OVA
Description
Gene Smilas is a general in the army of the Europia United (E.U.) and a secondary character in Code Geass: Akito the Exiled. A distinguished-looking man with a full beard and grey hair, he holds a position of significant authority within the E.U. military and serves as a mentor to the young officer Leila Malcal, the daughter of his late best friend. He is consistently supportive of her ideas and praises her accomplishments throughout the story.
On the surface, Smilas appears to be an ideal commander: experienced, wise, and practical. He gives the impression of caring deeply for the people of Europia and is known to listen to the opinions of his subordinates, even when he disagrees with them. However, this professional demeanor masks a far darker and more ambitious personality. Smilas harbors a deep-seated contempt for the E.U.'s republican system and its elected council, which he views as corrupt, self-interested, and led by ignorant elites who care nothing for the citizenry. He firmly believes that the E.U.'s democracy has devolved into "mob rule" and that this weakness will lead to the nation's conquest by Euro Britannia. He greatly admires Napoleon Bonaparte for his achievements after the French Revolution and wishes he had succeeded in becoming Emperor of Europe. Smilas is convinced that a skilled dictator is far more beneficial to humanity than a democracy of ignorant people, and he aspires to follow in Napoleon's footsteps to become a dictator himself, with the ultimate goal of becoming Emperor of Europe.
Smilas's primary motivation is to seize power and reform the E.U. by force, establishing an authoritarian regime. To achieve this, he proves to be utterly ruthless and manipulative with no qualms about betraying anyone. He sees the chaos caused by the Ark Fleet attacks and the public unrest as the perfect opportunity to execute his coup. His plan is to use Leila as a Joan of Arc figure to rally the populace and turn the tide against Britannia. He has her give a motivating speech in which she reveals her heritage as the daughter of a popular, defected Britannian politician, successfully galvanizing the people behind her.
Shortly after establishing Leila as a charismatic symbol, Smilas betrays her and her entire W-0 unit. When Castle Weisswolf comes under siege by the Knights of St. Michael, he prematurely declares Leila killed in action and uses the public's anger and grief over her supposed death to rally the E.U. population for war against Euro Britannia. This manufactured crisis is designed to make the masses accept his intention to turn the E.U. into a dictatorship with himself at its head.
Smilas's key relationship is with Leila Malcal, whom he initially treats with paternalistic support while secretly engineering her rise and fall for his own gain. He was a close friend of her father before his murder, which gives him a personal connection to her past. His other significant connection is to the enigmatic Geass Order, as he is visited by its members and has prior knowledge of the powerful Geass user Shin Hyuga Shaing. It is implied that he made a contract with the Caretaker of Spacetime, a mysterious entity connected to the power of Geass, in exchange for power to achieve his goals.
Smilas does not have any notable superhuman fighting abilities. His power lies entirely in his rank, strategic position, political cunning, and skill at manipulating people and events. Ultimately, his ambition leads to his downfall. At the end of the series, he is confronted by Ashley Ashra, a pilot from the Knights of St. Michael. In a turn of events orchestrated by the Caretaker of Spacetime, Ashley is teleported directly in front of Smilas and kills him in a single, decisive attack. His death leaves a power vacuum, and the E.U. later splits into factions of those who supported the existing government and those who supported Smilas's ideals, a division that contributes to the E.U.'s eventual conquest by Britannia. In the end, Smilas is revealed to be not a well-intentioned reformer but simply a power-hungry man who used the ideals of revolution as a cover for his own ambitions for world domination.
On the surface, Smilas appears to be an ideal commander: experienced, wise, and practical. He gives the impression of caring deeply for the people of Europia and is known to listen to the opinions of his subordinates, even when he disagrees with them. However, this professional demeanor masks a far darker and more ambitious personality. Smilas harbors a deep-seated contempt for the E.U.'s republican system and its elected council, which he views as corrupt, self-interested, and led by ignorant elites who care nothing for the citizenry. He firmly believes that the E.U.'s democracy has devolved into "mob rule" and that this weakness will lead to the nation's conquest by Euro Britannia. He greatly admires Napoleon Bonaparte for his achievements after the French Revolution and wishes he had succeeded in becoming Emperor of Europe. Smilas is convinced that a skilled dictator is far more beneficial to humanity than a democracy of ignorant people, and he aspires to follow in Napoleon's footsteps to become a dictator himself, with the ultimate goal of becoming Emperor of Europe.
Smilas's primary motivation is to seize power and reform the E.U. by force, establishing an authoritarian regime. To achieve this, he proves to be utterly ruthless and manipulative with no qualms about betraying anyone. He sees the chaos caused by the Ark Fleet attacks and the public unrest as the perfect opportunity to execute his coup. His plan is to use Leila as a Joan of Arc figure to rally the populace and turn the tide against Britannia. He has her give a motivating speech in which she reveals her heritage as the daughter of a popular, defected Britannian politician, successfully galvanizing the people behind her.
Shortly after establishing Leila as a charismatic symbol, Smilas betrays her and her entire W-0 unit. When Castle Weisswolf comes under siege by the Knights of St. Michael, he prematurely declares Leila killed in action and uses the public's anger and grief over her supposed death to rally the E.U. population for war against Euro Britannia. This manufactured crisis is designed to make the masses accept his intention to turn the E.U. into a dictatorship with himself at its head.
Smilas's key relationship is with Leila Malcal, whom he initially treats with paternalistic support while secretly engineering her rise and fall for his own gain. He was a close friend of her father before his murder, which gives him a personal connection to her past. His other significant connection is to the enigmatic Geass Order, as he is visited by its members and has prior knowledge of the powerful Geass user Shin Hyuga Shaing. It is implied that he made a contract with the Caretaker of Spacetime, a mysterious entity connected to the power of Geass, in exchange for power to achieve his goals.
Smilas does not have any notable superhuman fighting abilities. His power lies entirely in his rank, strategic position, political cunning, and skill at manipulating people and events. Ultimately, his ambition leads to his downfall. At the end of the series, he is confronted by Ashley Ashra, a pilot from the Knights of St. Michael. In a turn of events orchestrated by the Caretaker of Spacetime, Ashley is teleported directly in front of Smilas and kills him in a single, decisive attack. His death leaves a power vacuum, and the E.U. later splits into factions of those who supported the existing government and those who supported Smilas's ideals, a division that contributes to the E.U.'s eventual conquest by Britannia. In the end, Smilas is revealed to be not a well-intentioned reformer but simply a power-hungry man who used the ideals of revolution as a cover for his own ambitions for world domination.