Code Geass: Akito the Exiled

Code Geass: Akito the Exiled (コードギアス 亡国のアキト Kōdo Giasu Bōkoku no Akito) is a theatrical OVA. It was officially announced in the bonus materials of Code Geass: The Miraculous Birthday. The new theatrical OVA is directed by Kazuki Akane (of Vision of Escaflowne and Noein: Mou Hitori no Kimi e fame) and once again features original character designs by CLAMP. It is a side-story that occurs between seasons one and two of Code Geass.

Overview
The side story takes place in 2017 a.t.b., between the rise of the “Black Knights” organization and the return of the supposedly "dead" Zero. The setting is in Europe, where the European Union (E.U.) allied nations are being invaded by the overwhelming forces of the Holy Britannian Empire. On the verge of defeat, the E.U. army forms a special unit known as “W-0″, of which a young pilot named Akito Hyuga is a member. Leila Malkal, a former Britannian Aristocrat comes to the E.U.'s aid, commanding the “Wyvern” Knightmare corps comprised of Japanese teenagers. They recklessly plunge into a battlefield, where the survival rate is extremely low, at about 5% only. They fight for their freedom and for a "home" to which they can return.

Chapter 1 Preview Summary
Chapter 1: "The Wyvern Has Landed" (翼竜は舞い降りた)

First Summary:
In 2010 a.t.b., the Holy Britannian Empire, while continuing its longstanding conflict with the E.U., suddenly invaded the eastern nation of Japan and renamed it Area 11. As a result of this, the Japanese in all other parts of the world were given the fate of exiles as Elevens as well.

After seven years, the continuously disadvantaged E.U. army gathers Elevens that are not formal citizens and establishes the “W-0” Unit for the sake of facing the enemy in dangerous operations with extremely low survival rates.

The E.U. Army’s 132nd Regiment fails in recapturing St. Petersburg, and becomes surrounded by the Britannian Army in the city of Narva. The W-0 Unit is handed the order to undertake the Narva withdrawal operation for the sake of rescuing them. Akito Hyuuga also heads to the battlefield and pilots the W-0’s Knightmare Frame, the Alexander. Anou, the commander of the W-0, plans to protect the 132nd Regiment by sacrificing Akito and the other Eleven soldiers. However, the mistake of that plan was clear to anyone’s eyes. At that time, Anou’s adjutant, Leila Malkal…And so, will Akito be able to survive on the cruel battlefield?

Second Summary:
Akito Hyuuga was on the worst battlefield.

The Narva withdrawal strategy, for the sake of rescuing the European Union’s (E.U.) 132nd Regiment which was surrounded by the Britannian Army

The self-destruct system which had been installed in the Alexander Knightmare Frames, and the comrades who die due to the incompetent commander of the W-0 who depends on kamikaze runs.

Akito unfolds an aimless battle that ends on this battlefield of adversity.

And when everyone expected the annihilation of the unit, the W-0 Unit’s staff officer Leila Malkal moves…

Their homeland Japan, which was occupied by Britannia and renamed “Area 11”.

The aftereffects of that are received, and many Japanese living in E.U. territory were housed in internment/refugee camps.

The only path that remained for Akito was to continue fighting for the sake of living in the land of the E.U. while being despised as an Eleven.

By sharpening himself like a knife, Akito survives every day. However, he wasn’t the only Eleven who hadn’t lost his fangs and continued to fight for the sake living. The group led by Ryo Sayama commences a certain plan in order to win their freedom.

As various expectations swirl around, will Akito be able to survive in the E.U.?

Chapter 2 Preview Summary
Chapter 2: "The Torn-Up Wyvern" (引き裂かれし翼竜)

Summary:
2017 a.t.b. (Revolutionary Year 228), the war between Euro Britannia and the European Union (E.U.) continues. At a disadvantage, the E.U. army founded a special team consisting of Elevens—exiled Japanese who had their country occupied by Britannia—known as the W-0 Unit. And then, new orders are given to the W-0 Unit. Their cruel contents order them to land in the middle of the enemy as a diversion. The pilots of the W-0 Unit consist only of the commanding officer, Leila, the only surviving Japanese from their last battle, Akito, and the three that escaped from the Eleven ghettos and lived in the underworld, Ryou, Yukiya, and Ayano. With everyone holding their respective expectations, the operation moves forward. On the other side in Euro Britannia, Shin, who made his benefactor commit suicide with the mysterious power of “Geass”, is appointed the leader of the Knights of St. Michael. As Shin steadily advances for the sake of his own ambition, he and his subordinates in the Ashura squad are given orders to deploy.

The one that lives in order to fight, and the one that fights in order to live.

In the midst of the extremely ghastly battlefield, Akito and Shin finally face each other as Akito displays his fearsome true power.

Characters
Akito Hyuuga has long blue hair, which is tied in a braid, and blue eyes, and is shown in promotional art wielding a Wazikashi with a white hilt and square guard. The other known main character thus far is a girl named Leila Malkal, who has very long, blonde hair and blue eyes.

Other Characters
Below are other characters that are believed to be part of the main cast.

Ryo Sayama
Ryo Sayama is the leader of a terrorist group that opposes the Mafia.

Yukiya Naruse
Yukiya Naruse is a boy who belongs to Ryo's group.

Ayano Kosaka
Ayano Kosaka is a girl who is also in Ryo's group.

Klaus Warwick
Klaus Warwick is Leila Malkal's lieutenant.

Sophie Randall
Sophie Randall, a civilian brain science expert.

Joe Wise
Joe Wise is an assistant researcher of Sophie Randall.

Anna Clement
Anna Clement is a genius scientist and the developer of the "Alexander."

Shin Hyūga Shaingu
Shin Hyūga Shaingu is a Euro knight that works for the Britannian Military.

Jean Low
Jean Low is a Britannian knight who works for Shin Hyūga Shaingu.

Oscar Hamel
Oscar Hamel is the vice captain of the Guard Troops.

Gene Smilas
Gene Smilas is a general of the European Union.

Augusta Henry Highland
Augusta Henry Highland is the Britannian Archduke of Verance.

Michele Manfredi
Michele Manfredi is the Grand Master of the Knights of St. Michael.

Andrea Farnese
Andrea Farnese is the Grand Master of the Knights of St. Raphael.

Knightmare Frame
The Alexander, a new Knightmare Frame, has the concept art of an unusual-looking Knightmare Frame, whose appearance suggests Sixth-Generation or later. The Knightmare Frame is piloted by Akito Hyuga and is a special operation unit that was originally developed in the E.U. by Anna. Akira Yasuda has returned to design the mechanical Knightmare units.

Other Knightmare Frames
Below are other Knightmare Frames that are confirmed to make an appearance in the OVA.

Alexander Type-02
The Alexander Type-02, a variation of the Alexander, is a mass produced Knightmare Frame used in the Special Forces Unit "W-0."

Sutherland
The Sutherland is a fifth generation Knightmare Frame, like the one from the original series, that was developed from the Glasgow with improved mobility.

Glasgow
The Glasgow is a combat type fourth generation Knightmare Frame, just like the Glasgow from the original series.

Gloucester
The Gloucester is a fifth-generation Knightmare Frame that was developed from the Sutherland.

Panzer-Hummel
The Panzer-Hummel is a mass produced Knightmare Frame used by the European Union military.

Gardmare
The Gardmare is a Knightmare Frame produced by the European Union.

Staff
Original Creator: Sunrise, Ichirō Ōkouchi, Goro Taniguchi

Director: Kazuki Akane

Screenplay: Kazuki Akane, Miya Asakawa

Series Composition Cooperation: Shigeru Morita

Original Character Design: CLAMP

Character Design: Takahiro Kimura

Chief Animation Director: Shuichi Shimamura

Knightmare Draft Design: Akira Yasuda

Mechanical Design: Kenji Teraoka, Takumi Sakura, Takashi Miyamoto, Astray's

3DCG Animation Director: Eiji Inomoto

3DCG: Orange

Color Design: Kumiko Nakayama

Art Director: Takeshi Satou

Art Set: Kazushige Kanehira

Sound Director: Jin Aketagawa

Music: Ichiko Hashimoto

Theme Song: "More Than Words" (Composition by Yoko Kanno, Lyrics by Yuho Iwasato, Song by Maaya Sakamoto)

Voice Actors/Actresses
Miyu Irino: Akito Hyuga

Maaya Sakamoto: Leila Malkal

Satoshi Hino: Ryou Sayama

Yoshitsugu Matsuoka: Yukiya Naruse

Yoko Hikasa: Ayano Kosaka

Keiji Fujiwara: Klaus Warwick

Yuko Kaida: Sophie Randall

Shinji Kawada:: Joe Wise

Ai Kayano: Anna Clement

Masaya Matsukaze: Shin Hyūga Shaingu

Unshou Ishizuka: Gene Smilas

Showtaro Morikubo: Oscar Hammel

Mikako Komatsu: Kate Novak

Asami Seto: Ferilli Paltrow

Nao Tōyama: Chloe Winkel

Saori Hayami: Hilda Fagan

Natsumi Takamori: Sarah Danes

Mariya Ise: Olivia Lowell

Kenta Miyake: Michele Manfredi

Takehito Koyasu: Andrea Farnese

Release Dates
According to composer Ichiko Hashimoto, the theatrical screening events were going to take place every three months beginning Summer 2012 and preceding each BD/DVD release. The format consists of four OVA chapters with a running time of about 50 minutes per episode. Hashimoto had also originally estimated that the official soundtrack would be released in Fall 2012. However, these dates were postponed a few times due to production delays.

On April 27th 2012, it was announced that the first episode of the OVA would premiere in Japan on August 4th, 2012. The special preview screening for the first episode took place at Ikebukuro Cinema Sunshine and Shinjuku Wald 9 on July 16th 2012.

Sakamoto Maaya, the singer of the ending theme song "More than Words," released the single for the song on July 25th 2012.

The Akito the Exiled official website announced the second episode would be released in Spring 2013. However, in January 2013 it was announced that the second episode's release date would be pushed back to Summer 2013. On June 21st 2013, the official theatrical release for the second OVA episode was announced as September 14th 2013.

The Blu-ray and DVD for the first OVA episode were released on January 29th 2013, coming in both standard and limited editions; the latter contains an additional 24 page booklet, a special slip cover featuring Akito and Leila back to back, as well as 15 postcards featuring images of various characters taken from the ending sequence of the OVA.

For the second OVA episode, the Blu-ray and DVD will be released on 25th of December and the PSN said that the RAW version were released on 19th of October.

Trailer
BIGLOBE's Anime One portal site began streaming a 53-second promotional video for the Code Geass: Akito the Exiled anime project on Monday. The website is also streaming the project's previous promotional video that debuted in January. The spinoff anime's first installment will open in theaters in Japan on August 4.