Rave Master
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Also called "Groove Adventure Rave." Okay... There's alot of backstory in this series, revealed in bits and pieces throughout the series, in flashbacks and exposition, and sometimes whole episodes set in the past. I'd like to try to explain it all in proper, chronological order, except for a couple problems: I've never gotten it entirely clear in my own mind, and also, I don't want to give away too many spoilers. An important part of this show is the characters trying to learn some of the things that have happened in the past, so you might as well learn along with them. But I'll tell you as much as I think I can....

There are these things called Rave stones which were lost 50 years ago, after a big explosion called Overdrive destroyed one tenth of the world. There's alot of important stuff you'll learn about all that later. The story starts with a 16-year-old boy named Haru Glory, who since he was a little kid has been raised by his older sister, Cattleya (who we like). When they were both young, their father, Gale, left for some reason (you'll learn more later), and their mother, Sakura (who we like) was killed (again, you'll learn more later). When the title of Rave Master is passed on to him by Shiba, the first Rave Master (you'll learn more about him later), Haru sets off on his own quest, to find the Rave stones as well as to find out what ever became of his father. Haru travels with this weird looking little carrot-nosed... thing, Plue, who supposedly sort of guides him to the stones, I guess. (Learn more about Plue later.)

Haru has to fight the Shadow Guard (you'll learn surprising facts about the group's origins later), an evil group of people who rule the land through the power of their Shadow stones. All the stones, Shadow and Rave, are powerful and give their bearers special abilities. Haru wields the Decaforce sword, which can be empowered by a sort of little amulet thing called the Rave (the sword and the Rave were given to him by Shiba). The sword has ten different special powers Haru has to learn to use, as he searches for the Rave stones.

Anyway, he meets this girl named Elie (who we quite like), who's lost her memory. She's pretty good with a pair of guns she has, called Tonfa blasters, though she can be a bit reckless and destructive with them. She joins Haru on his mission to find the Rave stones and defeat the Shadow Guard, and Haru promises to help her recover her memory. (There's a great deal to learn about her mysterious past, including the fact that she resembles the late Resha Valentine, who possessed a power called etherion, and created the Rave and the Rave stones.) They also meet this guy named Hedara Musica, who is leader of the Silver Rhythm Gang. He's also a Silver Claimer, which means he can manipulate silver into any form, as a weapon. He wants to find something called the Silver Ray, and meanwhile joins Haru, Elie, and Plue on their quest. Then there's this weird, annoying little... blue thing... named Griff, who also joins them.

The Shadow Guard is ruled by a man called King, who commands the Oracion Six, the most powerful generals of the Shadow Guard. One of them is named Seig Hart, though he has his own agenda, and when it suits his purposes, he leaves the Shadow Guard. He wants to destroy Elie... he'll fail, and eventually he'll return to protect her. (Long story.) Anyway, eventually Haru has to fight King, but he does so alongside his father (lots of backstory here). Before Haru reaches King, though, he and his friends (including some new ones who joined them for a while) have to battle five palace guardians. One of these is a dragon guy named Let. After King's defeat, Let will join our heroes on their next mission, to find the Memory of the Stars. Whatever that is. Of course, even with the Shadow Guard gone, there will always be new enemies for our heroes to face, and occasionally some old ones....

Well, anyway, I think the show is pretty fun, and I like both the opening and closing themes. I really wish I could find an mp3 of the closing theme, "The Power of Destiny," by Jennifer Paige. But, alas, I have thus far been unsuccessful.... Not sure what else to say... it can be a silly show, and some characters can be annoying, but on the whole I like it. And I continue to want to learn more about the past, as well as seeing how things continue to unfold in the present.... Cartoon Network stopped showing it before I could see all of it, though, which annoys me.