Rozé of the Recapture released internationally on Disney+ via Hulu and Star content hub in a 12 episode ONA format from June 21 to September 6, 2024.[8][9][10]
Plot
Following the death of Emperor Lelouch Lamperouge and the dissolution of the Holy Britannian Empire, remnants of the old empire captured the island of Hokkaido and founded the Neo-Britannian Empire, where the Japanese people are oppressed just like the old days of the empire when their country was one of its colonies. Two brothers named Rozé and Ash, dubbed "The Nameless Mercenaries" fight the Neo-Britannian empire, eventually joining forces with the local resistance forces in their mission to rescue princess Sakuya Sumeragi, but only a few know that Rozé is actually Sakuya in disguise, and the person she wants to rescue is her childhood friend and body double Sakura Haruyanagininomiya, who is passing as Sakuya to protect her. Her weapons are Ash's piloting skills, her tactical prowess and the power of Geass, which forces anyone into absolute obedience, the same power Lelouch himself once used in his rise to power.
Episodes
Note: Each film act is divided into three parts (episodes), which later stream internationally in a television series format as an ONA.
Rozé and Ash work with the Seven Shining Stars to recapture Hokkaido to rescue their leader, Kensei Kuroto, and the other members held at the Abashiri Concentration Camp. After the duo succeeds in defeating the Kirkwayne brothers, the Seven Shining Stars launch a surprise attack on the camp using the Zi-Apollo.
Rozé and Ash start working together with the Seven Shining Stars to take back Hokkaido; their mission is to rescue the leader of the Seven Shining Stars, Kensei Kuroto along with other members who are being held at the Abashiri Concentration Camp. Rozé also succeeds in rescuing Sakura, but later gets recaptured by Catherine.
With Kuroto back in command and Rozé's strategies, the Seven Shining Stars are strong enough to repel the Einberg's plans to exterminate the resistance forces; Rozé and Ash go off on their own to take a break; Ash rescues a girl from Britannians. Meanwhile, Sakura (as Sakuya) is ascended to the throne after Calis al Britannia's death.
The Black Knights assist the Seven Shining Stars in freeing Hokkaido. However, the existence of the Neo-Britannian Sky Fortress Damocles causes chaos. As supplies and extra forces arrive from the Black Knights, a certain figure appears.
Under Kuroto's command, the struggling Seven Shining Stars, Rozé and Ash, have to make a last-minute decision in order to stop Damocles; Norland pays no attention to the ongoing battle and starts planning his next move with Christoph. Meanwhile, Walther discovers Sakura's real identity as Sakuya's decoy.
Walther decides to keep Sakura's identity secret out to loyalty to Sakuya's family. Meanwhile, Rozé pays a visit to the orphanage where Ash was raised and discovered that he and his brother were adopted by Norland and raised to work for him as assassins. After Norland kills his brother, Ash rebels and is arrested where he meets and befriends Sakuya's father, who dies while attempting to escape with Ash. After escaping, Ash met Sakuya, who used her Geass to make him protect her as she were the most important person to him, making him view her as his late brother. Bedridden with guilt, Rozé is captured by Christoph, who discovered the truth about her identity and her Geass.
Christoph maintains Sakuya imprisoned, intending to make experiments with her Geass. Meanwhile, the Neo Britannian Army storms the Seven Shining Stars hideout. The other resistance forces arrive to protect them, but their leaders end up sacrificing themselves to let the others escape. Amidst the battle, Ash fights Arnold, who was restored into a cyborg equipped with an Anti-Geass device that he uses to dispel the effects of Sakuya's Geass on him. Furious with Sakuya for impersonating his brother and using him, he leaves the battlefield and storms Christoph's lab. Ash fights and defeats Christoph, who flees and Sakuya apologizes to Ash for using him as he prepares himself to kill her.
Ash decides to spare Sakuya and keep working with her to liberate Hokkaido, following a promise he made with her father. Christoph kills himself to prevent being put under her Geass and Norland sends Narah as an ambassador to initiate peace talks with the United Federation of Nations. A few months later, large robotic units called Loki, invade countries around the world from the shore, killing all humans in sight and Narah realizes that it is a ploy by Norland. As the Black Knights are in disarray with the sudden attack, Rozé and Ash discover that their friends are also under attack by the same machines.
Norland disposes of his subordinate who developed the Loki. All armies around the world fight desperately the robots while Sakuya and Ash take the oportunity to invade the palace in order to rescue Sakura. Walther and Sakura escape from the Loki through an underground tunnel with help from Catherine, who decides to stay behind. Sakuya invades Norland's office and discover that the Loki were his creation. Arnold appears and challenges Ash to a duel. While Ash kills Arnold, Sakuya confronts Norland, who reveals himself as a clone of her grandfather, the former Britannian emperor Charles zi Britannia, created to be a new vessel for his mind, which was prevented with Charles' death. Since then all his actions so far were in preparation for his true objective which is the extermination of all humanity. Norland escapes by piloting his own Knightmare Frame, with Sakuya and Ash chasing after him.
In December 2020, it was announced that a new anime project for Code Geass franchise was green-lit, with Yoshimitsu Ohashi directing the series at Sunrise, with Noboru Kimura providing the screenplay from an original story by co-creators Gorō Taniguchi and Ichirō Ōkouchi, Takahiro Kimura co-designing the characters with Shuichi Shimamura from original character concept by manga artist group CLAMP, and music composed by Kenji Kawai.[13] In December 2023, it was announced that it would be a four-part film project, and Kōhei Amasaki and Makoto Furukawa was cast as Rozé and Ash, respectively.[14][15] In March and April 2024, more cast members were announced.[7][11] The four-part film series' name was originally titled "Code Geass: Z of the Recapture" (コードギアス 奪還のゼット, Kōdo Giasu: Dakkan no Zetto), but was changed to "Code Geass: Rozé of the Recapture". Media reported that this was due to international circumstances, referring to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which the Z symbol was associated with the Russian army.[16]
The opening theme song is "Running in My Head" performed by Miyavi,[14] while the ending theme song is "Rozé (prod. TeddyLoid)" performed by Hikari Mitsushima.[17]
Reception
Box office
The first film failed to reach top 10 in the Japanese box office in its first week.[18] The second and third films debuted at number 7 in their opening weekends.[19][20] The final film entered number 10 in its opening weekend.[21]
Critical reception
Richard Eisenbeis of Anime News Network gave the first film an A- rating, and stated "Not only does it give us an excellent main character in Rozé (someone who feels both similar to and distinct from our previous protagonists), but also a true Code Geass story without undercutting what came before."[22] For the second film, he gave a B+ rating, and stated "Outside of the big battle, the rest of this part of the anime spends time on intrigue rather than action."[23] The third film received an A- rating, and stated "It hits the majority of its emotional beats well—especially those involving Ash and Sakuya—and the story is exciting with some truly excellent twists and turns."[24] The final film received a B- rating, and stated "The pacing issues are just so egregious, especially here at the end, that they hinder not only the story but everything else as well[…]But when it comes down to it, this is what we're left with: an often enjoyable but regretfully flawed sequel to one of the 2000s' most seminal anime."[25]
Notes
^Released through the streaming service's Hulu and Star content hubs
References
^コードギアス 奪還のロゼ 第1幕 [Code Geass: Rozé of the Recapture -Act I-]. eiga.com (in Japanese). May 10, 2024. Retrieved May 10, 2024.
^コードギアス 奪還のロゼ 第2幕 [Code Geass: Rozé of the Recapture -Act II-]. eiga.com (in Japanese). May 31, 2024. Retrieved May 31, 2024.
^コードギアス 奪還のロゼ 第3幕 [Code Geass: Rozé of the Recapture -Act III-]. eiga.com (in Japanese). Retrieved June 28, 2024.
^コードギアス 奪還のロゼ 最終幕 [Code Geass: Rozé of the Recapture -Final Act-]. eiga.com (in Japanese). July 16, 2024. Retrieved July 16, 2024.
