Years after the fall of Britannia at the hands of Lelouch
Vi Britannia, Neo Britannia rises from the ashes of the fallen empire. It quickly recaptures the former Area 11 and
the Japanese find history repeating itself under the same oppressors once
more. Two siblings, Roze and Ash, are
Britannian’s who rebel against this tyranny and aid the struggling Japanese resistance. For Roze, this war is personal and she has
the ultimate weapon to fight it…the power of Geass.
Despite being billed as the next big Gundam level Mecha
franchise by Sunrise, we’ve hardly seen anything from Code Geass since 2019’s
Lelouch of the Re;ssurection.
But hey,
maybe the franchise is playing the long game since it doesn’t seem to be in a
rush to pump out yearly spin offs and continuations.
All that said brings us to the start of our
next big title in the Gundam Anime Corner’s Mega Mecha Summer Event: Code
Geass: Roze of the Rebellion.
So, how is
this brand new starting point for the franchise…and how much is it still
relying on it’s main poster boy to gain interest?
(BTW, Roze of the Recapture was originally released as a
4 Part film series in theaters but was broken down into twelve episodes for a
TV run.
Not sure if there’s any changes
or if it just remains the same a la Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn RE:0096 but the
TV Series is what we’re going with just FYI.)
To be fair, Lelouch is still around, meaning this series
takes place in the same alternate timeline as the Code Geass Compilation Films
and Lelouch of the Re;surrection.
However his brief appearance doesn’t overshadow our new titular
protagonist, Roze.
While Roze bears the
same knack for tactical genius as Lelouch, she stands out by hiding her secret
identiy in a different way.
There’s no
mask cconcelement, only a whole new outfit (that she totally rocks), which
allows her to operate in plain sight much easier.
And while she may seem pretty level headed
and friendly enough, that doesn’t mean Roze doesn’t have her darker side.
Just look at her Geass power, called
“Absolute Obedience.”
It not only
rewrite wills and personalities (and maybe a lot more), the choice to try and
defy these new orders is not a recommended one (and by that I mean, it’s Code
Geass, you know how first demonstrations of Geass powers usually go).
This plays heavily into the complicated
relationship Roze has with Ash.
And let
me tell you, Code Geass can still do twists ridiculously well even if you do
see it coming.
We’ll get more into Roze
and Ash’s dynamic in later reviews but let me just say by the end of Episode 2
I’m definitely hooked on what’s next.
Whereas Roze is the brains of the outfit, Ash is the
Mecha Muscle and damn can he make a Knightmare Frame dance like the best of
them.
I dare say he could even beat the
mess out of Suzaku if the two ever did throw down.
It’s cool to see Knightmare Frames being
taken down with such precision and Ash is just as bad ass outside of the suit
when we see him save a Café Worker from two jerks trying to have their way with
her.
However, while Ash is a stone cold
killer in a Mecha, he’s a surprising softie when not in the cockpit.
We see he’s accumulated a small collection of
stray pets (Cats and Dogs) and will stop off to the side to save more, much to
Roze’s amusement and concern.
Also the
dude is super shy around girls?
Quite
the counterbalance I think…and again there’s more to delve into this in later
reviews, a lot more I’m sure.
While it has some promising leads and solid action that
feels on par with Akito the Exiled, Roze of the Recapture does at times feel a
little too safe and familiar.
I couldn’t
help but compare it to Star Wars: The Force Awakens with the repeat of events
from the first series: a new Britannia takes over; Japanese are redesignated
11’s; a new elite guard of pompous asshats; even the Seven Shining Stars feel
like discount Black Knights (btw what the heck are they doing during all of
this?).
One particular stand out in this
is Haruka, the SSS’ resident hot ace pilot who just feels like a discount
Kallen Kouzuki, right down to the one of her signature ass shots when she gets
into her Mecha’s cockpit.
There’s even a
new Darth Vader/Kylo Ren esque big bad in Norland, who sports a Char mask and
is so imposing that anyone who fails him pays with their lives and he doesn’t
have to say a word or command it.
Honestly given how he seems more in charge than the token ruler of Neo
Britannia I’m surprised he’s not sitting on the throne right now.
It keeps Roze the Recapture from feeling
truly fresh and original when you’re mainly just remined of how good the first
Code Geass series really was (especially Season One)
All in all, this was a bit of a mixed premiere.
The new status quo is brought to us through
endless bouts of tell but hardly show and yet it instills a not so great
feeling of Déjà vu.
Still, the action is
solid and like Akito the Exiled, Roze and Ash have a very promising tale ahead
of them that might not require the full presences of Lelouch or Suzaku to keep
everyone invested (the only original series character we do see for a split
second is Princess Kaguya…yay?).
In any
case, this new Rebellion is just getting started and we’ll be back with more
Code Geass: Roze of the Recapture, Next Monday right here at the Gundam Anime
Corner.
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