Code Geass

same here I have my concerns about this if it is lulu, I mean is it really necessary to bring lulu into this as you said above, but we will have to wait and see, yeah the Japanese have funny ideas when it comes to stuff they do at times, though Code Geass as a whole has always had this problem, with info they give out in one source contradicts another, it's one of the things that makes it a frustrating series at times,

I just think that having this actually be Lelouch would make the complete absence of him mentioning any of this stuff when he gets his memories back in R2 really off. Lelouch is notably vocal about his dislike of his Father's actions - being silent on something so major as this just strikes me as really OOC. Plus, I'm a little tired of "Lelouch is the centre of the universe"-ness of the Geass world - I hope it's a red herring for publicity, like those manga lookalike characters.

Yeah, that's a thing I've been liking about Akito, that it just has a better sense of worldbuilding to it than OG Code Geass, where the plot bent characters to its whims. Making Lelouch even more of a Black Hole Sue damages that in my opinion.

@Drakyndra: What would that really change though? In practice, almost nothing.

For Lelouch, the most important things Charles took away from him were Nunnally, Marianne and his life as Zero. The absence or presence of another complaint that wouldn't be in his top 3 has absolutely zero (no pun intended) effect on his actions during R2. It would just be one additional reason to be angry, but it is peanuts compared to those which really pissed him off. You could literally drop in a single line about the subject and be done with it.

Also, it's not like having "Julius Kingsley" in Akito will be the same as having Lelouch around. He's going to be a villain of some sort and not a point of view character or protagonist. Fears that this will suddenly become "the same thing as before" are unfounded. The word on the street is that 90% of OVA 2 is still about the new characters. I'd be surprised if "Julius" had any more screentime than Schneizel or Cornelia did in their respective episodes of the TV series, but nobody would argue the show was monopolized by them.

@Scherzo 09: You have to take into account that the world of Code Geass has established how insane events can happen, especially since magical powers of mind control exist. As long as it's not as crazy as R2, a little bit is fine to spice things up. I don't see this as going against the new world building or preventing it from happening at the same time. If well handled, it could contribute by showing us another side, like how the new characters react to the resulting duress.

edited 15th Sep '13 6:09:42 AM by Souther

fair point's made, we can only wonder what will happen until we see for ourselves, I do hope Akito won't go the way r2 did and just go so over the top that it becomes impossible to take seriously, but then again maybe that was the intent of the whole series, makes sense at times if it was supposed to be a Stealth Parody, but ymmv on that.

I have no idea what to say about Lulu possibly being alive/back from the dead/whatever, but I will say that is a snazzy eyepatch he has there.

Also can we just take a moment to appreciate how like everyone here actually calls him "Lulu". Just... Lulu.

Funimation will dub Akito,at least it's practically guaranteed that they will bring Johnny Yong Basch back since he ocasionally does some works for them.Though it's unsure if they will bother to bring Yuri Lowenthal and Kate Higgins back.

wouldn't be the first time they have recast roles, as their dub of rebuild showed, but funanimations tend to do great dubs, their Baccano dubs is still one of my favourites of all time.

wonder if they will redub the anime as well now that they own the licenses to that as well, doubt it, but they redubbed Dragon ball didn't they.

Actually if Lelouch were Julius Kingsley, wouldn't it be that he was brainwashed by Charles into playing another role against his will? In other words, even more of a Cosmic Plaything?

edited 15th Sep '13 11:11:09 AM by azul120

@Souther: It's not that I'm opposed to magical stuff in universe, its that, like Drakyndra said; having Lelouch be a big player in Akito would cheapen the universe. Not that CG's was particularly rich to begin with, but I think Akito went a long way towards fleshing it out, so going "Lawl no, Lulu's all that matters" I feel sets the world back a bit. It doesn't add anything besides "Hey, this was a guy from the original show." Of course I can't make a judgement until I see it, but my inclination is to see it as a cynical addition.

edited 15th Sep '13 11:14:03 AM by Scherzo09

@Scherzo 09: Considering we're talking about how Lelouch would be appearing in the role of a brainwashed puppet of Britannia, it's hard to say that's favoring the original version of the character. He wouldn't be himself. We're also talking about a corner of the universe that is full of lies and manipulation, especially when it comes to the Emperor.

I think it could be used to elaborate a little on intra-Britannian politics across the Empire too, since we have the mainland sending someone over into another jurisdiction and they're unlikely to receive him with open arms when they've already got capable people. I wouldn't be surprised if there's some kind of clash. It would also put Suzaku in a very uncomfortable situation, which could be interesting on the character front.

edited 15th Sep '13 1:22:39 PM by Souther

I just feel like they're coopting that character just for the sake of name recognition. Like Drakyndra said its inconceivable that this wouldn't have come up in the main series. It just feels rather contrived.

I am interested in a more nuanced look at Britannia but you don't need Lelouch for that.

edited 15th Sep '13 2:23:27 PM by Scherzo09

On one hand, it depends on how much focus he gets here.

Again, at the same time, it's a more unflattering use of him anyways, because it's another example of how much "the universe hates Lelouch".

edited 15th Sep '13 2:57:26 PM by azul120

yep the universe really hates that guy don't they, sucks to be him.

Yeah but this series, one of the things I liked about this OVA series, is that its its own thing, something that could stand by itself. Bringing in Lelouch when he doesn't need to be there is the same mistake Lucas made with the Prequels, you don't and shouldn't squeeze marque characters from your franchise into a product just so people can go 'OMG THAT'S LELOUCH'. I don't give a shit that the Universe hates Lelouch, that the universe gives a shit about Lelouch at all is hack writing tbh. Akito should be its own story, and not be hijacked to substanceless pander to fans of the OG series. Though I guess that was too much to ask of Geass.

That's of course if you believe that pandering is a capital offense or that one can't pander in a perfectly valid creative way.

If this all works out, then Akito will still stand on its own in practice. There are plenty of people who watch Gundam Unicorn without knowing anything at all about previous Gundam series or characters or even the Universal Century. They'll miss out on the references, cameo appearances, Mobile Suit Variation porn, a few old characters and the significance of certain terms or events, but it's still watchable without having any extra insight or investment. If you can make some mental gymnastics to reconcile Unicorn's Gundam fan service and UC retcons, then this shouldn't be any different.

Most of us don't go "man, they're really selling out by having yet another guy who claims to be Char Aznable as the main antagonist, looking exactly the same and voiced by the same actor, or everyone's favorite captain Bright Noah playing a supporting role! And why didn't anyone ever mention the Vist Foundation or Laplace's Box? It's destroying my continuity!"

Ideally, a person who doesn't care for Code Geass should be able to watch Akito without suffering any confusion. They'll just say "Oh, I did notice this one enemy commander seemed to have an aura of mystery surrounding him, but it didn't conflict with the flow" and move on. If Akito accomplishes that much, as well as making the old fans more excited, then...I have no real issues.

edited 15th Sep '13 8:49:49 PM by Souther

I just don't think he should be there; the story was nice and self contained and just doesn't need that level of cross-contamination with the OG series. The difference between this and Unicorn is that Unicorn is the next big chapter in the UC saga, with the events of it being a culmination of the OYW, the EF Civil War, and both previous Neo-Zeon Wars. Akito is more equivalent to War in the Pocket or 08th MS Team, a side story that helps flesh out the world but stands up on its own merits, and It'd be fucking retarded to have Amuro or Char randomly appear in one of those.

If it's functionally a cameo, it doesn't really count towards much, except to point out how much of a dick Charles is. (And really, I wouldn't put it past him.)

edited 15th Sep '13 10:18:11 PM by azul120

But that isn't relevant to the story Akito is telling. Neither end of the spectrum sound good to me, either he's a cameo that's just there for the sake of being a cameo, which would be annoying, or he hijacks the plot, which would be crippling to it.

It would be part of the world building at the very least, since he existed at that very time. Only issue would be that even mindwiped, Lelouch still didn't really agree with Britannia.

Over at Animesuki, there's a suggestion that it could all be a shout out to X/1999.

While Julius Kingsley is a cool name, what's with the eyepatch ring? That just looks stupid.

edited 15th Sep '13 11:57:56 PM by MadSkillz

I don't feel like adding to character development of character who this OVA series isn't really about doesn't really add to it. I feel like if handled poorly it could even take away from the show. I mean, they already have enough new characters as is they need to develop, especially the villain who has like 90 seconds of screen time near the end of episode 1; I don't know how adding Lelouch would make things better.

I think it's to hide the eye with the permanent Geass.

edited 15th Sep '13 11:26:05 PM by Scherzo09

@Scherzo 09: Shin Hyuga will inevitably get much more than 90 seconds in episode 2, with the whole grand ceremony shown in the promotional videos as well as some military activities, and it has been reported by multiple parties that Suzaku and co. only happen to arrive on a train. They do nothing else. It seems Akito, Leila and the rest of the European or Japanese personnel take up most of the overall running time.

The accumulated total thus far sounds like it's 95+ minutes for the new Akito cast and just 3 or 4 minutes for the familiar faces. I see no reason to worry with that much of a head start.

So I'm willing to bet that Lelouch/Julius gets no real attempts at development other than being portrayed as an evil Britannian general. We'll probably see more of an attempt at characterization for Suzaku than him in the subsequent episodes, most likely connected to what he feels about the presence and actions of Julius or at least what he is forced to do as a result of it.

And why is it not relevant? The story that Akito is telling can be summed up as a tale of survival against all odds. What is being done by bringing in additional powerful enemy characters like Suzaku and co. is raising the stakes against them even more and perhaps even starting to end the long European stalemate in the process as suggested by previous canon.

But that doesn't mean Suzaku and co. will automatically kill everyone and go home. There is a sweet spot of balance to be found between that and doing nothing.

@azul 120: I don't think they would be using the same fake memories or personality modifications for Lelouch at school. If they rewrote him into being a loyal general called "Julius Kingsley" instead of a normal Britannian student named "Lelouch Lamperouge" it's easy to see why he'd act very differently.

edited 16th Sep '13 12:04:49 AM by Souther

@Scherzo The eyepatch is fine, but the jewelry attached looks dumb.

The jewelry used by various pompous Britannian nobles in Code Geass looks dumb? Please call the fashion police!

I really, really think it's been established that such gaudy and overly decorated clothes aren't uncommon for them.

edited 16th Sep '13 12:05:02 AM by Souther