CAUTION MEGA SPOILERS!!!

So Code Geass R2 is finished, and with a spectacular ending at that. I’m sure while everyone is going: “OMG!” at the ending, they’re still wondering whether Lelouch is actually dead or not.

EDIT: Apparently the Official word from the Sunrise production staff is that Lelouch is DEAD. Regardless of the fact that the ending felt so open ended.

Well I’m pretty sure that he IS NOT dead, and have a bunch of reasons to back it up.

The basic thing is this, Lelouch has become an immortal, much like C.C, and he probably got this ability when he defeated Charles in the World of C. Now how can this be proven? Simple:

• C.C’s wish is to be LOVED by someone (not dieing, if you didn’t figure that one out yet XD), and Lelouch has a promise to make her smile which he says he intends to keep. Now if he had died, said promise would be up in the air, and Lelouch rarely makes such bold claims, and definitely keeps his promises.

• When Nunally touches Lelouch after he (so called) dies, she sees his memories, similar to what Lelouch saw when he touched C.C waaay back in Season 1.

• C.C is talking to Lelouch at the end of the final episode, and while this is a bit of a weak point, it CAN be interpreted as Lelouch being alive.
• Lelouch does not need to die for the Zero Requiem to actually work. He just needs his indentity as Lelouch Vi Britannia, the Emperor to die. He can never go back to his friends, the people he knew e.t.c, and CAN live his life as an outcast. The Fact that Lelouch may have a code without realizing it, may not even give him a choice at all.

• The series is called Geass R2. Now, we have C.C (or C2), V.V (or V2) and finally, we have R.R (Lelouch the R2 XD)

At the end of the day, whether it was by intention or not, Sunrise made the ending of the Code Geass franchise open ended. There is a lot of ground to either Lelouch being dead, or not being dead. What you choose to believe, is at the end of the day, a combination of your own choice, what appeals to you and possibly your inner fanboy. I believe that Lelouch is a live.

And I believe the reason Sunrise ended it on such a note is to leave some room for a sequel (as we all know how much Sunrise has milked their Gundam and Mai Hime Franchises), should they want to do one in the future.

Heaven forbid that there ever be a Season 3, as there is no real need of one but I will continue to believe that Lelouch is alive. Maybe it’s my inner fanboy, or maybe it’s the fact that the anime was a real tease and gave a few points that actually support that.

Sources: Setsuken’s Convulted brain, Discussion With Zarrar/Sakai.