an honorable heart
Suzaku the white knight
Why is Suzaku called the white knight? There's actually a bit of irony to the statement because Suzaku's hands are tainted with blood, whether as a soldier or as a rebellious son. Nevertheless, his overall image managed to remain unspoiled somehow and the milk of humanness has never disappeared from his presence. In fact, the war between Britannia and Japan actually mellowed Suzaku's personality out: he's no longer the fierce, bitter child Lelouch once knew.
where has the heart gone?
Both Suzaku and Lelouch are "one of a kind". One is working for his enemy while the other is trying to destroy his home. However, there's a major difference in the basis of their actions: to the contrary of Lelouch, who doesn't particularly care for any country's welfare because his ultimate catch lies within the world, Suzaku continues to believe that he must work for the innocent individuals in every country because his loyalty lies within his people. In other words, if Lelouch is fighting for a better future, Suzaku is fighting for an improved present. Unfortunately, none of us can determine what's "right" and "wrong" this early in the story. Or maybe we never can.
we are all brothers
It's easy to tell a Sunrise production from others because characters of new series are often based on existing models from the past. Being made right after the Gundam SEED heat, Code Geass certainly couldn't escape the fate of comparison in spite of CLAMP's amazing designs.
So who should we name Suzaku after? I actually see him as a combination of both Kira and Athrun, possibly a bit of Shinn as well. The one-time crybaby Suzaku is just like Kira of older years, who doesn't want to hurt anyone around him unless the situation calls for it. However, Suzaku is seen to suffer the consequence of switching sides because he's still confused about the world in general, which makes him more of an Athrun type. There's also an extremely naive part of Suzaku that covers his (over)confidence in his personal ideal (which we know is a less feasible plan than Lelouch's), which somehow reminds me of the stubborness of Shinn. All in all, Suzaku's character is overshadowed by the cast of SEED series at every possible corner, which however makes him a unique personality that's often misunderstood.
in conclusion
I might have made Suzaku sound a little more complicated than he should be, but that's the fun of overanalyzing. He is indeed good-natured like how he looked at first glance, but at the same time he is far from being a real saint. As a result, I don't believe we should call him the antigonist at this point because c'mon, it's Sunrise we're dealing with. That should say something to each Geass fan's favor, I suppose.
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