Code Geass:Akito the Exiled 01
Oh boy, I did not like this a single bit. The mix of CG and 2D is far too jarring to justify the transition. It just doesn't look good to me at all. It lacks a lot of the style present in the original show. Honestly, I'm surprised it looks so bad given how damn good the CG Sunrise did for Gundam Unicorn looks. The mech designs are also significantly worse for me. The main new mech we see the protagonist use in the first battle is oddly lanky and has just an atrocious head design. We also get a couple more traditional Geass mecha, which are alright if a bit boring, and a Tachikoma look alike which seems out of place.
The story is where it really falls apart for me. It tries to give a more serious take on war, but with no likable characters to grasp onto it falls flat. I hate every single person here. They are all either insane, boring, or completely oblivious to their surroundings. The fact that all the villains are just cackling madmen takes away any sort of serious message it try to put forth. They give us a more "serious" show, yet put in cartoon-level evil villains and still expect us to believe they fit. The basic plot itself also did nothing for me. Even once I had a grasp on what was going on, I had a hard time caring. I mean, I feel bad for the civilians caught in the crossfire, but I have zero interest in the conflict as a whole. Neither side makes a good enough case for itself for me to really get invested in the story they try to tell.
Overall, I sort of hated it. I may give the second episode a shot and see if they can pull off something interesting, since a 4 episode OVA is such a minimal time commitment, but so far this show has been nothing but a disappointment.
