Episode 5 – Code Geass: Roze Recaptured

Every three episodes of the TV version began to develop a unique structure Recaptured Luo Ze. The first episode sees the protagonists hatch a plan to thwart the Britons; the second is a meaty one as they execute their plan, but only with partial success; and the third connects the events while still leaving room for the next part. It’s almost as if they were originally written as movies and follow the necessary three act structure! Next week will be a test of my theory, as the episode ends with everyone in a really bad situation.

But let’s start from the beginning shall we? The entire plot is basically one big action sequence, with the Seven Shining Stars and the Northern Wolf Army taking on Damocles and his Fregia nuclear missiles. Leading the British ground forces is Narah, a high-ranking Einberg officer and Ash’s long-lost orphanage sister, while the black general leads the resistance. In the air, Sakuya and Ash confront Divock, a turbo-racist who looks like he stepped out of a plane. Nagai Tsuyoshi The manga also refers to Japanese people as “monkeys”.

My patience for long action scenes that last, say, fifteen minutes without requiring a moment to breathe is pretty limited, and even more so with a case of COVID-19 that I’m fighting. Even so, I have to admit that this is a solid fight sequence. The stakes were set from the start: if resistance failed, the British would drop a nuclear missile on Sapporo. However, Divock is fighting despair, knowing that if he fails, his life could be taken away from him due to Nolan’s still-undefined geass. There is a fundamental tension between him and Nala, who is less driven by hatred and doesn’t seem to face the same consequences of failure.

Knightmare’s combat is also smooth. Sakuya also now has her own Knightmare, which is able to fly and transform into a beautiful little fighter. The design is one of the least subtle images in the show so far, with masculine blue outer armor covering a gold inner armor with breasts. You know, like she pretends to be a boy but is actually a girl! I’m funny but I really appreciate the silliness of pretending to be considerate and making it feel like Rebel Ruth The story doesn’t exactly mimic the original series. Haruka and her Keiyuki were only in the spotlight for a brief moment before Divock turned around and ran away, but what we did see was pretty cool.

Oh, Sakuya’s nightmare combined with Ash’s nightmare? Who doesn’t love a good stage scene? This was so unexpected that I couldn’t help laughing.

One moment that disappointed me was when Sakuya tried to goad the bridge crew into stopping Damocles, but they were attacked by guards who shot them in the head in a surprisingly bloody scene. I was a little disappointed with her reaction (or lack thereof) since she was set up to be a more sympathetic protagonist than Lelouch. This, combined with the torture scene from the previous episode, seemed to leave her shaken by the consequences of what she had done to these people, but not so lucky. Maybe this will come up in the next episode, because otherwise, I’m not sure why they put so much emphasis on it. Regardless, her plan failed and she slipped away, cursing her bad luck.

The episode only interrupts the action twice. The first scene shows Sakura, still posing as Sakuya, asking Noland not to attack the Sapporo ghetto, citing criticism from the international community as a reason. Nolan, of course, refuses, and Sakura realizes that she’s not giving up the little power she hoped for by agreeing to take the throne. I must reiterate that while I know this story was planned long before the genocide in Gaza reached its current relentless onslaught, the echoes are a little eerie.

The other cut isn’t much; Kristoff and Noland chat for a while. However, there’s a good excuse to mention that Kristoff is played in English by James “Rusty Adventures” Urbaniak, who absolutely loves no A Dubbing actor. I wonder how this happened – maybe producer Mike Hintniklas brought in an old friend of his to help? Or Urbaniak secretly is huge lovers of Rebel Ruth and begged his old friend Sint Niklas to let him star. I think that included tears.

In the end, all their efforts – three anti-FLEIJA devices, a few Dead Bridge crew members, Tommy who sacrificed his life (you know, our old buddy Tommy, the resistance fighter with the scarred face), and sweet Catalan ——all came to nothing. Nina miscalculated and New Britain had four FLEIJA missiles instead of three – Kristoff used the last one to blow up the Damocles, causing it to crash over Sapporo and the Resistance. I have a feeling someone is going to cut that cord…

As I said, this is a solid action movie, even for those who have trouble concentrating. Everything makes sense—unlike the big, empty prison in episode two—the characters have solid motivations and their choices have consequences. I hope we have some time next week to really sit down and think about the literal and metaphorical ramifications.

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Code Geass: Rhodes Recaptured It’s currently streaming on Hulu and Disney+, depending on your region.