This site is designed for accessibility. Content is obtainable and functional to any browser or Internet device. This site's full visual experience is available in a modern browser that supports web standards. Please consider upgrading your browser.
ファイト／ステイナイト 
Update: included better images.
The solution to the problem that Lelouch faced on last week's episode turns out to be a lot more interesting than what I had anticipated. It still surprises me to see Rolo helping Lelouch willingly like this. It looks like Lelouch's pep talk has really got into him because his turnover from enemy to ally is very quick. I do wonder about the rest of Lelouch's alliance though. Because at the end of the day, he's still a Britannian. What would happen if the rest of Black Knights find out about this? Sure, several members like Karen has accepted it so far but would others be happy as well if they know that their leader is actually a Britannian? And then there are 'uneasy' alliance that he's made with unwilling parties like Villetta or willing but possibly have other motives like Li and the Chinese Federation. Most importantly, there is C.C. IIRC, so far we still have no idea what she demands from Lelouch in exchange of giving him geass. What if at the end of the series, her request ends up being in conflict with Lelouch's interest? Will Lelouch honor her request or betray it?
Orange Range - O2 (45MB, PSP/Quicktime format) | YouTube version
To be honest I didn't really like song the first time I heard it. While the lyric seems relevant to Lelouch and Nunnaly's situation in Code Geass R2, the actual melody and composition of the song are not really the best that I've heard coming Orange Range. I am actually kind of amused that the producers decided to use Orange Range and wondered if they want the viewers to be reminded of Orange-kun. I don't think that's the case but it's a bit amusing everytime I heard about it. Anyway, I still think the song is not as great as Colors but the full version seems to be better and less abrupt than the TV Size. The PV itself is very funny and features Orange Range members dressed up as Samurai in Edo period. They end up helping this one hapless Samurai to be with his lover when the hapless Samurai is beaten up by a bunch of henchmen. At one point, one of the members actually moves at a lightning speed and grabs all of the swords from the henchmen's hand. On a glance, it looks similar to what Rolo can do when he uses his geass. In general though, nothing about the PV gives any impression of Code Geass.
This is a rather nice surprise from the series. The comedy is actually spot on and the little twists and turns provided in between are enough to make me want to see the next episode. I'm also surprised to see the new Suzaku, who seems to be smart enough to play tactician against Lelouch. Granted that it's not over yet but he just checked Lelouch into a corner during the last few minutes of this episode. This episode is also chock-full of fanservice and the good thing about this is that most of them are actually hilarious. Because of this, I'm not even going to attempt normal summary. I'm just going to highlight what amuses me during the episode and a little bit of the plot if necessary. It'll be a nice thing to do once in a while and at least this way I'll get to sleep a bit earlier. :D
Well, now we know that Rollo's power doesn't actually freeze time but it does stop the physical movement time of a person that is enveloped within his geass sphere. To make it easier, I'll just say that his power basically stops a person from moving but not anything else in the world. Anyway, what impressed me is the turn of event that takes place in this story. I kind of suspect that Lelouch needs some kind of miracle in order to win the duel with Guilford. True enough, he manages to create one by diverting Rollo's loyalty to him. With Rollo as his ally, Lelouch can be a lot more powerful than he is at the moment. I do think this will blow up in Lelouch's face one day but Sunrise thrives on that kind of drama so I'll just sit and watch the train wreck from here on forward. While this is fun and all, I am still dying for the story to move on a lot quicker than it is now. As a side note, next week should be particularly juicy because everyone's favorite character, Suzaku, is back to the school. I can't wait to see the amount of venom unleashed on him next week.
Wow, is it just my copy or is this week's copy unusually high-res in quality? What I meant by this is that you can actually see every texture applied to the background and every effect intended to represent flowing capes, etc. I can even see Orange-kun clearly on the OP even though usually I'm not sure who that guy could be. The only exception to this is this frame, which either meant to be intentionally crappy or maybe was taken from the first season and was just redrawn. If you're wondering about the leaked videos, they are still there. I guess they don't see the point of re-drawing them when that's the point that they intend to show. Speaking of Rollo, between him and Suzaku, which one is more annoying? I just find it amusing that the animators (or is it CLAMP?) have created another character who looks almost similar to Suzaku. I suppose in Japan Suzaku is not as disliked as he is in the western anime viewers.
This video was originally posted by someone on the comment area of episode 02 but since I wasn't sure if it's a good idea to post it or not, I withheld the comment. Well, now that it blew all over the internet, I suppose it's okay to show it. Basically, someone from the production company leaked the last quarter part of episode 3. The scene in question shows Lelouch using Shirley (again) to avoid his spies (which includes Rollo and Villetta). There is also a scene where Li is seen pointing his sword at a Black Knight members. The scene in question suggests Li is not happy at them so it's likely that he knows about what happened to Gaohai. Anyway, because of the leak, there's a rumor that there won't be episode aired next week as the staff scramble to change the scene in question. Updated: episosde 3 will air as usual with no alterations.
Heh. Now, this is more like it. It's Geass at its over-the-top self. I think this is far better than when the show tries to go all philosophical or political like in the first episode. I also appreciate that the show attempts to explain the missing gap between episode 25 and the first episode of the new season right away. It'd have been a big mistake if they postpone it until later. We also get confirmation about the status of the Emperor as Geass user and what actually happened to some of the people who went missing after episode 25. Overall, this is a rather good follow-up to the first episode. And now that the Emperor is revealed as a Geass user, it's easy to see how everything connects to C.C and Marianne herself. Before I forget, I must say that while I was ready to pounce on Suzaku and call him a traitor, I am willing to give him the benefit of the doubt here. Maybe he does have a plan to infiltrate the Britannia Kingdom. However, if he does have that plan, he better starts it soon because at the moment, I don't think he looks that favorable to Lelouch or his fellow Japanese.
OP Theme: 「O2」by ORANGE RANGE - AVI version (22.6MB) | PSP version (16.9MB)
This is a pretty nice start for the sequel, I suppose. It's like a replay of the first series' first episode albeit in different kind of situation. In a lot of way, the storytelling method reminds me of several US TV series I can think at the back of my head. The biggest revelation here is that Lelouch has lost his memory after the incident that took place in the island. The second season also features a bunch of new characters which I assume will either support Lelouch's cause or Suzaku's. As for the OP/ED, I kind of like the ED theme but I thought the OP is a bit bland in comparison to the first series' 1st OP, Colors. The montage of images created by CLAMP for the ED is fantastic and makes me miss CLAMP's old series, X and Clover. I just feel that lately I haven't seen something from them which has a lot of meaning like those two titles I mentioned before.
