「翼竜は舞い降りた」 (Yokuryuu wa Maiorita)
“The Wyvern Arrives”

First of all, I want to apologise for the lateness of this post – I was not originally the person who was going to be writing it and only found out otherwise late last night.

I have to be honest, it was hard to be hyped for Boukoku no Akito. We see it a lot, anime being produced in an attempt to cash in off the success of an extremely popular franchise and failing to live up to the standards set by its predecessor (e.g. Last Exile -Ginyoku no Fam- and Eureka Seven AO, just to name a few more recent ones). It certainly didn’t help that beyond being produced by Sunrise, the team behind it is almost entirely different to those who handled the original two series, and when we take into account the almost complete irrelevance of the other Code Geass spinoff, Shikkoku no Renya, it was hard to feel particularly positive about this at all.

Yet somehow, seeing that the first OVA was finally available for viewing sparked a little excitement in me and I had to drop everything to watch it. It is Geass after all, and I’ve yet to allow anything related to the franchise to pass me by. I was pleasantly surprised; it was nowhere near as bad as I was expecting it to be. Perhaps this goes to show that one should always keep their expectations low! Nah, I’m just kidding. But moving on…

Code Geass has always had an oddly interesting alternative history, most of which was glossed over in the original series and only expanded on in bits and pieces scattered through various supplementary materials. Boukoku no Akito is yet another chance to subtly insert various bits of information, this time with more focus on the EU, hitherto mostly left alone. We follow Layla Malkal (Sakamoto Maaya), a European sympathiser of the Eleven’s cause, and Hyuuga Akito (Irino Miyu), a crazy Eleven under the influence of a geass, as they fight on the European front during the period between Code Geass and Code Geass R2. Yes, that period, where Lelouch is happily going about his life with false memories, C.C. and Kallen are off in hiding, Suzaku is murdering everyone along the European front (this is important), and the Black Knights are in complete disarray after being abandoned by their leader in the middle of the final battle. Oh, there will be spoilers in this post. You knew that though right?

Anger and insanity have always formed a central part of Code Geass’ premise. The Black Knights are angry at losing their country, Lelouch wants revenge on his tyrannical father, and everyone else is angry about something. On the psychopathic front we have… well almost everyone has their moment in the original series: we have Lelouch and Suzaku with their constant raging love affair; Rolo, Nina and Mao who were downright yandere; and even Shirley had her moments fumbling with a gun. Angry people, crazy people, and angry crazy people; these are the central gears that drive the Code Geass universe. Boukoku no Akito is certainly no exception to this. Once again, almost everyone is angry or crazy or a combination of both. Akito himself has that beautiful psycho grin which goes hand-in-hand with his apparent battle-lust, and the terrorist trio, Sayama Ryo (Hino Satoshi), Kousaka Ayano (Hikasa Youko), and Naruse Yukiya (Matsuoka Yoshitsugu), clearly share both traits with their love for explosives and general railing.

But perhaps the biggest reason why Boukoku no Akito still feels like Code Geass is because it hasn’t lost its fabulous flair. While it may not be quite up to par with the original series (completely impossible without the presence of Lelouch and Zero), it still has those moments of flamboyant stupidity and absurdity that manage to inspire awe. The flip side is that neither has it put aside the entire world’s inexplicable and seemingly arbitrary loathing of ‘those filthy Eleven scum.’ But that’s just one of those Code Geass things you have to let slide. It goes hand in hand with the fact that all Elevens are visually distinct from everyone else – it’s always really easy to tell exactly which of the characters are the underdog Japanese we’re meant to be rooting for. This makes it even stranger when people apparently can’t tell them apart in-world, an example being the truck driver who had no idea Akito was filthy Eleven scum until he looked at the ID. Maybe he mistook him for any other Asian which is apparently perfectly fine because we only hate Elevens!

Let’s talk for a moment about the battle scenes. Akito’s feat of Suzaku-style superhuman ability was certainly a huge highlight for me. Taking down a Knightmare on foot by hitting it with a grappling hook and shooting it repeatedly in the groin with a grenade launcher? Now that’s pretty damn badass! On top of this, contrary to my initial expectations, the CGI was actually fairly well executed and allowed for detailed depictions of every motion which would certainly be much harder to do with traditional animation. I’m still not entirely certain how to react to Akito’s transforming-walking-spider-feminine Knightmare. I can only assume that its design has some immense flaw which will be revealed later on as the reason why nothing remotely similar appears in Code Geass R2 and all Knightmares continue rolling around on skates. Or maybe they accidentally blew them all up with self-destruct mechanisms. Only in Code Geass would it be considered normal practice to self-destruct what appears to be a superior model of Knightmare. While I enjoyed watching most of the combat, the complete lack of slash harken use was disappointing and the free-form jazz was atrocious. I understand exactly why they chose to go in that direction – the chaotic discord of the music not only goes well with the chaos of the battlefield, but also reflects Akito’s seeming descent into madness every time his geass activates in battle. However, that does not make it any less horrible on the ears.

Just as any Code Geass is wont to do, Boukoku no Akito leaves us with a lot of food for thought. As I mentioned earlier, we’re aware that Suzaku gained his title ‘White Grim Reaper’ from the mass slaughter he committed across the European front. With that in mind, it’s quite easy to imagine what the fate of most of this OVA’s characters is likely to be. We also have Xin (Matsukaze Masaya), whose family name heavily implies that he may well be a half-brother to Akito. There’s always been an unstated assumption that every geass is unique, so there’s still much room for speculation on exactly what power his might possess, but it seems very likely that he was the one to have placed a geass on Akito. We can also wonder whether or not Akito’s supposed ability to see the dead will actually be a real element as opposed to a delusion, and whether the commander Layla quickly deposed will resurface as an antagonist. Last, but certainly not least, will C.C. actually appear on the European front? Logically, she shouldn’t since she’s meant to be working undercover with Kallen right about now, but it’s hard to predict cameos. At the very least she will appear in the next episode, but based on the images we see during the ED sequence, that will most likely take the form of a flashback.

tl;dr: @MoombaDS – Better than expected, but that’s what shooting a Knightmare in the groin with a grenade launcher will do! #Akito

Random thoughts:

  • I really like the ED, both the song itself and the pictures, each of which tells a story of its own. I imagine there are people who disapprove of trying to fit details into still images rather than actually coming out and telling us the back stories, but for some reason, I’ve always liked it.
  • The music was good for the most part. However, it wasn’t Code Geass and that bothers me a little. One of the best things I remember and loved about Code Geass was its frequently distinctive music, particularly the vocal stuff by Kuroishi Hitomi.
  • Seems legit.
  • Smilas’ (Ishizuka Unsho) beard irritates me. It looks so fake!
  • If you look closely at some of the official documents, they reveal that the EU uses a different calendar to Britannia. Apparently the year is 228. Given that it’s currently 2017 a.t.b. in Britannia, and assuming they used the same calendar before, that would make the year they switched 1789. What happened in 1789? The French Revolution began! Coincidence?

Full-length images: 01, 03, 05, 06, 08, 11, 22, 23, 26, 27, 31, 34, 39, 50, 56, 57, 62, ED 01, ED 03, ED 05, ED 06, Preview 02.

*Huge thanks to Mochi for providing the caps and making an absurd number of full-lengths!

 

ED Sequence

ED: 「モアザンワーズ」 (More Than Words) by 坂本真綾 (Sakamoto Maaya)
Watch the ED!: Streaming ▼

Preview

108 Comments

      1. “Those who kill should also be prepared to be killed.”

        -Lelouch at the end of Episode 1 and in Episode 25 of R2 (AFTER he had killed a ton of people).

        He would’ve wanted to die, not keep living. Plus the director confirmed he’s dead, so he’s dead.

        Da5id
      2. @Da5id

        the “direct” thing was to calm down the fan flame war after R2 ended, facts remain.
        How did C.C get her code? the Nun gave it to her so she could finally die, for Code to activate, host must first die.

        Lelocuh took Charles’s code in Geass dimension, Charles died due to that. Lelouch planned to get killed in public, (Lelouch knew C.C’s story and how did she gain her immorality when he touched her inside the knightmare when she at the time was trying to stop Suzaku)

        Lelouch died in public, code activated afterwards, but he lost his geass, he lives forever with C.C now. I’m done here.

        Waka
      3. Pretty sure “fake death in public” counts as actually dying. Regardless, Word of God is Word of God, so he’s dead. Deal with it.

        I know it’s hard to accept that a good ending can come from the main protagonist dying, but that’s just how it is.

        Da5id
      4. Except for several direct confirmations that the guy is dead. Watch the end of the R2 Special Edition, where C.C. says he’s dead. It’s on Anime Fushigi and probably a ton of other sites.

        He’s dead. His story is done. Period. You might as well say that Kamina from Gurren Lagann is still alive.

        Da5id
      5. I think the ambiguity of whether lelouch is dead or alive is fine. People are free to believe in whatever they want. If you want him alive, then he is; if you want him dead, the the grave he goes.

        Personally I like to think he is alive with C.C. in the end.

        Flappy
    1. Have you seen the cut footage from the Japanese DVD’s? It has an extra scene on the cart trip at the end. Makes it pretty obvious what happened. That and the pink crane thing. The crane was more for Lelouche. CC wouldn’t be carrying that around.

      Samurai Pumpkin
      1. I am almost entirely certain that is fake. Putting aside the issue of whether or not Lelouch is alive, I definitely recall the original broadcast of the series, and that last bit was NOT in there.

        You could make the claim that the scene was added for the Japanese DVDs and not the US DVDs, but that’s sketchy. The DVDs came out in the States after Japan’s, so there’s absolutely no reason they would cut that out.

        Finally, you could claim that the director’s originally intended that as the ending, then decided to cut it out because they wanted to leave it open. However, seeing as how the directors said they personally thought Lelouch was dead….Also, if you look closely at the driver’s face before the scene goes to CC (you’re going to need a better video source than Youtube), you can see the guy chewing on cud. Then on the (fake) video, when it goes to the close-up of Lelouch’s face -> no cud. If those couple of frames were cut from the official releases, he should still be munching that straw.

        Occam’s Razor: it’s a fake video. Inserting a couple frames of animation is cake for people with experience, and there are some truly epic Durarara/Devil Survivor opening/ending videos you should watch.

        I’m all for Lelouch surviving, and I think there are some very plausible theories for it. But there is no concrete evidence of it (yet), and some grainy Youtube video doesn’t cut it.

        Rasen
  1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=siZ9LVivkjU&feature=relmfu
    ALL HAIL BRITANNIA. BOW DOWN FILTHY ELEVENS! I mean — it’s not like I’m a secret supporter of the Black Knights or anything.

    Anyway, Akito turned out surprisingly enjoyable despite its lack of original series Geass characters for the most part. As you said, the flair’s still there, and well, that’s all I need. OST could’ve been better, but alas, part of me is just content having any Geass stuff in the first place heh.

    ALL HAIL — Alright I’ll stop now…

  2. As for the Calendar, in the PSP game Lost Colours, it’s stated that Napoleon conquered England, that’s why Pendragon is in America and not England, despite it being the capital of the Britain Empire.
    So Napoleon conquered England, without England no exile, no 5th May, so he unified Europe end went of with the Evolutionary’s Calendar.

    Yuu
  3. While it’s not nearly as good as the original that’s expected and I still enjoyed this episode quite a bit. The only problem is that I’ll probably have forgotten these guys by the time the next bit is out which is a problem that can’t really be avoided when telling a story through multiple OVAs instead of a normal season.

    Also can’t believe you actually noticed something like the difference between dates. While it doesn’t really seem to have much to do with the actual stories, it’s always interesting when they reveal some part of the changed history.

    HakumeiJin
  4. I’m not really sure what to think of this show. On the one hand I get to watch Code Geass again, on the other it isn’t really Code Geass how we know it, just a side story between the two seasons of the original series with a set outcome. Can’t say I’m really excited about this one. At least it’s just an additional story told and doesn’t meddle with the original story line like Last Exile Ginyoku no Fam – which really disappointed me as big Last Exile fan. As this OVA will just have (well, that’s rather normal for an OVA) 4 episodes I’ll probably gonna watch it anyways..^^

  5. It wasn’t neither as gay nor as fabulous as the original Code Geass which is a plus, mecha action was pretty dynamic thanks to the use of 3D but in the end it still didn’t compare as far as the cast is concerned. The cast feels more like those background new characters from R2 who ended up as plot devices rather than some Lelouch or Suzaku. And the worst part is that it was too much pompous.

    Ananas
  6. I wonder if anyone else caught the fact that the 11 team was all being hyped up with ‘roid rage (or some other drug) to help inhibit any reluctance of suicide.

    Sort of makes me wonder if a part of it is also what was driving Akito along with whatever influence activates when in combat in the Alexander.

    Lurker
  7. Moomba, thanks a million for the coverage 🙂

    though I have to say, not all geass are unique… take the game Code Geass: lost color for instance… the MC there has the same geass power as Lulu (except through voice not eye contact)… so I am assuming that Xin has the same absolute control ability as Lulu… (and possibly the ultimate antagonist)

    what makes this so interesting is how Xin and Akito totally went on different road and what is the fate of these crazy angry people? Also is it me or Suzaku already wore knight of rounds cloth on that train?

    jrj
    1. Suzaku became Knight of Seven right after he capture Lelouch at the end of season 1. This takes place after season 1 so it would make sense for Suzaku to be wearing those clothes.

      Suppa Tenko
      1. well, do we know for sure this is happening after the fall of black knight on the timeline? since the guy who got killed asks the trio whether they are terrorist like the black knight, I feel like it might be happening before the fall… unless I am mistaken of course.

        and funny if Akito ends up fighting Suzaku, it would seem to become a contest of knightmare frame since both pilots are crazy and good on the battle field…

        jrj
    2. As Suppa Tenko said, the OVA definitely takes place sometime between the events of S1 and R2 which is why Suzaku is dressed as a Knight of Rounds and on his way to the European front. Even after the fall the Black Knights weren’t completely wiped out, only in hiding, so it wouldn’t be particularly strange for someone to make that mistaken connection.

      Is Lost Colors actually considered part of the anime/manga canon? The protagonist’s geass is the only one that shares the same attributes as any other geass we’re aware of – all eight others that appear in canon are more or less unique.

      Moomba
      1. well, I don’t know about whether the game is canon, but at least it kind of explained V.V’s involvement in R1 and the bit about him and Nanally… but since Rei didn’t show up in R1 at all, so maybe not…

        then again, seems like Xin controlled that guy, so I wouldn’t be surprised if Geass power is not unique…

        jrj
  8. Yes the Eleven scum. Same thing has happened over history and even today you have the Romas looked down upon in Europe currently. The EU has strong ties with Chinese Federation as, so I would not be surprised the solid thought he was from china working with the EU.

    Also in the history Japan was neutral until they tried to side with the EU and Chinese Federation before being concurred by Britannia. To the people of the EU they seem like “bogs of their enemies”.

    Ani_BEE
  9. This was way better than expected.

    >Akito being badass
    >Leila being delicious
    >Fights being epic
    >People being crazy
    >ED song being beautiful
    >Soundtrack was still pretty good and gave me some feels

    illusion
  10. Everyone in this world is insane! Bothe the EU and the japanese were screwed by Britania, but even so they dare discriminate against the poor people that lost a country?!. Cold heart bastards!.

    haseo0408
  11. Last I remember R2’s ending was left for discussion. Don’t use the creator’s word as the almighty truth. Also, why would they bother saying it’s conclusion is open to interpretation then say he is dead? Don’t you think that’s a tad bit strange? No doubt the creators saw something very interesting when the series had come to a close.

    There is a reason why we have the idiom of Trolling Creator or they just plain out lie, then take it back moments (years) later. Its a marketing scheming, look at Hollywood reviving old movies when they were made god knows how far back.

    Chaos
    1. Except that everything about Lelouch’s actions are the acts of a suicidal man who has nothing left to live for. Which he really doesn’t, if he’s planning on making everyone in the world except for a handful of people his enemy. I know people get the idea that he’s alive from that photoshopped image of Lelouch’s eyes on the cart driver. They say it’s on the special edition recap of the series, and I’ve seen that version as well. It’s the exact same footage from the finale and that’s simply not enough to really go on. If anyone can prove me wrong, I am open to them trying.

      Besides the fact that Lelouch living would be incredibly impractical because everyone knows Lelouch’s face. Lelouch would need to have that covering on everywhere he goes for the rest of his life if he really wanted to stay out of the people’s sight, which in itself would be impossible for a guy like him who is known everywhere around the world. If the theory is true and he’s immortal, then being found out in one area might not be an issue. But if enough people get wind that he’s immortal and, more importantly, that his death was a fabrication, the peace he fought for comes crashing down instantly.

      And yes, the possibility of him coming back because the creators want him to is there, but by that logic, Charles isn’t really dead because they can always mess with that Geass magic for the sake of plot convenience, and that goes for pretty much every dead character in the story, because if you rip apart the consistency and meaning in ONE characters actions and goals, then why stop there? Why not just bring everyone the fans liked back for the hell of it and let the reason and logic of the story fall by the wayside?

      There’s just. No. Point.

      Da5id
      1. I think whether Lelouch is dead or not will just be as it were: open to the viewer’s opinions. I can see why Lelouch’s survival would be impractical as he became the center of everyone’s hatred just to establish unity and peace with everybody, but at times I would like to think he has the possibility to be alive due to certain elements like seeing Lelouch’s geass on the driver’s eye (I don’t know whether its fake or not as I don’t have anyway of proving it so don’t quote me on that), then theres C.C asking out loud to Lelouch in the end of the episode, which then out loud while the farmer, who is wearing a sheet over his face(with a hat?)can hear her.

        The debate is ever so continuous, and to know for sure he is alive is skeptical throughout people.

        Dualash
      2. Someone as fabulous as Lelouch does not need to play by petty rules of logic. So what if his plan was really silly and every single person on the planet knows what he looks like? He would find some way to drop a mountain on everyone. Seme supreme!

        Sortedevaras
      3. I am now going to add the most useful contribution to this discussion possible. And trust me, it will be extremely juvenile, stupid, and useless, but I firmly believe in each word. Here goes:

        Oh yeah, I totally forgot about that whole Lelouch dying thing in the end. Cool plan tho(TM).

        End

        hoiut
    2. Let’s preface this by saying this is my opinion:

      I think what the directors meant by “open ending” was that you could take it as either a tragic or happy ending, and that they took it as a happy one because Lelouch created a better world for those left behind. Assuming the translation of those remarks are accurate, the implications of the phrase “left behind” suggest that Lelouch is no longer in the world.

      Also, there is a Christmas special picture drama which also heavily implies Lelouch is dead. (i.e., it was a Christmas miracle to see him again)

      Having said that, they did leave enough open for Lelouch to have credibly survived. If he shows up in a later work that takes place post-R2, no one will be happier than I. (They may reach equal levels of happiness)

      Rasen
  12. Akito’s ability really looks suzaku-like, using the geass curse in such a manner and having really HUGE abilities in fighting, I hope he is like Xingke, a brain like Lelouch and a superman like Suzaku. Not to mention the way he laughs like Lelouch is REALLY REALLY fitting for him, he is my number one main character.

    I am hoping that Layla is, if Akito is mostly muscle, is the lelouch-Like brains of this part of Code Geass. If she is, then it is truly both fitting and romantic, a Demon of the Far East serving the Princess of the West.

    I do hope Xin won’t be the antagonist, if it is going to be a repeat of Lelouch vs his Father or half-siblings then that isn’t too fun. I am curious why Xin is supposed to be the half brother, since it is possible that he can be the full brother; both Xin and Akito look like Japanese-Chinese hybrids- which I find a little IRONIC due our world where China’s reaction to Senkaku Islands is too extreme. I really feel sorry for anyone with Japanese blood in China.

    L002
    1. I am expecting a Akito vs Suzaku mecha duel in the coming episodes.
      As for Senkaku Islands, American has no rights to comment, since it is America who gave China’s territory to Japanese after WWII and started all the conflicts.

      os
  13. I want to mention that we should see the percival in action ^^

    For those that don’t remember what that unit:

    It’s the knightmare for the knight of ten, Luciano Bradley. In the beginning of the 2nd season, Suzaku greets him noting that he hasn’t met him since the war in the european front.

    flCer
  14. ALL HAIL BRITANNIA!

    Wow… Just watched this after Kyoukai-sen. The energy zapped from Zhar Battalion’s demise is now back!

    Looking forward to the next 3 episodes.

    I know this’s in the same timeline as Lulu and CC in Japan. So my question is, when, in R1 and R2, did Suzaku left for Europe???

    c2710
  15. With all those badass archdukes and geass users in Britannia, where the hell were they when Lelouch abolished the nobility system when he became emperor. Annihilated by Akito?

    Magreaves
  16. Does Layla has geass? The confrontation between her and Anou with a brief scene of her eyes “shifting” into “geass mode” like Lelouch/Xin/Charles made it look like she has some sort of geass….

    Rozan
    1. During the ending there is a scene with a little girl, that could be Layla, in a lake with a hooded woman later revealed to be CC, so it could be she has a Geass.
      It was so convenient that the Commander tried to shoot her, being subdued, and allowing her to take command on the spot.

      Yuu
    1. Let’s think about it from a meta level.
      If Lelouch was still alive then Sunrise won’t make this spin-offs (Akito the Exiled, Renya of the Darkness), instead they will make a proper Season 3, since everybody loves Lelou and CG basically prints money.
      Remember, this is the same Sunrise that retconned a certain character’s death in SEED Destiny… If they could do it, they would. My conclusion is that director Taniguchi specifically told them that Lelouch is 100% dead.

      Son Gohan
      1. There’s also the fact that the Special Edition of R2 removed the cart driver scene and replaced it with a monologue of C.C. stating that Lelouch is dead. She says “he died” twice.

        Da5id
      2. when there’s a will, there’s a way.

        Lelouch could’hav ressurected from the grave and hid in secret from everyone. Hell why don’t they make a third season based on that premise. I’d buy it.

        ver
      3. It doesn’t matter if Lulu is dead or alive. Either way a season 3 is not feasible. What is the story going to be about? LuLu and C.C living in some royal area during times of peace?

        As for Gundam SEED ‘resurrecting’ characters, all of them were minor characters…

        ybaby
  17. Unfortunately it sounds a bit biased…
    1. I, much like everyone else, expected nothing good from this ‘spinoff’
    2. I was EXTREMELY surprised due to how good it was after watching the episode despite the lack of any hype beforehand.
    3. ED song is amazing

    Yes, that jazz thing (we heard it in the PV too and facepalm’d) is pretty bad, but you can call it modern music- in which nothing is pleasant to the ears, but it’s still an art of music. Personal preference I guess… As you mentioned, at least it portrays the mood of the scene correctly.

    At least for ep1, I think this is an excellent series (if they keep it up) and the lack of lulu or w/e else is completely unnecessary.

    Whee
  18. So Akito’s brooding and boring, the strange Japanese persecution complex has been cranked up to Eleven, and commanders across the board still show complete disregard for their subordinates’ lives. On the bright side, the fights look awesome and the three-man band of Japanese renegades is an interesting bunch to watch.

    Is it just me, or do the Europeans make the Brittanians from the original look almost tolerant by comparison? From that ridiculous clown at the beginning to just about everyone who wasn’t Layla (who we know is Good and Tolerant because she knows Japanese martial arts), all the Europeans are quite literally cartoonish in their racism. Aside from that, I didn’t like how Layla pretty much let Akito walk all over her at the ball (since when can a subordinate tell a superior officer “let’s go”?) and how she immediately offered a job to the Japanese trio without a thought to the soldiers who had just gotten killed defending her and the general from their attack.

    But at the very least I’m interested to see where we go from here. I hope Akito gets more interesting and they ratchet back the persecution complex a bit, since those were the two main sources of facepalming this time around.

    Actene
    1. They were dead already… nothing she could do! She’s pragmatical! And those 3 showed future as subordinates, and she didn’t have much of a choice! Either they became allies or they would all die!

      Airas
      1. I suppose it’s a pragmatic decision… aside from the fact that all she had was their word that they’d behave and follow orders once she gave them close access to military equipment and more E.U. personnel. I didn’t expect her to launch into a rage over the faceless redshirts who got slaughtered, but a little acknowledgement of the entire convoy that was just slaughtered would have been a nice gesture. I guess the war has just hardened her to this sort of thing. In which case she shouldn’t be letting her brother/fiancee and subordinate humiliate her in public.

        Actene
    2. I do want to point out that it’s not like Europe doesn’t have a history of racism. Granted, we’re all PC now, but this is the place that gave birth to Nazism. And although we no longer teach it in schools, much of Europe was incredibly racist, particularly France.

      Random thought
    3. Considering that the Japanese being erased from the world and occupied by Britannia was already a key part of the story, it’s less of a persecution complex and more taking an idea introduced by the universe to one of its possible logical conclusions: they lost their land and everyone sure isn’t going to receive them with warm, open arms because of it. I tend to facepalm at your facepalming.

      It’s a false dilemma to claim the Britannians where ever more tolerant than this. Besides, I think you’d be surprised at how even “free and democratic” nations in the real world treat Latin Americans and Muslims quite poorly, even in some very stereotypical and cartoonish ways. You can even find extremely racist forums on the Internet and the news has reported many cases of government officials discriminating against minorities in terrible ways. Fiction exaggerates the exact details of such facts, yes, but still uses a real issue as a base. Apparently you wanted something more politically correct, huh?

      As for Akito, he’s supposed to be her bodyguard in a situation where she has just been abused, and family matters are a touchy issue for Leila that doesn’t let her keep cool about it. Don’t see why that’s a problem.

      In practice, the Japanese rebels are being essentially undergoing punishment through forced military service. That W-0 military unit is also considered disposable, even if Reila doesn’t wish it were so, thus it’s not like anyone expects them to survive much in this universe.

      Chevalier
  19. I can’t say I’m crazy about his Knightmare. It’s spider version is cool, but its robot looks a little too futuristic compared to the others. Its design even surpasses Lancelot Albion in future tense.

    ion62
  20. Code Geass’ world is pretty damn different from our own world. European and American history is completely different. Which gets weird, when the American Britannians seem more European than the actual Europeans.

    The truck driver part did bother me. I, mean… it’s pretty easy to spot a Japanese person in Europe (clue:everyone else is white). Unless there are a lot of non-Japanese East Asian people walking around.

    Random thought
    1. It’s obvious Akito is Asian, but he might have expected him to be from another country and not Japan. They might make a point out of this later, considering Xin seems to be his brother and has more of a Chinese look.

      Chevalier
  21. Gotta say, I really enjoyed this. If it’s half as good as Unicorn is to Gundam, we’ll be served well 🙂

    Also, gotta disagree win you Moomba: Eureka Seven Ao isn’t terrible! And Last Exile: Fam, while suffering an awful ending ,wasn’t that bad overall. I certainly enjoyed most of the eps and the overall feel of the show. If its real cash in franchise travesty you want to compare to, try any number of recent Gundam series, particularly SEED Destiny.

  22. I’m just gonna say this as food for thought, not my opinion, just a fact.

    During regular release of the show, After Episode 18 when Suzaku fires the nuke, Nunally and Sayoko are confirmed dead not only by Taniguchi, but by the official website as well. Days after the episode aired, the character profiles of Sayoko and Nunally were updated to deceased.

    Now we all know how that played out.

    Point is, in a work of fiction, whether speculation or not, the truth lies in the story told, not in the creator’s mind. You can argue as much as you want, but until the story continues past R2 and elaborates, the story is as is, a vague conception of whether or not Lelouch really did die. And to the biggest stickler saying that,”they changed ending scene”, to which I reply…Han Shot First…That saying goes a long way in a whole saga that created die-hard fans just as Code Geass has created here.

    We all love Code Geass, the world it creates, and the fictional people whose lives we can view. However, it is not history, it is not fact, it is fiction that came from not just one person’s mind, but a collaborative effort, plus the pressure of deadlines and living up to expectations. R2 wasn’t even planned, it was an accident and a pleasant surprise that Code Geass would receive a second season, just like Star Wars and other great stories and movies, the best parts happen to be accidents, sometimes even mistakes.

    We, as fans, like to think that the storyteller is the altruistic, omnipotent person with all the answers to all our questions about this world they created. We expect them, some times demand them, to do every action, create every dialogue as if it all has purpose and meaning and power behind it. When in fact, it is not always true.

    The story is not yet told, this world is not yet finished. And….for better or worse…it might just stay that way.

    Aznstoner

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