Code Geass: Shikkoku no Renya · review
This title offers very little of interest to any Code Geass fan. I'm a Code Geass fanatic myself and trust me, you can skip this one. There are no mechas and there is no Lelouch. CC appears here but she barely plays a role in the story. What does this story offer though? PLOT 5/10: The plot revolves around the conflict between main characters Renya and Dash. However anything interesting these two can offer is going to be dragged out by pointless battles against shallow villains. The story repeats a cycle of the party of characters travelling, encountering a villain, fighting them in shounen style, defeating themand repeat. These fights add nothing and aren't interesting by themselves. By the end of the story you are going to be teased of a more complex conflict with more parties being introduced but the execution is just more shounen fighting in the most basic way possible.
CHARACTERS 6/10:
I said the villains are shallow, actually every character is shallow. The only relevant plot is between Renya and Dash and the story fails to give the supporting cast a meaningful role in this. However, I must give them credit as they add a sort of charisma into the story, even if it is a small one. I found myself invested in their wellbeing.
I have to give a special mention to Dash. In my opinion the best written character and the only interesting part in this story. First he's surrounded in mistery but it's a treat when the story explores his background and inner conflict. It's just a dissapointment his story is diluted in an overall mediocre title.
ART 7/10:
The character desing is strong and pretty. Some of the characters are spins on original Code Geass character designs and I personally like it. Each character stands on its own. However my problem lies on the fight scenes. Maybe it's me but I find them quite messy and difficult to follow. The coreographies aren't impressive either. Other than that, the art is a treat.
OVERALL 6/10:
It doesn't really have what made Code Geass great. Only one character is interesting but his story is diluted in between pointless fights difficult to follow visually. I like the character design though.