* {{Adorkable}}: Leila into this sometimes around Akito because she's interested in him and his country's culture. It comes out even more in episode 3 when she's trying (and failing) to help out with chores around the gypsy caravan.
* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: Creator/MaayaSakamoto's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=moax7giGk14 "More Than Words"]], composed by Music/YokoKanno.
* BaseBreakingCharacter: The military adviser Julius Kingsley turns out to have been [[spoiler:a Lelouch brainwashed by Emperor Charles to do his bidding before he got sent back to Ashford Academy with Rolo]]. While some people were happy to see him even before his identity was confirmed, others were less happy about his significance in the story, having felt that he might have overshadowed the main cast a little too much.
* BrokenBase:
** Early into the OVA, the ''Code Geass'' fandom became divided over ''Akito'' for different reasons. Some preferred to see the original cast back instead of the new characters, while another faction was glad to see a different side of the fictional universe and quickly warmied up to the changes. Others didn't like how the overall tone of ''Akito'' is far darker than even the first season of ''Code Geass'', which appeals to the tastes of certain viewers who thought the original show was too goofy, but not necessarily everyone else. On the other hand, the brief appearance of [[spoiler: Suzaku and "Julius Kingsley"/Lelouch]] in the second chapter was also divisive, with some welcoming this turn of events because they missed seeing familiar faces or at least felt it would make the situation more interesting, while others feared the risks of reusing characters and concepts from the main series. As it turned out; [[spoiler:Suzaku and Lelouch]] do get some decent screentime, but the main focus is still on the new cast.
** The ending has also been rather divisive; besides the arguments about whether it was rushed and/or [[spoiler:''too'' happy]], one of the biggest disputes revolves around [[spoiler:the sudden increase in the inclusion of supernatural elements, and whether they fit the show or were simply hamfistedly shoehorned in]].
** The fandom has also become divided on [[spoiler:Leila's Geass ability]]; some feel it is overpowered and contradicts canon on how Geass powers work, while others believe that her power is perfectly consistent with what the main series has already shown, with the latter also liking that it actually fits her personality. The fact it looks a lot like a Geass we've also already seen before in canon, with [[spoiler:Jeremiah's "Anti-Geass" in his artificial eye]], surprisingly doesn't help much with either argument.
** Many fans are also quite divided on Shaing's characterization. As a franchise already steeped in character that push the boundaries of sanity, was it really necessary to introduce yet another psychopath into the mix? Moreover throughout the episodes, Shaing's goals are always seemingly changing: From wanting to take over Euro-Britannia, to then attempt at assassinating Charles, to then damn nearly committing suicide, to finally wanting to burn the entire world before changing his mind. Other viewers however note that this ever-changing mindset is consistent with schizophrenia, something Shaing just might have as he frequently gets distracted by his own hallucinations. If nothing else, most agree that he's at least a serviceable and entertaining villain.
* CompleteMonster: [[spoiler:[[NotSoWellIntentionedExtremist General Gene Smilas]] is a seemingly supportive commander of Leila Malcal secretly plotting his own [[MilitaryCoup coup]]. [[ManipulativeBastard Playing Leila and her fleet of young Japanese soldiers]], Smilas makes a deal with the insane [[Characters/CodeGeassEuroBritannia Euro Britannia]] commander Lord Shin Hyuga Shaine to allow media attacks to drive the [[Characters/CodeGeassEuropeanUnion European Union]] to near-collapse before sending him Leila to kill while he announces her death to use the unrest to become Emperor. Utterly apathetic to Shin's desire to nuke the Britannian capital and readying his forces to crush any question to his reign, the universe's God itself dismantles Smilas's claims of good intent, revealing him to be a selfish coward under his words.]]
* CrazyIsCool: The second episode has Akito channeling his craziness with his allies to increase their abilities. It's like if Sunrise took notes from this trope.
* EnsembleDarkhorse: Johannes Fabius. His meek appearance and loyalty to Ashley makes it easy to forget that he's the enemy. [[spoiler: May his HeroicSacrifice never be forgotten!]]
* FanNickname: Julius Kingsley, the Britannian Military Adviser sent to the European campaign in episode 2, was given the nickname, [[spoiler:Not!Lelouch, due to people having already guessed that he was a Lelouch whose memories were modified by Emperor Charles, even before it was finally confirmed in the next episode]].
* HarsherInHindsight:
** The [[spoiler:People of the EU rioting over stories that turned out to be false]] certainly hits harder now in the age of post-truth attitudes, what with all the riots in major cities and fake news going around. Leila even says "Fake news" at one point.
** As of 2019 April 15th, the brief sight of a broken Notre Dame is now ''really'' painful as the real-world version burned. Though luckily most things were not lost and it can be rebuilt, the memory of it makes the smashed an abandoned Notre Dame in this universe harder to look at.
* MagnificentBastard: [[YourTerroristsAreOurFreedomFighters Ryo Sayama and Yukiya Naruse]] are a [[RebelLeader revolutionary leader]] and [[TheCracker criminal hacker]] working to create a country for the lost and rejected. Luring a group of criminals to steal their Knightmare frame and kill them, the two nearly kidnap a high-ranking [[Characters/CodeGeassEuropeanUnion European Union]] general. Ostensibly working with the heroes, they initially make plans to betray and kill them before interest in their ideals leads Ryo and Yukiya to become true comrades to hero Akito Hyuga, willing to lay down their lives for him.
* {{Narm}}:
** Some of the angry TorchesAndPitchforks rioters in the third episode look kind of funny. In addition, their apparent readiness to go that far so quickly is also somewhat amusing to see.
** Akito's Geass makes him [[spoiler: and anyone it spreads to]] scream "DIE" over and over.
* NarmCharm:
** Shin Hyuga Shing's Knightmare, [[MeaningfulName Vercingetorix]], is a mixed bag, if not for how extravagant it is. The axe is way too intricate (most of it being clock gears stacked on top of each other in a [[ArtisticLicensePhysics physically impossible]] manner) and yet it rips apart [[spoiler:Akito's Alexander]] just fine. Additionally, he enters into the fight in its centaur mode, with the mech's [[BlingOfWar golden plating]] making it all the more jarring. That said, the knightmare actually looks ''very'' intimidating, while the centaur mode is actually practical (considering its sheer mobility). [[LightningBruiser Overall not something you'd want to run across in a battlefield]].
** Seeing [[spoiler:Lelouch/Julius Kingsley]] putting a crazy plan into action again as a would-be RabbleRouser who stirs up the European masses. The outcome might feel exaggerated in terms of more or less stretching the viewer's logic, but that over-the-top nature is one of the elements people enjoyed about Zero's plans, regardless of just how unrealistic several of them turned out to be.
* OneSceneWonder: Michele Manfredi. Despite appearing [[spoiler: and dying]] in only one scene, his friendly, father-like attitude makes him curiously memorable as one of the most affable Britannians to not display any sort of FantasticRacism Britannians often show.
* PanderingToTheBase: Some fans believe the appearance of Julius Kingsley [[spoiler:Lelouch]] as the military adviser for Euro Britannia was thrown in as an attempt to attract ''Code Geass'' fans who wanted more of [[spoiler:Lelouch]]. From that point of view, all of Julius's screentime and actions could have gone to Shin instead and the OVA would have been the same. However, the director of ''Akito the Exiled'' has gone on the record to state that he wasn't really thinking of pandering to the fans: according to him, the inclusion of Suzaku and [[spoiler:Lelouch]] as guest characters playing a limited role was meant to depict them as symbols of the unchangeable world and their limited interactions served to portray his own interpretation of Suzaku's complicated emotions towards [[spoiler:Lelouch]] at this point in the story.
* TearJerker: The interactions between Suzaku and Julius Kinglsey ([[spoiler: i.e. the former refusing to bring the latter water, and later almost choking the former to death]]) serves to remind the viewer how severely fractured the friendship between [[spoiler: Lelouch]] and Suzaku has become after R1.
* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter:
** Based on what some of Suzaku's fans expected, his appearance in ''Akito'' would qualify as this. They wanted a more detailed exploration of his actions between R1 and R2, showing all of the development from his R1 self to where he was by R2. Instead, they were disappointed by how he basically plays bodyguard to [[spoiler:Julius/Lelouch]] and only gets one Knightmare fight and then spends the rest of his screentime [[spoiler: being held as a prisoner with Lelouch]]. From a different point of view, Suzaku's character had already been explored during the TV series. Giving him a lot more screentime would have risked overshadowing the new cast of characters, so it would be difficult to achieve a balance that could please everyone. Even though Suzaku's development wasn't shown in detail, his few scenes still depict an interpretation of the internal tension between his feelings of hatred and friendship after the events of season one.
** Andrea Farnese and, to a lesser extent, the other leaders of the Euro Britannian Knightly Orders count as well. The former, suspecting Shin of being responsible for his friend Manfredi's death, makes a declaration at the end of episode 3 that implies he might try to deal with him, and is later revealed to have been at Manfredi's side when he first met Shin. All of this ends up coming to nothing in the end, with Andrea only getting a small cameo at the end of episode 5. At least he's treated better than his two colleagues, who receive no focus or plot involvement and simply [[spoiler:end up being killed by Shin's forces off-screen]].
** The Asura Strike Force and the Knights of St. Michael's three Swordmasters could have made for interesting recurring EliteMooks for the W-0 unit, with the same potential for character depth that Ashley and Jean got. With the exception of Ashley himself, the rest of the Asura Strike Force only gets one fight onscreen and are left out of the final battle, while the Swordmasters are only introduced in the last two episodes and get little screentime to truly showcase their abilities.
* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: While ''Akito the Exiled'' does give the European setting a lot more detail and attention than the original TV show ever did, the limited running time also means there was even more that could have been done. The European Union is noted to be plagued by problems with populism, bureaucracy, rising tensions and racism against refugees who are denied citizenship unless they choose to fight, and being at war for seven years by the time ''Akito'' starts. All of which could have potentially led to interesting developments for the characters and factions. After the first episode it's barely given any focus again outside of riots caused by [[spoiler: Lelouch's over the top plan]], which ostensibly acted as a trigger for the underlying tensions, and the [[spoiler: very quick rise and fall of Smilas through his populist/dictatorial exploiting of Leila's attempt to the calm the masses.]]. Ultimately, the ending was concerned with the fate of the main cast of characters and not on addressing the social or political issues involved.
** This also includes the refugee camps where Japanese people ended up in, as shown in episode one of ''Akito''. Apart from a brief scene showing concerned Japanese during the riots in Paris, the ending makes no mention of what happened to the Japanese stuck in the camps or in service to the EU. Leading their fate to potential FridgeHorror or at least a desperate evacuation by the time Britannia conquers France in early R2.
** Euro Britannia is noted at points to have concerns about how the homeland, and in particular Emperor Charles, acts towards the rest of the world. Unfortunately, due to how little we learn about Euro Britannia as a whole, with regards to both its characters and its ideologies, the faction as a whole ends up feeling rather underdeveloped and underutilized. There are other interesting details too, such as the more chivalrous nature of their military orders compared to regular Britannian forces, that were established but not necessarily fully explored.
** Many people felt that ''Akito'' had way too much material for a short OVA, and that it would have been better off as a full-fledged multi-season show. Making the latter would have allowed for an expanded plot and increased character development at a more believable pace, and for the ending to not feel as rushed as some fans felt it ended up being. There is an untranslated novel adaptation of the story that apparently goes into more detail than the OVA series about several of these aspects, but it's still a shame that the animated version didn't.
** Seeing a full-blown tactic showdown between Julius Kingsley and the ''entire'' EU would have been very interesting. A confrontation between him and Leila [[spoiler: with her Geass]] could have been interesting too.
* ToughActToFollow: Being part of the ''Code Geass'' franchise and an {{Interquel}} set between seasons one and two, some fans expected that ''Akito'' would have the same caliber as the TV series but many felt that it didn't live up to them. While the ticket and BD sales are still good and many agreed that the animation and fight scenes are the high points of the spin-off, several fans considered the [=OVAs=] as a forgettable side story that is only added for the ''Code Geass'' lore with few characters to care about. Considering that ''Lelouch of the Resurrection'', which is a follow-up on the events after the Zero Requiem, was eventually announced in 2016 to debut in February 2019, it seems more fans would be eager to watch that instead.