Code Geass: Roze of the Recapture by Advanceshipper2021 on DeviantArt (original) (raw)
If there's one thing I could say about this new Code Geass franchise, it's that there are things about it that I admire and despise the most:
It offers excellent opening and ending themes such as ''Running in my Head'', which revs up the excitement and intensity of the conflicts within the series itself, and "Rozé (prod. Teddy Loid)," which takes on an entirely different tone, but it still contributes to the show's overall theme, making it a melancholy calm after the action of each episode that settles viewers into the inevitable sadness that comes with the tragedy of war.
Animation settings. The animation for this show is bright and fluid with how it brings the characters to life, but the audience is shown just how devastatingly powerful the Knightmares are through the use of CGI. So I'd say the colors are good.
The Knightmare Frames of the franchise each posses elegant and sophisticated designs and unique features.
It boasts an impressive English dub cast consisting of Cory Yee, Suzie Yeung, and more, making it every bit as impressive as the Japanese audio cast. Even Dani Chambers' performance as Catherine Sabathra competes, as it's clear that the voice actress is having an absolute blast playing up the White Queen's drama and sass.
The Geass power. In the series, the main character Roze possesses the same kind of Geass as Lelouch, compelling anyone to obey him. Except, it doesn't require eye contact, but auditory commands, using the sound of his own voice.
The series brings back war. In the original Code Geass franchise, Lelouch along with his childhood friend Suzaku Kururugi were able to bring happiness and peace to the world through the realization of their ultimate goal: the Zero Requiem. But that all changed years later, when a faction of Britannian forces declare war on the United States of Japan, swiftly seizing control of the northern province of Hokkaido, leaving its citizens completely trapped within an energy barrier called the Situmpe Wall. There, they declared the establishment of the Neo-Britannian Empire, an evil force more tyrannical and ruthless than that of the Britannian Empire of old.
The series has a lovable cast, involving intriguing characters such as Natalia Luxembourg and Catherine Sabathra who have proved to be noteworthy figures due to their personalities and traits throughout the show.
The secondary protagonist Ash Phoenix has proven to be quite an interesting figure throughout the show. On one hand, he is shown to be quite stoic and professional, serving his role on and off the battlefield with silent efficiency. On the other, he does have a softer and more humane side going out of his way to rescue and keep stray animals despite already having several to take care of. Plus, he has a habit to get popular with the girls, which would make any male Code Geass character jealous.
Roze is a living plot twist. On one hand, he is the series' Geass user as well as the strategist for the Nameless Mercenaries duo. On the other, his entire persona is a lie, due that he is in reality Sakuya Sumeragi, the daughter of Jugo Sumeragi and Sherry li Britannia, making it all the more reason for me to say the term 'Roze' is a hoax created to cause countless Code Geass fans like myself to be misled.
Nostalgia for the old Code Geass fans. The show Rozé of the Recapture has several nods to the original series, most of them pertaining to Lelouch in some way. For example, the main protagonist activates their Geass with a theatrical sort of finesse that is almost identical to Lelouch. Johnny Yong Bosch, Lelouch's English voice actor, actually comes back to reprise his role as the infamous genius who changed the world.
Number of episodes. In the original Code Geass franchise, the Lelouch of the Rebellion series consisted of 2 seasons, each with 25 episodes. But for Roze of the Recapture, the series consists of only 12 episodes simply because there was not enough time for the producers to make more, making it impossible for the series to be as good as the original.
Lack of proper explanation. Roze of the Recapture didn’t explain things as thoroughly as the intros of Lelouch of the Rebellion did, which were updated every other episode as events in the anime unfolded. In the show, any additional information that wasn’t presented in the opening of episode 1 had to be gathered by the audience themselves. With the rush of events happening at every other turn, having to hunt for a majority of key information made for an overwhelming experience. Furthermore, there were several plot holes in Neo-Britannia’s continuing existence that weren’t properly explained, which made it difficult to believe that the entire conflict itself was even possible considering its context as a sequel. Most of the holes in particular have to do with how Lelouch of the Rebellionended; the major political powers that were set in place, the characters that were in positions of high authority, and the advanced technology that was established by the end of the original series seemed to fall to the wayside during the events of this year's new Code Geass show.
The side characters needed more exploration. The first few episodes of the new Code Geass show introduced a wide and entertaining cast of colorful characters, yet many of them were only able to leave shallow impressions on the audience. And the few side characters that did get some focus were still left with a lot needing to be explored. The Seven Shining Stars were a large part of the cast, yet, while the reasons for why they were fighting are clear, it’s difficult to relate to them because hardly any of the characters were developed in the way that the original series developed members of its cast. The original series gave its viewers characters like Kallen and Ohgi, whose families and dreams were torn apart because of Britannia's occupation of Japan. There was an episode dedicated to Kallen's relationship with her mother, and Ohgi was given his own romantic subplot with Villetta Nu. Rozé of the Recapture, however, barely explores how much the conflict with Neo-Britannia has affected its characters personally (outside of Ash and Sakuya), and thus the full weight of what is being fought for isn’t felt.
Haruka and Kensei's relationship came out of the blue. In Roze of the Recapture, Haruka is being considered the “Kallen Kozuki” of the Seven Shining Stars, while Kensei is being labeled a “more efficient Tohdoh.” However, the problem is that the audience was not given time to really come to care for either of them before the big finale, where everything and everyone was at stake, including their lives, making it all the more shameful see more of the father-daughter relationship to be properly invested in whether either of them lied or died. At the very least, they both survived the final battle, along with a majority of the cast.
New Code Geass villains such as Catherine Sabathra and Arnold Renck the potential to so much more for the story. For Catherine Sabathra, the Einbergs' White Queen, she was quick to rise as a fan favorite because of her lovely character design and her playfully cruel nature. However, her character development started too late in the series. What’s more is that it was revealed that she was also raised by Norland, yet had a totally different experience from Ash. Catherine would have been perfect if she was explored as Ash’s foil, which would have made her eventual betrayal of Norland that much more meaningful. As for Arnold Renck, the Einbergs' Schwarz Knight, had the potential to be another "Jeremiah Gottwald" (with his body being heavily modified with Geass-based technology), but seemed to be a one-dimensional character that existed only to spite and rival Ash. There was no explanation given as to why being better than Ash was so important to him throughout his life. In the end, Arnold was hardly anything but a plot device used to get things from point A to point B, as the only impactful thing he did was use his Geass canceler to unlock Ash’s suppressed memories and send him toward a capture Sakuya's direction.
The series should have had a antagonistic Geass user. In the original Code Geass series such as Lelouch of the Rebellion and Akito the Exiled, there have been other Geass users involved aside from Lelouch, Rolo, Leila and the rest. These users consist of Lelouch's father Charles zi Britannia, Akito's brother Shin Hyuga Xiang, and Shanma, the leader of Zilkhstan. Many Code Geass fans were under the impression that the main antagonist of Roze of the Recapture Norland von Lunebelg was a Geass user. Because Norland’s mask completely obscured the upper half of his face, it was heavily suspected that Norland was hiding something of this nature. This makes the reveal of Norland being a clone of Charles zi Britannia a letdown because, while it did come as a shock, it seemed to have little effect on or relevancy to the plot.
The final battle needed to be seen on a much larger scale. On one hand, Norland’s defeat at Ash and Sakuya’s hands, despite its flaws, was greatly executed and beautifully animated. On the other, it was a short fight that served as the meat of a final battle that the series had been building up to since the very beginning — it simply wasn’t enough to bring the overall conflict to a satisfying end.
The original Code Geass characters needed more screentime. Many Code Geass fans were looking forward to the return of some of their favorite characters from the original Lelouch of the Rebellion cast, even if they did take more of a backseat in the grand scheme of Rozé of the Recapture. Unfortunately, their presence was only reduced to less than a few cameos, making it impossible to give them more screen-time.
Lelouch and C.C. had an insignificant role within the new series. To the disappointment of many Code Geass fans such as myself, Lelouch's role was limited to simply being the one who had bestowed the main character with her Geass. The only major appearance that he and C.C. had been a minute-long scene in episode 4, before Lelouch decided that he no longer had a place in "interfering" with the world order, even if the people he loved were involved.
The secondary protagonist Ash Phoenix deserved better than a nonsensical death. I have to say, for many Code Geass fans such as myself, I consider the death of Ash Phoenix to be disappointing and unnecessary. It kind of makes me wish that Ash could have simply hopped out of his knightmare and sat in the Zi-Artemis’ hands until he and Sakuya landed safely.
That's all I have to say about Code Geass: Roze of the Recapture. If there's one wish I could make about this show, it's that either it would still be in the development stage until it is perfected and released in summer 2026 instead of 2024, or that it simply needs a reboot.