"What the hell is going in this episode" you say? Well it's definitely a filler... but at least it serves its purpose in giving the characters more development. We get to see how they interact and how they've changed from past episodes. And it's not entirely a filler, no, that'd be a waste of a one-hour episode series. This episode continues the mystery of Code Geass; unlike the first, this is about the mysteriousness of Geass and not about the changing of the world by our characters. What is Geass? Who are they that wield the power to take and give to the humans of this world? This is what I like best about Boukoku no Akito.
Story: 9
The story continues with the refreshment of our wZERO squad, who are taking a little, well-deserved break from fighting behind enemy lines. Though their break is short-lived, at least we got to see the characters in happy mode. But it also continues, as I like to say again, the mysteriousness of Geass. What is Leila's Geass power? How and what did General Smilas do to upset the Order? Why did Shin murder his "family"? And, the biggest question of all, how did Shin Shaing obtain his power?
Art: 10
Art is the same as ever by CLAMP, but everything looks much smoother than the original, which I must admire because this is 2015 after all.
Sound/Music: 9
The sounds are amazing, but the music is kind of questionable. The jazz-like music playing during the fights sounds hilarious but it somehow resonates with the chaotic speed at which the battles progress. I get hyped up from watching the battles as they are, by far, the best 3D CG animated battles I've seen in anime so far. However, there is none of that; instead we get music that fits these nomadic people (I forgot the name for them xP)
Characters: 8
Akito - still a psychopath hell-bent on killing and suicide, but at least he is changing little by little with Leila's influence. Leila - the innocent commander and, lo and behold, rich-girl-who-can't-do-chores-for-shit. The trio of juveniles - actually quite nice kids after they've opened up, after realizing that there's someone else with a more twisted history than them who is facing it alone, though it's slightly unrealistic how they did a near-180 after the 2nd episode. At least we got to see them as who they are when they're having fun (FOR ONCE).
Enjoyment: 10
I'd have to say that this was an enjoyable episode; it's a good break from the fast-paced mecha action the first 2 episodes had. Though there is a little bit of action, it's toned down far enough to level with the calmness of the episode. Lelouch's rousing the European people into rioting was very nicely done; it seemed realistic enough to be applicable. There's none of the loud jazz-like action music in this episode.
Overall: 9
Some minor flaws to make it the perfect episode, but then again, perfection is hard to achieve. Also, you CAN'T compare this to the original Code Geass because Boukoku no Akito takes a completely different approach to the series; instead of the typical boy-meets-girl-and-gains-superpowers, its about a boy-trying-to-reconcile-with-his-past, more similar to Ranpo Kitan. And I'd like to say that Ranpo Kitan pales when compared to this OAV series (Who the hell was the main character in that show again, Kobayashi or Akechi?). This series has been great so far.
