Kallen was a major part of the plan. Lelouch does state in the objectives when they attack the Tokyo Settlement.
2. When Kallen arrives to save Lelouch and the other Black Knights everyone including Lelouch is surprised to see her. This implies that no expected Kallen to come back to the battlefield during this operation. If Kallen was a priority for Lelouch getting her back on the battlefield would have been part of the plan.
3. After the F.L.E.I.J.A warhead goes off Lelouch only shows concerns about Nunnally and not Kallen. Remember Kallen was literally in front of Suzaku before he fired the weapon. So she could have been killed by it but Lelouch again does not seem to care.

Now Lelouch did say he would rescue her but the keyword is when. Lelouch never says when he would go save Kallen which lessens the importance of the rescue. Saying one will do something is different than actually doing it. There is even a scene where he tells C.C. we will rescue Kallen but first I need to go to Area 11.

Lelouch never consoles Kallen after she is rescued which is aggravating because she went through a traumatic experience.

The scene that follows is Kallen walking in on C.C. and Lelouch thinking they are about to have sex. She expresses that she is angry about their actions and how tone death their actions are.

Lelouch never cares to bring up Kallen’s capture other than apologizing for taking so long.

Lelouch was never completely honest with Kallen. For example, He never told Kallen that he used his Geass on her. Instead, he just said that Kallen’s mind was her own which was a lie. In R2 episode 22, the black knights had measures in case anyone suspects that Lelouch had used his Geass on Kallen.

I also found his jokes to Kallen to be insulting and mean spirited instead of just playful teasing.

Final Verdict

No matter what Kallen did she could not get Lelouch to love her back. She makes many advances even going as far as to kiss him but Lelouch simply did not care.

Lelouch never opens up to her and aside from a few instances and never showed any romantic interest for her. This might have been excusable in R1 when Kallen did not know his identity. But this continued in R2 when Kallen knew who he was.

Despite Kallen even falling in love with the real Lelouch it was not going to get him to love her back.

By the way here is a detailed analysis of Kallen’s relationship with Lelouch.

So, Lelouch respected Kallen as a friend and ally as well as his most powerful piece to deploy into the battlefield. But there is no evidence that he ever saw her as a love interest.

We have clear evidence from R2 episode 24 that Lelouch shows a mutual interest in C.C.

C.C. says “in all my life I have never met a man quite like you”

Lelouch then responds with “C.C.” in a loving tone and moves in to embrace only to be interrupted by Kallen (now they technically did not hug but what do you think was going to happen a friendly handshake). Ironically because in R2 episode 9 C.C. interrupted Kallen and Lelouch’s moment together.

This is the most amount of interest that Lelouch has shown compared to his other love interests, Kallen and Shirley. Beyond that, we have plenty of other examples where Lelouch has shown interest in C.C.

Lelouch and CC exchange in light-hearted/flirtatious insults.

Here are my favorite examples:

1. My favorite is when Lady Kaguya mentions that she wants to marry Lelouch but he tells her I already have a deal with the devil in episode 23 of R1. Here is my analysis of why C.C. kisses Lelouch which relates to that moment.
2. R1 Stage 24 Lelouch says “don’t die” and C.C. says “who are you talking to “
3. R2 Turn 2 at C.C. says”are those theatrics necessary” and Lelouch says “I don’t need comments from an immortal witch”
4. R2 Turn 10 C.C. asks Lelouch if he needed to use a truth serum and he responds with yes its called Geass
5. R2 Turn 11 C.C. says “the devil grows up” and Lelouch says “you are still a witch”
6. R2 Turn 22 he says sarcastically to C.C. how people love their democracy

Lelouch and C.C. enjoy each other’s company which includes making fun of each other. This is not at all like when Lelouch rudely insults Kallen without any of the playfulness.

Another sign that Lelouch considers CC a romantic partner was how he opened up to her.

This is a very significant disquisition between how Lelouch has interreacted with both Kallen and Shirly in the anime.

Lelouch has shared his plans, concerns, insecurities, and setbacks to C.C. They have had so many debates on life and C.C is the only one who gives Lelouch the feedback that he needs.

This is all speculation but Lelouch probably loves C.C. the most because she was an actual partner to him.

Kallen was the ace of the Black Knights who wanted to follow Zero orders and Shirly had a crush but could never go beyond that to make Lelouch hers.

But with C.C., Lelouch found someone who he felt he could go the next level beyond simple lust. It’s one of the reasons why he trusts her to help him out in a pinch.

Now you could argue that the reason why C.C. ends becoming Lelouch’s romantic partner is that she has to be with him and that forced closeness would bring them together.

But just because she had more time does not mean it would have guaranteed anything, if anything being together too much might have driven them apart.

So beyond all of this, we have even more evidence.

In R2 episode 16 Lelouch responds to C.C.’s wish that she can’t die because it would be very sad.

We have seen that Lelouch tells people including each of the love interests to not die.

Lelouch constantly asks C.C. to be careful. We see in this R1 Stage 25 when he tells her to be careful when fighting Jeremiah and again in R2 Turn 11 he asks her to have an escape route if his plans fail.

This is adorable because despite knowing that C.C. is immortal he still wants to know that she is okay. I cannot recall a time where he tells Kalle to be safe when she is off to fight.

You can even see that Lelouch cares more about C.C. because he takes care of her when her memories are sealed away. You could compare it to the level of care he shows Nunnally.

There is even this sweet moment where Lelouch towards the end of the Zero Requiem is sitting on a bed back to back to C.C. The two-exchange a heartfelt conversation about being determined to see this plan through.

I especially like the scene where C.C. hugs Lelouch after the incident in the Special Administrative Zone of Japan.

You just don’t see these kinds of moments with Kallen and only a few scenes with Shirley.

Despite the overwhelming evidence in favor, there are some things working against C.C.

But I am going to look past that to try and find reasons why this could have been a one-sided affair if at all.

Lelouch might have only acted that way towards C.C. simply because they are co-conspirators and he needs to fulfill his contract. Lelouch has made this point very clear to C.C. many times throughout.

Another factor is during the conflict with Mao, Lelouch shows anger towards C.C. He calls her a monster because of the fact she does not discuss the contract she gives out. He basically claimed that she ruins people’s lives.

It’s possible this anger towards her also kept the two at ease. Lelouch does state that he needs C.C. but that might have just been that she is an immortal witch and can help Lelouch in ways no one else can.

Final Verdict:

Lelouch made his intentions clear to C.C. in episode 24. Beyond that if you take the constant flirting he does, the fact that he opens to her and you have a solid case for why Lelouch loves C.C. more than the others.

Fans will continue to debate this topic for years to come. But from looking at the facts there is more evidence the Lelouch has more romantic feelings towards C.C. than the other love interests.

He demonstrates not only his actions but how he treats C.C. over Kallen.

Even from the narrative, C.C. had a stronger impact on Lelouch’s story and life.

He thanks her for the Geass and mentions how it did not ruin his life and only made it better.

I wish Code Geass followed Clannad and made OVAs where Lelouch is with Shirly and Kallen. Doing this would give all the fans what they really want which is seeing their favorite Lelouch ship animated.

Also, keep in mind since nothing is ever confirmed this is all speculation. But I would say that there is a 90% chance that Lelouch loved C.C. over the others. I said I would directly use the films as proof but it is interesting how they make the couple cannon at the end.

Who did Lelouch really love is a question that was never definitely answered in Code Geass Lelouch of the Rebellion. It can be answered through the perspective of the fans and now you know mine.