The movie (or the three episodes that were released in theaters, if you prefer) is the “dark chapter” of the story – you know, the one where everything goes from a generally stable status quo to “the worst thing ever.” Unfortunate moment. But while there’s a lot of action (and some of the best action in the series) Mecha battle so far), the inner personal and spiritual conflict is really the focus here.
The main setting here is that Sakuya and Xiaozhi understand the truth about each other. For Sakuya, this means discovering that Ash will always be her ally—and that her command of Geass is the most evil thing she’s ever done to him. For Ash, this means coming to terms not only with Sakuya’s unintentional cruelty, but also with his entire past and the promises he made at his lowest point.
In a meta sense, this conflict is another comparison between Sakuya and Lelouch. For most original Rebel Ruth In the anime, Lelouch is solely focused on his ultimate goal – which he often does terrible things to his enemies and allies alike to further that goal. His selfish actions often have unintended consequences – especially when it comes to his Geass. Yet even when faced with them, he redoubles his efforts to achieve his original goal – to continue the cycle.
Sakuya, on the other hand, can learn from his mistakes. She’s deeply remorseful in the face of how her careless use of Geass greatly harmed the person who should have been her greatest ally – and once Sakura is rescued, she’s willing to die for her sins if that’s what Ash wants. It is worth noting that her promise is not empty words. Sakuya had many opportunities to try to recreate her Geass on Ash, but never did. She knows what she did was an unforgivable mistake, so she refuses to do it again, even if her life and goals are threatened.
All the scenes that focus on the couple – and their internal struggle to come to terms with what they now know – are brilliantly acted. There’s plenty of drama and some shocking moments – especially considering that Sakuya finds herself in mortal danger most of the time. However, once the whole Ash/Sakuya issue is resolved, things get a little rocky.
Sakuya’s time in captivity left her with some major psychological trauma to overcome. Apparently, she had been severely injured and could barely move. Instead of going through a gradual process of recovery, we got a lightbulb moment where she was suddenly fine again. It feels very unnatural and is clearly designed to put her in the best shape for the climax of the series – which kicks off abruptly at the end of the film.
Frankly, this orgasmic feeling was completely beyond our imagination. While it’s been fast-paced so far, the story has always felt tense and focused – so there’s no real issue with pace. However, with this ending, it suddenly feels like Recaptured Roze needs more than its 12-episode runtime to tell its story. It doesn’t make sense that what we’re seeing is just logistics. It’s hard to believe that so many complex machines could be built in secret, let alone deployed around the world without anyone noticing.
Further complicating matters is the issue of our last-minute cameo. On the one hand, they’re pretty cool – especially for anyone super involved in them Rebel Ruth‘Numerous spin-offs and side stories. However, these cameos aren’t just quick scenes showing what the characters are doing while the action is taking place elsewhere – everyone is in mortal danger. Given how important these characters are to their own stories, it feels like we need to spend more time with them than just a few quick cuts – especially considering some of them either have powerful Geasses of their own, or Take command of the different Geasses and use them in creative ways during combat. I wonder how everything can be included in the final film – especially if the cast does explode in size as the ending of this film and the trailer for the next one suggest.
Still, aside from a questionably confusing final few minutes, the film is a solid one. It delivers most of the emotional beats well – especially those involving Ash and Sakuya – and the story is exciting, with some truly excellent twists. This is actually my favorite Recaptured Luo Ze Movie so far.
…But I admit, I could have done it without Sakuya’s candid shots that were equivalent to rope restraint equipment.
