Code Geass OVA Series (2012) Review

Anime

TL;DR

Code Geass OVA Series (2012): Akito the Exiled

コードギアス亡国のアキト (Kōdo Giasu: Bōkoku no Akito)

Synopsis

The side story takes place in 2017 a.t.b., between the rise of the “Black Knights” organization and the return of the supposedly “dead” Zero. The setting is in Europe, where the European Union (E.U.) allied nations are being invaded by the overwhelming forces of the Holy Britannian Empire. On the verge of defeat, the E.U. army forms a special unit known as “W-0″, of which a young pilot named Akito Hyuga is a member. Leila Malkal , a former Britannian Aristocrat comes to the E.U.’s aid, commanding the “Wyvern” Knightmare corps comprised of Japanese teenagers. They recklessly plunge into a battlefield, where the survival rate is extremely low, at about 5% only. They fight for their freedom and for a “home” to which they can return.

Directed by

Kazuki Akane

Written by

Hiroshi Ōnogi, Shigeru Morita

Screenplay by

Hiroshi Ōnogi, Shigeru Morita

Music by

Ichiko Hashimoto

OVA

5 episode(s)

Tones

Confusion, Pessimism

Genres

Action, Adventure, Drama, Science Fiction, Thriller

Demographic

Men (Seinen)

Language

Japanese

Premiered

August 4, 2012

Run-time

290 minutes

Elements

Antihero, Coming-of-age, Contemporary Fantasy, Dystopia, Fan-service, Female Lead, Gunfight, Male Lead, Martial Arts, Mecha, Military, Mind Game, Revenge, Teen Lead, Tragedy, Violence, War

Rating

Fair

Poor < Fair < Good < Great

Animation

Great

Poor < Fair < Good < Great

Story

Poor

Poor < Fair < Good < Great

Pros

Combat/Action
Music
Visual

Cons

Character design
Character development
Dialog
Plot

Overview

The new series was first revealed on December 5, 2009. In April 2010, it was officially revealed that a new Code Geass side story anime called Code Geass: Akito the Exiled (コードギアス亡国のアキト Kōdo Giasu: Bōkoku no Akito) would be directed by Kazuki Akane (The Vision of Escaflowne). The side story is an OVA series set in Europe during the Britannian invasion of the continent between Lelouch of the Rebellion’s two seasons. Originally intended to be released in four chapters, production of a fifth Akito the Exiled episode was announced after the Japanese debut of the third entry on May 2, 2015.

Alternative title

– Code Geass: Akito the Exiled
– Code Geass Gaiden
– Code Geass: Akito of the Ruined Nation
– Kōdo Giasu: Bōkoku no Akito
– コードギアス亡国のアキト
– 反叛的魯路修亡國的AKITO
– Код Ґіасс: Акіто з країни-руїни
– Код Ґіасс: Вигнанець Акіто

TL;DR Review

The animation for Code Geass: Akito the Exiled is beautiful and the combat scene is fluid and fun to watch, if not realistic. These Knightmares seem to have physic defying module upgrade, but I guess we don’t watch anime for realism.

Both the ending themes were sung by Maaya Sakamoto. The first opening is “More Than Words” and the second is “Arco” (アルコ). I like “More Than Words” but “Arco” is a bit bland and by the number. Now that we got the positives out of the way, let get into the negatives.

Akito the Exiled make me question whether the entire Code Geass series was actually good, or did I look at it from rose-tinted glasses? These characters were given vague backstory just to show how tragic their lives are. These backstory doesn’t help us understand their motivation in any way, as most characters seem to flip allegiance readily because the story needs them to.

A large portion of the OVA is a slow boring dialog to get us invested in these characters. It’s hard to be invested when we can not understand why they do what they do because the story dictates them to act a certain way. Take for example the European Union is fighting against Britania, but for some reason, the EU treat Japanese the same exact way Britania does. They all refer to them as “Eleven” and treat them with disdain. Why? It’s because the story needs to make us more sympathetic toward these characters as they are Japanese.

The OVA seems to take place during the one year gap between R1 and R2. This entire OVA could very well be just a filler story arc. Despite we seeing some cameo, this OVA doesn’t bring anything to the Code Geass series.

I will only recommend this OVA to Code Geass fan, and even then you may want to turn off your brain. Code Geass contains graphic violence and some suggestive themes/dialogs. Intended for young adults.

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