CODE GEASS R2 Matsuri Special

 

Instead of episode nine, there was a CODE GEASS special aired this week featuring comedian Arino Shinya, idol Natsukawa Jun, comedy duo Sandwichman, comedy duo America Zarigani, and new voice actress Miyake Hitomi. The only thing really worth noting from this special is the preview for episodes nine and ten, and I’ve uploaded that above.
Hit the jump for screencaps and impressions of the rest of the Akihabara special as well as some speculation about the preview.

ORANGE RANGE – O2 PV (CODE GEASS R2 OP1)

 

While I was kind of looking forward to another FLOW OP song for CODE GEASS this season, what we got instead was ORANGE RANGE. At first, this song seemed a bit out of place to me, especially after hearing FLOW’s “WORD OF THE VOICE”, which is used as the second OP of PERSONA -trinity soul-. When I compared these two songs at the time, I couldn’t help but think how FLOW’s song seemed to fit CODE GEASS better (subjectively speaking), but that was undoubtedly because it was more reminiscent of “COLORS” used in season one’s OP.

Regardless, this song has grown on me after listening to it for a while, although I’m sure having it affiliated with CODE GEASS adds to its appeal. My first exposure to ORANGE RANGE’s music was probably the first OP of Bleach, titled “*~Asterisk”. Back then, their founding member, Kitao Kitahito (北尾 一人) a.k.a. “KATCHAN”, was still a part of the group. Kitahito was the drummer, but has since left due to supposed “creative differences”. History aside, the interesting thing about ORANGE RANGE is that the group features three vocalists, who provide the low, mid, and high range of vocals we hear in their various songs. “O2” in particular focuses on high range vocals, which are so high at times that I sometimes mistake Ganeko Yamato (我如古 大和) for a girl. o_O

More after the jump…