Code Geass: Akito the Exiled

Code Geass: Akito The Exiled (コードギアス 亡国のアキト) Code Geass Gaiden: Bōukoku no Akito (The Ruined Land of Akito) is an upcoming OVA. It was officially announced in the bonus materials of Code Geass: The Miraculous Birthday.

Overview
The side story takes place in 2017 a.t.b., around the time Lelouch took on the alter-ego “Zero” and built up his “Black Knights” rebellion army. The setting is in Europe, where the Euro Universe (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 division known as “W-0″, of which a young pilot named Akito Hyuga is a member. Layla 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. Thus begins their fight against the adult world. The new series is directed by Akane Kazuki (Tenkuu no Escaflowne, Noein: Mou Hitori no Kimi e) and once again features original character designs by CLAMP.

Characters
Akito Hyuga has long blue hair, which is tied in a numerous amount of braids, and blue eyes, and is shown in promotional art wielding a katana with a white hilt and square guard. The only other known character thus far is a girl named Layla Malkal, who has very long, blonde hair and blue eyes. Below are unnamed characters that are believed to be part of the main cast.

Other Unknown Characters
Ryo Sayama is the leader of a particular group that opposes the Mafia.

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

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

Knightmare Frame
The only other information concerning this series is the concept art of an unusual-looking Knightmare Frame, whose appearance suggests Sixth-Generation or later. The Knightmare Frame is piloted by Akito and is a special operation unit that was originally developed in the EU. Akira Yasuda is also returning to design the mechanical Knightmare units. The knightmare frame's name has been confirmed to be "Alexander".

Script
Kazuki Akane, the same director of Escaflowne, is directing off scripts by Shigeru Morita. As in the previous two television series, Takahiro Kimura is adapting CLAMP's original character designs for animation. The anime studio Sunrise, the previous Code Geass director Goro Taniguchi, and the previous series script supervisor Ichiro Okouchi are credited with the original story.

Japanese Staff
Director: Kazuki Akane

Script: Kazuki Akane, Miya Asakawa

Composition Assistance: Shigeru Morita

Scenario: Akane Kazuki & Yoshinari Asakawa

Screenplay: Shigeru Morita

Original Character Design: CLAMP

Character Design: Takahiro Kimura

Chief Animation Director: Shuichi Shimamura

Original Knightmare Design: Akira Yasuda

Mecha Design: Kenji Teraoka, Takumi Sakura, Takashi Miyamoto, Astrays

Director Animation of Code Geass: Eiji Inomoto

Color Setting: Kumiko Nakayama

Art Director: Takeshi Satou

Art Setting: Kazushige Kanehira

Music: Ichiko Hashimoto

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

Japanese Companies
Animation Production: Sunrise

Original Character Design: CLAMP

Original Creator: Sunrise

Release Date
The release date of Code Geass: Akito the Exiled was officially announced on January 12th 2012. The show has been officially postponed to the fall of this year, and its first episode shall make its debut on the 15th of August 2012.

Trailer
thumb|300px|left|Code Geass: Akito the Exiled Trailer