Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion, Cartoon Network, Saturday nights 2am (Sun. morn)
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Okay. Well. Seems to be an alternate history kind of thing, where the Holy Britannian Empire took over the whole world, or something. In the year 2010 of the Britannian calendar, the Empire declared war on Japan. Using these mobile suits called "Knightmare Frames," they quickly conqured Japan and renamed it "Area 11." The show starts 7 years later, but at first it's kind of confusing. There's a student at Ashford Private Academy, in Area 11, named Lelouch Lamperouge. Then there is a Japanese resistance against the Britannians, including Kallen Stadtfeld (who we quite like) and Kaname Ohgi. (Kallen's real surname, btw, is Kozuki.) They apparently have a Knightmare Frame which Kallen pilots. And they steal something from the Britannians which is supposedly poison gas, but the capsule turns out to contain a strange girl (who we like). And anyway, Lelouch gets mixed up with them. Then a young honorary Britannian soldier named Suzaku Kururugi (an "Eleven" by birth, the son of Japan's last prime minister) shows up. He and Lelouch were childhood friends, and seem not to have seen each other in a long time, and are surprised to see each other again, and to see the paths each have taken. Then a group of Britannian soldiers show up. They apparently kill Suzaku, and the girl, and they're going to kill Lelouch, too. But the girl... gives Lelouch the power to force people to obey any order he gives them. So he tells the soldiers to die, and they kill themselves.

And that's just the first episode. Other stuff was going on, too, but I couldn't really follow everything. But after seeing several episodes I start to get the hang of it, a bit. Lelouch is a Britannian prince, or something, though he hates Britannia and the way it rules the world, so he wants to bring down the entire nation and its royal family. He also wants to learn who is responsible for the murder of his mother, Marianne Vi Britannia (who we like). He uses the power that the girl, who is called C.C. (pronounced "C2") gave to him, in his campaign. He calls this power "geass." But this isn't all he uses, he also is a master strategist (and tends to treat battle like a game of Chess), and he assumes the secret identity of "Zero," and starts issuing commands to Japanese rebels. Before long, he manages to kill the viceroy of Area 11, Prince Clovis. But he's soon replaced by a new viceroy, Cornelia (who we like). And she seems to be at least as good a strategist as Lelouch, plus she has far greater numbers and resources on her side.

Well, there are lots of people on the Britannian side, and it's hard for me to keep them all straight. There's a princess named Euphemia (who we quite like). There's a Knightmare pilot named Villetta Nu (who we like). There's a guy named Lloyd Asplund, who develops Knightmare Frames, including the latest model, the Lancelot. He has an assistant named Cecile Croomy (who we like). And the Lancelot is piloted by Suzaku, who isn't dead, after all. And... there are plenty of others.

Meanwhile, all the military stuff is complemented by life at the Academy, where Lelouch is a member (vice president, I think) of the student council. The council's president is Milly Ashford (who we like). Also on the council is Shirley Fenette (who we quite like), who seems to be interested in Lelouch. And there's a friend of Lelouch's, Rivalz Cardemonde. And a girl named Nina Einstein (who we like). And an honorary member of the council is Lelouch's little sister, Nunnally. I think that's about all the characters I've gotten to know so far. I do think there'll be some drama at the Academy, but there's also a great deal of comic relief. And of course, Kallen joins the Academy and the student council. She doesn't seem to know Lelouch is Zero, though he does discover that she's one of the rebels he's worked with before (he never really met any of them, just gave commands over radio, or whatever). He uses geass on her once, and then discovers that he can only use it once on any one individual. And C.C., who had her own motives for giving Lelouch this power, starts living in Lelouch and Nunnally's house, on the campus. She remains fairly mysterious. And Suzaku also joins the Academy and student council.

I've probably failed to grasp any number of details, and I'm probably forgetting things. It's all rather complicated and confusing, but I'm enjoying it well enough so far, and I look forward to learning more about what's going on, and seeing how it all turns out....