The Witching Hours

Love the plot and your writing style. Keep up the good work! :)

I wasn’t certain what to anticipate when I started this manga series. My plan was to complete the entire series since it only consisted of two volumes, but after finishing the first volume, I found it so terrible that I can't see any way the second volume could redeem this retelling of one of my favorite series.

Firstly, if this is supposed to be a retelling of Code Geass from Suzaku’s perspective, it's shocking how many inaccuracies there are. There are no Knightmare Frames. None at all. Suzaku’s prototype Lancelot suit is just a regular battle outfit that resembles someone's Gundam cosplay you might find at a convention. The Black Knights, instead of operating a fleet of Knightmare Frames, are simply ordinary drug traffickers. Consequently, there are no mech-to-mech battles, as Britannia isn't shown to possess Knightmare Frames either, so battles revolve around hand-to-hand combat. Other inaccuracies abound: Here, Prince Clovis’s murder is simplified to the point of being bland, Suzaku’s subsequent trial and public execution from the anime are completely distorted, as well as Zero’s kidnapping of Suzaku afterward. But perhaps the biggest insult to the series is the true intention of Suzaku’s father. Due to this distortion, the entire basis of Suzaku’s philosophy and intentions in the anime are entirely ruined, and Suzaku’s development as a character is further hindered by the fact that Lelouch never used his Geass on him in the manga!

One of the things I cherished about the Code Geass anime is the relationships among the characters. Here, there is none of the strategic, chess-like intensity between the Black Knights and the Britannian Empire, and you don't feel much of Suzaku’s internal conflict with himself at all, because of the destruction of his character foundation. His philosophy is highlighted during his first encounter with Lelouch as a soldier, after his rescue during the trial, and when he first donned the Lancelot suit. However, it is so weakly portrayed here that the fact the manga prides itself on being a “Code Geass told through Suzaku’s eyes” makes it even more offensive. Suzaku’s relationships with other characters, to say the least, are poorly executed. Much of the time it's a distorted version of his inner conflict, but his relationship with Lelouch, deeply explored in the anime, feels distant and cold here. It feels like their relationship is held together by used Post-it Notes and Scotch Tape rather than something developed over years of hardship and understanding. Arthur doesn't come up to bite Suzaku’s finger, and Nunnally is portrayed as "my best friend’s little sister" rather than a member of the royal family.

Many characters were shoehorned in for a few scenes and lack much of their distinct personalities, such as Kallen, CC, Prince Schneizel, and most of all, Jeremiah, who here is portrayed as an out-of-character generic soldier. If you just read this manga and skipped the anime, the name Orange-kun wouldn’t mean anything. Many characters are cut out from the anime, such as Princess Cornelia, King Charles, Villetta, Nina, Rivalz, Milly, and all the Black Knights except for Kallen.

But… the absolute, most unforgivable character they cut out would have to be Princess Euphemia, who is replaced with a shallowly developed character named Mariel. For a manga centered around Suzaku, this is perhaps the pinnacle of idiocy this manga has to offer. Euphemia is the catalyst of Suzaku’s actions from a third of the way into R1 all the way until at least halfway into R2. She sets things into motion towards the end of R1, and if she were cut, there is no chance of telling the Code Geass series accurately.

The premise of this manga is an interesting idea. The conflict of ideals shown between Lelouch and Suzaku are a major theme of the anime series. It goes beyond good vs evil and transcends into what’s morally right and morally wrong, and why they all act the way they do. The anime is told from a Lelouch-centric perspective, and oftentimes Suzaku is portrayed in a negative, naïve light. But the basis for Suzaku’s actions is strong, and it would have been wonderful to see an interpretation of Code Geass from his point-of-view. But this manga’s claim of itself as Code Geass told from Suzaku’s perspective is an insult to the Code Geass name. It's even an insult to the character it tries to focus on. For the proper Code Geass experience, I do urge you to watch the anime series- both R1 and R2- and avoid this manga series like the plague.

I was really looking forward to a manga that claimed it would present Suzaku's perspective, but it simply fails to deliver.  
Moreover, the entire narrative is utterly destroyed: the mecha aspect is completely absent, all ingenious strategies are swapped out for foolish actions that wouldn't succeed in reality, and worst of all, it drastically downplays the gravity of the war until it feels like nothing more than a group of overly dramatic teenagers playing around. It’s definitely not a conflict with humanity's survival on the line. Everything that makes Code Geass exceptional — the intricate character psychology, the masterful tactics, the intense battles, the ethical dilemmas surrounding sacrifices for the greater good, and the evolution from fighting for personal motives to surrendering everything for the sake of humanity — is not only missing here but explicitly contradicted by changes made to events, showing little to no regard for the source material.  
This ends up being just an embarrassing tale of overly serious youths battling for trivial and vague reasons.  
The artwork is mediocre.

<p>Just to clarify, this is not a retelling of Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion. This takes place in a different timeline, with Suzaku as the main protagonist. Like the original series, the artwork was decent. Nothing extraordinary caught the eye, but it was reliable. The narrative had immense potential, and it's disappointing that the author resorted to a deus ex machina at the conclusion, when they could have crafted a truly intriguing ending for the series. The story leading up to the finale is passable, not as strong as the original, but still tolerable. However, in my view, the ending undermines the entire story. Code Geass ranks as my favorite manga series, and I genuinely wouldn't recommend this version.</p>

I don't about you guys but i found this novel somewhat interesting, and now there is a new chapter, i just hope that author continue this novel.

Thou Lord hath answered with an update!

When’s the update gonna be finished?