Why Rozé of the Recapture Disappointed Code Geass Fans (2024)

Rozé of the Recapture had a lot to live up to as a sequel to what is considered one of the best-written anime series of all time, so Code Geass fans had high expectations as they dove into the show. The story was compelling and intricate, the characters were great, and Studio Sunrise's updated animation was phenomenal. There were also plenty of amazing scenes, both tense and touching, that made for an enjoyable watching experience. Unfortunately, there were still many ways in which Rozé of the Recapture failed to meet the aforementioned high expectations of long-time fans.

The overall plot doesn’t present any issues, as it does have an interesting premise that builds off of what happened in previous installments of the Code Geass franchise. However, Rozé of the Recapture’s biggest problems can be boiled down to three things: 1. The series didn’t take time to develop and rise to the potential of all its great elements, especially its characters. 2. Long-time fans of the franchise have gripes with the continuation errors concerning old characters and the technology that were established in the original Code Geass series, Lelouch of the Rebellion. And 3. Norland von Lunebelg, in spite of his buildup, turned out to be a rather disappointing villain.

Rozé of the Recapture Lacks a Deeper Exploration of its Characters

A Short Runtime Robs a Great Code Geass Cast of its Full Potential

Lelouch of the Rebellion took 50 full episodes to develop its most important characters, especially its protagonist. Almost every detail of every episode contributed to building Lelouch up as a young genius of great intellect who went through the highs and lows of what it means to pursue vengeance against a global superpower. Meanwhile, a majority of the character development for Sakuya, Rozé of the Recapture’s main protagonist, takes its course over a few scenes within the last 5 episodes. Her growth was illustrated in a concise and easy-to-understand manner, but it was still one of many of the things that were rushed.

Sakuya Sumeragi’s entire world fell apart when Neo-Britannia made its move to take Hokkaido, separating her from her father and best friend. At some point, she obtained the Geass ability to command others using her voice, which was given to her by an immortal Lelouch. The audience is introduced to Sakuya’s character in the middle of her journey, where she already has most of her plans and pieces laid out as well as a decent grasp on the parameters of her Geass.

Sakuya is established as an intelligent character with a strategic way of thinking who relies heavily on her supernatural power to get her through the more difficult obstacles in her schemes, which is very similar to Lelouch. However, unlike Lelouch, viewers don’t get to see her start from scratch. In the original series, Lelouch proves his cunning and intellect while at the same time displaying a level of inexperience that he needed to remedy.

For example, Lelouch won his first victory against Clovis at Shinjuku at the very beginning of Lelouch of the Rebellion, but he later lost to Cornelia because he miscalculated the drive and loyalty of the resistance group he was attempting to command — something that he recognized and made a note to improve, which later urged him to further endear himself to Kallen’s group and create the Black Knights. Lelouch also had to learn the limitations of his Geass and made a number of blunders as he came to understand the consequences of his supernatural power.

The audience missed out on seeing Sakuya grow into a formidable character the way they witnessed Lelouch grow. Instead, she’s seen at the height of her ability and influence. Perhaps there’s nothing wrong with starting the protagonist off on that kind of advantage, as it gives more of a chance to focus on the downfall caused by her own hubris — which is what Rozé of the Recapture did. Sakuya’s recklessness with her Geass and the cockiness she developed by relying on its convenience eventually backfired on her.

This is the development that is seen from the end of episode 7 to the final moments of episode 12. Still, the scenes focusing on Sakuya’s character arc are small and scattered — it was only enough to paint the general picture rather than fill out the detail. Lelouch's development was also split across several scenes, but, again, Lelouch of the Rebellion had the luxury of 50 episodes to illustrate how his character progressed through the story.

The Side Characters Were Barely Given Growth and Development

Rozé of the Recapture has excellent side characters. The only issue is that there simply wasn’t enough time spared for the audience to get to know and truly come to care for them.Lelouch of the Rebellion also had a large cast, but there were numerous characters who were given focus and enough backstory for the audience to become invested.

Aside from Lelouch and Suzaku, there is C.C. and her tragic experiences as a girl who had immortality forced upon her. There is also Kallen and her complicated relationship with her mother following the death of her older brother. And there is Shirley and her struggle to accept that the boy she loved was responsible for her father’s death. These are only a few names from a list of Lelouch of the Rebellion's well-explored cast. Rozé of the Recapture, on the other hand, only has three notable characters aside from the two main protagonists.

Sakura, Sakuya’s best friend and doppleganger, does have a bit of growth. However, her motivations are tied entirely to Sakuya. There is no explanation as to why she has always been so loyal to her friend — Sakura simply just is. Haruka Rutaka's family is revealed to have been torn apart by the Einberg Order, though it never actually shows how the tragedy has affected her, aside from a surface-level distrust of Britannians. Catherine Sabathra is the only one with notable development and motivation, but her storyline also falls victim to Rozé of the Recapture's short runtime.

Rozé of the Recapture has Continuity Errors

The Lack of Involvement from Old Faces Didn't Make Sense

If it were a standalone series, Rozé of the Recapture would have few issues since it would only have the details and lore of its own show to use as a reference. However, as a sequel to a series that had an entire world and several developed characters, Rozé of the Recapture falls short because it seems to ignore details and characterization that were prominent in Lelouch of the Rebellion.

Despite Rozé of the Recapture taking place only around 7 years after the point when the original series ended (and about 5 years after the events of the Re;surrection movie), there is a notable lack of significant characters who would have no doubt been more deeply involved in the struggle against Neo-Britannia’s occupation of Hokkaido. One of many examples of this is Kaguya Sumeragi. She is a notable figure of high authority who fought for Japan and its people, yet she doesn’t really take much action until the very end of Rozé of the Recapture.

It’s mentioned that Kaguya had apparently stepped down from her position as the chairwoman of the United Federation of Nations, but why did she do so during a time when Japan’s freedom was threatened? And if she was able to reclaim her position so easily, as she had done so in the final few episodes, then why didn't she step up earlier? This is a small detail that wasn’t explained, and as a consequence, it made her lack of presence extremely out of character. The very same could be said of Suzaku and Kallen as well, since they've been fighting for Japan for as long as Kaguya has.

There is a Strange Lapse in the Code Geass Sequel's Technology

The main reason that the Black Knights weren't able to act against Neo-Britannia was the Situmpe Wall — a large force field that completely sapped the energy of any machine that touches or crosses it. This is quite similar to the effects of the Gefjun Disturber used in episode 18 of Lelouch of the Rebellion. This means that science and technology used for the Situmpe Wall have long since been in existence, which begs the question of why nothing has been invented to counter or deflect its effects on knightmares.

Characters like Rakshata Chawla (the developer of the Gefjun Disturber herself), Lloyd Asplund, and Cecile Croomy were able to constantly create amazing feats of technology one after another within the span of two years. If they were able to constantly enhance the Guren and the Lancelot within that time frame, then figuring out how to bypass the Situmpe Wall would have posed no issue for them. Yet Neo-Britannia sat unbothered for years.

The knightmare frames of Rozé of the Recapture, save for the Foulbout and the Zi-Ortygia, are also underwhelming in comparison to what Rakshata, Lloyd, and Cecile were able to accomplish with the many different updates of the Guren and Lancelot. The clearly superior machines, paired with Suzaku’s and Kallen’s unmatched battle skills, would have brought Neo-Britannia to its knees in less than a day. So where were Code Geass' best knightmare developers during a time when their talent and expertise were clearly needed?

Norland von Lunebelg Ended up Being an Underwhelming Villain

He was Built Up to be So Much More, Only to be Defeated Within a Few Minutes

Rozé of the Recapture's main antagonist was actually written quite well...for the most part. From the very beginning, Norland von Lunebelg is alluded to in a manner that made him feel as though he were some great, domineering entity. His appearance, namely his mask, only added to that aura because it obscured his eyes and gave him a mysterious presence that separated him from everyone else. It also implied that he was hiding a terrifying power (that many fans believed to have been a Geass of his own).

Norland instilled so much fear in those around him that one of the members of the Einberg Order chose suicide over facing the punishment that Norland would have personally dealt out. He also murdered two innocent children for his own gain (one through poison and the other through impalement), and he managed to manipulate an entire government's worth of people to serve under him. Norland was almost the perfect villain.

And then Norland unmasked himself. Not to reveal a Geass that could challenge Sakuya’s, but to unveil his true identity as a clone of Charles zi Britannia. Prior to the late Britannian Emperor taking V.V.’s immortal code, Norland was apparently created to house Charles’ consciousness in the event that his original body became damaged beyond repair. While this was very shocking, it didn’t seem to have any effect or relevancy to the plot other than to revive the essence of Lelouch of the Rebellion’s primary villain.

Norland’s desires hardly connected to Charles or his motives at all, as he barely offered any explanation for wanting the extinction of the human race. Sakuya desperately threw out every idealogy she could think of — from a love of nature to complete nihilism — only for Norland's motives to barely boil down to a sheer, absolute disgust for mankind. With this in mind, an interesting thing to note is that Norland’s knightmare, the Foulbout, resembles a heavenly being; it is a massive white and gold machine with glowing wings, and the numerous laser ports located around its body are akin to the many eyes seen in depictions of biblically accurate angels.

That may be what Norland saw himself as: a godly entity that is supposedly superior to humanity. And his worldwide extermination is him casting judgment upon a race he views as unworthy of life. If that were the case, then Norland’s role as a great villain might have been saved if not for his quick and disappointingly easy defeat. Ash and Sakuya did have trouble during their final showdown with him, but Norland was ultimately taken down in a simple knightmare-to-knightmare skirmish that barely displayed any true skill in combat on his part. Norland had supposedly been planning humanity's extinction for years, yet he was defeated in a matter of minutes.

Rozé of the Recapture Does Its Job

It May Not Have Lived Up to Expectations, but It's Still an Excellent Piece

Rozé of the Recapture has its issues as a continuation of the story that Lelouch vi Britannia started. However, despite its flaws, there are just as many things that it did right as an addition to the Code Geass franchise. It reframed the devastation that the power of Geass reaps into something that can be overcome, as seen when Sakuya sealed away her own Geass and put an end to her part in the cycle. It continued the franchise's motif of tragic siblings entangled in conflicts beyond their control. It treated the audience to some of the best animated knightmare battles seen in Code Geass' history. And it introduced another touching and meaningful romance that blossomed in spite of the show's darkest moments.

While Rozé of the Recapture failed to meet certain expectations of long-time fans, it still brought joy to the people who picked it up and stuck with it until the end. It didn’t take away from an amazing series; it added to it and left viewers wanting more. It was meant to revive the Code Geass franchise, and that’s exactly what it did.Rozé of the Recapture had an excellent story with wonderful characters that just unfortunately didn’t get the time it needed to realize the potential of it all. However, perhaps the series garnered enough attention to earn longer runtimes for future anime productions within the Code Geass universe.

Code Geass: Rozé of the Recapture

Mecha

Action

Set in the same alternate timeline established inCode Geass Lelouch of the Re;surrection,Code Geass: Rozé of the Recapture follows the adventures of brothers Roze and Ash.

Director

Yoshimitsu Ôhashi

Studio

Studio Sunrise

Cast

Makoto Furukawa , Kōhei Amasaki

Writers

Nobu Kimura

Main Genre

Anime

Release Window

May 2024

Release Information

May 2024