Code Geass: Akito the Exiled-Episode III: The Brightness Falls (2015)

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General		Extras
Category	Anime	Trailer-Japanese PV Trailer-Japanese Trailer Trailer-x 4 for other anime More…-Textless Closing Song
Rating
Year Of Production	2015
Running Time	60:09
RSDL / Flipper	No/No	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	4	Directed By	Kazuki Akane
Studio Distributor	Madman Entertainment	Starring	Maaya Sakamoto Miyu Irino Satoshi Hino Yoshitsuga Matsuoka Yoko Hikasa Masaya Matsukage Jun Fukuyama
Case	Alpha-Transparent
RPI	?	Music	Ichiko Hashimoto

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	Japanese Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.78:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	1.78:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English	Smoking	No
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	Yes, during and after end credits

     Code Geass Akito the Exiled Episode III: The Brightness Falls (Code Geass: Boukoku no Akito 3 – Kagayaku Mono no Ten Yori Otsu) is the third episode of a spin off from Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion that takes place seven years after The Holy Britannian Empire has conquered much of the world including Japan, which is designated colony Area 11. The nations of the United Republic of Europa are still holding out against Euro-Britannian and Leila Malcal (Maaya Sakamoto), the daughter of a Britannian noble who defected to Europa, has formed a special military “Wyvern” Knightmare unit called W-0 with the despised and expendable Japanese exiles Akito Hyuga (Miyu Irino), Ryo (Satoshi Hino), Yukiya (Yoshitsuga Matsuoka) and Ayano (Yoko Hikasa).

     Code Geass Akito the Exiled Episode III: The Brightness Falls commences with a recap of the Britannian conquest of Japan and the situation in Europa before continuing the story. Leila and the W-0 unit have had their IDs revoked and, without money or identity, are taken in by a group of elderly female gypsies in the woods who teach Leila something about self-sufficiency. The new military advisor of the Euro-Britannian forces, Julius Kingsley ( Jun Fukuyama), accompanied by Suzaku Kururagi (Takahiro Sakurai), a Knight of the Round, has with the authority of the Emperor taken control over all the forces confronting Europa and unleashes a wave of misinformation and terror, causing panic and rioting across Europa. The Europa military under General Smilas (Unshou Ishizuka) decide it is time for a coup to get rid of the teetering civilian government while in Euro-Britannian Shin Hyuga Shaing (Masaya Matsukage), a man with Geass powers, leader of the Order of Michael and older brother of Akito, discovers the true identity of Julius Kingsley and makes his own play for power.

     Other than one loud and frenetic battle with Knightmare fighting machines near the end (which does not involve the W-0 unit), Code Geass Akito the Exiled Episode III: The Brightness Falls is a more lightweight episode featuring political machinations and betrayals on both sides of the conflict. Various characters flit through the episode so you do need to remember who is who, especially as it has been a while since the last episode, and while we do learn more about Leila and her real family, the interlude with the gypsies is little more than showing the W-0 team starting to bond. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of The Brightness Falls is the increased interconnection between the Code Geass Akito the Exiled set and Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion, such as the appearance of Suzaku and the green haired C.C. (Yukana).

     Code Geass Akito the Exiled Episode III: The Brightness Falls is the third of what will be five episodes. The first and second episodes were reviewed in this site here and here. The final two episodes in the series Episode IV: Memories of Hatred and Episode V: To the Beloved Ones have been shown overseas but are not on the Madman release schedule at present.

Video

     Code Geass Akito the Exiled Episode III: The Brightness Falls is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, the original ratio, and is 16x9 enhanced.

     This is not the sharpest looking print although the pastel colours are quite beautiful with the greens and blues of the trees and gardens, the city and sky lovely to look at while the reds and yellows of gunfire and explosions are deep and vibrant. Blacks and shadow detail are good, brightness and contract consistent.

     Marks are absent however there is more line shimmer during the show including the end titles than I am used to seeing.

     It is anime so lip synchronisation is approximate.

     The English subtitles are in a clear white font. They are easy to read and do not contain errors. In the subtitles the W-0 unit becomes wZERO.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

     Audio is Japanese Dolby Digital 5.1 at 448 Kbps.

     There is a lot of dialogue in this episode and it seems clear enough. The surrounds and rears are utilised for music, during the Knightmare fight and during the snowstorm and there are some panning effects, such as engines. The sub-woofer provided appropriate support to the crash and thump of the fighting machines, explosions and the storm.

     The score by Ichiko Hashimoto was generally effective, although I do continue to find the jazzy trumpet during the action scene intrusive.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Japanese Trailer (1:55)

Japanese PVs (1:07)

     Four TV spots for the series and the Blu-ray DVD release.

Textless Closing (1:34)

     The closing song without the credits.

Trailers

     Trailers for Nobunaga the Fool Part 1 (1:38), Outbreak Company Series Collection (1:36), Wanna Be the Strongest in the World Series Collection (1:11) and Blazblue: Alter Memory Series Collection (1:04).

    There is not at present any DVD version of Code Geass Akito the Exiled Episode III: The Brightness Falls in either Region 1 US or Region 2 UK. There are Region 2 Japanese and Region 2 Italian releases but neither is English friendly. Region 4 wins.

     Code Geass Akito the Exiled Episode III: The Brightness Falls is a somewhat lightweight and dialogue heavy episode of this Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion spin off although it does give some hints as to where the series is going. Now expanded to five episodes I expect the action will ramp up in the following episodes.

     The video and audio are good although nothing special. Extras are minimal, but there is nothing English friendly available in other regions.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall