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View Poll Results: Code Geass: Akito the Exiled OVA - Episode 2 Rating
Perfect 10 2 18.18%
9 out of 10 : Excellent 1 9.09%
8 out of 10 : Very Good 6 54.55%
7 out of 10 : Good 1 9.09%
6 out of 10 : Average 0 0%
5 out of 10 : Below Average 0 0%
4 out of 10 : Poor 0 0%
3 out of 10 : Bad 0 0%
2 out of 10 : Very Bad 0 0%
1 out of 10 : Painful 1 9.09%
Voters: 11. You may not vote on this poll

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Old 2013-02-03, 12:54   Link #781
wredsa
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wow somebody stopped at episode 18 of the main series. my experience is that once you watched first three episodes of the series you would be hooked till the end, cuz i would wonder after each episode what is coming next. i guess different people has different taste.
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Old 2013-02-05, 07:16   Link #782
gordol
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It has sold BD24507 + DVD2818. COMPLETE SUCCESS!
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Old 2013-02-06, 23:23   Link #783
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Wondering, am I the only one here who prefers the tone of this OVA to the original series? I mean yeah, the characters need more... character, but I like that it feels more grounded without getting 'too' preachy (though the critiques of the EU could get dangerously close the EF bashing UC Gundam has gotten into), and how it's about people in the thick of it, fighting for their uncertain place in the world, as opposed to how self-congratulatory the original series quickly became about Lelouch.
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Old 2013-02-06, 23:37   Link #784
Xander
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Those sales figures look nice. As long as that means Sunrise will want to continue the project, delays aside, it's good news.

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Originally Posted by Scherzo09 View Post
Wondering, am I the only one here who prefers the tone of this OVA to the original series?
Certainly not, though I actually enjoy both of them myself. It's a bit too early to judge the final result, but for the time being...I definitely like the fact that it feels different, which is absolutely fitting since this is meant to be a shorter tale centered around the desperate struggle to survive in the midst of a cruel world, while the main story was more about suddenly being given the power to change said world and embarking on a quest to throw everything into chaos. Lelouch was a student who didn't know what he was getting into, in hindsight, while Akito comes across as someone who has already seen enough during his time in the military (a little closer to Suzaku, on paper, but they're still separate characters). There are other nuances and variations, but there's obviously a very distinct general approach at work.

Last edited by Xander; 2013-02-06 at 23:52.
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Old 2013-02-07, 00:58   Link #785
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I guess I also like the blank slate. Akito honestly isn't that interesting of a protagonist so far (he's sort of cut from the same cloth as Heero Yuy from Gundam Wing), but I'm hoping he gets fleshed out, and Leila, while not too different from the Action Girl archetype, is pretty interesting in her confidence, interest in military affairs, and a genuine belief in the principle of the EU.

Lulu I have problems honestly and it can make the original series rather hard to watch; and I know my problems with him are some of the reasons he's liked so much. He's sort of this black hole which bends the universe towards him, he always becomes the center of everyone's attention and the universe always goes out of its way to affect him. He's just too inhuman for my tastes; he's never wrong or never fails in a way that reflects some internal flaw of his, its usually the universe going out of its way to screw him over. He just feels... artificial to me. Again just how I feel.
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Old 2013-02-07, 01:06   Link #786
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Originally Posted by gordol View Post
It has sold BD24507 + DVD2818. COMPLETE SUCCESS!
These are very encouraging numbers which should allow the production value to remain the same or even better as the producers would be more willing to open up their check books.

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Originally Posted by Scherzo09
Wondering, am I the only one here who prefers the tone of this OVA to the original series?
No, you aren't the only one.
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Old 2013-02-07, 09:36   Link #787
Xander
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Originally Posted by Scherzo09 View Post
I guess I also like the blank slate. Akito honestly isn't that interesting of a protagonist so far (he's sort of cut from the same cloth as Heero Yuy from Gundam Wing), but I'm hoping he gets fleshed out, and Leila, while not too different from the Action Girl archetype, is pretty interesting in her confidence, interest in military affairs, and a genuine belief in the principle of the EU.
I guess we agree about Leila, who also resembles classic shoujo heroines in some respects. I actually think that's a positive.

And well...what characters aren't archetypes when you first meet them? It's almost impossible to completely avoid such similarities, on paper, but what makes each of them different is a combination of their own circumstances, motivations and actions. You could also say Heero, Setsuna from Gundam 00 and Chirico from Votoms have comparable basic personalities, on the surface, as "young soldiers with a serious/silent attitude" and so on, but once the story moves forward and you learn enough about the context that starts being less and less true. Going by what little we've seen so far, I'd like to think that will apply to Akito in due time.

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He's sort of this black hole which bends the universe towards him, he always becomes the center of everyone's attention and the universe always goes out of its way to affect him. He's just too inhuman for my tastes; he's never wrong or never fails in a way that reflects some internal flaw of his, its usually the universe going out of its way to screw him over. He just feels... artificial to me. Again just how I feel.
I would agree with the first part of that argument, though not so much with the second. While there is some clear idealization at work, Lelouch is very much human in my opinion. I think the universe often screws him over in areas that are vulnerable precisely because of his own flaws, like not taking into account that people like Suzaku or even Nunnally would dare to disagree with what he is doing, or that his other acquaintances would end up being involved.
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Old 2013-02-07, 10:47   Link #788
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Originally Posted by Xander View Post
I guess we agree about Leila, who also resembles classic shoujo heroines in some respects. I actually think that's a positive.

And well...what characters aren't archetypes when you first meet them? It's almost impossible to completely avoid such similarities, on paper, but what makes each of them different is a combination of their own circumstances, motivations and actions. You could also say Heero, Setsuna from Gundam 00 and Chirico from Votoms have comparable basic personalities, on the surface, as "young soldiers with a serious/silent attitude" and so on, but once the story moves forward and you learn enough about the context that starts being less and less true. Going by what little we've seen so far, I'd like to think that will apply to Akito in due time.



I would agree with the first part of that argument, though not so much with the second. While there is some clear idealization at work, Lelouch is very much human in my opinion. I think the universe often screws him over in areas that are vulnerable precisely because of his own flaws, like not taking into account that people like Suzaku or even Nunnally would dare to disagree with what he is doing, or that his other acquaintances would end up being involved.
Please dont mention Suzaku. He is the master hypocrate and does not actually know what he** is he doing. Suzaku is another name for complete fail.
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Old 2013-02-07, 14:43   Link #789
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Originally Posted by Xander View Post
And well...what characters aren't archetypes when you first meet them? It's almost impossible to completely avoid such similarities, on paper, but what makes each of them different is a combination of their own circumstances, motivations and actions. You could also say Heero, Setsuna from Gundam 00 and Chirico from Votoms have comparable basic personalities, on the surface, as "young soldiers with a serious/silent attitude" and so on, but once the story moves forward and you learn enough about the context that starts being less and less true. Going by what little we've seen so far, I'd like to think that will apply to Akito in due time.
Well for one I just feel that archetype is really played out and uninteresting. Not to say that a soft-spoken, emotionally distant warrior can't be interesting, but there was really nothing in the first episode that made me feel for him as a character and first impressions are important. I guess I just don't have much hope for him becoming fleshed out; he just sort of screams "I'm a quiet, focused, emotionally distant soldier; I'm such a badass;" and that archetype really does nothing for me. As I said I like Leila and the Japanese expats may prove interesting; I just don't have much faith in Akito developing a strong character.



Quote:
I would agree with the first part of that argument, though not so much with the second. While there is some clear idealization at work, Lelouch is very much human in my opinion. I think the universe often screws him over in areas that are vulnerable precisely because of his own flaws, like not taking into account that people like Suzaku or even Nunnally would dare to disagree with what he is doing, or that his other acquaintances would end up being involved.
But to me they never represent a real 'fault' on Lulu's part. Choosing between his loved one's and his Grand Plan is something the universe sort of imposes on him and so whatever he chooses it sort of puts him beyond reproach, which it honestly shouldn't. To me honestly Lelouch just feels really 'calculated' on the part of the production committee; he doesn't feel like the product of a single mind wanting to tell a strong narrative but by a design-by-committee approach which tries to incorporate a bunch of marketable characteristics into single character. He's dark, and ambitious, and dispassionate but also loving and caring to certain people, and it's not that, in theory, this is a bad setup for a character, but it's where it comes from and how it's actually presented. Lelouch's presentation seems more interested in presenting the illusion of depth and complexity to elicit a certain response from the audience rather than an actual exploration of how ambition, however Nobly intended, can tear into a man's psyche. Instead of that Zero Requiem malarkey, for example, I would've much rather had a Macbeth style descent into madness.
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Old 2013-02-07, 19:22   Link #790
Xander
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Originally Posted by Scherzo09 View Post
Well for one I just feel that archetype is really played out and uninteresting. Not to say that a soft-spoken, emotionally distant warrior can't be interesting, but there was really nothing in the first episode that made me feel for him as a character and first impressions are important.
I'm not so sure about that yet. There's a couple of interesting directions I could see his character going by the end of the story, based on a few implications or small details, but I don't want to get too crazy with extrapolation and speculation before seeing at least another full episode. The lack of data means nothing's really set in stone at the moment.

Like I've said before, Akito is basically presented as a bit of a mystery man right now and the first episode didn't even attempt to focus on him too much, outside of the combat sequences, instead preferring to give Leila more importance and characterization until the final scene. Which only served to highlight that she's the relatively normal person and Akito isn't. Perhaps a similar approach will continue and we'll only learn more about Akito when she does? It seems reasonable enough. It's also possible that either she'll develop more than him or Akito will only change as a result of his interactions with her...or, for that matter, with the other Japanese who have effectively been drafted into service.

My answer ended up being a little too long, so...for the sake of trying to keep things neat and on-topic around here, at least once, I'll put the rest in spoiler tags.

Spoiler for Lelouch discussion:
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Old 2013-02-07, 19:54   Link #791
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Originally Posted by Scherzo09 View Post
Wondering, am I the only one here who prefers the tone of this OVA to the original series? I mean yeah, the characters need more... character, but I like that it feels more grounded without getting 'too' preachy (though the critiques of the EU could get dangerously close the EF bashing UC Gundam has gotten into), and how it's about people in the thick of it, fighting for their uncertain place in the world, as opposed to how self-congratulatory the original series quickly became about Lelouch.
You are not alone in this one bit! I too am finding Akito much more palatable than the original, but it's only been one episode thus far so I'm still in wait and see mode.
The scene where Akito take down the Knightmares with what appears to be a grenade launcher, singlehandedly does beg the question why ground troops weren't used in the original as sappers?
Leila has great possibilities as well, has not only a soldier but a tactician.
Next episode will bring Suzaku and CC into the story, let's see what develops then.
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Old 2013-02-07, 20:50   Link #792
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The scene where Akito take down the Knightmares with what appears to be a grenade launcher, singlehandedly does beg the question why ground troops weren't used in the original as sappers?
I get the feeling it mostly worked because Ryou was only piloting a Glasgow and wasn't expecting Akito to be quite so bold, which gave him too much of an opening, but...who says they couldn't have? The camera is now focused on the perspective of a more conventional force this time around after all, despite the unique nature of the unit. The Black Knights were basically a combination of high-tech equipment in the hands of irregular militia and a leader who did miracles.

Quote:
Leila has great possibilities as well, has not only a soldier but a tactician.
It's a given that at some point they'll have her commanding the unit from the Alexander variant equipped with what seems like some sort of radar or electronic device, which should hopefully make for some interesting squad dynamics during the next operation. I suppose they'll be following the attack plan she briefly brought up in her discussion with the EU General.
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Old 2013-02-07, 21:27   Link #793
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To be honest, so far there hasn't been much to latch onto any of the characters, but as far as Leila and to a lesser extent the rebels I can see their being development to flesh them out more. With Akito... just seeing how Code Geass itself handled its characters, Akito just looks to stay within the lines of the "Dark, Mysterious Super Soldier" camp, and I'm sorry but that isn't interesting for me.

I just feel like Lelouch as a product keeps Lelouch as a character from being anything more than skin deep. I don't doubt that Lelouch wasn't bereft of any artistic intention, but the end result makes him unlike any human that could exist. Lelouch the Chessmaster and Lelouch the Compassionate Soul are completely compartmentalized modes he switches between, which makes him feel like he's not a cohesive human being. Now you may say that this is supposed to represent how Lulu can't decide between which 'mask' is the real him; but it's simply not executed well. In general, a false sense of depth is something that annoys me about the series. There are a lot of times where the series has this pretense that it's uncovering dark, inner truths about human existence, but it's completely undercut by the silliness of the setting and character interactions.

But anyways, probably enough talking about Code Geass in general. Who else really like's the Alternate History aspect of this OVA?

EDIT: Heh, in reality Infantry Anti-KF tactics, at least before they start all going super robot, should actually be really effective. One RPG to the leg and you've knocked it out of commission.
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Old 2013-02-07, 23:07   Link #794
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With Akito... just seeing how Code Geass itself handled its characters, Akito just looks to stay within the lines of the "Dark, Mysterious Super Soldier" camp, and I'm sorry but that isn't interesting for me.
The staff is almost completely different, so I'm not using the previous work as a clear sign of what's to come. They're mostly people who have worked on stuff like Escaflowne, Noein and Birdy the Mighty: Decode. I don't expect a huge amount of development for these characters, because even the format makes that hard to accomplish, but just about enough for an OVA of this length.

Quote:
In general, a false sense of depth is something that annoys me about the series. There are a lot of times where the series has this pretense that it's uncovering dark, inner truths about human existence, but it's completely undercut by the silliness of the setting and character interactions.
For me, it's practically the other way around. The openly whimsical nature of the series is the biggest tell-tale sign that trying to take everything extremely seriously will only result in the audience feeling as annoyed as Lelouch did when he was reduced to chasing the cat around or when he had to deal with the ridiculous number of dates the maid arranged for him. If there's anyone in Code Geass who would want to be in a more serious show, that is Lelouch himself. Thus I don't think there is any such pretense and the series, if anything, is better at asking questions than at providing answers. In my view, the "truths" which come out of the mouths of these actors are primarily meant to be contemplated within the borders of their operatic stage and never while trying to make a decision about your own life. Ironically, I'd guess the fact that I'm pretty laid-back about the whole affair as entertainment is what allows me to talk about it seriously when necessary.

Having said all these things...it would seem that Akito is going to be a little more serious than the original Code Geass ever was, which I'm also absolutely fine with, but I still don't expect any concrete truths as opposed to the more general themes of surviving against adversity, learning to value human life when it's so fragile on the battlefield, etc. The sort of stuff war movies have done for decades.

Quote:
But anyways, probably enough talking about Code Geass in general. Who else really like's the Alternate History aspect of this OVA?
It's definitely interesting. I don't pretend to be an expert on the French Revolution, let alone whether or not it would be reasonable to construct an alternate history of the same this way, but I appreciate the fact they're apparently using that backdrop to establish the contrast between the promise of the revolution and the reality of a decadent republic. The OVA is also seemingly embracing the concept of "exile" in various ways, such as with the Euro Britannian faction essentially being an "émigré" group for noble descendants who want to return to power. The reference to Hannibal also makes me think they see a parallel between their plight and Rome's.

Quote:
EDIT: Heh, in reality Infantry Anti-KF tactics, at least before they start all going super robot, should actually be really effective. One RPG to the leg and you've knocked it out of commission.
Provided you have a safe position from which to aim and the robots aren't moving as fast as they often can in this OVA, that is. You would really need to take advantage of the specific times when the Knightmare Frames are vulnerable or the pilot is distracted and possibly unaware of the anti-KMF threats in the area.
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Old 2013-02-07, 23:28   Link #795
Scherzo09
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[QUOTE=Xander;4545176]





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The staff is almost completely different, so I'm not using the previous work as a clear sign of what's to come. They're mostly people who have worked on stuff like Escaflowne, Noein and Birdy the Mighty: Decode. I don't expect a huge amount of development for these characters, because even the format makes that hard to accomplish, but just about enough for an OVA of this length.
You can have your take away, I'll have mine. So far he's just been a rather bland, boring protagonist and I'm going to judge him by what I see. I find the length of this OVA strange too. Four episodes seems awfully short for this kind of story, would expect it to be six like Unicorn.



Quote:
For me, it's practically the other way around. The openly whimsical nature of the series is the biggest tell-tale sign that trying to take everything extremely seriously will only result in the audience feeling as annoyed as Lelouch did when he was reduced to chasing the cat around or when he had to deal with the ridiculous number of dates the maid arranged for him. If there's anyone in Code Geass who would want to be in a more serious show, that is Lelouch himself. Thus I don't think there is any such pretense and the series, if anything, is better at asking questions than at providing answers. In my view, the "truths" which come out of the mouths of these actors are primarily meant to be contemplated within the borders of their operatic stage and never while trying to make a decision about your own life. Ironically, I'd guess the fact that I'm pretty laid-back about the whole affair as entertainment is what allows me to talk about it seriously when necessary.

Having said all these things...it would seem that Akito is going to be a little more serious than the original Code Geass ever was, which I'm also absolutely fine with, but I still don't expect any concrete truths as opposed to the more general themes of surviving against adversity, learning to value human life when it's so fragile on the battlefield, etc. The sort of stuff war movies have done for decades.
No one, well, no one being rational, would say Code Geass is anything other than silly, but a lot of the time the show itself seems to think it's this serious, deep drama. It desperately, desperately wants us to see it as this dark, twisted tale that talks about humanity and morality and the nature of good and evil, but at other times it wants to be silly, flamboyant, and over the top. It wants to be a show that appeals to everyone and that results in this tonal schizophrenia that's sometimes mesmerizing to watch. Is the result enjoyable? It can be, I do like the series albiet as sort of a guilty pleasure, but that doesn't mean I can't criticize what I perceive to be many structural flaws. In the end it's just disappointing to me because I look at a lot of the concepts Geass has on paper and they sound great but the execution is just so sloppy and half-baked. And I'm not criticizing you for really enjoying this show for what it is, I just personally see this a missed opportunity. And it's part of why I'm so interested in Akito, since it seems to have the tone I wanted from Code Geass from the beginning.

EDIT: Also I feel the idea that CG was meant to be a comedy is a bit of a Parody retcon.


Quote:
It's definitely interesting. I don't pretend to be an expert on the French Revolution, let alone whether or not it would be reasonable to construct an alternate history of the same this way, but I appreciate the fact they're apparently using that backdrop to establish the contrast between the promise of the revolution and the reality of a decadent republic. The OVA is also gradually embracing the concept of "exile" in various ways, such as with the Euro Britannian faction essentially being an "émigré" group for noble descendants who want to return to power.
Yeah, I like the idea of Britannia not just being British Nobles, but a safe haven for ALL Nobles who were thrown out as revolutions swept Eurasia. I wonder if that Japanese Britannian descended from the Japanese Imperial family or something.

Last edited by Scherzo09; 2013-02-07 at 23:51.
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Old 2013-02-08, 00:32   Link #796
Xander
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You can have your take away, I'll have mine. So far he's just been a rather bland, boring protagonist and I'm going to judge him by what I see.
Then let's get back to discussing him after he's done more on screen first? That seems to be the best option.

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I find the length of this OVA strange too. Four episodes seems awfully short for this kind of story, would expect it to be six like Unicorn.
The curious part of your comparison is that even Unicorn, despite being planned for six episodes and having the luxury of working from an already completed narrative in book form, ended up needing to add a seventh episode in order to properly -or so we hope- wrap things up.

Now...the Akito OVA, despite its considerable pre-production time, is more of a work-in-progress but also has a relatively restricted scope. I mean yes, you could ostensibly tell a full season's worth of stories set in the EU after all the attention they've finally given the topic...but the structure of the tale seems like a simple one. Episode one introduced us to the main cast of characters and episode two will see them working together as a possibly dysfunctional team while meeting their first challenge. After they get that shock out of their system, there's at least another 90 minutes to deal with the consequences and arrange a final confrontation within the final two episodes.

But let's speculate a little here. If the numbers are good enough, which is difficult to tell since the sales have started well but honestly aren't quite as absolutely extravagant as those of Unicorn, perhaps Sunrise might end up extending this one a little too, if not in terms of episode count then at least in the amount of running time per episode. I wouldn't be surprised if the last episode or two ended up being 60 or even 70 minutes long instead of just the regular 50. With a lot of luck, we might even get to see episode two increase its length slightly.

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And it's part of why I'm so interested in Akito, since it seems to have the tone I wanted from Code Geass from the beginning.
I would say this is where we might come to an understanding. Even with my different attitude towards the show, there were several things I would have liked to see instead of what we got -or at least handled better than they were- and I'm definitely in the camp of those who want to see different creators try their hand at working with this material. Variety is better than repetition. Both the producer and the director/writer duo of the previous show apparently agreed to "expand" the property instead of just continuing it in the most obvious manner, at least for now, and ultimately offered someone else the opportunity to play in their sandbox. That's one of the ways you end up with spin-offs which can easily outrank the original works they're based off.

Quote:
EDIT: Also I feel the idea that CG was meant to be a comedy is a bit of a Parody retcon.
Calling it an outright comedy is mostly wrong, in my opinion, but I don't doubt some of the most over-the-top and silly moments in otherwise serious scenes may have an intentional comedic or "WTF" value. The characters themselves aren't going to laugh, of course, but the staff certainly isn't as blind as Nunnally and has openly poked fun at some of those parts of the show in several of the commentaries and side materials. I guess you could consider them slightly schizophrenic or just not very serious individuals after all.

Quote:
Yeah, I like the idea of Britannia not just being British Nobles, but a safe haven for ALL Nobles who were thrown out as revolutions swept Eurasia. I wonder if that Japanese Britannian descended from the Japanese Imperial family or something.
It also explains why there aren't that many English names and surnames in use.

The idea that he could be a Japanese noble sounds plausible, at least, considering that the original show didn't really address the subject and the Euro Britannian knight went out of his way to praise him before getting killed off. There's been some speculation about his being half-Chinese though.
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Old 2013-02-08, 16:48   Link #797
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I won't disagree with Scherzo09's criticisms. They could have went all the way in either direction and had Lelouch either flame out completely, or better yet, have an actual epiphany where he should be more truthful. That would have been a real Third Option, instead of Zero Requiem, which was nothing more than a Death Wish.

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EDIT: Also I feel the idea that CG was meant to be a comedy is a bit of a Parody retcon.
Like Tommy Wiseau said about The Room?

"I did not Geass her! It's not true!"

"Everyone betrayed me!" * shoots self *

At least that movie had a more plausible ending there.
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Old 2013-02-08, 17:06   Link #798
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That would have been a real Third Option, instead of Zero Requiem, which was nothing more than a Death Wish.
Let me take a sharp turn away from that circular debate and ask you one thing:

What would you want to see as an ending for Akito at this point? It's early, true, but I think that's a more interesting issue than the alternative.

Quote:
At least that movie had a more plausible ending there.
Not exactly something I'd honestly want to praise about that movie, but if that's how you want to think about it...I'm not going to stop you.

Last edited by Xander; 2013-02-08 at 17:18.
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Old 2013-02-08, 18:01   Link #799
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I keep my idea, Akito will die like a hero fighting against Suzaku.
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Old 2013-02-08, 22:18   Link #800
Scherzo09
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The curious part of your comparison is that even Unicorn, despite being planned for six episodes and having the luxury of working from an already completed narrative in book form, ended up needing to add a seventh episode in order to properly -or so we hope- wrap things up.

Now...the Akito OVA, despite its considerable pre-production time, is more of a work-in-progress but also has a relatively restricted scope. I mean yes, you could ostensibly tell a full season's worth of stories set in the EU after all the attention they've finally given the topic...but the structure of the tale seems like a simple one. Episode one introduced us to the main cast of characters and episode two will see them working together as a possibly dysfunctional team while meeting their first challenge. After they get that shock out of their system, there's at least another 90 minutes to deal with the consequences and arrange a final confrontation within the final two episodes.

But let's speculate a little here. If the numbers are good enough, which is difficult to tell since the sales have started well but honestly aren't quite as absolutely extravagant as those of Unicorn, perhaps Sunrise might end up extending this one a little too, if not in terms of episode count then at least in the amount of running time per episode. I wouldn't be surprised if the last episode or two ended up being 60 or even 70 minutes long instead of just the regular 50. With a lot of luck, we might even get to see episode two increase its length slightly.
I guess part of the thing about length sort of dovetails into my misgivings about Akito, though now more focused on the episode itself rather than his character. I could have somewhat forgiven a lack of an interesting hook if this were, say, the first in a 7 or 8 episode long OVA series, like Unicorn or the even longer Hellsing Ultimate (though I still highly think it should and feel Akito failed to achieve that). But this is a four episode OVA series with episodes less than an hour long, and this ties into another problem the episode has; there are looooads of dead air. Not much really happens in the episode, and I feel there were missed opportunities to develop the characters further or flesh out the setting more. There are hints of character and hints of setting, and it does create good atmosphere which I appreciate, but it can honestly be a bit of a hard sit because we don't have a lot of reason from the onset to care about these characters. Sure, it's the first episode so we can't expect to know everything about them, but there needs to be a hook, something to sink our teeth into, but if I'm perfectly honest the first episode doesn't really do that well.

Now Code Geass has never really been character driven as much as it has been plot or event driven, but I would like to see this OVA mature and show more interesting characterizations. And part of the reason I'm looking forward to the next episode is that I want to be proven wrong and it turns out the characters are interesting and compelling in their own right. But if I were to show the first episode to someone who only has a passing interest in the Code Geass canon, they'd just say the episode was 'okay'. And I think episode 2 needs to step its game up in terms of pacing and characterization to be, objectively speaking, more than okay. As someone who genuinely likes elements of Geass (I kind of pick and choose), Akito interests the hell out of me, just with how it fleshes out the canon with stuff that makes sense and has some thought put into it, not all these supplementary manga and DS Light Novel games which are really just there to cash-in on the franchise. I'm just afraid this series is going to end up resting on its laurels and not telling an interesting, tight story in its own right.



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I would say this is where we might come to an understanding. Even with my different attitude towards the show, there were several things I would have liked to see instead of what we got -or at least handled better than they were- and I'm definitely in the camp of those who want to see different creators try their hand at working with this material. Variety is better than repetition. Both the producer and the director/writer duo of the previous show apparently agreed to "expand" the property instead of just continuing it in the most obvious manner, at least for now, and ultimately offered someone else the opportunity to play in their sandbox. That's one of the ways you end up with spin-offs which can easily outrank the original works they're based off.
But yeah, I agree with this too. It's my hope at least. I do think, if they can fix some of Episode One's pacing issues, Episode Two will be what makes or breaks the series for me. It's why I'm a bit anxious.



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Calling it an outright comedy is mostly wrong, in my opinion, but I don't doubt some of the most over-the-top and silly moments in otherwise serious scenes may have an intentional comedic or "WTF" value. The characters themselves aren't going to laugh, of course, but the staff certainly isn't as blind as Nunnally and has openly poked fun at some of those parts of the show in several of the commentaries and side materials. I guess you could consider them slightly schizophrenic or just not very serious individuals after all.
I agree with a friend who say's this is sort of overly generous and apologetic. When the show wants us to laugh, the horribly grating Academy hijinks, it's godawful. I'm sure the writers knew in places what they were doing was over the top, but I don't think they quite recognized or cared how in-congruent it made the series feel. I had a similar debate on another forum where someone was claiming the tonal dissonance between the Ashford Academy hijinks and the atrocities committed by the Britannian occupation forces was a deliberate juxtaposition. While such a theory is nice in a 'Death of the Author' sense, I sincerely do not believe it was intentional given how generally bad a lot of dialogue, characterization, and plotting was. Code Geass is very much in the Guilty Pleasures camp for me.



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It also explains why there aren't that many English names and surnames in use.

The idea that he could be a Japanese noble sounds plausible, at least, considering that the original show didn't really address the subject and the Euro Britannian knight went out of his way to praise him before getting killed off. There's been some speculation about his being half-Chinese though.
The scene with those two was kind of weird to me. Like I know they figured they needed to show the primary antagonist in the first episode, but I wish we'd seen more of them so we could've actually cared that that seemingly decent Britannian got killed off.
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