Kita ze Inbou! - キタぜ陰謀!

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Airdate: April 6th
OP: “O2″ by ORANGE RANGE
ED: “Shiawase Neiro” by ORANGE RANGE
Production: Sunrise

[ Turn 01: The Day the Devil Awakened ]

CODE GEASS is back baby and better than ever!

OP Sequence

OP: [O2～オー・ツー～ (Oh-Tsuu)] by ORANGE RANGE
Listen to the OP: Mirror 1 | Mirror 2 | Mirror 3

It feels SO GOOD to finally be watching Code Geass again. R2 was easily my most anticipated show of the Spring 2008 season and possibly for the entire year. I hadn’t been too concerned about the return of Geass and if it would be as good as the first season, especially since Sunrise just finished doing such an excellent job with Gundam 00. That said, R2 started off in a rush of awesomeness. Granted there wasn’t a ton of action packed in but it appeared where it was necessary. We were casually reintroduced to much of the main and supporting which ranged from (excluding Lelou, C.C., and Kallen) Villeta who is now a sexy gym teacher, Milly, Shirley, Rivalz, Toudou, Tamaki, Nagisa, Ougi, and Suzaku. We were also introduced to Rollo who I’ve never liked based on previous images and information. I am interested in what his role in R2 will be though now that Lelouch has regain his memories and the fake ones are gone.

The animation was stunning. R2 being aired in HD skyrocketed the already excellent artwork that graces each frame. Everything looked so sharp during episode and it was especially apparent in the close-ups such as when bunny Kallen started kicking ass. Seriously, there’s no way you can ignore her bouncing boobs nor the semi-blatant crotch shot. The LelouchxC.C. kiss looked especially nice in HD as well. ^^; The music was heaven to my ears just like it was in the first season. I’m looking forward to hearing the new stuff this season has to offer. Speaking of the music, the new OP and ED compliment Geass so well, especially the OP. The song itself wasn’t something I’ve come to expect from them but the familiar sound and style is still woven throughout the song, particularly halfway through. The ED, Shiawase Neiro, which was also done by Orange Range was really nice but is pretty much second to O2. I LOVED the artwork CLAMP did for the ED sequence though.

Back to the episode content, I’m psyched to see what Lelouch will do from hereon out. Now that he has finally met up with C.C., Kallen, and the remnants of the Black Knights I can expect him to go after Toudou and the others pretty soon. The Emperor is now taking up a more involved and direct role in the story as we find out that he was the one who ordered troops to use Lelouch as bait to lure out C.C. and we get to see him appear before his Knights. From the OP we also now know that he has a Geass in his right eye. As for what it does is anyone’s guess.

There’s also still the issue of what happened back in the cave at the end of the first season. I know they weren’t going to answer all of these questions at the beginning but it did run through my mind quite a bit during the episode. Kallen knows that Lelouch is definitely Zero now and it doesn’t seem like her memory was affected unlike Lelouch. That is another question I expect will be answered in the early episodes. This is pure speculation on my part but the whole memory thing is either someone’s Geass ability (Suzaku’s?) or some kind of relic or seal was activated. I’m most likely wrong but I just can’t help but think up possible explanations until that is finally revealed. Lastly, where is Nunnally?! I really hope she’s OK. =(

At this point, I think it’s obvious that I’m absolutely friggin’ excited and craving MORE Geass. We have 24-ish episodes left for more excellent plot and character development to be bestowed to us as well as answers to questions I’ve been dying to hear. The first episode wasted no time kicking off the excitement and I’m pretty damn sure that we’re in for one hell of a ride this season. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ll be going to watch the episode again. ^__^

(ｷﾀ━━━━━━(ﾟ∀ﾟ)━━━━━━ !!!!!)

Good grief how long has it been since I’ve seen you last, Geass? Well over several months and R2 finally shows up. Alright, let’s get down to it already. Also, I had a little bit of hard time watching it initially. Computer’s a piece of scrap after all.

The first thing to notice is that it starts off not where we left off, but actually a yearly gap. In a sense, this showed many parallels to the first season’s premiere. Hell, even the title is reminiscent to the Stage 1’s. Looks like nearly everything is the same before Zero except the fact that the Japanese are in a much worse state than they were before and most of the Black Knights have been arrested. Oh, and a bunch of people show up from out of nowhere. What I want to know is how C.C. came back. Okay, I know she’s practically immortal, but the escape is a different story. If she can survive, does that mean Jeremiah did too? Speaking of Jeremiah, I’m sure you all noticed the awesome new OP. The guy in the desert? That looks like him doesn’t it? Then again, maybe that’s what we’re supposed to believe. AFAIK, he’s Knight of One from Knights of the Rounds, but is this Knight actually Jeremiah or someone related? Among the newcomers we meet Li from the Chinese Union, who definitely looks like a badass with that sword. He’s described (paraphrasing) as one with as much knowledge as Lelouch and the physical skills of Suzaku. Now that’s a great combo of characteristics IMO.

So I didn’t expect there to be intensity halfway through. Both the Britannian Empire and the OBK totaled the building, looking for Lelouch, killing a lot in the process. Kallen (or is she now just Karen?) seemed to have been undercover the whole time until the gang came by. I too was wondering how the hell Britannia knew what he was doing all this time. Looks like there was someone with him the whole time who was actually a spy. We should all come to the same conclusion who that was. With that in mind, looks like that explains the false memories Lelouch had. That would explain why there seemed to be no questioning about where Rollo came from out of nowhere. I think the best scene is definitely when C.C. comes to get Lelouch but took a bullet. Lelouch is cornered again wishing he had the power to defeat them when suddenly C.C. moves yet again! These guys should know that nothing can stop C.C. With one kiss, the devil awakes once again and takes down the men and that’s when the OBK make their cue entrance to pick him up. Now it looks like things are gonna escalate more from here.

Fukuyama did a splendid job as Lelouch, as always. Notice the difference in his tone before and after he regained his memories? It’s very much like before. His voice sounded pure and calm but after taking the Zero approach you now notice his voice goes way deep and has a strong presence in it that it grasps your attention. The last parallel is, of course, the ending where he uses Geass on all the men.

All in all, great start again. ‘Nuff said, really. I want to say too that the new ED is also great. CLAMP illustrations are always excellent stuff and this was no exception. All the scenes are brilliantly drawn. See the one with V.V. and the Emperor? Looks like that already convinces you about him. Even the OP had a bit of spoils with that. Next Turn is looking to be great. Hopefully we get a few more answers in this one rather than more questions. Oh, BTW, I’m extremely pleased to hear Previous Notice once again as the ending preview. Mixing Kotaro’s new and old Geass music is definitely music to my ears.

ED Sequence

ED: [シアワセネイロ (Shiawase Neiro)] by ORANGE RANGE
Listen to the ED: Mirror 1 | Mirror 2 | Mirror 3