Code Geass: Akito the Exiled OVA - Episode 2 Discussion / Poll

[Bonzo]

Well, at last they're sparing time for the mecha.

Like the transformers toys, change just the head, the robot name and they did a new model.

[Zero Gravity]

Greetings all, I used to frequent this forum a lot under another guise, but it's been quite some time. Yes indeed, I was drawn back out by this Julius Kingsley character. Sunrise's marketing plan is working.

I'm a little surprised this hasn't been mentioned yet, so want to draw your attention to some info that apparently no one has posted anywhere. Though we do not yet have even the raws for Akito ep 2, the content can pretty easily be extrapolated from recurring themes in Japanese fanart for the episode -Pixiv in particular.

If we look at the fanart, the nature of Julius Kingsley's existence becomes pretty clear. And all I have to say is.......holy shit.

Sunrise really did their homework, I mean they REALLY did. They pegged us Lelouch fangirls dead-on. At this point I'm pretty convinced that the entire last five years was an enormous market research experiment by Sunrise to see how fans reacted to supplementary materials and what the fans turned around and did with the concepts.

Good job Sunrise, good job. Standing ovation from the Lelouch fanbase. Bravo.

Spoiler for Lel- I mean 'Julius Kingsley'; some NSFW -obviously this is not likely canon, but it helps establish the dynamics.:

I want to stress that the following is EXTRAPOLATION based on recurring trends in fanart and recurring phrases in the very loose Google translate text.

In a nutshell, Julouch and Suzaku's entire relationship seems to consist of exactly what we see when Suzaku drags straightjacket!Lelouch to the Emperor.

Julouch Kingsley is apparently more or less Suzaku's pet, who gives him no freedom whatsoever. Suzaku is never not sending Julius a threatening scowl. Julius has to beg Suzaku even for a drink of water, a request which Suzaku only fulfills by holding his mouth open and pouring water on his face. Suzaku seemingly takes every opportunity to show Julius who's boss and make his life hell. Julius, throughout it all, maintains an infuriatingly smug composure, but breaks on occasion. Perhaps this is why he is said to be 'overly confident'.

Julius also seemingly lives in Suzaku's room..

Alas, poor Julouch...

[Bahahahahahahahahahaha]








This one is official material:

[Xander]

I guess that's an interesting...extrapolation about their dynamics, at least in so far as you can take fan art as an indication, but one always requiring a huge grain of salt.

I think it might be fair enough when it comes to Suzaku still being angry at Lelouch and not even regarding him as an actual person though (assumed brainwashing included). Such an attitude on Suzaku's part would make sense during this period of time, especially since I'd speculate he isn't very happy about the whole idea of accompanying Julius either.

That said, I believe the "overconfidence" has more to do with the fact Julius comes out of the train and makes a grand public boast like Zero/Lelouch used to do. Even the newest trailer manages to convey a little of this, if you've seen it, but it's also been mentioned by people who saw the episode. And well...travelling on a train isn't equivalent to living in the same place. But I can see why some fans would jump at the opportunity to read too much into that. Can't deny this is all good for marketing purposes either.

[Zero Gravity]

When the themes are recurring though, and the text mentions the same things pretty much across the board, it's pretty indicative. Unless the entire Japanese artist fanbase got together and plotted their attack cohesively.

Also, anyone know what Julouch said when he stepped off the train?

[Xander]

True, I agree that common themes present in fan art are probably going to be informed or fueled by whatever has actually happened. I just meant that the specific lines between what is directly shown and what is left as a possible - or even obvious - implication are harder to establish. It's still interesting that you brought this up.

[Masurao45]

Originally Posted by Shoutmon911

Yeah, i thought that same thing. If this kingsley guy is a clone, whats to say that it wasn't this clone who took the stabbing. But to me it seems unlikley. I saw a picture scene of ATE ep 2 where lelouch/kingsley is with suzaku and suzaku does not seem really happy to see him. In fact suzaku looks furious, thus, it means kingsley probably isnt even a clone. Suzaku doesnt like the idea of working with him. If suzaku is that angry with kingsley he must know that it really is a brain washed lelouch because at that point nobody hated lelouch as much as him.

Originally Posted by Xander

I guess that's an interesting...extrapolation about their dynamics, at least in so far as you can take fan art as an indication, but one always requiring a huge grain of salt.

I think it might be fair enough when it comes to Suzaku still being angry at Lelouch and not even regarding him as an actual person though (assumed brainwashing included). Such an attitude on Suzaku's part would make sense during this period of time, especially since I'd speculate he isn't very happy about the whole idea of accompanying Julius either.

That said, I believe the "overconfidence" has more to do with the fact Julius comes out of the train and makes a grand public boast like Zero/Lelouch used to do. Even the newest trailer manages to convey a little of this, if you've seen it, but it's also been mentioned by people who saw the episode. And well...travelling on a train isn't equivalent to living in the same place. But I can see why some fans would jump at the opportunity to read too much into that. Can't deny this is all good for marketing purposes either.

Originally Posted by Xander

I guess that's an interesting...extrapolation about their dynamics, at least in so far as you can take fan art as an indication, but one always requiring a huge grain of salt.

I think it might be fair enough when it comes to Suzaku still being angry at Lelouch and not even regarding him as an actual person though (assumed brainwashing included). Such an attitude on Suzaku's part would make sense during this period of time, especially since I'd speculate he isn't very happy about the whole idea of accompanying Julius either.

That said, I believe the "overconfidence" has more to do with the fact Julius comes out of the train and makes a grand public boast like Zero/Lelouch used to do. Even the newest trailer manages to convey a little of this, if you've seen it, but it's also been mentioned by people who saw the episode. And well...travelling on a train isn't equivalent to living in the same place. But I can see why some fans would jump at the opportunity to read too much into that. Can't deny this is all good for marketing purposes either.

Originally Posted by Zero Gravity

Greetings all, I used to frequent this forum a lot under another guise, but it's been quite some time. Yes indeed, I was drawn back out by this Julius Kingsley character. Sunrise's marketing plan is working.

I'm a little surprised this hasn't been mentioned yet, so want to draw your attention to some info that apparently no one has posted anywhere. Though we do not yet have even the raws for Akito ep 2, the content can pretty easily be extrapolated from recurring themes in Japanese fanart for the episode -Pixiv in particular.

If we look at the fanart, the nature of Julius Kingsley's existence becomes pretty clear. And all I have to say is.......holy shit.

Sunrise really did their homework, I mean they REALLY did. They pegged us Lelouch fangirls dead-on. At this point I'm pretty convinced that the entire last five years was an enormous market research experiment by Sunrise to see how fans reacted to supplementary materials and what the fans turned around and did with the concepts.

Good job Sunrise, good job. Standing ovation from the Lelouch fanbase. Bravo.

Spoiler for Lel- I mean 'Julius Kingsley'; some NSFW -obviously this is not likely canon, but it helps establish the dynamics.:

I want to stress that the following is EXTRAPOLATION based on recurring trends in fanart and recurring phrases in the very loose Google translate text.

In a nutshell, Julouch and Suzaku's entire relationship seems to consist of exactly what we see when Suzaku drags straightjacket!Lelouch to the Emperor.

Julouch Kingsley is apparently more or less Suzaku's pet, who gives him no freedom whatsoever. Suzaku is never not sending Julius a threatening scowl. Julius has to beg Suzaku even for a drink of water, a request which Suzaku only fulfills by holding his mouth open and pouring water on his face. Suzaku seemingly takes every opportunity to show Julius who's boss and make his life hell. Julius, throughout it all, maintains an infuriatingly smug composure, but breaks on occasion. Perhaps this is why he is said to be 'overly confident'.

Julius also seemingly lives in Suzaku's room..

Alas, poor Julouch...

[Bahahahahahahahahahaha]








This one is official material:

If he is a clone, Suzaku isn't happy to see him or work with him due to the fact that Julius reminds him of Lelouch. Working with Lelouch who was brainwashed would be like having two masks to serve him just like how Suzaku went to observe him at Ashford during R2; one who wears a face of a friend while the other who's true face sold him out to the emperor. This time it's a face of a subordinate in place of a friend. If Suzaku did show his hatred to Julius, Suzaku's relationship with Lelouch could be exposed by any chance if so, it's just my assumption. Charles did rewrite Lelouch's memories then V.V. dispatched Rolo and the OSI to observe Lelouch and whatever happened after his memories rewritten is obvious being implied in R2 episode 2.

Due to Akito being set in Europe, if Schneizel is going to make appearance, how will he react to Julius? Nah chances are not cuz Schneizel saw him at Kururugi Shrine during the 2nd Black Rebellion and especially how he was with Rolo during NoN and did not get to see Lelouch. Regarding Nunnally, how will she react? Like NoN all over again, she'll assume it's not her brother but a twin with a familiar voice and during the time Suzaku used her to find out if Lelouch regained his memories. Nunnally may not appear in Akito but in Oz.

[Zero Gravity]

It will be really interesting to see if Nunnally and Julius interact at all. No chance in hell she wouldn't know it was him though, they would have to hide his face and change his voice before she thought it was someone else. If she ever finds out about the way Suzaku treats him she'd probably go ballistic. Lol

TBH, it's an interesting plot twist because it opens up all kinds of possibilities to give deeper or additional meaning to things that play out in R2. All kinds of possibilities.

I can totally see Suzaku giving Julius refrain to shut him up, hence his turning to refrain when times got tough in R2. I wonder what refrain would do to a person who has no memories beyond whatever the Emperor dictated?

[RRW]

when is out for us again?

[Lost Cause]

Originally Posted by Zero Gravity

Greetings all, I used to frequent this forum a lot under another guise, but it's been quite some time. Yes indeed, I was drawn back out by this Julius Kingsley character. Sunrise's marketing plan is working.

I'm a little surprised this hasn't been mentioned yet, so want to draw your attention to some info that apparently no one has posted anywhere. Though we do not yet have even the raws for Akito ep 2, the content can pretty easily be extrapolated from recurring themes in Japanese fanart for the episode -Pixiv in particular.

If we look at the fanart, the nature of Julius Kingsley's existence becomes pretty clear. And all I have to say is.......holy shit.

Sunrise really did their homework, I mean they REALLY did. They pegged us Lelouch fangirls dead-on. At this point I'm pretty convinced that the entire last five years was an enormous market research experiment by Sunrise to see how fans reacted to supplementary materials and what the fans turned around and did with the concepts.

Good job Sunrise, good job. Standing ovation from the Lelouch fanbase. Bravo.

Spoiler for Lel- I mean 'Julius Kingsley'; some NSFW -obviously this is not likely canon, but it helps establish the dynamics.:

I want to stress that the following is EXTRAPOLATION based on recurring trends in fanart and recurring phrases in the very loose Google translate text.

In a nutshell, Julouch and Suzaku's entire relationship seems to consist of exactly what we see when Suzaku drags straightjacket!Lelouch to the Emperor.

Julouch Kingsley is apparently more or less Suzaku's pet, who gives him no freedom whatsoever. Suzaku is never not sending Julius a threatening scowl. Julius has to beg Suzaku even for a drink of water, a request which Suzaku only fulfills by holding his mouth open and pouring water on his face. Suzaku seemingly takes every opportunity to show Julius who's boss and make his life hell. Julius, throughout it all, maintains an infuriatingly smug composure, but breaks on occasion. Perhaps this is why he is said to be 'overly confident'.

Julius also seemingly lives in Suzaku's room..

Alas, poor Julouch...

[Bahahahahahahahahahaha]








This one is official material:

I must agree! Sunrise dropped a FLEIJA right on top of us with the appearance of "Julouch"(nicely put, by the way!), and were standing there going "wait WHA ....YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME?!?!?!??"@.@
Many here (myself included) said CG wouldn't go over without Lelouch, damned if we weren't right!

[Kusaja]

Originally Posted by Lost Cause

I must agree! Sunrise dropped a FLEIJA right on top of us with the appearance of "Julouch"(nicely put, by the way!), and were standing there going "wait WHA ....YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME?!?!?!??"@.@

You sound skeptical, but the fact is Zero Gravity meant that as a positive. And that's fine, really, different people have the right to maintain different interests.

I do want to reiterate that for all practical purposes this isn't Lelouch, just a puppet at Suzaku's beck and call, and those expecting him to be treated like the star are almost certainly going to be disappointed. Since my own interest doesn't exclusively rely on that, my enjoyment should continue to be unaffected either way.

[azul120]

Originally Posted by Kusaja

You sound skeptical, but the fact is Zero Gravity meant that as a positive. And that's fine, really, different people have the right to maintain different interests.

I do want to reiterate that for all practical purposes this isn't Lelouch, just a puppet at Suzaku's beck and call, and those expecting him to be treated like the star are almost certainly going to be disappointed. Since my own interest doesn't exclusively rely on that, my enjoyment should continue to be unaffected either way.

Whether or not it actually IS Lelouch is still going to have an effect. If it isn't, then basically Julius is his just an expy. Otherwise, if it really is Lelouch, then he's being used as a puppet, which affects his story, and relationship, to Suzaku and everyone else affected. The amount of focus he gets here will have little effect on these details.

[Kusaja]

Originally Posted by azul120

Whether or not it actually IS Lelouch is still going to have an effect. If it isn't, then basically Julius is his just an expy. Otherwise, if it really is Lelouch, then he's being used as a puppet, which affects his story, and relationship, to Suzaku and everyone else affected. The amount of focus he gets here will have little effect on these details.

At the start of R2, Lelouch already hates Suzaku for his annoying beliefs and how they've been a constant obstacle as well as for selling him out to the Emperor, which led to him losing his memories and being used as bait at school with a fake brother instead of his real sister. This is merely an extension of that, not an earth-shattering revelation. It's basically building on how Suzaku acted towards Lelouch from the duel to the scene in the Emperor's throne room.

[Zero Gravity]

Originally Posted by Kusaja

At the start of R2, Lelouch already hates Suzaku for his annoying beliefs and how they've been a constant obstacle as well as for selling him out to the Emperor, which led to him losing his memories and being used as bait at school with a fake brother instead of his real sister. This is merely an extension of that, not an earth-shattering revelation. It's basically building on how Suzaku acted towards Lelouch from the duel to the scene in the Emperor's throne room.

Obviously you have little regard for their character development. Have you never watched a series where revelations are made at the end of the story that make earlier events ten times more potent?

(Yes, you did, assuming you watched Lelouch of the Rebellion.)

As I mentioned, this presents boundless opportunity to add deeper meaning to events in R2. The fact itself that Julouch seems to exist as Suzaku's psychological punching bag significantly impacts the core of Lelouch and Suzaku's relationship. Yes, handing Lelouch over to the Emperor and having his memories erased was horrible. But now not only do we know that the same thing presumably happened twice, we also know that there was a prolonged period of months wherein Suzaku more or less reveled in continually exacting his revenge on Julouch, who presumably has no idea whatsoever why he is hated so much and denied basic human rights. Suzaku isn't even trying to make him atone for his sins, he's just plain taking advantage of him. It's sadistic.

It's a huge, huge difference from simply turning him in and sending him to Ashford.

Character relationships aren't actually an on/ off circuit, just as I'm sure your friendships are deeper than 'we are friends'.

[Kusaja]

Originally Posted by Zero Gravity

Obviously you have little regard for their character development. Have you never watched a series where revelations are made at the end of the story that make earlier events ten times more potent?

(Yes, you did, assuming you watched Lelouch of the Rebellion.)

As I mentioned, this presents boundless opportunity to add deeper meaning to events in R2. The fact itself that Julouch seems to exist as Suzaku's psychological punching bag significantly impacts the core of Lelouch and Suzaku's relationship. Yes, handing Lelouch over to the Emperor and having his memories erased was horrible. But now not only do we know that the same thing presumably happened twice, we also know that there was a prolonged period of months wherein Suzaku more or less reveled in continually exacting his revenge on Julouch, who presumably has no idea whatsoever why he is hated so much and denied basic human rights. Suzaku isn't even trying to make him atone for his sins, he's just plain taking advantage of him. It's sadistic.

I'm not sure about what makes you dash to the conclusion that I'd suggest this has no meaning or that I would be disregarding character development.

My only point is it doesn't effectively change what happens next in the established flow of events. I'm saying that it fits within the existing character development arc.

You can absolutely add another layer of meaning and make the results more potent from the viewer's perspective, but Lelouch and Suzaku will still act just as they did in R2.

[azul120]

Originally Posted by Kusaja

At the start of R2, Lelouch already hates Suzaku for his annoying beliefs and how they've been a constant obstacle as well as for selling him out to the Emperor, which led to him losing his memories and being used as bait at school with a fake brother instead of his real sister. This is merely an extension of that, not an earth-shattering revelation. It's basically building on how Suzaku acted towards Lelouch from the duel to the scene in the Emperor's throne room.

If it also becomes part of the actual narrative, it also works against the Black Knights' accusations that "he abandoned us and used us all like pawns" even more, since now it would turn out he'd been used even worse.

[Kusaja]

That's true but only from an omniscient perspective, since almost all the Black Knights who betrayed Lelouch are supposed to be in jail at this point.

[azul120]

Originally Posted by Kusaja

That's true but only from an omniscient perspective, since almost all the Black Knights who betrayed Lelouch are supposed to be in jail at this point.

True. Still though, it sucks even worse for Lelouch. His middle name might as well be "Chew Toy". (I'm not trying to paint him as an innocent victim, but enough is enough. Not to mention of course everyone who got off much easier.)

And what ZG said about the friendship dynamic, too.

[Lost Cause]

Originally Posted by Kusaja

You sound skeptical, but the fact is Zero Gravity meant that as a positive. And that's fine, really, different people have the right to maintain different interests.

I do want to reiterate that for all practical purposes this isn't Lelouch, just a puppet at Suzaku's beck and call, and those expecting him to be treated like the star are almost certainly going to be disappointed. Since my own interest doesn't exclusively rely on that, my enjoyment should continue to be unaffected either way.

Skeptical? No I was just agreeing with what Zero G said. Nor am I expecting him to get the star treatment, although he will by his fans.
My post was more of a reinforcement of what GundamFan0083 said on how they couldn't pull off a stand alone Code Geass with Lelouch in it.
A shame really since the first episode had me forgetting all about Lelouch of the Rebellion.

[wredsa]

Originally Posted by Lost Cause

Skeptical? No I was just agreeing with what Zero G said. Nor am I expecting him to get the star treatment, although he will by his fans.
My post was more of a reinforcement of what GundamFan0083 said on how they couldn't pull off a stand alone Code Geass with Lelouch in it.
A shame really since the first episode had me forgetting all about Lelouch of the Rebellion.

Me too. I totally enjoyed the "Lelouch of the Rebellion"-free casts. Leila, Akito, Ryo, Ayano, Yukia all of them really are awesome characters, I wonder why the producer wanted to insert Lelouch here. Give that guy a break.

[Kusaja]

Originally Posted by Lost Cause

Skeptical? No I was just agreeing with what Zero G said. Nor am I expecting him to get the star treatment, although he will by his fans.
My post was more of a reinforcement of what GundamFan0083 said on how they couldn't pull off a stand alone Code Geass with Lelouch in it.
A shame really since the first episode had me forgetting all about Lelouch of the Rebellion.

I found your original post to be a little ambiguous, because that means you're agreeing with both a positive reaction and a negative reaction.

So let me ask you this: are you still interested in Akito the Exiled right now? There's at least three or more different positions about that.

GundamFan0083 didn't like the first episode and doesn't like the news about Julius at all. The reaction was negative.

Zero Gravity is interested in Akito the Exiled because of the news about Julius (can't tell what ZG thinks of the first episode so far). The reaction was positive.

I liked the first episode of Akito the Exiled and I am still interested after the news about Julius. My opinion is currently unchanged.